Pakistan today named a 15-man squad for the rescheduled one-day series against New Zealand, starting on November 29. The surprise inclusion was Junaid Zia, who was selected against Bangladesh and then named captain of the emerging team. Shoaib Akhtar has been picked, but will not be available for selection for the first two matches due to a ban.Aamer Sohail, chairman of selectors, said: “This is the best combination we can offer to the team management that was consulted before the squad was finalised.”On the inclusion of Junaid, Sohail said: “He was one of the star performers of the inter-departmental qualifying tournament taking 35 wickets and scoring over 150 runs. In addition to this, he was also adjudged Player of the Series in Sri Lanka, where the Pakistan Emerging team won the tournament. In addition to this, the team management also requested for his inclusion.”The first two matches of the series will be played at Lahore on November 29 and December 1 while Faisalabad will host the third match on December 3. The last two games will be played at Rawalpindi on December 5 and 7.Squad Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Imran Farhat, Saleem Elahi, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Moin Khan (wkt), Danish Kaneria, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Misbah-ul-Haq and Junaid Zia.

After an action-packed week of Test cricket, Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid rose to the top of the PwC Ratings due to their double-hundreds, while Ricky Ponting dropped a notch after scoring 242 in a losing cause. Matthew Hayden fell off his perch at the top after an indifferent showing in the Adelaide Test. Jacques Kallis(+8), Michael Vaughan(+7), and VVS Laxman(+5) were the biggest gainers after their significant hundreds assisted the team’s cause.Sachin Tendulkar drops out of the top ten for the first time since 1993, following a poor run of form since the Test series in New Zealand in 2002-03. But his fall coincides with the stunning form of batsmen around the world. Adam Gilchrist, Graham Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Lara, Dravid, Hayden, Ponting, and Vaughan have all been prolific on the international circuit.

Muttiah Muralitharan and Shaun Pollock continue to occupy the top spots after good showings against England and West Indies. Makhaya Ntini returns to the top ten list after a nine-wicket haul against West Indies, while Ajit Agarkar rises 16 places to 41, and achieves his PwC high of 389 points after a splendid bowling performance in the Adelaide Test.Stuart MacGill’s drop from the list can be attributed equally to poor bowling and good batting by India. Unable to take advantage of a fifth-day track that turned viciously, MacGill was taken apart by the batsmen on their way to a famous victory. It was the kind of batting that provoked MacGill to say, “It’s not as if they know what I am bowling, it’s almost as if they don’t really seem to care what I am bowling.”

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Scorecard
Live video
Photo galleryDay 5
Bulletin – Game drawn after Hayden assault
Verdict – A stepping stone
Stats – Hayden’s warning
Quotes – Waugh after the match
Quotes – Waugh on the run-out
Quotes – Harbhajan in a spin
News – Australia names unchanged squad
Roving Reporter – ‘Why are they all lined up like that, Dad?’
Day 4
Bulletin – Ganguly seizes the day
Verdict – Ganguly’s triumph
Stats – Rediscovering the touch
Quotes and more – Grace under pressure
Roving Reporter – Must be the masala
Roving Reporter – An air of unfulfillmentDay 3
Bulletin – Rain dampens spirits at the Gabba
Roving Reporter – Nostalgia time
Feature – Hayden’s hour
News – Ganguly faces suspension
News – Williams apologises for outburst
Day 2
Bulletin – India rock the Gabba on rainy day
Verdict – A stunning contrast
Comment – From hero to villain in 10 minutes
Quotes and more – `Individuals make decisions’ – Buchanan
Roving Reporter – Beer Prayers on a soggy day
Day 1
Bulletin – Langer rides an Australian wave
Verdict – Right decision, wrong execution
Stats – Langer laps it up
Quotes and more – `One of my best’ – Langer
Roving Reporter – Fighting ground
Preview Package
Match preview – Showtime at the Gabba
Facts and figures – An Australian fortress
Roving Reporter – Merv Hughes Kebabs
Series preview – The toughest test

Sri Lanka 628 for 8 dec beat England 265 and 148 (Muralitharan 4-60) by an innings and 215 runs
Scorecard
Match photo gallery

Sri Lanka swept to a colossal victory against England in the final Test in Colombo. They romped home by an innings and 215 runs, and thus took the series 1-0. After setting England the small matter of scoring 363 runs just to avoid an innings defeat, the Sri Lankan attack blew away the batsmen for a meagre 148, in 68 overs.It was a deserved victory for Sri Lanka, who won their first series against England. They have been the dominant team throughout this match and the previous two, and Hashan Tillakaratne’s belated first triumph as captain could hardly have been more emphatic. Meanwhile, a demoralised England were left to contemplate their poor first-innings display and some shoddy fielding – they never looked like performing yet another Great Escape this time.It was that man Muttiah Muralitharan who again led the way with four wickets, including his 100th in Tests at the Sinhalese Sports Club. But the rest of the bowlers contributed as well. Dilhara Fernando claimed three scalps with an impressive display of swing bowling, while the wily Sanath Jayasuriya chipped in with two.Indeed, it was the seamers, Fernando and Chaminda Vaas, who made the early impact to start England’s collapse. Marcus Trescothick, who has rarely been at his best in this series, flashed loosely at the final ball of Vaas’s first over, and steered a simple catch to the substitute fielder, Michael Vandort, in the gully (0 for 1). And just to make things worse for Trescothick, it appeared to be an uncalled no-ball. When Michael Vaughan was then suckered by a Fernando slower ball and popped a drive up to Jayasuriya in the covers for 14, England’s realistic hopes of battling for a draw departed with him.It was just a matter of time until Murali struck, and he became the first player to take 100 Test wickets on a single ground with the scalp of his old mate Nasser Hussain. After serving up a succession of offbreaks, Murali turned one the other way, and Hussain got the faintest of edges through to Kumar Sangakkara (49 for 3).Mark Butcher and Graham Thorpe battled on carefully, and looked to score when they could. Thorpe latched on to anything short, pulling Vaas and Upul Chandana to the boundary, while Butcher flicked Chandana past midwicket and played one peachy cover-drive off Murali.They were just beginning to steady the ship, but it wasn’t long before Murali blew the SS England way off course again with two wickets in as many balls. Thorpe came down the track, was completely bamboozled in the flight, and was stumped by yards (82 for 4). Gareth Batty then came in ahead of Andrew Flintoff, who could not bat until the fall of the fifth wicket because of the time he spent off the field yesterday. Batty completed a forgettable match by bowing out of the tour with a golden duck. In a dismissal similar to Butcher’s second stumping at Kandy, Batty prodded forward to Murali and Sangakkara whipped off the bails with the toe on the line, but not behind it (82 for 5).The ship was now sinking fast, and Jayasuriya ripped away England’s last anchor with the big wicket of Butcher. Bowling over the wicket, Jayasuriya ripped a big-turning ball through Butcher’s flat-footed defence and hit middle stump (84 for 6). Chris Read was the next to go, palpably lbw to Jayasuriya’s quicker ball.

Flintoff and Ashley Giles added a stubborn 40 either side of tea before Giles was sent packing by a beauty of an inswinging yorker from Fernando (124 for 8). Flintoff mixed defence with a few beefy blows in his 30. Finally, attempting to guide Fernando over the slips, Flintoff misdirected the ball high to Sangakkara’s right (137 for 9). Fittingly, it was Murali who wrapped things up with his 26th victim of the series when he bowled James Kirtley all ends up to start the celebrations – and the England inquest.The only thing that didn’t go to plan for Sri Lanka was that Chandana and Tillakaratne Dilshan failed to reach their centuries before the declaration at 628 for 8 in the morning. Giles did for Dilshan with a sharply turning leg-stump delivery, and followed that up with a sprightly piece of fielding off his own bowling, as he deftly deflected a straight-drive from Chandana into the stumps at the non-striker’s end, to run out Vaas for 9. Chandana, who had thwacked Kirtley for a big six over midwicket, then carved to a leaping Vaughan at short cover for 76.But, for the umpteenth time in this series, Murali was in the mood for a slog. Giles’s figures took another turn for the worse as 20 runs came from his 65th and final over of the innings, including two vast sixes. It was the most entertaining mini-session of the innings – but it was all immaterial in the light of England’s later collapse.

ScorecardThe West Indians warmed up for their one-day series with a comfortable 65-run win against South Africa A at Paarl. After Chris Gayle helped them to 230 for 8, Ravi Rampaul impressed with 2 for 23 as South Africa A were bowled out for a disappointing 165.Gayle made 61 from off 91 balls before he fell to Nicky Boje, caught behind attempting to cut. Justin Ontong earlier struck twice in quick succession to peg West Indies back, but Dwayne Smith then hit a bright 35 before he was caught attempting his third six. Brian Lara and Ridley Jacobs put on 53 for the sixth wicket to post a respectable total.Martin van Jaarsveld and Loots Bosman made a solid start, putting on 52 for the first wicket before Bosman was trapped lbw off Merv Dillon for 20 in the 13th over. Van Jaarsveld was caught at midwicket by Ryan Hurley off Rampaul four balls later, and even though Neil McKenzie, the captain, scored 51, the rest of the inexperienced line-up failed to break the shackles as the West Indian attack applied the pressure with tight and disciplined bowling.

It’s been six years since England last toured the West Indies. In today’s crammed international calendar, it feels like even more. Never mind that elusive Ashes urn, England still have to bury 36 fruitless years in the Caribbean, comprising six trips of bruises, bashings and beatings. The first round of the four Tests, at Sabina Park, promises to be an intriguing opening bout, with both corners sizing up evenly, but with players capable of packing a serious punch on their day.One local magazine billed the series as the “Clash of the Titans”. A bit over the top, you might say – yet with all the hype in Kingston ahead of Thursday, you wouldn’t think so. All the talk from the locals, and most of the tourists as well, is that it will be close, but that home advantage will be the key to West Indian success. “The public will demand us to win,” said Brian Lara, “and you’ll see a different outfit at home.”There’s no doubt West Indies are a better side on their own patch, duelargely to what Lara described as a “comfort zone”. However, this is aside that has lost recent home series against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and they can’t hide behind that piece of propaganda if things don’t go to plan early on.One thing that is true is that there is an obvious incentive for WestIndies. “England are our biggest rivals,” warned Lara. “They have donea lot for our sport. They are almost like a father figure.” But West Indies are not planning on showing any respect to their elders. “We still feel the disappointment of losing the Wisden Trophy in 2000, and we will fighting all the way to get it back.”One of the worries for England was whether two weeks will prove tohave been sufficient preparation time, but with a testing warm-up game against a Jamaica XI, and a not-so-testing one against the Vice-Chancellor’s XI, Michael Vaughan insisted they are ready and raring to go. “Only three of us have played in the Caribbean before, so we’ll have to get used to things quickly, but we can’t wait for Thursday now. Thirty-six years ago none of my players were born, so we’ve got no cobwebs of the past.”For the first time in a generation, England will not have to cope with a world-class fast bowler in West Indies’ ranks, but, then again, none of England’s bowlers are pushing that particular bracket yet. Simon Jones and Steve Harmison are near-certainties to play, considering their genuine pace, while Matthew Hoggard is expected to take the last fast-bowling slot ahead of James Anderson.Hoggard was the one bowler singled out by Lara as a threat to hisside. Whether he was bluffing or not is another question. However, ifHoggard does play, it will cap a dismal last six months for Anderson, who will have gone from England’s Brylcreem boy to baggage boy.The only question mark in England’s batting is Mark Butcher’s fitness,but after a couple of light net sessions, and a round of golf, he is likely to keep his place ahead of Paul Collingwood. West Indies’ plans, however, have been disrupted at the last minute by the withdrawal of Dwayne Smith with a dislocated finger on his right hand. “It was a most unfortunate development for the young man,” said Ricky Skerritt, the team manager. “But Dwayne has the right attitude towards situations like this and there is no doubt he’ll be back stronger than ever.” He is likely to be replaced by either Ricardo Powell or Ryan Hinds.The Sabina Park groundsman is the same one who concocted theinfamous terror track for England’s last Test here, in 1997-98. That match was abandoned after only 56 minutes before any English bonces were knocked off. This time is the groundsman’s turn to put his head on the block. He insisted England would have nothing to complain about, promising good pace and carry, with a little uneven bounce later in the game.As ever, the toss will play a big part, but an interesting fact to chewover is that only nine out of the 38 Tests played here have been won by the team batting first. And since Steve Waugh’s world-turning double-hundred here in 1994-95, no touring side has scored over 350. So perhaps we won’t have the predicted formula for success on this tour: bat first, post a daunting total, and bowl them out on the fifth day.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Ricardo Powell, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Corey Collymore, 9 Adam Sanford, 10 Tino Best, 11 Fidel Edwards.England (probable) 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 MarcusTrescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Matthew Hoggard.Freddie Auld, Wisden Cricinfo’s assistant editor, will be following England’s fortunes in the Jamaica and Trinidad Tests.

The International Cricket Council has announced that it will oversee the appointment of a CEO for the United States Cricket Association.The news comes of the back of plans to organise a multi-national one-day tournament in the USA. The proceeds of the event would go towards furthering the development of the game in the country.”There is no suggestion that cricket is trying to take on the major American team sports in their own back yard,” Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said in a statement. “There are already over 500 active cricket clubs in the USA and the aim of this project is to build on this solid foundation to help increase the reach of the sport. The plan is to focus on developing cricket as a successful niche sport in a substantial market.”Earlier this month, the USA team won the Six Nations Challenge in the United Arab Emirates and so qualified for this September’s ICC Champions Trophy in England.The USA has also been proposed as a possible venue to stage games during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Eastern Cape 129 for 3 beat Western Province Boland 128 for 7 (Strydom 4-11) by 7 wickets
ScorecardWestern Province Boland were asked to bat first by Eastern Cape, as the semi-final stage of the Standard Bank PRO20 Series got underway at Newlands. Graeme Smith and Andrew Puttick gave WPBOL the perfect start, adding 62 in the first eight overs. Both men then fell in the ninth, but a competitive total was still on the cards. Enter Pieter Strydom and Robin Peterson, Eastern Cape’s two left-arm spinners. Six overs later WPBOL were 83 for 6 and in tatters.Strydom had taken 4 for 11 and Peterson 0 for 12 in their four overs. The innings was salvaged by Jacques Kallis, who made 23 off 29, Rory Kleinveldt (18 off 15), and Thami Tsolekile (13 off 4), as WPBOL stuttered to 128 for 7. For Eastern Cape, Monde Zondeki left the field after only bowling four balls with an aggravated quad muscle.Eastern Cape also made a solid start to their innings, as Steven Pope and Peterson put on 61 in 10 overs before both falling within six runs of each other. Tyron Henderson was sent in as a pinch-hitter and scored 20 off 18 balls, before Mark Boucher and Strydom finished the chase. Both scored at better a run-a-ball to take Eastern Cape through to the final with a full over to spare.

ScorecardNathan Astle boosted the New Zealanders to 326 for 7 on the opening day of their tour match against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Astle scored 93, and added 94 with Stephen Fleming, who scored 56. David Masters took three wickets to haul Leicestershire back, but a late cameo innings from Brendon McCullum gave New Zealand the honours.Michael Papps was given a chance to impress in the absence of the rested Mark Richardson, but he lasted only two balls, caught at first slip by Darren Robinson off Jon Dakin for a duck (0 for 1). Fleming and Astle then got in some valuable practice ahead of the second Test at Headingley next week.Fleming cracked five fours and a six for a quickfire 56 before he was also caught by Robinson, off Charlie Dagnall (95 for 2). Scott Styris continued his poor form on the tour when he was caught by Tom New off David Brignull for 2 (104 for 3). Astle added 94 with Craig McMillan before Masters dismissed both of them, McMillan for 43.Masters then pegged New Zealand back further with the wicket of Chris Cairns first ball, caught by New (207 for 6). However, McCullum showed signs of his good form from the first Test with 65 from 70 balls until he was trapped lbw by Dagnall. Gareth Hopkins was unbeaten on 40 at the close, with Daniel Vettori offering good support on 21 not out.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has taken over as president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Dalmiya was appointed to the post at the annual general body of the council in London on Wednesday.Speaking to the Indo-Asian News Service, Anil Kalaver, the secretary of the Singapore Cricket Association said: “I am pleased to inform you that as of yesterday [Tuesday], Jagmohan Dalmiya is the ACC president and Jai Kumar Nath Shah of Nepal is the vice president.”Dalmiya takes over from Mohammad Ali Asghar, the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, who recently completed his two-year term. According to the rotational policy for the presidency of the ACC, it was the turn of the BCCI – and Dalmiya, being its head, took over.Dalmiya, who earlier served as the president of the ICC, will remain in the post for two years, pending a nomination from the BCCI in September when he completes his three-year term as their president.