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Barbados has been confirmed as the venue for the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010. The tournament will be staged at four venues – Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts and St Lucia – and the final will be played at the Kensington Oval on May 16.Notable is the return of Zimbabwe to the Twenty20 scene after they were overlooked for this year’s global tournament. They have been paired with New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the other finalist from this year, in Group C.Defending champions Pakistan and Bangladesh have been grouped together in the tournament next year and face each other first up on May 1. Also with Pakistan and Bangladesh in Group A are Australia, who failed to cross the first round in this summer’s edition. India are in a pool with South Africa and a qualifier team. The hosts, West Indies, are with England and a second qualifying team in Group D.The 2007 World Cup, the premier 50-over tournament, was held in the West Indies and the World Twenty20 will present an opportunity to the island nations to set right some of the criticism directed at the 2007 tournament.Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, was confident that the tournament would be a success among the spectators. “One measure of success will be to fill the venues and to try to achieve this we have worked hard with the West Indies Cricket Board to ensure the ticket prices are extremely competitive,” he said.”In Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts and St Lucia we have four outstanding venues, something that was shown in 2007 when they hosted matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup, and we know that West Indian spectators enjoy the format as they have already embraced Twenty20 at domestic level.”The tournament will also see women’s matches played alongside the men, a concept that was used in the recently concluded World Twenty20 in England. “I’m delighted we have retained the men’s and women’s tournaments in one event with the respective semi-finals and finals being played on the same days at the same venues,” said Lorgat. “This will again provide women’s cricket with a great platform to showcase the talents of the top players.”In an effort to spread out major tournaments so two important events are not held close to each other, the ICC has decided to host the Twenty20 World Cup in 2010, between the Champions Trophy in October 2009 and the World Cup to be held in 2011.

Wayne Parnell, the South Africa fast bowler, has been signed by Kent for another five weeks during the domestic season. Parnell impressed with both ball and bat during his initial six-week stint with the county and was one of the best bowlers during the World Twenty20 in June.”Wayne is very keen to get on with the job, he put a request in to come back and play county cricket,” coach Simon Willis told . “He felt it improved his game immensely last time so he’s keen to make an impression and hopefully that will start at the Oval.”There has been a lot of interest from IPL and other countries, with regard to his services. The World Twenty20 certainly put Wayne Parnell on the map.”Parnell is expected to play Kent’s Championship match against Surrey. He will be available for the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals, three county championship games and a Pro40 match between July 10 and August 4.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJonathan Trott sprints through to reach his maiden Test hundred•Getty Images

Jonathan Trott entered Ashes folklore with the innings of an instant veteran, as England’s batsmen sauntered into a position of absolute dominance, only for Australia’s openers to keep their nerves a-jangling with a coolly compiled 80-run stand, on another enthralling day at The Oval. Trott’s 119 from 193 balls was the 18th century by a debutant in England’s Test history and the first against Australia since Graham Thorpe in 1993, but given the magnitude of the occasion, it ranked among the finest of all time. His efforts left Australia facing a climb as forbidding as Mont Ventoux, as Andrew Strauss declared on 373 for 9, with a massive target of 546 in the bag.But Australia, to their credit, refused to yield to any presumptions of defeat and decided attack was the best route to the summit. Simon Katich and Shane Watson banished any lingering demons from the first innings, and backed themselves to play their shots against the new ball, and the policy paid off in an opening stand of 80, as they reached the close with their hopes renewed and England’s anxieties sharpened in a manner reminiscent of the final day at Lord’s. Nevertheless, as the ball lost its hardness and Stuart Broad’s offcutters began to grip, it was clear that survival will become harder and harder the longer the innings wears on. Having collapsed from 73 for 0 to 160 in their first innings, Australia know just how tough the next six sessions are sure to be.The Oval pitch, the subject of much controversy overnight, carried on producing wild puffs of dust from almost every delivery, but as England’s lower-order clubbed a supine attack to all corners of South London, adding 205 in the last 37 overs of the innings, the heat went out of the debate about its merits. In fact, England’s progress seemed at times almost too comfortable for their series prospects, as Australia’s bowlers abandoned any hope of salvaging their team’s situation and instead settled for damage limitation with a view to batting out for the draw.Nevertheless, the steep bounce that the part-time spinner, Marcus North, had continued to extract was enough to confirm the suspicions that batting last, with men packed around the bat, would be a fraught experience. Sure enough, Swann entered England’s attack as early as the ninth over, and though he didn’t make a breakthrough with the still-hard new ball, he found sufficient purchase to suggest his time will come. For the time being, however, North, who came into the game with just two Test wickets to his name, emerged as the most potent spinner on show, with 4 for 98 from 30 testing overs.If the expectant buzz around The Oval had been dampened a fraction by the close, then it would never have become so electric in the first place, had it not been for Trott’s magnificent scene-setter. For the second time in consecutive Ashes battles at the venue, England’s visions of glory were filtered through a South African-born lens, and perhaps that same filter removed the fear of failure as well, because as with Kevin Pietersen’s unforgettable 158 in 2005, Trott scarcely blinked for an instant.He had been a controversial selection for such a pressure-cooker contest, but to give the selectors credit where it is due, the skill, determination and confidence of his performance made the men around him in England’s middle-order look like the international novices. His nerveless shot selection, at an even tempo of roughly a run every two balls, provided the scaffolding for a series of carefree cameos at the other end – including a farewell frolic from Andrew Flintoff, and a spanking 63 from 55 balls from Swann, who fine-tuned his confidence going into the defining fourth innings.Aside from a brush with a Peter Siddle bouncer, and a hairy moment on 97 when he deflected Ben Hilfenhaus inches past his leg stump, Trott barely played a false stroke until the very moment of England’s declaration, when he chopped Stuart Clark to North in the gully. In fact, his most palpable moments of alarm came from his first two deliveries of the morning, first when Siddle believed he had made the breakthrough with an off-stump lifter (umpire Asad Rauf correctly ascertained that the ball had flicked only the thigh pad on the way through to Brad Haddin) and then when Trott followed up that escape with an awkward spoon into the covers off a leading edge.Graeme Swann hit a swashbuckling 63 to increase England’s lead•PA Photos

With impressive ease, however, he put those dramas out of his mind, perhaps sensing that he’d experienced the most capricious deliveries that could come his way. He added 118 for the fourth wicket with his overnight partner Andrew Strauss, to ensure there would be no continuation of the late-evening hiccup that had taken a layer of sheen off England’s remarkable second day, and as early as the first hour of the day, Australia’s hopes of an attainable run-chase had been quashed.Strauss’s contribution was an unflappable and agenda-setting 75, which served as a moist flannel on his country’s fevered brow. He left the ball with nerveless certainty outside off, demanding that Australia’s bowlers bowled to his strengths rather than probe for non-existent weaknesses, and when he lashed Clark for three fours from nine balls faced as England upped the ante in the half-hour before lunch, he looked a dead-cert for his, and England’s, second century of the series. With four balls remaining of the session, however, he was lured by a ball of fuller length from North, who extracted enough rip off the track to find the edge to slip.Matt Prior, for once, played only a minor role in England’s momentum shift – although he did manage to send Ricky Ponting into the lunch break with a mouthful of blood after drilling the ball into his face at silly mid-off. Three overs after the break, he called for a crazy single after picking out the dead-eyed Katich in the covers, and was run out by a distance for 4. Nevertheless, his departure ensured that the crowd got one last glimpse of the man they really wanted to see, and when Flintoff clubbed his second delivery violently through midwicket for four, it was abundantly clear how he intended to pace his final Test innings.Three more boundaries followed, each greeted with rapture, but alas the magic could not last. With 22 from 17 balls to his name, Flintoff came down the track once more to launch North into the Harleyford Road, but Siddle steadied himself on the long-on ropes to pouch a simple catch. The Aussies stood in the middle to applaud Flintoff back to the pavilion as he saluted all corners of the ground, while down the steps – replacing him in every sense – came the man of the moment, Broad.He did not disappoint either. Feeding off Mitchell Johnson’s regressive line and length, he dabbed the first of his five fours through backward point, then climbed into North in a violent over containing three further biffs down the ground, the first of which went arrow-straight back over the bowler’s head to land just inside the boundary’s rope. He eventually took one swipe too many, and picked out Ponting in the covers, but into the fray strode Swann, in a mood for violence – just as he had been in the final innings at Headingley two weeks ago, when England’s predicament could hardly have been more different, but when the licence for thwacking had been every bit as liberating.With Trott trotting along beside him, Swann belted two-thirds of England’s runs in an eighth wicket of 90 from 80 deliveries that left observers wondering if he’d win the race to three figures. Australia took the new ball in that period as well, but offered Swann far too many opportunities to unfurl his exuberant drive, which accounted for six of his nine fours before Hilfenhaus pulled his length back at last and skidded a bouncer off a miscued hook to Haddin.For the best part of their day in the field, England had simply had it too easy, and by the close, Watson and Katich had shown them just how ready Australia are to hand over their urn. All the same, the series is coming to a crescendo, and as in that unforgettable summer of 2005, there is an air of anxious expectation in SE11.

Match facts

Friday August 7, 2009
Start time 14.30 (09.00 GMT)Pakistan’s seniors have flopped in the ODI series•AFP

Big Picture

A series of lopsided fortunes is dead in terms of a contest. So what to do the teams play for?For Pakistan there is only pride to play for, a position which is becoming all-too-familiar for this team in recent times. In their previous ODI series, against Australia in the UAE, Pakistan managed a face-saving win in the dead match. Given their current predicament and lack of one-day direction, they cannot waste any opportunity to find some form.Just before the start of the ODI series there was talk of ‘undesirable elements’ lurking in the team hotel along with reports of factionalism and rifts in the team. The seniors players have consistently underperformed, adding to the pressure on captain Younis Khan. Mohammad Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq were dropped after the first ODI, and Shoaib Malik has been a non-starter with scores of 9, 0 and 12.Each defeat has been followed by talk of the need to ‘execute plans’ and Younis rejecting claims of ‘groupism’. These have almost become buzzwords for a side struggling to win all tour. Instead of offering excuses and denying rumours, what Pakistan need to do is get back to the basics: bowl straight, field sharply and not throw away wickets. At the Premadasa they have to forget what has gone before and start again.On the flip side, Sri Lanka can use the two games – and later the one-off Twenty20 – as a celebration of their most successful home series against Pakistan. Kumar Sangakkara’s appointment as captain worked instant wonders for the team – they won the Tests and now three ODIs on the trot, their first home series wins over Pakistan. The last two games offer the chance to test their bench strength while aiming to avoid complacency as they chase a clean sweep and keep up the momentum ahead of New Zealand’s arrival.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)Sri Lanka – WWWWL
Pakistan – LLLWL

Watch out for…

Upul Tharanga: His 96-ball 76 helped Sri Lanka get off to an outstanding start during their chase of what appeared a stiff 289 in the third game. Once dogged by indifferent shot selection and a tendency to throw it away before settling in, Tharanga displayed maturity in the last game and relied purely on timing and placement than power. With Sanath Jayasuriya’s impending retirement Sri Lanka need solidity at the top and this series may prove a welcome return for Tharanga.Kamran Akmal: He’s made 78 in three innings in the series so far, and if his performance does not improve you can be assured Kamran’s choir of detractors will chirp up. He did splendidly with bat and glove during Pakistan’s victorious ICC World Twenty20 campaign and now, with the series lost, Kamran could do with a big innings under his belt.

Team news

Reports from Colombo say that Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq will take no further part in the series. Gul is suffering from an ankle injury and Razzaq is down with a calf injury. If they are indeed missing then Pakistan have no option but to recall Yousuf and hand Rao Iftikhar Anjum a game. As for the opening conundrum, Imran Nazir should get a run in the XI. After identical dismissals in consecutive games, steering catches to the slip cordon, Nasir Jamshed has to go.Pakistan: (likely) 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Imran Nazir, 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Fawad Alam, 9 Naved-ul-Hasan, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Rao Iftikhar Anjum.With the series won, Sri Lanka have the luxury of resting a few players if they choose to. Muttiah Muralitharan may make way for Ajantha Mendis or Malinga Bandara.Sri Lanka: (likely) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Mahela Jayawardene, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), 4 Thilan Samaraweera, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Thilina Kandamby, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thilan Thushara, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan/Ajantha Mendis.

Weather and conditions

The weather in Colombo at the moment is fairly wet and overcast with only periods of sunshine. Scattered thunderstorms are predicted for Friday and Sri Lanka’s chances of victory are greater in a low-scoring contest – their batsmen are more adept at nudging difficult runs and the conditions could aid their fast bowlers. Friday’s match is the first day-night affair of the series and the side winning the toss should opt to bat and post a competitive total, hoping their bowlers will have use the conditions under floodlights to put the opposition under pressure.

Quotes

“We are to blame for this situation because we just didn’t play well.”

It’s difficult to believe that the team ranked No. 1 in one-day internationals has not won an ICC event in 11 years. The one tournament they did win under the auspices of cricket’s governing body was in 1998, when South Africa beat West Indies in the final of the ICC knock-out tournament in Bangladesh.Since then, South Africa haven’t even managed to make the final of an ICC tournament. Their World Cup woes have earned them the tag of ‘chokers’ and their Champions Trophy record has done nothing to erase that label. Their subsequent campaigns, following the 1998 victory, were derailed by defeats to India in the 2000 and 2002 semi-finals, and losses to West Indies in the 2004 and 2006 competitions.AB de Villiers, though, believes the silverware dearth is about to end. “I think, in the next two years, we will be bringing home the trophies. It will be our time,” he said during a training camp in Potchefstroom a week ago. South Africa chose the small town as their preparation pond, perhaps hoping some of the magic that rubbed off on Australia, when they trained there ahead of the 2003 World Cup, will sprinkle itself on them too.After a three month break from the game, following the World Twenty20 in June, the South African team reconvened last week for a seven-day camp and will have another week-long session at the same venue. The training has involved warm-up matches against the Lions franchise as well as general fitness and net sessions. Despite the intensity with which the team is preparing for the competition, coach Mickey Arthur says this year’s Champions Trophy is “not the be all and end all” of the team’s limited-over ambitions.”We are a process-driven side and as long as we keep working as a team I am happy,” Arthur told Cricinfo. “The team has enjoyed successes together for some time now and as long as they all produce in their roles, we will do well. Whichever team strings five good performances together during the event will win.”This isn’t the first time South Africa go into a competition as one of the favourites. But this time they’re banking on home advantage to give them an extra edge over the other teams, even though it didn’t work at the 2003 World Cup or the 2007 World Twenty20. “We are extremely comfortable with the two venues the tournament will be played at (Supersport Park, Centurion and The Wanderers, Johannesburg),” said Arthur. “We’ve had some good results at both stadiums in the past and we receive lots of local supportthere as well.”Shaun Pollock, who was part of both those home campaigns, believes it might be “third time lucky” for South Africa. “They know the conditions better than anyone else and, given their performances of late, they will have a lot of crowd support.” In fact, Pollock thinks the benefit of playing at home will even counteract the lack of match practice in the past few months. “They would have probably have wanted to play two or three one-day games to be really firing, especially since almost all the other teams have been in action recently. While I would have said that would work in favour of other teams, I think its negated by the fact that South Africa are at home.”The other danger for the team will be going into the tournament complacent, as they appeared to be at the World Twenty20 in June. South Africa went into their semi-final against Pakistan determined that they were ready to reach a final – Arthur said they were “very strong and ready to go to another level”. Needless to say, the chokers tag was stuck onto the team even more firmly than before after they lost by seven runs.This time, Arthur hasn’t talked up his team’s chances. “I think there are seven out of the eight teams who could stand a chance of winning (He did not want to make public which team he thought was not going to be in contention.). But I do think the four semi-finalists will be South Africa, Australia, India and Sri Lanka. Then again you underestimate New Zealand at your peril and depending on which Pakistan team shows up, they could be dangerous as well.”Although Arthur and his team appear to have realised the importance of finally winning an ICC event, they are not letting on that this will be any more important than any other competition. Maybe it’s just a clever way of disguising the pressure.”It will definitely mean something for them to win and it certainly counts more than any normal series,” Pollock said. Of course South Africa, ever the diplomats, could just see the Champions Trophy as yet another stepping stone on their road to something else, as they so often do with series that they lose. “Doing well in the competition will certainly give them confidence ahead of the 2011 World Cup,” said Pollock. But somehow, one doubts they’ll be willing to spend another two years as the best team never to have won a trophy.

Match facts

Sunday, September 27, 2009
Start time 2:30pm, 12:30 GMT

Big picture

Wayne Parnell is one player England should watch out for•Getty Images

Well, who’d have thought it? England, their chances written off – or even laughed off in some cases – announced themselves at the ICC Champions Trophy with a smooth six-wicket victory against the previously impressive Sri Lanka. How would they counter their first meeting with Ajantha Mendis? Leave him wicketless. How would they quell a flamboyant Sri Lanka top order? Take them out for 17 runs. How would they repel an old foe in Muttiah Muralitharan? Take him for 60 runs in 10 overs. Easy, this one-day lark.What makes England’s unexpected success more notable is that their next opponents, South Africa, were efficiently dismantled by Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament. However, as Andrew Strauss said, now is not the time to be getting carried away. One win does not make an international trophy.England will be disappointed to leave the Wanderers behind for this match after encountering a surface that suited their pace-heavy attack perfectly. James Anderson and Graham Onions exploited helpful conditions, but runs have been slightly easier to come by at Centurion so the attack should be tested. They will need to tighten up on wides – 21 was far too many against Sri Lanka – while some of the middle-innings bowling verged on the brainless. South Africa, after a slow start to their season, are finding their stride and will punish any looseness.The hosts sharpened their game against New Zealand to get their campaign back on track. Wayne Parnell claimed five wickets and AB de Villiers looked in ominous form. This will be the first of many meetings between the two sides over the next few months; in November England return for a full Test and one-day tour. In the present, though, it’s all about reaching the semi-finals of this tournament and South Africa can’t afford any more slips. It’s a pressure game for Graeme Smith’s team, and pressure can do funny things to South Africa.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England – WWLLL
South Africa – WLLWW

Team news

England are in the rare position where changes aren’t required. They have a balanced attack, with Graeme Swann to complement the four quicks, and Paul Collingwood is a more than handy operator. Collingwood’s return to form has a huge impact on England’s one-day unit, but Strauss could do with better control from Stuart Broad and Luke Wright.England: (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Joe Denly, 3 Owais Shah, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Graham Onions.South Africa know their best one-day team and generally stick with it. Herschelle Gibbs has been passed fit for selection and should slot back in alongside Smith. How England combat the 20 overs of spin from Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe will be vital, while Dale Steyn will want to lay some early makers for battles ahead.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Dale Steyn

Watch out for…

Eoin Morgan was one of the few bright spots to come out of the 6-1 hammering to Australia, but that was based largely on one brisk innings at Trent Bridge. Now he has brought his form to South Africa and shown his expertise in pacing a run chase with 62 off 83 balls. England have lacked someone who can control the middle of an innings since Graham Thorpe and before him Neil Fairbrother. Morgan is viewed as the man for that role and his unorthodox technique makes him difficult to bowl at – although occasionally his dismissals can look uglyEngland will be seeing plenty of Wayne Parnell in the next few months. He hasn’t made his Test debut yet, but the Centurion Park meeting between these teams is odds on. In the one-day side he is already a central figure where he has added a new dimension to the attack. He hasn’t been at his best so far, proving expensive in both matches, but has already collected eight wickets including 5 for 57 against New Zealand.

Pitch and conditions

The Centurion surface hasn’t offered the amount of help that England enjoyed at The Wanderers, but there has still be something there for good bowling. As ever in these parts there is a threat of thunderstorms, but so far they have only impacted one match.

Stats and trivia

• These two teams have met twice at Centurion Park, once in 1996 and then in 2005, with South Africa winning on both occasions.
• Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood survive from the England side of 2006, while Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher are certain to play for South Africa.

Quotes

“They have got a very good side. They were number one in the world when the tournament began, we are down at number six. We will have to play above ourselves to beat them.”
.”We have had a good record against England in the past apart from last year’s series in England but we will be treating them just like we would any other side in the tournament.”

Victoria 3 for 452 (Hodge 169*, Rogers 149) lead South Australia 292 by 160 runs
Scorecard
Loud message: Chris Rogers started the season in strong form with a century in Adelaide•Fred Kelly

The opener Chris Rogers followed his verbal reminder to the selectors with an on-field one as Victoria took control on the second day by racing to 3 for 452 against South Australia. Rogers deflated the home bowlers in posting 149 while Brad Hodge stepped in with an unbeaten 169 as the Bushrangers collected a strong lead of 160.During the week Rogers said he was disappointed that he wasn’t considered for the Ashes Tests and it is unlikely this innings will change the selectors’ minds, but it kept the pressure on the preferred New South Wales trio of Simon Katich, Shane Watson and Phillip Hughes. Rogers, who grabbed 22 fours as well as a flicked six off Peter George, added a run after tea before driving at a wider ball from Dan Christian and being caught by Aaron O’Brien in the gully.It was Rogers’ first chance, with the dismissal ending his stay after 187 deliveries and stopping the dominant partnership with Hodge of 181, which was achieved at a run-rate of 4.8 an over. Hodge continued to torment the Redbacks despite losing David Hussey, who hit Cullen Bailey to short cover on 46.Hodge had started nervously, surviving a first-ball lbw appeal, and was dropped on 54 by the stand-in captain Daniel Harris, but he showed few concerns once he got going. He lifted three sixes – one brought up his 150 – and found 24 fours during his 221-ball occupation that helped push the Bushrangers to 450 runs in a day.Christian (2 for 101) collected the first breakthrough when Nick Jewell was lbw shortly before lunch following an opening stand of 102. The Bushrangers have had no trouble adapting to the Sheffield Shield format following their Champions League Twenty20 experience and will look to add to their first-innings points over the next two days.

The first priority of the umpire review system is to eliminate obvious mistakes but the man in charge of implementing the technology hopes it will also lead to a new generation of walkers. Dave Richardson, the ICC’s cricket operations manager, believes an indirect benefit of the two-appeals-per-innings innovation, which was implemented full-time in New Zealand on Tuesday and Australia from Thursday, will be more batsmen not hanging around when they’ve edged behind.In the 11-Test trial Richardson said not only did the percentage of correct decisions improve by 6%, but they noticed the players, the only ones who can call for a review under this part of the system, were adhering more closely to the spirit of cricket. “I quite like the idea of putting a bit of responsibility on them, they are very quick to shake their heads and wave their bat around when they get an inside edge,” he said at the Gabba. “Let’s see how brave they are when it comes to actually taking that responsibility.”Initially when we spoke we thought a possible indirect benefit might be that batsmen, when they do edge a ball, won’t hang around and will walk anyway because they will be inevitably given out in the long run and they might be shown up as, not cheats, but certainly not playing within the spirit.”Richardson said there were fewer issues of dissent from the players and there was also less pressure being placed on the on-field officials by the bowling side. “We’ve found in the trials that the vociferous appealing, and appealing when you know it’s not out, just to try to convince the umpire has seemed to go out of the game.”What’s worse for the game, Steve Bucknor’s effigy getting burnt in India from a bad decision or the opportunity to rectify his mistake and hopefully improving the spirit by saying to the players: it’s your game, your responsibility. You hit it, you walk, if you don’t think it’s out, don’t appeal.”Nine out of the ten ICC members voted for the adoption of the system in internationals – England were not in favour because it is the players who generate the review – but it still relies on the host broadcaster having the technology, which can include Hawk-eye, pitch maps, hot spot and super slo-mo. Hot spot will not be available to the umpires during the Australia-West Indies series, but the third official will always have the same replays as the fans in their lounge rooms.”Unfortunately in this day and age the guy’s not out when the umpire raises his finger, he’s out when Ian Chappell or Mark Nicholas says he’s the out,” Richardson said. “The modern view is we need to use technology.”Simon Katich, Australia’s opening batsman, said the system worked well for the team in South Africa at the start of the year. “We tended to use it at the right time,” he said. “We certainly had no dramas on it.”David Williams, the West Indies coach, said it was good to know the decisions would be well-made. “If the technology is there and used properly then I have absolutely no problem with it,” he said.Richardson wants to make one thing clear: it won’t be perfect. While the human element is being downgraded, there is still scope for doubt. “It’s so important for the person at home watching on television to understand that we are still not going to get 100% of the decisions right, because there are going to be some decisions that aren’t conclusive from the technology point of view. The obvious ones we’ll eradicate.”

Match facts

November 16-20, 2009
Start time 9.30am (0400 GMT)

Big Picture

Kumar Sangakkara has talked bravely of Sri Lanka setting their record in India right•Associated Press

The lead-up to this series has been more muted than the last time the Sri Lankans visited India, in 2005-06, when the scheduling of the first Test in Chennai during the monsoon and Cyclone Baaz hogged the headlines along with fevered speculation over which day Sachin Tendulkar would score his record 35th Test century. This time there has been no verbal discourse, no individual battles hyped, no records or player targeted, and no controversial sound bytes. In fact, Sri Lanka have slipped into their preparations almost completely under the radar as the country goes gaga over Tendulkar’s 20th year at the top.This lack of hoopla is slightly odd – or refreshing, depending on how you choose to see it – ahead of a series in which the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings is up for grabs. Sri Lanka are No. 2 and India No. 3, separated by one point. India will go on top if they beat Sri Lanka by 2-0 or better, while Sri Lanka just need to win the series to go past South Africa.It won’t be easy. Sri Lanka have made six tours to India over the last 27 years, played 14 Tests, and are yet to win one. It’s a record their captain Kumar Sangakkara is keen to rectify. For Sri Lanka, the batting and bowling are areas of grave concern. Totally at ease on sluggish pitches at home, the batsman have struggled in more testing conditions away. Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will be expected to shoulder an immense burden; Thilan Samaraweera and Tillakaratne Dilshan have new challenges of translating their home form overseas; Tharanga Paranavitana has a chance to cement the opening berth and allrounder Angelo Mathews, on whom Sangakkara is banking to give the team flexibility and balance, needs to step up if Sri Lanka are to ending their sorry run in India.Similarly, Sri Lanka’s bowling has been dominated by Indian batsmen over the years at home, with fast bowlers and slow suffering in equal measure. Muttiah Muralitharan has, by far, been the most effective, while none of the others have taken more than ten wickets.For India, this series marks a return to the five-day game after seven months of limited-overs cricket. After a chastening defeat to a depleted but supremely confident Australia, keeping with a generally disappointing limited-overs record since the tour of New Zealand, India go into the series without much fanfare, in a way indicative of the history the teams share. India are terribly short of Test-match practice, having played only three this year, and all before the first week of April. Sri Lanka have played eight this year, the most recent in September.Perhaps, ever so slightly, the pressure has been turned up on India because of all the focus on Tendulkar. Losing at home to Sri Lanka would not only be a huge blow for their morale, it would be a major setback to their goal of becoming the best side in the world.

Form guide (last 5 Tests, most recent last)

India DDWDW
Sri Lanka WWDWW

Watch out for

Kumar Sangakarra: The Sri Lankan captain has said his team is “under no pressure” to scratch India off the list of countries (South Africa and Australia are the others) where they have never won a Test. To help ensure that, he’s going to have to lead extremely well and score heavily. Captaining a superb fielding unit and a bunch of bowlers skilled in home conditions is one thing, but doing so in a country that has daunted Sri Lanka since their Test initiation is something else. His own batting average of 24.80 from three Tests played in India will also desperately need some correcting.
After nearly nine years on the international circuit, you sense that the time has arrived for Yuvraj Singh to stamp himself in Test cricket. Sourav Ganguly’s retirement has given him a massive chance to establish himself No. 6 as India prepares itself for life beyond Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Whether or not he will be able to hack it is something to watch, for his temperament and technique have been exposed on occasion by quality fast bowlers and spinners. His limited-overs form has been decent, and for once Yuvraj can look forward to a full three-Test series at home to expand his credentials. Whether he’s looking forward to playing three top-class spinners – lesser bowlers like Brad Hogg have made him look like a novice – is another matter.Thilan Samaraweera has had a year to remember, as 1083 runs in Tests attest; he’s the highest run-getter this year. While his new avatar has seen him turn into a run-machine at home, Samaraweera’s record in India is one he will be desperate to improve on. In three Tests here, he has scored 42 runs at 10.50, with 35 coming in one unbeaten innings.Zaheer Khan has recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained during the ICC World Twenty20 which ruled him out of all of India’s series since. He featured in Twenty20 matches during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and a Ranji Trophy fixture, but it remains to be seen how he shapes up over five days. He has been India’s best fast bowler for some time and they need him to be back at his best.

Team news

Zaheer returns after a long lay-off to take the new ball, and that means it’s a tussle between Ishant Sharma and the returning Sreesanth for the second fast bowler’s spot. Ishant should win purely based on the fact that he’s played way more international cricket than Sreesanth, whose last game for India was 19 months ago. The second spinner’s spot should go to Amit Mishra who, even though he’s not played for a while, bowled well in the nets. There aren’t too many left-handers in the side so it’s highly unlikely the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha will be handed a debut.
India : (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Amit Mishra.Sangakkara has confirmed that one of Prasanna Jayawardene and Kaushal Silva will keep wicket, meaning that Dilshan will play as a specialist batsman. Dilshan has been under the watchful eyes of the team physio after spraining his ankle but a final decision on his availability will be made on the morning of the Test. The toughest decision, though, will be on picking the second spinner behind Murali. Sangakkara said before the game that the decision would be made on “performers” and by that logic the choice should be the left-armer Rangana Herath.Herath has done very well in four recent home Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand, taking 23 wickets, and was picked ahead of Ajantha Mendis for the last match Sri Lanka played. Mendis hasn’t been the same since his outstanding debut series against India last summer, but mere thoughts of his mesmeric bowling then will put him in the reckoning. The allrounder Mathews is back in the side and will slot in at No. 6.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tharanga Paranavitana, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Prasanna Jayawardene/Kaushal Silva (wk), 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Thilan Thushara, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Rangana Herath/Ajantha Mendis.

Pitch and conditions

The last time India played a Test in Ahmedabad, they were bowled out for 77 on the opening morning on a green top that came under widespread criticism, not least from then captain Anil Kumble. This time, however, the track looks rather flat and neither side need worry about the ball zipping around like its Headingley. MS Dhoni termed it “a bit sticky in the sense that last evening they had watered it” but was certain it would dry up and be “perfect” track to bat on initially. The weather on the eve of the Test was sweltering.

Stats and Trivia

• Murali has taken 31 wickets in eight Tests in India at a relatively disappointing average of 39.58. The top five batsmen constitute 15 of his wickets, but at a heavy price – Murali averages 64.56 for each of those breakthroughs. He’s been far more successful against the lower order; for batsmen from No.6 to 11, Murali has taken 16 wickets at 17.58.
• Virender Sehwag averages 50.00 in five Tests against Sri Lanka, and just 18.66 in two games against the same team at home. 251 of his 400 runs against Sri Lanka came in one Test.
• India beat Sri Lanka by 259 runs the last these teams played here, with spin accounting for 28 of the 39 wickets to fall.
• Sri Lankan bowlers have taken 143 wickets in India overall, at 47.87. Pace bowlers have grabbed 65 of those, at 49.47. Chaminda Vaas, who has the most wickets among the fast bowlers, has taken 11 of those at 41.27. Sri Lankan spinners have fared only marginally better, taking 75 wickets at 46.81.
• Sri Lanka’s Test record in India reads – 14 played, 0 won, 8 lost and 6 drawn.

Quotes

“Indian team and pressure go hand in glove. I have not played a series where it was said that we were not under pressure. That’s nothing new. We play the best side in the world, we are under pressure. We play the lowest ranked side in the ratings, then also we are under pressure.”

“I have played enough cricket over the years. This could be my last tour overseas. Sri Lanka has not won a Test series in India, so it would be great if my team won the series this time.”

ICC president David Morgan has given a clear endorsement of day-night Tests, saying he would be “surprised and disappointed” if it didn’t happen in the next two years. He did not, however, commit on the other current Test-related issue, that of a championship in the format.Morgan, who earlier this year had hinted that Test cricket may be reduced to four days, feels the possibility of the five-day game being played under lights is close to fruition.”I’d be surprised if we don’t see day-night Test cricket within the next two years, surprised and disappointed,” Morgan said at a meeting of the Indian Journalists’ Association at The Oval.”If you look at a country like Australia with big stadia and very hot conditions, Australia is made for day-night Test cricket,” he said. “Eighteen months ago, I wouldn’t have been overly enthusiastic, thinking of the tradition and the records. But the way Test match cricket has changed over 130-odd years, I see [day-night Tests] as a very good reason for bringing the crowds out.”Day/night cricket is less important in England and Wales because the grounds, which are relatively small sell-out. It’s more important in countries with large stadia and hot conditions.”The ICC is also looking into creating a World Test Championship, though Morgan shied away from the term and stressed the need for Tests to have context.”In terms of each Test match having a context beyond bilateral series, real progress could be made soon,” he said, adding there might be a “climax” although he didn’t say how this would be achieved.”We want to ensure Test match cricket is as popular around world as it is in this country [England]. The ECB have little trouble in selling out the first four days of a Test.”Attendances for Test cricket in England is healthy as opposed to other countries where it has been on the wane for some years, and the ICC has been in talks about ways to protect and enrich the game’s oldest format in the face of lucrative Twenty20 leagues like the IPL.Other radical changes, such as a two-tier format, had been mooted for the next Future Tours Programme. “At ICC, we regard Test cricket as the pinnacle of the game. It’s the form of the game cricketers seek to play,” he added. “It is interesting Test cricket has endured and I am sure it is going to continue to thrive. The ICC has recognised that in some countries Test-match cricket is not that popular in terms of people paying at the gate. It needs to be a competitive event and it needs pitches that provide a good balance between bat and ball.”Morgan’s comments came a day after it was announced that the first-class game in the West Indies will include radical innovations such as day-night matches and the use of pink balls to boost spectator interest.