Safety and security concerns over England’s tour of Sri Lanka have eased despite a state of emergency following advice from the British Foreign Office and the Sri Lanka government.Chandrika Kumaratunga, the Sri Lankan president, suspended parliament and sacked three powerful ministers on Tuesday. She also ordered troops to guard key installations, including the state television station, and declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.However, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We have now advised the ECB there is no reason to change their plans for Sri Lanka. The north and the east of the country are heavily mined and UK nationals should exercise caution when travelling to that part of the country. The rest of the country is trouble free.Earlier, Sri Lanka cricket board officials had insisted that the tour would not be affected by the political situation: “There is nothing to get alarmed about and there is no danger to the tour,” said board secretary Mohan de Silva.”What has happened is just a swapping of ministries. Cricket has been played in much worse situations.”The Sri Lanka government and the President’s Office also gave assurances about safety. Lakshman Kadirgamar, a presidential aide, told a media conference: “Everything that is humanly possible will be done to ensure that the tour goes on without any disturbances.”England are due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Nov 13 for a series of three one-day internationals and three test matches.

Sri Lanka A 134 for 4 (Nawaz 46*, Polonowita 38*) trail India A 172 (Badani 47, Herath 4-34) by 38 runs
ScorecardSri Lanka A took the upper hand on the first day’s play at Mumbai as they bowled out India A for 172, and then erased a large part of that score by stumps. Rangana Herath, who took 4 for 34, polished off the lower order with a fine spell of left-arm spin and was instrumental in his side’s dominance of the opening day.Three of the first four batsmen for India A made starts, but none of them could go on. Hemang Badani, coming in at No. 4, top-scored with 47 fluent runs, made off only 65 balls with eight fours. Shiv Sunder Das and Mohammad Kaif made scores in the thirties, but Sri Lanka’s opening bowlers, Lasith Malinga and Tharanga Lakshitha, took two wickets apiece and pegged the Indians back early.India never really recovered from those setbacks. Badani fell with the score on 148, and a middle order of Rohan Gavaskar, Ambati Rayudu and Ajay Ratra mustered up only 28 runs between them. Thereafter Herath worked his magic on the tailenders, as the last four all went for nought.Sri Lanka began their innings even more disastrously, reeling at 69 for 4 thanks to an early introduction of Murali Kartik, who took 3 for 48. But Naveed Nawaz (46*) and Anushka Polonowita (38*) stabilised the innings with an unbeaten stand of 65 for the fifth wicket.

ScorecardNorthern Districts reached 137 but that wasn’t enough to deny Canterbury an innings victory at Christchurch. Joseph Yovich scored 52 to salvage some pride from the lost cause. Chris Martin achieved career-best figures when he claimed 5 for 40, worthy reward for the mayhem he stirred on the third afternoon as ND crumbed. Paul Wiseman had a good final morning and finished with 3 for 31.
ScorecardJames Franklin entered first-class cricket after a promising schoolboy career as a batsman, but it has been more of a bowler for Wellington. However his ability with the bat has resurfaced in the past few years. At Carisbrook, he scored his maiden first-class century (108*) as Wellington fell 84 runs short of Otago’s first innings score. It was a long haul by Franklin, who started the day on 57. Matthew Walker’s 77-minute vigil aided him in reaching the mark. Franklin’s 408-minute effort included 11 fours. Nathan Morland, the Otago offspinner bowled a marathon 61 overs and ended with 2 for 82. Otago batted out the day and finished on 91 for 2 before play was called off. Mohammad Wasim cashed in with an unbeaten 50.
ScorecardJust as they did in the first innings, Auckland had to rely on their last pair to save their skins against Central Districts at Eden Park’s outer oval. Brooke Walker and Kerry Walmsley defied Central Districts for nearly 30 minutes to deny them an outright win. Central Districts began the day with some quick scoring, after rain had ruined the whole of the third day’s play. Craig Spearman clattered 133 off 114 balls, including 11 sixes and nine fours. Rob Nicol was the victim of this carnage with his four overs costing 54. Mathew Sinclair was unbeaten on 127 when the declaration arrived. Brooke Walker was among the wickets again with 3 for 62.Of all the Auckland batsmen, only Nicol (77) performed, with Brent Hefford (4 for 38) and Glen Sulzberger (3 for 32) running through the Auckland middle order and put them in a precarious position when stumps were drawn. Canterbury now lead the State Championship with 18 points. Auckland have 13, Wellington six, Otago five, Central Districts 4 and Northern Districts 2.

Ricky Ponting and his team were among around 15,000 mourners who gathered to pay their respects at the funeral of David Hookes at the Adelaide Oval. Hookes, 48, died last week following an assault outside a Melbourne hotel.Ian Chappell, a close friend and former captain of Hookes’s, delivered a moving eulogy, remembering his debut in the Centenary Test of 1977. “I think that innings is so typical of David, not only of his cricket career, but his life,” Chappell said. “When everybody else was struggling with the occasion, Hookesy came along and put it all into perspective. I can just imagine him saying, ‘Well mate, it’s just another game of cricket, a half-volley is a half-volley, you’ve got to whack it’.”We will think of David always as someone who put entertainment ahead of personal achievement and he was a great reminder to us all, that after all, it is just a game.”Three stumps were placed at one end of the Adelaide Oval pitch where Hookes scored 20 of his 29 first-class centuries. A bat was left resting against them, as he had always done that during breaks in play. His red South Australia team cap was draped over the top of one of the stumps.”Nothing can justify this senseless waste of life,” Reverend Steven Ogden, the Dean of St Peter’s Cathedral, told the gathering. “David did not deserve this and it offends all we hold dear and true, and we feel cheated. There is no third umpire in the sky who we can turn to – we have to accept responsibility for our own actions and decisions. And because of that, we are outraged by what has happened to David. In the name and memory of David, we refuse to submit to the despair and violence of this world.”

Hookes’ brother, Terry Cranage, said: “It has been so difficult over the past week to absorb … the tragedy of this insane incident. David my brother, David my mate, my hero – rest in peace as we that are left behind ask why.”Darren Lehmann, South Australia’s captain, placed one of Hookes’s old bats on the coffin before the crowd gave one final standing ovation.Russell Crowe and boxing world champion Anthony Mundine mingled among what was almost a who’s who of Australian cricket. Ian and Greg Chappell, Allan Border, Richie Benaud, Mark Taylor and Kim Hughes joined the current Australian, South Australian and Victoria teams. Martin Crowe, Tony Greig and Clive Lloyd were also in attendance.The service was broadcast on national television.

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Simon Jones completed a highly satisfying five-wicket haul, and Scott Newman and Kadeer Ali both made half-centuries, as England A built a 284-run lead against Tamil Nadu in Chennai. By the close of the third day’s play, England were 251 for 6, and had given themselves a good chance to win their first match since arriving in India a fortnight ago.Jones finished with 5 for 57 as England polished off the Tamil Nadu innings in the morning session. James Tredwell struck first, having Ganapathy stumped for 8. Kuthethurshri Vasudevadas and P Mathew then added 44 for the eighth wicket before Jones had Vasudevadas caught by Tredwell for 98, and then dismissed Ganapathi Vignesh to complete his five-for.Newman and Kadeer carried England to 35 for 0 at lunch, and both men reached fifty before falling in consecutive overs, after adding 125 for the first wicket. Matt Prior and Michael Lumb kept the score ticking over with a 55-run partnership, before Prior was caught off Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut for 35.That was the first of four wickets for Vidyut, a left-arm spinner who has been the main threat to England. He also dismissed Lumb (27), Kevin Pietersen (31) and Bilal Shafayat (27), whose dismissal in the final over of the day left Graeme Wagg not out on 4 at the close.

The psychological war of words ahead of Thursday’s first Test at Sabina Park cranked up a gear yesterday when Brian Lara told reporters that he feels he is a better player than when he broke Sir Garry Sobers’s world-record score of 365 not out in Antigua a decade ago.”I am mentally stronger, far more mature and less of a flash in the pan, which is what some people thought then,” he warned. And Lara’s Test form over the last 12 months – he has scored 1595 runs at an average of 69.35 – backs up his boast. “I am looking forward to surpassing what I did ten years ago – not perhaps in terms of runs, but in terms of worth.”I think Hayden’s 380 has been tremendous for me,” Lara continued. “I was woken up at three o’clock in the morning and told the news, and then I lay in bed thinking. I think this may have given me the impetus to go on and achieve even greater things. By this I don’t necessarily mean breaking records,but by leaving a greater impact on the game than just one or two innings.”Lara is a more polished act than he was in 1994. Two stints as West Indies captain have left him less self-centred and more at ease with the burden on him. His batting, which went through phases where he looked out of sorts, even disinterested, is now relaxed and appears to come more easily to him.And the responsibility of being his side’s elder statesman sits comfortably on his shoulders. “A high-profile player has to toe the line and I try to lead by example. A lot of guys appreciate that, and it is an advantage to have somebody as captain whom the players feel they can look up to; somebody whose door they can knock on to talk about anything on cricket or life.”This is a special series for me because it may be my last series against England at home,” he added. “But most importantly it is because the Wisden Trophy is not in our hands. It hurt to lose it to England in 2000, having held it for such a long period of time. England are our biggest rivals, and this was a bitter moment, not only for myself, but also for all the other members of the team.”I realised England were our No. 1 foe in world sport on my first tour of England in 1991. Viv Richards was captain of the West Indies and I immediately got a feeling of the competition that existed between the two teams. The trophy is currently in England’s hands and we will be fighting to get it back.”And as for his reported disagreements with Richards during the recent South Africa tour? “Me and Sir Vivian have always got on quite well, but that is something that is in the past now,” Lara said. “We’re two big men who can go out for a beer and talk about cricket and I hope that will continue.”There was little Michael Vaughan could do other than agree with Lara’s self-assessment. “With his record, Brian is the world’s No. 1 batsman at the moment,” he admitted. “He’s a tremendous player, but their top seven is probably as good as any around the world at the minute.”

The Indian board has announced that it will participate in a three-nation warm-up tournament with Australia and Pakistan in the Netherlands in August ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in September.India were due to play two Tests and three ODIs in Bangladesh in August, but these have now been indefinitely postponed. Announcing the decision, SK Nair, the board secretary, said that he hoped that the series could be rearranged for 2005.”The board was very keen to send a full-strength team to Bangladesh but have decided against it as we don’t want our cricketers to suffer burnout before an important four-match Test series against Australia in September,” Nair explained. “Our cricketers will get hardly a month’s break after the Pakistan tour. Major tournaments this year include the Asia Cup in June-July, the tri-nation tournament in Amsterdam from August 22-27, followed by three one-day matches in England before the Champions Trophy.”He added that South Africa are likely to tour India to play seven one-day matches in November this year. “If the South African Board agrees then we will invite them for a Test series in the beginning of next year.”

Yorkshire have signed Phil Jaques, the Australian batsman, as a replacement for when Darren Lehmann is away on international duty.Jaques, 25, played for Northamptonshire last season as a local player by virtue of a British passport. However, after he turned out for New South Wales this winter, he could no longer play county cricket as an English-qualified player under ECB regulations.Northants were keen to keep Jacques for this season after his 1,400 runs helped them to promotion in the Championship and the National League. However, after talks with the ECB, they agreed that Jacques would no longer be able to turn out as a non-overseas player.Jaques could make his Yorkshire debut against Hampshire in the County Championship game next week, and will spend a month at the club while Lehmann is in Zimbabwe for Australia’s tour next month.

Andrew Hall picked up four cheap wickets as Worcestershire ran through Leicestershire to win by 124 runs at Oakham School. Earlier, Vikram Solanki scored 101 to lift Worcestershire to an imposing total of 261 for 8. Glamorgan further cemented their position at the top of Division One with a 33-run win over Gloucestershire at Swansea. Robert Croft lead the way with a blazing 68 off only 45 balls opening the innings, and he then picked up two wickets as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 217. An outstanding knock of 146 from Andrew Symonds had Lancashire chasing 301 at Tunbridge Wells. They fought all the way, but with only Stuart Law passing 50, were bowled out for 245. Elsewhere, there were wins for Northamptonshire and Middlesex. An unbeaten 96 from Martin van Jaarsveld helped Northants to an easy win over Essex, and Ed Joyce scored 74 to sink Derbyshire. Neil Killeen took 4 for 24 for Durham as they beat Scotland by 25 runs at Chester-le-Street, while Nick Knight failed to take his Championship form into Warwickshire’s game against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl. He scored 27 before being caught and bowled by Shaun Udal as his team fell 28 runs short, chasing 241. Somerset went down by just six runs against Sussex at Hove. A tight final over from James Kirtley restricted Somerset to 224 for 7 after Murray Goodwin helped Sussex to 230 with 81.

National League Division One

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Glamorgan maintain momentum – The Telegraph
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Mascarenhas makes his case – The Telegraph
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Symonds rocks to raw power – The Guardian
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Essex made to suffer by van Jaarsveld – The Times

National League Division Two

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Shoaib struggles for allrounder status – The Times
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Sixth defeat leaves Derbyshire gloomy – The Times
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Daring Solanki puts Foxes off the scent – The Times
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Calamitous Somerset hand Sussex victory – The Times

After Nasser Hussain confirmed what most suspected yesterday at Lord’s, the columns of press waiting to be unleashed for the big moment came flooding out today, with most of the journalists not holding back in their tributes.In , Christopher Martin-Jenkins was all praise for Hussain, and highlighted that lasting image of the final century at Lord’s on Monday. “That is the sort of memory that anyone would want to leave: of a man who dug his country out of a hole.” CMJ then even compared Hussain to past world leaders, due to his fighting qualities. “In his finest hours, if it is not to imbue him with too much glory, there could be something Churchillian about Hussain’s defiance. He certainly played better when he felt he was engaged more in a war than a game of cricket. He guarded his wicket as if with a tiger’s snarl and placed his scoring shots shrewdly.”But what of those who played with him during Hussain’s 14 years with England? Marcus Trescothick, who captained Hussain in his last Test, shared his thoughts with . “The announcement did not come as a surprise because Nasser had hinted at Lord’s that he was considering retiring,” wrote Trescothick, who also shed some light on Hussain’s sometimes complex character. “Nasser has been labelled as selfish by some throughout his career, but I think that he’s a person that is easily misunderstood. Yes, he is a strong character, but when you do get to know him you soon appreciate that he cares deeply about his cricket and about England doing well. He’s always been quick to grasp what is best for the country, which would have been one of the major factors in his decision to retire.”A former England team-mate, Angus Fraser, concentrated on Hussain’s less caring side. Writing in , Fraser said, “Hussain’s desire to be successful was obsessional. If he was out cheaply he was inconsolable. If he was on the wrong end of a poor umpiring decision it was time to leave the dressing-room. Bats, gloves, helmets, they would all fly across the room along with a tirade of expletives. If the third umpire had had a microphone in England’s dressing-room Hussain would probably have spent half of his career banned.”He continued: “On one occasion in Trinidad it was a wooden slatted locker door which felt the brunt of his frustration. I was padding up when he screamed and put his fist through it. The problem was that his fist became stuck and he had to call for help to get it out. Five minutes passed before his hand was carefully removed and even he had seen the funny side.”Mike Walters in was another one to give Hussain the grand send off: “Not since Mike Brearley and Ian Botham’s heyday has one man left his fingerprints over so many memorable victories,” he stated. “From dancing in the dark under the Ramadan moonlight in Karachi to the winning cover-drive against New Zealand at Lord’s on Monday, Hussain lifted English cricket by its bootstraps and regained a nation’s pride.”Those words were echoed by CMJ. “His great legacy to England was to accept the reality that Test cricket, as developed primarily by the Australians under Allan Border, his former Essex team-mate, is an utterly uncompromising game. From the moment that he started his association with Duncan Fletcher in South Africa late in 1999, Hussain sought cricketers of character who were prepared to work hard and play the game in his own gritty way.”As Michael Henderson put it in , “He served the cause, in good times and bad, and deserves our gratitude.”However, Charles Sale cast a disapproving eye on Hussain’s future. Sale, the Daily Mail’s Sports Diarist, who was also the first to hint at Tim Lamb’s retirement, lamented the fact that Hussain had been snapped up to join Sky Sports. “Hussain’s seamless transition … means the continuation of a ridiculous commentary box cartel,” he said, with both Sky and Channel Four only employing former players to cover the matches. Sale said, “Recent painful interviews on both channels involving the Zimbabwe issue showed up just why some career broadcast journalists should be employed to balance the celebrity-fest.” It seems Hussain already has some critics in his new life.