Sri Lanka 713 for 3 dec beat Zimbabwe 228 and 231 (Taylor 61, Muralitharan 4-79) by an innings and 254 runs
ScorecardZimbabwe, hopelessly weakened by the loss of the 15 rebel players, on top of the 20-odd others who have walked out on Zimbabwean cricket in the last four years, went down fighting at Bulawayo, but they lost by a larger margin – an innings and 254 runs – than they had at Harare, which was already a record … and they only took three Sri Lankan wickets in the match. For an encore, they will face Australia in a Test match later in the week.Sri Lanka’s bowling was adequate but uninspired, with Muttiah Muralitharan still suffering with his bruised finger, but the batsmen applied themselves better than in the first innings. But, once Sri Lanka broke through, three wickets fell in quick succession, and from then on it was only a matter of time.Tatenda Taibu had clearly decided that his team would go down fighting. A rather loose opening over from Farveez Maharoof brought a wide and two twos to Brendan Taylor. Then Dion Ebrahim off-drove Chaminda Vaas for four and nudged him to the third-man boundary from successive balls.The strokes continued, although both batsmen got away with aerial strokes, intentional or otherwise, that evaded the fielders. Taylor reached his first Test half-century from 110 balls, impressing with front-foot drives through the covers and wide of mid-on. He battled through a quiet patch after reaching his fifty, but then on-drove two handsome boundaries off Sanath Jayasuriya. Earlier he had survived a difficult bat-pad chance off Murali, and a confident appeal for a catch behind off Jayasuriya which was turned down – an excellent decision by Rudi Koertzen.Taylor’s luck ran out on 61, though, as he was snapped up at bat-pad off Murali (125 for 3). His stand of 85 with Ebrahim was Zimbabwe’s highest of the series, by some way.Two balls later there was a similar appeal for bat-pad against Taibu, which Billy Bowden turned down. This time the umpire was probably wrong, but it was a very difficult one. In Murali’s next over, though, there was no doubt when Taibu, who still hadn’t scored, was snapped up at short leg (127 for 4).Alester Maregwede began by driving his second ball, a half-volley from Muralitharan, through extra cover for four, and then swung him over midwicket for another boundary. He lost Ebrahim, though, who flicked Jayasuriya round the corner but straight to Atapattu at leg slip, who made no mistake (143 for 5). Ebrahim had batted gallantly for 42 and was clearly sickened to be dismissed. He will have quite a while to reflect on his dismissal, as an unguarded comment about Murali’s bowling action has landed him with a one-Test ban.Maregwede still had his eye on Murali, hitting him for six with a spectacular slog-sweep, as if determined to go down with all guns blazing. His belligerence, coupled with the fighting spirit of Taylor and Ebrahim, made this one of the more watchable mornings of a forgettable series.After lunch there was a brief flurry of runs, but it was too frenetic to last. Three wickets fell at 173, two of them unfortunately borderline lbw decisions, Maregwede for 28 off 32 balls to Vaas, and Elton Chigumbura for 12 to Muralitharan.The final blaze, though, came from Tinashe Panyangara, who threw the bat with glorious abandon, driving powerfully straight and mowing through midwicket, to make the cricket interesting and enjoyable, even if hardly competitive. Finally Douglas Hondo, trying to get in on the act himself, skyed a sweep, leaving Panyangara with 40 not out from 45 balls, with six uncompromising fours.Sri Lanka finished their tour having won both Tests and all five one-dayers – and, given the quality of the opposition, it would have been a major shock if they had not. The new Zimbabwe team was totally crushed in statistics, though not in spirit, and they can at least take hope for the future in the promise shown by Taylor and Panyangara.

Adam Hollioake produced another timely allround performance to book Surrey’s place in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 Cup, and in the process preserved their 100% record since the competition’s inception last year.In front of a sell-out crowd at The Oval, Hollioake rescued his side from 50 for 5 with a thumping 45 not out from 29 balls, before picking up 3 for 31 with his wily assortment of knuckle balls. Worcestershire, who on Saturday reached the final of the C&G Trophy, were unable to mount a successful chase, and fell 14 runs short of Surrey’s 145 for 7, despite a useful 33 from Vikram Solanki.Last year’s finalists, Warwickshire, were unable to make the showcase for two years running, as they were seen off by the competition’s dark horses, Glamorgan, who recovered from the shock of losing both openers for ducks, to cruise to a five-wicket win at Cardiff.Set 159 to win, Glamorgan were in a perilous position at 2 for 2, when David Hemp and Matthew Elliott salvaged the situation with a 118-run stand. Hemp top-scored with 74 from 52 balls, to trump Brad Hogg, who top-scored for Warwickshire with a 51-ball 54. Darren Thomas, whose first two deliveries were slotted for six by Neil Carter, was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 32.

Leicestershire, another of last year’s semi-finalists, made it through for the second time in a row, thanks to Darren Maddy’s furious 48-ball 84. He smacked 12 fours and three sixes to lift Leicester to 180 for 6 against Essex, whose reply faltered early on when they slipped to 33 for 3, with Ronnie Irani falling first-ball for 0. Andy Flower and Paul Grayson salvaged the innings with a 95-run stand, but were always off the pace.The biggest mismatch of the day came down at the Rose Bowl, where Hampshire were routed by nine wickets by Lancashire, after a stuttering batting effort. They never got going after losing the toss, and when Michael Clarke pulled a long-hop down deep fine-leg’s throat for 36, the innings was effectively over.Dmitri Mascarenhas made 33 not out, but Lancashire were still able to cruise to their victory target of 121 with more than three overs to spare. It was a rare failure for Hampshire under the captaincy of Shane Warne, who bowled four unsuccessful overs and also recorded a duck.

Northamptonshire clung on to their top-division status with a last-gasp win at Canterbury which sentenced Kent – and the four-day county champions Warwickshire – to second-division cricket in next year’s totesport League.It all looked rosy for Kent as the unsettled Ed Smith stroked his way to a neat 106, in pursuit of Northants’ modest 219 for 7. But Smith fell in the penultimate over to Paul Rofe, Northants’ South Australian fast bowler, and Niall O’Brien and Rob Ferley could make little of the last over, bowled by the South African Johann Louw under the St Lawrence lights.In the end it was a big-hitting knock from Kent old boy Ben Phillips – who also took the catch that ended Smith’s innings – which did for Kent. He smashed 44 not out from just 27 balls at the end of the Northants innings, including 20 from the last over, bowled by the hapless Antiguan Robert Joseph. It proved the difference between the two sides in the end.Northants zoomed up to fourth place with 32 points, ahead of Gloucestershire and Essex (also 32) as they had more wins, and leapfrogging Warwickshire (30) who are now relegated. Behind them Kent were stuck on 24, while Surrey, last year’s champions, finished bottom this time with only 22 points.

National League Division One

Northamptonshire 219 for 7 (Afzaal 47, Brophy 42, Phillips 44*) beat Kent 215 for 7 (Smith 106, Louw 3-37) by 4 runs at Canterbury
Scorecard

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A batsman opening the innings for the first time in Tests and another making his debut gave fantastic exhibitions of technique, concentration, and temperament, as South Africa wrested control of the Kanpur Test. Andrew Hall converted his maiden Test century into his highest first-class score, making a monumental 163, while Zander de Bruyn made a composed 83. Together, they ran the Indian attack ragged, adding 144 for the sixth wicket as South Africa closed the second day on 459 for 7.The move to open with Hall was a masterstroke, but even the South African think-tank wouldn’t have expected the benefits to be so substantial. His technique and his reading of the pitch were excellent, but the outstanding aspect of his innings was his unflagging concentration and his relentless hunger to keep accumulating the runs. There were a few expansive strokes along the way, especially when the bowlers offered him width outside off, but for the most part he played within himself, knocking the ball around for singles, and was totally unruffled by long scoreless periods. His previous-highest Test score – 99 not out against England at Headingley in 2003 – had come off just 87 balls, but here he played a totally uncharacteristic innings, but one that perfectly suited the needs of his team.If Hall’s defensive ability was a revelation, then so was the skill and composure of de Bruyn. With nine seasons of domestic cricket behind him, de Bruyn, 29, batted as if he was just turning up for another game for the Easterns. He was completely unfazed by the famed Indian spin attack and by a pitch which showed signs of breaking up, soon demonstrating why he has a first-class average of 42 and a highest of 266 not out. His first two scoring shots were fours – a straight-drive off Sourav Ganguly and a sweep off Harbhajan Singh – and, once set, he brought out some more adventurous strokes too, tonking Harbhajan for three sixes. In between those few moments of aggression were long periods of solid defence.

India had spent long fruitless hours in the field yesterday as well, but were saved by a couple of double-strikes by Anil Kumble. Today, there was little respite. Their best passage of play was in the first hour, when Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan bowled superbly with the second new ball. Only 15 came from the first 12 overs, and there was a success to celebrate too, when Ganguly had Boeta Dippenaar caught behind for 48 (241 for 5). But as the early morning freshness evaporated from the Green Park pitch, so did the enthusiasm of the Indians in the field.The pitch was expected to provide plenty of assistance to the spinners, but though there were bits of the surface coming off on occasions, the ball seldom did anything unexpected. There was little pace in the wicket, and once Hall and de Bruyn saw off the early overs, they were rarely troubled. Ganguly tried most tricks in his bag – the three specialist spinners bowled lengthy spells, Sachin Tendulkar bowled nine overs of legspin, sometimes generating plenty of turn, while Zaheer threatened occasionally with his ability to reverse-swing the old ball. Nothing, though, could unsettle Hall and de Bruyn.Hall carried on from where he had left off on the first day. He was unusually quick to get through the nineties, though, stroking a couple of cover-drives off Ganguly and then sweeping Kumble for a four to reach his century, which came off 325 balls. His reaction to the landmark told the story – he raised his bat towards the dressing-room, shook hands with de Bruyn, and then promptly continued with his job.As the partnership continued to grow, the frustration told on the Indians in the field. There were a couple of shocking misfields – one of them, by Zaheer at mid-off, brought up Hall’s 150 – and some ridiculous appealing – a couple of times, Kumble, bowling from round the wicket, asked for an lbw verdict when the ball had pitched at least a couple of feet outside leg. He did finally get the breakthrough – and his fifth wicket of the innings – bowling Hall round his legs just before tea (385 for 6).After tea, a demoralised Indian team settled for a defensive line, with Kartik bowling a over-the-wicket, outside-leg line. The South Africans didn’t attempt to force either, and only 61 came from 33 over after tea. de Bruyn fell 17 short of a deserving century when he edged a drive to slip, and Harbhajan’s exaggerated celebration was an indication of India’s frustration in the field. Thami Tsolekile, the other debutant in the side, got his first international runs too, and with Shaun Pollock still around and Robin Peterson to follow, South Africa weren’t quite done yet.

Elite Group
ScorecardAfter Shikhar Dhawan’s heroics on the opening day, it was Ajay Jadeja’s turn to star against Karnataka at the Jamia Millia Cricket Ground in New Delhi. Jadeja stroked an unbeaten 103 to put Delhi in charge after Dhawan had departed for 130 early on day two. He found an able ally in Rajat Bhatia, who made an even 50, and Vijay Dahiya, who missed out on a half-century by a run when Sudhindra Shinde ran him out. Karnataka struggled for breakthroughs, with Sunil Joshi bowling a marathon 62 overs for figures of 4 for 117. At stumps, Robin Uthappa and Barrington Rowland had knocked off 32 from the arrears.
ScorecardAfter Ajit Agarkar wrapped up the two remaining Gujarat wickets for the addition of only 22 runs, Wasim Jaffer’s fluent 86 led Mumbai into a position of strength at the Wankhede Stadium. Jaffer stroked 16 fours in his 137-ball innings, and added 99 for the opening wicket with Vinayak Mane, who batted 158 minutes for his 28. Vinit Indulkar chipped in with 34, and Amol Muzumdar showed plenty of aggressive intent en route to an unbeaten 56 as Gujarat increasingly became lost for ideas.
ScorecardRaja Ali made 53 and Siddharth Joshi 47 as Railways stretched their first innings to 373 on day two. Madhya Pradesh were indebted to Yogesh Golwalkar, who bowled superbly for figures of 8 for 127. And after Harvinder Singh had dismissed Sachin Dholpure and Amay Khurasiya cheaply, Madhya Pradesh rebuilt through Naman Ojha and Devendra Bundela to leave the match intriguingly poised at the halfway stage.
ScorecardSyeb Sahabuddin mopped up the Bengal lower order for next to nothing, but then had to watch as his own batsmen fumbled against some tight bowling. Only Venugopal Rao crossed 30 as Murtaza Lodhgar, whose offspin fetched him figures of 4 for 34, and Saurasish Lahiri gave Bengal the initiative in a match that appears certains to have a result.
ScorecardRizwan Shamshad and Gyanendra Pandey, two of the veterans of the domestic circuit, added 114 for the fourth wicket to put Uttar Pradesh in control of this encounter at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad. Shamshad stroked a fine unbeaten 103, and Pandey struck 61, after Suresh Raina had struck a breezy 49 at the top of the order. For Hyderabad, who could add only 10 to their overnight total of 236 for 8, Anirudh Singh picked up 3 for 59.
ScorecardYuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia and Reetinder Singh Sodhi all failed, but Ravneet Ricky struck a battling 71 as Punjab struggled to match Tamil Nadu’s modest total of 244. Kuthethurshri Vasudevdas was left unconquered on 91 as Tamil Nadu added 53 before being bowled out, with Vikram Singh taking 5 for 70. When Punjab batted, Rajamani Jesuraj was the surprise package, taking 3 for 50 as the visitors lost all their top-order big guns before stumps.
ScorecardDhruv Mohan made an unbeaten 93, and Kaushik Aphale chipped in with 55 as Maharashtra built a handy lead in their game against Assam. Arnald Konwar picked up 3 for 92 as Assam fought to contain the home batsmen. Dheeraj Jadhav made 37 and Hrishikesh Kanitkar 42.

Saleem Altaf, the former Pakistan medium-pacer, has been appointed as director of cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board. He will represent Pakistan at all International Cricket Council and Asian Cricket Council meetings.Altaf’s appointment fills a gap left vacant after Rameez Raja’s resignation as chief executive of the PCB in August last year. Altaf will head a committee of five, comprising Imtiaz Ahmed, the former Test wicketkeeper, Naseem Ashraf, Mueen Afzal and Ali Reza. Meanwhile Abbas Zaidi has been named director of board operations, in charge of all non-cricket matters including administration, finance, marketing and media.”The appointments have been approved by the chief patron of the board after consultations with the chairman of the board Shaharyar Khan,” Zaidi was quoted as saying by Reuters.Altaf, who is 60 years old, played 21 Tests for Pakistan between 1967 and 1978, and picked up 46 wickets. He also scored one half-century.

The moment came minutes after the tea break. The fifth ball of the 62nd over, bowled at 2.40pm, by Abdul Razzaq, was just short of a length and slanting into the pads, and Sachin Tendulkar moved across his stumps and tucked the ball to the on-side to scale another personal summit. With that run, he became the fifth player in the world, and the second Indian, to score 10,000 Test runs.Tendulkar, who came in to bat with the score on 156 for 2, after Virender Sehwag had powered India to a brisk start, was tentative early in his innings, playing out as many as 18 dot balls before getting off the mark. But he got under way with two crisp cover-driven fours off Shahid Afridi and from then on, with the scoreboard counting down the last few runs as he approached the milestone, his every run was cheered.After reaching the milestone he was especially fluent, showing shades of his old self, cutting and driving both the spinners and medium-pacers. Danish Kaneria’s attempts at curbing Tendulkar by bowling into the rough from around the stumps were wasted as Tendulkar got down on one knee and swept the ball fine for two fours, the second of which took him to his half-century. But just when he was looking dangerous, he went, edging a square-cut against Afridi to the wicketkeeper. Another record, the one that he is likely to cherish more, still awaits. For the moment, Sunil Gavsakar, the first man to score 10,000 Test runs, remains joint first with Tendulkar in the rank of century makers

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

Australia can think safely of the Ashes after they survived a nervous fright to seal a 2-0 series victory under Eden Park’s floodlights at Auckland. The thrilling day swung both ways until Ricky Ponting silenced the on-field complaints about the declining conditions by blasting an unbeaten 82 in the nine-wicket win.The weather forecast predicted showers for tomorrow, but Ponting avoided a restless night as he finished the match in a mad flurry of beautiful boundaries, scoring his last 36 runs off 21 balls. New Zealand deserved to be praised for their courageous fightback from 23 for 4 to a lead of 163, but the way they drew out the over-rate was juvenile, and by the scheduled close they were about 10 overs behind.Ponting and Langer adopted a positive approach in an effort to knock off the runs at six an over, but there were plenty of disruptions with changes of ball, offers of light, an extended drinks break and drizzle. Langer opened the chase with a first-ball hook and the vibe was upbeat throughout the 29.3 overs. Quick to punish deliveries through cover, Langer outlasted his partner after Matthew Hayden gave up his wicket when he took on Daniel Vettori in a ridiculous single. It was the only setback.In the first innings Ponting blazed when everybody before him blocked, and he traded watchful defence for more exquisite boundaries as he chipped down the total. New Zealand wanted quick wickets once Hayden departed but Ponting wasn’t feeling vulnerable. One pull off the front foot when visibility was at its worst was immaculate, and there were more fulfilling swings to midwicket and cover.Ponting brought up his half-century with a delightful horizontal flick to square leg and he repeated it off James Franklin’s next ball. Chris Martin was then powered for a straight six by Ponting, who followed Langer’s fifty with two crunching straight boundaries. “We’ve set very high standards over a long time and I think we’ve lived up to those after the last couple of weeks,” Ponting said.Fleming called the result a “mauling” after Vettori carried on the impressive work of Nathan Astle to recover from the desperate situation of the first hour. The game could have been over by lunch when Fleming drove hard and straight at Jason Gillespie, who threw out a glue-filled hand at thigh height for a spectacular catch. Gillespie moved alongside Richie Benaud’s 248 wickets and Fleming left with a series to forget.

Glenn McGrath, who had reduced New Zealand to 11 for 2 yesterday, hit Hamish Marshall a painful blow on the right elbow and in his next over delivered a fine off-cutter that was inside-edged to Adam Gilchrist, the Man of the Series. New Zealand were 23 for 4 and trailing by 68. Astle and Lou Vincent blasted out of the despair and into a lead that grew to 62 in an exciting and eventful opening session. The sudden change of action was brutal and in 76 balls they thrashed 70. Australia started to get rattled.Just as New Zealand moved in front the mood changed with Vincent’s run-out from a decision taking aggression to a fatal level. It was a similar misjudgement to Hayden’s, and Michael Clarke punished him. Warne, welcomed by a Vincent six over mid-off that landed in the first tier, added the second wicket in five balls with Brendon McCullum, his 100th New Zealand victim, and Australia swung back.The Astle-Vettori partnership, which started two runs ahead, added 81 and the noise around the sparse stadium improved with the total. Vettori was industrious while Astle played powerful slashes and drives to form a satisfying combination. Astle departed for 69 while Vettori gave himself an 84-ball half-century and helped the target go well past 100.Warne picked up Vettori for his fourth wicket, but McGrath’s catch ended his tilt at sealing his 500th scalp today. He will have to wait for the first Test at Lord’s in July and will run in on 499 after bowling Paul Wiseman to close the innings. Bring on the Ashes.How they were out
Fleming c&b Gillespie 3 (15 for 3)
A stunning one-handed reflex take in his follow-through from a well-hit drive.H Marshall c Gilchrist b McGrath 7 (23 for 4)
Great off-cutter that clipped inside edge and Gilchrist dived to his left for a skillful take.Vincent run-out 40 (93 for 5)
Hit straight to Clarke at point, took off for a single, tried to stop and gave up before a stump was knocked from the ground.McCullum lbw b Warne 0 (93 for 6)
A long way forward sweeping, but hit on the half-volley.Astle c Katich b Warne 69 (174 for 7)
Drifted in, brushed his edge, bounced off front pad and Katich took a diving catch at short leg.Franklin c Ponting b Warne 23 (220 for 8)
Good low grab at silly point from pad-bat push.Vettori c McGrath b Warne 65 (227 for 9)
Chasing big boundaries, he holed out to deep mid-off, where McGrath took the catch and ended his chance to reach 500 wickets today.Wiseman b McGrath 23 (254)
Charged and missed a yorker.Australia
Hayden run-out 9 (18 for 1)
Drove straight of Vettori at mid-off and was about three metres short of his ground when the direct hit arrived.

Bob Woolmer confirmed that Shoaib Akhtar was left out of the squad purely on fitness grounds and urged him to regain his full fitness by playing first-class cricket. Shoaib had said he was confused about the reasons for his exclusion from the squad chosen for the West Indian tour and had demanded an explanation from the selectors regarding the same.”There is no personal agenda involved here,” Woolmer was quoted as saying in , a Pakistan based daily. “All that is required is that he confirms his match fitness by getting back to bowling 20 to 25 overs in an innings of a first-class game and satisfies the selectors and we will be happy to have him back in the side.”Woolmer insisted that there was no contradiction with regard to the reasons for leaving Shoaib out of the squad. “The selectors and board has made it very clear that they feel he is not match fit,” he said, “and that they want him to regain full match fitness and he would be considered for selection again.”He added that Shoaib was a matchwinning bowler but said, “The selectors first have to be satisfied with the fitness of a player.”Inzamam-ul-Haq, who kicked up a minor storm last week by saying that Shoaib was left out on disciplinary grounds, also spoke about Shoaib’s omission and made it clear that he had nothing personal against him. “I think he should simply concentrate on regaining his match fitness and satisfying the selectors that he is fit,” said Inzamam. “There is a lot of cricket coming up in the next few months including the home series against England and India.”

Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, has signed up to play county cricket for Glamorgan and will make his debut in the game against Sussex on June 1, subject to clearance from the Indian board. Ganguly will stay with the club to the end of July at least.Robert Croft, the Glamorgan captain, said: “This is great news for the club and comes at a good time. We’ve had a difficult start to the season and although we felt it was important to look at some of the younger players in the early matches we are anticipating that Matthew Maynard will be retiring to take up a position with the ECB and we felt we had to act to strengthen the side in his absence.”Maynard’s experience is, and will be, missed, but we’re determined to take a longer-term view in terms of planning for the emergence of some of the younger players coming through. In making a signing we didn’t want just to `fill a vacancy’. We wanted to sign someone who not only has a proven track record but who will be looked up to in the dressing-room. Sourav will be a great asset to the team and we’re looking forward to playing with him.”Glamorgan have had a dismal start to the season, losing all five Championship games so far, and there was talk earlier about VVS Laxman, Ganguly’s team-mate, joining them too. But Laxman denied the reports and said that he had made up his mind not to play.Ganguly, who represented Lancashire in 2000, and did not a make a favourable impression, may even stay beyond the end of July if the Indian board fails to overturn a ban of six one-day internationals, imposed on him during the recent series against Pakistan, owing to India’s slow over-rate. “Unless the ICC overturns that ban on appeal, the player will stay with Glamorgan until the middle of August,” said a club statement. “In the event that he is required back in India at the end of July, the club will reassess the position then.”Glamorgan chief exeutive Mike Fatkin said: “We’re delighted to have secured Sourav’s services. It appears he has been given leave to miss the Indian training camp in July, something we’re expecting written confirmation on shortly, and although we are signing him on the basis of him being available until the end of July there is a strong chance that he will be with us for longer.”It is exactly the sort of boost which the captain, coach and players require and to have secured the services of the Indian captain will not only help the team, but as one of the leading names in world cricket, he will prove an attractive draw for our members and supporters.”