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For Hashan Tillakaratne, it was the second time in consecutive Tests that his side had let slip the initiative. Here’s what he had to say about the Kandy defeat:On the result
It was so disappointing. We had our chances but just gave them [away] on a platter once again. It was so close and yet so far. We told our players to remain positive, and that this target was gettable. There were so many soft dismissals down the line. Our batting and catching really let us down in this Test.On Sri Lanka’s tactics in the morning
Our intention was to remain positive this morning. We told Vaasy [Chaminda Vaas] to get as much strike as possible. When he got the reprieve [he was dropped by Andy Symonds off Shane Warne] he should have just settled down and rotated the strike, but that’s how the game goes.Sri Lanka’s problem areas
The middle order is a concern. I am trying hard to get some runs, but disappointed that I am getting out so cheaply. There are other batsmen who are getting thirties and forties but not getting the big ones. [Our] catching has really let us down. We dropped [Damien] Martyn when he was on 0, and then at 65. I know that no-one wants to miss a catch purposely, but they were very costly.On where Sri Lanka lost this Test
After getting them out for 120, I think we lost the match in our first innings. We could have batted more sensibly and should have got a bigger total than 211 – that’s where we got it wrong.

Sir Vivian Richards, Ambassador Courtney Walsh, Clive Lloyd, Deryck Murray, the late Malcolm Marshall, and Andy Roberts, all former West Indies stars, will have their names attached to the individual incentive awards for the Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series."We are very honoured and greatly indebted that everyone has consented to the use of their names on the awards, and in the case of the late Malcolm Marshall that his widow, Connie, also agreed," remarked Darren Millien, Manager of Events, Promotions and Information Technology at the West Indies Cricket Board."As in the previous two years, prizes for the Caribbean teams should provide the impetus and incentive to become the Carib Beer Cup winners and the Carib Beer International Challenge champions."To create this incentive, trophies and cash will be awarded to individual players for outstanding performances as the WICB is most anxious to make a real success of the Championship."The Top Caribbean Batsman will now win the Sir Vivian Richards Award, the Top Caribbean Bowler will get the Courtney Walsh Award, the Top Caribbean Wicketkeeper will receive the Deryck Murray Award, the Top Caribbean Fielder takes the Clive Lloyd Award, and the Top Caribbean All-rounder will win the Malcolm Marshall Award.All the winners of these individual prizes will receive US $1,500, while the Most Promising Fast Bowler will receive the Andy Roberts Award and pocket US $1,000.The Man-of-the-Match in each of the matches will receive US $150 and medallion.The Carib Beer International Challenge champions will take home US $10,000, and the Carib Beer Cup winners will bag US $7,500.This year, Carib Beer reached a five-year sponsorship agreement with the WICB to become the Title Sponsor of the West Indies four-day, first-class championship. It has now been renamed the Carib Beer 2003 Cricket Series.

Nottinghamshire go into the fourth day needing only 91 to reach their highest-ever winning total in a fourth innings.Set 458 to beat Worcestershire, they exceeded all expectations by reaching 367 for 2 after a launch-pad of 94 in 106 balls by John Morris, a century by Darren Bicknell and an unbeaten 99 from Greg Blewett.Notts have never made more then 419 to win a match – a target achieved against Leicestershire in 1926 – but it would now be a surprise if they failed to register their first CricInfo Championship win of the season.Morris gave them the impetus with a trail-blazing innings of 18 boundaries but the former Derbyshire and Durham batsman missed a deserved century when Stuart Lampitt held a stunning catch at short extra cover.Worcestershire’s relief at breaking up a stand of 157 was quickly snuffed out when Bicknell reached 104 while putting on 102 for the second wicket with Blewett.The left handed opener was caught behind off Lampitt when Notts required 199 and this whittled down as Usman Afzaal settled into the third century partnership. Blewett will have to wait until the morning to complete his third hundred of the season as he closed with 12 fours from 179 balls.Worcestershire’s front-line seamers bowled too many bad balls on a pitch which had become totally docile after the loss of 20 wickets on the first day. Even worse they lacked a specialist spinner in the absence of the injured Matt Rawnsley.In all nine bowlers were used in what became an increasingly forlorn attempt to turn Philip Weston’s 192 into a match winning innings. The opener was ninth out in the morning when Andrew Harris took the last two wickets in five balls.

India fast bowler Ishant Sharma and Sri Lankan players Dhammika Prasad, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne have been charged by the ICC for their roles in several angry exchanges during the fourth day of the SSC Test.”Details to be announced after the conclusion of the Test,” the ICC said on Twitter.Ishant and Prasad faced off during the final session of the fourth day when Ishant, after being bounced several times by Prasad, smacked his helmet repeatedly while running down the pitch, as if asking the bowler to aim at his head. Chandimal walked over from slip, his shoulder brushing Ishant’s, and exchanged words with the batsman.Once India’s innings ended and as Ishant ran back to the dressing room to get ready to bowl, Prasad followed him at a full sprint all the way back. These two incidents were the flash points of an ill-tempered passage of play that involved several stares and words being exchanged between Ishant and Sri Lanka’s players.There was further tension when Ishant gave Upul Tharanga an angry send-off and then went on to celebrate Chandimal’s dismissal by striking the side of his own head repeatedly.Ishant had been docked 65% of his match fee at the end of the second Test for send-offs to Thirimanne and Chandimal. Thirimanne, too, was fined 30% of his match fee for showing dissent at the umpire’s decision during the second Test.

Steve Harmison, the England fast bowler, has struck back at Geoff Boycott after the former opening batsman had launched a scathing attack at him in a column for .Boycott had virtually written off Harmison after his poor display in the first Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, urging the selectors not to give him a central contract. “Since the Ashes series of 2005 he has been poor, indifferent to bad. He’s not got enough wickets and been given so many chances,” Boycott wrote in his column. “There comes a point when the public and selectors get fed up and disillusioned with a guy not delivering. That time has come. If he gets a central contract this summer over some of the new kids, or any sort of central contract, then a lot of us will be screaming: favouritism and a total waste of money. England should forget him.”Harmison’s reply was equally cutting. In his column for , Harmison wrote: “No one can dispute the man could bat but over the years he has developed an equally well deserved reputation as someone who thrives on kicking a man when he is down … Enough is enough. His remarks about me this week have gone beyond what is acceptable and it is time someone stood up to him and told him so.”People who only have a passing interest in the game hear the famous Geoff Boycott Yorkshire accent and may think it gives some status to his opinions. But inside the dressing room he has no status, he is just an accent, some sort of caricature of a professional Yorkshireman.”Harmison went on to add that a couple of batsmen currently in the England team didn’t have a high opinion of Boycott either. “Their shared experience was that when things weren’t going well for them all they heard from Boycott was him nailing them in the newspapers or on radio or TV, then, if they made a century or played well, he would come up to them full of compliments and try to ingratiate himself with them. I’m not the only England player who has been forced to take it in the neck from Boycott and I won’t be the last.”Harmison also took a dig at Boycott for his comments on Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait’s decision to take a break from the game due to exhaustion. Boycott had said Tait’s decision had “lacked character”.”I wonder what Australia’s Shaun Tait thought recently, when, after announcing he was taking an indefinite break from the game due to physical and emotional exhaustion, Boycott reacted by claiming he should have shown more desire to work through his problems,” Harmison wrote. “You get the feeling that Boycott is an insecure man who needs to be heard.”As a parting shot, Harmison had this to say to Boycott: “You say that if England give me another central contract come October that would be waste of money. To me, you are a waste of space.”

Australia’s final workout of the Super Eights against New Zealand might not have much significance to the make-up of the final four, but don’t expect either side to treat the 47th game of the tournament as glorified training. While there will be some experimenting for the more intense days ahead, the unblinking gaze of both teams will not be broken by thoughts of next week.Only a ridiculously huge victory by New Zealand could topple Australia from the top spot and even if it is achieved the southern hemisphere neighbours will be kept apart in the semi-finals. Both teams are already talking about their next opponents. Ricky Ponting has spoken of the dangers posed by South Africa in St Lucia and John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, wants his side to improve their net run-rate so they can overtake Sri Lanka, move to second and get the better training times in Jamaica.When the focus returns to Friday’s match in Grenada it is impossible to discuss it without mentioning allrounders. Shane Watson’s fragile body is ready for action after two weeks out with a calf strain, but Jacob Oram has succumbed to a heel problem. While the pair is crucial to the balance of the teams, there is another allrounder who is also being closely monitored.Scott Styris has 435 runs at 108.75 in the Caribbean and when his eight wickets at 23 are mixed in he is a genuine contender for the player of the tournament. Ponting is aware of the problems Styris poses and has been impressed by the way he has anchored New Zealand’s batting.”These conditions suit the way he plays, the slower lower wickets,” Ponting told AFP. “He plays spin pretty well. We’ve got a few things up our sleeve which we’ll have to execute well against him and make sure he doesn’t get away from us.”What he has done in the tournament is bat for long periods. He might not have necessarily got his runs at a 100% strike-rate but he’s been there and thereabouts, anchored their innings and played very well.”When it comes to Australia’s potential run-scorers they are as well stocked as the nearby waters are with fish. Four of the top 15 batsmen at the World Cup are Australians, but the bowling is even more impressive with four of the leading nine. The individual success is a reason why they have extended their unbeaten streak in World Cups to 26 matches.While Australia’s swap of Watson for Brad Hodge requires only one change in the order, New Zealand have some restructuring to do to cover Oram. The preferred option seems to be to promote James Franklin three places to No. 6 so Brendon McCullum doesn’t have to shift from seven.

“It’s about making this seamless and I think James is really looking forward to the challenge of it,” Bracewell told NZPA. “He’s batted quite well for a long period of time for us – it’s nothing new for him to bat in the middle order.”Bracewell is also considering bringing in the fast bowlers Mark Gillespie and Michael Mason to prepare them for possible use in the semi-final and final, which will be played on surfaces expected to assist the quick men. Jeetan Patel will be the unlucky one in Grenada if this method is followed.”There’s the temptation to prepare for the future, but there’s also the reality of what needs to be done on Friday,” Bracewell said. “We don’t want to lose the momentum.”Ponting wants to use the match as a guide for Australia, who were beaten 3-0 by New Zealand the last time the teams met. “I’m looking forward to the game,” Ponting said. “It will be a good indicator for both teams of where they are at.”Australia (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Shane Watson, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Nathan Bracken, 10 Glenn McGrath, 11 Shaun Tait.New Zealand (probable) 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Peter Fulton, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Craig McMillan, 6 James Franklin 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Mark Gillespie, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Michael Mason.

South Africa 266 for 5 (Jack 109, Kirsten 103) beat Bermuda 169 for 9 by 97 runs

Gary Kirsten’s second hundred in successive matches guided South Africa to a 97-run win over hosts Bermuda in the final of the inaugural 20-20 World Cricket Classic in Nassau.South Africa’s batting has been the key to their success, and Kirsten and former Transvaal fast bowler Steven Jack finished the tournament with 461 runs between them. Kirsten followed his 134 in the semi-final with 103 this time, while Jack smashed 109. Both reached their hundreds in under 50 balls. Jack, who played his two Tests for South Africa as a bowler, raced to his century in 40 balls, including four fours and ten sixes.The Bermuda bowlers all came in for some stick, with Kevin Hurdle being slammed for 71 from his four overs.Bermuda never seemed interested in chasing a daunting ask of more than 13 an over, but they batted well and the spirits of a lively capacity crowd were not dampened.”I think the bowlers have learned a hard lesson tonight,” Gus Logie, Bermuda’s coach, admitted. “We talked a lot beforehand about how we were going to have to bowl against them but we just did not put those plans into practice and we got punished for it.”

Tino Best has been recalled to the West Indian squad for the second Test against Pakistan at Kingston, as a replacement for his fellow Barbadian Fidel Edwards, who suffered a strained hamstring during their 276-run victory in the first match at Bridgetown.Best is the only change to the side that ended West Indies’ run of 10 defeats out of 12 in all forms of the game this season. Edwards will be sidelined for at least ten days, but Ian Bradshaw has fully recovered from the viral infection which ruled him out of the first match. Dwayne Bravo, meanwhile, is undergoing treatment on an ankle injury.West Indies’ convenor of selectors, Joey Carew said he was “very elated” about the first-Test victory and hoped that it was a sign of better things to come. “The team played hard and got the rewards for their efforts,” he said. “I agree with coach that a lot of work still has to be done but there is a little light at the end of the tunnel.”West Indies squad Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Courtney Browne (wk), Corey Collymore, Daren Powell, Reon King, Ian Bradshaw, Tino Best.

Day 2 of 4 Victoria 7 for 252 (Hodge 125, McDonald 51*) trail Tasmania 341 by 89 runs
ScorecardTasmania were focused on securing the vital first-innings points against Victoria on the second day of the decisive-round Pura Cup clash at the Bellerive Oval. Victoria were 7 for 252 at stumps in reply to the Tasmanian first-innings total of 341.Two first-innings points would improve Tasmania’s prospects of a final berth against the runaway leaders Victoria. “We would have liked to have taken another wicket today, but at the start of the day we would have certainly taken that score,” said Brian McFadyen, the Tasmanian coach. “Certainly, I think one more wicket will break it open and I would expect that we’d get through the last few really quickly. We do bowl well at the tail, as a rule.”A week out from the Melbourne final, second-placed Tasmania need to fend off a challenge from rivals Queensland and NSW. NSW were 4 for 177 at stumps today at the SCG in reply to Queensland’s 9 for 418 declared, with rain forecast for the weekend.McFadyen said the Sydney showdown was “hard to ignore, but it is certainly not our major focus. I do truly believe that we’ve got the second-best side in the competition so far and I do believe we deserve the opportunity to take [Victoria] on in the final.”Shane Watson did his bit for Tasmania’s finals campaign today when he snared the coveted scalp of Brad Hodge. Hodge posted his fifth hundred of the season en route to 125 before he was dismissed by Watson, who has been cleared to bowl on a daily basis after suffering a debilitating back injury. Watson finished the day with 2 for 57 off 18 overs.The innings started badly for Victoria when their top runscorer of this season, Matthew Elliott, was caught by Dan Marsh at first slip off Damien Wright for 1. It was quite a coup for Wright, who has been receiving injections to deaden the pain of a nagging left-knee injury.Matthew Mott, his fellow opener, was next to go when he fell lbw to Gerard Denton for 10. Andrew Downton, the left-arm fast bowler, nailed David Hussey (7) and Cameron White (2) to achieve the respectable figures of 2 for 51 off 18 overs.

It was a full day of absorbing Test cricket at Newlands after South Africa declared at tea on a daunting 620 for seven, and Pakistan fought back to end on 141 for 1.Play began five minutes early to make up for the over lost last night after 70 minutes of overtime, with the home side on 445 for 3 looking to get some quick runs.That was not to be, as the Pakistani fast bowlers bowled on a line and length to slow the scoring down, picking up wickets at regular intervals.Mohammad Sami was the first to strike, forcing Jacques Kallis to go back to one that nipped in from the off to be adjudged lbw in the 6th over of the morning. South Africa were 463 for 4.Neil McKenzie joined Boeta Dippenaar and they batted on carefully, hitting the bad balls. After 100 overs, with Saqlain brought on for the first time, the pair had taken the home side to 476/4.In the 106th over the South Africa 500 came up as McKenzie steered Waqar to fine leg. For the 108th over Waqar took himself off after bowling unchanged all morning, and tossed the ball back to Sami to bowl with Saqlain from the Kelvin Grove End.Waqar rotated his four-man attack well, and the feature for Pakistan was the return to form of Mohammad Zahid.Just before lunch there was some drama when Saqlain Mushtaq got a ball to straighten and all the Pakistan close fielders went up for what looked a certain lbw, but the umpire thought otherwise.Lunch was taken at 531 for four, and in the hour afterwards South Africa scored steadily. The sun came out as McKenzie reached his 50, but Zahid tucked him up getting one to straighten in the 122nd over and he edged it off the face of the bat to the keeper. The partnership had added 85, and everyone was expecting some quick runs from Boucher.Zahid beat him a few times but it was Saqlain who got him, as he went for a huge slog sweep that missed and the ball hit leg stump. Saqlain added Dippenaar’s wicket when he top edged a pull for Kamran Akmal to take it easily, running to short mid-wicket, and South Africa were seven down for 594.Skipper Pollock came in with all expectations for quick runs and a possible declaration at tea. He did not disappoint, and at 620/7 decided to forget getting to a record 622 and declared, wanting to bowl at Pakistan for about 15 minutes. Saqlain had taken three wickets but gave away 237 runs in his 50 overs. Interestingly Mohammad Zahid came good for 2 wickets in 25 overs.South Africa’s score was the joint 3rd highest in a Test Match, only two runs short of their 622 for nine declared against Australia at Durban in 1969/70, four off the 621 for five declared against New Zealand at Auckland in 1998/99, and equal to the 620 all out against Australia at Johannesburg in 1966/67.After tea Taufeeq Umar and Saleem Elahi came out to face Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini. The wicket played straight, and saw out 12 overs playing slowly and carefully.Then in the 13th over Pollock got some extra bounce on off stump and Saleem Elahi was not good enough to cope, steering a catch to Smith in the slips with the score on 36.Younis Khan joined Taufeeq, who took charge with several good looking drives, reaching his fifty in the 22nd over pulling a short one from Kallis. A good knock in 98 minutes laced with 8 fours.Taufeeq and Younis Khan batted out the day to set up a record 105 second-wicket partnership for Pakistan against South Africa, beating the 101 set by Saeed Anwar & Aamer Sohail at Durban in 1997/98. They are still there for tomorrow.Ntini and Pollock bowled well with support from Kallis and Boje. The crowd must have enjoyed the cricket, and at the close after 45 overs Pakistan trail by 479 with 9 wickets in hand.Their chances of saving this Test hinge on the morning session, and centuries are required from their middle order. Taufeeq remains on 85 (129 balls, 13 fours, one six) and Younis Khan on 44 (102 balls five fours).