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Opening batsman Marvan Atapattu eased himself into form as Sri Lanka’spreparations for the first Test at Lords starting May 15 continued against aBritish Universities XI at Wantage Road on Thursday.Atapattu, who is expected to be a key figure during the three-match Testseries against England, scored 100 from 180 deliveries as Sri Lanka finishedthe first day of three on 318 for seven.With their one-day game against a Paul Getty’s XI washed out earlier in theweek, Sri Lanka would have been delighted to be back playing, continuingtheir adjustment to local conditions, even if the students represented aless than intimidating opposition.Sanath Jayasuriya – unusually restrained before he clipped a half volley topoint – missed out for the second game in succession, as did number threeKumar Sangakkara, whilst Hashan Tillakaratne, on his first outing, wascaught behind cutting before he got into his stride.Aravinda de Silva, however, once again showed good touch, opening hisinnings with a signature swivel pull for six, before attacking left-armspinner Rob Ferley and cruising to 57 from 52 balls, when he was bowledaround his legs attempting the most delicate of sweeps.Atapattu took longer to get into his stride, carefully constructing hisfirst fifty off 111 balls and showing good judgment outside his off-stump.Thereafter the runs started to flow more easily with his elegant coverdriving catching the eye.Later in the day, Russel Arnold chipped in with 43 off 64 balls andall-rounder Thilan Samaraweera made 21 from 52 balls.In the morning, Sri Lanka had picked Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka’s premier fastbowler, and Eric Upashantha for their first games of the tour in place ofleft-armers Ruchira Perera and Nuwan Zoysa.

Craig Spearman is to return to Central Districts next season, 18 months after announcing his retirement.Spearman said he was finished with first-class cricket when travelling to England after the highly-successful CD summer of 2000/01.But since then he has started playing for Gloucestershire, with great success in the County Championship, under the coaching eye of New Zealander John Bracewell.In six county championship matches to date he has scored 460 runs at 38.30, including two centuries and three 50s while in the Benson and Hedges Cup competition he scored 138 runs at 23.00 but most importantly, had a strike rate of 101.47.CD chief executive Blair Furlong said that while Spearman said he had retired from cricket when leaving CD, he then signed for Gloucestershire.”I approached him and asked him if he was coming home during the summer would he like to play the State Shield games for us. He said he would think about it and then came back and said, why didn’t he play the whole season for us?”We settled it last week. It will be like having the old firm back together as Greg Loveridge has come back from South Africa and has said that he would like to have another lick at cricket here,” Furlong said.He said Spearman was expected in late-September, early-October.”It’s good news for us. Our batting was pretty ordinary in lots of games last season and his being here will make a difference to the top of the order,” Furlong said.Central Districts have just named their winter squad. It is: Jacob Oram, Glen Sulzberger, Peter Ingram, Jamie How, Michael Mason, Gareth West, Greg Loveridge, Bevan Griggs (Manawatu); David Kelly, Lance Hamilton, Taraia Robin, Campbell Furlong, Peter McGlashan (Hawke’s Bay); Mathew Sinclair (Horowhenua-Kapiti); Greg Todd (Wairarapa); Ewen Thompson, Andrew Schwass (Nelson); Tim Anderson, David Good (Taranaki); Brent Hefford (Marlborough).

Fresh from their short sojourn in the Maldives Islands, where they relaxed after booking themselves into the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals with two emphatic victories, Australia take on Sri Lanka today brimming with confidence.Since failing to qualify for the VB Series finals last summer, Australia have excelled in the one-day game, brushing aside South Africa 5-1 earlier in the year, walloping both Pakistan and Kenya at Nairobi last month and then crushing both New Zealand and Bangladesh here in Sri Lanka.No wonder coach John Buchanan is pleased with the side’s progress: “There’s a lot of good signs that things are moving in the right direction … on their day this is a very, very talented side. If everything comes together in one effort other teams will find it very difficult to deal with.”However, he also sounded a warning note, well aware that Australia face a stern challenge against tournament hosts in conditions ideally suited to Sri Lanka’s spinners.”I sense at the moment we haven’t been totally tested and we’ll find that out on Friday night.”Captain Ricky Ponting agreed: “This is a big game for us. As a captain this is going to be the biggest game, apart from my first as the captain. But we know that we are a good side, and we know that if we play to our best, we are going to be hard to beat.””They are a very good side, we are a pretty good side too. It’s going to be tough but we are not going to complicate things too much. It is just another game of cricket and we are going to go out to get the basics of the one-day cricket well, and if we do that we will be right in the game.”Ponting admits that the toss will be important on a pitch at its best for batting in the afternoon.”I have said right through the tournament that my preference here will be to bat first. South Africa got themselves into a good position last night but they dug themselves into a hole they couldn’t get out of.”But win or loss he claimed his side would just roll up their sleeves and get on with the job: “We are going to go out and do whatever we can to perform. If that means to scratch around to make 220 and then defend the total, then that is what we will do. If it is going to be chasing a big total or defend a small total, we are confident that we can do that as well.”Muttiah Muralitharan, who has taken 38 wickets in 17 games at Premadasa International Stadium, conceding just 3.31 runs per over, is identified as the primary threat.”He is a world-class bowler,” said Ponting. “He is going to be the hardest bowler not only to score off but also their main wicket-taking bowler. We have left it to the individual players to work out a game plan to play him.”Damien Martyn is set to return to the side after recovering from a hip injury sustained during the New Zealand game when he top scored with 73.”Damien had a work out in the nets yesterday and he should be 100% fit for tomorrow,” said Ponting.The only decision for the selectors is whether an extra spinner should be included. The slower bowlers have proved the most effective bowlers at Premadasa, especially during the latter overs, but Ponting suggested that they would make do without off-spinning all-rounder Nathan Hauritz.”It is going to be hard to change the side that has been performing well over the last few weeks,” he said. “We have part time spinners in Lehmann and Bevan if required. The Sri Lankan batsman would rather play spinners than the quick stuff, so it is probably unlikely that we will change the side.”Australia (From)Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Jimmy Maher, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Bevan, Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Shane Watson, Shane Warne, Nathan Hauritz, Andy Bichel, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath.

Andre Adams, the former New Zealand allrounder, has signed a two-year deal with Nottinghamshire as a Kolpak player. Adams, whose Kolpak qualification is based on his West Indian parentage, played four matches for the county last season, taking 14 wickets to help them qualify for Divison One of the Championship.”With the likely absence of Ryan [Sidebottom] and Stuart [Broad] on England duty for most of the summer and Graeme Swann’s presence in the England one day squad, we felt that we needed to add depth to our bowling unit and Andre fits the bill perfectly,” Mick Newell, the county’s director of cricket, said.Adams played one Test and 42 ODIs for New Zealand before he ended his international career by joining the unofficial Indian Cricket League earlier this year. Nottinghamshire, though, have taken advantage of a successful appeal by South Africans Johan van der Wath, Andrew Hall, and Justin Kemp, against the ECB’s refusal to register them as Kolpak players due to their ICL careers, to ensure Adams’ signing

After a win in their opening Red Stripe bowl match Canada faced the defending champions, a powerful Guyana side led by Carl Hooper. On paper this should have been a one-sided match, and Guyana did indeed win, but not without a real struggle, and by just 28 runs.The Canadian bowlers and fielders gave Canada a chance of a major upset by restricting Guyana to just 187. Guyana won the toss and chose to bat, opening with Chattergoon and Sarwan. Austin Codrington had Chattergoon caught at cover early but Chanderpaul and Sarwan put together a solid partnership. The Canadians bowled a good line and length and when combined with excellent fielding, the batsman found runs hard to score- Sarwan took 28 balls to get off the mark. With the run-rate well below par, Chanderpaul essayed a big drive off Davison and was neatly stumped by Bagai. If a couple of catches had been held (Sarwan was dropped early on, and Hooper put down in the deep) Guyana could have had most of their best batting gone with only a hundred on the board. Sarwan (40) was trapped lbw by Davison, bringing in Cush, who hit his first ball for a big six. He and Hooper looked to be building a useful partnership when Cush holed out at deep mid-wicket off Davison. Davison struck again when Bagai made another stumping to dismiss Deoranine (2).Nick de Groot had bowled just 14 overs in one-day cricket for Guyana, and had failed to regain his spot in the Guyana team last season. He made the critical, and no doubt personally satisfying, breakthrough when a superb leg-side catch by Bagai removed Hooper for 40. Wickets tumbled at the end and Guyana were never really able to accelerate; Canada were in a tremendous position to cause a huge upset when the innings closed at 187/9. Davison picked up four wickets, de Groot bowled his 10 overs for 28 runs, and Bagai was superb behind the stumps.Former Guyana opener Fazil Sattaur opened the innings with Ishwar Maraj and set the tone with a fierce pull for four off Stuart’s first over. He too was playing against his former team, and made a rapid 21 before being bowled by Test pacer Reon King with 37 runs on the board. He and Maraj had seen Canada off to a good start, but they were unable to build on this platform. Maraj played on to Nagamootoo, Chumney was fooled by McGarrell’s arm ball, and Bagai was run out, leaving Canada at 74/4 with 26 overs gone. The stage was set for de Groot and Harris, and they batted carefully against good bowling. Canadian hopes died when both fell in quick succession as they tried to push the run-rate, Harris to another run-out. The tail battled bravely but Canada were all out in the 49th over as Mahindra Nagamootoo snapped up four wickets.The Canadians all but won this match with their hard work in the field. To dismiss a side like Guyana with batsmen like Sarwan, Hooper and Chanderpaul for under 200 is no mean achievement. Guyana are an experienced side however, and can defend a small total well. Canada needed a significant innings from one of their batsmen, and this did not happen. The absence of Ian Billcliff through injury did not help, as well as losing two middle order bats to run-outs at a critical stage of the game. However Canada can be heartened by the fact they gave perhaps the strongest side in West Indies domestic cricket a real run for their money. They now take a four-day break before facing the Rest of the Windwards XI on 21 August.

Free State’s Morne van Wyk will captain a South African President’s XI against India ‘A’ at Ladium on April 12.TeamLoots Bosman (Griquas), Arno Jacobs (NW), Pieter Koortzen (Griquas), Marthinus Otto (Gauteng), Henry Davids (Boland), Morne van Wyk (capt, Free State), Albie Morkel (Easterns), Brendan Reddy (Easterns), Imran Khan (KZN), Johnson Mafa (Gauteng), Zahir Abrahim (Griquas). 12th Man Zubair Garda (Easterns).

Gloucestershire expect good weather for the C & G Trophy tomorrowThe squad is as follows

M AlleyneJ AverisM BallK BarnettA GidmanM HardingesI HarveyJ LewisR RussellM SmithC SpearmanC TaylorM Windows

Gloucestershire GladiatorsvDerbyshire ScorpionsLast home game of the season and the first division is within sight.Sunday 8 September
Norwich Union LeagueStart : 12.00A feast of cricket and attractions featuring:-
King Edmond Gym Club
The Gladiator Girls Cheerleading Squad
And exotic animals from Bristol Zoo
For tickets in advanceTel: 0117 910 8010

Former Australian all-rounder Greg Matthews has issued a warning to England’s victorious Test cricketers.”I am supremely confident that Australia will triumph by a clear two-Test margin,” Matthews claimed.Far from being impressed by England’s continued run of fine form and their crushing of Pakistan at Lord’s, Matthews preferred to point to the weakness of the opposition.”I am just looking at the black-and-white facts,” Matthews told BBC Radio Five Live. “Pakistan were exceptionally weak and England bowled exceptionally well – full marks to you,”Matthews conceded that Caddick or Gough had bowled well for England but insisted that neither would make it into the Australian team.”I think our bowling attack is terrific,” he said. “We have got the greatest fast bowler in the world at the moment in McGrath, we have got the quickest in Lee who is chomping at the bit and then we have got someone special in Gillespie. Damien Fleming bowls awesome swing, we have got the greatest spinner in the history of the game (Shane Warne),” he continued.”Caddick has done extremely well, but I just think that if you weighed them up man for man, who could squeeze into the Australian team? Goughie has just taken 200 Test wickets and he is inspirational, but he is not going to knock any of our guys out of the team. I am sorry Goughie, you are in my team, but on the bench.”In something of a surprise Matthews urged England to prepare turning pitches, contrary to most expectations that seamers will be the dominant force this summer.”I think I am being generous giving you a Test,” Matthews said, ” but that’s only because the only chance you have got is to prepare an absolute Bunsen Burner (turner) because that is the only weakness that Australia have shown over the last 15 years.”They do very well on seasoned wickets, they are exceptionally well lead, they are very well structured. There is not one stone that has been left unturned.”England are unlikely to take any notice of Matthews’ less than generous comments however. They have upset the form book often in the last 12-months, winning on the sub-continent while Australia lost, and Matthews’ remarks came on the day that Gough rose to fourth in the world rankings, ahead of Lee, Gillespie, Warne and Fleming.Nasser Hussain, too, is unlikely to pay much attention. He admitted to finding England’s turn around in fortunes so swift that even he was surprised.”At the moment you have to pinch yourself a bit, but success breeds confidence and the good memories from last year stay with you and next time we come to Lord’s there will be good memories again,” he said.”We are playing some good cricket at Lord’s and we’ve turned things around ourselves and when that happens the crowd gets behind us. Some of the noise during that Test I’ve not heard, apart from last year, for a long time, the noise and the roar when Gough and Caddick run in lifts the whole side and it puts pressure on the opposition.”Gough insisted that England have acquired a winning habit that will stand them in good stead.”We’re a good side, we have character, we have experience and we’ve got the habit of winning at the moment and if we can keep it going, it does make a difference,” he said.”It’s just like Manchester United in football, who’ve had a decent run over the last few years and they believe they are going to win the league every year. They have that belief and if you have that, you will take some beating. The last few Test matches, with the wins in Pakistan and Sri Lanka and the win at Lord’s in the first Test of the summer when the pressure was on us to perform, has given us that.”

The Somerset Chief Executive’s campaign to draw attention to the plight of voluntary sports clubs and their need for tax exemptions has certainly gathered momentum.The letter that he has written to all West Country Members of Parliament has certainly ruffled more than a few feathers and responses are being received at Mr Anderson’s office at the County Ground on a daily basis.The Somerset Chief Executive also broached the subject recently when he met with local Taunton MP Adrian Flook at one of Rob Turner’s benefit functions.In addition the matter has now become the subject of several articles in the national and regional daily press as well as other areas of the media and is likely to receive further coverage over the coming months as more and more voluntary sports clubs become aware of the likely implications.Earlier this week a letter arrived on Peter Anderson’s desk from John Read, who is the Director of Corporate Affairs at the England and Wales Cricket Board headquarters at Lord’s in London.In his letter, the man from the ECB, which is cricket’s governing body, says: “Many, many thanks for writing to all MPs about the issue of tax exemptions – that’s a fantastic effort and just what’s required.”Mr Read concludes: “Hopefully all our efforts will bear fruit for cricket clubs up and down the country – goodness knows they need it.”Without a doubt Mr Anderson’ efforts have brought the issue to the attention of a wide ranging audience and may well be exactly what is required if there are to be any realistic changes to the current situation relating to the way that voluntary sports clubs are treated.