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Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, acknowledged that the 2-1 series loss to South Africa was one of the more disappointing of his career and that his side’s top-order batting simply hadn’t been good enough.Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez struggled through the series, making only one fifty between them, while Yasir Hameed, at one-down, also failed to make a real impact. “I believe in the theory that if you keep giving your batsmen enough opportunities, they would perform but there are times when you cannot be patient enough,” Inzamam said.”I was really disappointed by the way some of our batsmen played in the final Test, especially in the second innings when we could have easily achieved a 250-run lead. It was a difficult wicket but I still believe we could have scored 250 to 300 runs in the second innings, something that would have helped us win an important series.” Farhat has already paid the price and becomes the fifth member of the squad to be sent home as he will play no part in the ODI series.Despite a valiant fight, Pakistan couldn’t stop South Africa from reaching the target of 161, thus losing the series. Given the surfaces they played on and what should’ve been a strong bowling attack, but one eventually ravaged by injury, Inzamam recognized this as a golden opportunity lost.”We have lost a golden opportunity to win a series overseas against a top side. It is one of the biggest disappointments of my career. We have won many Tests at home, but to be ranked among the best you have to win overseas,” he said.”The fitness problems with the bowlers didn’t help, but it also showed that the team had grown together and learned to compete well.”Mohammad Asif (19 wickets) and leg-spinner, Danish Kaneria (15) carried much of the bowling for Pakistan, bowling over 300 overs between them. “Asif has immaculate length control and a natural ability to swing the ball both ways. He is also quick to spot a weakness in a batsman and work on it. Kaneria has improved his bowling and has the ability to take 500 Test wickets.”Inzamam himself left the field on the final day of the Test with a return of the back pain that has troubled him intermittently over the last two years. He has been advised rest for four to five days and said only that, “Hopefully I will be available for the one-day series.”Meanwhile, Imran Khan added his voice to those expressing disappointment at the series result, arguing that dropping Shoaib Akhtar for the series was Pakistan’s first big mistake.Shoaib was flown to South Africa after injury to Umar Gul, and destroyed the South African top order on the opening day of the second Test match, which Pakistan won. He then pulled a hamstring after bowling just 11 overs and was later sent back home for treatment and rehabilitation.”Pakistan committed the blunder of not taking Shoaib from the start of the tour and his injury at Port Elizabeth could have been because he wasn’t match fit,” Imran told AFP. “Some good things have also come out and now the team management realise Tests can only be won through matchwinners.”For Pakistan’s other matchwinner, Asif, there was further praise. “Asif is well on his way to become one of the greats. If he gains a little bit of pace through weight training he can be more lethal.”Imran was also critical of Inzamam’s decision to bat at six and Mohammad Yousuf at five. “Yousuf is the best batsman alongside Australian Ricky Ponting at the moment but how many times Ponting has batted below three? And Ponting always leads from the front,” Imran pointed out.

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

Adam Gilchrist ignited the DY Patil Stadium with the fastest century of the tournament as the Deccan Chargers raced to their first win. The battle between the two bottom-ranked teams was a no-contest once Gilchrist teed off, and Deccan charged to an emphatic ten-wicket victory in the first major game at the stadium.Andrew Symonds had got a century off 47 deliveries the previous game but Gilchrist needed only 42 as he decimated the weak Mumbai Indians’ attack on a small ground. The intent was aggressive right from the word go, and Gilchrist made use of short deliveries in the first over from Ashish Nehra, dispatching one over square leg and the other through cover point.Pulls and cuts were played with ease as Mumbai’s quicker bowlers erred in their length, and after six fours, Gilchrist hit his first six, lofting Sanath Jayasuriya over deep midwicket. Siddharth Chitnis, the off-break bowler making his Twenty20 debut, was spared by going only for 12 in the last Powerplay over, but Shaun Pollock, leading Mumbai in Harbhajan Singh’s absence, was taken apart once the field restrictions were off.Gilchrist savagely pulled Pollock over the deep backward square-leg boundary for consecutive sixes, the first bringing up his first Twenty20 fifty. The shot that followed pierced the off-side boundary, and Gilchrist then nonchalantly moved across the stumps to launch one over long leg, making it 23 for the over.Abhishek Nayar’s arrival was greeted with three sixes, the third over midwicket brought up the hundred, and more astonishing was the fact that he had reached the mark as early as on the stroke of the tenth over. From then on, victory was just a formality, and Deccan reached their target with 48 balls to spare, both indication of the fury that had been unleashed. At the other end, VVS Laxman scored just 37 in a stand of 155, easily the highest of the tournament. Mumbai might have been at the receiving end, but the home crowd too cheered what had been an enthralling innings. Ninety-six of Gilchrist’s 109 came through boundaries, making it a busy day for the Deccan cheerleaders, who were sporting a new outfit.A new home ground and a new captain surely didn’t bring about a turn of fortunes for Mumbai, and Deccan justified Laxman’s decision to field first by restricting them to 154. Laxman’s captaincy had come under the hammer after three consecutive losses, but on Sunday he was right on the ball. He was quick to shuffle around his bowlers, who to their credit, backed up their captain’s decision with some good bowling.It was only the string of 30s from the middle order that helped Mumbai reach 154. Pollock made a run-a-ball 31 to revive the innings, but it was the quickfire 34s from Nayar and Dwayne Bravo that ensured the Mumbai bowlers had a decent total to defend.Jayasuriya and Luke Ronchi had failed to make an impression in earlier games, and they were kept quiet once again, despite the short boundaries, by RP Singh and Nuwan Zoysa. Ronchi hit three fours, but fell attempting to slash a wide delivery angled across from RP, edging straight to Laxman at slip.Sanjay Bangar was brought on in the fourth over, perhaps to help Zoysa change ends, and Ajinkya Rahane, another Twenty20 debutant, pulled straight into the hands of Pragyan Ojha at deep square leg. The next move from Laxman though was a masterstroke. Shahid Afridi was brought on in the final over of the Powerplay, and he had Robin Uthappa caught behind. At the end of six overs, Mumbai were tottering at 27 for 3.Jayasuriya had made only 4 off his first ten deliveries, and one pitched short from Zoysa fetched him his first boundary, which came off his 14th. But, once again Afridi did the damage, Jayasuriya got a top edge as he tried to power a googly through the leg side. The onus was then on Pollock to hold the innings together, but he too couldn’t stay till the end.Nayar smashed three sixes in his 19-ball innings, as 45 runs came in the overs 14 to 16. But he top-edged to Gilchrist while trying to hook Zoysa. Bravo too managed to find the gaps, and was out for 34 off the last ball of the innings as Mumbai finished on 154. However, with the form Gilchrist was in, even 254 would have been tough to defend for Mumbai, who now have four losses after four games, and sorely need Sachin Tendulkar to return.

The West Indies Cricket Board has confirmed that the five-ODI tour of Zimbabwe at the end of the month will proceed after a report for an independent security firm gave them the all clear.The side will arrive in Zimbabwe on November 27 and remain there until December 10, playing five one-day internationals before heading on to a full tour of South Africa. The Zimbabwe board had hoped that West Indies would play two four-day matches but it appears that this will not happen.A statement said that the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have agreed that the tour should proceed but will continually monitor the situation in Zimbabwe from the perspective of safety, security and food integrity.It is not clear where Dinanath Ramnarine, the CEO of WIPA, stands on the trip. In July he was against the A-team tour to Zimbabwe and that trip was subsequently cancelled after the board struggled to find enough players to go. But Ramnarine has now been co-opted onto the board and as such it seems inconceivable that he could oppose the tour with his WIPA hat on while being on the WICB executive that approved it. It seems unlikely that the security situation has changed between July and now given that at the time the WICB insisted that they had been given the all clear to tour.

Mike Procter says dealing with the Harbhajan Singh-Andrew Symonds hearing in Sydney was even harder than handling the 2006 Oval Test, which was awarded as a forfeit to England after Pakistan refused to play amid a ball-tampering row. Procter was the match referee in both cases and he believes the two situations were completely different.”Being South African as well, and having seen the effects of racism first-hand, it was a really tough call,” Procter told the . “It was probably more tough and stressful than the events surrounding the Oval Test when the match was abandoned. It has been very difficult on a personal and professional level.”[The Oval] was a very unusual day. Everyone in the ICC … did everything in our power to make something happen, but with the rules of cricket being what they were, there was nothing that could be done. It was, in many ways, an impossible situation.”But I would say the issues and pressures that came out of Sydney were in many ways greater. Many of the situations that come up have never been dealt with before, and at the end of the day, it is you alone who must come up with the decision, drawing on your cricketing experiences and general knowledge. It seems drama follows me wherever I go.”The appeal over Harbhajan’s three-Test ban for allegedly calling Symonds a “monkey” during the SCG match will be heard next week. Procter said despite criticism over his handling of the case – a leaked report suggests he took the word of the Australian fielders – he did not have a bad relationship with India.”I can’t comment specifically about the case, but I will say that, despite some reports to the contrary, I have a good relationship with the Indians,” Procter said. “Now it is in the hands of the ICC, so I will leave it at that.”

Lalchand Rajput, who was part of the Indian thinktank till recently, is disappointed that the BCCI did not engage him for a long-term contract but hoped Gary Kirsten, the new coach, would take the team to the next level.”The team has performed well in the hard tours like Australia and now we have set the platform,” Rajput told Cricinfo. “Kirsten’s challenge is now to take the team to the next level.”Rajput, who worked as coach from the ICC World Twenty20 till the Australia tour, said Kirsten has begun well by acquainting himself with the team before he actually took over in Chennai this week for the South Africa series. “[Now] he needs to set both long-term and short-term goals to work out his plans,” Rajput said.With Kirsten firm on assembling his own bench, Rajput lost the assistant coach’s seat to Paddy Upton, who brings extra dimensions to the job as mental conditioning coach and trainer. “Once the coach comes into play, it’s his decision,” Rajput said. “Along with a bowling coach he [Kirsten] also has Paddy Upton as trainer-cum-assistant then it might be difficult to fit me in.Asked about his stint with the Indian team, Rajput said one of his key contributions was in the area of man-management, especially during the controversial period after the Perth Test when seniors like Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid were dropped for the subsequent CB Series.”It was a critical moment in the [Test] series when the team was announced in the immediate aftermath of the Test victory in Perth. Again it was man-management, and I went to Sourav who was disappointed at having been dropped. I told him there’s lot of cricket ahead in the season and that he should be hopeful and can come back as he’d done very well at home in 2007.”Crucial moments like those where he had understood his role make him hopeful, Rajput said. For the moment, though, his focus on the IPL where he is the coach of the Mumbai Indians. “I’m a very positive person. For now I’ll be concentrating on the IPL with the Mumbai team. Then we just have to wait and see.”

The hard-hitting opening batsmen Gunawardane scored his first one-day century as the favorites Sri Lanka, batting first, piled up 287 for 6 to beat the West Indies by a margin of 108 runs in the pre-quarterfinal of the ICC KnockOut.The West Indies lost an early advantage they had gained by getting two best Sri Lankan batsmen, Jaysuria and Atapattu, out with the total at 10. This loss of advantage was mainly due to the inexperience found in the Caribbean bowling because of the absence of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose in the side.After Mervyn Dillon had gotten rid of both the Lankan skipper and his reliable deputy in his 3rd over, things looked gloomy for the Sri Lankans. However, with the introduction of medium pacers, Kerry Jeremy and Laurie Williams-both debutantes, the goings changed remarkably in favor of Sri Lanka. It was during this period that the two batsmen at the crease, the hard-hitting left handed opener Gunawardane and Jayawardane, did not only make amends for the early setback by batting watchfully but also found some boundaries as well. Although Williams was quite tidy in his opening spell, Jeremy was wayward in his line and length as he gave away 24 runs in his first two overs.Cautious at first, the two batsmen soon opened up their shoulders and runs began to flow freely. It was at this juncture that the stand-in captain Sherwin Campbell brought on his spinners. But this move also didn’t pay off as the Sri Lankan batsmen played their shots with command and authority. The stylish Jayawardane was particularly harsh on the leg-spinner, Nagamootoo and the debutante off-spinner, Marlon Samuel. The acceleration shown by the Sri Lankan batsmen at this stage is evident from the fact that whereas the first fifty was reached in 13.1 overs, the next one took less than nine overs to complete.Jayawardane reached his fifty ahead of his partner, taking just 52 balls for that. Gunawardane achieved the same feat in 65 balls. However, the latter cut loose at this stage and scored at a brisk pace. The marathon partnership between Jayawardane and Gonawardane had reached 160 when the former was caught by Courtney Brown off the bowling of Jeremy for 72 scored from 71 balls. The next batsman Sangakarra had but a brief stay at the crease as he was run out in a most unfortunate manner. The ball delivered by Jeremy was hit with brute force back to the bowler. The catch, to the relief of the batsmen at the batting crease, was dropped but the ball rolled on to the stumps at the bowling end only to find Sangakarra out of his crease.Russell Arnold was next to come and he continued the good work, which was temporarily hampered by the fall of two quick wickets. He and Gunawardane added more than fifty runs for the 5th wicket and that too in a very short time. Arnold made quick 41 before he was played on off the bowling of Mclean. Gunawardane, in the meanwhile, completed his first hundred in 125 balls, studded with 14 hits to the boundary. Although, he was dropped three times during the innings, twice in one over of Dillon, and also caught off a no-ball, yet credit must go to him for the way he controlled his innings with caution as well as aggression after the early fall of two important wickets. Another important fact about his innings is that he did not lose his concentration even after getting to his ton, although he seemed visibly tired. When, at last, he was out, bowled round his legs by Mclean, the Sri Lankan score was well past the 250 mark. He made 132 with the help of 19 fours. The experienced Kaluwidharna collected a few boundaries in the end of the innings to post an imposing total of 287 in the allotted 50 overs.The West Indian bowling lacked experience as they conceded too many boundaries during the innings by straying from the line. However, blame also falls on the poor display of fielding by the Caribbeans as they let off three chances of catches and, at least, as many opportunities of run outs. Mervyn Dillon was the most successful bowler picking 2 for 46, followed by Mclean who took 2 for 56. The young seamer, Kerry Jeremy, took one wicket for 54 on his debut.The West Indian openers started the proceedings with aggression-Courtney Brown hitting a huge six in the second over and Campbell executing some beautifully timed square-cuts to the boundary. However, the fall of Brown’s wickets at the total of 35 in the 6th over triggered a mini-collapse as 4 wickets fell in the space of 6 runs, including the prize wicket of Brian Lara. The main damage was done by the left arm pace bowler Zoysa who took the wickets of Brown and Lara in the space of two overs to leave the Windies staggering at 4 for 41.The West Indies had lost six wickets for just 85 on the board. A partnership of 74 between Nagamootoo and Williams brought some respectability to their total. Williams became the highest scorer for the West Indies making 41; Nagamootoo got 33. The West Indian tail had a daunting task to achieve?requiring 120 in the last 8 overs. However, they had no answer to the tidy bowling of their rivals. They were all out for paltry 179 in 46.4 overs, thus, conceding the match by 108 runs.Zoysa was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka, taking 3 wickets for 34. Wickramasinghe and Jayasuria took 2 wickets each for 37 and 30 runs, respectively. Russell Arnold took one for 29, while the remaining two batsmen were run out.Sri Lanka now meets Pakistan in the quarterfinal on Sunday. The winner of this match will meet either New Zealand or Zimbabwe in the semi-final of the competition.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Australia put the seal on the most dominant campaign in World Cup history, securing their fourth title and their third in a row since 1999 thanks to Adam Gilchrist’s scintillating 149 from 104 balls. But that, sadly, is not what the final of the ICC World Cup West Indies 2007 (to give it its full and fully deserved title) will be remembered for. In a display of cack-handedness that heaped new levels of farce upon a farcical seven weeks, the final overs of a broken contest were played out in near-darkness, penetrated only by the glow of the pavilion lights and the bewildered blinking of 20,000 flash bulbs.Whatever went on in those overs is anyone’s guess. It was too dark for the fielders to see anything, let alone any of the fans in the stadium or the press in the gantry, and besides, the Australians had already celebrated their moment of victory. That came after the sixth ball of the 33rd over, when the Sri Lankans – to all intents and purposes – accepted an offer for bad light, and appeared to have conceded the game with an improbable requirement of 63 from 18 balls.What happened next will doubtless be the subject of blame-games, buck-passing and recriminations. Australia’s celebratory huddle was broken up by a tap on the shoulder from the umpire Aleem Dar; the groundstaff who had been unpegging the onfield logos were told to nail them back down and reposition the pitch markers, and out trooped the players to block their way into the twilight. It was asinine, undignified, and entirely appropriate for a tournament that long since detached itself from the origins of sporting contests.But let’s concentrate on the onfield action, because – surprising as it may seem amid such a torrent of embarrassment – there was some pretty good cricket on display until officialdom stepped in to wreck everyone’s memories. For all the romantic notions that Sri Lanka brought to their second final appearance in four tournaments – the mysteries of their bowling attack and the impishness of their batsmen – Australia’s ruthlessness was absolute, as they extended their unbeaten run in World Cup matches to 29 since May 1999.And it was Gilchrist who stormed to the fore, demonstrating an eye for the big occasion that is the preserve of few. This was his third scene-stealer in consecutive World Cup finals. Against Pakistan at Lord’s in 1999, he cracked 54 from 36 balls; four years later against India at Johannesburg, he made 57 from 48. But nothing quite compared to this. Once the sun had come out and Gilchrist had gauged the pace and bounce of a rock-hard and true surface, there was no reining him – or Australia – in.Gilchrist’s innings was the highest ever made in a World Cup final, beating the mark of 140 set by his captain, Ricky Ponting, four years ago, and it was launched in a stand of 172 for the first wicket with Matthew Hayden, who made 38 from 55 balls before picking out Mahela Jayawardene in the covers.Hayden’s innings took his tournament tally to an incredible 659 runs at 73.22 – second only to Sachin Tendulkar’s 671 in the 2003 World Cup – but today he was as anonymous as at any time in the past seven weeks. It did not matter a jot, for his performance as a quick-sprinting second fiddle was second-to-none. By the time of Hayden’s dismissal, Gilchrist was already sitting pretty on 119, having faced almost five more overs than his partner.Adam Gilchrist might have had a quiet tournament until the final, but when it really mattered he smoked 149 of the best runs•Getty Images

Though Jayawardene had prevaricated at the toss, admitting he had been in two minds as to what he’d have done if he had won, Australia were in no doubt whatsoever. Five times in this tournament they had batted first and posted scores in excess of 300, and that would have been six in a row in a full-length contest. Gilchrist set the tone by clubbing Chaminda Vaas for four and six in the second over, while Lasith Malinga – the deadliest weapon in the Sri Lankan armoury – opted for accuracy over explosiveness.Malinga went for just six runs in his first spell of four overs, but he was clocking an average of 84 mph, a good 10mph slower than in his devastating semi-final performance. It meant that the early breakthrough Sri Lanka so needed never materialised, especially when Dilhara Fernando – who began tidily enough from round the wicket – dropped a sharp return chance down by his shins when Gilchrist had made a run-a-ball 31.The moment was lost and with it went Sri Lanka’s best hope of controlling the tempo of the match that had been reduced to 38 overs by early rain. Fernando was a broken man after that – his next three deliveries were clubbed for four, four and six, the last of which very nearly took out the fire engine next to the 3Ws stand at long-on. It can only have been there to douse the ardour of Australia’s batsmen, because Gilchrist was absolutely smoking. He brought up his 15th ODI hundred from just 72 balls with a drilled four over long-off, and thereafter heaved through the line with impunity, trusting his eye, the surface and the fact that the fight had gone out of his opponents.Sri Lanka’s batsmen did their best in the face of a spiralling run-rate, swinging the blade with gusto even as the cameras in the crowd betrayed the fading of both the light and their hopes. While Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya were adding 116 for the second wicket, the contest was alive, but Sangakkara miscued Brad Hogg to Ponting at midwicket, before Jayasuriya, in the final appearance of a competition he has graced since 1992, was bowled by a flatter, faster delivery from the part-time spin of Michael Clarke.Glenn McGrath, another man making his final bow, then seized another segment of the limelight by striking with his penultimate delivery in international cricket. It was not his greatest ball by any means – a legside full-toss that Russel Arnold (another retiree) popped off his hip to a diving Gilchrist. But it took his tournament tally to 26 wickets – a record – and his overall World Cup tally to 71 – another record.Australia were the deserved winners of this contest, and in truth Sri Lanka were worthy runners-up – they plugged away with composure in the face of overwhelming odds, and the margin of Australia’s victory was their slimmest in both the tournament and in their three latest World Cup wins. But the manner in which the victory was signed and sealed will continue to grate long after the teams have flown home. Such is the nature of the modern-day game of cricket.

A day after Bangalore Royal Challengers owner Vijay Mallya indicated he was unhappy with the team composition, he has justified the sacking of chief executive Charu Sharma and demanded better results. Bangalore are at the bottom of the table after losing six of their eight games so far.”When I questioned the team’s performance, poor practice facilities and the lack of infrastructure were given as reasons,” Mallya told NDTV. “It was also said that there was no bonding in the team. I said to myself, things can’t continue like this. So I brought in Brijesh [Patel] and who better than him to provide better practice facilities at the home base in Bangalore?”He also said he had other players in mind but backed the judgement of Sharma and the captain Rahul Dravid.”In fact in the second auction, when Dravid was absent, I wanted my set of players but Charu was very tentative and I was held back. It was I who brought in Misbah-ul-Haq.”People have to understand IPL has a corporate side to it. It is not all cricket in the traditional sense. I just want to tell Rahul Dravid to do the best he can with this team and produce results. Dravid doesn’t enjoy being at the bottom of the league and neither do I.”Sharma, sacked last week, responded to the criticism by distancing himself from the selection of the team. He also said the captain and coach should be given more time to prove themselves. “When there are experienced players like Rahul Dravid and Test captain Anil Kumble around, how do you expect me to play a role in the team selection?” he told the news channel CNN-IBN.”The very purpose for stating earlier that ‘through these strange and difficult times all I wish to do is maintain a dignified silence’ – is because that’s exactly what I intend to do,” Sharma said in a statement. “Let us not forget that the team is still out there – on the road – doing its best, trying to improve match after match.”On the eve of the match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali, Dravid was asked how it felt to be termed a ‘Test team’. “We have not played good cricket, so such comments will come. It is disappointing for the team, for all who are part of it including the franchisee,” Dravid said. “But we still have six matches to go and will bounce back with a good performance.”On being asked whether the right players had been chosen at the auction, he said, “There were lot of variables at the auction. The players we picked are all quality players, it’s only that their performances have dipped. The big names are not doing well. We have not got the combination right. All this as magnified after we did not start well and lost some close matches.”

Batsman of the day
Before this match, Kumar Sangakkara was rated as the third-bestbatsman in Test cricket, but if you took his efforts in this past yearin isolation, there’d be no contest. Since surrendering the gloves tohis team-mate Prasanna Jayawardene, he’s been unstoppable, racking up1529 runs in 14 innings, at the staggering average of 152.90. He’smade seven centuries in that time, including a career-best 287, and ofthose times he’s reached three figures, he hasn’t been dismissed forless than today’s 152. The Asgiriya, incidentally, is where he playedall his cricket as a schoolboy at Trinity College. It’s fair to sayhe’s familiar with the conditions.Intruder of the day
As the afternoon wore on and England’s ordeal became all the moreacute, any break from the grind – however fleeting – was gratefullyreceived by the fielders. Cue the arrival of the Asgiriya’s favouritemutt, who padded onto the pitch from the direction of the Barmy Armyenclosure (a coincidence?) and held up play for three precious minuteswhile he ambled from long-on to fine leg. Steve Harmison met him atthe boundary’s edge in front of the pavilion, but thought better ofdoing a Merv Hughes and carrying him off the pitch. Every secondcounts when your side is up against it.Intruder of the day Mk 2
Another interruption, though perhaps less gratefully received by theplayers on this occasion. Monty Panesar was just about to trot in forhis 41st over of the innings, when every single person on the field -including the batsmen and both umpires – flung themselves to the deck,as if the cry “doodlebug!” had gone up. The cause of the panic was aswarm of bees, mostly milling around by the sightscreen at theHunnasgiriya End of the ground. Speculation mounted that it was aplague on Murali, as dispatched by Shane Warne, but they buzzed offsoon enough.Band of the day
There wasn’t actually any competition for this one. Murali’s personalskiffle band had serenaded the crowd so joyfully throughout the firstthree days, but today, with the record back where it belongs, theydecided their work was done. So it was left to the Barmy Army toprovide the atmospherics. They did their best in trying circumstances,but you couldn’t help but notice that both the trumpeter and thechanting sounded a little flat by comparison.

Drop(-kick) of the day
Ian Bell could be excused for his first miss of the match, afringe-singeing flyer at slip that came in the midst of SanathJayasuriya’s 24-run over on Monday. There were no such mitigatingcircumstances this time around, however. For the first time in hisinnings, Sangakkara was looking genuinely edgy, having fallen in thenineties twice before against England. On 98, he fenced outside offand steered a sitter to Bell’s right at slip. But the chance wasmuffed, and a furious Ryan Sidebottom booted an imaginary Bell cleanover the monastery.Surprise of the day
Paul Collingwood’s shock dismissal of Prasanna Jayawardene. Englandhadn’t looked like rattling the timbers for two days and 124 overs, soit was quite rightly assumed to be some sort of mistake whenCollingwood swung one in from outside off stump, straight through thegate and into the top of the off bail. The umpires conferred,wondering perhaps whether the ball had ricocheted off Matt Prior’spads. But no, it was all bona fide. Twelve deliveries later, andperhaps still reeling from the shock, Sangakkara clipped tamely tomidwicket to give Colly his second of the innings.Cheer of the day
It wasn’t quite an ovation of Murali proportions, and there might evenhave been a tinge of irony involved. But when Alastair Cook tucked thefirst ball of England’s innings off his hips for four, he escaped thedreaded pair and gave the England supporters their most upliftingmoment of the day. It couldn’t last, however. Three balls later, hepoked uncertainly outside off, and the Sri Lankan voices were onceagain the loudest in the ground.

Ravi Bopara, the England allrounder, is in doubt for England’s one-day series against West Indies after injuring his thigh during Essex’s drawn match against Middlesex at Lord’s on Sunday.Bopara, 22, was one of few highlights for England during their disastrous World Cup in the Caribbean, hitting 52 in his fifth one-dayer to take England to the brink of a brilliant win over Sri Lanka in the Super Eights. He remains very much part of England’s plans to rebuild their one-day squad, but his absence will further complicate the selectors’ plans following the absence of Andrew Flintoff.Bopara has been in excellent form so far this season, too, recently notching 229 against Northamptonshire – his career-best.England’s one-day squad is due to be announced on Friday.