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Indian coach John Wright singled out the happenings on the firstevening as the turning point in the first Test against Sri Lanka whichIndia lost by 10 wickets early Friday morning. “Those couple of latewickets in the first evening were crucial. That took the game awayfrom us. We should have at least put up 250 which would have been acompetitive score,” said the New Zealand born Wright who is with theIndian side on a one-year contract.Wright praised the Sri Lankan attack, “It’s a balanced attack andtheir bowlers bowled well right from the start to make thingsdifficult for us.”The Indian bowlers, for their part, though failedto deliver the goods when the Lankans were batting. “It makes thingsdifficult for the captain when you’ve got the best square cutter inthe middle and the bowlers keep on feeding him in his favourite area,” Wright observed.But he was hopeful that the side would bounce back in Kandy. “We have been in situations such as this before and we got to fight our way back.” He though admitted that restoring parity was not going to be an easy task for his team. “Sri Lanka are a difficult side to beat.”Muttiah Muralitharan once again was the wrecker-in-chief with a fivewicket haul in the Indian second innings. He claimed eight in thematch.Wright says his batsmen have to be more positive in handlingthe Sri Lankan off-spinner. “They have to play their natural game andback themselves. But I don’t think that there’s any secret formula toplay Muralitharan. You can’t say you got to play this way. You got tobe positive against everyone and not to be intimidated by hisreputation.”However Indian captain Sourav Ganguly took a different view on the subject, “Lot of players in this squad with the exceptionof me and Rahul are facing him for the first time. So they’ve got noexperience on how to handle him”Ganguly also paid tribute to the Sri Lankan team, “The Sri Lankansplayed really well. They came up with a good all round performance.”Ganguly, like Wright before him, blamed the batsmen for coming up witha pathetic performance, “After that opening partnership between Rameshand Das we just didn’t bat well. The middle order failed and 187 wasnever going to be enough”The skipper himself was dismissed by fast bowler Dilhara Fernando ontwo occasions in this game as his poor form with the bat continued. “Ihave to score runs. I have scored four hundreds previously againstthis side. I am making mistakes and getting out. I got a bad decisionin the first innings. I got a bad decision in the first Test inZimbabwe too. But this is part and parcel of game. I have been tryingto do everything and I just need to spend sometime in the middle.”

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Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla will miss the Championship clash with Millwall at Elland Road at the end of the month after picking up a one-match ban for the red card he received against Sheffield United on Saturday, and it gives Bailey Peacock-Farrell an unexpected chance.

On the chalkboard

Despite being Marcelo Bielsa’s first-choice between the sticks in the first half of the season, the 22-year-old was cast aside almost immediately to accommodate former Real Madrid man Casilla following his arrival during the January transfer window.

The experienced 32-year-old had played every minute of league action since January 26 – until he saw red late on against the Blades at the weekend that is.

Peacock-Farrell looked as though he would be spending the run-in sat on the substitutes’ bench, but he now has a massive opportunity and he will know he needs to take it.

What could he do?

Despite what happened with the 6ft 4in stopper at the beginning of 2019, Bielsa has shown previously that he is willing to stick with a player in the starting XI if they are performing well.

Should the Northern Ireland international get the nod against the Lions – as expected – and puts in a stellar performance and gets a clean sheet for example, there is no reason why he may not keep his place the following weekend.

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If that happens and continues to happen in the remaining fixtures of the campaign, he could well be the Yorkshire outfit’s unexpected hero as they look to secure a top-two finish and a return to the Premier League.

The goalkeeper’s role in the team is vital, and if Peacock-Farrell can pull off saves and keep the ball out of the net, he could be the hero in May – that’s something he wouldn’t have thought was possible prior to last weekend.

Desert Vipers batter Shimron Hetmyer has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing ILT20 season due to a hamstring injury. Hetmyer got injured while playing against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) earlier this week, and has been replaced in Vipers’ squad by former England batter Jason Roy.Hetmyer played in all seven games for Vipers so far this season, but had a quiet time with the bat. He scored just 111 runs in six innings at an average of 18.50, although at an impactful strike rate of 160.86. Hetmyer’s highest score was the 48 off 25 balls he smashed against ADKR on December 5.Roy, meanwhile, enters the ILT20 after three matches for Pokhara Avengers in the Nepal Premier League, where he scored 68 runs at an average of 34. Before that, he was at the Abu Dhabi T10, where he was Royal Champs’ captain. Roy also has previous experience of playing in the ILT20. In 2024, he played two matches for ADKR, while next season, he played 12 games for Sharjah Warriorz, and got 298 runs at an average of 29.80.”We are extremely disappointed to lose a player of Shimron’s quality and experience as he has played a positive role in our squad this season, but securing someone of Jason’s pedigree and experience certainly softens that blow,” Tom Moody, Vipers’ Director of Cricket, said.”Jason ticks all the boxes for us. He knows the format inside-out, he is a versatile batter who can go through the gears, he provides us options up and down the order, he has been playing recently and he has experience in the ILT20.”Vipers are currently at the top of the points table, with six wins in seven games. The one-run loss they suffered against ADKR this week was their first after six back-to-back victories to start the tournament. Vipers are next in action on Sunday evening, when they face Warriorz in Dubai, with their new recruit Roy having already arrived there.

Split captaincy would not work when the Test and ODI sides were so similar, according to Ian Smith © Getty Images

New Zealand’s decision to hand Daniel Vettori the Test captaincy after ten years with Stephen Fleming at the helm was a fair call, according to several former New Zealand players. The consensus was that although there could have been benefits in leaving Fleming in charge, appointing Vettori would bring a freshness to the team.Martin Crowe said Vettori would need to learn quickly and would face challenging decisions over how often to bowl himself. “Stephen’s had a pretty good whack and at end of the day it is sport,” Crowe told the . “I don’t have a major problem with the call.”But I just wonder whether Fleming would have got more out of Vettori as a bowler in the upcoming Test matches than Vettori will out of Vettori, just in his first year. They are big shoes to fill for Dan and things will need to go his way. Flem was a scientist in the one-day game and Dan will need to learn that. You can’t go five overs umming and ahing.”Ian Smith said the writing was on the wall for Fleming when he quit the ODI captaincy after the World Cup as split leadership would not work. “If you have sides that are six or seven players different then two captains might work,” Smith said.”But I can’t see how the same sides can have two different leaders in a dressing room. It just wouldn’t work. As far as Dan goes I have no problem. He is a great student of the game and he is genuine allrounder whose place in the side is never in doubt.”Adam Parore described Fleming’s captaincy as outstanding and said the only other leaders who had come close to matching him were Steve Waugh and Michael Vaughan. “He was the best going around,” Parore said. “It’s inevitable with age and time that you get sameness no matter who you are. It is not a problem you can fix.”

Ross Lyons in action during last year’s training camp in Pretoria © Touchline

The second annual ICC winter training camp begins in South Africa next week with 24 players from the six top Associate countries coming together for intensive coaching, training and tactical analysis of one-day cricket with some of the leading coaches.Players from Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland will arrive at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria on October 2 for a seven-week camp that will aim to boost their form and skills ahead of the World Cup in West Indies next March.Last year, the camp concentrated on fitness and technical improvements but, according to the Richard Done, the ICC’s high performance manager, the emphasis of this year’s camp will be slightly different.”The success of last year’s camp has been really encouraging. Several of the players who attended the WTC in 2005 have gone from strength to strength within their own countries”This year though, with the World Cup so close, it is especially important to focus on one-day skills,” added Done. “So as well as fitness and technical sessions, we will program a lot of match scenarios to recreate specific situations that players will face during one-day games.”William Porterfield, the 22-year-old Ireland batsman, is excited by the opportunity of the camp: “This is a great opportunity for me to improve my all-round game. I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to working with the coaches they have lined up and the programme looks really interesting.”It is also important that we continue the season. I feel I finished the summer quite strongly so I want to maintain that momentum heading towards the World League and World Cup next year. It is also important to spend some time in the hotter climate and learn to adjust to that.”Dewald Nel, the Scotland pace bowler, knows what to expect after attending last year and says it has come and just the right time. “I think it will be very beneficial to work on specific cricket skills and game scenarios with coaches who, as players, performed at the highest level. Part of this, too, is that I want to keep match fit and match aware.”The tendency at this time of year is to relax too much and although you might keep fit, you lose a certain sharpness that you only get from playing and pushing yourself on a regular basis.”The coaching staff at the camp will be led by the current Leicestershire and former England Under-19 coach Tim Boon and will be co-ordinated by Mark Lane with specialist input from former international players including Gary Kirsten, Kepler Wessels, Eric Simons and Rod Marsh.In the final two weeks of the camp the players will a chance to put into practice the skills they have picked up with two matches against Gauteng at the Wanderers, four against Northerns and two against Western Province.However, the camp is more than just about bat on ball as the players will also undergo comprehensive physiological testing, strength and fitness training, biomechanical testing, psychological/life skills sessions, nutrition advice, and video analysis.

Ken Gordon: in charge of World Cup preparations © Getty Images

Ken Gordon, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board, has been appointed chairman of the ICC board that will handle arrangements for the 2007 World Cup, to be staged in the West Indies.The appointment follows the resignation of Rawle Brancker as chairman. The other board members who were present when Brancker quit also offered their resignations to allow the new president of the WICB an opportunity to reconstitute the board.Gordon recently visited the head offices of the 2007 World Cup organisers, meeting the team responsible for the planning and execution of the tournament, which is to be staged in the West Indies. According to a press release, Gordon met Chris Dehring, the managing director and CEO, Don Lockerbie, the chief operating officer and venue development director, and ICC host liaison Chris Tetley last week.Saying that the meeting was arranged in order to familiarise the new president with the preparations for the event, Dehring said the visit also provided him with a first-hand look at the “engine room” responsible for the delivery of the tournament. Dehring also introduced Gordon to the “cosmopolitan and enthusiastic CWC team” drawn from the region, who will work in tandem with the talents and resources at the Local Organising Committees (LOCs) in each host venue.

Herschelle Gibbs: the importance of a balanced diet …© Getty Images

Herschelle Gibbs
On how he felt before his innings
I was quite relaxed going in this morning. I had a pizza for the first time in a few months. I got the feel of the wicket. We knew that to use the first 15 overs would be important, as the wicket was just going to get slower. It’s the sort of wicket that you have to play straight on.On how last night’s pizza helped him
Maybe it helped with the balance this morning. It would get me a bit more firm on my feet. It made me sleep a bit better.Was it just pizza, or was there something else?
It was washed down with a bit of Jack Daniels!Brian Lara
On the toss
We had to make a decision and it seemed that the pitch looked a bit dry. It was a good track. The West Indies team, in the past, has been good at chasing rather than setting a total. Getting them out for 246 was a good effort from the guys. It’s more of a spinner’s track than anything else.On restricting South Africa to 246 after they had been 101 for 0
I thought it was a very special effort from the guys, especially the spinners. I am happy with the total.On Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle is a top allrounder. He can bowl in the middle overs and at the death. He is very, very important to the team. He’s an integral part of the team.

A board of directors has been set up to establish a Foundation to honour former Barbadian Test cricketers, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton Weekes, for their outstanding contributions to Barbados, the West Indies and the entire cricketing world.The Foundation, whose trustees are Sir David Seale, Sir David Simmons, Sir Stephen Emtage, Sir Neville Nicholls, Algernon Symmonds, Professor Hilary Beckles, Stephen Alleyne and David Holford, will be entrusted with net proceeds from two weeks of planned celebration activities to honour the 3Ws.While the focus of the events will be to celebrate and honour the 3Ws, proceeds raised will be used to assist in the establishment of three-year scholarships tenable at the University of the West Indies (UWI), to assist in the development of Sir Frank Worrell’s birthplace as a museum celebrating the legacy of the 3Ws, and to create lasting memorials to the 3Ws.The Foundation will be soliciting the support of all cricket lovers, as well as the general public, in rekindling the model characters of the 3Ws."Young Barbadians today are seriously in need of the mirror images which the likes of Worrell, Weekes and Walcott kindled within the hearts and minds of the generations of their day," said trustee Stephen Alleyne."This unique trio, ultimately rewarded with the highest national honour of knighthood, has made us proud to be Barbadian. Their great achievements, despite their humble origins, make them representations of hope for our youth."The celebrations will begin with an ecumenical service at UWI grounds April 21, at 9 a.m., where the public is invited to witness the renaming of the grounds to The 3Ws Oval.There will also be a presentation entitled, The 3Ws: Their Achievements, Contributions & Legacy on April 29 at Frank Collymore Hall at 7:30 p.m.The highlight of the events will be a gala banquet on May 3, at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex at 8 p.m, where keynote speaker will be Reverend Wes Hall.Event manager Jerry Ishmael of Premier Events Services, said: "The gymnasium will be transformed into a lavish dining experience where an estimated 900 cricket enthusiasts, players and supporters will dine on a blend of Caribbean and international flavours."Entertainment will be provided by top local musicians and every patron will be given an autographed miniature bat as a keepsake.

Evergreen Paultons opener Colin James scooped a Southern Electric Cricketer of the Month award after notching two centuries in July.Former BAT man James, who linked up with Paultons this season after having several summers out of the game, scored 282 runs in July, finishing the Premier Division 3 season with over 500 runs to his name.He is the first Paultons cricketer to win a Premier League award.The Division 3 bowling prize went to New Milton’s Lee Beck, who grabbed 16 wickets, including a best of the season spell of 6-36.The Premier 1 awards went to Havant’s Dominic Carson (176 runs) and BAT all-rounder Richard Taylor, with 13 wickets.In Division 2, stand-in Sparsholt skipper Rob Savage was the award-winning batsman and Portsmouth skipper Raj Maru top bowler.

Stephen Fleming had been looking forward to winning in Benoni on Sunday, hesaid, “to give the wicket some”. Grumbling about the pitch after losing, hesuggested, always sounded a bit like sour grapes. But he went on and had amoan anyway.The New Zealand captain had good cause for complaint anyway in spite oflosing the second Standard Bank one-day international at Willowmoore Park inBenoni on Sunday by six wickets to South Africa and because of the defeat.By any reasonable standards, it was not a pitch suitable for internationalcricket. “It looked like a wicket that was going to deteriorate,” saidFleming. “We didn’t think it was going to deteriorate after the secondball.”Winning captain Shaun Pollock was slightly less damning. “I don’t think itplayed as bad as it might have looked,” he offered, and then immediatelyseemed to contradict himself. “The odd ball kept a bit low and sort of heldback and came through a bit slow,” noted Pollock, before adding that Benonicould be a good ODI venue “once they get a wicket that’s more conducive tostrokeplay.”Allowing for the vagaries of the pitch, then, it has to be said that theSouth Africans picked the better-suited team for the conditions and thenexploited them more capably than New Zealand.The tourists sprung something of a surprise by resting Geoff Allott andleaving out Shayne O’Connor and choosing spinners Paul Wiseman and BrookeWalker instead. The South Africans had a five-man seam-up attack at Pollock’s disposal and they all bowled straight, just short of a length and allowedthe pitch to do the work.New Zealand never really got going in making 194 for eight. Nathan Astlelaboured away for nearly 40 overs for his 58, but no one managed to staywith him as wickets fell at regular intervals. The first six wickets to fallall went either bowled or leg before and with Roger Telemachus, back in theside after a one-game suspension, near impossible to get away (10-5-16-1),the New Zealand innings failed to gather momentum at any stage.Still, they had them. South Africa had to get them and the home team neededa decent start. They got it from their second-wicket pair, Gary Kirsten andNicky Boje. Kirsten has a wealth of experience and his 57 was his 34thone-day fifty, but it is Boje who is in the best form of his life.On Friday he hammered out an unbeaten 105 at better than a run-a-ball, andon Sunday he simply picked up where he left off in Friday’s washout.As in Potchefstroom, Boje was a little scratchy to start with, but he’sfinding the gaps unerringly at the moment and he rode his luck until he cameto terms with the wicket.”I’m probably a bit like a cat with nine lives at the moment,” he grinnedafterwards.Together Kirsten and Boje put on 111 for the second wicket and althoughneither was able to see it through, they had batted New Zealand out of thematch. Boje went a little tamely in the end, chipping Chris Harris to mid onfor 64, and although Daryll Cullinan could manage no more than a 14-ballduck, Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes took South Africa home at a canter.The series moves on to SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday and to apitch that usually throws up scores of around 280 as par. Not just NewZealand will be hoping for a better pitch than Benoni.”On the whole we were disappointed with the quality of (the pitch),” saidFleming. “All concerned were disappointed. It wasn’t conducive to sportsentertainment which is what one-day cricket is all about.”Most people will agree with him.