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Keith Bradshaw, the chief executive of the MCC and one of the people behind last summer’s proposal to launch a streamlined nine-team Twenty20 superleague in England, has said that potential investors are not interested in pumping money into the ECB’s P20 league.The nine-team idea was scuppered by the counties and instead the ECB is planning on launching a second Twenty20 league featuring all 18 first-class sides next summer.”Looking to the future I’m disappointed we are not going with the franchise as we proposed,” Bradshaw told the Daily Telegraph. “I think it is the best model for English cricket and we are missing a massive opportunity as we can see by the success of the IPL.”There is still a lot of interest from investors and as recently as last week I had a new investor in touch with me. The fact is though they are not interested in getting involved in an 18-team P20.”His views were echoed by Sussex’s David Brooks. “I think there is a risk of overkill,” he told the Guradian. “I expect it is too late to stop the P20 next year. Sponsorship packages are probably being tied up as we speak. Most of the counties have got reservations about a second Twenty20 tournament, including ourselves. The counties will have to market the two competitions very differently.”

Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan has come to the defence of Brendon McCullum, saying the captain should not be blamed for the team’s terrible run in the IPL. McCullum has struggled with the bat, scoring just 65 runs at 10.62, and in the role of leader and has said he would quit if Kolkata did not make the semi-finals.”I think one must feel that Brendon came into the tournament as captain under fire from everyone because we made some changes. So one should not blame only the captain,” Buchanan told Indian news channel . “I think cricket is a team game and each one of us is responsible for our performance. Traditional sense says that the captain is responsible but, in fact, everyone is.”McCullum was appointed captain before the season began, replacing icon player Sourav Ganguly. The appointment followed a great deal of controversy following Buchanan’s theory of multiple captains, which has not yet been effected this season.Buchanan himself is under pressure with Kolkata mired in eighth place and reports of team disharmony surfacing on an almost daily basis in the Indian press. On the IPL website he said he was uncertain if the team could bounce back this season.”It has been pretty hard for all of us. I know that we are going to get out of this. I am not sure whether it will be this time or next year. I do know that we are going to come out of this,” said Buchanan. “All we can do is try and play well. But in terms of the things, we need to improve; we will focus on one or two things rather than a range of issues. That will take time.”Buchanan said there was still plenty the team needed to talk about and that they really needed to do away with the negatives that had seeped in. “We need to do consistently well as a team. We didn’t have wins and we need to win few matches,” he said. “As Brendon had pointed out some of our batsmen have been doing well. Morne van Wyk has been very good. And we saw Moises Henriques coming good. Those are good signs and we also have David Hussey joining us soon.”

Lahore Badshahs opener Imran Farhat has dismissed suggestions that Pakistani players in the ICL wanted to end their contracts and play for the national side again given the unofficial league’s uncertain future.He also refuted claims that along with other players they had given it in writing to the PCB that they would terminate their ICL contracts if reconsidered for selection. “I think there is some misunderstanding,” Farhat told a private TV channel. “I have given no undertaking to the board that I will cancel my ICL contract if they select me for Pakistan.”It is also wrong to say that the ICL is being wound up and that they have already cancelled our contracts which is why some of the players now are offering to play for Pakistan again.”Farhat, 26, who has played 26 Tests and 33 ODIs for Pakistan, said the ICL had not informed him or most of the other players of any plans to cancel their contracts. However, Farhat and Mumbai Champs batsman Hasan Raza, who was also present during the talk show, said their priority was to always play for Pakistan and if they were selected they would rethink their future options.”As it is, the ICL contract never prevented us from playing for our country even during the League if we were required for national duty,” Raza said. “It is the board’s decision to ban us and this only hurt Pakistan.””We got a chance to play in the ICL at a time when, despite consistent performances, the national selectors and the board were ignoring us. Cricket is our bread and butter and the ICL took good care of us financially,” Farhat said.He also said the players were not worried about not receiving any payments from the ICL for some months. “They are good paymasters and have taken good care of us. A few months’ delay is no issue. We know eventually we will have our dues cleared.”

Outspoken Barbados Cricket Association president and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) director Joel Garner has branded the strike by the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) as “amateurish and childish”.In condemning the boycott of the three matches by 78 regional cricketers on Friday, Garner also chided the leadership of WIPA, which responded to long-standing issues with the WICB, by instructing its players to take industrial action.”I was disappointed. I think it was a bit amateurish, childish, call it whatever you like. There are mechanisms in place for what is happening,” Garner said. “The whole thing was ill-advised. If you have meetings pending and you have issues to deal with, the meeting is the best place to deal with the issues.”All of the players who currently play for West Indies … I have managed at some point or the other. You can call them and ask them a question. You ask them, ‘What are you trying to achieve’. They can’t tell you what they are trying to achieve, or what they are fighting for. They are being led blindly without understanding the real ramifications of what is happening.”Garner also accused WIPA of not doing enough for non-West Indies players. He said there was an agreement in which top Caribbean cricketers benefit by sharing 25% of WICB’s earnings.”We are fighting so that the six territorial teams, besides the top players, will all be in the pool. If we are going to give 25% of everything that the WICB earns, it has to go right across the board and not only to 15 people at the top,” Garner said.

After Thilan Samaraweera made an assured hundred in Lahore to follow up his double-century in the first Test, his team-mate Kumar Sangakkara hailed him as the player “batting best” in the Sri Lankan side. The pair had combined to put on 204 runs which bailed the visitors out of trouble after they had slid to 96 for 3.”With three wickets down it was just a case of batting and batting long [and I] had a good partnership with Samaraweera,” he said. “I think he is batting the best of all our batsmen.”With four hundreds and five half-centuries in his last nine Tests, Samaraweera has established himself as a key member of Sri Lanka’s middle-order in the longer format. Though he is yet to seal a spot in the limited-over sides, Sangakkara expects him to accomplish that if he maintains his Test form.”I think he has been batting brilliantly over the past year and a half and the way he is going he is always pushing for a place in both forms of the game,” Sangakkara said. “I don’t think anyone is going to be labelled anymore a Test specialist or a one-day specialist, if they are scoring runs and they are in form, they are the batsmen who should be playing both forms of the game.”Sangakkara also made a century at what must be one of his favourite venues – Lahore, where he has made hundreds in both his previous Tests. “I was disappointed after the Karachi Test, [in] both innings I should have gone on,” he said. “Today it was a different scenario where we were a few wickets down, [and the track was] not as placid as Karachi’s, but still it was a case of just batting on and making sure that responsibilities were shouldered.”There were few gremlins in the first day pitch in Lahore, and Sangakkara was surprised Sri Lanka were put in after Younis Khan won the toss. “It seemed to be a good batting wicket,” he said. “I think we would have batted [if we won the toss]. But we were playing with only two fast bowlers so it was always better to get runs on board and put pressure on the opposition so we are quite happy either way.”With the experienced Chaminda Vaas left out of the side, there will be even more responsibility on the spinning pair of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, who struggled to make an impact in Karachi, taking only two wickets in their 124 overs. Sangakkara said the slow bowlers would be much more effective in this match if the bounce and pace stayed in the surface as then “even if it turns a bit it causes problems for the batsmen”.

A crucial inspection of the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium prior to West Indies’ Test against Australia in June 2008, and again before the abandoned Test on Friday against England, never took place according to a WICB source.In an email to Cricinfo the source said that the WICB wrote to the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, saying “they wanted assurances and would want to do a thorough inspection in sufficient time to shift the venue if they had to”. The health minister, John Maginley, reportedly gave a verbal assurance but “the WICB did not press the issue and the game took place”. Only a single session was played on the third day in the drawn Test against Australia owing to a sodden outfield and poor drainage – two factors which also blighted the ground during the 2007 World Cup.The abandonment of Friday’s second Test against England was for altogether different reasons. However, grounds in the West Indies are supposed to host a regional game prior to a Test match, in order to ready the pitch and playing areas – or in Friday’s case, simply ascertain the ground’s viability in staging any form of match. This also never happened. “The WICB never insisted strongly,” wrote the source.Spencer, meanwhile, has announced a probe into the second Test fiasco. “It is my intention to commission an investigation into the unacceptable condition of the outfield at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground,” Spencer said. “There can be lessons in today’s aborted Test match that may pre-empt any such occurrence in cricket in the future.”The Government will mobilise all resources necessary to ensure that the Antigua Recreation Ground is prepared to the standards required to guarantee the safety of players and the convenience of spectators for the start of the rescheduled second Test on Sunday.””I apologise to the players and spectators for today’s unfortunate development. I extend particular apologies to the thousands of cricketing fans from the United Kingdom whose presence richly enhances the contest between the home team and England,” Spencer said.”Antigua and Barbuda owes them a stay with us that will be memorable not for today’s debacle, but for the warmth of our hospitality and for the excitement of the Test match that will commence on Sunday.”

England’s major international venues could agree to host Test matches involving two non-English teams, as the England & Wales Cricket Board meet in Leicester on Wednesday to consider the proposals raised at their Test Match Strategy Day at Stapleford Park earlier in the week.Monday’s summit meeting, which was attended by a host of former England captains and players, was called to address the future of Test cricket, which has come under increasing scrutiny following the huge growth in popularity of the Twenty20 format.At the top of the agenda was the need to strengthen the Future Tours Programme, which has been over-burdened by the sheer weight of matches now required to meet its demands, and undervalued by the proliferation of uncompetitive fixtures. One of the proposals raised was a greater emphasis on contests between the leading Test nations.”The input from all areas of cricket provided focus on the key opportunities and issues facing the game,” said David Collier, the ECB chief executive, who added that the board intended to work more closely with the ICC to give greater context to Test cricket through a World Test Championship.That proposal could give rise to the intriguing prospect of India playing Tests against Pakistan at Headingley, where Yorkshire’s large Asian community could be expected to turn out in droves. Meanwhile, the weaker nations such as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe could find themselves limited to home Tests only, which would provide them with the exposure necessary for development, but not at the expense of the revenue of the major boards.Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, hinted at that outcome in Mohali last month, when he warned that Bangladesh might not be invited back for a full Test series after their next tour in 2010. “If we are going to have a proper strategy for Test cricket we want to have games like that we have just had in Chennai,” Clarke told reporters. “It showed everybody just what a Test can be. We have to make sure that the standard is there.”Under the staging arrangements being put in place for 2012-16, England’s nine Category A grounds are expected to be guaranteed only 11 days of international cricket over the course of five years, a prospect which jeopardises the ambitious expansion plans at many of the venues. Those grounds would doubtless welcome the prospect of more big matches being played on English soil, although one major stumbling block to such an arrangement would be the division of TV revenue.England’s current deal with Sky is worth £300 million over four years, which is a considerably larger income than any other board bar India. It is unlikely the ECB would be willing to agree to a revenue share, as proposed by Cricket Australia, if other nations wanted to stage matches on their turf.Another issue would be the willingness of other Test nations to voluntarily play their home matches overseas. According to the former England coach, David Lloyd, who was present at the meeting, Pakistan’s predicament was at the forefront of the discussions. The team did not play a single Test at home in 2008, and as Lloyd told Cricinfo, for Pakistan to agree to the idea would be tantamount to admitting that they could no longer host fixtures in their own country.Several other issues were raised at the meeting, including the suggestion that over-rates in Test matches should be improved by using points rewards or penalties within the World Test Championship, rather than the current system of fines and/or bans for transgressing captains. The ECB will also discuss the installation of improved drainage systems in all Test match venues, following the success of the system that is now in place at Lord’s.”I’m confident that there has never been such a gathering in the history of cricket in England and Wales,” claimed the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke. “I am extremely grateful for the support of all those who travelled from all corners of the country and the world to share their ideas on the state of Test cricket.”Everyone who attended shared the desire that Test cricket be preserved and reinforced as the pre-eminent form of this great game. It was an enthralling and informative session which allows the ECB board to consider key proposals which will allow us to deliver our promise of making England and Wales the home of Test cricket.”Six England captains were present at the meeting – Andrew Strauss, Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and Mike Gatting – as well as numerous past and present Test players, from Dennis Amiss, Ashley Giles, Alastair Cook, Hugh Morris, Angus Fraser, Mike Selvey, Jonathan Agnew, David Lloyd and Geoff Miller.Also present were ICC General Cricket Manager, Dave Richardson, England’s assistant coach Andy Flower, the ICC World Twenty20 director Steve Elworthy, and the elite umpire, Simon Taufel, as well as the chairmen and representatives of the 18 first-class counties and MCC.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A classical hundred from Marvan Atapattu, his first against New Zealand, and a serene unbeaten 118 from Mahela Jayawardene helped Sri Lanka stroll within touching distance of the 362 follow-on target to ensure that a draw remains the likeliest result to the opening Test despite New Zealand’s massive first-innings score. Sri Lanka closed on 351 for 3 when bad light stopped play for the third successive day.Atapattu’s chanceless innings was a textbook gem. His elbow was perpendicular and his bat dead straight as he unfurled his full repertoire of off-side strokes. His cover-driving was particularly resplendent. Against the spin of Paul Wiseman his footwork was so precise and swift as he danced down the pitch that Wiseman, the only spinner in the absence of the much-needed Daniel Vettori, was visibly rattled, eventually bowling a waist-high full-toss during a particularly punishing over just before tea.The placid pitch made it virtually impossible for New Zealand’s bowlers to exploit the few chinks in his technical armoury – lifting deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty and ones that jag back from outside the off-stump – and only Chris Martin, who bowled at a decent lick and extracted some seam movement when he bowled a fuller length, proved a handful as Atapattu stroked 22 boundaries in his 127 – a hundred that that now gives him a full house against all nine Test-playing opponents.Jayawardene, meanwhile, started like a well-oiled train and sped to his fifty at just under a run-a-ball. Unafraid to loft down the ground, he also timed the ball well through the covers and played a couple of deft late cuts. As he flowed Atapattu was able to sit back and lay anchor. Then, in the second half of the afternoon, the tables turned and Jayawardene started to slow while Atapattu grew more aggressive, quickly moving through the 90s and then passing 5000 Test runs. Their 184-run stand was a third-wicket record against New Zealand, surpassing the undefeated 159 compiled by Roy Dias and Sidath Wettimuny in Colombo during 1983-84.The pair ran up 130 in a fast-scoring afternoon session but were then separated soon after the tea break as Nathan Astle, bowling wobblers in defensive mode, had Atapattu caught at first slip. The breakthrough created an opportunity for New Zealand, opening up one end minutes before the second new ball was due. However, although Jayawardene survived one scare when he got in a tangle trying to hook on 96, the new batsman did not create any chances. Thilan Samaraweera (34 not out) and Jayawardene rounded off the day with a solid 66-run stand.Earlier, the morning began under clear blue skies, hinting at a tough day for the bowlers. The pancake-flat pitch offered no encouragement either. Sri Lanka’s openers started in the same stylish vein they finished the previous evening, scoring freely against the still-new ball in the first half hour. But Martin’s rhythm improved steadily and he began to trouble Sanath Jayasuriya (48) with deliveries that nipped back off the seam between bat and pad. He had two strong caught-behind appeals turned down before he finally broke through with a fuller off-stump delivery that seamed back just enough to win an lbw decision from Steve Bucknor.A few moments later, with the first ball after the drinks break, Martin also dismissed Kumar Sangakkara with a similar delivery that ricocheted onto the stumps after a lazy drive. Suddenly, on 101 for 2, needing 362 to avoid the follow-on, Sri Lanka were under pressure. But Atapattu and Jayawardene buckled down and, after lunch, started to reap the rewards for their hard work.A decisive result now seems improbable, but New Zealand will be kept interested by Sri Lanka’s unusually long tail. Although many of the bowlers are useful with the bat, they don’t have the luxury of a seventh batter in this match. Sri Lanka’s only chance of forcing a result will be to have a glorious batting day and draw level or build a small lead by teatime. However, with the pitch showing no signs of deterioration, a draw is the likely conclusion.How they were out
Caught on the crease by a full-length delivery that cut back.
Chopped ball on to the stumps with a lazy off-side drive.
Edged to the solitary slip while attempting to cut.

Sohail Tanvir, the Pakistan fast bowler, is looking forward to playing Twenty20 cricket in Australia to gain some valuable match experience. The 24-year-old is scheduled to fly out next Friday after signing a short five-match contract with South Australia.”It is a great honour for me,” Tanvir told . “Not many international players have played in Australian domestic cricket and this opportunity will help me to learn and progress toward my goal of being a top class all-rounder.”He would have been available to play for longer in Australia if he was not picked in Pakistan’s squad for the home series against India, or if the series was cancelled due to security concerns. But now having been cleared to play by the PCB, coupled with India calling off the tour, he is expected to replace his Pakistan team-mate, Younis Khan, who played for the Redbacks in the current Sheffield Shield season.Tanvir is likely to feature in the Redbacks’ opener in the domestic Twenty20 Big Bash, when they take on last year’s runners-up Western Australia on December 28 in Adelaide. South Australia will hope Tanvir can boost their fortunes: they are currently bottom of the one-day competition and second last in the Sheffield Shield.Currently representing the Federal Areas in Pakistan’s domestic Pentangular ODI Cup, which will conclude on December 24, Tanvir is in good form, leading the wicket-takers’ charts. Earlier in the four-day version of the Pentangular Cup, he registered his career-best figures of 7 for 21 against Baluchistan.Tanvir, who has played two Tests, 27 ODIs and 10 Twenty20 internationals for Pakistan, was also the leading wicket-taker in the inaugural IPL earlier this year, picking up 22 wickets for the champions, the Rajasthan Royals.He hoped his stint in Australia would also help him get used to the pitches and conditions ahead of Pakistan’s three-Test tour scheduled for November 2009. “A lot of people say that it’s tough to bowl in Australia, so I will have my chance to learn how to bowl there,” he said. “This will also help me when I become part of the Pakistan team which will tour Australia next year.”

England’s tour of India looks set to go ahead with reports of a warm-up match taking place in Abu Dhabi and Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, saying cricket will not be dictated to by terrorists. However, the availability of England players for the two-Test series still depends on a security assessment this week and the has reported that “at least five or six” players may pull out.Reg Dickason, the ECB’s security advisor, arrived in Chennai on Wednesday morning to inspect the venue and the team hotel for the first Test starting on December 11. He will also visit Mohali, venue of the second Test, before preparing a report on the safety situation in the country and the security measures in place for the touring team, BCCI officials said.”Reg is going to Chennai and we are awaiting his reports,” Clarke was reported as saying by AFP. “The security advice we are receiving has not changed and we are getting a lot of help and cooperation from everyone in India. A lot of progress has been made and some extremely good and constructive meetings have taken place. The BCCI is doing all it can to facilitate the tour, but we must do what we have to do properly and thoroughly. It is what every England player wants and deserves.”Under no circumstances will we allow our cricket to be dictated to by terrorists. India is an enormous country and there are large parts of it that have never seen terrorist activity. In 2005 [when terrorists attacked parts of London], the Aussies were sensible and we are doing the same here.” The newspaper reported from Abu Dhabi that the England team would arrive in the UAE on Thursday amid strict security.However, the quoted Dominic Cork, the former England fast bowler, as saying he expected a significant number of players to opt out of the tour. “I know of at least five or six players who are going to turn their backs on England,” Cork said. “Those I’ve spoken to are traumatised.”BCCI sources told that Dickason “had sent a set of conditions before his arrival and during the inspection these things will be discussed”. The requirements are believed to involve blanket security from Indian special forces. The reported that the ECB had asked the BCCI for a group of commandos to accompany the team at all times along with an emergency evacuation plan in case of a terrorist strike and a security blanket over England’s dressing rooms. Meanwhile, the Indian selectors are expected to meet in Chennai on Thursday to pick the team for the two Tests.The ECB, which has been in close consultation with the British Foreign Office since the team returned home, has reiterated that the entire tour decision rests on the outcome of the security report, and it will not be rushed into making a final announcement. According to , however, the team has been told that the decision now rests with the players themselves.Sean Morris, the England players’ association (PCA) chief, is believed to have attended a Foreign Office briefing on Tuesday, along with the ECB’s managing director Hugh Morris, and was due to meet with the players later in the day to discuss the issues. The PCA’s “No. 1 consideration” remains the security report that is still awaited from Dickason, Morris said.

The Indian board shifted the two Tests from their original venues – Ahmedabad and Mumbai – to Chennai and Mohali following the terrorist strikes in Mumbai. Despite the itinerary changes, the ECB could send a weakened squad to return to India with at least three senior players believed to be against touring. They are Andrew Flintoff, who also suffered an ankle injury during last week’s fifth ODI, James Anderson, whose wife is pregnant, and Steve Harmison.The prospect of England returning to India was not welcomed by everyone. Speaking to , the former ECB chairman Lord MacLaurin, spoke out against a resumption of the tour. “I think the ECB will probably say yes and I think it will be very sad,” he said. “I don’t think any security people can actually say it’s going to be safe. If it was left to me, I wouldn’t go.”However, Nasser Hussain, who captained England’s tour of India in 2001-02 shortly after the September 11 attacks in New York, wrote in the that the team had an obligation to get back out there and make a statement. “The country is so important to cricket and to the Indian people that we owe it to them to go back and play, as long as every possible precaution has been taken.”