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Sourav Ganguly has cleared a fitness test and is certain to lead the Indian team in their one-day international match against Pakistan on Saturday. Andrew Leipus, the team physiotherapist, put Ganguly through a three-hour practice session and was satisfied that he had recovered completely from the groin strain which had forced him to miss two Tests in the recent series against Australia.The outcome of the fitness test was largely expected after Ganguly played for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy game earlier this week. He also practised in the nets on Thursday without any discomfort, and declared himself fit after bowling from his full run-up.

Mal Loye, Lancashire’s prolific batsman, will have to miss the Twenty20 finals day this Saturday, and will probably be out of action for two to three weeks, following an injury to his Achilles tendon.”He’s had a scan and the initial diagnosis is that Mal has a small tear in his Achilles,” said Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s cricket manager. “It means he is likely to be out for two to three weeks. If he has an excellent recovery spell then maybe a return in 10 days or so is a possibility.”The concern when something goes around the Achilles is whether there’s been a full-scale rupture, because that could be anything up to nine months out. That’s not the case here, and with careful management we should be getting Mal back on the park soon.”Stuart Law and Warren Hegg, Lancashire’s captain, are both recovering from injury, and it is unknown whether they will be fit for the Twenty20 finals. Dinesh Mongia’s official contract runs out on Thursday, but it can be extended if required and he will remain with the squad if Law is unable to play on Saturday. Lancashire face Surrey, the current champions, in the semi-final of the Twenty20 Cup at Edgbaston.

New Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif praised his young charges after their second consecutive win in the four-nation Cheery Blossom Sharjah Cup.Pakistan now look certain finalists having accrued 11 points from two games after victories against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.Pakistan comfortably chased down their 224 run target against the Sri Lankans, winning with seven wickets and 2.4 overs to spare.”I am very pleased with the performance of Hafeez and Faisal as they stuck to the gameplan,” said Latif, speaking in Urdu afterwards.He expects his inexperienced side to improve: “This young side has come in from various places and have not played together much – their coordination will improve and we will avoid some of the mistakes that were made today.”His Sri Lankan counterpart, Sanath Jayasuriya, rued a weak batting display: “We needed to put more runs on the board.”But he hailed the performance of Kumar Sangakarra, who was adjudged the man of the match for his unbeaten 100 from 111 balls, his maiden ODI century.”It was very important that Kumar (Sangakkara) got runs and he batted really well today,” said Jayasuriya.Sangakkara, who was nearly dropped for the tournament after a lean World Cup, appeared grateful to be relieved of his wicket-keeping duties.”Batting and wicket-keeping are two very different jobs and, I suppose, mentally it is easier to just do one job.”

Kent claimed a share of the Norwich Union League first division lead after defeating relegated visitors Northamptonshire Steelbacks by 26 runs in the final match of the season in Canterbury.After posting a season’s best 284 from their 45 overs, Spitfires limited the Steelbacks to 258 for nine in reply to join Leicestershire Foxes on 46 points to ensure the title race will go to its final day next Sunday.The victory, Kent’s 10th of the campaign, was inspired by their skipper Matthew Fleming who hit a competition-best 125 and went on to claim three for 28 and a spectacular catch to scupper Northamptonshire’s stoic reply.Needing to score at more than a run-a-ball, Steelbacks were given a flying start by Graeme Swann and Michael Hussey, who posted 74 in 10 overs with Swann outscoring his Australian team-mate to play the leading innings with 61 from 44 balls.Fleming’s introduction from the Nackington Road End finally broke the opening stand when Hussey clipped a catch to short mid-wicket and, in Fleming’s third over, Swann lost his middle stump after an attempted back-foot force.Jeff Cook attempted to keep Northamptonshire in the hunt with a stylish 55 scored at a run-a-ball, but he undid all his good work with an ill judged drive to long-off where Mark Ealham took the catch.Martin Saggers then returned to run through the late order with three for 52 and ensure Kent won at the canter.Earlier, Fleming promoted himself to a pinch-hitting role to hit only the second league century of his career from 82 balls and with 15 fours.He featured in stand worth 98 with David Fulton (39), 71 with James Hockley (32) and 56 with Andrew Symonds (31) before finally running himself out for 125.Breaking the golden rule of never running on a mis-field, Fleming was left diving for his ground in vain as Hussey’s throw from deep cover ran him out by a yard.Ealham’s quick-fire 32 was icing on the Kent cake and took the target out of the Steelbacks’ reach despite their plucky reply.

ScorecardFile photo: Tanwir Afzal struck seven sixes and one four in his 73•Graham Crouch/IDI/Getty

Tanwir Afzal blitzed Hong Kong to a comfortable 146-run win against UAE with a 33-ball 73 in Dubai. Coming in with his side precariously placed at 159 for 6 after 37 overs, Afzal turned the match in Hong Kong’s favour as he propelled the total to 282 for 8. He smashed seven sixes and one four in his innings and also formed a 101-run, eighth-wicket stand with Aizaz Khan, who contributed a 31-ball 37.Earlier, Hong Kong chose to bat and were given a solid start by their openers Anshuman Rath (53) and Waqas Barkat (27) who added 63 in 15 overs. However, the UAE bowlers chipped away at the wickets and also effected three run-outs to stall he charge of Hong Kong’s middle order. Zaheer Maqsood picked up two wickets and left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza was the most economical bowler with figures of 1 for 35 in his 10 overs.UAE’s chase was dented from the start and the team never recovered from a barrage of early wickets, with Afzal also causing the damage with the ball as he picked up three top-order wickets to reduce UAE to 38 for 4.Shaiman Anwar held one end up with a solid 71 but could not find able support as wickets frequently tumbled. UAE were bundled out for 146 in the 41st over, with Afzal and Nadeem Ahmed picking up three wickets apiece.

Muttiah Muralitharan is reported to be considering taking legal action against Bishan Bedi after Bedi made disparaging comments about his bowling action. A letter of demand has already been sent to Bedi claiming Rs. 750 million (US $7 million) in damages for defamation.Three leading Sri Lanka lawyers, including a president’s counsel, have teamed up and offered their help. If the letter of demand is not answered then legal action will be taken in either Sri Lanka or India.Bedi is a long-time critic of Muralitharan and has a history of attacking his records. Last week he compared him to a “shot putter” and went on to say that “Murali will complete 1000 Test wickets but they would count as mere run-outs in my eyes”.It seems that Bedi has crossed the line this time. Yesterday, Kushal Gunasekara, Muralitharan’s agent, told Indian television that, “Murali is hurt over Bedi’s remarks. We are working with a team of lawyers. His integrity has been challenged. Restraint in speech is very important.”Bedi is indulging in character assassination. The remarks are disrespectful and unjustified.” The lawyers hired by Gunasekara told Sri Lanka’s : “We are writing a letter to Bedi and if needed, he will be dragged into a court of law”.Last week, Kangadaran Madivanan, Sri Lanka Cricket’s secretary, attacked Bedi, calling his remarks “defamatory”. Muralitharan’s action has been cleared by the ICC on more than one occasion.

The Indian board has decided to help the Malaysian Cricket Association with installing floodlights at the Kinrara Oval, a ground which will stage the forthcoming tri-series between Australia, India and West Indies. The tournament is scheduled to be held between September 12 to 24.”We are assisting the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) for the tournament,” Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, told Cricinfo. “We have a lot of our people there [Indian expatriates] and the interest for the tournament is very high.”It has been reported that the cost for installing floodlights would be close to US$4million. Inderjit Singh Bindra, the former board president, had also confirmed the same while speaking to , a Kolkata-based daily. He’d also indicated that Australia and the West Indies will receive US$1million for every appearance versus India.In what is set to be a three-way collaboration, the tri-series was conceived by India, being hosted by Malaysia and managed by Australia, whose board is in charge of the event management and media accreditations. The pitches are to be prepared by Cricket Australia assigned curators.With temporary stands also planned, the Kinrara Oval is set to have a capacity of close to 8000. All seven games will be day-night affairs.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A lead of 270 had been whittled down to 136 and, suddenly, Pakistan’s bowlers, so effective in the first innings, seemed out of place in the second. Sanath Jayasuriya was single-handedly changing the course of the second Test with a sublime knock. After five sessions on the field, he realised the pitch had nothing for the fast bowlers and proceeded to wrest the initiative from Pakistan.Sri Lanka are not out of the docks yet. The deficit is still substantial, and the pitch will only get easier to bat on in the last innings. A wicket or two could lift Pakistan’s spirits, especially if one happens to be Jayasuriya. But at the crease were two of Sri Lanka’s most prolific batsmen this year. Kumar Sangakkara was not his fluent self yesterday, and was nearly dismissed by Danish Kaneria, but a stay at the wicket against the easy-paced bowling could do a world of good for him.A Sri Lankan win seems unlikely from here, though a draw and Pakistan winning are viable options. It depends on how quickly they score, and whether they can play for time.

Australia 517 and 2 for 194 (Hayden 68*, Martyn 52*) lead Sri Lanka 455 (Samaraweera 70) by 256 runs
Scorecard

Today, a day that rained water, wickets and runs, Australia muscledthemselves into a position whereby they might yet win a game that had lookedto be going nowhere. First they knocked over Sri Lanka’s lower order, thenthey knocked up a 256-run lead that should enable them to declare sometimein the morning. Little of it was pretty, all of it was pretty effective. Andso the stage is set for a fairytale.Tomorrow, an out-of-form legspin bowler will attempt to take five wickets towin a Test match and set a new world record. He must do so against a deepbatting line-up on a featherbed pitch with rain in the offing. For anyoneelse, it might seem impossible. For Shane Warne, the impossible is merely achallenge. Fairytales, grim and golden, are what happen when he wakes upmost mornings.It would be some kind of ending to what has been a funny kind of Test. Sixeshave been slugged and spectacular catches pouched. Three glorious hundredshave been struck. And yet somehow this game – this series for that matter -has failed to light up the imagination. It’s been fun to watch, hard tocare.Perhaps it’s because, no matter what Cricket Australia tell us, our bodiesstill tell us it’s the footy season. Perhaps it’s to do with the crowds, notmuch bigger – though several thousand decibels more enthusiastic – than youmight find on a Pura Cup Sunday. Or maybe it’s because we have spent most ofthe past fortnight talking about a bloke who, for all his wickets and wilesand gruff swagger, hasn’t bowled particularly well.Warne’s ball that got rid of Upul Chandana was actually one of hisbetter ones. The batsman, seeking to swing him over the leg side, wasdeceived by the flight and nearly lost his footing. Adam Gilchrist snappedup the stumping and No. 523 was in the bag, four more than Courtney Walsh,four fewer than Muttiah Muralitharan, one elusive five-wicket haul away fromimmortality.

Moments earlier, drift and bite and guile had looked non-existent; any spinwas so slow as to be almost incidental. Chandana, as if to emphasise thepoint, leant forward on one knee and slog-swept the greatest legspinner theworld has ever seen over mid-on for six. Still, adversity and Warne are oldsparring partners. You’d be a fool not to keep at least one eye on the tellytomorrow afternoon.Apart from anything, record or no record, a titanic finish might yet be onthe cards. A late flurry in fading light, with Matthew Hayden and DamienMartyn crashing 67 runs in the last nine overs, has afforded Ricky Pontingthe luxury of a possible declaration within an hour or so of tomorrow’sresumption. A couple of hours earlier things hadn’t looked nearly so cosy.The Australians began their second innings, 62 runs ahead, with an unfamiliarnote of caution. After Justin Langer departed early, nibbling at NuwanZoysa, only eight runs were added in six overs after tea. Chaminda Vaas andThilan Samaraweera, the part-time spinner, kept a stifling line and length.Ponting, in particular, found himself bogged down for long periods on hisway to 45.It fell to Martyn, in pristine touch, to unfurl his second masterpiece oftiming and placement for the match, skating to his half-century in only 51balls. Hayden eventually leapt into stride too. Not out on 68, he is ontrack for his second hundred of the match, a feat he has previously achievedagainst England in 2002-03 and which only seven men in Test history havedone twice. By the end, when Hayden and Martyn accepted the offer of badlight with nine overs still up their sleeves, talk had turned to victory.Victory seemed a purely hypothetical proposition this morning when heavyshowers delayed the start by more than two hours. Lunch was taken and playreduced to two extended sessions of almost three hours each. The only earlymoment of misadventure came when Romesh Kaluwitharana attempted to cut too close to his body, Warne juggling a high catch at slip off Glenn McGrath’s bowling.Otherwise the Sri Lankans meandered along at less than two runs an over, theirbatting as grey as the sky overhead. Gradually the sun broke through and theAustralians followed suit, courtesy of some probing bowling and predatoryfielding. Ponting led by example at second slip, plucking Samaraweera (7 for445) with a sharp diving catch to his left, then mirroring that effort withan awkward catch to his right off Vaas (8 for 455). Samaraweera fell for 70,the victim of a mean-fisted spell from Jason Gillespie, who had shaken himup in the previous over with a steepling bouncer that followed his head andalmost grazed his gloves.Chandana followed soon afterwards and Sri Lanka, resuming on 5 for 411, hadlost their last four for 10 when Lasith Malinga was run out for his thirdduck in three Test innings. Slow to set off for an easy single, he succumbedto an electric fielding cameo from Darren Lehmann. Not known for hisoutfield agility, Lehmann picked up the ball at deepish mid-on and hurleddown the stumps at the faraway non-striker’s end.With the forecast uncertain and the pitch unyielding, a draw still looms asthe likeliest outcome. But if Lehmann is capable of doing that, the SriLankans might well be thinking, anything is surely possible.Tomorrow, Shane Warne may just prove it.Christian Ryan is the editor of Wisden Cricinfo in Australia.

Pete Sanderson the Somerset Under 13’s coach has recently returned from the team’s tour to South Africa and has submitted the following report on the experience.’The trip, as you would expect, was a tremendous experience and the players who went will have learnt many lessons that will help them in the future.The main lessons that should be take from the tour are:

1. The discipline and concentration required bowling the ball repeatedly in the right area over after over.2. Having a fuller understanding of what advantages achieving No.1 gives individuals and the team:i Pressure on batsmanii Plan how to get wicketsiii.Set Fields to a strategy rather than trying to cover both sides on the pitch e.g. Somerset 5:4 split with fielders, S.A. 6:33. Fitness levels required to play cricket day after day in hot conditions. Naturally the South Africans looked more athletic, and this is not surprising when you see that their school day ends at 2.30pm and then it is sports everyday for those that desire to play.4. The ability to adapt to different areas of batting, this is shown particularly with their backfoot play where they force, cut and pull very aggressively and the use of feet when playing spin whether that be using the crease or moving down pitch.5. Mental approach to all matches and not looking for excuses and the easy way out. With the day/night match in the middle of the week this definitely had an effect on the two following performances, mental highlight and comprehensive win and energy wise later finish which had effect on preparation. The last performance lacked life and desire for most, we need more of the Tiger Woods mentality, who the day after finished his latest winning round after suffering from food poisoning.

Overall ViewAs with any trip to foreign lands there are highlights and a trip should not be judged on results but what the players have learnt. This may not become apparent until later in their cricketing futures.Having also taken an older group to Australia last year this was a definite benefit despite losing all the matches, with 3 players making trip back this winter to carry on their development, one of which was successful with England U-19s. I am not sure the benefits are as high at this age depending on the maturity of the individuals as the differential between it being a cricket tour and a holiday was at times difficult for the players to establish.From a competing perspective I thought we matched them individually but not as a team. Fortunately this is not a criteria for Somerset youth cricket as number one priority is developing players. In my opinion, this was purely due to the amount of time they have together as a team in matches and practice (including middle, net and drill work).This obviously develops their tactical awareness and a knowledge of what their role’s are within the team, this will be partly readdressed by an increase in our outdoor practice but this will be a drop in the ocean in comparison. The amount of possible outdoor work is limited due to the short intensive nature of our player’s summer programmes at the various levels.The day/night may have opened up ideas for using outdoor astro pitches for improved tactical work outside of the summer and fortunately for our best players the academy programme is heightening their tactical awareness but it is good to give them a better grounding before they get involved with this.There is a proposal for this to become an annual event. Even though it is obviously a tremendous experience I think if we are to continue coming on this trip we need to guarantee that it is self-financing and we would need to review the staffing arrangements particularly at this period in the season as well as looking at the overall benefit to players of this age group.Thanks Pete for sending this report and also for sending match reports back from South Africa.I am sure that web site readers will be keen to follow the way that the Under 13’s fare this coming season and also in the future.