Leicestershire on go-slow as Hampshire push home advantage

On a day truncated by heavy isolated showers, Hampshire made good progress in an attempt to gain revenge for the innings defeat at the Rose Bowl at the beginning of the season.Replying to Hampshire’s overnight 311 all out, Leicestershire dawdled to 44 for 4 in 37 pre-lunch overs. The first of the four to fall, Trevor Ward, edged a delivery from Alan Mullally to keeper Nic Pothas without scoring – his dismissal coming with the home side 0-1 from six overs.Stand-in skipper Iain Sutcliffe and former England batsman Darren Maddy slowly added 26 as Dimitri Mascarenhas proved virtually impossible to hit, so to Mullally.Maddy was Pothas’ second dismissal, when he snicked Chris Tremlett and Sutcliffe’s 94-ball 18, including four fours came to an end when Neil Johnson superbly snapped him up at third slip off Mascarenhas.Darren Stevens, on course to travel with the England Academy this winter, lasted just five balls before Shaun Udal ensured he joined the one-wicket each party before rain during the lunch interval brought the first of five stoppages in the day.It stunted Hampshire’s progress somewhat as Aussie import Michael Bevan and winter signing from Gloucestershire, Rob Cunliffe added 45 when play resumed at 3.20pm.Bevan was uncharastically stoic for his undefeated 29 (127 balls, four fours) as Mascarenhas, who bowled 20 overs and took 2-17 in a miserly spell of bowling that also included 13 maidens, eight of which came in succession, broke Cunliffe’s middle stump with the total at 81.The medium-fast bowler in fact conceded just seven scoring strokes from his 120 ball analysis.Neil Burns joined Bevan to see out play, via two short ten minute and a longer 45 minute stoppage to see out the day, ironically in glorious sunshine – but Leicestershire’s run-rate, which did not exceed 1½ runs per over all day, was the overriding factor of the stop-start second innings at Leicester – closing on 98 for 5 from 63 overs.They still require 64 to avoid the follow-on, and it is still possible with better weather forecast.

Australia take fourth ODI by 37 runs

With three modest contributions behind him, Australian captain Ricky Ponting came good in the fourth Standard Bank one-day international in Bloemfontein on Saturday to fashion a masterful century and guide his side to a 37-run victory.Australia’s win gives them an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the seven-match series (the third game in Potchefstroom was tied) and although it is still mathematically possible for South Africa to tie the series, after six defeats in eight one-day encounters against Australia this summer, no one will be holding their breath waiting for this to happen.Ponting’s 129 was the highest one-day score made by an Australian against South Africa and it was about as close to flawless an innings as you could ask for. He came in in the 11th over of the innings and stayed there until the 48th as Australia posted 290 for six, their second-highest total against South Africa.His runs came off 126 deliveries and included 15 fours and a six and it was, by some distance, the major contribution to the total. All along the way, though, Australia’s batsmen chipped in to help the skipper. Adam Gilchrist, who has still not quite fired in this one-day series after his breathtaking exploits in the Test series, made 34; Damien Martyn 24 and Darren Lehmann a typically crafty 39 as South Africa found themselves largely unable to cope with the flow of runs.Once again South Africa changed their attack around and once again the pick of thwe bowlers was Makhaya Ntini who started with two maidens and, although he failed to take a wicket, conceded only 42. In the circumstances, it was a remarkable effort.If South Africa were to make a contest of it they needed a decent start. For this match they changed their opening pair, fielding their third different combination in as many matches with Graeme Smith coming in to partner Gary Kirsten. Boeta Dippenaar, who was promoted to open after looking the best of the middle order batsmen in the first two games, was dropped along with Herschelle Gibbs.The change made precious little difference. Kirsten was out for 3 at 7 and Andrew Hall, sent in at three, was gone for the same score at 14 as South Africa again suffered at the hands of Glenn McGrath.There was some fight left, though. Smith, who has been in outstanding one-day form at provincial level this summer, made a fighting 41 on debut until he was bowled off an inside edge by Ian Harvey.Jacques Kallis, too, looked in good touch, making 43 while Neil McKenzie, left out of the side for the first two games, made an inventive 67. With Jonty Rhodes also chipping in, South Africa weren’t dead and buried until the 41st over.Then Brett Lee came on, bowled McKenzie through his legs and bowled Mark Boucher, first ball, with a yorker. From 202 for four, South Africa had slipped to 202 for six in the space of two balls. Jason Gillespie came back to have Shaun Pollock caught behind at 207 for seven and the last of the batsmen, Nicky Boje, was also caught at the wicket at 224 for eight.Rhodes was eventually last man out for 56, but the game had already been won and lost by then.As in the first two games, Australia once again had far too much expertise and too clear a vision of what they hoped to achieve than the home team. Only in the third match of the series have South Africa been able to put Australia under pressure, and even then the tourists wriggled out of jail thanks to Jimmy Maher and Nathan Hauritz, two of the least experienced members of their squad.For this match South Africa named a squad of 14 for reason only the selectors understood. It made no difference. In fact had they chosen 24 it would have made no difference. The simple truth is that Australia are a better equipped, better coached and better managed team than South Africa. The possibility of a 6-0 series victory for Australia still beckons. It is by no means out of the question.

A result likely at Port of Spain

The first Test served as an eye-opener for the rest of the series, especially for the purist in favour of Test cricket. For some reason, it seemed that neither team was really ready for the match, only becoming aware of the requirements after either team had lost two or three quick wickets.For the West Indies, their obvious strength lies in their batting. With Carl Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan in the middle, the West Indies have three Guyanese who lend solidity to the proceedings.India’s batting is also their strong point, with Sachin Tendulkar looking ominous very early in the series. While Rahul Dravid managed to notch up a century, it was VVS Laxman who looked the best of the lot.Both teams, however, must be worried about their bowling, since neither side seems able to bowl their rivals out twice; that, of course, is what Test cricket is all about.Mervyn Dillon, Adam Sanford and Cameron Cuffy did an excellent job for the West Indies, as did Mahendra Nagamootoo, but with the latter out of the second Test, the choice of four fast bowlers looks infinitely better.The one thing very obvious in this series already is that the team that wins a game first will probably win the series. Neither of the teams seems able to distance itself from the other; it is seldom that we see two cricket sides that are so similar in endeavour, effort and relative ability.The captains are also similarly equipped, at least in thought and word, if not in deed. Both seem unsure of their bowlers’ abilities and seldom give them bowlers the support they should have. Perhaps Carl Hooper is more at fault in this respect than Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly seems to be somewhat at loggerheads with his players, but then he has the larger pressure, with a billion people looking at him to produce. Hooper only has about 11 million.With leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo out with a hamstring injury, the change in the West Indian bowling has been dubbed “unfortunate” by their captain Carl Hooper, since Nagamootoo and Cuffy were the best performers with the ball for the West Indies in the first Test.India are more concerned with their batting, and Deep Dasgupta, their struggling wicket-keeper/opener, has lost his place to allow Sanjay Bangar, the batting all-rounder, to open the batting. It is also an experiment, but it allows Ajay Ratra from Harayana to make his Test debut as wicket-keeper.Because of the recent rains, the pitch should be conducive to fast bowling, with spin perhaps dominating the final two days. If there are five full days of cricket, and that is very doubtful going by the weather forecast, then there should be a result, with one team going 1-0 up in the series. Again, as in the first Test, it will depend completely on which team really wants to win more and which can be more aggressive. Taking chances and being aggressive will win every time.The West Indies must also be concerned with their opening batsmen. Stuart Williams has failed again, as he normally does when brought to the top level of international cricket, while Chris Gayle seemed confused in Guyana. Both he and Brian Lara somehow give the impression of wanting to do something big, and with Lara lagging badly behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar thus far in the series, he will want to impress now.The Indian middle-order will change, with either Rahul Dravid or VVS Laxman replacing Sourav Ganguly at number three. The West Indies will, on the other hand, be more comfortable with the recent efforts of Ramnaresh Sarwan, captain Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul Even so, Hooper is not too sure.”Those innings of mine lately – 222, 149 and the Test 233 – are all in thepast. I have to start all over again,” he said.The Indian fast bowling too has struggled, with little or no support for Javagal Srinath from Zaheer Khan, even though Sanjay Bangar did a fair job as the make-shift third seamer. The West Indies fast bowlers too must up their ante, with Dillon and Sanford wanting to do much better.This could be the decisive game of the Test series, since it could well be the only game in which the batsman should not be in full control; they will thus have to work doubly hard to make big scores. The bowlers, at the Queen’s Park Oval, should be in with a good chance of getting a result.

Australians to tour Sri Lanka despite NZ withdrawals

BRISBANE – Australia’s cricketers will play in Sri Lanka next month eventhough three New Zealanders have withdrawn from the Champions Trophy forsafety reasons.Craig McMillan, Matthew Horne and Brooke Walker were today left out ofthe New Zealand squad after making themselves unavailable for theInternational Cricket Council’s one-day tournament.The trio were part of the New Zealand squad which abandoned its tour ofPakistan in May when a bomb blast outside its Karachi team hotel killed14 people.”I don’t want to go into specifics and I’ve not needed counselling but… I didn’t think I was mentally ready to cope,” McMillan told NZPA.”It is only sport after all.”But the Australian Cricket Board, which cancelled its October Test tourof Pakistan last Friday, is satisfied with the security arrangements inSri Lanka.An ACB spokesman said the 14 players selected for the Champions Trophyfrom September 12-29 had not expressed any concerns about playing in SriLanka.Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive Tim May said the NewZealand players would have taken a different view than the Australiansafter their Karachi experiences.”There is a clear differentiation with matters to be considered forAustralian players and New Zealand players,” May said.”They might be trying to manage a trauma of the past and, from ourperspective, we haven’t experienced any of those traumas first hand.”We have gone through an identical process for every tour where weassess security risks and we are quite satisfied with the security thatwill be offered to the players in Sri Lanka.”New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said the Black Capswere not placed under any pressure to tour Sri Lanka.New Zealand cricket has experienced security problems in Sri Lanka, withtours in 1987 and 1992 disrupted by bomb blasts, while there was civilunrest in Colombo during the Black Caps’ latest tour last year.”It is accepted that when travelling overseas we cannot make anyabsolute guarantees about safety,” Snedden told NZPA.”When deciding whether to attend the tournament the safety of the teamwas our top priority.”We made a thorough assessment of risks to the team which includedspeaking to government agencies and a visit to Sri Lanka by team managerJeff Crowe and security adviser Reg Dickason, to speak to American,British and Australian Foreign Affairs staff and to check securityarrangements.”We have been advised that a ceasefire has been in place in Sri Lankasince February and the country is the most stable it has been for sometime.”Snedden said New Zealand Cricket accepted the decisions of McMillan,Walker and Horne.

Punjab quickly in command against Rajasthan

Hostile bowling by Reetinder Singh Sodhi (5 for 40) and debutant Vineet Kumar (4 for 25) helped Punjab to rout Rajasthan for 111 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal at the PCA stadium in Mohali on Saturday. The batsmen followed the good work and at close, Punjab were 175 for three.Rajasthan captain Gagan Khoda won the toss and opted to bat on a wicket which looked green. Vineet Kumar had a fine start to his career. He removed Nikhil Doru (3) with the total at 4 in his first over. The other opener Vineet Saxena (1) was out in his second over as he was brillantly caught behind by Punjab skipper and wicketkeeper Vikram Rathour. Sodhi who replaced Gagandep Singh bowled his heart out and soon Rajasthan were five down for 31. At lunch Rajasthan were reeling at 75 for six.Rohit Jalani in the company with Devander Pal showed some fight and the twoadded 31 runs in 36 balls for the eighth wicket. Sodhi bowled with a lot offire and made short work of the tail. Rathour was quite comfortable in hisrole of wicketkeeper and took three catches.Punjab opened with Rathour (39) and Ravneet Ricky (40). They gave a flyingstart and put on 73 runs off 18.4 overs. Rathour was in an attacking moodand hammered eight fours in his knock which came up off just 48 ballsbefore he was leg before to Yadav.Ravneet Ricky, in trying to pull a short delivery from Sanjeev Sharma,scooped an easy catch to wicketkeeper Jhalani. Yuvraj Singh (18) and PankajDharmani were looking in good nick but the former snicked an outgoingdelivery from Sanjeev Sharma and was held at second slip. He was third outat 113.Dinesh Mongia came in and he and Dharmani kept the scoreboard ticking. Dharmani completed his half century in style as he drove Mohd Aslam to the cover boundary. At draw of stumps, Dharmani was batting on 53 (86 balls, 8×4), while Mongia was batting on 23 (30 balls, 5×4). The home team were sitting pretty with a lead of 64 runs and seven wickets in hand.

Super Mario sees Trojans home in local derby

Half-century hero Mario Mohammed shelved his normal flamboyant Caribbean style of batting for the day to haul Trojans out of the mire and set up a four-wicket win over arch Southern Electric Premier League rivals Old Tauntonians & Romsey at Stoneham Lane.Defending a modest 100-run total, OTs eyed an improbable victory with Trojans reeling at 43-6.But Mohammed, with a splendidly crafted 50 not out, and seventh-wicket partner Jamie Donaldson (22 not out) got their heads down to graft Trojans towards their second win in three Division 2 matches.A low scoring affair was always likely on a Stoneham ground which, through neglect and lack of investment, has failed to keep pace with the general overall improved club ground standards in the Premier League.The square, traditionally low in bounce, is in poor condition – inconsistent bounce was the order of the day – and the outfield unkempt and bumpy after use by winter sportsmen.Batsmen had to battle for every run and 16 wickets had fallen for an aggregate 143 runs before Trojans’ seventh-wicket pair got to grips with the situation.That said, few batsmen could blame the poor surface for their various dismissals, though few ever really got themselves in to play with any degree of confidence.Past encounters between the sides have often been fraught and Simon Williams and Stuart Tulk, the respective captains, certainly don’t appear on each other’s Christmas card list.It set the tone for a `derby’ full of niggles, over-excessive appealing and noise from the fielders which often drowned the M27 traffic hum.Pumped up by Williams’s aggressive and vociferous leadership methods, Trojans were buzzing after Giles Lancaster had taken a spectacular catch at second slip to remove the dangerous Charles Forward for seven.When West Indian all-rounder Tim Subnaik, who had jetted in from Trinidad the previous day, had Max Smith caught behind in the next over, OTs faced problems.Ian Tulk (20) played several handsome cover drives to lift OTs spirits, but the introduction of Pat Douglas, coming down the Stoneham slope, had a far reaching effect.Douglas (4-24) produced an unplayable ball which caught Richard Rapley’s top edge, and then clean bowled injured Australian Cameron Sterling, whose first knock on English soil lasted barely two minutes.The Tulk brothers were beginning to redress the balance when, at 53-4, Stuart was run out (attempting a third run) after unwisely challenging Subnaik’s strong arm from the deep.Liverpudlian Stuart Caldicott (15) and Mike Trodd helped the score on to 98-8, but the last two wickets fell for two runs to leave OTs 100 all out in the 46th over.But the contest was far from over as Mike Trodd’s left-arm medium-pace and Jeremy Ord’s nagging accuracy planted Trojans deep in trouble.Trodd (4-35) removed Williams and Le Bas, and Ord (1-13) had Subnaik caught behind as Trojans lurched to 18-3 and later 31-5, with Lancaster and Mike Durand following their team-mates back to the pavilion.But two factors were to turn the match – Mario Mohammed’s resolute batting and the absence by OTs of a third recognised seamer, caused by an injury to Sterling which the Western Australian had apparently taken into the match.Tulk juggled his bowlers and winkled out a sixth Trojans wicket … only to see by far the best and most responsible batting of the day by Mohammed and Donaldson turn the match on its head.The seventh-wicket pair knuckled down to the task and run by run turned the game in Trojans favour.Mohammed, selective with his shots, played with extreme care, while Donaldson, missed by Nick Wood off a fierce return catch late on, punished anything pitched up but generally produced a timely supportive innings.Aided by a spate of wides, the pair added 60 to guide Trojans to a victory which, an hour or so after tea, had looked improbable.

Pakistan Probables snub Khyber Lions as pacers impress

Pace men Mohammad Sami and Fazl-e-Akbar exploited the conditions at Peshawar’s Shahi Bagh Stadium to their maximum advantage as they shared seven wickets between them restricting Khyber Lions to 146 in 37 overs, after Pakistan Probables, playing first, had scored 205 in their allotted overs.Fazl-e-Akbar, the right-handed medium pacer, took three wickets in his opening spell to leave the home side reeling at 21 for 4 by the eighth over, until a valiant effort led by Hasan Raza and Younis Khan in the middle of the innings took them past 100-run mark by the 25th over.After finding their side deep in trouble at 21/4, these two shared a partnership of 95 runs for the fifth wicket and brought their side within sight of victory. Had these two carried on for some more time, the result of the match might have been altogether different.However, after the fall of Younis Khan’s wicket at 116 and Hasan Raza’s at 129, the writing looked very much on the wall for the home side. The inevitable was delayed only due to some grit shown by Atiq-uz-Zaman and the skipper Arshad. They had taken the score past 145, when Sami came with his little gem of an over.In fact, the process which was started by Fazl-e-Akbar was brought to a climax and then finished in a befitting manner by Mohammad Sami. Bowling from the Pavilion End, young Karachi pace man first induced Atiq to hoist a catch to Mushtaq at square leg. He followed this up by bowling out the remaining two batsmen – Sajid Shah and Kashif Raza – without any addition to the total. He finished with excellent figures of four for 29.Fazl-e-Akbar, who set the pace for Probables’ victory, finished the match with three wickets for 30 runs. Abdur Razzaq, overshadowed by the performances of these youngsters, also bowled well taking one wicket for 44 in 9 overs.Earlier, it was up to the efforts of Inzamam-ul-Haq (56), the skipper of Pakistan Probables, and Misbah-ul-Haq (45) who shared an 87-run fourth wicket partnership to lay the foundation for a respectable score for their team.Coming to the crease after finding their side in trouble at 60 for three by the 15th over, they drafted their innings with caution, taking the score close to 150-run mark. However, after the dismissal of these two in quick succession, the remaining Probables’ batsmen could not take up the challenge of score few runs in final overs.They were restricted in their efforts by some fine bowling by Sajid Shah (3 for 54) and Kamran Hussain (3 for 39). The late order of Pakistan Probables, despite the presence of experienced campaigners like Afridi and Moin Khan in their ranks, could only muster 50 runs in the last ten overs, losing four wickets in the process.In a brief ceremony following the match, Hasan Raza, the highest scorer of the game, was awarded the man of the match award, whereas Yasir Hameed was adjudged the best fielder.

Fawad's six triggers Warriors collapse

ScorecardFawad Ahmed is spinning himself into Ashes contention•Getty Images

Fawad Ahmed’s legspin created the kind of mayhem Australia’s selectors hope he can generate in the Ashes this summer to earn Victoria first-innings points and a useful lead over Western Australia after two days of the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG. Rob Quiney and the Test opener Chris Rogers were untroubled in the 13 overs they faced before stumps, having not expected to be batting again so soon.While Nathan Lyon remains the incumbent spinner, a desire to pit England’s batsmen against wrist spin will have been enhanced significantly by Fawad’s collection of his best first-class figures in his maiden long-form innings of the season. The national selector John Inverarity had predicted the Shield matches that preceded the naming of the first Test squad would be “very important to his career”, and he has made the ideal start.From 3 for 218 the Warriors lost a feverish 7 for 52, the last five wickets falling to Fawad in a spell of aggression, guile and noticeable side spin. His success in wrapping up the WA innings overshadowed some earlier harsh treatment meted out by Shaun Marsh, who squandered a fluent start in his own efforts to press for a place in the Ashes top six.”If I’m in a good rhythm, feeling good inside like today … it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against when the ball’s coming nicely out of the hand,” Fawad said afterwards. “At the end the ball was dipping and it was easier to bowl. It all depends on rhythm … when it’s coming out nicely out of the hand, it’s all good.”The positive thing about leg-spinners is when they’re getting into a rhythm they can take quick wickets. To be a wicket-taker it doesn’t matter if the economy rate is high; it’s all about the wicket-taking. Five wickets came in six, seven overs so that was pretty good.”If I’m going well it’d be great to be representing Australia, not just by [pressure] from media and people saying I’m a good bowler. It’s better to prove yourself in the middle of the ground, then you can get a chance and if you’re performing well I can think of nothing better than doing that for your country.”WA’s early progress had been quite serene, led by a neat 95 from John Rogers. Fawad’s entry to the attack drew an lbw decision against Marcus North but also a flurry of aggressive strokes from Marsh, and at one point his figures were 1 for 51 at around five runs per over. But Marsh’s exit to Scott Boland encouraged the Victoria captain Matthew Wade to recall Fawad to the bowling crease, and the rewards would be rich.The wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman will curse an injudicious slog that offered Fawad his second wicket, but the rest were defeated by spin, bounce and variations. Ashton Agar and Nathan Rimmington were both caught in close from deliveries that turned and bounced, while Hilton Cartwright was opened up gloriously by a googly between bat and pad.The last man Michael Hogan appeared to have fallen caught behind to Fawad soon after, but the umpire Jeff Joshua reversed his decision as the teams were walking from the MCG. Hogan and Jason Behrendorff crept the Warriors closer to Victoria’s 312, before Fawad induced another excited waft by Hogan that was held by John Hastings running from cover.

The best I've bowled in three months – Harbhajan

Mumbai Indians offspinner Harbhajan Singh, whose figures of 4 for 32 won him the Man-of-the-Match award and helped Mumbai claim their second Champions League title, said the over in which he took three wickets was the best spell he had bowled in recent months.Harbhajan came into the tournament with little practice, having not played a competitive match since the IPL. He was not included in any of India A’s recent squads. In a high-scoring final against Rajasthan Royals in Delhi, Harbhajan came on to bowl his final over with Royals requiring 48 off the last four overs with seven wickets in hand. Harbhajan struck with the first ball, removing the set Ajinkya Rahane for 65, caught at deep midwicket. Three balls later, with the pressure mounting on Royals for boundaries, Stuart Binny looked to slog a quicker one from Harbhajan and lost his leg stump.After conceding a boundary the following ball to Kevon Cooper, Harbhajan hit back off the final ball, beating Cooper who looked to play across the line but failed to spot the straighter one. Cooper didn’t to drag his back foot behind the line and Dinesh Karthik completed a sharp stumping. Three wickets went down for just four runs in the space of six balls and the match had turned firmly in Mumbai’s favour.”I’m happy with the way I finished, although I didn’t practice at all,” Harbhajan said at the post-match presentation. “I was travelling to the US but I didn’t practice much before this but I’m really happy with the way I have finished this tournament. I think that over where I took three wickets was probably the best over I’ve bowled in the last three months.”Chasing 203, the Royals were in the hunt via a second-wicket stand of 109 between Sanju Samson and Rahane, who both scored 60s. Royals captain Rahul Dravid too felt that Harbhajan’s spell had turned the match.”We saw some really great batting and we saw some good skills with the ball as well, from the spinners and it was a close game right till the end,” Dravid said. “I thought the couple of overs when Harbhajan Singh got four wickets for eight or nine runs probably turned the game on its head.”Incidentally, Harbhajan had starred in Mumbai’s previous title win in 2011 as well, his 3 for 20 winning him the Man-of-the-Match award against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai.”This is probably the second time and I am getting the Man of the Match in the final,” he said. “Hopefully few more. I’m looking forward to the Duleep Trophy and the long season up ahead for India.”

SLC domestic tournament replaces Zimbabwe tour

Sri Lanka Cricket has announced a triangular four-day tournament to begin on October 8, which effectively replaces the postponed Test tour of Zimbabwe. The tournament features Sri Lanka’s Test side and its best first-class talent. Two of the matches will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds and the third at the P Saravanamuttu Oval.The Board XI – which largely comprises Sri Lanka’s Test players – will play a Sri Lanka A team and a Development team, with those teams also playing a match against each other. The Board XI is led by Test captain Angelo Mathews, while Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne – both of whom are also being groomed for leadership – will captain the other teams.”We want to give those youngsters a chance for the future,” chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said. “Chandimal and Thirimanne are good prospects for the future, and we wanted to give some responsibility to these two youngsters also.”Prasanna Jayawardene will keep wickets for the Board XI, suggesting he may remain in the selectors’ plans for Tests. Shaminda Eranga is a notable exclusion from the Board XI, but Jayasuriya said he had only been selected in another team because it would provide each of the cricketers in Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling battery with match practice.”We just picked the teams in a way in which everyone can play,” he said. “We put some important players in other teams to do that. Eranga is there so he can play every game and bowl a lot. This will allow us to give them experience and make use of everybody.”The tournament will have first-class status and will be the only domestic four-day tournament played this year, with Premier League matches having been contested over three days. Forty-six players have been named in the squads in total.Board XI: Angelo Mathews (capt), TM Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne*, Angelo Perera, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Thisara Perera, Ajantha Mendis, Lahiru Jayaratne, T PriyashankarSri Lanka A: Dinesh Chandimal (capt & wk), Mahela Udawatte, Pabasara Waduge, Kaushal Silva, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Ashan Priyanjan, Chaturanga de Silva, Ishan Jayaratne, Dilruwan Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Vimukthi Perera, Madura Lakmal, Chathura Randunu, Ramith Rambukwella, Bhanuka RajapaksaDevelopment Team: Lahiru Thirimanne (capt), Shehan Jayasuriya, Kusal Perera (wk), Rumesh Buddika, Sachithra Serasinghe, Roshen Silva, Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Madawa Warnapura, Tharindu Kaushal, Malinda Pushpakumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kanishka Alvitigala, Lahiru Gamage, Shaminda Eranga, Niroshan Dickwella, Seekkuge Prasanna*Dimuth Karunaratne was added to the Board XI squad after his name had been mistakenly omitted

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