England 294 and 285 for 7 (Vaughan 105, Muralitharan 4-64) drew with Sri Lanka 382 and 279 for 7 dec
Scorecard

For the second time in eight days, England showed their mettle to eke out a tense and closely fought draw in the second Test at Kandy. Michael Vaughan led the way to safety with a gritty seven-hour 105, before Chris Read and Gareth Batty batted out the final hour to leave England seven wickets down – and still all-square in the series.Sri Lanka, though, will be wondering how they again managed to let England off the hook. They only took five wickets in the day, and will be left to reflect on the decision to take the bad light on the third evening. One man who must take some of the blame is Hashan Tillakaratne, the captain. Just like at Galle, he paid the price for being over-cautious in his field placements, his delay in declaring yesterday – and for his side’s lack of urgency today.Admittedly, though, it would have been a different story if it hadn’t been for a magnificent effort from Vaughan. He gutsed it out until 40 minutes after tea and faced a monumental 333 balls in all, as he led England’s stubborn resistance. Against a surprisingly defensive field set by Tillakaratne, Vaughan rolled up his sleeves and displayed immaculate determination and concentration.A model of coolness, he was solid in defence, but also kept up the tempo with the ones and twos, as well as the odd boundary. He added an invaluable 77 with Graham Thorpe, who made a brave 41, and put on a gutsy stand of 41 with the battling Paul Collingwood.While he was at the crease, England were in safe hands, but after Vaughan had chalked up his tenth Test hundred, Muttiah Muralitharan – as he so often does – made the big breakthrough for his side and set English hearts jumping. He fizzed down a doosra towards leg stump and Vaughan got an inside edge which was sharply taken by Tillakaratne Dilshan, diving to his right at short leg (239 for 7). It wasn’t one of Vaughan’s most elegant of centuries – but one of his most important.The only slight blemish in Vaughan’s innings were the delaying tactics he used by frequently walking down the pitch to chat with his partner. The Sri Lankans – and the umpires – didn’t like it and the bowlers became more and more frustrated as Vaughan refused to budge.After Vaughan was snaffled out with 15 overs still remaining, Sri Lanka were eyeing a dramatic victory. Tillakaratne took the new ball and Chaminda Vaas and Muralitharan – Sri Lanka’s big two – were charging in with their tails up. However, Batty and Read – England’s most inexperienced two – showed professionalism beyond their years as they used all the old tricks to waste time between each delivery. Even Matthew Hoggard, the 12th man, needlessly came out with gloves and water, but was roundly booed by the crowd, and promptly sent back by the umpires – much to his amusement.

In the nervy finale, Batty, who’s becoming an old pro in these situations, played with his usual steely and watchful eyes. He and Read knuckled down and, in the end, calmly shepherded England to a tense draw in closing scenes similar to Galle. It was a fitting reward for a side who never gave up throughout the match.As the day wore on, the appeals became more frantic, more words were exchanged, and the usually smiley Tillakaratne was beginning to look a tad concerned. And things boiled over in the afternoon when Tillakaratne charged towards umpire Aleem Dar during yet another appeal. Daryl Harper had to step in to reprimand Tillakaratne and Kumar Sangakkara for their excessive appealing, and for using foul language, which was picked up by the match referee on the stump microphone.It all represented how much England’s resistance was getting under their skin, especially after Vaas had given them a dream start – and thoughts of an early finish. With his fourth ball of the day, Vaas removed Nasser Hussain, caught behind by Sangakkara. And things could have got even worse for England in Vaas’s next over, when Vaughan edged fractionally short of Mahela Jayawardene at first slip. It was a fraught beginning for England and Sri Lanka were cock-a-hoop, but Thorpe entered the fray to push quick singles to good effect, and he slowly steady things down and put England back on track to safety.He nudged and nurdled in his own trademark style and provided good support for Vaughan. The pair batted through the majority of the morning session and kept the score ticking along. However, Thorpe was unluckily given out by Dar straight after the lunch break. He pressed forward to a Murali offbreak, and the ball flicked the pad on the way to Sangakkara. However, the umpire thought it found the edge and as the fielders appealed, he sent a dejected Thorpe on his way (167 for 4).Collingwood slotted into the groove straight away with little fuss. He mixed defence with the odd boundary before he was caught by Jayawardene at first slip off Kumar Dharmasena. Instead of playing straight, Collingwood tried to turn a straight ball through midwicket, but only got a thick edge (208 for 5).A nervy Flintoff then battled away for 35 balls until Murali trapped him plumb in front of middle with a quicker ball. Flintoff should have been forward to the big-turning offbreak, but chose to stay back and paid the price (233 for 6). Vaughan soon followed and that set up another tense finish which Read and Batty successfully saw out – and left Sri Lanka again cursing their failure to finish off England.

West Indies B 97 and 149 beat Kenya 149 and 85 by 12 runs
ScorecardJason Bennett grabbed a hat-trick and Dwight Washington picked up three wickets of his own, as West Indies B pulled off a dramatic 12-run victory over Kenya from an apparently hopeless situation. Set 98 to win, the Kenyans crumbled to 85 all out midway the final session at Edgar Gilbert Park. Bennett removed Collins Obuya (1), Martin Suji (0) and Peter Ongondo (0) with consecutive deliveries to finish with figures of 3 for 23 off 12 overs, and a match haul of 8 for 68.Guyana 108 and 307 for 6 trail Barbados 422 for 7 dec by seven runs
ScorecardKrishna Arjune and Sewnarine Chattergoon both missed out on their second regional first-class hundreds, but they nonetheless led a Guyana fightback against Barbados in their opening round match of the Carib Beer 2004 Cricket Series at Kensington Oval yesterday. Guyana, trailing Barbados by 314 on first innings, were 307 for 6 in their second innings when bad light stopped play three overs early.Trinidad & Tobago 335 and 122 for 4 lead Leeward Islands 324 by 133 runs
ScorecardLeeward Islands conceded first-innings points to Trinidad & Tobago, but captured four wickets late on the third day to claw their way back into contention at Guaracara Park. Trinidad & Tobago led by 11 runs on first innings, and were 122 for 4 in their second innings when rain and bad light stopped play 13 overs early.Jamaica 266 and 238 for 6 lead Windward Islands 273 by 231 runs
ScorecardAfter conceding a slim seven-run first-innings deficit to the Windward Islands, Jamaica were battling back on 238 for 6 at the close of the third day at Beausejour. Tamar Lambert produced another defiant knock to finish unbeaten on 44. The Windwards had owed their position to a 67-run ninth-wicket partnership between Shane Shillingford and Fernix Thomas.

Middlesex suffered a double blow with the news that both their overseas targets for next season, Anil Kumble and Ashley Noffke, have told the county they won’t be available to play.Kumble, who played a leading role in India’s recently drawn Test series against Australia, did not receive clearance from the Indian board to play. To make matters worse, Noffke, the Australian pace-bowler, decided that his ongoing back injuries would stop him from being able to get through a full season.”We had sorted things out with Anil before Christmas, but didn’t announce his signing because we were awaiting clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India,” Vinny Codrington, Middlesex’s chief executive said. “It was disappointing that it became public knowledge before any permission was given. It is doubly disappointing because Anil would have been a major contributor to the squad, but we perfectly understand the BCCI’s and Anil’s decision.”

Sri Lanka 245 (Jayasuriya 55, Atapattu 47, Clarke 5-35) beat Australia 244 for 5 (Hayden 93, Ponting 69, Vaas 3-48) by one run
Scorecard

Chaminda Vaas grabbed three wickets, and kept his cool during anerve-jangling final over, as Sri Lanka snatched a thrilling one-run victoryagainst Australia at Dambulla. Needing just eight to win from the last six balls with five wickets in hand, Australia looked set for victory, but Vaas conceded only six runs to level the series at 1-1.For most of the afternoon, it had seemed as if Sri Lanka would pay for aspectacular late batting collapse. Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden added148 for the second wicket, and Australia were cruising – but the dismissal ofPonting precipitated a slump from 148 for 1 to 192 for 5.Andrew Symonds – the beneficiary of a bizarre and sportingrecall, after being adjudged lbw by Peter Manuel on 10 – and Michael Bevan carried Australia to the brink of victory, adding 52 in 58balls, but could not finish the job because of Vaas’s heroics.Sri Lanka’s top order had batted their team into a commanding positionin the morning with partnerships of 121 for the first wicket – between Sanath Jayasuriya (55) and Marvan Atapattu (47) – and 70 for the third between Mahela Jaywardene (38) and Kumar Sangakkara (39). But some reckless batting by the middle and lower order against Michael Clarke’s innocuous-looking left-arm spin squandered the initiative as the last sevenwickets fell for just 29. Sri Lanka, gliding along at 192 for 2 at one stage, were bowled out with one ball remaining.Nevertheless, the target was competitive on a dry, worn surface – the same pitch that was used on Friday – that offered plenty of assistance for Sri Lanka’s six spinners. Ironically, though, it was Vaas who grabbed the first wicket as Clarke, promoted from the middle order to counter the spinners, shelled the third ball of the innings straight to Upul Chandana at backward point (0 for 1).Ponting and Hayden took a couple of overs to settle. However, in the fifthover, Ponting cut loose, pulling a short one from Vaas over square leg for six, and then cracking a square cut to the point fence. Thereafter, Australia started to tick along smoothly with both batsmen mixing sharp singles and twos with calculated aggression.Atapattu rotated his bowlers with increasing desperation. Seven had been used by the 22nd over, and not one of them looked remotely threatening. Even Muttiah Muralitharan, who might have expected to be a major handful on this pitch, was unable to conjure up a breakthrough.But Sri Lanka finally broke through in the 32nd over as Ponting top-edged asweep to be caught at deep square leg. Vaas was recalled for a second spell, and he deceived Damien Martyn with a slower ball to put Sri Lanka right back inthe match (170 for 3).Australia started the final ten overs needing a modest 56 to win, but suffered amassive blow when Hayden miscued a lofted drive to be caught at wide long-off.In the same over, Dharmasena won an lbw decision against Symonds that was later overruled following discussions between Gilchrist, the non-striker, the umpires and Atapattu – after it became clear that Symonds had edged the ball on to his pads.Although Vaas clung on to a tumbling caught-and-bowled chance off Gilchristin the next over to leave Australia 192 for 5, Atapattu’s sportsmanship looked to have cost Sri Lanka victory as Symonds and Bevan steadily chipped away at the target. When Bevan smashed Muralitharan for six over midwicketin the 49th over, it looked all over.

But Vaas conceded just two singles off his first two balls, and then followedup with consecutive dot-balls to leave Australia needing six off two. Symonds could only scamper a single and Bevan was unable to hit a six off the last ball.Atapattu had started the day well, winning what appeared a crucial tossand then leading from the front with the bat. While Jayasuriya was unusuallynervy at the start, labouring for 32 balls before hitting his firstboundary, Atapattu played fluently, puncturing the infield with high-elboweddrives and clips.Both Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee struggled to find rhythm early on, though Gillespie was unlucky to not claim an early lbw against Jayasuriya, when he had made just 10. The arrival of Symonds into the attack finally shook Jayasuriya out of his slumber. His second ball, a medium-pacer, was clubbed over cover and his fourth delivery, an offbreak, was smashed over midwicket. Jayasuriya sprinted to his fifty, the 55th of his one-day career, as Atapattu settled back into a supporting role.It was Ponting who came to his side’s aid. Athletically flinging himself to his left at midwicket, he then broke the stumps at the non-striker’s end with a diving underarm flick. Atapattu had scored 47 from 68 balls. Next over, Symonds trapped Jayasuriya lbw with an offbreak that crept along the floor.The run rate slowed as Jayawardene and Sangakkara, who had added 121together in the first game, played themselves in. The spinners, Symonds and BradHogg, troubled both batsmen, and strokeplay was never easy on apitch that grew increasingly slow. But Jayawardene, who survived a run-out chance on 4 when Symonds’s throwmissed the stumps, settled – and runs started to flow. Sangakkara, who managed just a single boundary in his 58-ball 39, allowed his partner to take theinitiative as 70 were added in 98 balls.Ponting’s decision to replace Lee with Clarke paid dividends as Jayawardene wascaught at cover trying to loft over the infield (192 for 3). Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan then added 24 in 29 balls before the innings lurched into freefall – the last seven wickets fell for 29 courtesy of a rash of ambitiousstrokes. Luckily for Sri Lanka, Australia fluffed their final lines as well in the late-afternoon sunshine.

A recovery by the lower order gave Western Province the edge as KwaZulu-Natal let it slip on the first day in the second round of the SuperSport Series

Western Province 311 (Henderson 71, Tsolekile 63, Johnson 58, McLean 4-43) v KwaZulu-Natal
Scorecard
At Newlands, Western Province lost the toss and were put in to bat on a green track by their nearest log rivals KwaZulu-Natal. Early movement had the ball beating the bat at regular intervals, and a solid start was squandered as Province slumped to 106 for 5 before Neil Johnson and Thami Tsolekile restored some order to the innings. Johnson, on going past his 50, threw his wicket away with an ugly missed sweep while Tsolekile grew in confidence with an impressive 63. Claude Henderson, coming in at No. 9, scored a career-best 71 as he punished some wayward bowling. Nixon McLean was the most successful Natal bowler, causing much of the early damage and ending with 4 for 43.Free State 267 (van Wyk 77, van der Wath 68, Roe 5-54) v North West 40 for 2
Scorecard
At the North West Stadium, Free State were put in on a pitch that appeared to be bowler friendly. Morne van Wyk, cracking 13 boundaries and a six in his 77, saved Free State some embarrassment as five wickets fell for 136. A sixth-wicket partnership between Kosie Venter and Johannes van der Wath pushed the total to 198 for 5 when rain caused a 20-minute delay and an early tea. When play resumed, van der Wath’s 68 helped Free State to scrape 267. Garth Roe used the conditions well to end with 5 for 54. When light faded early North West had struggled to 40 for 2.Griqualand West 169 (Langeveldt 5-42, Kreusch 4-52) v Border 241 for 8 (Sugden 87*)
Scorecard
At Buffalo Park in East London 18 wickets fell in a day where only Border’s Craig Sugden looked at all settled. Border’s decision to insert Griqualand West was justified as they bowled them out for 169 in 30.4 overs shortly after lunch. Only a whirlwind 34 in 13 balls (four boundaries and three sixes) from Deon Kruis saved Griqualand’s blushes. Charl Langeveldt ended with 5 for 42 while Justin Kreusch cleaned up the tail with 4 for 52. Border made a nervous start with three top-order batsmen out for single figures. Mark Bruyns and Kreusch got into the thirties but it was Sugden who gave Border a valuable first-innings lead with 87 not out, including 16 fours. When bad light brought an early end, Border were 241 for 8, 72 ahead.

Simon Jones could face disciplinary action from the International Cricket Council after an excited celebration when dismissing Ramnaresh Sarwan during the afternoon session of the second Test at Port-of-Spain.The outburst occurred when Jones won a leg-before decision against Sarwan to leave West Indies teetering on 56 for 3, still 55 behind England. Jones, whose follow-through took him to within inches of Sarwan, screamed in his face and had to be firmly ushered away by team-mates. “I didn’t say anything to him,” Jones insisted. “I just shouted.”Billy Bowden, the umpire, had a word with Jones shortly afterwards, and it is now up to Mike Procter, the match referee, whether he wants to take any further action under the ICC’s Code of Conduct.Jones admitted after the close of play: “The umpires had a couple of words and I apologised for what happened. Obviously I got a little over-excited, but there was nothing malicious there. I didn’t say anything to him. There’s no hard feelings with Sarwan. I was very annoyed with myself for the first ball I bowled him, a rank half-volley, and was just excited to get his wicket.”Jones went on: “Today was the first time on tour that I have felt really good. I tried to relax and that helped a lot. I was way too tense in the first Test. I think we [the bowlers] are working really well as a unit. We are all confident, and you can see that from the way we batted tonight. It would have been nice to knock them off tonight, but we just need another 30 or so and hopefully we can celebrate tomorrow.”

Rahul Dravid appeared relaxed and cheery despite India’s nine-wicket loss in the second Test. His counterpart, Inzamam-ul-Haq, was equally candid in the post-match press conference.

Rahul Dravid
On the reasons for the defeat
They [Pakistan] played well over three-and-a-half days. They played better cricket than us. It is as simple as that.On what the team could have done better
You can look back upon [a lot of areas] and do [things] differently. I wish we had batted better, got the tail out quicker, but the toss is not the only reason. We didn’t bat well enough in the first session, and as you saw, the wicket was up-and-down towards the end. It would have been interesting if either team was chasing 250 on the last day. In hindsight we could have done it differently. If I knew that we would be four down at lunch, we would have done things differently. But we don’t have the benefit of hindsight.On whether his run-out in the second innings was the turning point
One run-out cannot be the turning point. It is the team that plays better that wins, and they [Pakistan] were deserving winners.On not making runs as captain
I was looking forward to this Test. But I played a poor shot [in the first innings]. I was disappointed personally, and hopefully, I will have the opportunity to correct this in Rawalpindi. And make some runs on this tour.On Pakistan’s tail wagging in the first innings
In the first innings we could have done with 75 more runs. And we could have restricted them to less. We needed 150 runs from somewhere. Shoaib Akhtar showed the character to stay at the wicket, something that is not in his nature. Credit to him.On whether mental fatigue led to a rare occasion when India’s batting failed in both innings of a Test
There was no mental fatigue, at least I hope not. We were all very keen and excited to play well here. It’s very hard to point out exact reasons why we failed twice. We know we are most dangerous when we bat well and put runs on the board.On whether umpiring decisions going against India made a difference
We were better in Multan, they were better than us here, and in both games the better team won. Umpiring is part and parcel of the game. I believe that both teams should accept what they get in terms of umpiring.On the fact that India has won the first Test of a series and then immediately lost the next in away series
We definitely think that we have not [handled] this aspect well. We have to find solutions to that problem. I don’t think complacency was a factor. It is not as if we did not try hard enough. That is something we can rule out. We have changed a lot of things over the last two-and-a-half years and hopefully this is something we can change.On the positives India can take out of this match
Yuvraj [Singh] was brilliant. He was batting under pressure and did brilliantly for someone who is playing only his third Test. [Irfan] Pathan and [Lakshmipathy] Balaji showed great heart on what became a flat wicket on the second and third days. They ran in hard consistently. Viru [Virender Sehwag] has been fantastic and Parthiv’s attitude towards the end showed guts and character. I couldn’t have asked for more.On Umar Gul’s spell in the first innings
I admit [Umar] Gul was a surprise package, an inspired selection. Hats off to the young kid. He did well to put the ball in the right areas. He broke the back of our batting and was deservedly the Man of the Match.On the fact that India won comprehensively in Multan and that Pakistan also completed their win with plenty of time to spare
It has been an evenly contested series. Neither team has had a clear advantage. Whoever executes their plans better is going to win. It will be the same in Rawalpindi.On coming back from defeat
It’s disappointing to lose – personally and as a team. I don’t deny that. But character is how you pick yourself up and come back. It does hurt but you have to look ahead and stay positive.On whether the deciding Test would be more intense and competitive
It has been intense and competitive right through. It can’t get any more intense than it already has. Rawalpindi is an important game, the last of this tour.On whether the team was affected by speculation about who would be dropped if Yuvraj Singh was to be included in the third Test
It did not affect the side. That’s the beauty of the game. In this part of the world all sorts of things are discussed, in board-rooms and living-rooms, but there was no talk about this in the dressing-room.

Inzamam-ul-Haq
On the criticism after Multan
This was a very good comeback by our team after what happened at Multan and it was a good answer to the criticism. The boys were very demoralized after the defeat but the criticism in the press was overboard. I was very disappointed by a lot of remarks from ex-Pakistani players and greats. I expected them to try and lift our team after what had happened but they did the exact opposite and I wasn’t very happy with that.On India batting first
I wasn’t that surprised – there was some support for the bowlers and I would’ve bowled anyway had we won the toss. There was something in it for the first few hours.On Rawalpindi
It’s the decider and it is a crucial game. We have to work even harder for that match. There are still some weaknesses in the team. We know that but they will have to be ironed out for the next game. I will not take these lightly at all, and we intend to work even harder now.On Javed Miandad’s hints at retirement following the criticism
The criticism has been intense and uncalled for. I feel similar to Javed that if it continues then it will become difficult for me to carry on as well. If I had said something like this following Multan, then people would have said that I have lost. I am saying this now, after a victory, because I want to make it clear that it is difficult to work under this amount of pressure. Criticism is okay but it has to be positive and constructive.On the new players and selection for the next Test
We will have to see what happens in the next few days. There are still injury concerns, but these players all played extremely well. We will decide on their status closer to the next game.On the failure of the India batting
We know India has a very strong batting line-up and that is why it was so important to take such a big lead. Our bowlers then bowled very well, to a good line and length and it worked. A failure in one match doesn’t mean that their batting isn’t strong, but our bowlers are also confident now for the next game. We will have to work even harder for the next game.On the pressures of captaincy
Captaincy is about handling pressure, but I would argue that international cricket is itself mainly about how you handle the pressure.On confidence
The boys were obviously down after the first game but they now have their confidence back. It will spur them to work even harder for the next match.On the lack of crowds
I think the one-day series played a part as it was held before the Test matches. Also, the security and all its concerns probably helped to keep a few people away, but with a win now, hopefully, more people will turn up for the next game.On Shoaib Akhtar
There was no question of him not wanting to play this Test. He was obviously down after Multan but he is a human being. Like everyone else he goes through bad patches, he performs sometimes and sometimes he doesn’t. He can still bowl better than he did today although his rhythm is coming back. Hopefully he will be in full flow in the next Test.On the fielding
We need to improve our fielding still. It was okay but it can get better. And no, I don’t think we need a coach for it.On the turning point in the game
Rahul Dravid’s run out in the second innings.On his own form and Sachin’s
My own form is good at the moment and I hope to continue it. Sachin is a big player and he will perform no doubt. But if he has another match like he did here then I won’t mind.On the tiff with Kumble
We spent so much time on the field together I just thought we should have a chat. It was nothing special.On the overall progress of the team
The entire squad has been working hard and they have done well. There are some areas that we need to work on and we are still learning as a team. But there is a picture emerging of a team now and a group of players who, if they continue to work hard, will be of benefit to the team.

The second phase of the bidding process for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies has begun. The Venue Assessment Team (VAT), the ICC and the World Cup organising committee began the tour yesterday and will visit all the countries bidding to host matches in the tournament.The VAT, comprising experts from various sports, began the tour with a two-day visit to Lauderhill in Broward County, Florida. They will then move on to Antigua (June 8 and 9), St Kitts (June 9 and 10), Jamaica (June 10 and 11) and Bermuda (June 11 and 12).The touring party had covered St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent, Trinidad, Guyana, and Barbados in the first part of the tour from May 24 to 29. After the first leg, the VAT had held private meetings with local bid committees while the officials had discussed venue arrangements and related matters with the governments and cricket officials.Expressing satisfaction with the work done so far by the VAT on the verification tour, Chris Dehring, the managing director of the organising committee, said: “This tour is a critical phase in the venue selection process following which the VAT will prepare a technical report for submission to the CWC [Cricket World Cup] board who they will also fully brief on their findings.”The VAT will present their technical report on June 24 to the board who will make the decision on the venues and allocate matches. That will require an approval from the ICC, who will then announce the list of venues to host matches on July 4 and allocate matches on July 13.

The exodus from the England & Wales Cricket Board has continued, with the news that John Read, their director of communications, is to quit his post. His announcement comes only weeks after Tim Lamb, the ECB’s chief executive, tendered his resignation in the wake of the Zimbabwe affair."I’ve enjoyed enormously working for the ECB and being part of the executive team that has helped to drive the game forward," said Read in a statement. Among his achievements in his time in office, was the inception of the Twenty20 Cup, which has exceeded all expectations with its popularity, and a drive towards marketing cricket as a young and stylish and socially-inclusive sport.At the boardroom level, it was Read who, earlier this year, warned the ECB that they faced dire financial consequences if they undertook a boycott of their Test tour to Zimbabwe, and with that in mind, he issued a cautionary piece of advice. "The Board has achieved a great deal since its inception in 1997, but there is also no doubt that the ECB needs to move to the next stage of its development and modernise its corporate governance processes."Lamb himself was fulsome in his praise for Read’s contribution. "John has been an immensely popular member of the executive team and has always managed to maintain both his sense of perspective and his abiding good humour even during the most challenging times."In particular he played a pivotal role in the promotion of the inaugural Twenty20 Cup competition in 2003, and did as much as anyone to ensure its successful launch as an innovative and exciting new form of the game. I wish him every success for the future."

Taj Television, a Dubai-based cable television operator which runs TEN Sports, has secured Sri Lanka’s broadcasting and sponsorship rights for the next four years after matching a US$ 48 million bid from ARY Digital.Taj Television, the current rights holders, had a matching rights clause in their current contract which allowed them to outbid any competitor providing they upped the bid by an agreed percentage. The final amount that will be paid to the board, assuming it can deliver on its promised tours, is approximately US$ 50 million.The new deal represents a substantial jump in income for the Sri Lanka board, which has been facing financial difficulties during the past two years because of a legal wrangle with WSG Nimbus. The stiff competition for the rights – which include television, radio, internet, wireless and title-sponsorship rights – follows the announcement that the four-year period, from January 2005, will include three tours by India.India are due to play in a triangular series in 2005 and 2006, as well as undertake a full Test and one-day tour in 2008. England and Australia, the two other most lucrative visitors, will also tour during the contract period.