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Marvan Atapattu has, as expected, been named as Sri Lanka’s new Testcaptain. The 33-year-old Atapattu took over the one-day leadership 12 monthsago but will now inherit control of the Test team too after the resignationof Hashan Tillakaratne following Sri Lanka’s 3-0 whitewash byAustralia.Atapattu’s first assignment will be a tour to Zimbabwe in April and May, during which they will play five ODIs and two Tests. Atapattu’s deputy will be named later, but Mahela Jayawardene, the current one-day vice-captain, is expected to be appointed.Atapattu’s appointment is subject to ratification by the government, inaccordance with Sri Lanka’s sports law.

ScorecardAfter 14 wickets fell on a jittery opening day, Namibia and Uganda’s batsmen were more settled second-time around, as their Intercontinental Cup clash built towards an intriguing final day. By the close, Namibia were 130 for 2 in their second innings, and led by 21 runs after conceding a lead of 109.Overnight, Uganda had been a shaky 90 for 4 in reply to Namibia’s 165, but Nand Kishar top-scored with 74, and F Nsubuga contributed a vital 62 from No. 8 – an innings which included 10 hard-hit boundaries. Although they lost their last three wickets for two runs, Uganda’s total of 274 looked to be a platform from which to force victory.But Namibia knuckled down in their second innings, with Danny Keulder and JM van der Merwe wiping out the deficit with a stand of 111. But, just when Namibia were had half an eye on the close of play, both men fell within ten runs of each other. Uganda will need to wrap up the remaining eight wickets in quick time if they are to secure victory.

Shane Warne will miss the fourth Test against India after breaking his right thumb during an eve-of-match net session at Mumbai today.Warne at first appeared to be untroubled, but soon looked in some discomfort and was taken to a local hospital for a precautionary X-ray where the break was revealed. It is thought that either Nathan Hauritz, the offspinner, or the legspinner Cameron White will take his place.”Shane experienced increased levels of pain throughout the afternoon, so we had the thumb X-rayed,” explained Errol Alcott, Australia’s physiotherapist. “The scans have detected a fracture in his right thumb, and given the amount of cricket on the horizon, we feel that it is in his best interests to get home now and rest. We can’t predict a return date for Shane, but we will review him in the lead-up to the first Test in Brisbane.””This series has been one of the true highlights of my career, so I’m really disappointed that I won’t be able to finish it off on the right note,” Warne admitted. “It would have been a great thrill to be on hand when we received the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the end of this Test, but I’m satisfied with the knowledge that I helped contribute to our series win.”India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid (capt), 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Mohammad Kaif, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.Australia (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Simon Katich, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Cameron White, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Jason Gillespie.

Pubudu Dassanayake, Canada’s coach, has announced a new coaching team who will take charge across the various levels of the game.Shaun Miller who played minor counties cricket in England will be the deputy national coach and he will be responsible for Western Canada which includes the areas of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. He holds an ECB Level 3 qualification.Anderson Cummins, the former West Indies and Canada opening bowler, will look after the Under-19s, who have not qualified for the World Cup in Malaysia this month but will definitely take part in the 2012 event as hosts. Farooq Kirmani who represented Canada in the ’80s, will be undertaking the future of the juniors, in looking after the Under-15s. George Codrington, who represented Canada at last year’s World Cup in the West Indies, will undertake the women’s program.The trio do not, as yet, have formal coaching qualifications, but do have extensive experience of developing players’ skills over many years. “All three have played a considerable amount of international cricket – in Anderson’s case, at Test level,” a Canada spokesperson told Cricinfo. “It is important for Canadian cricket that we maximize this type of expertise which exists within the country.”Geoffrey Crosse will resume his role as technical analyst, team with specific skills in video analysis. “He has formal, college-level qualifications in that area,” said the spokesman, “which is becoming increasingly important for us.”There has been a change in the selectors’ panel too, as Errol Townshend has tendered his resignation as national selector. Richard Hawes, Chris James, Bhan Deonarine and Arvind Patel will soon be joined on the panel by a replacement Ontario representative. The Ontario Cricket Association will recommend a replacement to the CCA. The CCA will then appoint a replacement who will be formally elected to the position at the next AGM.Their big job this year will be to select the side they believe will help Canada win the Twenty20 World Cup Qualifiers in Ireland in August. This will be Canada’s singular focus for the foreseeable future, with two teams from six going through to the World Cup. Project Stingray, as it has been called, will be led by Dassananayake and moves into high gear immediately.The efforts will include the following: an expansion of indoor winter training, with indoor nets and indoor games being played three times a week; specific Twenty20 training; much usage of DVD footage; input from qualified sports psychologists; and the inclusion of promising Canadian Under-19s in the process.

The Worcestershire offspinner, Gareth Batty, has been called into England’s squad ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, as cover for Ashley Giles, who has a hip injury.Batty, 27, played the last of his five Tests in Antigua in April 2004, at the end of England’s triumphant tour of the Caribbean. But he toured South Africa last winter with both the Tests and the one-day sides, and has been in good form for Worcestershire in the County Championship. In their current match against Essex at Chelmsford, he has made 54 and taken 3 for 26.Giles, meanwhile, has been troubled by a hip problem since Warwickshire’s Championship match against Sussex at Hove on May 10. “Ashley’s fitness will be re-assessed by the England medical team tomorrow when the Test squad reports for practice,” said David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors. “Gareth has been added to the squad as a precautionary measure.”Giles was restricted to 11 overs in the match against Sussex but batted in both innings and was confident of making the Test side. However, he is now feeling discomfort again and will be put through his paces by England’s medical team on Monday. He began the season in superb form, taking 24 wickets at 18 apiece, including three five-wicket hauls.Giles’s injury could increase the chances of England playing a full hand of seamers at Lord’s. Simon Jones has bowled 34 overs for Glamorgan in their game against Hampshire, to suggest that he has recovered from his back injury. The vulnerability of the Bangladesh batting to the county seamers they have faced may encourage the selectors to pick an all-pace attack, therefore giving Jon Lewis a Test debut and reducing the workload on Andrew Flintoff.Duncan Fletcher has said that England will need to make sure they do not take Bangladesh lightly at Lord’s. He believes Bangladesh have the ability to make things awkward if England are not on top of their game.He told : “They are a side that will make some progress. Cricket is a strange game and you can never underestimate anyone. It’s important we appreciate there are some good players in their side. There have been other sides who have been in the same position when they’ve entered the international arena and look where they are today. On any given day if one or two of their bowlers bowl in the right areas, you’ve got to make sure you’re at the top of your game.”

Lord MacLaurin has reopened the TV rights debate by saying the ECB was right to hand Sky the contract for showing England’s home Tests – and he says that cricket should stay off the list of “crown jewels”, too. In a letter to The Times, MacLaurin, the former chairman of the ECB, writes that “Sky made a very substantial bid [£220million] which was far and away the best financial deal for cricket. The ECB had no option but to accept it.”To put Test cricket back on the “A” list would be a financial disaster for the game. All cricket followers are thrilled with out “joint Ashes” win. But we need money to keep up the momentum.”England’s recent Ashes triumph prompted a debate in the media regarding TV rights, with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell, coming under increasing pressure to try to reinstate cricket on the list of “crown jewels” covered by terrestrial TV. She has now hinted that this may take place in 2008 or 2009 when the list will be reviewed.But MacLaurin says that the ECB were right to negotiate for the home Tests to be removed from category A status (terrestrial only) to category B, as the increase in revenue from a satellite provider such as Sky has been vital for the game’s improvement.”In 1996, the BBC had the television rights for a very small fee, English cricket was at a low ebb and there was little money in the game,” he wrote. “My colleagues and I set about bringing money into the game with the ambition of both our men’s and our women’s teams being the best in the world by 2007.”England contracted players, we built the Academy at Loughborough, we engaged Duncan Fletcher … as well as introducing the two-division championship, divisional limited-over competitions and the Twenty20 competition. None of this could have happened without the Channel 4 and Sky money.”

Simon Katich has warned his team-mates to prepare for some Adam Gilchrist-style treatment if Kevin Pietersen fulfils his potential during Australia’s tour of England. Pietersen is still waiting for his Test debut, but Katich said he was capable of turning a game in a couple of hours.Australia will get their first look at Pietersen in the Twenty20 international at Southampton on June 13, but Katich has spent time with him as a batting partner at Hampshire. Katich, who is involved in a pre-Ashes training camp in Brisbane, said Pietersen was a formidable stroke-maker whose shots when firing were too big for any ground.”It’s hard to put someone in Gilly’s category because he’s got the record that speaks for itself,” Katich told AAP. “KP’s only 24 and he’s a lot younger and more inexperienced. But he’s got something about him that says this guy’s going to be a dangerous cricketer.”Ian Bell was preferred to Pietersen in the Tests against Bangladesh, but after averaging 139.5 in 11 ODIs Pietersen is a certainty to play in the two one-day tournaments before the Ashes series. Katich said if Pietersen performed well he would expect him to be involved in the five Tests.”It wouldn’t surprise me if he plays, just knowing the type of character he is and how crucial he could be in that he can turn a game in the space of a couple of hours,” Katich said. “He’s done that in the one-day game, and someone who plays like that in Test cricket can try and dominate our bowling.”Katich said England were a more balanced outfit than when he played one Test on the 2001 tour, but he predicted Shane Warne, the Hampshire captain, would again cause a lot of problems. “Shane’s been bowling very well and as the game wears on in England – on day three, day four, day five – the wicket will certainly turn,” he said. “The fact we’re playing later in the summer is an advantage to him because generally the weather improves.”

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The oldest batsman in the Test side showed he still knows how to make a huge score just a day after Dennis Lillee voiced concerns the ageing top order could cost Australia the Ashes. Justin Langer was unbeaten on 188 when he declared Western Australia’s first innings closed 200 runs short of Tasmania’s total as he pushed for an outright result at the WACA.With Tim Paine and Michael Bevan (46) flying in the second innings – Tasmania were 5 for 149 at stumps with a lead of 349 – both sides will be battling for victory on day four. Langer had also scored freely, bringing up his hundred in 140 balls, including 20 boundaries, before declaring at tea with the score 5 for 353.The runs continued to pile up quickly when Luke Ronchi joined Langer and smashed 47 not out from 29 balls, 30 of which came in the space of two overs. Ronchi, who reached 40 from only 18 deliveries, hit eight fours and a six in a breathtaking cameo.In the first session Shaun Marsh made 50 before he was the first man out on day three, trapped lbw by Brendan Drew. Brett Geeves then made inroads into the Warriors’ middle order with two wickets in an over.When Tasmania began their reply Paine built on his first-innings 215 by racing to 56 from 77 balls before he was out lbw attempting to sweep the left-arm spinner Aaron Heal. Heal also troubled Michael Bevan and Dan Marsh to collect 3 for 36 from ten overs.The Tigers selected their squad for the Ford Ranger Cup match against the Warriors on Friday. They made no changes to the side that lost to Queensland by nine wickets on October 11.Tasmania FR Cup squad Michael Di Venuto, Tim Paine, Travis Birt, George Bailey, Michael Bevan, Daniel Marsh (capt), Luke Butterworth, Brett Geeves, Brendan Drew, Adam Griffith, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus.Western Australia FR Cup Squad Luke Ronchi, Justin Langer (capt), Marcus North, Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Chris Rogers, Sean Ervine, Peter Worthington, Brett Dorey, Ben Edmondson, Steve Magoffin, Aaron Heal.

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Identical scores of 84 from Denesh Ramdin and Daren Ganga helped Trinidad & Tobago knock down a target of 248 with little hassle in their opening KFC Cup match, and avenge their three-wicket loss to Barbados on Monday.Ramdin, opening the innings, added 147 – a second-wicket record – with Ganga, whose unbeaten innings earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, after William Perkins departed for four in the third over.Dwayne Bravo didn’t last long, nibbling Ryan Hinds’ left-arm spin to slip in the 32nd over, but Kieron Pollard scored a plucky 44-ball 46 to assist Ganga across the finish line. Dropped by rookie Kevin Stoute at long-off off Hinds when on 15, Pollard took 15 off Kemar Roach’s final over and hit the winning runs with 51 balls left.Half-centuries from Dwayne Smith, Dale Richards, and Patrick Browne lifted Barbados to 247 for 4 from their 50 overs after the hosts chose to bat. Smith led the way with a 68-ball 71 that included two fours and four sixes, while Richards and Browne, opening the batting, both scored 52 and in a record 102-run stand for their team. Bravo, Dave Mohammed and Sherwin Ganga were the only wicket-takers for T&T.
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Leeward Islands captain Sylvester Joseph’s unbeaten hundred couldn’t stop a top-heavy Jamaica batting order from sealing a five-wicket victory at St Mary’s Park. Joseph, 32, was at the centre of Leewards’ 232 for 6 but half-centuries from Brenton Parchment, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Tamar Lambert proved too much.Asked to bat first, Leewards were reeling at 82 for 5 before Joseph and Omari Banks, who continued his good form with 76, added 148. Joseph was in top form, collecting six fours and a six and reaching his hundred with a double off the last ball of the innings.Jamaica were given a solid start with Parchment (63) and Gayle (54) adding 103 for the first wicket. Gayle his eight fours in his 58-ball innings and Parchment six fours and three sixes. Wavell Hinds, the captain, came and went for 0 but Lambert, with an unbeaten 51 from 52 balls, and Samuels, with a 63-ball 50, added 85 for the fourth wicket. With 14 to win from 15 balls, Samuels departed, but Lambert stayed on until the end. Banks finished with two for 40 while medium pacer Gavin Tonge took 2 for 62.
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Liam Sebastian and Rawl Lewis combined for a 126-run fifth-wicket stand to overshadow Royston Crandon’s hundred as the Windward Islands brushed aside defending champions Guyana at St. George’s. Set 255 to win, Sebastien and Lewis came together at 140 for 4 in the 32nd over, and took the attack back to Guyana, Sebastian hitting an unbeaten 72 and Lewis hitting three sixes in a 47-ball 54.Opener Devon Smith (59 from 49 balls) got the innings off to a flier, adding 54 in six overs with a in the company of Andre Fletcher (21 from 12 balls). Lewis won the toss and inserted Guyana on a flat track and a fast outfield, and Croydon, with a superb 101, led a solid start with his captain Narsingh Deonarine (54) and Travis Dowlin (42). Crandon, 23, survived a chance to Lewis at cover when on 38, but moved past his fifty from 79 balls and slammed two sixes off Sebastian en route to three figures. Kenroy Peters was the Windwards best bowler with 3 for 56.

Andrew Leipus, former physio of the Indian cricket team, said he was satisfied withthe progress Sachin Tendulkar was making as he recovered from elbow surgery. “I met him in Mumbai and his arm looks like it’s healing very well,” Leipuswas quoted as saying in . “He has still got lots of work to do.”Leipus, who is at the Indian team probables training camp at the National CricketAcademy (NCA) in Bangalore, said that Tendulkar’s injury had left him with nooption apart from surgery. “I think the best he could have done under thecircumstances is to undergo surgery, considering that the demands on him are huge,both from the playing point of view and the physical point of view,” he said. “He’sbeen there for 16 years and obviously there will be wear and tear on his body. Ithink in my perspective, Sachin opting for surgery is the right call.”Leipus is presently a consultant-physio with the probables at the camp. He said thatTendulkar’s progress augurs well for the rest of his playing career. “In the future,he can do what he is comfortable with,” he said. “I think he will be better thanwhat he has been for the last few years, and mentally he will be stronger now.”Leipus also mentioned that the Indian team was fairly unfit, having come in from theoff-season. But he singled out Zaheer Khan for praise. “Zaheer Khan is extremelyfit,” he said. “Probably the fittest I’ve ever seen him. That’s a very positivething.”