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Australia 401 and 375 beat Sri Lanka 407 and 248 (Jayasuriya 51, Samaraweera 53, Warne 4-92) by 121 runs, and won series 3-0
Scorecard

Sri Lanka stopped Shane Warne from overhauling Courtney Walsh’s 519-wicket world record – but could not prevent Australia from inflicting their first series whitewash on home soil with a 121-run victory at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Warne played his part, snapping up four wickets in the final session, as Sri Lanka came within eight balls of saving the game before they were finally bowled out for 248.During the afternoon, the band played, Warne toiled, and the threat of SriLanka’s first home whitewash seemed to be fading as Thilan Samaraweera and Mahela Jayawardene battened down the hatches after lunch, and added 64 in 160 balls for the third wicket.Warne had failed to make any headway despite the dusty dry pitch, and Australia’s seamers were also beginning to show signs of tiredness after an exhausting tour, although Michael Kasprowicz was still gunbarrel-straight and Jason Gillespie occasionally conjured up some real devil from the placid surface.But as tea approached, Darren Lehmann – the Man of the Match after 153 in the first innings and five wickets in the game – reclaimed the initiative for Australia with the wickets of Samaraweera and Jayawardene. At 186 for 4, the Sri Lankans sipped their tea nervously.Samaraweera, pushed up to No. 3, had bedded down on his favourite home pitch (he has scored all three of his Test tons here) and looked set for a long stay as he passed 50 again. But then he was drawn down the pitch and stumped (156 for 3). Then Jayawardene, who had batted so well and watchfully for his 97-ball 37, was given out caught behind off Lehmann, although the TV replays showed the ball had only brushed his pad (181 for 4).After tea, Warne finally claimed his first wicket of the innings as KumarSangakkara – who was shifted down toNo. 5 after Samaraweera’s promotion – patted a legbreak defensively which then spun between his legs onto the stumps. He made 27 (191 for 5).

Hashan Tillakaratne and Tillakaratne Dilshan held Australia’s bowlers at bay for nearly an hour. Tillakaratne blocked each delivery, while Dilshan played his natural free-spirited game, hitting five fours and speeding to 31 from 44 balls. But Dilshan’s aggressive approach eventually proved his downfall, as he miscued an attempted inside-out drive over cover and was caught at mid-off (232 for 6). The breakthrough opened up Sri Lanka’s lower order – and, crucially, the new ball was just moments away.Tillakaratne’s last innings as captain ended shortly after the start of thefinal hour when he was trapped in front by Jason Gillespie, who was hunting for his 200th wicket with a shiny new ball. Warne returned to the attack to snare Nuwan Zoysa four overs later.Chaminda Vaas resisted for 74 minutes for his 9, eschewing thedaring approach that had cost Sri Lanka dearly in the second Test at Kandy, but was finally trapped lbw by Warne in the 13th over of the final hour. Next over, the penultimate of the series, Kasprowicz pinned Rangana Herath leg-before for a duck, to seal Australia’s victory.Sri Lanka’s morning had started brightly, with Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu extending their opening partnership to 45. Jayasuriya cut a couple of early boundaries and Atapattu drove crisply straight down the ground. Kasprowicz was denied Jayasuriya’s wicket on 28 when Adam Gilchrist floored a difficult one-handed chance.But Kasprowicz was not to be deprived for long, as Atapattu’s off stump was sent cartwheeling by an offcutter, a carbon copy of his first-innings dismissal. He made 14 (45 for 1). It was the sixth time in 11 innings during this tour that Atapattu’s stumps had been rattled, a worrying statistic for an opening batsman.Jayasuriya’s 131 at Kandy was an electric innings, a knock that carried SriLanka to the brink of a famous win, but today’s was more sedate. There was the odd signature rifle-cracking boundary through the off side, an area the Australians protected with a deep point, but he stopped short of an all-out assault.Nevertheless, Sri Lanka were scoring at a good rate, and local dreamers might have started to ponder a remarkable victory. But an umpiring blunder quashed those hopes when Jayasuriya was given out caught at backward short leg off Lehmann’s first delivery of the morning. Like Jayawardene’s dismissal later on, the ball appeared only to brush the pad.It was that sort of day for Sri Lanka. And the news didn’t get any better after the match, when it was revealed that Chris Broad, the match referee, was reporting Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action to the ICC. Broad, it seems, has reservations about Murali’s newish doosra delivery.

Mohammad Kaif has declared himself fit to tour Pakistan. Kaif, who was been out of action since damaging a thumb playing for India A in the Kenstar Tournament in December, has said “I started batting in the nets two days ago. There are no problems and I feel no discomfort.”Kaif’s return to fitness is especially relevant as India’s tour of Pakistan begins with a five one-day series. The Indian team to tour Pakistan will be selected on March 3. Although Kaif made his India debut in a Test match he has since become a regular in the one-day side. He has played only three Test matches after the first one against South Africa in 2000 while appearing in 59 ODIs.Kaif’s return to fitness cannot be good news for the likes of Hemang Badani and Rohan Gavaskar, who had only reasonable success in the recently completed VB Series in Australia.

Jamie Cox, the former captain, has won a surprise recall for Tasmania’s Pura Cup match against New South Wales starting at Bellerive Oval on Thursday. Two centuries in the 2nd XI Cricket Australia Cup have elevated Cox back into the senior side after playing three matches earlier in the season.Brian McFadyen, the coach, said Cox’s quality was shown in the way he fought back after a long absence. “Jamie’s recent form was impossible to ignore and it is evident that he has worked hard on his game,” he said. “Jamie is a class player and his recent good form has proved to selectors that his first-class career is not finished yet.” Cox was also drafted into Tasmania’s winning ING Cup squad as 13th man last month to provide guidance for the younger players.New South Wales have named a 13-man outfit as cover for the injured Matthew Nicholson, who was a late scratching from the loss to Western Australia at Perth last week. Nicholson hurt his ankle in January and will be monitored in the lead-up to the crucial match.The Blues, who are on 28 points, slipped behind Queensland (34) into third place last weekend and need a victory to maintain the pressure for a finals berth. Ed Cowan, the 22-year-old batsman, has been dropped in favour of Jason Krejza, the offspinning allrounder. Western Australia lead the competition on 36 points while Tasmania are fifth and no chance of making the final.New South Wales Greg Mail, Phil Jaques, Matthew Phelps, Dominic Thornely, James Packman, Brad Haddin (capt, wk), Jason Krejza, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Grant Lambert, Stuart MacGill, Matthew Nicholson.Tasmania Travis Birt, Michael Di Venuto, Jamie Cox, Michael Bevan, David Dawson, Daniel Marsh (capt), George Bailey, Sean Clingeleffer (wk), Xavier Doherty, Damien Wright, Adam Griffith, Brett Geeves.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that it will not force its players to play in the Afro-Asia Cup to be held in South Africa in August. It has said that the cricketers could decide whether they wished to play in the series comprising three one-day internationals between Asia XI and Africa XI .”No player would be pressed to play the matches which have been given official status by the International Cricket Council (ICC). We’ll ask them [players] if they want to make themselves available, but if any player wants to skip the event it’s all right with us,” said a senior PCB official quoted in Apart from Shoaib Akthar, Younis Khan and Danish Kaneria, who are playing for English counties, none of the other Pakistan cricketers have any cricket commitments until October when England is scheduled to tour Pakistan.Saleem Altaf, PCB Director Cricket Operations, said that the Asia XI selection committee would meet in Dubai on August 1 to select the squad. “Majid Khan [Pakistan], Ravi Shastri [India]. Graeme Labrooy [Sri Lanka] and Shafiq-ul-Islam [Bangladesh] will meet to finalise the Asian XI squad,” said Altaf. “But before that we’ve to inform them about the number of players available for selection.” He also said that he hoped that the best players would be available to play.The first game of the Afro-Asian Cup, which has been given official status by the ICC, will be held at Cape Town on August 17. The proceeds from the tournament will go to the Asian and African cricket associations and also to the recently-formed Afro-Asian Cricket Council.

Matthew Hayden has turned down an offer to return to Hampshire as their second overseas player for 2006. He has decided that he needs a break from the game ahead of the Ashes series next winter.Hayden, who made almost 1500 runs for Hampshire in 1997, has returned to form in dramatic style during the Australian season with 949 at 73 in seven Tests – a resurgence that began at The Oval in September with his backs-to-the-wall century.However, despite Shane Warne begin Hampshire’s captain the club have been unable to come to an agreement with Hayden, but are hopeful he will return sometime in the future.Rod Bransgrove, the chairman, told BBC Radio Solent: “We couldn’t quite reach an agreement, but I’m sure he will return in the future. Matt will have played 16 months of consecutive cricket by the time our season starts. He was keen to come back and see the club from the inside after all the developments. He loved his time here in 1997.”

The lengthy six-month ban imposed on Rashid Latif by the Pakistan board has been shortened to a one-month sentence. Latif invoked the wrath of the board after conceding a domestic game on the grounds that the pitch was dangerous to bat on. While rules state that a match can be abandoned, it is alleged that Latif, as captain of Karachi, did not follow the correct procedure.However, since the ban is in effect from the date of the incident, it will end on December 27. On November 27, Latif had declared his team’s innings closed at 33 for 4 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy game, and conceded the match, explaining that he felt the pitch was too dangerous for play to continue. “I didn’t want any serious injury to take place,” Latif told , a Pakistan daily paper. “The pitch was not fit for a first-class match, and the batsmen were getting bat on ball with difficulty due to the unusual movement and variable bounce.” Khalid Niazi, the match referee, awarded the match to Faisalabad since Karachi had refused to carry on.

England’s preparations for the Test series against India were hit a further blow today when it was announced that Marcus Trescothick would be flying home for ‘personal’ reasons. This news, compounded by England’s eight-wicket loss to the Indian Board President’s XI in Vadodara today, will further increase the gloom of an injury-hit side.”Marcus has to go back for personal reasons,” Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, told reporters. “It’s a blow, yes, but it will force the others to step up. We will be monitoring the situation closely, so all we can ask is that you respect his decision.” He added it was “too early to say” if Trescothick would be back in time for the first Test starting at Nagpur on Wednesday.”Its definitely not an ideal start to have had going into the Test matches,” Michael Vaughan, the England captain added. “He’s such a good player, and he was probably our best batsman on occasion, so it’s a big blow.”Vaughan (knee), Paul Collingwood (back) and Simon Jones (virus) were ruled out of the Vadodara match. Kevin Pietersen joined the casualty list after retiring hurt with back spasms, and Liam Plunkett was also unable to bowl on the second day after picking up a bruised heel. Earlier today it was confirmed that Alastair Cook and James Anderson, on England A duty in the West Indies, were flying in to India tomorrow as cover.On England’s performance in their second tour match, Vaughan was insistent that they would be working hard on smoothening out the rough edges. “We haven’t played to our potential and it wasn’t a great game for us obviously. But full credit to the Indians, they played a good game of cricket,” he said. “We’ve been in this position before, down a game or two, but we’ve bounced back and gone on to win Test series as well. But yes, the position we’re in now is something that we’re going to have to address over the next few days. We’re just going to have to learn from thefew mistakes we made in this game here, go to Nagpur and practice well onMonday and Tuesday.”On his own injury, Vaughan was unable to determine a final position. “Knee’s not bad. I had an injection on Wednesday night and a couple sessions in the nets, so it’s looking better,” he said. “We have to see how it goes on Monday, and then we’ll make a decision on Tuesday for sure.Pietersen’s improving too, and he should be good.””We approached this as a proper match, we needed the preparation and we wanted to win,” Fletcher said while summing up his side’s performance. “The Indian seamers bowled well and used the conditions well. They swung the ball, which is something that we will have to pick up on in the series.With Trescothick gone, and Vaughan’s condition still uncertain, England may actually end up with a new captain for Nagpur. The likeliest candidates would appear to be Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flintoff, neither of whom has been on top form with the bat so far on this trip. England are creaking at the seams with less than a week to go until the series begins.

About a year and a half of difficult negotiations was finally settled in 15 hours of urgent talks which ended in the wee hours of yesterday morning. And West Indies cricketers finally have the chance to be covered by retainer contracts.The major announcement was made yesterday at the Carlos Street, Woodbrook office of West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Ken Gordon by himself and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) boss Dinanath Ramnarine.Addressing the local and Caribbean media, Gordon said eight to ten players still to be named by the WICB, would be put on a one-year retainer starting from May 1 this year.He said in the interim, the 13 players selected to play against Zimbabwe in the seven-match one-day international series starting in Antigua on Saturday, would be given match/tour contracts. West Indies will be led by Brian Lara who it was also announced yesterday had been appointed as skipper for the third time.Both sides, entangled in various tense contract and sponsorship negotiations since November of 2004, heralded the agreement as a landmark one.”This is history for West Indies cricket,” Ramnarine said. “For the first time we set out a framework to deal with disputes In the past we operated in a very ad hoc way. This framework really deals with the board and the players as equal partners. So we are equally responsible for the future of West Indies cricket.”Gordon praised the negotiating teams of both sides-the WICB’s headed by Deryck Murray and which also included Desmond Haynes and Barry Thomas and the WIPA quartet of Ramnarine, David Abdullah, Kusha Harracksingh and Roland Hosein.Murray, a founding member of WIPA and currently a WICB director, also expressed his pleasure with the final outcome. “It is great that we have reached this point in West Indies cricket at this stage. It is one of the steps that we need to put in place to help our cricket to move forward.”Murray, recently appointed to conduct the final phase of the negotiations which had been started by outgoing WICB CEO Roger Brathwaite, ventured further to say: “It’s just one step and it’s almost the beginning of a new relationship between the board and the players. The agreement is relatively easy to sign But making it work to the advantage of the players, the public, all the stakeholders of West Indies cricket is extremely important and it is the beginning of the process I think it’s really the beginning of the resurgence of West Indies cricket.”Disagreement over the final terms of the retainer had threatened to disrupt the start of the Zimbabwe series, with the newly-constituted WICB Cricket Committee, headed by former captain Clive Lloyd, issuing two ultimatums for the conclusion of negotiations.According to Ramnarine, at the heart of the impasse was the matter of compensation for the players over intellectual property rights. Describing the final agreement on the Memorandum of Understanding, code of conduct, retainer contracts and match/tour contracts for non-retained players as, “fair and reasonable,” Ramnarine said that give-and-take on both sides was required.”We have recognised the financial situation of the Board. We have also taken into consideration the position of the team, the performance of the team. There are some performance-based incentives which we have agreed to.”The WIPA boss was also moved to praise his WICB counterparts. “I have to say credit to the board. I’ve criticised the Board at times, but I think that you ought to be fair. And I think the Board has negotiated in good faith. Yesterday both parties compromised and were prepared to do that and hence the reason we were actually able to reach agreement.”In particular, Ramnarine paid tribute to outgoing WICB CEO Roger Brathwaite and former president Wes Hall for the roles they had played in framing the documents and initiating the process, respectively.Neither Gordon nor Ramnarine would say what the contract package-inclusive of a lump sum and match/tour fees-would be worth. But Gordon said his board was determined to fulfill their responsibility. “We’ve had to make some assumptions. We hope those assumptions will be justified by events But we are committed to making this work.”And asked whether the retainer agreement could put an end to major disputes between the WIPA and the WICB, Ramnarine responded: “It’s a fair statement What we did not have in place prior to these agreements was a mechanism to deal with those conflicts. What we have in place is a mechanism to deal with them. There are going to be issues that we disagree on no doubt it (But) we have found a way how we deal with them We just have to deal with it with mutual respect.”

Indian fast bowler Sreesanth revealed the story behind the famous impromptu dance after he had hit Andre Nel for a six during the first Test in Johannesburg. “It just happened. I myself wondered when I saw it (later on TV). My brother and friends had e-mailed me about it.” Recalling the incident, Sreesanth said: “As soon as I walked in to bat, Nel said ‘I can smell blood. You do not have the guts.’ Showing his emblem on the shirt, Nel said ‘I am playing for this. You are a scared fellow, rabbit. I will get you next ball’.”Before delivering the next ball, Nel had also asked Mark Boucher to stay back and had also moved the short leg fielder. I being a fast bowler myself, knew Nel was going to bowl a bouncer. I just took my chance and prayed to God. I stepped out to connect the ball which flew over the ropes.”Sreesanth said he was very lucky to get some valuable tips from great fast bowlers like Wasim Akram and Allan Donald during the South African tour. Sreesanth said he had a session with Akram, who had advised him on how to use the reverse swing. “Akram has told me some small points. It was really helpful. It was nice of him.” Sharing an interesting coincidence, Sreesanth said: “This year on January 1, I had a session with Akram while last year the same day I had a session with another Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis in Kochi.”Sreesanth said he wants to use his performance in South Africa as a stepping stone for achieving greater success in the forthcoming series. “I cannot sit back on laurels. I cannot sit back and relax. I have to work with the same intensity and even more. I am still learning,” Sreesanth said. While expressing satisfaction over his performance in South Africa, during which he scripted India’s first ever Test win in the country by claiming eight wickets in Johannesburg, Sreesanth revealed that he had set a bigger target for himself. “My dream was to capture 25 wickets in the series. I thank God that I could get 18 wickets and equal Anil Kumble and Srinath’s record [in South Africa]. They are the legends in Indian cricket and to hold the record along with them is a great feeling.”Looking back at the tour where India lost both the one-day and the Test series, he said, “It is not always easy to perform well outside the country and especially in South African conditions. We tried our best. It was a team effort. May be in some points we were not good enough.” He also said the presence of Sourav Ganguly in the team helped the players. “He performed exceptionally well especially in tough situations. He is a mature player and performed well. He played a big role.”On reports of players damaging the dressing room during celebrations after the Wanderers Test win, Sreesanth said: “I do not know. That day we had a good party. I do not want to comment on that.”

Nicky Peng will be joining Glamorgan for the start of the 2006 season, after turning down the offer of an extended contract at his native county, Durham.Peng is a product of the Durham Academy and signed as a professional in 2001. However, a loss of form in the latter half of the season has meant that he struggled to regain his first-team place.”Although we are disappointed that Nicky is leaving we understand his reasons for doing so,” said Martyn Moxon, Durham’s head coach. “We are fortunate that we have a number of young batsmen who are emerging from our development squad, which will mean even greater competition for places in 2006. We would like to wish Nicky every success at this important time in his career.”On his move, Peng said: “This was a very difficult decision to make. I am very grateful to Durham for giving me the opportunity to play first-class cricket. However, at this point I feel that I needed a new challenge and to give myself the best opportunity to play regular first-team cricket.”