After winning the first Test by the massive margin of an innings and 99 runs, New Zealand will hope to complete their first series win in the subcontinent since Geoff Howarth’s side beat Sri Lanka 2-0 over 20 years ago. In Dhaka, Bangladesh were undone by Daniel Vettori, who returned the excellent second-innings figures of 22-13-28-6, but they will expect to put up sterner resistance this time.”The wicket was quite slow and we got some bounce that helped me a lot. It was good for spinners but not the best.” said Vettori. “Patience is key to surviving on such wickets. They can learn a lot from our style of batting in the first innings.”To strengthen their batting, Bangladesh have replaced Hannan Sarkar, who had scored only 54 in his last nine innings, with Aftab Ahmed, who will make his Test debut on his home ground if selected: “I know this wicket better than anybody else and I want to leave my mark in front of fans here.” Like Nafis Iqbal, and Enamul Haque junior, who joined the squad to bolster the spin attack, Aftab was part of the side that defeated Australia in the Plate final of the Under-19 World Cup in March this year.Wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud will continue as captain, since Habibul Bashar has not yet recovered from the thumb injury that ruled him out of the Champions Trophy and the first Test.The plan for Bangladesh is to bat as long as possible, to make a first-innings score above 300, and try to force the New Zealanders to bat on a wearing pitch. The spin attack is one area in which the Bangladeshis can compete. But it is a scheme that could work for either team according to Khokon, the curator of MA Aziz Stadium: “The team that wins the toss and chooses to bat first might establish control over match as the first two days will promise a lot of runs.”The pitch will be quite similar to that in Dhaka. “Even the pace bowlers would not be able to get any assistance during this time,” Khokon added. “The wicket will only take a little turn on the third day while the fourth and fifth day will definitely belong to the bowlers. Maybe the only difference will be a slight change in bounce.”John Bracewell, New Zealand’s coach, is reluctant to make any major changes tothe side, but with one eye on the series against Australia next month, there is the temptation to include Kyle Mills or Chris Martin, who have yet to play a match on this tour. Ian Butler, who went wicketless at Dhaka, may be rested.There is no room for complacency, however tempting, for New Zealand. Oram, who took only three wickets in the first Test, said: “The fact that we played with the ruthlessness which was expected was very good. We’ve come over here to get some results after recent poor performances, notably the 0-3 whitewash in England, and it doesn’t matter who it’s against.”Whichever way the result goes, history, either long-standing or recent, will be turned around.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Javed Omar, 2 Nafis Iqbal, 3 Aftab Ahmed, 4 Rajin Saleh, 5 Mohammad Ashraful, 6 Alok Kapali, 7 Khaled Mashud (capt, wk), 8 Manjural Islam Rana, 9 Enamul Haque jr., 10 Mohammad Rafique, 11 Tapash Baisya.New Zealand (probable): 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Matthew Sinclair, 3 Stephen Fleming (capt), 4 Scott Styris, 5 Nathan Astle, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wkt), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 James Franklin, 10 Paul Wiseman, 11 Chris Martin.

England women cricket’s leading batsman Claire Taylor is going to try her hand playing for Canterbury in the State League competition this summer.Taylor, one of the most consistent of England’s players over the last two years, and one of their best performers at the CricInfo Women’s World Cup at Lincoln University, has been named in a women’s trial to be played against Otago at Geraldine at Labour Weekend.Canterbury has lost more top players and coming on top of the loss of three of its stalwarts of recent history the year before, Debbie Hockley, Catherine Campbell and Katrina Keenan, it is facing another rebuilding year.Missing from the team, which will be led by new captain Haidee Tiffen, will be Paula Flannery, who has decided to stay overseas, Emily Travers who is taking a break, Delwyn Brownlee and Fiona Fraser, who has decided to stay in Wellington, her home town.Another English player, Mandie Godliman, a wicket-keeper, started the season in Christchurch but is going to try out for the Wellington team. She has played eight matches for England and along with Taylor, has been named in the side to play in the four-nations series in New Zealand in January, against Australia, New Zealand and India, and then to play in the Ashes series in Australia.England fast bowler Clare Taylor is to play for Otago again this season while Charlotte Edwards is to play here as well. She played for Northern Districts after the last Women’s World Cup.Tiffen, New Zealand’s leading all-rounder, had her position as Canterbury captain announced at tonight’s Canterbury season launch. Nicola Payne will be the vice-captain.Canterbury men’s coach Michael Sharpe outlined the work the State Wizards had been doing in the off-season and commented on the extensive back-up the side will have this year with input from New Zealand Cricket Academy personnel Warren Frost and Ashley Ross.Canterbury chief executive Richard Reid said he had received sign-off from clubs and districts in the province for a new form of competition next summer and said he hoped that people would embrace the system when it was put in place.He had been very pleased with the way a new points system had been accepted this season, along with new hours of play, and he was sure there would be a wide measure of satisfaction with the changes.All senior clubs were presented with an allocation of match balls at the opening function which was held at Canterbury Draught’s brewery, one of the Canterbury Association’s sponsors.

Bennett King, the West Indies coach, has brought a change in one vital area of his team’s game: fielding. King knows the importance of saving every run and never misses the opportunity to stress the importance that fact to his boys.On the eve of his team’s third game in the IndianOil tri-series in Dambulla, King was rounding off the practice session with the fielding drills. Hitting the ball low, he made the players dive forward to take the catches. Tino Best, always the livewire was in his own world when he failed to stop the ball and didn’t even attempt to show any intention to bend or dive forward. An infuriated King, unimpressed, shouted at the staring Best, “You can’t dive. Does that mean you will allow a four on the ground?” A man never short for words, this time Best was speechless. The arrogant pupil had been rapped on his knuckles and for the rest of the session an attentive Best made sure not to commit any further mistakes.King’s discipline was bearing fruits. It was seen on Saturday evening when the Windies fielders threw themselves at everything and managed to overwhelm the favourites Sri Lanka in the end. Omari Banks, though he dropped two catches, agreed that King’s fielding lessons were good. “Bennett has been working hard on the fielding aspect and expects us to give our best when we go out field so its good to see that the guys showed the same courage and commitment we show during practice.”Despite not having their regular captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul while defending their target, the young Caribbeans, led by their stand-in skipper Sylvester Joseph, showed enough passion to keep the pressure lid tight over the Lankans. The result was their first victory on this tour of Sri Lanka and also the first in the tri-series. This was a much-needed win for the depleted Caribbean side who had lost most of its top players in the endorsement imbroglio.Joseph, who top-scored for the Windies with 58 thought the people in the Caribbean would be happy for the efforts put into this victory. “It means a lot. We had been struggling with the top order throughout the tour. Our bowlers were doing the job but we were failing with the bat and we didn’t stick to our plan and didn’t have wickets in the end. We applied ourselves and it worked.”With the absence of the regular stars, people like Joseph knew they had enough opportunities to prove their worth. But time and again they fell way short of the mark. “The situation is very difficult when you play a second-string team and your top players, who have been doing well for the past few years, are not around and we miss them. But it is an opportunity for us to show that we are capable and we have shown that we have the potential and we continue to work hard we can become a good team to reckon with.”Joseph believed the change in the batting order was one of the most important catalysts in the top order clicking. West Indies top order had failed throughout this series, but today Chanderpaul opened the innings with Joseph and provided the much-required stability his young partners wanted. It worked. “He took control and took charge and we needed someone up there to really stick it out and he did that.”The Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody also acknowledged Chanderpaul’s contribution. “West Indies batted well early on especially Chanderpaul, though unwell, lead from the front and got the momentum going and the rest of the players got that going. We pulled them back as they were on target for 250 through some good bowling and some good fielding in the latter stages.”Both Moody and Mahela Jayawardene, the stand-in captain, gave credit to the opposition for their hardwork but at the same time felt that the Sri Lankans paid for their mistakes. “We made it difficult with the position we put ourselves into by losing early wickets” was Moody’s verdict while Jayawardene fell. “We were not complacent. West Indies bowled well especially Omari Banks but we created our own pressure by losing too many wickets.”Banks, who finished economically with figures of 2 for 24 in his 10 overs, said, “I was trying to just put the ball in the right areas and try and improve my length.” That effort was enough to earh him his first Man-of-the-Match reward.Alhough none of Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers managed to take a wicket, Moody didn’t seem worried. “The fast bowlers early on and beat the bat regularly and then we just lacked a little bit of consistency so its hard to maintain the pressure early on.” Instead Moody was focussing on the positives of his first loss after taking over as the coach of the Lankan team.”It’s a timely wake-up call. The team has had a successful run in the Tests and the one-dayers up to date and today we played below par. But you can look at it in the positive way. Our batting needs to be looked at, as there is a lot of inconsistency at the top order. If the top order clicks then it means we not relying on some excellent partnerships down the order. In one-day cricket most of the games are won by the top order doing the hard work.”The focus now shifts to the crucial game tomorrow, the last of the league games of the series where West Indies play India. West Indies need to win that match if they have to make the final against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, next week. But they are not looking that far ahead. They just want to carry on today’s good work to tomorrow. “We have worked really hard in the past weeks and it would be fitting if we can go out tomorrow and play positive and try to win to make to the final”, said Joseph who would be wishing that his captain gets back healthy in time for Sunday’s vital game.Chanderpaul suffered a viral infection two days ago, but thought he was fine for the game and so he batted. But his condition worsened and he couldn’t field. Windies’ media manager, Imran Khan, said the team was concerned. “We will monitor the situation through the night and the decision will be taken in the morning. But it’s a concern.”But the Windies can hope for the best and get some encouragement from Moody’s words of praise for them. “The Windies, despite not having their full-strength side, have shown a lot of spirit. A youthful side that shows a lot of spirit carries a lot of weight and that is what we saw this evening.”

Two days after Charl Langeveldt was called up as a replacement for South Africa’s two-Test tour of India after Nicky Boje declined to go, he has pulled out injured and been replaced himself. Robin Peterson, the slow left-armer from the Warriors, will fill the vacant spot.Langeveldt, 29, suffered a back injury during a long bowling stint for the Highveld Lions against Western Province-Boland – for whom Graeme Smith scored a double-century – at the weekend.Shane Jabaar, South Africa’s physiotherapist, confirmed that Langeveldt would not be able to tour: “He has an irritated left sacro-iliac joint and a facet-joint sprain on the left side of his lower back. He will need about two to three weeks’ rest and rehabilitation before he can bowl again.”Peterson, 25, was unlucky not to have been called up as a like-for-like replacement in the first place after Boje decided he did not wish to face possible further questioning by the Delhi police over the match-fixing allegations that surfaced on South Africa’s last tour there, in 1999-2000.Omar Henry, South Africa’s selection convener, explained: “With Jacques Rudolph unable to bowl at all, we felt that Peterson would offer another spin alternative.” Peterson, who is also a handy batsman, has played in four Tests, most recently in the 189-run defeat of West Indies at Johannesburg last December, and 21 one-day internationals.

India would emerge as the runaway winners if they play to their potential and not worry about Zimbabwe – their opponents – in the upcoming two-match Test series, according to Rahul Dravid, their vice-captain.”If we play good cricket, we should win,” Dravid said in the run-up to the first Test beginning on Tuesday. “We have got to play good cricket, focus on ourselves and not worry about the opposition. It is very important from our point of view to win the Tests against Zimbabwe and win them well.”Dravid acknowledged the quality of Heath Streak and Tatenda Taibu in the opposition ranks but also admitted that they knew little about the rest of Zimbabwe team. “Streak and Taibu have been around for a while, they have got some experience. But, to be honest, we don’t know much about the other cricketers.”Dravid felt the pitches at Bulawayo and Harare would be similar to the track they played in Mutare – against the Board President’s XI – over the weekend. In that respect, he believed the three-day warm up game was a good work-out for his side. “The track was a good wicket to bat on and was a bit slow. It was a similar kind of wicket we might get in Tests as well.”It was a good three days from our point of view,” he continued. “Anil [Kumble] bowled a good spell. For people like Balaji who have not played for a while, it was good to have a go in these conditions. In the end it was a good work-out.”Dravid also said that he was concerned over the way he was out bowled out four times in the tri-series. “It happens. Sometimes you do get out in the same fashion. But it’s pretty unusual to get out in the same way. There were different ways of getting bowled, also a couple of inside edges and a couple of misses. I am not really concerned about it. I will keep on improving.”

ScorecardFive-wicket hauls from Martins Chris and Bruce, backed up by a strong batting performance from Matthew Sinclair and Peter Fulton took New Zealand A to a three-wicket win against Sri Lanka A at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy.Avishka Gunawardane won the toss, chose to bat, and led from the front with 75 as Sri Lanka A managed 284 in their first innings. The mediumpace of Chris Martin, who bowled 22 overs and scalped 5 for 74, broke the back of the Sri Lanka innings, with only Upul Tharanga managing to chip in with 51 in the middle order.Sri Lanka A then fought back hard, restricting New Zealand A to 233 despite 117 from from Sinclair. The wickets were spread about among the bowlers and Gayan Wijekoon, the left-arm mediumpacer, was the pick of the lot with 3 for 34.The two Martins then combined magnificently – Christ picked up 4 for 38 while Bruce, the left-arm spinner, managed 5 for 74 as Sri Lanka A were shot out for 211, leaving a target of 263. Despite a shaky start – New Zealand A were 9 for 2 at one stage – the target was overhauled, thanks mainly to 101 from Peter Fulton.

The former Australian captain Steve Waugh has warned England not to rest on its laurels, despite winning the Ashes last month. While he concedes England outplayed Australia in the summer, he added that for England to be considered a truly great team, they need to retain the urn when they resume battle next winter.Waugh had been playing with Australian golfer Nick O’Hern in the Dunhill Links Championship, and was joined by Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan, Paul Collingwood and Ian Botham. Commenting before flying home to Sydney, he told the newpaper that he didn’t “believe for a moment Australia are on the wane.””When you are in a two-way contest someone has to win and someone has to lose, and it’s just that England outplayed Australia,” he said. “It’s just that they [Australia] didn’t play as well as they [would have] liked and the next six months will be a real challenge to see how Australia copes following this recent series.”But I wouldn’t write Australia off just yet. And for England to judge itself as a great team they have to win both home and away against every side, and that is something England must set themselves the task to achieve.”At the moment they are pretty entitled to say they are, at least, close to being the No.1 cricketing nation, if not No.1.”Of course, both sides will be a lot different but if England do beat Australia on Australian soil then they will be entitled to say they have got one over Australia, but it will be a tough ask. They are entitled to gloat, as they have waited for so long to have their moment in the sun.”

Michael Vaughan will wait until the eve of the second Test at Faisalabad before deciding whether he is fit to play. “We will make a decision on Saturday,” said Vaughan. “But I don’t want to miss any more games and I am happy just to be in contention to play the Test.”If he does return, then it will represent a remarkable recovery; at the weekend it was being rumoured that he might have to fly home, so serious was the injury. “It’s surprising how things turn around,” he said. “Last week I thought the tour was over for me. I have worked very hard with the physio and rehab team to give myself a chance of playing again. I will train with the team tomorrow and do everything they do, probably more … I’m quite hopeful I’ll be available.”I guess there’s a slight risk if I do play but I’m willing to take that risk given the position of the series. Tomorrow I’ll do some turning and twisting and see how it comes through.”England’s overall poor display with the bat at Multan will increase the pressure on Vaughan to play, and if Marcus Trescothick is forced to return to England – a decision is expected before Saturday – then the situation becomes even more desperate.But should both Vaughan and stand-in captain Trescothick miss out, there seems to be some confusion as to who will lead the side. Some sources claim that Ashley Giles is on stand-by, others than Andrew Flintoff will be asked to take charge.

Arjuna Ranatunga, the legendary Sri Lankan captain, has resigned from the Sri Lankan board’s high-profile cricket committee following their team’s recent dismal performance in India.Ranatunga’s decision came three days after Sri Lanka’s tour of India, where they lost the three-Test series 2-0. They had also crashed to a 6-1 defeat to India in the preceding seven-match one-day series.Ranatunga was heading a committee which involved all past captains.”As a person who loves cricket in Sri Lanka I worked hard to execute my responsibility as the chairman of the committee,” Ranatunga wrote in a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). “It is regretful that the expected outcome was not there. Under these circumstances I am left with no alternative but to resign.”There were a few things that I wasn’t at all happy with during my association with SLC,” Ranatunga told AFP, “and I just waited till the team returned from India to hand over my resignation.”Although he didn’t outline details of what made him unhappy, it is believed that Ranatunga and his committee had differences of opinion with Jayantha Dharmadasa, the SLC Chairman. Ranatunga’s committee was responsible for appointing Tom Moody as coach of the national team in place of his compatriot John Dyson.

Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s most successful one-day opening batsman, is expected to be demoted to No. 7 when he returns to the side from a short holiday next week. The reports Trevor Hohns’ selection panel, which wants a stable combination before next year’s World Cup, has decided on the move after Gilchrist’s disappointing returns this summer.Gilchrist was slotted in at the top of the order on a Steve Waugh hunch in 1997-98 and since then he has blasted 7147 runs in 201 matches. However, he has struggled after the three Super Series games and scored only 24 runs in his past five matches, including a first-ball duck in Sunday’s loss to South Africa. However, Hohns said on Sydney radio he had no plans to shuffle Gilchrist down the line-up, and Ricky Ponting defended his team-mate.Brad Haddin will replace the resting Gilchirst when Australia face South Africa in Melbourne on Friday and Sri Lanka in Sydney on Sunday. The paper reported the selectors were keen to ease Gilchrist’s load and ensure stronger starts from the opening pair than during the VB and Chappell-Hadlee series. The candidates for Gilchrist’s opening spot alongside Simon Katich, who will miss Friday’s game against South Africa with a groin injury, include Michael Clarke, Damien Martyn and Michael Hussey. Martyn was given the first chance to cement a spot when he was named alongside Phil Jaques for the clash at the Telstra Dome.Another opener in need of runs is Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain who has not posted an international half-century on the tour. Smith, who was unlucky to be given out lbw for 3 in Tuesday’s loss to Sri Lanka, said it was important for the senior players to make contributions after the tour-ending injuries of Kallis, Nel and Ntini.”We’ve got a lot of young guys around and the guys who have been around for a little bit need to take a lot more weight on their shoulders,” he said in . “That includes me. It’s important for me to stand up and get performances.”