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The Sri Lankan selectors left out veteran batsman Aravinda de Silvafrom the 16-man squad selected for the forthcoming Test series againstIndia, which starts on next Tuesday at the Galle International CricketStadium.This is not the first time the veteran batsman has fallen out offavour with the selectors. However the right-hander, who has played 98Tests and is just 48 runs short of 6000 runs, played in Sri Lanka’slast Test series against England and scored his 19th century of thecareer in the first Test at Galle.The selectors have added middle order batsman Hashan Tillakaratne tothe squad after the southpaw spent two years in the wilderness. He isexpected to make it to the final eleven and will bat at number five orsix.Opening batsman Michael Vandort, who made a 116 in the ongoingpractice game against India at P Sara Stadium has also been includedwhile Chamara Silva has been left out.Thilan Samaraweera finally gets into the squad, as the second spinner.Kumar Dharmasena is left out. Samaraweera is, however, unlikely toplay, as the Sri Lankans look set to play three fast bowlers.The selectors, who met last evening, have picked fast bowler RuchiraPerera and he will be contesting for the third fast bowler’s placewith Suresh Perera and Dulip Liyanage.Romesh Kaluwitharana, left out of Test series against England, finds aplace in the Test squad after some impressive performances in therecent one-day series.The full squad: Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, KumarSangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Hashan Tillakaratne, Russell Arnold,Romesh Kaluwitharana, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, MuttiahMuralitharan, Suresh Perera, Avishka Gunawardene, Michael Vandort,Thilan Samaraweera, Dulip Liyanage, Ruchira Perera.

It is only the weak who bay for blood from the stands when the matador is on the floor and the bull is about to gore him.A depleted Indian team was palpably demolished by an upbeat Sri Lankan side at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground where an innings and 77 run victory clinched for the home side not just the third Test, but also the series. So once more, the Indian team has given its detractors enough and more room to bring out the refrains, `we should have won that series’, `the captain must go’, `India does not know how to play under pressure’, `we depend too much on Tendulkar…’ The vocabulary of the cynic is better stocked than the cricket talent in this country, one must say.The usual suspects will creep out of the woodwork, Raj Singh Dungarpur, Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna et al and go after the Indian team. A new series, a new venue, but the same damn tragicomedy playing over and over again.But spare a thought for Sourav Ganguly.After all, sacking himself is not an option he is considering. The youngsters in this series have failed to deliver, almost without exception. If one were to drop them all for the forthcoming away series against South Africa, who would replace them? To say that India are not in the same situation as Australia would win you a prize in a competition of understatements. A national selector said a fortnight ago that there were not more than twenty cricketers to choose from who were likely to deliver the goods at the highest level. With Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra injured, India are, by his calculation, down to their final fifteen.To be perfectly honest, that is not hard to believe at all.The situation then is starkly clear, the problems well defined. The solution however, still eludes everybody. The coach of the Indian team, John Wright, was visibly frustrated after India’s thumping loss. Speaking to pressmen soon after the match, Wright admitted, “We did the basics badly.” Candid admission Wrighty, but one even a layman could have made. As coach of the most followed cricket team in the world more is expected of you. “We need batsmen who can bat consistently throughout the day, and bowlers who can bowl equally fast in the morning and evening,” he continued.There are two ways this can happen. Firstly, by hook or by crook lure the Glenn McGraths and Steve Waughs of this world away from their countries and get them to turn out for India. Since that is not happening, the only option is to make mightier cricketers of the present lot. Addressing specific issues individually might simplify matters.The fast bowling department is certainly one that has shown promise in recent times. On his day Zaheer Khan is spunky enough to get the ball whistling past the ears of batsmen. On his day Venkatesh Prasad is capable of the most subtle deception despite his age. On his day Harbhajan Singh the `Turbanator’ can take the pants off the best batsmen in the world without them noticing it… But, it’s not enough if you can do it `on your day,’ is it? While they wait for the inspiration, these cricketers must at least be professional.About a month ago there was a rather unknown Sri Lankan fast bowler steaming in and bowling the ball all over the place at the nets at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. Sure he was big and strong and could generate dangerous bounce. But that was only when he managed to land the ball in the general direction of the stumps, and that wasn’t nearly often enough. Then Dennis Lillee happened to him. Arguably the greatest ever fast bowler the world has seen, and almost certainly the best fast bowling coach ever, Lillee straightened out this young man in the matter of a fortnight. In the very next series he played, Dilhara Fernando took the attack to the Indians.If Wright is serious about getting this team in shape before they leave for South Africa, he must insist that India’s pacemen arrive in Chennai on the 14th of September. Lillee will be conducting one of his regular camps and the team can only benefit if its senior professionals interact with him.The second vital step that must happen lies with the physio, Andrew Leipus. Is it simply bad luck that in India a couple of new cricketers are added to the injury list every tournament? Sounds extremely unlikely. India need to take a long hard look at the base level of fitness that players have.Will the think-tank do either? Disappointingly, one has to say that it is at best extremely unlikely. Rather than honestly try to fix the faults, the team will go back to their lives, wait for the tour of South Africa and the inevitable Indian performance abroad will ensue…

Former Somerset player Allan Jones was voted Chairman of the First-Class Umpires Association by his fellow umpires at their end of season meeting at Lord’s recently.Fast bowler “Jonah” joined the Cidermen from Sussex and between 1970 and 1975 played for Somerset in 118 first class matches, taking 291 wickets at just over 29 runs each.After leaving Somerset he went onto play for both Glamorgan and Middlesex to become one of the first players in the modern era to represent four counties.Jonah was elected to the First-Class Umpires list in 1985 and since that time has officiated in nearly 250 County Championship matches. He was elected to the Test panel in 1996, and since then has umpired in One Day Internationals and acted as third umpire in a number of Test matches.Earlier today Jonah told me, “I’m looking forward to the challenge of the job, which involves representing the umpires and working closely with the E.C.B.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) announced Friday thatDilmah Tea had won official Sri Lankan team sponsorship rights team for thenext three years.The Sponsorship will include using the Dilmah Logo on all official Teamclothing and the team’s participation in selected promotional activity.

Dilmah unveil new Sri Lanka kit

A new one-day and training kit has already been designed and manufacturedand will be used for the first time in Sharjah on October 26, when the teamparticipates in a triangular series with Pakistan and Zimbabwe.The team sponsorship rights had previously been held by Singer Sri LankaLtd, a leading global electronics manufacturer, for the last six years.BCCSL Chief Executive, Anura Tennekoon, said: “The Board of Control forCricket in Sri Lanka is delighted that the two products for which Sri Lankais most famous, tea and cricket, are being blended to form a partnershipthat I believe will be extremely beneficial to Sri Lanka cricket and will nodoubt provide a tremendous marketing boost for the leading brand name in SriLanka’s tea industry.”MJF Group of Companies Director, Mr Malik Fernando, said: ” Sri LankanCricket, The Ceylon Tea Industry and Dilmah Tea have many things in common.Both tea and cricket are a legacy of the British. In both areas Sri Lankahas started with humble beginnings; and sheer perseverance and grit hashelped us grow to be lions in the global arena. In cricket and the teaindustry, our Team and Dilmah Tea are forces to reckon with, and hence thispartnership makes all of us at Dilmah proud.”MJF hope that it’s partnership will help it enhance the Sri Lankan identityof the Dilmah brand in the countries where the team will play, many of whichare key markets for Dilmah, including New Zealand, Australia, Middle Eastand most recently the United Kingdom.”We enjoy an increasingly strong presence in many of the cricketingcountries,” added Fernando. “In many ways Dilmah Tea and cricket are SriLanka’s finest exports there. These synergies make winning the sponsorshipdeal a true victory for Dilmah.”

The Indian coach John Wright has been under sheltered fire for India’sperformance in recent times. The team, by notching up its ninth straightloss in a limited-overs tournament final, certainly did not help hiscause. A considerable section of the public, however, was willing tocondone India’s performance in the shorter version of the game. But whenIndia lost the first Test against South Africa at Bloemfontein andwent 1-0 down in the three-Test series, Wright’s problems reallyescalated.

Besides, what kind of pitch did Wright expect in South Africa? Witha pace battery at their disposal, the Proteas were certainly not goingto serve up a slow turner, not against India at any rate. After all,even children on the street in India can tell you how well their teamplays fast bowling.

After putting 379 on the board in the first innings, India capitulatedin familiar fashion in the second innings to hand South Africa aconvincing nine-wicket win on a platter. What has angered Indian fansis the fact that India were, at one point, in a position approachingsafety before they threw it all away. Sachin Tendulkar, at hisdazzling best, made 155, sharing a 220-run partnership with debutantcenturion Virender Sehwag. Despite this, India lost as many as sevenwickets for just 52 runs on the morning of the fourth day. Was therenot a plan in place?While the blame certainly cannot be laid solely at the feet of thecoach, he has made more than one remark that provides nothing short ofcannon fodder. On the morning of the first Test, Wright waspredictably asked how he thought the pitch would play. “I don’t knowfor sure. We’ll just have to wait and watch,” he said. Listening toWright, Sunil Gavaskar on television commentary could not containhimself. “That’s not what the coach should say. If he can’t make itout, he should make an effort to try and find out what the pitch wouldplay like,” said the former Indian captain. One would be hard-pressedto fault Gavaskar’s logic.Besides, what kind of pitch did Wright expect in South Africa? With apace battery at their disposal, the Proteas were certainly not goingto serve up a slow turner, not against India at any rate. After all,even children on the street in India can tell you how well their teamplays fast bowling.Thus said, there is perhaps room to give Wright the benefit of thedoubt and admire him for his candour. So he was not sure how the pitchwould play, and he told the media as much, right? Wrong. It is onething being honest with the boys back in the dressing room and quiteanother to relinquish the psychological advantage by announcinguncertainty to the world media.Interestingly, a similar incident happened just days after Wrightuttered those words halfway across the world. Having turned down aconfident shout for lbw against Justin Langer, when the Australianopener was yet to open his account, umpire Daryl Harper admitted hismistake the next day. “An error that cost 104 runs,” he said onnational radio. Once again, one can only say the same thing – weadmire your honesty, Mr. Harper, but next time, save us the grief.The Australian Cricket Board is unlikely to appreciate Harper’sgesture, and he will probably be careful enough to never repeat hismistake.Coming back to Wright, either the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has turned a deaf ear to the Indian coach, or he is charting his own path independent of the Board. Just days after his remark about the Bloemfontein pitch, Wright came forward with another pearl that was best left in its oyster. “I admit we made a mistake in team selection. We should have played AjitAgarkar instead of the two left-arm seamers,” confessed Wright. That it was a mistake to play both Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan is amply clear. However, one must stop a moment to look at the reason India went into the first Test with the aforementioned pair.Harbhajan Singh’s sudden affliction (epididimytis) opened up a spot inthe bowling line-up; after all, if he was fit, there would never havebeen the thought of playing three seamers. Given the recent dismalrecord of Venkatesh Prasad, enter Nehra and Zaheer. By the second dayof the Test, however, the ace off-spinner was fit once more and raringto go. With the Sikh fit, the question of playing both the left-armersdoes not even arise. Where then does Agarkar come into all this?It’s simple. He doesn’t. And a quick look at his performance in Testsso far suggests that it is perhaps best for all concerned if thematter rests there.Let’s face it. As much as one wishes it, two wrongs can never make oneright. Some may have made out a case that, with both Zaheer and Nehrarusty from recuperation, Agarkar should have replaced Harbhajan. Bethat as it may, including Bombay’s blue-eyed boy as a sort ofcompensation for the second Test would only be foolish.Both Wright and Harper, within the space of a week, have demonstratedamply the importance of measuring one’s words before they are uttered;after all, once spoken, they are in the public domain, fair game formisinterpretation. And that is really the last thing that India needright now.

United Cricket Board chief executive Gerald Majola has denied saying that the third Test match between South Africa and India will go ahead on Friday on the basis of assurances given him by Indian cricket officials.India have threatened to boycott the match if ICC match referee Mike Denness is not replaced after finding Indian batting star Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball tampering as well as imposing a variety of sentences on five other Indian players for excessive appealing. The harshest punishment dealt out was a one-Test ban for Virender Sehwag which would have prevented him playing in the third Test.Frantic negotiations have taken place since Tuesday between South African and Indian officials and the ICC in an effort to ensure that the match goes ahead, but, speaking on Thursday morning, Majola said he had not yet been given any assurance by the Indian governing body that the match would be played.A report on the BBC website claims that Majola had said that the Indian board had given assurances that the match would proceed. Majola said he had not spoken to anyone from the BBC.

The first inkling manager Ricky Skerritt had of the latestcasualty in the West Indies team was when he saw LeonGarrick asleep in someone else’s bed.The first indication that it might be critical came when heawoke Garrick, who spelt out the symptoms of a medicalcondition he had endured for some time.Confirmation that it was a potentially serious heart ailmentknown as sick sinus syndrome, which would end the littleopening batsman’s tour even before he had a chance to play amatch, came a couple of days later.Skerritt said he went to Wavell Hinds’ room last Friday tocheck on some details of his return home following the deathof his cousin and found Garrick on the bed sleeping.Normally, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it but theplayers now have rooms to themselves, rather than sharing,so I asked Wavell whether anything was the matter, Skerrittsaid.He revealed that Barney (the team’s nickname for Garrick)had complained of pains in his chest and had come to hisroom to be near a friend while he slept it off, Skerrittsaid.Alert to a possible difficulty following several in his timeas manager, Skerritt woke Garrick to be told that me hearthurting me, a periodic occurrence over the last two or threeyears.It seems it’s been common knowledge for some time but,because it didn’t persist, he’d not sought medicalattention, Skerritt said. But not knowing what was causingit had to concern him.He explained that the pain subsided and Garrick actuallyfielded as substitute and brilliantly for the injuredDinanath Ramnarine during the latter part of the Sri Lankaninnings of the third Test.In the meantime, I arranged for a specialist to see him andhe set up a procedure by which `Barney’ could be monitoredover a 24-hour period, he said. A battery of tests wascarried out with the latest equipment and the data showedhis heartbeat dropped to an unacceptably low level,bordering on the danger zone, when he was at rest.Skerritt stressed that, while there was cause for concern,the doctor here passed Garrick as fit enough to return toJamaica for further evaluations and treatment.He departed yesterday morning along with Ramnarine, whosustained a recurrence of the side strain that forced himhome early from the previous tour of Zimbabwe as well.That in itself was a fortunate coincidence in unfortunatecircumstances since Garrick would have a teammate with himon the long flight through London back to the Caribbean.Garrick’s role on the tour had been serving as 12th man, buthe would certainly have played in the triangular One-Dayseries also involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe that starts onSaturday.It’s a really unlucky break, Skerritt said. Barney’s been areal team man, taking on everything he did at practice, as12th man and in the field with complete enthusiasm.He said the doctor reported Garrick’s condition wastreatable with medication that should allow him to continuenormal life without dislocating his cricket career.Ironically, Garrick’s fellow Jamaican and opening partnerChris Gayle also suffers from a minor heart disorder knownas irrythmics by which the heartbeat speeds up.Skerritt said this had been detected early and Gayle nowtakes half-tablet of medication daily to keep it balanced.He has experienced no problems recently.The West Indies have been especially hard hit by withdrawalsfor one reason or another on each of their last two tours.Five players returned home prematurely from the tour ofZimbabwe, and now four have gone back from Sri Lanka, inaddition to Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s inability to comefollowing back spasms three days before the team’sdeparture.

The ability of South Africa’s middle order batsmen to conquer a powerful Australian attack and a wearing pitch will determine the outcome of the First Test between the countries at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow.After opener Matthew Hayden (131) had confirmed the home team’s already strong position with a fifth Test century, this was the predicament facing the Proteas by stumps on the match’s fourth day. At 2/17 in their second innings, they were left still needing another 358 runs for an unlikely victory, or to survive a further 90 overs to avert the prospect of falling to a 1-0 deficit in the series.The tourists faced 12 overs at the end of the day, lost openers Herschelle Gibbs (9) and Gary Kirsten (7) to catches at the wicket in the process, and didn’t look at all comfortable in their attempts to come to grips with a surface offering increasing turn and variability in bounce.Before a crowd of 13721 already on good terms with themselves in the wake of four days of authoritative cricket from the home team, it added to an air of command that has been clinically established by Australia in this Test.All this after Hayden – Test cricket’s most prolific runscorer in 2001 – had dominated in the lead-up to a Australian second innings declaration at 7/309 in late afternoon.The Australians didn’t necessarily make a great start, surrendering the in-form Justin Langer (1) within five minutes of the resumption and going perilously close to losing Ricky Ponting (25) to a vociferous lbw appeal from Shaun Pollock (1/38) from the very next delivery.But Hayden’s rasping strokeplay, in the midst of partnerships of 58 runs with Ponting for the second wicket and 181 with Mark Waugh (74) for the third, swiftly came to define the day.The Queenslander endured a long period in the nineties, devoting more than 20 minutes to the task of advancing from 96 to three figures alone. But the lead-up to a delicate stroke from the line of the hip off Nantie Hayward (0/32) proved about the only phase of his innings in which his naturally aggressive instincts were restrained.Otherwise, the left hander was rarely bothered in defence and was savage in his punishment of anything loose.Even against the backdrop of lower bounce from the pitch, his hand was blessed by lavish timing and a capacity to lift the ball over the leg side field with abandon.Ponting initially enjoyed a tough battle with Hayward. Thereafter, though, he and Waugh were similarly untroubled.It is a holiday back home, and the South African bowlers and fieldsmen seemed attuned to the national mood in an exhibition devoid of the spark of the previous three days.Claude Henderson (3/130) and Lance Klusener (0/27) were each thumped swiftly out of the attack upon producing loose spells after lunch. And Makhaya Ntini only compounded Henderson’s problems when he returned, spilling a catch as Hayden – on 107 – tugged to deep backward square leg.Unhappily for the Proteas, there wasn’t a penetrative look about the remainder of the bowlers either.Pollock bowled well at both ends of the innings, and Jacques Kallis (3/45) was honest in the middle stages. But there wasn’t a sense that sustained pressure was being applied to the Australians.Though they were unluckily deprived of the early lbw of Ponting and – inexplicably – the run out of Damien Martyn (6*) before the first innings century maker had scored, the Proteas even needed umpire Srinivas Venkatraghavan’s assistance to quell the flow of runs.The Indian official’s thigh unluckily felt the full force of a cracking Ponting pull through square leg, and treatment from Australian physiotherapist Errol Alcott was needed amid the stoic continuation of his duties.The Australians’ biggest headache for much of the day, meanwhile, came in choosing exactly the right moment at which to declare. Captain Steve Waugh appeared initially to have erred on the side of conservatism in waiting until 5:13pm, therein delaying the closure until Australia’s overall lead had reached 374 runs and only 102 overs were left in the match.Yet, when Gibbs inside edged to short leg Langer off Glenn McGrath (1/6), and Kirsten uppishly defended the last ball of the day to silly point off Shane Warne (1/8), the wisdom of the decision was emphatically underscored.It remains to be seen if McGrath, Warne and their cohorts can finish the job.

A West Indies-Australia semi-final was all but confirmed at the ICC Under-19 World Cup today after the West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 62 runs in their Super League match at Hagley Park in Christchurch.There is still a mathematical buffer that could deny Australia, although that is reliant on New Zealand thrashing the Australians tomorrow and South Africa similarly thrashing England.Chasing 203 to win, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 140, scoring more than 25% fewer runs than the opposition.In a tournament where spinners have abounded, West Indies coach Gus Logie rotated his four slow men to strangle the Sri Lankan middle-order.The West Indies were ever mindful of the fact that Pakistan could deny them a place if they could take a bonus point from India.Logie had some anxious moments before being informed by CricInfo that his team were through, largely thanks to his spin quartet.West Indies manager Courtenay Daley said, “All the spinners were getting help from the wicket, so we thought we’d try and exploit that.”Strangely it was Sri Lanka, the home of Muttiah Muralitharan, that struggled against spin; while the fast bowling factory – the West Indies, lost wickets to pace.Logie suggests that private ownership of pitches in the West Indies has caused them to be neglected, thus lessening their pace. This has meant fewer players wanting to be fast bowlers, and more spinners on the scene.”Not too quick,” he called to his captain Narsingh Deonarine, who bowled 13 mid-innings overs for 18 runs in tandem with Shane Shillingford.Shillingford took one for 25, Deonarine two for 20, and Lorenzo Ingram one for 23 in their 10-over spells. Alcindo Holder also spun out a Sri Lankan.”The thing is that I don’t think that wickets are laid over enough to get quicker, so it just gets docile after a while,” commented Daley on the demise of the fast bowler in the West Indies.Earlier, the West Indies collapsed, losing their last eight wickets for 48 after being poised at 154/2 in the 37th over. Following the second drinks break three West Indies wickets fell in two overs in a familiar sounding crash.”We are very worried about it,” Daley said. “We are not holding our heads and we are causing pressure to be built against us rather than putting pressure on the fielding side. It is something the coach will be working on.”Left-handed Deonarine, the 18-year-old West Indies captain, kept his team in the game with 65 off 95 balls, and helped set a defendable score of 202 all out. Thirteen balls remained to be bowled when the last wicket went down.The West Indies, only other contributor, man of the match Donovan Pagon, who looked odds on to score the first century of the Super League, was bowled by Sri Lanka captain Dhammika Niroshan, swinging a mighty drive across the line when on 92.At that point a good sign for the West Indies was that when Pagon has failed, against Australia and India in this tournament, his team has lost. In the four West Indian victories the Jamaican right-hander has now hit 378 runs at an average of 126.Sri Lankan coach Brendon Kuruppu was as aware as anyone as to whom the main threat to his team’s place in the tournament was.Pagon was the man who was causing Kuruppu to worry, and with 14 boundaries in 107 balls he was right to be nervous.Daley said: “Pagon played a very splendid innings and hit the ball into spaces well. Deonarine has been out of touch, but he showed that now he’s coming back and getting better and better.”The West Indies bowled Australia out for 200 in their group game a week ago, but were dismissed for 158 in the run chase.”It was close, so we hope that if we can improve on how we batted against them and bowl similarly it will be a good game. Australia has been playing very good cricket,” he concluded.

The Redbacks returned to Adelaide from Brisbane today after defeating Queensland by 9 wickets. The Redbacks were the first team to beat Queensland in Brisbane for almost three years.Last years Bradman Medalist Mike Smith received Man-of-the-Match honourswith figures of 9-138.The Redbacks now sit in 2nd place on the Pura Cup Table on 20 points, 2behind leaders the QLD Bulls.ING- REDBACKS v TIGERS – Adelaide Oval Friday February 1.The Rebacks will now take on the Tasmanian Tigers this Friday February 1 ina Day/Night match at Adelaide Oval. The Redbacks are in equal 3rd place onthe ING Table on 18 points with the Blues. The Queensland Bulls again head thetable with 23 points, with the Warriors on 22.The Redbacks squad for this Friday’s match is as follows:

• Darren Lehmann (Captain)
• Greg Blewett (V.Captain)
• Nathan Adcock
• Chris Davies
• David Fitzgerald
• Mark Harrity
• Ben Johnson
• Graham Manou
• Paul Rofe
• Mike Smith
• Paul Wilson
• Brad Young

The match will start at 2.30pm and finish at 10.15pm.JUNIOR REDS MOVIE DAY WITH THE REDBACKSOver 250 Junior Redbacks supporters will get the opportunity to mingle withtheir favorite Redbacks players this weekend. The players will attend aspecial screening movie at the Academy Theatre in the City at 3pm on Sunday.Country CarnivalThe BankSA Senior Country Carnival starts next Monday. Eight senior countryzone teams will come to Adelaide to compete over 2 weeks. The Team of theChampionships will then be selected to play in the Favell Woon game atAdelaide Oval No.2 against the Favell XI.