England’s Ashes hopes have been boosted by the news that Kevin Pietersen is provisionally scheduled to return to cricket on June 12 for Surrey against Sussex at Arundel

George Dobell11-May-2013England’s Ashes hopes have been boosted by the news that Kevin Pietersen is provisionally scheduled to return to cricket on June 12 for Surrey against Sussex at Arundel.Pietersen was forced home from the England tour of New Zealand and subsequently ruled out of the IPL, the home Test series against New Zealand and the Champions Trophy after he was diagnosed with bone bruising to his right knee. The ECB had previously suggested he would begin full training “by the middle of June”.A return against Sussex would allow him a minimum of three first-class games before the start of the Ashes. Surrey play Yorkshire in the Championship on June 21 before England take on Essex in a four-day warm-up game ahead of the first Test against Australia at Trent Bridge, which begins on July 10.Micro-fracture surgery on the problem still remains a possibility but it is understood that Pietersen will be 100% fit on his return and there will not be any long-term implications for his involvement in all three formats for England.Pietersen suffered the injury to his knee during a warm-up match at Queenstown ahead of the Tests against New Zealand and, although he played in the first two matches, he was ruled out of the decider in Auckland and returned home. A brace was fitted and rest prescribed but his return has proved more problematic.The question of Pietersen’s workload arose last summer when he retired from limited-overs cricket, citing the England schedule. He was subsequently persuaded to return – following a destabilising stand-off that saw him dropped from the squad – and was rested for the ODI and T20 series against New Zealand in February. In 2009, he missed three Ashes Tests after suffering an Achilles problem.The possibility of Pietersen returning ahead of schedule comes after England named a squad to play New Zealand in the first Test at Lord’s featuring Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann, who both underwent elbow surgery over the winter. As expected, Jonny Bairstow will continue to deputise for Pietersen in the middle-order.

As MS Dhoni received the ICC ODI Championship Shield and a cheque of US$175,000 at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, a few of his team-mates gave their captain a standing ovation

Nagraj Gollapudi in Cardiff03-Jun-2013As MS Dhoni received the ICC ODI Championship Shield and a cheque of US$175,000 at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, a few of his team-mates – including Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja – standing on the balcony outside the dressing room gave their captain a standing ovation. Receiving the award from David Morgan, the former ICC president and current Glamorgan president, Dhoni made a witty remark: “They are clapping for their share.”And when the time came to sign off, Dhoni checked with the ICC official as to whether he could keep the shield or should hand it over to the BCCI. ” (Is this mine or should it go to BCCI)?” Dhoni asked with a smile.Dhoni’s casual banter seemed strange, given the atmosphere that is currently enveloping Indian cricket in the wake of the tumultuous events of the past three weeks. Dhoni had remained silent on the alleged corruption before he flew out from India and immediately after he landed in England. Today was no different, as the Indian players maintained a safe distance while passing the small group of media at the ground.Irfan Pathan, after finishing an interview with the tournament broadcaster, innocently walked towards the small media contingent gathered nearby. But to his and everyone’s surprise, the Indian media manager told him that he would not be speaking to the media. It was a farcical moment, which caught both the player as well as the media off guard.According to the tournament rules, though it is not mandatory for teams to field a player for media interaction, teams like Australia and West Indies have allowed a player on non-match and non-preview days to speak to the media. On Monday, Australian batsman Adam Voges spoke, the previous day his team-mate Mitchell Starc had had a chat.In contrast, the Indian board has instructed the team management to keep a tight check on their players’ activities. Being around the players, you can sense their reluctance to talk freely. On Saturday, after India had got the better of Sri Lanka in Birmingham in their first warm-up match, Dinesh Kartik was asked to give his opinion on the DRS. Kartik checked with the media manager if it was okay for him to respond, before he said something.This cautious approach by the Indian management is not new, considering they have kept media interactions in the last couple of years to the bare minimum. However, given the low point that Indian cricket is passing through, the very least the fans can expect is some open and honest chatter from the players. Even funny remarks like the one Dhoni made could allow them to retain the faith.

Australia’s fast bowlers will not be rotated during the Investec Ashes series but the much-debated rotation policy will live on in one-day cricket, according to the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland

Brydon Coverdale25-Jun-2013Australia’s fast bowlers will not be rotated during the Investec Ashes series but the much-debated rotation policy will live on in one-day cricket, according to the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland. Speaking on ABC radio on the day after the sacking of coach Mickey Arthur, Sutherland said that Australia’s selectors would be choosing the best XI for each of the upcoming 10 Tests rather than resting players based on workload.The rotating of fast bowlers – or “informed player management”, as the national selector John Inverarity called it – caused controversy last summer when Australia left Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus out of the Perth Test against South Africa after their heavy workloads in the previous Test. It was later revealed, though not at the time, that both men were suffering from injury niggles that meant they would not have been operating at full capacity had they played at the WACA.Similarly, Mitchell Starc was left out of the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka at the MCG despite the fact that he had taken 14 wickets in the previous two Tests. Again, it was later revealed that Starc was suffering from bone spurs in his ankle and the team management believed it would have been too great a risk to play him, based on the information they had been given by sports scientists on the likelihood of Starc breaking down.”I think certainly looking ahead to the Ashes series in England and next summer in Australia you won’t see any of that rotation policy, as you call it, in the fashion that we have in the past,” Sutherland said on ABC radio. “It’s about providing opportunities to players for a team that’s in transition so the selectors can see, give players opportunities at international level and see how they cope with that and respond.”For well over a decade the Australian selectors have adopted a policy of doing that particularly with one-day cricket. I’ve got no doubt that will continue but for Ashes Test matches we will day in day out be picking our best team.”The new coach Darren Lehmann, who is also a selector, is known to be an advocate of picking the best side for every game and it appears he will get his wish in Test cricket. But the rotating of players also became an issue during the limited-overs portion of the Australian summer, when Channel Nine was frustrated at the absence of several star players like Michael Clarke (who was injured) and David Warner from the first ODI against Sri Lanka.Earlier this month, at the announcement of a new broadcasting deal, the Channel Nine chief executive David Gyngell said he was not a fan of rotating players but that it was a matter for Cricket Australia to decide. The abbreviated schedule of ODIs this summer – there are only five to be played against England in January – could mean that rotation in home games becomes less of an issue even in the shorter formats.Sutherland also conceded in his ABC interview that Arthur could be considered a scapegoat for the recent on-field and off-field failures in the Australian camp and that everyone involved in Australian cricket needed to take some responsibility.”People will no doubt say Mickey Arthur is a scapegoat in this and to some extent he is but realistically as head coach you need to take responsibility for the performance of the team,” Sutherland said. “The players also need to stand up. We all do.”

David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, has revealed a trial is underway during the current Ashes series to enhance the role of the third umpire by feeding him direct pictures

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Jul-2013David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, has revealed a trial is underway during the current Ashes series to enhance the role of the third umpire by feeding him direct pictures that would avert controversial incidents like Stuart Broad getting away with a thick edge in the first Investec Test last week. Broad stood his ground having edged a ball from Ashton Agar, after the on-field umpire Aleem Dar failed to spot the deflection off the bat. Having spent all their reviews, Michael Clarke’s Australia were left high and dry.Speaking on the BBC’s , Richardson admitted it was frustrating that, in the age of technology, Broad managed to escape. “It is, of course,” Richardson said. “For that reason, up to the third Test, we have a trial going on, independent of what is happening on the field, to allow the third umpire to have a bank of televisions where he can actually choose and get access to the technology much quicker than he would if he simply relies on the director or producer sending him the pictures up to him. If we progress along these lines … there is an opportunity for the third umpire to have the say and to overrule where he thinks an obvious mistake has been made.”Richardson stressed it was a long-term process but the ICC remained optimistic. “I don’t think people should think it is going to be introduced for the next series,” Richardson said. “It is at a very basic phase and we need to progress a lot further before we get it on board in a match.”Speaking on the unusual move by the ICC to reveal the assessment of the three umpires (Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena and Marais Erasmus) and the various decisions they made during the Trent Bridge Test, Richardson reiterated that it was necessary bring the numbers out into open to erase certain doubts. However, he indicated that the ICC would not make it a norm to make the umpires assessment public.”We will take on a case-by-case basis,” Richardson said. “In this case we had put everything in perspective because it was an unusual Test match. There were so many decisions to be made, almost 75% more than normal.” The ICC release had stated that the on-field umpires made a total of seven errors, three of which were uncorrected.Not included in that list was a controversial ruling in favour of Australia debutant Ashton Agar, who was given not out when England appealed for a tight stumping. Richardson reasoned why it was not considered a mistake. “We have got a team of three who look at it,” he said. “First of all the match referee. Then if there is a bit of doubt then it goes to Vince van der Bijl, our umpires’ manager and then it goes to Geoff Allardice [the ICC’s manager of cricket]. They all felt there was just that element of doubt: was his foot in the air, maybe there was a spike on the ground? So there was just not enough for the third umpire to give actually give the decision against the batsman.”Asked if there was scope for benefit of doubt in favour of the player Richardson said primarily the ICC was looking for definitive proof to make a decision, “as far as it is possible”. He cited the example of the England of Joe Root, who was adjudged lbw at Lord’s on Thursday morning. “Anyone other than maybe an English supporter would acknowledge that it was fractionally pad first. In which case the correct decision, unfortunately, is out,” Richardson said.Richardson followed that by revealing an aspect of how the umpires’ assessment worked. “Let us say the on-field umpire had got it wrong, and he thought it was bat first,” Richardson said. “Then we will mark that technically incorrect because we say, look, there must have been some doubt in your mind so you have actually made a good cricket decision. So we don’t mark him in his personal records as having made a mistake. But technically it was an incorrect decision and we get it changed.”On Wednesday, the MCC’s World Cricket Committee, restated its backing for the DRS while pointing out that to make the system much more streamlined, the ICC needed to take control of it. But Richardson was defensive about such a step.”People say ICC should take complete control of technology,” he said. “Today we have two Hot Spot cameras, some ball tracking cameras and a couple of slow-motions cameras. But next year there will be something else … there will be real-time Snickometer. Then next year there is something else. So in a way we don’t want to hamper development. But it is going progress and it is going to become even more difficult to resist taking full advantage of the technology that gets developed. Our strategy has been: let us introduce technology but not on the basis they are just ball counters and coat hangers.”Richardson said that introducing various technologies into the game was never to make the role of the umpires obsolete. “We want them to be part of the game, the on-field umpires in particular, and that is why one of the reasons why we like the idea of them making the decision and then the players, if they really disagree, asking for it to be reviewed,” Richardson said.

Pakistan maintained their unbeaten record in the competition but were pushed all the way by England in the final group match at Derby.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2013
ScorecardPakistan maintained their unbeaten record in the competition but were pushed all the way by England in the final group match at Derby. Set 228 to win, England looked on course for victory but they faltered late in the innings to fall four runs short.Zafar Gohar did the damage with the ball for Pakistan on a wicket which assisted the spinners. His three wickets came at important times as England failed to find the innings to take them through the victory. Gohar’s wickets included Harry Finch after a half-century and then out-foxing Ryan Higgins in the penultimate over which cost just one run. Higgins looked to be taking England home but the dismissal left 11 needed from the final over and Zia-ul-Haq kept his cool.Pakistan had chosen to bat first and posted a competitive total largely thanks to a partnership of 124 for the fourth wicket between Hasan Rasan and Iman-ul-Haq. In reply England added their own century partnership as Jonathan Tattersall and Finch raised 111 for the first wicket. But despite the top three making half-centuries they failed to get over the line.

Money won’t come around for a while, but that should not stop Brendan Taylor and his men from putting up a fight. Especially in these dark times, that is the bare minimum the followers of Zimbabwe cricket deserve

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit26-Aug-2013

Match facts

Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)Brendan Taylor has to rouse his side somehow•AFP

Big Picture

What must a young, upcoming cricketer in Zimbabwe feel right now? He would be told he has to follow in the footsteps of the Flowers and the Streaks. What he sees are the Ervines and the Ballances, who choose to play cricket in another country. He would be told he has to derive inspiration from the exploits of the Zimbabwe side of the 90s. What he sees is a national team struggling to come up with even a single performance that would inspire him. He wants to believe his life can be all about cricket, only cricket. All around him, there are signs that show such a belief is just not sustainable in practice, at least in Zimbabwe.He hears seniors talk about how difficult it is to provide for their families, he sees the national side threaten to stop playing till they are promised better wages. Two days after the board promises, he sees one of his heroes, fast bowler Kyle Jarvis, all of 24, quit international cricket so that he can play the game for counties and franchises and make some money while his body lasts. He spots a chilling sentence in Jarvis’ media statement that thoroughly shakes him up, beliefs and all. “I informed my team-mates yesterday that I would be leaving and they were supportive and fully understood why I was doing this.” Half-prepared to give up the game, he looks around for some hope, some sign that everything is not lost for Zimbabwe cricket, where those who choose to stay on support those who choose to leave.And then Brendan Taylor and his men go down without a fight to Pakistan in the format in which they were supposed to have the best chance of causing an upset. Zimbabwe lost both Twenty20 internationals by considerable margins, their batsmen falling to the Pakistan spinners, who took a combined 4 for 67 and 5 for 75 in the two matches. If they couldn’t compete with Pakistan for 40 overs, what chance do they stand over 100 overs?If they couldn’t stop Jarvis from leaving, what chance do they have of preventing others who give up on the country in the future? If this continues to happen, what chance more and more young, upcoming players won’t quit either Zimbabwe or cricket much earlier than Jarvis did?No money from the board, no fight from the players, no inspiration for the followers. Money won’t come around for a while, but that should not stop Taylor and his men from putting up a fight. Especially in these dark times, that is the bare minimum the followers of Zimbabwe cricket deserve. We can all do with some inspiration.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWTLW
Zimbabwe LLLLL

Players to watch

As if all the responsibility of being Zimbabwe’s leading batsman and captain wasn’t enough, Brendan Taylor also dearly needs to rouse his side at this juncture, with both words as a leader and deeds with the bat. That this hasn’t been a productive season for him won’t help, but form as a constraint fades before the enormity of the task in front of him.Nasir Jamshed was dropped from the Test side for this tour after just two games against a tough opponent like South Africa. He’s spoken about how disappointed he felt, and how he plans to make a come back with good limited-overs performances. He could not do much in the T20s, now comes the format in which he’s impressed the most.

Team news

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdur Rehman and Asad Shafiq are the additions to the Pakistan squad for the ODIs in place of Sohail Tanvir, Zulfiqar Babar and Sohaib Maqsood, although there was a case for keeping the inexperienced batsman Maqsood around the team for the ODI leg.Pakistan (possible) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Asad Shafiq/Umar Amin, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Saeed Ajmal, 9 Asad Ali/Abdur Rehman, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Mohammad IrfanIn another unfortunate reminder of how things are, Zimbabwe announced their 18-member ODI squad late on the eve of the first ODI, but it remains to be seen what XI features for the game.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Sikandar Raza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Timcyen Maruma, 8 Shingi Masakadza, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Brian Vitori, 11 Tinashe Panyangara

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have won 12 of the 15 ODIs they have played in Zimbabwe against the hosts. Zimbabwe were able to win one and tie another, but both those matches were back in 1995
• Shahid Afridi has played 354 ODIs for Pakistan, and needs three games to overtake Wasim Akram. Only Inzamam-ul-Haq is in front after that, with 375 matches for his country

Michael Hussey has become the first player to suggest Gurunath Meiyappan was more than just a cricket “enthusiast” after N Srinivasan and India Cements have distanced themselves and Super Kings from Gurunath

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2013Michael Hussey, Chennai Super Kings’ opener, has become the first player to suggest Gurunath Meiyappan was more than just a “cricket enthusiast” after N Srinivasan and India Cements have distanced themselves and Super Kings from Gurunath, who has been chargesheeted in the IPL betting scandal. In his book, , Hussey has commented that Srinivasan ceded control of the team to his son-in-law.”Our owner was Indian Cements, headed by Mr Srinivasan,” Hussey has written. “As he was also on the board of the BCCI, he gave control of the team to his son-in-law Mr Gurunath. He ran the team along with Kepler Wessels, who was coach.”This comes at a time when the Supreme Court of India is hearing a matter related to the Gurunath betting allegations. Before Mumbai Police first sought to arrest him, Gurunath was often seen in the team dugout, at the auction table to represent Super Kings, represented himself as the team prinicipal on a verified Twitter account, and his IPL accreditation represented him as an owner.Super Kings is owned by India Cements, a listed company of which Srinivasan is vice-chairman and managing director. The BCCI president has maintained that Gurunath had nothing to do with the team, and was just a “cricket enthusiast” who was allowed to travel with them.A two-member probe panel constituted by the BCCI then cleared the Super Kings of any wrongdoing, but Cricket Association of Bihar moved court and procured a stay order against the findings of the panel, the fairness of whose constitution was questioned by the court. The matter is now being looked into by the highest court in India. The next hearing is scheduled on October 7.

Leicestershire have announced the signing of Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal to play in the NatWest T20 Blast as cover for Grant Elliott

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-2015Leicestershire have announced the signing of Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal to play in the NatWest T20 Blast as cover for Grant Elliott. Akmal will be available to play in four games in June, while Elliott is with New Zealand for their ODI series against England.”This will be my first time playing T20 for a county and I am very excited to be handed this opportunity,” Akmal said. “The club have put their trust in me so I will give my 100 percent efforts to repay their faith.”Akmal was a member of Pakistan’s World Cup squad and has played 170 limited-overs internationals for his country. Elliott and Akmal will share the second overseas slot during the Blast, with former Australia international Clint McKay available across all formats.Leicestershire’s head coach, Andrew McDonald, said: “It is brilliant that we are signing a player of Umar’s quality for when Grant is on international duty with New Zealand. Our fans should get the chance to see Umar at Grace Road on Friday, June 12, and we are all looking forward to him showcasing his skills over the course of the four games.”Leicestershire, who won the last of their three T20 titles in 2011, begin their Blast campaign on Friday against Lancashire. Akmal is expected to play in fixtures against Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.”It is fantastic to have Umar with us when Grant goes to play for New Zealand,” Leicestershire captain Mark Cosgrove said. “Along with Clint, we have high-class overseas players to supplement the young talent we have here.”

Former internationals such as Brian Lara will play in the Masters Champions League (MCL), a franchise T20 tournament for retired cricketers set to take place in the UAE in February 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2015Former internationals such as Brian Lara will play in the Masters Champions League (MCL), a franchise T20 tournament for retired cricketers set to take place in the UAE in February 2016.The tournament will be made up of six teams in its first year, with a total of 90 players taking part – 15 members per squad. The players must all have been former international cricketers who are now retired from all forms of the professional sport.The MCL has received a 10-year approval from the Emirates Cricket Board, and inaugural matches of the tournament will take place over two weeks in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.”Our ultimate vision is for the MCL to become the natural next step for all international players retiring from the professional game to extend their careers in a masters league,” MCL chairman Zafar Shah said.Adam Gilchrist, Brian Lara, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja and Danny Morrison were present at the official launch of the tournament.

A brilliantly unorthodox 96 from Sarfraz Ahmed and a seventh Test century from Asad Shafiq turned the Galle Test around on a fourth day that exposed Sri Lanka’s bowling limitations

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy20-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:45

Pakistan on top after day four

A brilliantly unorthodox 96 from Sarfraz Ahmed and a seventh Test century from Asad Shafiq turned the Galle Test around on a fourth day that exposed Sri Lanka’s bowling limitations. Having been five down and 182 behind at the start of the fourth morning, Pakistan were bowled out 45 minutes into the final session, having taken a 117-run lead. Their bowlers then struck twice to leave Sri Lanka a tricky job to get through the final day unscathed.Sri Lanka’s openers saw out eight tight overs from Pakistan’s new-ball pair before Wahab Riaz struck the first blow, angling one across at three-quarters pace and inducing Kaushal Silva to stretch out for a drive and edge to third slip. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kumar Sangakkara played vigilantly for the next eleven overs, and looked secure enough to confirm that the pitch, rather than deteriorating, had slowed down a touch. But the bowling was always probing, and the wicket-taking ball was always around the corner. Yasir Shah produced it, getting extra bounce to get Sangakkara to pop one to short leg off the glove as he stretched forward to defend. At stumps, Karunaratne was batting on 36 with the nightwatchman Dilruwan Perera for company.Sarfaraz struck 13 fours in his 86-ball blitz; the lofted drive that took Shafiq from 96 to 100 was only his fourth. Their contrasting methods proved equally effective during their 139-run stand, and showed why they have already become Pakistan’s most successful sixth-wicket pair. Shafiq’s defence was impeccable, and he minimised Sri Lanka’s hopes of inroads at his end even when Sarfraz was blazing away at the other.Shafiq didn’t change his game too much while batting with the lower order; he simply took the singles on offer against the well-spread fields and let his partners do the bulk of the scoring. Shafiq scored 51 runs in the post-lunch session; between them, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar made 88, profiting from some tired, unimaginative Sri Lankan bowling.The seamers bounced the lower-order batsmen, and while there was one moment of acute discomfort – Dhammika Prasad smacking the back of Yasir Shah’s helmet while he took his eyes off the ball – the tactic also leaked runs. Yasir pulled hooked to the square leg boundary, and Zulfiqar backed away from his stumps to shovel the short ball over midwicket and mid-on or carve the ball square on the off side. Zulfiqar grew in confidence as he spent more time at the crease, and soon brought up his maiden Test fifty by launching the offspinner Dilruwan over long on.By the time Shafiq was stumped running out of his crease to Dilruwan, the last four wickets had stretched Pakistan’s score by 182 runs. But they couldn’t have done it without Sarfraz, who dramatically altered the state of the game with his thrilling attack in the morning session.Last year, Sarfraz was the only Pakistan batsman who got on top of Rangana Herath during their tour of Sri Lanka. Where his team-mates were consumed by the thought of survival, he was constantly looking for runs, and challenging him with his unorthodoxy, often taking guard outside leg stump.He made three fifties and a hundred in the two Tests, and the confidence from all those runs was apparent right from the third over of the morning, when he took a big stride forward to sweep Herath to the backward square leg boundary and followed it up with nimble footwork two balls later to get down the track and inside the line to drive inside-out through extra cover.Sarfraz had a unique and effective response to all of Sri Lanka’s bowlers. He stood outside leg stump when the offspinner Dilruwan Perera bowled from around the wicket and took an off-stump guard when he bowled from over the wicket, enabling him to get to the pitch of the ball easier when he tossed it up wide of off stump.Against the fast bowlers, who hinted at reverse swing in the first hour, he took guard outside his crease – sometimes six inches outside, sometimes so far ahead of it that his feet may have straddled a second crease twice the distance from the stumps. From this position he clipped Dhammika Prasad against the around-the-wicket angle, and then used the pace to dab the ball to the third man boundary when he changed angle and dug it in short.The scoring was rapid, comfortably over four an over even though Shafiq relied almost entirely on his defence at the other end. Sarfraz was on 15 and Shafiq on 14 when the day began. When Shafiq struck his first boundary of the day – a rasping square-cut off Nuwan Pradeep in the ninth over of the morning – he moved to 23. Sarfraz by that time had waltzed past 50.Both batsmen looked entirely secure in their methods, and Sri Lanka’s bowling – as cause or consequence – seemed to lack bite. Sri Lanka’s tactics were also a touch puzzling, particularly their use of their main weapon. Herath went out of the attack after only one full over (and the remainder of the third evening’s incomplete final over), and by the time he returned, both batsmen were comfortably set, and the deficit had been cut down to 116.The same method that had brought Sarfraz his runs also led to his downfall when he was within reach of his fourth Test hundred. Prasad sent down a full ball outside off and Sarfraz stretched out to try and sweep him. It would have been breathtakingly audacious had it come off, but he only managed to drag the ball off his inside edge onto off stump.