ScorecardMashonaland completed their anticipated victory over Matabeleland in mid-afternoon on the fourth and final day of the match. They bowled Matabeleland out for 292, and won by 131 runs.Mashonaland didn’t bowl particularly well, and there were good knocks of 64 from Mluleki Nkala and 62 from Gavin Ewing, but there was not the self-belief required to chase a target of over 400. Eight of the batsmen reached double figures but none were able to produce the major innings required.Jordane Nicolle, the Matabele who was controversially included in the Mashonaland team after being omitted by his home province, took 4 for 61, but bowled far too many bouncers, as did Andy Blignaut, who will have to sharpen up his act with the imminent arrival of the Australians.Day 3 Bulletin

Hong Kong 64 for 3 (Sharma 29*) v New Zealand 67 for 1 (Sinclair 33*)
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Dermot Reeve’s return for the Hong Kong side, two decades after his last match for his home city, with a waistline to match his 40 years, failed to inspire the hosts to an opening win, a victory they desperately needed to achieve their ambition of securing a place in the cup stages for the first time. Their batting failed to click, with Reeve struggling at No. 3, meaning New Zealand required just 65 for victory. Matthew Sinclair made short work of the target, bulldozing 33 from just eight balls.Sri Lanka 109 for (Indika de Saram 34*) v Kenya 97 for 1 (K Otieno 33*, Odumbe 35)
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Sri Lanka were considered outsiders coming into the tournament. But at the end of the first game it was clear that they could spring a surprise. Indika de Saram smacked the first three balls of the match for six, clumping 30 from the opening over bowled by Collins Obuya, before retiring after a whirlwind 34 from only seven balls. Kenya’s slow bowlers were flogged for 109 – one run away from a tournament record. But Kenya still made a good fist of the chase, with Kennedy Otieno (33) and Maurice Odumbe (35) both scoring freely, before a tight final over left them 12 runs short.India 82 for 2 (Kanitkar 35*, Kambli 28*) v Hong Kong 45 for 3
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India’s first game for the tournament was an easy win against the hosts, who dropped Dermot Reeve. Nevertheless, the batting was far from impressive. Reetinder Sodhi (5) fell cheaply and Vinod Kambli (28) dawdled during the early part of the innings. Hrishikesh Kanitkar provided some impetus with 35 from 10 balls. But Hong Kong were never in the hunt after tight opening overs from Nikhil Chopra and Rohan Gavaskar.South Africa 64 for 4 (Bosman 37*) v Sri Lanka 65 for 0 (Indika de Saram 31, Saman Jayantha 29*)
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Sri Lanka’s odds shortened further with a surprise win against South Africa, thesecond seeds after Pakistan. This time it was their bowlers who starred,restricting South Africa to 60 for 4 – a below-par score in this form of the game. Loots Bosman prevented a rout with a powerful 37. Sri Lanka then waltzed to victory within three overs. Once again Indika de Saram produced some fireworks, cracking 35 before having to retire. Justin Ontong had a nightmare, conceding 35 from his over.Pakistan 78 all out (Naveed Latif 22, Azhar Mahmood 26*) v New Zealand 79 for 0 (Horne 34)
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Pakistan, the tournament favourites after victories in 2001 and 2002, flopped intheir opening game against New Zealand. Their five-wicket defeat now meant that they needed to perform against arch rivals India in the afternoon. Andre Adams was the hero for New Zealand, completing a remarkable double-wicket maiden in the first over as Imran Nazir and Moin Khan miscued wild slogs. They did mount a recovery though – Naved Latif (22) steadied the innings and Azhar Mahmood (26 not out) tucked into an over from Tama Canning that cost 26 runs. But New Zealand cruised home, their task made easier by Pakistan’s sloppy fielding. Matt Horne scored a solid 34 from 13 balls, an innings full of neat deflections.England 82 for 4 (Brown 43, Dross 3-5) v South Africa 83 for 2 (Ontong 35*)
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England, watched by David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, suffered adisastrous collapse in their first match, losing four wickets for 11 runs. Gerald Dross, a giant of a man, was the chief destroyer, taking 3 wickets in the space of four balls. Fortunately for England, Dougie Brown, their last man, biffed 43 from nine balls, including five fours in the last over – the highest score so far in the tournament. Justin Ontong launched a spectacular South African reply, hammering 35 from nine balls. Glen Chapple’s over cost an embarrassing 33. Chris Silverwood steamed in for the penultimate over, conceding just 3 runs, but Darren Maddy’s medium pace provided less problems in the final over.India 89 for 2 (Sodhi 31, Kambli 31, Chopra 26*) v New Zealand 94 for 2(Sinclair 33*, Horne 29, Sodhi 2-14)
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New Zealand topped Pool 1 with their third win of the day against India – a tight match that leaves India facing a do-or-die clash against Pakistan. India had started well enough, as Reetinder Sodhi (31 not out) and Vinod Kambli (31 not out) blasted seven sixes in the early overs, but then faltered mid-innings as both Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Rohan Gavaskar were dismissed for ducks. They reached a competitive 89 for 2 thanks to Nikhil Chopra who stroked 26 from eight balls. But New Zealand, despite a slight wobble in the penultimate over when Sodhi claimed two wickets, powered home. Needing 10 to win from the final over bowled by Gavaskar, the weakest of the Indian bowlers, they won with three balls to spare. Matthew Sinclair, dropped in the first over, top scored with 33 from nine balls.South Africa 85 for 2 (Bosman 29*, Dros 35*) v Kenya 77 for 0 (K Otieno36*, Odumbe 31*, Hall 1-4)
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South Africa put one foot into the semi-finals with a eight-run victory against Kenya. If England lose either of their remaining games then South Africa will qualify. Kenya, who brought a full-strength squad for their first trip to Hong Kong, will now play in the plate. South Africa, asked to bat first, recovered well from a slow start – 19 runs from the first two overs – to post a decent 85 for 2. Loots Bosman (29*) was once again powerful, hitting three sixes, while Gerald Dros continued his fine start to the tournament with 35 from 12 balls. Kenya started well, crashing 17 from the opening over, before Andrew Hall, moments after a painful collision with the boundary fence, stalled the innings with a miserly over in which he conceded just four singles. Kenya, despite not losing a single wicket, never recovered sufficient momentum and were left needing an improbable 28 from the final over.India 58 for 4 (Sodhi 22, Nazir 1-2, Razzaq 2-6) v Pakistan 60for 2 (Mahmood 32*)
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The much-awaited heavyweight clash between India and Pakistan failed to live up to all the hype. But the one-sided nature of the contest mattered little for thelarge group of flag-waving, whistle-blowing, zinzabad-shouting Pakistanisupporters. India’s smaller contingent of fans burst briefly into song, asBahutale struck twice in three balls in the third over of Pakistan’s chase, butAbdul Razzaq (12*) and Azhar quickly ended any doubts over the result with aflurry of boundaries. Pakistan won with nine balls to spare – a countrymile in six-a-side terms. India’s problem was their batting. Vinod Kambli (10) and Ritender Sodhi (22) added 39 for the first wicket before India crumbled, losing four wickets for 13 runs. Only eight runs were scored from the final two overs bowled by Imran Nazir and Razzaq. Pakistan, the top seeds, now only need to knock over the hosts on Sunday morning to confirm their place in the cup competition.
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Darren Maddy held his nerve with the ball to keep English hopes alive in the final match of the day. Maddy conceded only six singles in the last over as Kenya, who needed 14, made a meal out of chasing a modest 72. England’s seven-run victory means they still have a chance of qualifying for the cup stages if they can beat Sri Lanka tomorrow morning. Asked to bat first by the Kenyans, England hobbled to 71 for 3. Robert Croft top-scored with 19 and Dougie Brown struck 18 from 5 balls. The total looked too small but Kenya lost their way in the last two overs after Croft grabbed the wicket of Kennedy Otieno. Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe, needing 25 from the last 12 balls, struggled against the slippery pace of Chris Silverwood – the quickest bowler on show today – and the nagging medium pace of Maddy.

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the hero of the story never ages, but a portrait of him does. All his flaws and imperfections are highlighted in the picture, while in his person he remains fresh and youthful.A tour to Australia, in modern times, is a cricketing version of this portrait. However fine a team may appear playing other sides in other places, once it lands in Australia, all its illusions of wellbeing are shattered. Every weakness is brutally exposed, every defect mercilessly exploited, by the best team of our times in conditions that suit their cricket. Gazing into that mirror can chill the soul.The last time India went to Australia, in 1999-2000, they came back a broken side, demoralised and lacking self-belief. Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy was dealt a hard blow – he lost it a series later – and several promising careers were derailed – remember Vijay Bharadwaj, Devang Gandhi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and MSK Prasad? India’s current tour will be no less difficult. Inexperienced bowlers, an uncertain opening combination, a question-mark over the wicketkeepers … all the ingredients of disaster are present.The inability of India’s bowlers to take 20 wickets has often been cited as the reason for their failure to win matches overseas. Ravi Shastri and Javagal Srinath recently recommended that India play five specialist bowlers to compensate for this weakness – but what of the batting then? India’s batsmen averaged 207 per innings in that 1999-2000 series, with a full complement of six specialist batsmen. A similar performance will almost certainly lead to hefty defeats, and playing one batsman fewer would hardly help.Playing only five specialist batsmen will also necessitate makeshift openers. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly are all certainties in the final XI – Ganguly because he is captain – and playing five specialists means either that one of them must open, or the wicketkeeper will bat at the top of the order. India cannot afford to start on the wrong foot like that.As always, a lot will ride on Tendulkar. But while he’s done well in both his tours of Australia, that is more in comparison with his team-mates than with the standards he has set for himself. Tendulkar averages 46 in Australia, ten runs below his career average. He will need to lift himself if India are to make a fist of it – and he will need support.Laxman is the batsman best equipped to give him that support. The conditions in Australia suit Laxman – he enjoys playing on the back foot, hits the horizontal-bat shots well, and plays besides the ball with impeccable hand-eye coordination. He was in fine form in the home series against New Zealand – he was Man of the Series – and playing Australia seems to bring out the best in him. He also has a penchant for the long innings, with two first-class triple-centuries and India’s highest Test score to his name. He could be the star of this tour.

But should he bat at No. 3? While Laxman is well suited to that role, the man who currently occupies it, Dravid, is India’s best ever in that position. Dravid averages 54.4 in Test cricket, and 57.3 overseas, which is a remarkable figure. (His average at No. 3 is 57.2, which is equally stunning.) The only hole in his CV is his performance in Australia. He’s toured here once, and failed miserably. If he can continue his inspired form of the last two years in Australia, he will take his place among the alltime greats. But is his game suited to doing that?Sanjay Manjrekar recently said that you cannot play the waiting game in Australia – you might play out some time, but they’ll get you sooner or later, and your vigil will be pointless if you don’t have many runs on the board. A score of 25 in two hours achieves nothing – especially given the pace at which Australia play their cricket. Manjrekar and Dravid, in their tours of Australia, both made this mistake. But Dravid himself indicated recently that he intended to play freely during this series. He certainly has the shots – he epitomises the classical strokeplayer – and if he has the self-belief, he could do wonders for India.It would be unwise to expect anything of India’s bowlers, though – the fast bowlers are inexperienced, and these spinners have rarely done well abroad. Bruce Reid, the new bowling coach, may help them sharpen their bowling techniques, but playing in Australia requires mental strength, a quality that can only come from within. India’s young fast bowlers could come of age during this tour – or they could be scarred irreparably.And what of Australia? We take the result so much for granted that there seems no need to mention them, but this series is a great opportunity for them to blood their second string. Simon Katich, Nathan Bracken and Brad Williams are pushing for permanent places in the side, and it is stunning that players like Michael Clarke and Martin Love can’t find a place in it. Playing an Indian team softened by early defeat at Brisbane – as seems inevitable – will be the perfect platform to greater things. Steve Waugh’s retirement at the end of this series might symbolise, to the sentimental, the end of an era – but by no means will that bring an end to Australia’s dominance in world cricket.Amit Varma is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India.

Close India 523 (Dravid 233, Laxman 148) and 37 for 0 need 193 more runs to beat Australia 556 and 196 (Agarkar 6-41)
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An enthralling day’s cricket ended with India requiring just 193 more – with all ten wickets in hands – to pull off a stunning victory over Australia at the Adelaide Oval. After Rahul Dravid, with his 233, had steered the Indians to within 33 of Australia’s first-innings total, Ajit Agarkar turned in his career-best performance, taking 6 for 41 to bundle Australia out for 196. By close of play, the Indian openers had knocked off 37 from the original target of 230.On an increasingly wearing pitch, the Indian bowlers profited from bowling a good line and length, and allowing the footholds at the other end do the rest. The Australian batsmen responded to the challenge as they always do – coming hard at the bowlers and looking to dominate. However, the fourth-day track was no longer the batting beauty it was on days one and two – every time the ball pitched on the rough, it stopped, which made playing on the up fraught with danger. Four of the top six got starts, but they all fell playing one attacking stroke too many.India were helped by the start that Agarkar gave them with the new ball: Justin Langer was trapped in front by one which nipped back – a replica of his first-innings dismissal at the Gabba – while Ricky Ponting followed up his double-hundred with a duck, as Akash Chopra at gully snapped up an uppish back-foot drive (18 for 2). When Matthew Hayden scooped a drive to cover soon after lunch for 17, Australia were struggling at 44 for 3, and the lead was a mere 77.Then came the first of the two substantial partnerships in Australia’s innings, as Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh put together 55. Martyn uncorked some glorious cover-drives in another commanding display, and with Waugh overcoming a scratchy start and playing his trademark rasping square-drives, the Australian innings was back on track.Noticing that the drying track was increasingly aiding spin – even Anil Kumble’s legbreaks turned a great deal when they pitched on the rough – Sourav Ganguly brought on Sachin Tendulkar, and the move paid off spectacularly, as both Martyn (38) and Waugh (42) chased wide ones which spun off the footholds. Dravid held both catches – Martyn’s was a spectacular, one-handed effort, while Waugh’s was more straightforward – and suddenly Australia had slumped to 112 for 5 at tea.Adam Gilchrist then starred in the second mini-revival, bludgeoning a typically thunderous 43, off 45 balls. He survived a stumping chance off Kumble on 13, and made the Indians pay for it, tonking both Kumble and Tendulkar for sixes. His partnership with Simon Katich, who tackled the spinners and the pitch with plenty of confidence, had mounted 71 from a mere 15 overs when Gilchrist’s overconfidence did him in. Attempting to sweep a straight delivery from Kumble, he moved too far inside the line and found his leg stump knocked back (183 for 6).Agarkar then moved in for the kill, with a wicket in each of his last four overs, as Australia added just 13 more. The short ball, so profitable for Agarkar in this series, brought him more success when Katich holed out to Ashish Nehra at fine leg for 31, while the tail succumbed to old-fashioned line-and-length stuff.The Indian openers survived the ten overs left in the day with scarcely a scare, as Virender Sehwag thumped a couple of fours square of the wicket off the seamers, and clunked Stuart MacGill’s first ball – a full toss – to the midwicket fence. Chopra didn’t show any signs of nerves either, cover-driving Jason Gillespie and MacGill with superb timing.The events through the day completely overshadowed Dravid’s achievement earlier in the morning. Resuming on 199, he reached his double-hundred with the first ball of the day, cutting MacGill for four, and then pushed the Indian innings along to 523. He was the last man to fall, top-edging a catch to Andy Bichel off Gillespie, whose figures of 1 for 106 was scant reward for some lion-hearted bowling. It seemed then that Dravid’s innings would, at best, be a match-saving one. Now, it could well be a matchwinning effort.

PointsTableGauteng 156 for 8 (Bacher 90*) beat Border 164 for 8 (Pope 77*, Kruger 3-21) by 7 wickets (D/L Method)
ScorecardGauteng, needing the win and a bonus point to get the prized home semi-final spot, sent Border in to bat on what appeared to be a difficult pitch. Border managed 164 in 45 overs due to an undefeated 77 from Steven Pope. No one else came to grips with some excellent bowling, the overcast conditions, and the slow pitch.Garnet Kruger took 3 for 21 in his nine overs and was well supported by all the bowlers with only Derek Crookes taking some stick, going for 18 runs in his final two overs.With 11 overs bowled, and Gauteng at 39 for 2, the rain had the players off the field for 84 nervous minutes before play resumed with a revised target set at 152 off 39 overs. More importantly, to achieve the bonus point the runs had to be scored in 31.2 overs.With wickets falling all around him Adam Bacher took it on his own shoulders to score a magnificent 90 off 91 balls, including 23 off his last seven balls, to take Gauteng to the win in 30.4 overs.North West 144 for 4 beat KwaZulu-Natal 142 (Coetsee 3-39) by 6wickets
ScorecardNorth West comfortably beat a lacklustre KwaZulu-Natal by a healthy six wickets, and moved above Free State at the bottom of the table.Batting first, Natal stuttered to 142, bowled out in 44 overs. Werner Coetsee, with a career best 3 for 29 was the pick of North West’s bowlers.In no great rush to chase the target, North West showed far more application, and cruised to a win in 31.5 overs to much appreciation and celebration from a small crowd.Griqualand West 244 for 3 (Bosman 99*, Hector 65) beat EasternProvince 171 (Jacobs 62, Kruis 3-22) by 73 runs
ScorecardGriqualand West, with something to prove, went after the Eastern Province bowling to score 244 for 3 in 45 overs, with Loods Bosman failing to score an impressive hundred by just one run. Running out of overs, his knock came off 57 balls after his 50 had come up in just 39 deliveries.Eastern Province recovered to 114 for 4 after being 15 for 3, with Arno Jacobs (62) and James Bryant (37) restoring some pride. Four run-outs then caused their downfall and handed the game to Griquas as they were bowled out for 171. Deon Kruis, in what was probably his last game, ended with 3 for 22.The win took Griqualand West, sponsored by De Beers, well above Free State in the table – a result worth its weight in diamonds.

Naveed Nawaz will lead the 16-member Sri Lanka A team on their New Zealand tour next month. Thilina Kandamby, the 21 year old left-hander from Bloomfield, was named vice-captain. Kandamby, who is looked upon as future captaincy material, has proved to be a thinking cricketer during club matches in the Premier trophy tournament.Nawaz will lead a team which comprises five fast bowlers, an all-rounder and a spinner on the five-week long tour which will see Sri Lanka A play three five-day unofficial Tests and three one-dayers against New Zealand A.Lasith Malinga, Mario Villavarayen, Tharanga Lakshitha, Charitha Buddhika and Dinusha Fernando are the fast bowlers in the team with Hasantha Fernando as the fast bowling all-rounder. Left-armer Dinuk Hettiarachchi is the only recognized spinner. Prasanna Jayawardene is the only wicket-keeper in the side and in an emergency Chamara Silva may be asked to don the gloves.Though the squad is named it is awaiting ratification from the Sports Ministry. Squad
1 Naveed Nawaz (capt), 2 Thilina Kandamby, 3 Ian Daniel, 4 Shantha Kalavitigoda, 5 Pradeep Hewage, 6 Jehan Mubarak, 7 Bathiya Perera, 8 Chamara Silva, 9 Hasantha Fernando, 10 Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), 11 Dinuk Hettiarachchi, 12 Lasith Malinga, 13 Mario Villavarayen, 14 Tharanga Lakshitha, 15 Charitha Buddhika, 16 Dinusha Fernando.The tour itinerary
March 3: ArrivalMarch 5-7: Sri Lanka A v Otago at AlexanderMarch 11-15: 1st five-day unofficial Test at QueenstownMarch 19-23: 2nd five-day unofficial Test at LincolnMarch 27-31: 3rd five-day unofficial Test at ChristchurchApril 3: 1st limited-over game at LincolnApril 5: 2nd limited-over game at LincolnApril 7: 3rd limited-over game at LincolnApril 8: Departure

Zimbabwe A 328 and 203 for 4 beat Bangladesh U23 157 and 151 by 233 runs
ScorecardZimbabwe A began their tour of Bangladesh with an emphatic 223-run victory over an Under-23 side at the Fatullah Stadium in Narayanganj. After winning the toss and batting, Trevor Gripper (81) and Vusimuzi Sibanda (68) added 108 for the first wicket, before Sibanda became the first of six wickets for the left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny.Sunny finished the innings with 6 for 76 from 27.5 overs, as the Zimbabweans were bowled out for 328. They really took command of the match on the second day, however, as Bangladesh U23 were skittled for 157 in reply. Naeem Islam (28) and Imran Ahmed added 31 for the first wicket before a dramatic slump left them teetering on 69 for 6. Sunny and Dhiman Gosh salvaged the innings with a 66-run partnership for the seventh wicket, but by the close, Zimbabwe had extended the lead to 264 by the close, with Gripper starring once again with 59 not out.They soon declared at 203 for 4 on the final day, leaving Bangladesh needing 374 for victory. Naeem top-scored with 44 off 115 balls, but eventually fell lbw to Gavin Ewing, who returned figures of 4 for 31. Gripper meanwhile completed a fine allround match by claiming 3 for 28 with his offbreaks.

Haroon Rashid is likely to stay on as the manager of the Pakistan team despite his one-year term coming to an end after the series against India. According to a report in The News, a Pakistan daily, Rameez Raja, the chief executive of the Pakistan board, gave Rashid his vote of confidence. “I don’t think we will be going for a change in the managership when we sit down to announce the details and procedure of the Pakistan team’s future assignments.”The report also quoted Rameez as saying that he was firmly in favour of giving the entire team management an extended run, rather than sacking them after every poor performance by the players. “My personal opinion is that we can’t have the team management – and that includes the captain, coach and manager – on trial after every series.”We need to show confidence in them and we can’t have them under observation all the time. The way I see it we will be giving out a long-term contract to the manager also and I don’t see any reason in changing Haroon or anyone else now.” The board has already announced that Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq will continue as captain and coach.Speaking about the hiring of Greg Chappell, Barry Richards and Daryl Foster as consultants, Rameez said that they would work primarily with junior players and members of the National Cricket Academy, but would also be available to assist the senior team. “Basically Chappell, Foster and even Barry Richards are coming to develop concepts and strengthen our cricket think tank. We will be getting their feedback on the National Cricket Academy (NCA), schools cricket and preparing a panel of coaches for international assignments,” he explained. “But we would also like them to spend some time with the senior team players and help them out in anyway they want.”Rameez also informed that Waqar Younis would join the academy as a bowling coach. According to the report, Rameez said: “He is keen to get involved with Pakistan cricket and we have reached an agreement with him.”

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

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.