Sri Lankan cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya has requested help from SriLankan cricket fans for people in Hambantota who are suffering from a severedrought."I am requesting the people all over the world to come forward to help theresidents of Hambanthota who are faced with a severe drought. This is anational cause and the people need help badly," said the Sri Lankan captain,as his side was preparing to take on Bangladesh in the inaugural Test Matchbetween the two countries.Due to the present drought, drinking water in the area is scarce and the SriLankan cricket team has already donated mineral water bottles to theresidents of the area: "We just started with the cricket board and havealready collected 10,000 liters of water. I am requesting the public forsimilar donations."He added: "If the people would like to come up with some support they cancontact Kushil Gunasekara (Coordinating Secretary) at the Cricket Board andextend their cooperation."The national side will visit the area after the Bangladesh Test: "We will begoing to Hambantota on Sept 12 and can take any donations down with us."Donations of water and food can be made at the Board of Control for Cricketin Sri Lanka (BCCSL) headquarters at 35, Maitland Place, Colombo 7, SriLanka.

Western Warriors coach Michael Veletta will seek guidance from Australian cricket selectors before deciding where Test opener Justin Langer bats this season.Langer grinded out a gutsy century when recalled to the Australian side for the fifth Ashes Test as an opener and is now locked in a battle with the discarded Michael Slater for the one unsettled position in Australia’s top order.He has already approached Veletta about opening for WA in the early Pura Cup and ING Cup matches in a bid to impress selectors ahead of the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane on November 8.”He’s obviously very keen because he’s done well at international level,” said Veletta, who replaced Wayne Clark at the end of last season.Veletta is determined the Warriors’ star-studded batting line-up doesn’t underachieve as it did last year and has warned reputations would count for nothing at the selection table.But the 37-year-old, who used to open for WA himself, admits he will seek guidance from Australian selectors in their plans for Langer.”This side has an obligation to develop cricketers for Australia and we also have an obligation to develop cricketers for Western Australia to make our side a success,” he said.”We’ve got to be in a position to make a judgement call as to which is most important to us.”And if it is to develop cricketers for Australia, which is very important to us, and Justin’s role with Australia is as an opener, then I would suggest we would have to support that.”The Warriors have plenty of batting talent to choose from with Ryan Campbell, former Zimbabwe international Murray Goodwin, Marcus North, Adam Gilchrist and Scott Meuleman all touted as possible partners for regular opener Mike Hussey.One thing working in Langer’s favour is WA management’s reluctance to unsettle Simon Katich from first drop after his stellar 1,009 run Pura Cup season last summer.Veletta said today he considered the choice of an opening combination the most important state selectors would make ahead of the team’s opening Pura Cup match against Queensland starting on October 17 at the Gabba.”Call me old fashion, but a lot of our success has been generated on the success of our openers which has made our middle orders a lot better for it,” Veletta said.”At the moment we are in the enviable position of having a lot of players who can step up to the ranks of opening.”Usually you get to this stage of a season and everyone is ducking for cover to try and bat in the middle order.”But we’ve got a number of guys who’ve put their hand up to lead the batting for WA.”

Pakistan take on Sri Lanka Saturday in an encounter whichprovides Waqar Younis and his boys a chance to exact somerevenge of last April’s humiliating defeat in the final.Having beaten Sri Lanka by comfortable margins in the leaguematches, Pakistan surrendered tamely in the final, now afamiliar occurring.On paper, Pakistan are more talented than Sri Lankans butsomehow the present team seems to choke in the quest fortrophy.Playing an international match after five months due to thecancellation of New Zealand visit, Pakistan should have noexcuses if they failed to deliver the goods as the playersare fresh having appeared in a domestic knockoutcompetition.Since their arrival here, Pakistan players had couple ofpractice sessions and if the team management is to bebelieved then everyone is fit and raring to go. But withplayers and team management kept under wrap and not allowedaccess to media, Saturday’s match would reveal the state offitness of the players.However, news leaked to the press indicate that all is notwell with at least two players Azhar Mahmood and ShoaibAkhtar, eternally fit for tours but unfit after sending downfew overs, was battling injuries.It is almost certain that Azhar will sit out today’s clashbut Shoaib is likely to make the team.With Inzamam-ul-Haq to watch the match from the cosyatmosphere of the dressing room, middle-order batsman NavedLatif is expected to win his first international cap at theexpense of Taufiq Omar.Sri Lanka on the other hand are expected to make one change.They may bring in Kumar Sangakkara in place of RomeshKaluwitharana who failed with the bat but had a good sessionbehind the stumps.With weather expected to be cooler and less humidity, a highscoring game is on cards as the wicket is hard, firm andideal for stroke-making.Probable teamsPakistan (from): Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, YousufYouhana, Shahid Afridi, Taufiq Omar, Naved Latif, WasimAkram, Abdur Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Danish Kaneria, ShoaibMalik, Younis Khan, Rashid Latif, Azhar Mahmood.Sri Lanka (from): S.Jayasuriya, M.Atapattu, A.Gunawardena, M. Jayawardena, R.Arnold, R. Kaluwitharana orK.Sangakkara, K. Dharmasena, C.Vaas, D.Fernando,M.Muralitharan, C.Buddika.

The last day of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-I National CricketChampionship was dominated by a bizarre incident Sunday whenMahmood Rasheed, the match referee at the PIA-PWD tie,breached the Pakistan Cricket Board rules by dereliction ofduty.Mahmood, younger brother of ex-Test batsman Haroon Rasheedand a former first-class cricketer himself, instead ofcompleting the final day’s rituals left everyone in thelurch at UBL Sports Complex.The referee apparently decided to give priority to anotherwise inconsequential final of a veterans tournament -organized by a controversial group – since he was a keyplayer of one of the teams.Raees Ahmed, who is also on the PCB panel of match referees,took over from Mahmood after some 45 minutes of play whenthe latter left for Clifton.According to sources, Mahmood had presumably taken priorpermission from one of the Cricket Management Committee’scity-based members to make himself unavailable Sunday.A referee, who is the liaison between the umpires andplayers, has to ensure that the match for which he isappointed is completed in a fair and friendly environment.In between, he can’t skip the match unless in exceptionalcircumstances, such as illness or a family-related problemetc.Therefore, Mahmood’s action had clearly violated the rulesprescribed by the PCB since he was neither ill nor was thereany emergency where the referee’s presence was needed. InMahmood’s case, the only reason was personal satisfaction.Just last week, Sajid Abbasi, a match referee, turned down asimilar request to make himself available for anotherveterans game because he was supervising the PWD-Allied Bankfixture at the same venue.Coincidentally, Mahmood, who was allotted just one Patron’sTrophy, had failed to pass the referees’ examinationconducted by Pakistan’s representative on the ICC panel ofmatch referees, Col Naushad Ali, here sometime ago.Efforts to contact Mahmood proved fruitless at the time offiling the report as he was busy playing at Asghar Ali ShahStadium in a night tournament!

The ICC has appointed former Sri Lanka Cricket Captain and International Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle, to be its Chief Referee. This is a new position within the ICC, which did not previously have a Chief Referee."He is clearly regarded as the outstanding member of the existing panel. His record as a former captain of Sri Lanka and the high regard in which he is held throughout the cricket world make him an ideal appointment for this position," said ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed.The ICC recently took a decision to appoint five International Match Referees on contract, departing from the present practice of appointing Match Referees tour by tour. Madugalle is the first of the Match Referees to be appointed.As his first task, Madugalle will identify a panel of potential referees from whom the remaining four referees will be chosen. The final panel will be chosen by the ICC Chief Executive and Sunil Gavaskar, the Chairman of the Cricket Committee Playing.Madugalle played for Sri Lanka in 21 Tests and 65 one-day-internationals between 1979 and 1989, captaining the team from 1987-89. He has served as an ICC Match Referee since 1994, and has officiated in matches involving all Testplaying nations.He had the distinction of serving as the Match Referee in the 1999 World Cup Final in England, and the ICC Knockout Tournament Finals in 1998 and 2000. He served as a Match Referee in the 1996 and 1999 World Cups.Madugalle served on the ICC Panel on Illegal Deliveries from its inception until 2000, and was also a member of the ICC Sub-Committee to Review Umpiring and Refereeing Standards.He was a National Selector from 1990-92 and again from 1992-97. He is currently a Member of the BCCSL’s Cricket Committee.

He said it in a very soft tone, but the serious look on theface of Brian Charles Lara confirmed his intent.I’ll be back. My career is far from over. I’ll be back inthe runs soon, the region’s master batsman told the SUNDAYSUN yesterday evening, minutes after returning to theCaribbean from another failed team tour, this one of SriLanka.Wincing occasionally and rubbing the sides of the soft castwhich protects the hairline fracture of the best left elbowin Test cricket, Lara refused to think negatively about thefreak accident last week with Marvan Atapattu that will keephim out of the game for at least six weeks, and aforthcoming tour of Pakistan.It was an accident. Accidents happen in sport, so you can’tthink about it any other way. I don’t remember much of whathappened, but in the hospital I did say at one stage: Whyme?I’m over that now, because this injury is just anothersetback. It could have happened earlier in my career when Iwas doing well, but it chose to happen now, Lara said.I know it’s going to take some time, but with my approach tothe game, I know I’ll be back to where I was when the injuryhappened. I expect some stiffness soon after the cast comesoff, but I already have a format in mind about how I plan towork before I can play again.I’m focused mentally even though I’m out of the game, andthis rest will also be the perfect opportunity for myhamstring to get the required rest it really needs to heal.The Trinidadian said it was sad that another West Indiesoverseas tour had ended in a Test series defeat, but somepositive signs were still seen, apart from his return toscintillating form.We can’t just worry about the bad things all the time. Wehave to take whatever we can from the good, and improve onthat. That’s the only way West Indies cricket can move outof this phase of losing overseas, Lara added.He noted that each player should use his experience oflosing as a measuring stick of his individual performance.I’ve learnt over my career it makes absolutely no sense todwell on the past, Lara said as he sat a couple feet awayfrom his British model girlfriend Lynnsey Ward at theAirport en route to Trinidad and Tobago.

The Australian Cricket Board will take no action against captain Steve Waugh after a hostile ending to his post match media conference following his team’s exit from the tri series.ACB chief executive James Sutherland said he had spoken to Waugh about the incident after Australia’s loss to South Africa at the WACA, when the skipper swore under his breath as he left the conference and muttered that some journalists were “on thin ice”.His anger surfaced after repeated questions on the possibility of changes to the Australian one-day side following its failure to make the tri series finals for just the third time in 22 years.Waugh, who acknowledged that his own position could come under scrutiny, said that selections were now made only by selectors but he agreed he had some say inthe matter.However, when asked if he would suggest any changes to the team, he said it was decided by selectors.Sutherland said it was a difficult media conference for the weary captain after a long international season.”A couple of ACB representatives were there, I have spoken to them, it would appear it was a pretty difficult press conference at the end of a difficult match and a long summer,” Sutherland said.”He (Waugh) made an off-the-cuff remark to an ACB person on the way out.”I understand the context of that, I have spoken to Steve Waugh and I won’t be taking the matter any further.”It was the second time Waugh’s personal asides at a media conference have caused him problems.Last month Waugh apologised to South African fast bowler Steve Elworthy over a flippant remark about the paceman’s brain – or lack of it.That comment came as Waugh observed Proteas skipper Shaun Pollock telling a post-match news conference a scan on Elworthy, who was struck by a GlennMcGrath bouncer during the match, had found no damage.Waugh was criticised in the South African media for reportedly saying to ACB media manager Brian Murgatroyd: “Yeah, and I bet they didn’t find a brain either.”Waugh said he was disappointed in the way that incident was reported and that he had been misquoted.”It was a private conversation and wasn’t meant to be heard by anyone else, it wasn’t meant to be offensive, it obviously has been seen that way but the words were not the words that I said,” he said at the time.

New Zealand’s failure to live up to the promise seen in its early rounds of the VB Series has been the biggest disappointment of their loss in the first final in Melbourne last night.New Zealand had its chances but a poor batting effort and the relentlessness of the South African batting ground New Zealand into the dirt, with the prospect that they may have had their last chance this time to achieve a second New Zealand victory in the history of finals of the tri-series.Newspaper comment in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa is included below:The New Zealand Herald: “A day which started reasonably brightly for Stephen Fleming’s side – with all team members reporting fit and well, clear skies and the coin falling in his favour – slowly turned into the match from hell, as the batting line-up short-circuited, leaving him with little hope of restricting the South Africans.”Fleming and Craig McMillan helped to partly rescue their side with a 109-run third wicket partnership.”But New Zealand folded in the second half of the innings and were all out with 2.1 overs unbowled.”McMillan patched together his most meaningful contribution of the series, striking 73 off 99 balls.”Fleming played an equally important hand with 50 off 79 balls.”But as well as the pair batted, they were possibly as much of the problem as the solution.”Their painstaking work averted immediate collapse, but by meandering along at a leisurely four an over, they consumed half the overs at their side’s disposal as they concentrated on establishing themselves and getting the total past 100.”The Sydney Morning Herald: “The Xhosa man from Alice, Makhaya Ntini, and his pace bowling partner, Lance “Zulu” Klusener, cut down New Zealand’s batsmen to pave the way for an overwhelming first final success by South Africa at the MCG last night.”The 24-year-old Ntini claimed 5-31, his finest return in a career of 37 limited-over internationals, while Klusener captured the crucial wickets of Stephen Fleming (50) and Chris Cairns (0) within five deliveries.”Capitalising on the foundations laid by their bowlers, Boeta Dippenaar (79no) and Jacques Kallis (59no) produced a record third-wicket partnership of 139 runs from 183 balls to complete the victory.”Deluge in Sydney permitting, the teams are scheduled to meet in the second final tomorrow.”New Zealand captain Fleming praised Ntini, saying: ‘He’s pretty slippery. He’s doing damage at the top with his variation and bounce. And he’s very accurate.'”Winning captain Shaun Pollock said: ‘We have started to play the way we know we can.'”As they led the South Africans from the MCG at the dinner break, man-of-the-match Ntini and Klusener (2-27) must have wondered at the extraordinary fortunes of a fickle game. The agony of their team’s 3-0 Test match losing series to Australia in December-January seemed an eternity ago.”Ntini was dropped after going wicketless in the Adelaide Test, while Klusener’s performances indicated he would have been omitted from the Sydney Test. He returned home to be with his pregnant wife.”New Zealand’s misfortunes escalated when paceman Dion Nash walked off after his first over, having aggravated an abdominal strain sustained when he fell heavily while batting.”The Australian: “South Africa placed a stranglehold on this summer’s tri-series title with a comfortable eight-wicket win over New Zealand in last night’s opening final at the MCG.”With Sydney’s wet weather threatening the remaining two matches, a one-nil lead could be enough to land the Proteas the $50,000 for the winner.”With no reserve days scheduled, matches cancelled due to rain can’t be replayed, which meant yesterday’s fixture carried even greater significance as it was the only one guaranteed of producing an outcome.”Sunday’s match, if required, has already been changed from a day-night fixture to a day game following a suggestion from the Nine network, which was eagerly agreed to by both teams.”Despite its significance, only 20,671 people bothered to turn up yesterday, which was 5000 less than the conservative figure Australian officials had predicted when they foreshadowed a financial shortfall of about $1 million.”The win was set up by Makhaya Ntini, who fortunately proved a final lacking in atmosphere and devoid of local interest does not have to do without a star.”His career-best one-day return of 5-31 not only won him the plaudits of his team-mates but earned him the adoration of the MCG outer to which he doffed his cap as he retired to the outfield after his 10th over.”It was a justified return for the 24-year-old from the Eastern Cape, who initially won fame as South Africa’s first black African Test player.”The Daily Telegraph: ” Australia, you’ve got a lot to answer for. Yesterday’s day-night ‘mockbuster’ final between South Africa and New Zealand was even duller than the most bitter Aussie fan could have predicted. Just 20,671 turned up at a strangely quiet MCG to watch the South Africans cruise to victory with ridiculous ease.”The Proteas, chasing 191 on a dream batting deck, took a 1-0 lead in the one-day finals series with 29 balls to spare.”It’s a pity the bonus point system didn’t extend to the finals, giving South Africa incentive to win inside 40 overs. We all would have been put out of our misery a bit earlier.”Full credit to South Africa for making it 16 wins from its past 17 against the Kiwis, but this will not be one for their greatest hits video collection.”Rapidly improving South African quick Makhaya Ntini produced the best one-day performance of his career to set up the win. It was shame the mood was so flat as he wreaked havoc.”Ntini took 5-31 off his 10 overs, striking twice early and then returning with a savage knockout blow.”The Mercury (Durban): “It is always possible to imagine a reversal in Sydney – scene of South Africa’s most humiliating one-day defeat this summer at the hands of the Aussies – but the Kiwis will have to do an awful lot better to make it happen.”On Wednesday, everything went right for the Proteas, even those little bits of luck that are often necessary for victory in limited-overs cricket.”Nevertheless, it is extraordinary that the recent record between two such evenly matched teams is so lopsided in favour of South Africa.”The Proteas’ sixth consecutive victory at the MCG rewrote that record to read 17 matches, one defeat, 15 wins and a washout (which would have been an SA win).”The Black Caps seem to have been far more aggressive against the Australians, and their 3-1 record in this series against the world champions bears testimony to that. But against South Africa they have been conservative, as if fearful of risking anything.”It was only when their one genuine match-breaker, Chris Cairns, took control in Brisbane, that the New Zealanders eventually broke their log-jam of defeats. But it took one of the best one-day centuries in years – from a starting point of 98-5 – to get them through to an unlikely win.”

Positivism was the message England captain Nasser Hussain was throwing out after his side’s record one-day loss to New Zealand at WestpacTrust Stadium in Wellington.Despite the 155-run margin Hussain said he firmly believes he has the players to beat New Zealand.”Otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” he said.But he did acknowledge that the performance yesterday had not been good enough.”Today was a poor performance, there is no excuse for it all the way through. It was not a 90 all out wicket and it is not a 240 wicket, it is somewhere between those two.”Maybe if we kept them down to 180, and fielded a little better, and put in the energy that New Zealand put in we might have batted a bit more sensibly. But all departments were not good enough today,” he said.While the pitch had done a bit all day, New Zealand’s bowlers had put the ball in the right areas more often than the England attack, their fielders took better catches than England. And if things had been done better, New Zealand could have been 30/4.Hussain did not think some marginal umpiring decisions had impacted on the side.”We could have had 15 decisions go for us today and we’d have lost,” he said.

The formula was obvious, after all, as Hussain told the press conference, two games ago the English media had been saying England were a good side.The team did not go from being a good side to a bad one in two games, he said.”One thing that we have done in the last few years is we have picked ourselves up, we will have a chat and try to pick ourselves up.”It is part and parcel of being an England cricketer. You do have days like this and you have to pick yourself up. I firmly we have the ability in that room to beat New Zealand otherwise I wouldn’t be here and we showed that for large parts of the game the other day.”We were a better side the other day, today we weren’t and therefore I have to remind them of that and therefore ask them to be honest with me and ask them why we were all so flat and to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”You have to focus in and do our job and not enough of us did that today,” he said.Hussain also explained the replacement of wicket-keeper James Foster by Marcus Trescothick. It had been to give Foster a break.”James Foster has been tired the last two or three days and he has talked to a couple of coaches about it.”He’s a young lad who’s come out of University where he played 15 games in a year and now he’s playing 50 games in a year so he was feeling it a little bit so we rested him today in the hope he’ll have fresh legs later on in the series, whether it be in the one-dayers or test matches or whatever,” he said.”Owais Shah came in because he’s a good young prospect and we’ll readdress the side when we look at conditions in Napier.”

Otago had the man of the hour in Martyn Croy with his share of the national wicket-keeping record, but it was Auckland who took the spoils from the State Championship match which Auckland won with seven wickets to spare this evening.Actually Auckland, needing only 116 in the second innings to win, won with seven wickets, 11 balls and the fourth day to spare – clinching the victory at 7.45pm.Taking the maximum six points from the match Auckland retain their position sharing first place on the top of the Championship table with Wellington.Croy took his starring role when two catches in the first half hour gave him seven for the innings and abruptly ended the Auckland first innings at 316 – Rob Nicol, the second-day hero, unbeaten on 109.Croy had set a new Otago record with his sixth catch, and his seventh had him sharing the national mark with Robin Schofield of Central Districts, Wasim Bari of Pakistan, Bryan Young of Northern Districts and Ian Smith of New Zealand.The Otago second innings finished at 190, mainly due to an heroic 80 in 232 minutes by Chris Gaffaney (Rob Smith was the only other batsman to reach 20), and so Auckland had plenty of time chasing 116 for victory.They went at the task eagerly, sensing the chance of a day’s holiday tomorrow. They lost three wickets for 118, and unfortunately none of these went to Croy who, at better times, might have challenged the national match record of 10 dismissals held by Adam Gilchrist of Australia and Chris Nevin of Wellington.Apart from Gaffaney and some stout work by Smith and his fellow tail-enders, the Otago second innings was disappointing.Batting conditions were still good, the sun shone, there was a cooling breeze and too many of the Otago batsmen wasted the chance of taking their first innings toward 300 and pitting their spinners Smith and Nathan Morland against the Auckland second innings.Instead Otago lost wickets in bunches. Simon Beare and Craig Cumming were out to consecutive balls at 13 to the young Auckland medium-fast bowler Gareth Shaw, who missed a hat-trick.Robbie Lawson looked sound enough until he touch a catch from Shaw to the Auckland ‘keeper with the total on 50. Gaffaney and Andrew Hore seemed to have stiffened the resistance as they worked toward 78, but then Brooke Walker took three wickets in one over at no cost, and Otago was virtually out of the contest.Walker bowled Hore with what appeared, from the sideline perspective, to be a wrong’un which Hore did not read. Craig Pryor kept out one ball, got some bat to the next, but the ball rolled back and dislodged a bail. Croy lifted his bat clear, padded away Walker’s next ball, and umpire Barry Frost ruled Croy lbw.Morland played and missed Walker’s hat-trick ball, but Otago had lost the heart of its innings at 78, when Otago were only three runs in profit. Morland was another Reece Young-Shaw victim at 104/7 and the end was nigh.Not that Gaffaney noticed. He defended sensibly, and picked the right times to play his strong strokes with measured accuracy, and never a hint of hopeful slogging.He seemed within reach of a meritorious century when Nicol had him lbw at 154/8 with the first ball of a new spell. Gaffaney had batted with marvellous determination for 232 minutes and had hit 13 fours from 162 balls.Smith toiled away until Chris Drum knocked out his off stump at 164, and James McMillan and David Sewell worked sensibly until McMillan was lbw to Drum.This last dismissal meant that Otago had offered up four lbw dismissals in each innings, whereas Auckland lost two wickets in each innings to lbw decisions.As the only reasonable reporting position was high at mid-wicket the merit of the umpiring decisions could not be judged. However, it could be said that the bowlers who maintained a very accurate attacking line and were prepared to bend their backs (or the spinners who could get an increasing amount of turn) were likely to get a little movement and sometimes a livelier bounce from the pitch, and these appeared to strengthen the claims for lbw.