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In the last one-day series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, monsoonrains forced the teams to Dambulla in a bid to ensure that matches wereplayed, but Sri Lanka’s only hope in New Zealand is that there is a change in the weather over the next few days.Rain, which forced the abandonment of the tour opener against CentralDistricts on Tuesday five overs into Sri Lanka’s innings at NewPlymouth, didn’t even allow the teams to get on the field in Hamilton on Thursday. The captains did toss, with Marvan Atapattu calling correctly, but that proved the only contest on the day as rain came back before play started in what was to have been a 30-over contest.Hamilton’s Westpac Park was too damp, and the prospect of more rain meant that the Sri Lankans left the ground knowing that they would be lacking vital batting practice in local conditions when the one-day series begins at Eden Park in Auckland on Boxing Day.The series is shaping as a thriller, and while the absence of significant warm-up play is a frustration, it is more of a reflection of modern-day cricket with its packed schedules. Sri Lanka will be expected to adapt to the demands of touring and accept their pre-series fate as just one of those things. The long-term forecast is hopeful, although anything would have to be an improvement on the start to the notion of summer throughout the country.Sri Lanka have to make do without Muttiah Muralitharan for the one-day series, at least, while Nuwan Zoysa, the left-arm pace bowler, is expected to miss the first two matches as a result of the finger he dislocated while attempting a caught-and-bowled against Central Districts.New Zealand will welcome back Daryl Tuffey, who has been working hard on his action after disappointments suffered due to injury in England earlier in the year. After the good showing during the Chappell-Hadlee series withAustralia, expectations are high that New Zealand can finish the yearin style by maintaining their improved form in ODIs. Ticket salesaround the venues for the five one-day matches are high, and the hopeis that the series can be played in something approaching summer conditions.

Western Province 43 (Zoysa 6-12) and 32 for 1 v Central Province 133Nuwan Zoysa took six wickets for 12 runs as Western Province slumped to 43 all out on the first day of the Inter-Provincial Tournament at Colombo. Ruchira Perera took the other four wickets as only one batsman, Chaminda Vaas (15), reached double figures in a miserable first innings for the home side. Central Province fared slightly better in their reply, before capitulating to 133. Westerns made a brighter start to what was their second innings of the day, and they had reached 32 for 1 at the close.The day had got off to a flyer for Central, as Zoysa (9-3-12-6) dismissed Michael Vandort for 0 on the fourth ball. Things went from bad to worse … and then on to the truly terrible as three wickets fell on 14 – and the rest soon followed.Four of Central’s batsmen managed to achieve double figures but, after making starts, no one could go on, Thilan Samaraweera topscoring with 27. It was definitely a day for the bowlers, Dinuka Hettiarachchi took 3 for 22 and Chaminda Vaas took 3 for 27.When a weary Westerns commenced their second innings, Vandort had more success. He reached 21 before caught him off the bowling of Dilruwan Perera. On the strength of today’s performances, this four-day match is unlikely to stretch beyond two days.Shantha Kalavitigoda and Gayan Ramyalumara struck an unbeaten stand of 205 to cement a strong position for North Central Province on the first day at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. They had a lead of 165 by the close, with nine wickets still remaining in their first innings. Southern Province batted first, and were reduced to 86 all out, as Nuwan Kulasekara and Farveez Maharoof took four wickets each.Avishka Gunawardene was the only wicket to fall in SP’s innings (46 for 1). He made 23. Undeterred, Kalavitigoda struck 19 fours and three sixes as he rattled along to 126 by the close. Ramyalumara played an admirable supporting act, his undefeated 78 included 12 fours.Batting was a different story for Southern Province, who struggled throughout. Their only partnership of note was that of Saman Jayantha and Anushka Polonowita, who mustered 39 between them. SP’s bowlers head into the second day with much work to do to get their team back into the match.

Scorecard
Queensland beat Victoria by 78 runs after a tremendous fightback by Brad Hodge and Jason Arnberger at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. They put on 266 after losing Matthew Elliott early (1 for 11), and then watched the rest of their team fritter away the platform in a string of scores less than 15. from 1 for 277, Victoria stumbled to 335 all out.Queensland had declared at 5 for 201 in the morning, giving Victoria 100 overs to score 414. For a long time it appeared that the move would backfire, until Arnberger and Hodge were dismissed in similar ways: pulling short deliveries by Mitchell Johnson straight to the fielder on the square-leg boundary. From there on it all went downhill, as Ashley Noffke grabbed 4 for 78 in 22 overs to help dismiss Victoria without further ado.

On whether the poor form of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar put pressure on the middle order?
Not a question of pressure. Sehwag had been making runs at the top of the order, and there was not much time for the middle-order batsmen to do anything. This was the first chance for them.On when he thought the match was lost
Rana bowled very well, and by the end of 15 overs we had lost four wickets. It was difficult after that.On whether he felt added pressure playing in front of his home crowd
I felt pressure as long as I was away from the field. But once you’re in the middle, it doesn’t matter where you are.On whether he was disappointed by the shot he got out to
Yes, I was. I could have left it alone. I was well set.On why he came for the press conference instead of Sourav Ganguly
Sourav’s busy with the match referee…On whether he expected to do more in front of the home crowd
Look, international cricket isn’t that simple. It’s tough competition and their fast bowlers bowled really well.On the mood in the dressing room
The boys are not shattered. We have won two of the matches so far. They just played very well today and congratulations to them.On whether a strategy will be adopted to combat Rana
We will certainly look at it during the next team meeting. It also depends a lot on the pitches that we get in the coming games.On whether he believed that winning the toss was equivalent to winning the toss
Well, on flat wickets, if you score 300 or 350, you can put pressure on the other team. But just winning the toss doesn’t win you games.On whether poor batting also contribute to India’s loss, since the tail-enders batted without a trace of discomfort
Rana was generating some bounce from the pitch, and that’s what got most of the batsmen out. The runs were made mainly against the spinners and Rana was out of the attack by then.On whether having just a 15-minute break between innings made it hard
It was tough for the openers to bat again immediately because you need a 40-minute break after three and a half hours in the field.On whether he had called up his parents and asked for their blessings before the game
I got their blessing, and still I got out (smiles).

Makhaya Ntini has revealed that he predicted his own success in the second Test against the West Indies in Trinidad. Ntini, who claimed a career-best 7 for 37 in the second innings, also finished with the best bowling figures (13 for 132) by a South African in a Test.”On the first day, before I left my hotel room, I said: ‘This is going to be my Test’,” Ntini was quoted as saying in . “Everybody who bowls in a Test for South Africa is going to want to do better than that now. It’s all about dedication, I knew things could turn around.”Ntini led the attack in the absence of the injured Shaun Pollock, and engineered South Africa’s comfortable eight-wicket win. The South African bowlers came back strongly after being hammered in the first Test, and dismissed West Indies for just 194 on the final day.Satisfied with his team’s performance, Graeme Smith said that his bowlers were aggressive with the ball. “We let ourselves down on the first three days in Guyana, and it’s great to be able to fight back and get something out of it. It’s been a hard-working Test, even behind the scenes, and it’s a great feeling to come out of it victorious.”However, West Indies had a lot to worry about, including the number of no-balls bowled – the count after the first two Tests stands at 67. “There were a cluster of things that made us not perform as well as we could have,” said Bennett King, their coach. “The no-balls certainly cost us in this match. We didn’t bowl one no-ball in training, but what we’ve seen in the match is the result of changes in rhythm and tempo.”There were also two or three shots the players probably wish they had not played,” King continued. “The West Indies side has plenty of skill, and we need to combine that with better fitness.”South Africa now prepare for a two-day tour match against the University of the West Indies Vice-Chancellor’s XI in Trinidad which starts on April 16 before resuming the Test series in Bridgetown on April 21.

It’s grim up north, as Southerners are wont to say, but few prospects can have been grimmer than the one facing the Bangladeshis, as they geared up for the second Test at Chester-le-Street on Friday. Under overcast skies – which looked leaden enough to make the new ball sing on a fresh Riverside wicket, but not quite sufficient to cause any much-needed rain delays to aid their cause – Bangladesh prepared for the unpalatable task of salvaging their pride after a desperate first Test.It will not be an easy task. The most disappointing aspect of the Lord’s debacle was not the size of the defeat – in alien conditions, that much had been anticipated long in advance. What was more depressing was the manner of the capitulation. England, by their own admission, bowled woefully in the first hour and yet were gifted a succession of wickets by batsmen who believed they had won the lottery overnight. From Allan Border to Andrew Strauss, many of the most successful cricketers in the game have made a virtue of batting within their limitations – not, as Habibul Bashar demonstrated, by swinging wildly at anything dropped a fraction short or wide.Bangladesh, like England, have resisted the urge to ring the changes – at least those in the Lord’s XI now know what is about to hit them. They will make a late decision on their 16-year-old Mushfiqur Rahim, who sprained his ankle on a flight of stairs, while the seamer, Tapash Baisya, has been added the reckoning after missing the first match with an Achilles injury.Bangladesh’s coach, Dav Whatmore, sounded a warning to his players and the public earlier in the week, when he expressed his concerns about the challenge that awaited at Chester-le-Street. Today, however, he was bullish once again, and scoffed at suggestions that Bangladesh should be stripped of their Test status. “We are a full Test match nation,” he said. “That’s where we belong and where we will stay,”The quest for respect is a double-edged sword, however, and the more that Bangladesh demand to be accepted on this tour, the harder they are likely to be slapped back into place. For Michael Vaughan and England, the temptation to experiment with their batting order must be great, seeing as key personnel such as Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones did not get any time in the middle at Lord’s.But instead they have named the same XI, including the redundant Gareth Batty ahead of the seamer Jon Lewis, who would have revelled in these conditions just as Richard Johnson did in 2003 (6 for 33 on debut against Zimbabwe). With the Australians due to arrive midway through the match, now is hardly the time for England to step on what Michael Vaughan metaphysically described as “a potential banana skin”.”You want players to get time in the middle,” Vaughan told reporters at Chester-le-Street, “but you’ve got to be respectful of the game as well. As soon as you start being clever it comes back and bites you.” Nevertheless, with Andrew Flintoff fit and firing on all cylinders again after his ankle surgery, the outlook is bleak for Bangladesh. Even his apparently half-pace workout at Lord’s last week resulted in five wickets from 14.5 overs.”It was a huge bonus having him bowl in the first Test,” said Vaughan, “and it’s an even bigger bonus knowing we can use him just that little bit more now. I wasn’t expecting him to be bowling again until maybe halfway through the one-day games, so it just shows how hard he’s worked on his rehab and how well the medical staff have done to get him back playing again.”Sadly, it will take more than medical staff to put Bangladesh back together again if this Test follows the same pattern as the first Test. “Given the weather we have had the pitch might be more difficult to negotiate than Lord’s,” Whatmore reiterated. All he, and the cricket-loving public as a whole, can hope for is that they can put up a fight, however futile.