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Self-belief is coursing through an England side which has come a long way since 2019

Valkerie Baynes14-Jul-2023″We don’t want to be pushovers any more,” declared Tammy Beaumont when explaining the importance of self-belief to her England side’s remarkable Ashes push from 6-0 down to all square with two matches to play.And it was another declaration, back in July 2019, that started it all. Back then with the Ashes lost again Clare Connor, then the ECB’s managing director, announced that there would be a complete revamp of domestic women’s cricket in England to avoid another chastening defeat at the hands of Australia, whom she recognised had set the standard for how things should be done. With England 12-2 down in that series, it felt like a seminal moment, and it was.England secured a consolation win in the final match of the series but, much more than that, the ECB followed up Connor’s announcement with action, introducing a new regional structure, a new head coach – which has since changed again – and greater investment in the women’s game. All this we know but, even though it has taken four years, there is a strong sense now that the sea-change is complete.On Friday, ahead of the penultimate match in the series, Beaumont drew parallels with the revival of England’s men’s team following their 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia in 2021-22. Now both teams stand on the cusp of extraordinary achievements. England Women must win their remaining two ODIs if they are to win back the Ashes held by Australia since 2015, while their male counterparts trail Australia 1-2 and must win the last two Tests to win do likewise.”It’s really important,” Beaumont said of her team’s never-say-die attitude, which has come to the fore in this series. “You’re seeing that with the men’s Ashes as well, they’ve gone two-nil down, but we don’t want to be pushovers anymore.”That’s probably why this series has been so captivating to everyone. I am a massive cricket badger, but I feel like Ashes fever is everywhere for both the men and the women and it’s great to see. British culture has always loved an underdog so I think it’s probably helped that we’re taking on such a great team in Australia. I personally love that feeling of trying to overcome a bit of difficulty.”Related

• Lewis: 'Door is definitely not shut' for Beaumont's T20I return

• Heather Knight shines bright to keep England's Ashes hopes alive

• Alyssa Healy admits: 'The Ashes are on the line, proper' after Bristol cliffhanger

• Death, taxes and Kate Cross nailing the scoop

Beaumont, the opener whose record innings of 208 gave her side a strong chance in the Test which opened the series and was ultimately won by Australia, was overlooked for the T20I leg of the series, having lost her place in the squad for the shortest format last summer. England won the second two T20Is with Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley at the top of the order to turn the series and so she admits she “can’t be too hard done by” despite making no secret of the fact she’s “desperate” to try and break back into the T20I side.Beaumont did, however, return for the first ODI in Bristol, in which she set up England’s highest ever 50-over run chase with 47 from 42 balls before Heather Knight’s unbeaten 75 and Kate Cross’s priceless 19 not out from No. 10 saw them home.”I just feel like there’s such great trust in everyone at every situation,” Beaumont said. “At Bristol the other day, there was no doubt in my mind that Kate Cross could bat like that. Every single one of us on the sideline felt completely at ease knowing that Kate had the skills to do it. Everybody just backs each other’s abilities and their decision-making. It’s a great feeling to have.”That that wasn’t always the case, Beaumont says, especially against an opposition with as formidable a reputation as Australia, who went into Bristol unbeaten in 15 ODIs.”In the past, if we’d lost the first two Ashes games, maybe wouldn’t have had that belief as much,” she said. “So from our way of looking at it, externally to them, we have kind of got that belief and a little bit of taking that aura away.”For Australia, however, left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen said there was no sense of panic, given her team needs to win just one of the remaining two games to retain the Ashes.”Definitely not,” Jonassen said. “This side has won a lot of games of cricket over a number of years and the fact that the last three haven’t really gone our way is no cause to panic.”The scores are level. We haven’t played our best cricket, which is probably the thing that we’re focusing on the most. England still need to win two, but equally, we’re trying to win the last two as well. There’s two high-quality sides and if you’re not on on any given day, then the opposition is going to take the game away from you.”Even though the losses we’ve had have been really, really tight and really close, we feel that it’s been our own undoing in a way, that we’ve been a bit sloppy in certain areas and lacked a little bit of discipline at times in terms of extras, misfields and what have you. But the positive is that’s all in our control.”Whatever happens from this point, however, there is no denying now that the gap, identified so starkly four years ago, is closing.

No press accreditation, interviews with registered players or access to cricket facilities owned by BCCI or its member associations

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2022The BCCI has banned Boria Majumdar, the Kolkata-based journalist Wriddhiman Saha had pointed at for “threat and intimidation”, for two years. Majumdar will not get press accreditation for domestic or international matches in India, interviews with any “registered players”, and access to cricket facilities owned by the BCCI or the state/member associations.In a missive sent to its members, the BCCI said that a three-member committee comprising vice-president Rajeev Shukla, treasurer Arun Dhumal and councillor Prabhtej Singh Bhatia had spoken to both Saha and Majumdar and concluded that Majumdar’s actions “were indeed in the nature of threat and intimidation”. They recommended the sanctions to the BCCI’s Apex Council, which agreed and imposed the ban.In February, Saha, who had been dropped from India’s Test team for the home series against Sri Lanka, had taken to Twitter to publish a screenshot of messages that a journalist had sent him on WhatsApp. The screenshot showed the sender requesting Saha “to do an interview with me”, to which Saha did not respond. The messages eventually took a more aggressive tone: “You did not call. Never again will I interview you. I don’t take insults kindly. And I will remember this. This wasn’t something ypu [sic] should have done.”Though Saha hadn’t named the journalist in question, Majumdar responded on March 5, saying he would serve a legal notice to Saha for defamation. Majumdar, in a video he put out on social media, said the screenshot Saha had put out was a doctored version of an exchange between the two.The BCCI, as it says in the message to the member associations, “had taken congnizance of this incident and deemed it necessary to investigate and probe the matter to avoid the recurrence of such instances with other players”, and formed the three-member committee. The committee subsequently “considered the submissions” of Saha and Majumdar before arriving at their decision.

Will Sutherland and Hannah Darlington took the young player honours

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2021Shaun Marsh has made it back-to-back male domestic player of the year titles at the Cricket Australia awards with Elyse Villani named the female player of the year. Will Sutherland and Hannah Darlington took the respective young cricketer titles.The voting period of the awards is December 11, 2019 to December 9, 2020. For the men that takes in last season’s BBL, the latter part of last season’s Sheffield Shield and the first part of this season, which was played in an Adelaide hub, and for the women that latter part of last season’s WNCL and this season’s WBBL.During that period Marsh scored 1058 across all formats for Western Australia and Melbourne Renegades. That is split as 609 runs at 55.36 in the Sheffield Shield, which included three centuries earlier this season, and 449 runs in the BBL.He is the fourth player to win the award in multiple years after Darren Lehmann, Michael Klinger and Cameron White.Villani’s award comes after she lost her place in the Australia team in early 2019 and further emphasises the depth on offer. She made 360 runs at 27.69 and a strike-rate of 120.80 in Melbourne Stars’ WBBL campaign, forming a strong opening pairing with Meg Lanning, in which they reached the final before defeat against Sydney Thunder. That followed a strong finished to the 2019-2020 WNCL season for Victoria where she averaged over 50.”To be voted by them is a huge honour and something I don’t really take lightly,” she said. “When my career does come to an end one day, I know I’m going to look back on it really fondly because it’s such a huge honour to be thought of by all the girls.”Player voted awards are so special because it really highlights the respect that players have for one another and I know that’s something the girls really value.”Sutherland, who plays for Victoria and Melbourne Renegades, reached Australia A level this season when he faced India at the SCG. He took a career-best Sheffield Shield return of 6 for 67 against South Australia late last season.”They are strong competitions we have been playing in in the Sheffield Shield and Big Bash with a lot of good young cricketers coming through, so to get that recognition is pretty exciting for me at this point of my career,” he said.Meanwhile, Darlington continued to show herself as one of the most promising young bowlers in Australia by excelling in the Thunder’s WBBL-winning campaign, especially standing out at the death, taking 19 wickets with an economy rate of 6.19.

Willey claims four wickets, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Adam Lyth post fifties in Yorkshire victory

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2019Yorkshire lifted themselves off bottom spot in the North Group with a landslide 80-run victory over Northamptonshire in a Vitality Blast dead rubber at Headingley, with ex-Steelback David Willey starring with four new-ball wickets.Both sides went into their penultimate fixture of 2019 with no chance of qualifying for next week’s quarter-finals. The Vikings were bottom of the table with two wins from 12 games and the Steelbacks two places higher with three wins from the same number of fixtureBut Yorkshire amassed 187 for 7 thanks to fifties for openers Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Adam Lyth, who made 51 and 50 respectively, and then a breezy 38 off 16 balls from Harry Brook, who later took four catches – a joint Yorkshire record in a T20 fixture.In reply, former Northants Blast winner Willey struck four times in his first three overs, at a cost of only 11 runs, leaving the Steelbacks 43 for 5 after six. That was game over as they later slipped to 107 all out in 18 overs and Willey finished with 4 for 18.Having won the toss, Yorkshire’s innings could be split into three parts.They flew out of the blocks as captain Kohler-Cadmore and Lyth shared 88 of 91 for one in the first 10 overs. They then both fell the ball after reaching their fifties.Northants dragged things back as the hosts reached the 15-over mark at 122 for 3.Experienced left-arm spinner Graeme White was excellent in removing Lyth and former team-mate Willey, who both offered leg-side catches.Then, the Vikings regained their momentum as Brook, back in the side having made way following a run of low scores, found his range to help pick up 65 off the last five overs. He mixed power with invention, pulling South African Dwaine Pretorius for six and ramping him for four next ball in the 16th over. He also smashed Rob Keogh’s off-spin for a huge straight six into the upper reaches of the new Emerald Stand.Northants captain Josh Cobb used eight bowlers, with Keogh and Pakistani seamer Faheem Ashraf also claiming two wickets apiece.The visitors then got off to a flying start in their chase, with Richard Levi hitting the first three balls of the innings from Lyth for four before planting the fifth ball over mid-wicket for six into the Western Terrace, the same stand Ben Stokes peppered in Sunday’s Ashes heist. But he slapped Willey straight to mid-wicket with the first ball of the second over.Tim Bresnan bowled Adam Rossington with the first ball of the third and Willey struck again with the first ball of the fourth when he had Cobb caught at deep backward square-leg before getting Pretorius brilliantly caught by Will Fraine running back from point later in the over.Alex Wakely then holed out to deep square-leg off Willey, ending a miserable Powerplay at 43 for 5, before Bresnan struck again in the sixth to get Ashraf caught at mid-on with only two runs added to the total.South African left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj bowled Keogh early in the eleventh over as the score slipped to 68 for 7 before off-spinner Jack Shutt had White and Nathan Buck caught at long-off by Brook.Tom Sole played a lone hand for 41 not out before Lyth had Blessing Muzarabani caught behind to wrap things up.

Seven’s move marks a major change from the formula used by Nine, which had preferred to restrict its on-air team to ex-cricketers rather than broadcasting professionals

Daniel Brettig10-Jul-2018Respected commentators Alison Mitchell and Tim Lane will join a Seven broadcasting team including Mel McLaughlin, James Brayshaw and Bruce McAvaney on the network’s roster for the forthcoming Australian summer, after Cricket Australia took free-to-air rights away from Channel Nine for the first time in 40 years.The additions of Mitchell, a longtime radio caller for the BBC and part of BT Sport’s Ashes coverage last summer, and the former ABC cricket caller Lane mark a major departure from the formula used by Nine, which had long preferred to restrict its on-air team to ex-cricketers rather than broadcasting professionals.”I’m tremendously excited to be joining Seven in a new era for Australian cricket coverage,” Mitchell said. “Test cricket holds a very special place in the hearts of the Australian public and it will be a privilege to take a lead role in bringing the action into people’s homes.”Seven had previously named Ricky Ponting, Damien Fleming and Glenn McGrath as experts, and on Tuesday also added Lisa Sthalekar, Jason Gillespie, Greg Blewett, Simon Katich and Brad Hodge to that group. McLaughlin, who had been a part of Ten’s successful Big Bash League coverage before moving to Seven in 2016, will co-host Test matches with Brayshaw, who was moved on from Nine’s commentary box in 2016 but found a new home calling AFL matches at Seven. The well-regarded Fox Sports host Abbey Gelmi will also be part of the team.McAvaney, considered the face and voice of Seven’s sporting coverage since he joined the network in 1990, will be part of Test match coverage by hosting a lunchtime interview show during the highly visible Melbourne and Sydney Test matches across the Boxing Day-New Year holiday period. He had recently explained why he did not think he was suited to a ball-by-ball commentary role on the coverage.”I don’t think I’m capable of calling Test cricket now,” McAvaney said when interviewed by Peter Donegan on SEN. “I reckon I might’ve been 35 years ago, because I don’t think my knowledge now is up to scratch. I could call Donegan [bowling] to McAvaney but if McAvaney hooked and got caught on the boundary line, I wouldn’t be able to recall that three years ago he did the same thing, and I reckon that’s important. I think that’s how well you’ve got to know the sport.”One of Seven’s earliest moves after winning the free-to-air rights to all home Test matches and a majority of BBL games in April was to hire Dave Barham as the network’s head of cricket. A former Seven executive producer, Barham had moved on to Ten and been instrumental in building a distinctive BBL coverage for the network.However, Ten and Nine lost out to Seven for free-to-air rights over the next six years. Fox Sports, owned by News Corp, paid the majority of the overall A$1.18 million deal with CA and in return will broadcast every ball of the summer, including exclusive access to Australian men’s ODIs and T20Is. It’s the first time any international matches played in the Australian summer have been hidden behind a paywall.”We are looking forward to the summer of cricket enormously,” Barham said. “Throughout the coverage, we will be showcasing the players, bringing out their character and personality with more than 30 player features and vignettes.”Heartland cricket will also be championed as Seven highlights stories at community level and local cricket. And we’ll do all of this while respecting the history of cricket, now that we are custodians of the sport.”Fox Sports had previously announced commentators including Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Mike Hussey, Michael Vaughan, Mel Jones and Isa Guha. The network, which was desperate to gain access to stronger summertime sporting content after losing the rights to the English Premier League in 2016, is expected to unveil a cheaper, sports-only streaming service before the start of the summer in addition to its existing pay television packages.

On the day of the summer solstice, the reigning county champions have their first victory of summer. Yorkshire were not defeated so much as eviscerated

Tim Wigmore at Lord's21-Jun-2017
ScorecardOn the day of the summer solstice, the reigning county champions have their first victory of summer. Yorkshire were not defeated so much as eviscerated and did not even have the small solace of an early return home, thanks to a sponsors’ dinner.For Middlesex this was vindication for the depth of their squad. The club has taken great delight in this week’s inclusion, for England Lions or the senior team, of Nick Gubbins, Dawid Malan and Tom Helm. Thrashing Yorkshire while short of these players is testament to their sturdiness. And it hinted at a growing trend: how leading Division One counties are stockpiling talent in a manner reminiscent of Premier League football clubs.Middlesex’s second-choice bowling attack when everyone is available – Helm or Murtagh, James Harris, James Fuller and Harry Podmore, alongside the left-arm spinner Ravi Patel – is formidable. Their batting depth is equally impressive: this victory was secured in spite of three of their normal top five being absent – Adam Voges as well as Gubbins and Malan – not even mentioning Eoin Morgan, who seems unlikely to ever play first-class cricket again for the county.Max Holden, a 19-year-old opener on loan at Northants, scored a high-class Championship century at Chester-le-Street earlier this month too. So it is no exaggeration to say that, at full strength, Middlesex’s second-choice XI would be better than many – perhaps even most – Division Two counties.Two months ago, Middlesex were denied a victory against Essex at Lord’s by a combination of a cautious decision not to enforce the follow-on and fourth-day showers. James Franklin considered it a “no-brainer” to decide differently after Steve Finn’s 500th first-class wicket secured a 238-run first-innings lead. There was the threat of showers on the final day; there was also a palpable sense of uncertainty in Yorkshire’s batting line-up to exploit.And there was, in Tim Murtagh, a bowler just shy of 250 wickets at the ground. The unthreatening shuffle in was familiar; so was pace of the sort that would seldom alarm a motorway speed camera. But so was the late wobble, the relentless harassing of the off stump and unerring accuracy. Murtagh’s exemplary opening spell amounted to 2 for 2 in six overs, accounting for Adam Lyth to a ball angled across him, and then Harry Brook, who reacted to the worst ball Murtagh bowled by slashing it behind. And when Toby Roland-Jones promptly dismissed Alex Lees prodding to second slip, Yorkshire were suddenly 16 for 3.Brook’s dismissal meant that, 37 minutes after he walked off 69 not out at the termination of Yorkshire’s first innings, Gary Ballance returned to bat in their second. Ballance vigils have been the cornerstone of Yorkshire’s season; this time, though, he had only been at the crease an hour before feathering the second ball after lunch, a sharp delivery from Roland-Jones, which angled across him and kept low, behind. And, with that, Ballance’s Championship average in 2017 plunged to a mere 101.87. As stupendous as the figure is, it does not reflect well on Yorkshire’s team-mates that Ballance has contributed 24.6% of the team’s runs this season.In the last round at Taunton, Ballance’s team-mates supplied only two half-centuries in the match between them. Here, they did not contribute a single one – and nor, after Peter Handscomb succumbed cutting Finn to Nick Compton at point, did they really threaten to. Ollie Rayner whisked in with four wickets, aided by some distinctly obliging batting, and the victory was sealed a little after tea, when Ryan Sidebottom bottom-edged an attempted reverse sweep onto his toe to short leg. Somehow, it rather summed Yorkshire’s limp batting display up.”To be bowled out twice like we have is poor,” said Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s coach. “We had a long chat and some strong words about the batting at Taunton and some more strong words in this game. We expect a response.”We changed things up slightly by leaving Jack Leaning out, and there’s lads in the second team banging on the door. We’ll have to see where that takes us.” Selecting Tom Kohler-Cadmore, the new recruit from Worcestershire, is an increasingly attractive option.Franklin could reflect not only on a terrific team display but also on more assistance from a Lord’s wicket that has not always been Middlesex’s friend.”There’s been a conscious decision to leave more grass on it. Visually it looks different,” he said. “After day one, Sam came in after scoring 150 not out and said it was a tricky wicket, and all the boys laughed at him. He was right. When bowlers got it in the right areas it was a tough wicket to bat on. Our bowlers asked serious questions of their batsmen.”And so, while Middlesex’s wickets in the game were shared among six bowlers, none of whom claimed more than five wickets, Yorkshire were inordinately dependent on just two batsmen – Ballance and Handscomb – to make their runs.The return of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow next week, as well as probably Tim Bresnan, will provide a welcome palliative. But without substantive improvements in the top order – above all Lyth and Alex Lees, who are averaging only 26.13 between them in the Championship – Yorkshire’s problems threaten to be reoccurring, especially if Ballance’s gluttony is rewarded by an England recall.

Dawid Malan helped Middlesex to a first innings lead against Hampshire with an attacking century on the third day at the Ageas Bowl

ECB Reporters Network03-May-2016
ScorecardDawid Malan’s hundred helped Middlesex to a small lead•Getty Images

Dawid Malan helped Middlesex to a first innings lead against Hampshire with an attacking century on the third day at the Ageas Bowl.Malan, who was 40 not out overnight, quickly moved to a 64-ball fifty once the session got underway under mainly blue skies.He found his progress with eased by some erratic fast bowling from Hampshire seamers Tino Best, Chris Wood and Ryan McLaren.
Malan looked in little trouble, after being dropped the day before by Will Smith, punishing the bad balls, while John Simpson held up the other end.The pair put on 182 for the fifth wicket with a typical defender and aggressor partnership, getting through the morning session without losing a wicket.Malan reached 121, his three figures came in 134 balls, before he looped legspinner Mason Crane’s long hop to extra cover – the teenage bowler embarrassed by his first wicket of the season.Watchful Simpson, whose 50 came off two balls fewer than Malan’s century, departed ten balls later as he edged James Tomlinson behind to Adam Wheater.The hosts’ bowling found their rhythm in the afternoon, with McLaren and Tomlinson in particular finding their form – although they were rocked by a knee injury to Chris Wood which forced him off the field mid over.McLaren looked fired up, and twice knocked the off stump out the ground with brisk deliveries – Paul Stirling done by one which angled in and Toby Ronald-Jones missing a pull shot.Tomlinson was rewarded for his persistence by taking his season tally to 12, after taking just 18 scalps in 2015. He removed James Harris for 57 and ended the Middlesex innings when Steven Finn skied to Best at mid-off. Middlesex, who batted a man light due to Adam Voges’ concussion injury, led by 25 runs.Hampshire started their second innings spritely, with Michael Carberry – the scorer of a ton in the first innings – twice slapping Tim Murtagh to the boundary in the first over. But he fell lbw to a full ball from Murtagh for 15 in the seventh over, which may have hit him outside the line.Leg-before appeals were a common cry throughout the evening as Jimmy Adams and James Vince, who supplied some jaw dropping cover drives, battled through to close. Hampshire led by 51 but a draw remained the most probable result on the final day.

Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Chaminda Vaas has criticised the emerging group of seamers in the country’s pace academy for being “soft” and wanting in drive for self-improvement

Sa'adi Thawfeeq06-Oct-2013Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Chaminda Vaas has criticised the emerging group of seamers in the country’s pace academy for being “soft” and wanting in drive for self-improvement.Having begun his coaching term in February, Vaas, said the bowlers coming through had a long way to go before they can compete at an international standard.”They don’t know how to plan their future,” Vaas said of Sri Lanka’s young bowlers. “Those days when we bowled at the nets we learned something from each net session. We asked the batsman if there was anything wrong with our bowling or if we had made any mistakes, in order to improve our skills.”But nowadays fast bowlers don’t ask such questions. Either they are afraid to ask, or they are soft or their thinking pattern is different. So we have to keep telling them all the time what to do. It will take a long time for them to learn, but the only way to do it is by pushing them because they are not pushing themselves on their own.”Vaas had also worked with the New Zealand fast bowling unit on their tour of Sri Lanka last year, and suggested foreign bowlers had a greater aptitude for fast bowling strategy than Sri Lanka’s young bowlers.”The problem is they don’t want learn,” he said. “Only a few of them are keen others don’t even want to watch a match to at least analyse their performance what their mistakes are. They’ve got to think like professionals. Bowlers from other countries know exactly what to do. You don’t have to push them. That’s what we have to learn from them and instill in our fast bowlers.”Sri Lanka’s notoriously unsporting surfaces have been the bane of fast bowlers for years, but Vaas took a dim view of blaming pitches for seam bowlers’ poor returns in domestic matches, and instead prescribed consistency in line and length, and self-confidence as a route to success.”What I have advised these youngsters is being fast bowlers they should be prepared to bowl on any kind of surface. Whether it’s a wicket suiting spin or batting, they have to bend their backs and bowl. At all the sessions I’ve been talking to them and training their mind as well as their fitness. The guys are a bit soft – some don’t have the fast bowler’s killer instinct.”However, Vaas identified Vishwa Fernando, Kanishka Alvitigala, Kasun Rajitha and Rukmal Fernando as a “few guys who have been identified as future fast bowlers” among the group currently training at the academy.”We have about 10 good fast bowlers from a squad of 20,” he said. It will take at least another three years for them to get into the side.”

Danni Wyatt top scored for England Women as completed a second comfortable victory over Pakistan in as many days with an 81-run win at Loughborough.

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2012
ScorecardDanni Wyatt struck five fours as she top scored for England•Getty Images

Danni Wyatt top scored for England Women as completed a second comfortable victory over Pakistan in as many days with an 81-run win at Loughborough. Wyatt’s 41 from 29 balls helped England to 162 for 7, which proved well out of range for Pakistan.Wyatt’s innings followed 35 from just 17 balls from Sarah Taylor, the knock contained six fours as England got off to a bright start having won the toss. Wyatt kept up the momentum with five fours of her own before Susie Rose slugged two sixes and two fours in her 15-ball 29.In reply, Pakistan lost Nain Abidi in the first over and never gained any momentum, largely thanks to 2 for 15 from Laura Marsh.”It was another good team performance today,” player of the match Wyatt. “We got the runs on the board and put them under pressure with the ball. I was pleased to contribute and it was very satisfying to set a new highest score. We’ll take momentum from these matches into the series against the West Indies.”England will play West Indies Women in a five-match NatWest Women’s International T20 Series commencing at Durham on Saturday September 8.

The Michael Clarke era might not match the Ricky Ponting years for sheer victory numbers, but Clarke has at least started his tenure as Australia’s full-time Test captain the same way as his predecessor – with a comfortable win over Sri Lanka in Galle

The Report by Brydon Coverdale03-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahela Jayawardene made 105•Associated Press

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