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Women’s Cricket in Sri Lanka started in 1978 when four leading Colomboclubs – Colts Cricket Club, Burgher Recreation Club, Nondescripts CricketClub and Nomds Cricket Club – met in the first ever tournament for theRajasingham Trophy, which was won by NCC led by Champa Wettasinghe, who beatColts, the favourites, the final.Unfortunately, after that tournament in 1978, women’s cricket failed toestablish itself and only Colts and Nomads continued to play. In fact,eighteen years passed before the next tournament.Finally, in 1996, Colombo Colts Cricket Club organised a 30-over tournamentcalled the Pepsi Trophy between Colts, Nomads, Colombo Ladies and ShakthiSports Club from Anuradhapura, who incidentally became the first outstationteam to play leather ball Cricket. The tournament was won by ColomboLadies – led by Vajira Premaratne, who was also a National Champion in bothtennis and table Tennis – who defeated Colts in the final.After this tournament the women’s game started to become popular and thefirst ever association to run women’s cricket was formed in January 1997 atthe premises of Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL).Gwen Heart became the first President of the Women’s Cricket Association ofSri Lanka (WCASL) and with other teams joining, the WCASL organised aninaugural 50 over Cricket tournament, which was won by Colts Cricket Club.The first task of the Association was to give as many opportunities aspossible to the girls and in this regard they were lucky that Japan pulledout of the 1997 World Cup in India and that Sri Lanka was offered theirplace.The first International game played by the Sri Lanka’s women was against theNetherlands at the SSC grounds on the 28th of November 1997, which Sri Lankalost but made amends by winning one match in the three match series. Thefirst Captain of the Sri Lanka women’s team was Vanessa Bowen.Sri Lanka’s next assignment was the 1997 World Cup in India and the firstmatch was against the West Indies. They started with a convincing victoryover them and with a no result possible in their game against India theyqualified for the quarterfinal and a tough encounter against England. Theylost, but had guaranteed themselves a place in the 2000 CricInfo Women’sWorld Cup and left with their heads held high.Since then they have had further success. They defeated teams from Pakistan,West Indies, Netherlands and Ireland and in the 2000 CricInfo Women’s WorldCup in New Zealand the side, captained by Rasanjali Silva, narrowly failedto qualify for the semi-finals when they lost to South Africa by just 16runs.The next assignment will be the tour of West Indies to Sri Lanka in December2001. A pool of players will be picked from the annual tournament, which iscurrently being played at the Colombo Colts Cricket Club.

S Vidyut scored an unbeaten century to help Haryana to a draw againstPunjab in their Ranji Trophy league match at Gurgaon on Tuesday.Unbeaten on 23 overnight, Vidyut made 105 off 143 balls with littlesupport from other batsmen, spurring his side to an unforseen secondinnings total of 309. For Punjab, Sandeep Sanwal picked 3-67.Set a target of 196 runs to win, Punjab lost quick wickets in themiddle to put all thoughts of an outright win right out of theirminds. Although Ravneet Ricky made unbeaten 41 off 62 and Yuvraj Singhslammed 24 off 27, three wickets fell within the space of 12 runs,forcing the batsmen to opt for a draw. 108/5 at the close of play,Punjab picked up five points from this encounter, while Haryana pickedup three.

A paradox, a paradox, a most ingenious paradox. For so long unwanted when it comes to Australia’s limited overs plans, Nathan Lyon can take his latest omission from the ODI team as a sign he is actually closer than ever to a start at the next major ICC tournament.The World Twenty20 in India in March looms as the event in which Lyon will belatedly make his mark as a bowler in Australian gold rather than Test match cream. His exclusion from the squad to face India in five 50-over matches at the start of a new World Cup cycle means that Lyon can play out the remainder of the Big Bash League, honing his T20 skills ahead of 20-over series against India and South Africa that precede the ICC event.The selector Trevor Hohns said this year’s calendar had been a factor in the decision to use only Glenn Maxwell’s part-time off spin in the ODIs against India, allowing Lyon to play T20 for the Sydney Sixers ahead of the more pivotal tournament in India. Hohns said that the event on the subcontinent would require more than one spin bowler, meaning Lyon is firming as the man to make the trip.”Nathan is not far out of the picture … for one-day cricket, and of course with the [World] T20 coming up it’s probably ideal for him to go back and play some of those games,” Hohns said. “Also, if we look where we’re playing the first few games – you’ve got Brisbane, you’ve got Perth – normally you play with your faster bowlers there.”Glenn Maxwell has done a pretty good job in the spinning role when we’re only playing that one type of spinner-cum-allrounder, plus the quicks. I think we’ll find that, for the T20 World Cup in particular in those conditions over there, we’ll probably need a couple of spinners in our squad. I can’t see why [Lyon and Maxwell can’t play together] – depending on conditions, of course.”There was a contrasting verdict from Hohns on the young fast man James Pattinson, who has made promising progress in his first Test series back from injury since early 2014. At some times Pattinson has been irresistible, at others eminently hittable, as shown when Carlos Brathwaite went after him on the rain-hit second day of the SCG Test before he responded with a pearler to bowl the allrounder.Hohns said the panel had been happy with Pattinson’s progress, but doubted he would be a limited-overs prospect in the medium term as he build back towards his very best rhythm and speed. “With Patto as we know he’s just coming back from pretty extensive injury,” Hohns said.”He’s now played a few Test matches on the trot, so we’re thinking more about the future for him, rather than just clogging him up immediately and bringing up his workloads as they say. It’s more about management for him in particular. One-day cricket there’s probably a question mark there I must say, but certainly Test cricket we want him back flying how he was a couple of years ago and he’s not quite there yet, but gradually getting there.”As for Australia’s batting, Hohns noted positively that there was now an emerging sense of depth that has not been evident for some time. The likes of Chris Lynn, Travis Head and the indefatigable Michael Klinger are keeping pressure on the players being picked in the Test ODI and T20 teams, something the selectors view as vital to the success of the national side across all formats.”There’s quite a few on the fringes there and the back half of the one day series might give us an opportunity to have a look at a couple of those players,” Hohns said. “What we’re finding now with your Lynns, Khawajas, Travis Head another one, it’s really starting to build our depth back up again, and those are the players we want to have keeping the pressure on the blokes in the side. It’s all about depth and we’re starting to get there in the batting line-up.”

Division One

Harbhajan Singh claimed five wickets in the second innings at Guildford, but the match ended in a draw © Martin Williamson

Phil Jaques’ second century of the season guided Worcestershire to a draw against Surrey at Guildford. His 103 carried the visitors into the lead alongside half centuries from Stephen Moore (54) and Ben Smith (66). Worcestershire were never really in danger on the final day once Jaques and Smith added 112 for the third wicket. Harbhajan Singh claimed all five wickets to fall, taking his match haul to nine, but couldn’t grab breakthroughs in clusters to force Surrey a victory. A draw wasn’t what either side needed from this match with them stuck in the two relegation places.John Crawley struck a fine century, but Hampshire couldn’t force a win against Sussex at The Rose Bowl despite handing them a scare with three early wickets. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan took out Hampshire’s middle order, but Crawley held firm and reached his hundred off 148 balls. Once Crawley had taken Hampshire to a second batting point, Shane Warne declared and Sussex’s top order wobbled. James Bruce, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Daren Powell did the damage and suddenly the pressure was on. Murray Goodwin and Chris Adams calmed nerves with a stand of 89 and Hampshire took the points honours nine to seven.Younis Khan hit an unbeaten double-century as Yorkshire and Kent played out a draw at Scarborough

Division Two

Derbyshire were decimated by Charl Willoughby and Andy Caddick, capitulating for 52 as Somerset completed a 278-run win at Derby. Chasing 331 after yesterday’s negotiations, the home side were soon in tatters at 13 for 5 as Willoughby claimed four of the top five. The spinners, Ian Blackwell and Cameron White, then ran through the tail as Derbyshire folded inside 28 overs. Ant Botha was the only batsman to reach double figures before falling to Blackwell for 21.Chris Taylor’s 101 almost enabled Gloucestershire to turn impending defeat into victory against Essex at Bristol in a match played over one innings after rain washed out the first three days. After being inserted Gloucestershire slumped to 23 for 4 and 122 for 8 against impressive bowling from Andy Bichel and Ravi Bopara. They claimed eight wickets between them, but Taylor found support from Steve Kirby and Ben Edmondson as the last two wickets added a priceless 62 runs. Gloucestershire’s attack then repeated the damage to the visitors with Kirby’s four wickets sending Essex sliding to 89 for 7. But Bichel (22 not out) and Alex Tudor (16 not out) held firm in the closing stages and the honours were shared.The match at Abergavenny between Glamorgan and Leicestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled due to unsafe run-ups. “It’s a shame for all concerned and especially Abergavenny Cricket Club but unfortunately we had to do the right thing and the run-ups were just not fit,” said umpire Barrie Leadbeater.3rd dayCenturies from Stephen Fleming and Mark Wagh put Nottinghamshire in the driving seat against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Fleming struck 19 fours and a six in his even 100, adding 112 for the second wicket with Wagh, before he was stumped off Jason Brown. Wagh then combined with Samit Patel (54) to add another 111. Wagh took 174 delivers over his third Championship ton of the season and Nottinghamshire are poised to take a lead. Earlier, the home side added 102 to their total mainly through the efforts of Johann van der Wath, who struck and unbeaten 59, and an eighth-wicket stand of 69 with David Lucas.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Yorkshire	11	3	1	0	7	0	139
Sussex	10	4	2	0	4	0	123
Hampshire	10	3	1	0	6	0	109
Warwickshire	10	2	1	0	7	0	109
Durham	10	3	4	0	3	0	107.5
Lancashire	9	2	0	0	6	1	99
Kent	10	2	3	0	4	1	98
Surrey	10	1	4	0	5	0	84
Worcestershire	10	0	4	0	4	2	59

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Somerset	11	6	1	0	4	0	168
Nottinghamshire	11*	4	1	0	5	0	143.5
Essex	11	3	2	0	6	0	124
Derbyshire	10	2	2	0	6	0	100
Northamptonshire	10*	3	4	0	2	0	96
Middlesex	9	3	1	0	5	0	95.5
Leicestershire	11	1	4	0	5	1	88
Gloucestershire	10	1	4	0	5	0	74
Glamorgan	9	1	5	0	2	1	57

* – match still ongoing

Division One

First day

Jimmy Maher strikes out on his way to 95 © Getty Images

Lancashire‘s Championship ambition suffered a dent on the opening day at Old Trafford as a slow and low pitch hindered their efforts to bowl out Durham who set about grinding out a first-innings total. The opening pair, Jimmy Maher and Gary Scott, went along at two per over in the front session, Scott benefiting from a tough chance shelled by Luke Sutton behind the stumps. Other than that there were precious few alarms for the batsmen. Lancashire eventually made the breakthrough when Gary Keedy trapped Scott for a painstaking 53 off 158 balls. But Lancashire were unable to make further rapid incisions. Gary Park, a young Kolpak player, increased the tempo before falling to Tom Smith for 45 and Maher then fell five runs short of a hardworking century when he was caught behind off Glen Chapple. Lancashire were given a late boost by dismissing Dale Benkenstein shortly before stumps but they have only 22 more overs to gain their remaining two bowling points.A series of consistent performances from the Kent top order manoeuvred them into a promising position on the opening day against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. Joe Denly, the 20-year-old opener who replaced David Fulton in the starting eleven, led the way with an impressive 86 from 105 deliveries. He added 132 for the second wicket with Martin van Jaarsveld, who continued his fine form with 79. Warwickshire fought back by removing van Jaarsveld and Matthew Walker during the afternoon session but a timely return to form by Geraint Jones, who made his first half-century since being dropped by England, and Darren Stevens’s 61, put Kent on target for maximum batting points.Craig White led a spirited Yorkshire fightback on the opening day against Nottinghamshire at Headingley with a fine captain’s innings of 141 not out. Yorkshire had slumped to 42 for 3 against the new ball but White found an able ally in Adil Rashid who confirmed it’s not only legspin at which he can excel. Rashid helped White to add 130 for the fourth wicket and struck a Championship-best 63, his maiden first-class century, before another slump brought Nottinghamshire back into the match. Graeme Swann grabbed two middle-order wickets but none of the bowlers could shift White, who brought up his ton off 241 balls and will be relying on some support from the final two wickets to extend Yorkshire’s innings beyond 300 on the second day. Yorkshire had to do without Matthew Hoggard who withdrew from the game shortly before the start after pulling up with a side strain.

Division Two

Second daySomerset batted themselves into a strong position on the second day against Northamptonshire at Taunton thanks to a fine century for James Hildreth in an otherwise quiet season for him. They built on the solid work of the overnight pair of Arul Suppiah and Sam Spurway, who was acting as nightwatchman. The pair batted through the morning before Rob White made the breakthrough with his occasional legspin and Suppiah was run out two short of a deserved ton. Hildreth, though, took the innings under his wing and added 94 with Ian Blackwell in his first Championship innings of the season. Blackwell showed no ill effects off his shoulder injury and slammed 43 off 35 balls, while Hildreth moved to his century off just 94 deliveries as Somerset closed with a healthy advantage.

Close
Scorecard

Mark Chilton struck a superb 130 to defy Yorkshire’s bowlers on day two © Getty Images

A record stand of 223 between Mark Chilton and Iain Sutcliffe gave Lancashire a brilliant start in their first innings response to Yorkshire’s 417 all out. In what was another gritty and hard-fought day at Old Trafford, Lancashire were made to work hard for their runs, as Yorkshire’s bowlers toiled valiantly, watched by a decently-sized crowd.Yorkshire bowled with admirable intent throughout the afternoon, and had to wait until the 74th over before Sutcliffe became their first victim. Tim Bresnan pushed one across Sutcliffe’s defence when he was seven short of his hundred, feathering an outside edge to a delighted Ismail Dawood. Sutcliffe and Chilton’s stand broke the previous best opening stand in Roses matches, 181 between Harry Makepeace and Reg Spooner, which had stood since 1912. Chilton, whose excellent innings was his second Roses hundred of the year and his third of the season, remained unbeaten on 130.Earlier in the day, Yorkshire’s tail wagged with typical obduracy to frustrate Lancashire’s bowlers. Starting the day unbeaten on 71, Yorkshire’s captain, Craig White, lost his overnight partner Richard Dawson to the ninth ball of the day. Glen Chapple, the pick of Lancashire’s bowlers, trapped Dawson leg before and consistently bowled a full length all morning.White then combined with Tim Bresnan, during a dogged partnership of 26. Bresnan’s wicket was quickly followed by Chris Silverwood’s, as Lancashire threatened to run through Yorkshire’s tail. But an entertaining and explosive stand of 56 for the tenth wicket, at better than a run a ball, between White and Deon Kruis, ensured the visiting fans had something to cheer.Kruis’s innings was particularly brutal, containing four fours and three monstrous sixes in a knock lasting just 28 minutes. One of his blows landed on the pavilion roof, smashing a tile which fell dangerously close to an unsuspecting Lancashire member. Kruis’s impetus assisted White into striking his first century of the season, and his third against Lancashire in his career. Notably, it was also the one hundredth century made between these two sides in Roses’ history.Kruis’s bold hitting finally got the better of him when he attempted to smite James Anderson over midwicket, but was well caught by Mal Loye at third-man for 35. White remained unbeaten on 110, as Yorkshire reached 417 from 125 overs.In what was to be the last ball of the day, Tim Bresnan cut one back to trap Mal Loye leg-before to leave Lancashire on 243 for 2, trailing by 174 runs. Yorkshire will seek early wickets tomorrow morning if they are to regain the initiative, but Lancashire hold the aces on day two.

The South African board today announced some modifications for South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka in July and August.The first change is the tour match that was originally scheduled to be played in Colombo on August 18 will now take place at Moratuwa. The fourth one-dayer, at Dambulla, will be played on August 28 instead of a day earlier, and at the same venue. The fifth and final game in the series has also been delayed by a day, and will now take place on August 31 at the SSC ground in Colombo.South Africa are to due to arrive on July 27, and will play two Tests and five one-dayers. They start kick off their tour with a three-day warm-up match on July 30. The first Test is on August 4 at Galle.

Whenever Brian Lara turns up for cricket he is a major factor.And he will be a major player when Barbados welcome Trinidad and Tobago iin their Carib Beer International Challenge semifinal starting tomorrow at Kensington Oval."You can’t ever count out Lara," said Barbados skipper Courtney Browne, who is also a close friend of the world double record-holder."But the only chance Trinidad have against us is when Lara plays. They were not very strong when we beat them a few weeks ago."On that occasion Lara and fast bowler Merv Dillon were with the West Indies at the World Cup and Barbados steamrolled the visitors before lunch on Day 3."We expect them to be better with Lara around, and we know they gel together when he is there. But we are confident we can still take care of business."Barbados welcomed back West Indies seam bowlers Vasbert Drakes and Pedro Collins and Browne expects them to be key players in the match. They replace left-arm seamer Ian Bradshaw and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, who were both outstanding in the earlier matches."We were bowling well before and I expect to get better," Browne said. "The guys coming in are experienced and I believe we still have the edge."

Remember South Africa’s visit to India at the beginning of last year? Right, that was the Match-Fixing tour. And what about South Africa in the West Indies this year? Ah yes, the Dope-Smoking tour.OK, then, the players might have been a little too busy undermining their own achievements for comfort, but at least the administrators have got their heads screwed on the right way, haven’t they? Um, who knows? A sizeable section of the South African public has been persuaded that the real villain of the piece in the Hansiegate scandal is the United Cricket Board, aided and abetted by those nasty people in the media. The Devil’s role in the affair has been all but forgotten.And that’s not even to mention the slanging match that broke out last weekend between Percy Sonn and the man-who-would-be-UCB-president, Dr Mtutulezi Nyoka.If all of this suggests that the credibility of South African is at its lowest ebb since, at least, readmission, well, that’s probably not too far off the mark. All things considered, it would not be difficult to paint a picture of South African cricket as a sport riddled with avarice, animosity and personal ambition, with undertones of racialism thrown in for good measure. For once rugby and football have a realistic third contender in their annual challenge to see which sport most frequently and accurately shoots itself in the foot.All of which points to the annual meeting of the UCB, at the Wanderers Club on Saturday morning, being as important to the future of the game in this country as any since the two opposing forces of South African cricket joined together.This week has seen an election campaign as ugly as anything dreamed up by Tony Leon’s Democratic Alliance. Dr Mtutulezi Nyoka, whose experience in cricket administration stretches back three years, launched a succession of attacks on UCB president Percy Sonn which grew more virulent every time you turned on the television and radio.Sonn is no one’s idea of a meek and gentle man and his style of presidency has often left sections of the UCB wincing with embarrassment. It is also true that the UCB’s handling of the dope-smoking incident, in which Sonn played a central part, left a lot to be desired.But Nyoka’s challenge seemed to consist entirely of accusations, both professional and personal, and very little evidence was forthcoming to back up his charges. Sonn, for perhaps the first time in living memory, chose to be silent, in the circumstances the best thing he could have done.What has been bewildering about Nyoka’s approach is that he claims to base it on integrity and honesty while all the while trying to tear another man’s reputation to shreds. His behaviour has been extraordinary and it has had the effect of scaring the wits out of people who might otherwise have seen his bid for the presidency in a sympathetic light. Opinion in cricket circles this week tended to be divided between viewing Nyoka as someone either terminally naïve or a man who might well have lost his marbles.The damage caused by these shenanigans, however, has been considerable, to South African cricket generally, to the Gauteng Cricket Board who put him forward for the position and to the same transformation process to which he claims to be passionately committed.The harm done this week stretches further than simply disillusionment with the governing body. It is one of the oldest saws in sport that disruptions in the boardroom eventually filter down to performances on the field, and there is an urgent need for the UCB to redefine itself as an example of strong leadership.No one should gainsay the results of the national team since the 1999 World Cup. Since the crushing disappointment of Edgbaston, South Africa have won Test series against Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies with a draw in Sri Lanka thrown in for good measure.The problem is, however, two of the most notable successes – in India and the West Indies – have been clouded by waves of adverse publicity. The players have to understand that success is a double-edged sword, that the better they play, the more interest will be taken in them, on and off the field. This is what happens in the real world.Questions, unfortunately, have arisen regarding Gulam Rajah’s management style. A thoroughly decent, caring man, Rajah has always seen his role in terms of keeping the unpleasant realities of the outside world away from the team in order that they are able to concentrate exclusively on playing the game.This means that Rajah is often required to be Mom and Dad at the same time, twin, but conflicting roles. This has led to the argument that while Rajah should be allowed to continue in his existing role, a Board member should accompany the team, if only as a reminder to the players that there are issues out there broader than the simple matter of winning or losing. (It should be pointed out, by the way, that Rajah’s response to the dope-smoking incident was exemplary. He had nothing to do with the delay in public disclosure that led to the accusations of a UCB cover-up.)That there is some cause for concern was illustrated a few days ago when Jacques Kallis blithely announced that the national side would welcome Hansie Cronje back with open arms. And he claimed to be speaking on behalf of the team.Whatever the opinions might be of Cronje’s return to cricket, it would be difficult to find anyone either side of the divide who would not agree that the South African middle order would look stronger with Cronje batting at five. That, however, not the point. It simply does not seem to have occurred to Kallis that Cronje’s return might, in a worst-case scenario, result in South Africa being cast once again into isolation.This week the England Cricket Board announced with some glee that it had persuaded Rodney Marsh to cross the floor and run the English academy. Marsh, an Aussie down to his XXXX cans, was asked whether it would not bother him helping to restore the fortunes of Australia’s oldest enemy.Marsh’s response was that as a player he had been concerned with team and country. Now, however, he was more interested in the game itself. It’s a point of view the UCB, its presidential candidates and the South African team would all do well to bear in mind.

I think it can be generally assumed that most football clubs like to get their transfer business out of the way as early in the window as possible. For one, most managers like to know what they have at the start of pre-season training and then they can get to work on things fairly quickly on the training pitch, on tactics and organisation, rather than worrying about outgoings and in-goings.

Manchester United have certainly got their business out of the way early, with the signings of David de Gea , Phil Jones and Ashley Young, and although Liverpool started off well with the signing of Jordan Henderson , since that good start the Reds have been left frustrated in their transfer dealings.

Of course it is not the end of the world that the squad for the upcoming season is not really in place as pre-season begins, as there is the best part of two months to bring in new faces, but it could be said that it is something of a hindrance that you have many in the squad currently who will (hopefully) not be at the club by the 1st September. Another frustration is that negotiations on new players coming in will be taking place later on in the window when the Reds should be focused on preparing for matches in August. Ideal preparation is key for a new season and a few things are frustrating this from happening at the moment.

One thing is very clear; there is a lot of dead-wood in the squad at the moment and there are too many players who look to be surplus to requirements. Philipp Degen , Emiliano Insua , Nabil El Zhar, Christian Poulsen, Joe Cole , Paul Konchesky , David Ngog , Brad Jones and Milan Jovanovic are just some of the names tipped for departure this summer, but the lack of bids for these players so far has been concerning as it is crucial to get these players off our wage bill to free up funds.

FSG is unlikely to authorise big transfer fees and allow sizeable salaries if these players are not removed. Although the Reds are possibly still bidding for a fair few players, the matter maybe concerning if the Reds lose out on potential signings if the club refuses to go beyond certain transfer fees or certain wage limits because of the amount of dead-wood which is currently at the club. Two apparent transfer targets Connor Wickham and Gael Clichy have slipped through our fingers perhaps because of the constraints caused by this.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m in full support of FSG’s sensible financial strategy. Paying over the odds in wages to players such as Doni could not be condoned. Also, there is no way you could justify spending £10million on Charlie Adam and £19million on Stewart Downing.

Making sure we could the right players must be a priority this summer but I feel the more urgent matter at the moment is to get these players off the wage bill, and fast.

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