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Eric Simons
On South Africa’s performance with the ball
Getting their remaining wickets for 167 runs was not bad. At the end they wanted to bat as much time as they could and put as many runs on the board as they could. I would probably take 470 with them having been 303 for 3. You cannot afford to drop catches on a pitch like this and Sangakkara’s contribution was massive. We were punished for it.On Jayasuriya’s double strike
It is always difficult to bat at the end of the day with spinners on, and pressure of the big score on the board. Losing two wickets in one over was a setback. We will have to be positive. It was a bit of a blow for us but that’s the way the game goes. We have to put partnerships together.On the pitch
Funnily enough, the wicket seems to be getting quicker. It’s dried out a bit and it seems to have more pace, although the ball seems to get soft very quickly. The wicket yesterday was very slow.On Jacques Rudolph’s injury
He wouldn’t have batted tonight. He’s a bit stiff but he will be fine in the morning after some ice.John Dyson
On Sangakkara
He batted beautifully. The form he has been in for some time now has suggested that he is going to string together a number of good scores. He had made a few cameo performances, a few 50s and 70s, and he was really due a big one.On whether he should be in the World XI
I consider him to be the best wicketkeeper in Sri Lanka and I would say that in front of Romesh [Kaluwitharana] and Prasanna Jayawardene. He just also happens to be our best No. 3, so it’s a difficult situation. In terms of the World XI against Australia how anyone could not pick him as the wicketkeeper/batsman I don’t know.On Sri Lanka’s day
I was a little bit disappointed with our batting today. We didn’t do as well as we should have. And at 100 for 1 I was thinking “Gosh, it would be nice to grab a couple,” but Sunny [Sanath Jayasuriya] came on and as he often does nibbled a couple out. He has also shown in those three overs that if you bowl the right length and pace on that pitch there is a bit of turn there and hopefully there will be more and more of that.On the pitch
I think this wicket is so dry that it will really turn on days four and five, although it is hard to predict on pitches here in Sri Lanka. It is then just about how quickly it will turn and whether it will also bounce. The pitch in Galle was too slow, and I hope this one keeps its greater pace and bounce and turns more as the game progresses.On Murali’s absence
The important thing with Murali is that he is managed so that he can play for the next few years because there is still a lot of cricket left in him. With the way his shoulder is, there is no point in risking a permanent injury. It is, though, a great opportunity for the likes of Upul [Chandana] and Rangana [Herath] to show what they can do.On whether Sri Lanka would enforce the follow-on
That is a very difficult one. If it is a clear day and very hot then we would have to seriously consider just how difficult it would be to enforce the follow-on.

A career best 133 from Nicky Peng helped Durham recover from losing four cheap wickets eitherside of lunch, with the young batsman carefully steering his side to a more respectable 353-8at the end the opening day of their Championship match against Glamorgan at Cardiff.Peng shared a disciplined partnership of 96 in 38 overs for the 7th wicket with Graeme Bridgeafter Durham had slipped to 141-6 as Robert Croft took 4 for 12 in 36 balls. Peng also receiveduseful support in the final hour and a half from Nicky Phillips, with the pair adding a further116 in 27 overs for the 8th wicket.Jon Lewis had earlier won the toss and had elected to bat first, but the Durham captain wasthe first wicket to fall as he got a thin outside edge in Michael Kasprowicz`s sixth over,and was caught behind. Six overs later, Durham`s other opener, Michael Gough, was wellcaught on the deep backward square-leg boundary by Jonathan Hughes as Gough top edged anattempted pull against Alex Wharf.Martin Love and Gary Pratt then shared an attractive third partnership stand of 73 in 19 oversbefore Love was caught behind in the final over before lunch as the Australian attemptedto square cut Robert Croft. Then in the third over after the interval, Pratt was bowledattempting to play a similar shot against the Glamorgan skipper, who shortly afterwards yorked Vince Wellsas he advanced down the wicket.With his next delivery the off-spinner trapped Phil Mustard leg before, before Bridge survived the hat-trickball and then with Peng shared a steady stand for the 7th wicket to show that both survival and steadyaccumulation were perfectly possible on the true Sophia Gardens wicket. Peng duly reached his half-centuryfrom 99 balls, with 8 fours, and Bridge was within a run of following his partner to the fifty mark when hewas well caught by Jimmy Maher at short-leg to give Croft his fifth wicket.Peng continued to thwart the Glamorgan attack after they had taken the new ball, with the Durham batsman hittingKasprowicz for three fours in one over. Peng`s assault rather ruined Kasprowicz`s bowling figures after theAustralian had bowled a miserly spell of 8-6-2-0 after lunch. With Nicky Phillips offering valiant supportat the other end, Peng reached his first Championship hundred of the season after facing 195 balls andhitting 15 fours and a six.The youngster added a second six with a fierce pull over long leg off David Harrison to pass his previous best of 108against Derbyshire last summer, and the pair had added 116 – a Championship best for the 8th wicket by Durhamagainst Glamorgan – before Peng was bowled in the final over of the day, pushing forward to Dean Cosker.

Rain has delayed the start of play in the three-day tour match between New Zealand and the Queensland Academy of Sport at Allan Border Field.Rain periods have been forecast throughout the day and there seems little chance of play before the scheduled lunch break.The match is New Zealand’s last before its first-class tour begins against Queensland at the Gabba next Thursday, with the first Test at the same ground from November 8.

Rajat Bhatia, the former Delhi allrounder, has found a new home. Starting with the Group A Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra in Jaipur on Thursday, Bhatia will represent Rajasthan, which is being run by a court-appointed ad-hoc committee.For a player to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) in the middle of the season is not a routine event, but it has prevented Bhatia’s whole season going to waste, and has given a young Rajasthan team an experienced hand, which they have often drawn from professionals.With four points from three games, Rajasthan are placed eighth in the nine-team pool, and face the risk of relegation. They played the first game at home, and shot Delhi out for a low score on the first day, but couldn’t convert that into an outright win. After that they travelled to east India to lose to Assam and concede a first-innings lead to Bengal.How Bhatia would have loved to make this transition before the first round, and play a team that has hurt him, Delhi. He is still not happy with the treatment he got. “I was sure my season was gone,” he said. “I thought maybe after the first game. Maybe after the next… but it was clear they were not going to pick me. This match, looking at the Delhi side, I can’t agree with the statement that I don’t fit in the XI.”I asked the selectors as to what was the reason for not picking me. I have not been dropped based on performance, or based on fitness. There was no explanation. They just said sorry. I don’t like to believe it but I have heard that the selectors wanted to pick me, but Gautam [Gambhir] didn’t want to.”Gambhir, the captain, of course told the selectors that Bhatia does not fit in his XI, so the selectors said they didn’t want to bench such a senior player. Given all that, Bhatia is thankful he wasn’t picked at all. “It’s a blessing in disguise that they didn’t pick me under some sort of pressure,” he said. “What if they had given me one game and then benched me? Then I wouldn’t have had this opportunity too.”I am thankful to the BCCI and to Rajasthan that I have been given this opportunity even after the deadline. That they saw that this experienced player sitting at home, so if he is available for Rajasthan, why not?”Bhatia has a prior association with Rajasthan. He was picked by Rajasthan Royals at the 2014 IPL auction after Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t retain him. Bhatia is the most capped Indian non-international in the IPL. Even though he turns 36 the day he makes his first-class debut for Rajasthan, he is a valued workhorse on the domestic scene. If he plays all the five remaining matches he would have played 100 first-class games. He has scored 5394 runs at 48.16 and has taken 119 wickets. Rajasthan hope his inclusion will bring some stability to their middle order, while his handy seam-ups provide a foil for Deepak Chahar’s swing and Nathu Singh’s pace.Rajasthan are hopeful of playing on a lively track that assists their quicks. But they are also mindful of being up against a settled Maharashtra batting line-up boasting of Kedar Jadhav, Rohit Motwani and Harshad Khadiwale. Maharashtra’s penchant to play attacking cricket will add some life to the contest.Rajasthan, though, can’t afford to take lightly the Maharashtra attack of Domnic Muthuswamy and Samad Fallah, who can be dangerous in these conditions. Having taken the first-innings honours against Haryana and Odisha, Maharashtra are placed fifth, a point behind defending champions Karnataka.

R Sridhar has been appointed Sri Lanka men’s fielding coach until the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, which runs from February 7 to March 8. Sridhar had been the senior India men’s team’s fielding coach from 2014 to 2021.A Level 3 certified BCCI coach, Sridhar had also conducted a 10-day fielding programme for Sri Lanka’s top teams, in Colombo, in May last year.”Sri Lankan players have always stood for instinctive brilliance, resilience, and collective spirit,” Sridhar said, having been appointed to the new job on Wednesday. “My role is not to impose a system, but to nurture an environment where athleticism, awareness, and pride in the field can grow naturally.”Sri Lanka’s traditional strengths–quick hands, sharp reflexes, and fearless intent, can be further enhanced by creating realistic, game-like learning environments.”Sridhar’s appointment is the latest in a minor coaching shake-up for the men’s team, with the likes of Julian Wood and Rene Ferdinands having joined as batting coach and spin bowling coach respectively, in October. It also comes after a disappointing Asia Cup and tour of Pakistan, in which Sri Lanka’s fielding errors were among the problems in focus.SLC’s release said Sridhar would work with the men’s team ahead of the series against Pakistan and England leading into the World Cup, and that this appointment is already in effect.

The Indian Cricket League (ICL) has found further support, from the head of New Zealand’s players’ body, who is concerned that New Zealand will suffer most unless the ICC accommodates the ICL. The ICC is due to meet early September to determine whether the ICL will be officially endorsed.The players’ associations will convene at the same time in Johannesburg. Heath Mills, the manager of the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association, told the their message would be for the ICC to get behind the league, rather than ostracise it.”The ideal scenario from my point of view would be for the ICC to support it as long as it didn’t impinge upon international cricket,” he said. “I can’t see many negatives of third-party funding coming into cricket and another professional league would give players an opportunity to earn more income, just like those who go to county cricket. What would concern me greatly was if the league was not sanctioned and it became a ‘rebel’ league.”Mills said the comparatively low incomes of New Zealand’s players made them a prime target for the ICL, arguing that cricket’s big fish – the subcontinent, Australia, England and South Africa – have the resources to pay their players the sort of money that would ensure they don’t jump ship.”Our guys would be hugely at risk,” Mills said. “They’re paying their players close to a million a year so it’s a no-brainer. But a guy who is near the top of the [New Zealand] retainer list and plays most games a year is looking at $250,000 maximum. That makes us vulnerable.” Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming have all been linked with the ICL.Mills’s comments provide further momentum for the ICL bandwagon. In recent weeks, the league has received some support from at least two senior Indian politicians; Digvijay Singh, a general secretary of the ruling Congress party, asked the BCCI to help promote the ICL instead of confronting it. Lalu Prasad Yadav, the federal railway minister, has also indicated his support, saying he would allow organisers to host matches in stadiums under his ministry’s control.On Friday, half the Hyderabad first-class team announced it had signed on. Imran Farhat, who is out of favour with Pakistan’s selectors in the shorter version of the game, has been released from his central contract with the PCB and has all but sealed a deal with the ICL.There have been continued reports of big-name but disgruntled Pakistan players signing on as well. Brian Lara remains the only star to have officially committed to the league.

The season ended with frustration and a few tantrums at The Rose Bowl after Shane Warne made clear his anger at Lancashire’s refusal to declare and set Hampshire a target to chase.Lancashire had already lost out on the title to Sussex, but they had made their runners-up position safe earlier in this game when Hampshire failed to secure maximum bonus points. Warne clearly hoped that there would be a declaration and a run chase, but Mark Chilton opted to bat on as Lancashire ended the day on 339 for 6, a lead of 562.Warne, however, did not appreciate the thinking behind the decision. “Coming into the day and after losing a day through rain, we thought we were going to get a game. It got to the stage where they were 430 ahead with 60 overs left and still didn’t declare. It was ridiculous. I started throwing some lob-ups to see if they wanted any more runs but that didn’t work.”Shortly after lunch there was a surreal five-over period where Warne and others deliberately offered up a series of ridiculous deliveries in an apparent protest. Warne himself sent down a succession of bouncers and was no-balled for throwing the ball from a standing start.Chilton admitted that he perhaps should have done more to make a game of it. “We definitely didn’t want to lose the game so we were going to bat ourselves into a very strong position,” he said. “After lunch there was a window of opportunity in which we could, and should have perhaps, declared. But after Hampshire started throwing the bowl 20 feet into the air we decided it would be inappropriate.”I’m not proud of what happened but I feel sorry for all the spectators that made the journey and I hope this doesn’t cloud what has been a great season for us. If I could have the time again, I would have done it differently and I will learn from things like this.”Warne, meanwhile, said that the umpires had congratulated his side on their conduct. “We did everything we could to get a game but I was disappointed for the crowd who had come to see what happened.”

Ricky Ponting arrived home declaring he still wants to be captain and his team has a burning desire to retrieve the Ashes in 2006-07.The Australians have returned home amid calls for heads to roll after the world champions had gone to England in June with expectations of a comfortable series victory. Ponting has taken much of the blame for the failure with Dennis Lillee calling for Shane Warne to replace him as captain.Ponting confronted a large media pack shortly after his arrival at Sydney Airport and said he wasn’t aware of Lillee’s comments. “I’m not concerned about those things,” he said. “As long as I am doing the right thing by everyone in my dressing room and the team and the coaching staff, well then that’s all I can do.”I know I’m not going to keep everybody happy along the way, I am sure I’ve done things even before this series that other people haven’t been that happy with. But as long as I am looking after the guys in my dressing room, then I’ll be happy.”Ponting, who was criticised for conservative field placements and bowling changes, said he wanted to remain in charge. “I still want to be captain,” he said. “It’s a 2-1 series defeat, it’s not as if we have been completely wiped off the planet and it’s not as if we have to make wholesale changes to our set-up.”Hopefully, I will keep the job. I’ve loved doing it, love every opportunity I have to captain Australia. It’s one of the best jobs in world sport, there’s no doubt about that, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. In saying that, it wasn’t all that enjoyable over the last couple of weeks, but it’s going down as one of the all-time great series and it’s been great to be a part of it.”Ponting responded to Lillee’s comments that Warne should be captain, and that he made more decisions than Ponting during the series: “I like to talk to a lot of guys out on the field and use their ideas and thoughts. I’ll go to Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] and even Matty Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn. The guys who’ve been around cricket for a while, I like to hear what their thoughts on the game are.”The way I think is not going to be right 100% of the time, but that’s the way I do it. Shane has got a cricket brain as good as anybody around. But I wouldn’t agree [he was the pseudo captain].”Ponting admitted England had outplayed Australia in the series and he will sit down with team management and go over what went wrong. “We said all the right things and we trained very hard right through the tour, everything was as it would normally be,” he said. “But it was in the crucial moments where we didn’t stand up and that’s unusual for this team.”Ponting said there was a burning desire within the team to regain the Ashes when the series resumes in Australia late next year. “I rate our chances very highly of getting the Ashes back,” he said. “It’s only 15 months away and I know the feelings around our dressing room were poor and that’s the way they should have been, but there’s a burning desire to get those Ashes back very soon.”Adam Gilchrist, the vice-captain, said in the that he had the “utmost support for Ricky”. “I’d be really disappointed if this turns into some sort of public slanging match over who should be or shouldn’t be leading the team,” he said. “Ricky has been an outstanding captain up to this point and will continue to be so. He has the whole team’s backing, I’m certain of that.”

Mahela Jayawardene’s own cameo might have been cut short by a horrible misunderstanding that led to him being run out, but his team had no such problems. Sri Lanka powered past the United Arab Emirates. Jayawardene, leading the side in Marvan Atapattu’s absence, spoke to the press after the game.On what was a competitive score
When we had a look at the wicket in the afternoon we knew that it was not going to be that good. It was dry and had already had a game yesterday and we discussed 240 to 250 as a good competitive score.On Sri Lanka’s batting performance
I personally though we would struggle to get going at the start and then build up momentum at the end. But I was surprised that we were going at five runs per over in the beginning. The only hiccup was that we were losing wickets at regular intervals. We need to address that on SundayOn the UAE bowling
They bowled really well and stuck to a plan, especially the three spinners who bowled really well. There were some good positive things that came out of the match for them. We played some rash shots and they put some pressure on usOn Lasith Malinga
Malinga bowled quite a few wides but you have to give him some leeway as he was playing his first game. But we will discuss those things [the number of wides] because we want perfectionOn whether the team is fatigued
When you are a professional cricketer you have to put up with that. Yes, we are tired but that is no excuse. We are here to play cricket and we have to play to our best.On the upcoming match against India
We are looking forward to that game because the Indians have been on top of us in the last coule of games. They have been playing good cricket and if we can come up to that level it means we are up there as well. We will definitely put up a good show.On the absence of Sanath Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin
We do have a problem there but I am sure that the other guys, Dilshan with his offspin and Kandamby with his legspin if he plays, will chip. But it is a big blow. Sanath is the second highest wicket-taker in history for Sri Lanka cricket.On the team composition for the next game
We will decide on that tomorrow depending on how the wicket is, whether it is going to suit the spinners or the quicks. If we think we can make do with the extra batsmen then we can come in with allrounders. We will have a chat tomorrow morning.

The Indian board (BCCI) is considering filing a counter claim against Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) for its “failure to properly market the World Cup.” Addressing the media for the first time after attending the board meeting of the ICC Development International (IDI), BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya stated: “We definitely reserve our right to file a counter-claim against GCC.”According to an Associated Press report, Dalmiya had raised this point in the board meeting of the IDI. The IDI has withheld guarantee money of approximately US$9 million in view of the likely claims for damages from the GCC for violation of ambush-marketing clauses by Indian players during the World Cup in South Africa.It is not entirely clear what this counter claim will be based on.