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Chaminda Vaas has denied claims from Asantha de Mel, Sri Lanka’s chief selector, that he had retired from Test cricket. “I have not made any such decision yet,” Vaas told Cricinfo. He also denied having spoken to de Mel or any other selector regarding his plans.Earlier today AFP reported de Mel as saying: “Chaminda has told me he does not want to play Test cricket anymore, but he will continue in the shorter formats.”The news comes a day after Sri Lanka’s new captain, Kumar Sangakkara, strongly suggested that Vaas – overlooked for the two Tests against Pakistan – would give up at least one form of the game. “I had a very good one-on-one chat with him [Vaas] before we went for the Twenty20 world Cup. There is no doubt about the quality of Vaas what he has done for Sri Lankan cricket,” Sangakkara had said in Galle.”He has still got a role to play in our side. We just have to decide which format of the game he is going to make the most most contribution in, and with his fitness and age how best can he divide his time if he decides to play more than one form of the game. But definitely, going forward, there is a World Cup. He is going to be a big part of our side.”Vaas, 35, has picked up 354 wickets in 110 Tests. He had previously said he had his sights set on the 2011 World Cup.

England’s senior spinner, Graeme Swann, has refused to be drawn into the hype surrounding the state of the wicket at Cardiff, the venue of the first Ashes Test in July, and believes that, far from producing a turning wicket to suit England’s requirements, the first priority of the groundstaff at the Swalec Stadium will be to prepare a wicket that lasts for the full five days.Just seven weeks prior to the Ashes opener, Cardiff’s pitch was rated “poor” and its county, Glamorgan, docked two points for next season’s Friends Provident Trophy following the spin-dominated contest against Essex earlier this month.An ECB Pitch Panel comprising Mike Denness and Tony Pigott interviewed the umpires, captains and coaches, and confirmed that the wicket used for the Friends Provident match on May 12 “demonstrated excessive turn and should therefore be rated ‘poor’.” After bowling first in the match, Essex at one stage reduced Glamorgan to 57 for 7 before a partial recovery to 124 all out, with the Pakistani legspinner Danish Kaneria claiming 4 for 16 in ten overs.”I’m sure they’ll be desperate for the game to go five days down there, so I’m sure there’ll be more preparation going into the Test wicket than any other,” Swann told Cricinfo. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not a spinner’s wicket, but obviously I’m quite intrigued that spin could play a rather large part of the summer, because as a spin bowler myself I want to play as big a part as possible.”Tim Nielsen, the Australian coach, admitted he had been monitoring the pitch situation in Cardiff and predicts England will play to its strengths and prepare turning pitches this summer. He did not, however, believe the issues surrounding the troubled first Test strip amount to doctoring, and was confident the surface would improve by the time of the first Test.”It will be interesting to see how it comes up,” Nielsen told Cricinfo. “I think it’s just a matter of trying to get a new wicket up – you wouldn’t have thought they’d want to get themselves docked points in their competition.”Whenever you go to someone else’s country you wait and see what they prepare. Generally, England are renowned for making good, fair cricket wickets, but if they feel two spinners in the way to go for them, then I’m sure they’ll have a long think about what kind of wickets they put up. That’s fine. We expect hard and bouncy wickets when we go to Perth and Brisbane, so there is no difference.”Nonetheless, the ECB panel’s verdict heaps extra pressure onto the Glamorgan administration, who were controversially awarded the opening Test of the Ashes after winning over the ECB with a staging-rights bid of £3 million, backed by the Welsh Assembly.The refurbished venue has staged just one international match since securing the Ashes Test – England’s final ODI against South Africa in September 2008, which was abandoned after three overs because of poor drainage.Though the outfield has since been relaid, the pressure has scarcely let up on Glamorgan since then. The chief executive, Mike Fatkin, and the head groundsman, Len Smith, both left their posts in the aftermath of the South Africa match, leading the chairman, Paul Russell, to describe the county as “a pretty dysfunctional family.”England’s players and pundits have long been unimpressed with the decision to hand Cardiff an Ashes Test ahead of more popular venues such as Old Trafford and Trent Bridge. Earlier this week, Shane Warne joined the chorus by telling Sky Sports that it was a “disgrace” to take the opening fixture away from the game’s most traditional venue, Lord’s.Privately, however, the England think-tank will be delighted that the venue for the first Test is shaping up as a turning wicket. Since the retirement of Warne and Stuart MacGill, Australia have struggled to find a Test-class spinner, while England have hit upon two in Swann and Monty Panesar. On this evidence, both men can expect to be named in the first-Test squad.Glamorgan’s director of cricket, Matthew Maynard, indicated he would consider appealing the ECB’s decision, and predicted few problems for the Test strip.”Obviously we haven’t played on the Test wicket at all but the ground looks an absolute picture, the pitch looks fantastic and I’m sure (groundsman) Keith (Exton) will get the Ashes strip just right,” Maynard told the Guardian. “He’s a very experienced groundsman and he knows exactly what he is doing.”

Ricky Ponting flies to England on Wednesday as one of Australia’s mostaccomplished Test and one-day players, but his reputation in the Twenty20 set-upis less certain. While Ponting is about to join previous heroes such asSteve Waugh, Allan Border and Don Bradman as players to have gone on fourAshes tours, his high standing as a modern batting master does not guaranteesuccess in the game’s shortest form.Australia are carrying a relatively old, yet inexperienced, team to theWorld Twenty20 and when Ponting leads his men against West Indies on June 6he will be playing only his 16th international. Often whenthis sort of engagement arrives Ponting takes a rest and his wild talentsare much better suited to the longer styles. Seeing him attempt slogs soearly in an innings is unfair on his style, although he is not a tortoise,scoring his 376 career runs at a strike-rate of 131.Even Ponting, an undoubted great in the other environments, struggles whenrating his performance in the freshest genre. “Batting where I do in the toporder of Twenty20 cricket, it can sometimes be a bit difficult,” he saidduring the team’s pre-tour camp on the Sunshine Coast. “Obviously theearlier you get in the better chance you’ve got of making a big score butyou’re expected to play in a certain way. Top-order batsmen are always goingto have their ups and downs in that sort of game.”Ponting has not passed 38 in his previous four Twenty20 matches and knowshis record. “The past couple of games I’ve played have been very poor,” hesaid. “In the two games in South Africa I made 1 in each. It’s not greatform going into a World Cup.”Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist showed in the IPL that age was no barrierin 40-over affairs and while Ponting is only 34, it’s possible that he will notbe embracing all three formats when the next Twenty20 World Cup is held in2010. Australia’s selectors have grown used to chopping older players fromthe one-day side if they are not going to be around for the next globaltournament, but Ponting would not be drawn on when he would shave Twenty20from his schedule.He rejoined the Australia squad on Sunday after missing the series againstPakistan to rest and is fresh and excited ahead of the five-month trip toEngland. The World Twenty20 acts as a two-week warm-up for the Ashes inJuly, when Ponting will walk out hoping his developing Test squad can retainthe urn after a side full of established personnel dominated England in2006-07.Ponting, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich and Brett Lee are only men in thecurrent set-up who have played a Test in England and there is a strongdesire to prepare the younger team members for the experience. “I’membarking on my fourth Ashes tour, so I’ve been around the block,” Pontingsaid. “It will be important to me to get to the younger guys to talk aboutwhat to expect when we arrive.”The first stages of the preparation started on Sunday when most of theTwenty20 squad members, who depart on Wednesday, and national contractholders arrived in Coolum. There are a few missing faces with Andrew Symondsand Cameron White still in South Africa after their IPL commitments whileMichael Hussey joined his team-mates on Monday night. Hussey crossed theIndian Ocean twice in the past week after making himself available forChennai’s semi-final, but he was not considered good enough to be picked andreturned home.Shane Watson, who must prove his fitness from a groin injury over the nextmonth to make the Ashes tour, had a light work on Monday and Ponting said heshould be available to bowl during the Twenty20 tournament. However, Pontingsaid what happened over the next month would not guarantee spots for theAshes. “I don’t think you can take much out of Twenty20 form ahead of Testmatches,” he said. “We’ve got two tour games and that will be the bestchance to get a look at the guys who will play in the Tests. We’ll startthinking of the Ashes make-up in the tour games.”

Gautam Gambhir and India women’s captain Jhulan Goswami have been recommended by the BCCI for the Arjuna Award, India’s highest civilian honour for sportsmen.Gambhir has been in prolific form since the start of 2008, scoring 1579 Test runs at an average of 75.19. His most notable performance was his match-saving 137 against New Zealand in Napier, where India batted out close to two days after following on to retain a 1-0 lead in the series, which they eventually won. He’s also been one of India’s best perfomers in the ODI format, scoring 1494 runs at 46.38 in the same duration.Goswami replaced Mithali Raj as captain for India’s tour of Australia in October 2008, and subsequently led the team to third place in the World Cup. Goswami, one of the fastest bowlers in the game, is currently the third-highest wicket taker in women’s ODIs, and was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Year in 2007.

It is more than three years since Phil Simmons was replaced as Zimbabwe coach, but he still remains in dispute with them over monies he claims are outstanding.Simmons, who agreed a three-year deal with Zimbabwe Cricket in August 2004, was removed a year later and replaced by Kevin Curran in almost farcical circumstances. It was widely believed at the time that the decision was because Simmons refused to do as senior board members wanted.From the outset, Simmons maintained he had been unfairly dismissed, and he has been wary of discussing the situation with the media for fear of prejudicing his case. Privately, he is said to be livid at the way he was in effect sacked and the fact that he has not been compensated in any way. Curran’s appointment was not welcomed by most players, and soon after Simmons’ removal 30 of them presented a petition to ZC demanding his reinstatement.It is reported that last month Simmons’ London lawyers wrote to ZC and that a sum of around $400,000 has been claimed from it which represents full payment of the remaining two years of his contract.It has also emerged that the contract is governed by English law and so could be pursued through courts in London. If it reaches that stage, then ZC would have to defend the case there, and it is expected that Simmons’ lawyers would ask for the production of many sensitive documents.If ZC were to lose the case, then although London courts have no immediate jurisdiction over it, Simmons’ lawyers would probably seek to enforce the decision through the ICC.

Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has said the indefinite postponement of Pakistan’s tour to the country, originally scheduled for early March, could affect his team’s chances at this year’s World Twenty20 to be held in England in June.”We’ve got no real cricket until then, which is a bit of a concern for us,” Siddons told .The Bangladesh government halted all visits by foreign teams to the country as it could not guarantee them full security. The decision was taken in the aftermath of an armed mutiny by rank-and-file border guards against their superiors in Dhaka on February 25 and 26. At least 56 senior army officers were killed in the 33-hour revolt.Pakistan were scheduled to play two Twenty20 matches and five ODIs from March 10-22 but the BCB announced its decision to postpone the tour immediately after the attacks in Lahore, when the Sri Lankan team was fired upon. However, the BCB did not explain the reason for the decision at the time.Siddons, though, was hopeful of the tour being rescheduled around October or November pending an improvement in the security situation. “We’ve got a small gap in our schedule in October and Pakistan have a gap around then too so we may be able to figure something out,” he said. “We are all disappointed. The situation all over the place is not great but I am sure cricket is going to survive.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Michael Clarke’s 98 could not stop his unthinkable series loss from coming a step closer after Grant Elliott kept a cool head to complete a six-wicket victory for New Zealand, who were solid without being spectacular. Despite making hard work of a less than imposing chase of 226, New Zealand got home with seven balls to spare to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.On a day when the glitzy IPL auction caught the attention of much of the cricketing world, Australia and New Zealand combined to produce a distinctly unglamorous match that was hardly the best advertisement for the 50-over format. It was a throwback to the 1980s, when 220 was considered a good target and top-order men like Geoff Marsh and John Wright were commended for compiling 50 off 90 balls.The lack of prettiness did not worry New Zealand, who gave their countrymen another reason to celebrate Waitangi Day when Elliott brought up the win with a pull for four off Ben Hilfenhaus. He finished unbeaten on 61 from 75 balls, which was his highest ODI score, and he was the only New Zealand batsmen who looked like truly imposing himself on the match. But as a group they did enough to outshine Australia, who had relied entirely on Clarke and Michael Hussey to post 5 for 225.It continued Australia’s strange trend of losing the next match after the Allan Border Medal ceremony. Not since 2004-05 have they followed the awards night with a win, which is hardly surprising for an event that should really be a season-ending party. In the field Australia were sloppy and with the bat uninspired.Hussey and Clarke both put down chances – Clarke’s a very tough one – an easy run-out opportunity was missed and there were fumbles and overthrows that must have left the fielding coach Mike Young shaking his head. The middling target meant New Zealand’s batsmen didn’t quite know how aggressive to be – Brendon McCullum’s 43 from 75 balls gave them a base but he was uncharacteristically quiet.Ross Taylor’s 47 featured three fours and when he edged behind late in the chase it gave Australia a sniff. But Elliott was superbly calm and his second ODI half-century, along with some excellent support from Neil Broom, ensured that New Zealand did not let the required run-rate balloon beyond control.The result was terrific for a New Zealand side that enjoys chasing and made the most of the chance to send Australia in. Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori were the most economical of the bowlers and Iain O’Brien chipped in with the two important wickets of Clarke and Hussey. Importantly, the visitors were sharp in the field.Vettori’s direct hit from mid-off ended the innings of David Hussey (10), who had been promoted to No. 4, and it was one of several alterations to Australia’s order. Without the injured Shaun Marsh and the resting Ricky Ponting, they promoted Brad Haddin to No. 3 and after walking to the crease to a mixture of cheers and jeers after the Perth controversy, Haddin departed for 12 when he flashed outside off stump against Tim Southee and was caught behind.The only change that did work for Australia was the decision to open with Clarke. After David Warner went early, skying an attempted slog off Mills, Clarke took a cautious approach, conscious of the way the middle order had struggled throughout the summer. He and Michael Hussey combined for a 133-run fifth-wicket stand that steadied Australia but their lack of urgency was a concern.When they did try to lift the rate in the late overs, O’Brien removed them both and added to the hurt by striking Clarke on the toe with a painful yorker. Two balls later Clarke was bowled for a 133-ball 98 that showed he was not distracted by stories about his dressing-room scuffle with Simon Katich.He waited for bad balls to dispatch his seven boundaries, which included a classy pull off Southee and a few flicks off his pads. Mostly Clarke knocked the ball around into gaps and he picked up 48 singles, running well with Hussey. But the tight bowling meant the pair could not dominate with the bat and when they took the batting Powerplay from the 35th over it brought them only 33 runs.Hussey’s 75 from 94 balls featured four fours and it was a typically careful affair that highlighted his importance in a young side. But in a team missing its captain and best batsman, the efforts of the two remaining leaders were simply not enough to keep Clarke’s unbeaten record as Australian captain alive. They head into Sunday’s match in Sydney again without Ponting and in serious danger of handing back the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.

Tim Ambrose has the chance to resume his Test career in Barbados on Thursday after Matt Prior left the tour following the birth of his first child. It means England will now have to make at least two changes to the team after Andrew Flintoff was ruled out with his hip injury.”Like anyone who has had a taste and has been left out you are always keen to get back in,” Ambrose said. “You work on the areas that you feel that you needed to improve on and that’s what I’ve been doing during the time out. At my age, and this stage of my career, I think there is unfinished business and I’d like to try and push on with that.”Prior received news of the birth in the early hours of Monday morning and will fly out on Monday evening. It had been a long-standing arrangement that he would leave the tour at some stage, but the original plan was that he would head home on March 2 and miss the final Test. “This is a special set of circumstances,” Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, said. “Matt is well aware of the situation we are in out here but we have provision for paternity leave and he is within his rights to take that.”He isn’t the first England player to leave a tour in such circumstances. The current captain, Andrew Strauss, missed the final Test against Pakistan, in Lahore, in 2005-06 to be at the birth of his first child. Prior is now due back in time for the Trinidad game, so this could be a one-off chance for Ambrose although, if he makes runs and holds his catches, the selectors will be faced with a tricky decision and Prior runs the risk of losing his place.Stephen Davies, the Worcestershire wicketkeeper, will now join the tour from the Lions in New Zealand. He is part of the one-day squad and had been due to cover for Prior’s absence, but will now arrive on Wednesday evening.Ambrose made 74 on the opening day against a Barbados Cricket Association President’s XI on Sunday, so at least he has some form behind him going into the crucial match. “To know from the start has given me an incentive to work hard and keep myself prepared,” he said. “It’s a week earlier, but yesterday and today have gone pretty well so I feel ready.”I was looking forward to some time in the middle because it has been a little while. It was good to spend a few hours out there to get used to the conditions and it’s useful that it’s only a few days away from the game.”It’s hopefully a chance to win a game for England and a chance for me to contribute. I’m excited, I’ve waited a while for another go so am looking forward to it. I feel pretty ready for the week coming up.”Ambrose scored 102 in his second Test, against New Zealand at Wellington, and it turned into a series-turning performance as England came from 1-0 down to take the contest. It is a position they find themselves in once again after the nail-biting draw at the ARG. This will be Ambrose’s first Test since he was dropped following the South Africa Test series in August in which he failed to pass 36 in four matches.”I was fairly pleased with my performances but I would have liked to have contributed more during the South Africa series,” Ambrose said. “We were all very keen to try and come out on top in that one and it was very disappointing not to. I went back to Warwickshire, worked hard and was pleased with my performances. I got on the winter tours which was my aim.”In the second Test of the South Africa series, at Headingley, he batted at No. 6 and looked out of his depth as England were crushed by 10 wickets, but he said he’d be willing to take on any role for the team. “Just to get in the XI for England is a privilege so whatever they ask me to do I’ll give it everything I have.”

Papua New Guinea won their third match in a row, defeating Uganda by 26 runs at Belgrano.Uganda, having chosen to field, did well to dismiss PNG for 165 inside 50 overs but failed in their chase of a small total. Kenneth Kamyuka struck with the new ball and then at the death to pick up 3 for 21 and each of the other bowlers also struck in an efficient display in the field. Peter Moide made an unbeaten 43 from 83 balls, the highest score of a disappointing innings, and with Mahuru Dai (27) helped lift the innings from 75 for 5.In reply, Uganda lost an early wicket at 9 and proceeded to fumble. From 67 for 3 they slipped to 85 for 7, with Jamie Brazier, the offspinner, netting economic figures of 10-4-16-4. Kamyuka’s unbeaten 34 down the order was the best of Uganda’s innings, and they were bowled out for 139 in the 43rd over.Martin Gleeson, PNG’s coach, was delighted that his side had managed to secure a surprise win. “It was a great result for us. There is still a bit of work to do and there is some room for improvement, but we have got the bowling right,” he said. “We are very disciplined and we have worked very hard on our bowling. We have good variety, with pace, spin and some medium-pace and have worked on getting the right line and length.”PNG continue to lead the points table.Afghanistan picked up their second win after pipping Argentina by 19 runs at the Hurlingham Club Ground. Electing to bat, Afghanistan had been put under early pressure by Argentina’s bowlers and the opener Ahmad Shah’s 44 was the highest score out of 164. It was the third consecutive time in this tournament that Afghanistan failed to bat out the full 50 overs. For Argentina, their player-coach Hamish Barton was in outstanding form, taking 3 for 12 off his 10 overs, including four consecutive maidens.Barton, who later opened the innings, made 33 before a dramatic collapse at the hands of the spinners Ahmad Shah (2 for 21) and Mohammad Nabi (2 for 24). Argentina were bowled out 145 in the 47th over.The Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan praised a “true Afghan spirit” after the dramatic win. “The best thing about our team is that they are fighting back when the game seems to be slipping out of our hands,” said Kabir. “They never give up, they just keep on fighting.”Anybody can beat anybody else in this tournament and that is why it is still wide open and we need to work hard to get our place in the final two,” said Kabir. “If we can beat PNG it will gave us the confidence to go into the game against the tournament’s weakest team but the Cayman Islands have done really well in the last few years and you never know what they are going to do against us.”At St Albans Club, Hong Kong handed Cayman Islands its third straight defeat to keep Tabarak Dar’s dream of ICC Cricket World Cup qualification alive. Manoj Cheruparambil’s 85 helped Hong Kong to 210 in 46.3 overs, with good support from fellow opener Roy Lamsam (60), and in a regular flurry of wickets Cayman Islands were dismissed for 161. Zain Abbas (4 for 28) was the pick of the bowlers.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful has said his batsmen are aware of the threat from Muttiah Muralitharan and he was confident they could face up to the challenge in the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka which gets underway in Dhaka on Friday.”A few players have no experience of playing against Muttiah Muralitharan, but most of our players can read his , though Sri Lanka have a good pace and spin attack,” said Ashraful. “We hope we will deal with their bowlers successfully and play good cricket.”Bangladesh have not won a Test this year – losing seven and drawing a rain-affected game. They have only played Tests against South Africa and New Zealand in 2008, both home and away, and would be keen to cap off a disappointing year on a high.”Looking back at the last two home series, we played better against New Zealand and South Africa, and this time we hope to offer good cricket against Sri Lanka,” said Ashraful.Though he admitted to the lean patch he was going through, in terms of runs, he was confident it would not affect his captaincy and that he would still lead Bangladesh on the tour of West Indies in June.”Why not? I just need to start scoring and performing and things will be alright,” he said. “I am receiving great support from the players and the team management and it will be nice to get support from other areas also. I know that I have not scored runs in Tests for a while but my record against Sri Lanka gives me encouragement and confidence that I can do it again.”Coach Jamie Siddons was also concerned about the run drought from the captain but believed he could shake it off. “I think time will tell, but as I have been saying, Ash [Mohammad Ashraful] has been preparing as well as anyone and hits the ball well in the nets,” he said. “So it just a matter of going out there and relaxing with the right frame of mind and playing the shots and using the skills he is developing.”His defense is a lot better now. He just needs to use them in the right time. He can play all the shots in the book, but when he plays them, he sometimes falls into trouble. It’s time for him to be consistent and he knows that. I don’t believe in what had happened in the past. I believe in what will happen. He still needs to score like every other batsman tomorrow. There are four or five other batsmen batting in front of him and they need to score too.”Siddons also rallied the other players and believed it was about time they came good. “We played the best two teams in the world in three series in the last six months and now we have a team that I think we should be able to compete pretty well,” he said. “There is no excuse. We are still young and developing side, but I think its time for the players to step up.”

“It’s time for [Mohammad] Ashraful, Shakib [Al Hasan], Mehrab [Hossain jnr] … these guys to start to making big runs and give the bowlers something to bowl at. I am looking forward to that. That’s the Christmas present I want and that’s what I expect. Hopefully they can deliver.”Siddons said Sri Lankan bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake had been a big help and was pleased with the way the bowlers had been preparing under his supervision. However, he pointed out, the onus still lay on the players themselves.”We get more feedback from Champaka,” he said. “He helps us a lot in our preparation and he has been working with all the bowlers and captain to come up with a game plan. But at the end of the day it’s Shahadat [Hossain], Mashrafee [Mortaza] and Robin [Mahbubul Alam] to hit the stumps, using their skills to the best of their abilities and hitting the right areas.”Though Siddons was unsure about the playing eleven he said Enamul Haque jnr was likely to be the twelfth man. But whether Bangladesh take the field with three seamers along with Shakib Al Hasan as the lone specialist spinner remains to be seen.The second Test will be played in Chittagong on January 3.