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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.

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

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.

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).

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

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.

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).

Kyle Mayers, the West Indies batting all-rounder, will play for Birmingham Bears in the last three games of the Vitality Blast group stage.Mayers, who scored an unbeaten double-century on Test debut in February, played his first T20I in New Zealand last year after impressing for Barbados Tridents in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with 222 runs. He has played six Tests and two T20Is and earned his maiden ODI cap in the first of three ODIs against Bangladesh at the beginning of this year, going on to play the remainder of that series.Mayers was lined up as a replacement overseas player by Rajasthan Royals in the 2021 IPL and had arrived in India shortly before the tournament’s postponement.Kyle Mayers said: “I hope that I can contribute with the bat and ball during these final three important games of the Blast… I’m very proud to join this list of players. Hopefully I can make some important contributions, which secure our path through to the knock-out stages.”Paul Farbrace, Bears Director of Cricket, said: “Being able to add Kyle, as a hard-hitting batsman and skilful seam bowler, to our squad as we bid for a quarter-final place is great boost. We also recognise how motivated Kyle is by this opportunity to feature in another leading T20 tournament with an ICC T20 World Cup just around the corner.”Mayers will be available for Friday’s derby at Worcestershire Rapids, followed by the return match at Edgbaston a week later and the final group game at home to Northants Steelbacks on July 18. The Bears sit fifth on the nine-team North Group table, level on 11 points with fourth-placed Durham and six points behind leaders Nottinghamshire.

Fred Klaassen and Logan van Beek picked up three wickets each before Stephan Myburgh anchored the chase of 164 with a 111-ball 74 to give Netherlands a 2-1 series win over Ireland in the third ODI in Utrecht.After opting to bat, Ireland were jolted by left-arm seamer Klaassen, who castled Kevin O’Brien for a duck on the fourth ball of the day. In his next over, Klaassen had Paul Stirling caught behind to make it 6 for 2. Andy Balbirnie didn’t last long either and fell to Vivian Kingma in the tenth over.At 28 for 3, Harry Tector and George Dockrell got together and tried to revive the innings. The two added 89 off 138 balls for the fourth wicket before van Beek provided Netherlands with the breakthrough by bowling Dockrell for 40. Soon after, he had Tector too as the batter tried to push at a length ball only to nick it behind for a 100-ball 58.From the remaining batters, only Simi Singh (21* off 35) reached double digits as Ireland lost their last seven wickets for 46 runs and were bowled out for 163 in 49.2 overs.Myburgh started the chase by dispatching the first ball of the innings, bowled by Barry McCarthy, for a six over deep square leg. Alongside Max O’Dowd, he broke the back of the chase by adding 66 in 14.4 overs for the first wicket.O’Dowd scored 36, with five fours, before Singh breached his defence. Scott Edwards fell soon afterwards and when Josh Little dismissed Musa Ahmad, Netherlands still needed 68. But with more than 25 overs left, Myburgh and Bas de Leede had the luxury to play out a few overs.The two brought down the equation to 30 required from 63 balls before Myburgh hit offspinner Andy McBrine for 4, 4 and 6 off successive deliveries.With six required for victory, Myburgh tried to slog-sweep Singh only to be bowled. Netherlands lost de Leede and Pieter Seelaar too in the next two overs but the result was a mere formality by then. In the 46th over, van Beek finally sealed the win with a four off Singh.