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Sachin Tendulkar has failed a fitness test and is ruled out of the NatWest Challenge, the three-match one-day series against England, beginning on September 1, the Press Trust of India reported. However, there is still a chance of him playing in the Champions Trophy which starts on September 10.Tendulkar was unable to play a single match in the Videocon Cup in Holland because of a tennis elbow on the left arm. Another fitness test will be done on September 5, after the NatWest Challenge, and his condition reassessed.There had been speculation about Dinesh Mongia, who is is currently with Lancashire, might be drafted into the team if Tendulkar failed the fitness test, but Gautam Dasgupta, the manager of the Indian team, said that there was no replacement sought.Dasgupta confirmed that Ajit Agarkar had recovered completely from the side-strain injury that he sustained during the Videocon Cup. “He has no injury problem.”

Giles White’s last-man heroics saved the Hampshire Academy from defeat against Southern Electric Premier League rivals South Wilts at Lower Bemerton.All appeared lost when White emerged from the pavilion with the Academy reeling at 114-9, in response to South Wilts’ total of 236-9 after 66 overs.But, for the second consecutive match, White – who struck an unbeaten 68 in the previous week’s five-wicket defeat by Bashley (Rydal) – showed the Young Hawks how to do it and hit a draw-clinching 67 not out.White’s undefeated last wicket stand with James Manning, who made 9, lifted the Academy from 114-9 to 193-9 … and an improbable draw.Army pace bowler Alex Senneck (4-66) and Australian Jim Seeary (3-48) had the Academy reeling at 58-6 before Ian Hilsum (37) added some substance to the total.But it was left to White, the former county opener, and Manning to battle it out for a draw."We went from trying to win the game to just trying to save it in the course of 25 overs," commented Academy coach Tony Middleton. "It must have made it tactically fascinating for those watching."The South Wilts total had been based around top order contributions from Paul Draper (34) and Tim Lamb (47), who provided valuable support for Jamie Glasson (74) to notch his top score of the season.Matt Metcalfe (4-54) got amongst the lower-order as South Wilts lost wickets in the search for quick runs towards the end of their innings.Portsmouth are wobbling on the fringe of the relegation zone after a thumping 102-run defeat by Liphook & Ripsley at Ripsley Park.Durham University left-arm paceman Glen Read (4-24) and South African spinner Alistair Gray (4-19) did the damage as Portsmouth plunged from 35-1 to 72 all out in 28.3 overs.Liphook’s 174-8 (Peter Hayward 5-59) was built around a half-century start from Gray (28) and Russell Barnes (28), complimented by skipper Jez Bulled (31).

Pitch liaison officer Peter Walker left before the end of an extraordinary day at the Rose Bowl convinced that the pitch had nothing to do with 17 wickets falling in a day for only 200 runs.Walker cited swing and seam and overcast conditions plus some indeterminate batting for the fact that the batting of both sides collapsed at will.At the close of the first day it was Hampshire who were marginally the better off at 99 for seven in their first innings in reply to Middlesex’s 101 but their own position was hardly healthy.Middlesex captain Angus Fraser must have wondered what he had done after winning the toss and choosing to bat first.Take away Andrew Strauss’s brave and correct 56 and the rest of the batting offered no resistence, six batsmen failed to get beyond two runs and Stephen Fleming #’s 14 made him second top scorer.Opener Strauss batted for 49 laborious overs and three hours 20 minutes but without him Middlesex would have been in an even worse state.Dimitri Mascarenhas took full advantage of the conditions to record a career-best six for 26 after Alex Morris had taken two wickets in his first three overs to undermine the Middlesex batting.Hampshire found batting no easier when it was their turn, losing their seven wickets for 63 before Adrian Aymes and Shaun Udal began a partial recovery.As if to atone for his earlier decision, Fraser bowled 22 overs in succession for his three for 34 and then Chad Keegan, making the most of the openings made for him by Fraser, struck in the middle order to finish the day with three for 34.Aymes, who survived a strong appeal for a catch at the wicket off Fraser, was 22 not out at the delayed close as Udal unbeaten with 17 as Hampshire inched towards a first innings lead.

Following Australia’s 3-1 Ashes defeat to England in 2010-11, then chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch unwittingly heaped further ridicule on his panel by stating he felt they had done a “very good job” that series.There were no such prevarications from Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann this time around, as he weighed up the implications of an identical margin with one Test of this series to play. Asked how much responsibility he and the selection chairman Rod Marsh took for the team’s predicament, Lehmann was blunt.”A lot,” he said. “As a coach and selectors we’ve got things wrong at certain times, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve got to own up like players have to and everyone else that our performances weren’t good enough, full stop. We’ve got to work on how we’re going to move forward.

Darren Lehmann on…

• Too much aggression overseas: “I think England played good, aggressive cricket this series to be perfectly honest. We just didn’t adapt well to have times to play aggressive cricket to stay in long enough to be able to get the bowlers into their third or fourth spells and be able to play aggressively then.”

• Steve Smith’s shot selection in Nottingham: “I think Steven would admit himself that he probably let himself down in shot selection. He knew what England were going to do, and that’s a learning curve for everyone. Everyone’s learning, coaches, players, and it’s all about getting better.”

• Depth coming through: “We’ve got some good depth, we’ve just got to stick with them. We’ve got to pick and stick a little bit now and make sure we’ve got the right formula for different tournaments, different formats and making sure we’re not just discarding players really quickly. If we pick young guys we just have to stick with them a bit and ride the wave.”

• Chris Rogers and Adam Voges: “They’ve played well. Adam’s struggled but played really well here which is pleasing for him. So we just need to sit down and think about that, how we want to go about it and what we think the best future for Australian cricket is. There are going to be tough calls somewhere, we’re not afraid to make the tough call.”

• More county cricket for Australian players: “I think it was a great experience for me. It’s very hard in the schedule now to fit that in for bowlers. That’s probably the hardest thing, and that’s something we have to look at as a whole cricketing body how much cricket’s being played. That’s a different discussion point.”

“For us it’s about working out what our best line-up is in different conditions and making sure we’ve got players who can adapt between spinning wickets and seaming and swinging wickets and making sure they can cover both formats really well. We’ve got a bit of thinking to do and reviewing what went wrong. So it’s about getting batsmen who can bat long periods of time and bowlers who can put pressure on, day in and day out.”Specifically, Lehmann admitted the selectors should not have abandoned their long-held policy of employing an allrounder in Test matches. Mitchell Marsh was dropped for his brother Shaun, unbalancing the bowling attack – Mitchell Starc was left to bowl an 11-over spell at one point – while the extra batsman made no difference at all to a ghastly first innings 60 and an ineffectual 253 in the second.”I spoke to Rodney this morning and we wanted the extra batter and spoke to the captain about it in this particular game, but we’ve always wanted five bowlers, so we probably got that selection wrong,” he said. “Happy to admit when we’re wrong, you don’t get everything right, and that’s a good learning curve for us.”We’re really strong on having five bowlers and we didn’t do that this game. In the end it didn’t matter, we only bowled once and we didn’t bat well enough, so that’s a learning curve for us. We’ll look at all areas where we can improve. That’s just what you do after series like this and try and move forward. We’ve had some really good results, this obviously not being one of them.”Lehmann also raised a query about the fact the selectors were left to choose a single squad for dual tours of the West Indies and England. The first trip provided a vastly different set of conditions and challenges to the other, even down to the fact the Caribbean matches were played with a different version of the Dukes ball. Lehmann and Marsh were left to drop Shane Watson and Brad Haddin after one Test in England, making their selections look near enough to redundant.”We’ve had that discussion as a selection panel and that was a tough one for us,” Lehmann said. “End of the day we were guided a bit by above and how we wanted to move around from West Indies to England. But if we had our time again we’d probably prefer to pick different squads at different times.”Logistics and other things come into it that are way above my head. But if we had our time again we’d probably like to pick separate squads and then see what comes from the West Indies tour leading into an England tour.”The team’s capacity to learn, both from matches in the past and also mistakes earlier in this series, was highly questionable at times. Lehmann actually reckoned the Australian Test side of 2013 had performed better than this one, a poor reflection on his own work and that of his support staff including the assistant coach Craig McDermott, batting coach Michael Di Venuto and fielding coach Greg Blewett.”Fair to say that. I think we played better [in England] in 2013 to be perfectly honest and that’s probably answers your question. We certainly didn’t cope with the swinging or seaming ball in the last two Test matches well enough and that’s something we have to get better at. Our preparation was fine, I can’t complain about the work ethic from the lads either. We got out-skilled by a very good cricket team in England.”With a new leadership axis about to form between Lehmann and Steven Smith, the coach agreed he faced a challenge to keep his own methods fresh in a role he has now had for more than two years – his longest coaching stint at any single team. Smith’s elevation to the job will provide a sea change of sorts, but Lehmann will also have to find new ways to thrive, provided he decides to stay on.”For me it’ll be how we develop as a side now,” Lehmann said. “And the transition of players that’s probably going to happen. So for us it’s about making sure we pick the right players with the right way we want to go about things. And look they’re fantastic, but if you’re going to have that transition of older players and new players and that’s going to be an exciting challenge not only on me as a coach but also the coaching staff and players adapting to different places.”I’m actually looking forward to the last Test. I think it’s going to be a great last Test match, and very enjoyable for England. But we’ve got to try to get a result there for us. And then you’ve got the one-dayers, the one-day guys coming in which will keep us fresh as well. You’ll have new players. That does keep you fresh and excited. You’re on the road a long time, no doubt about that, but I’m still a cricket nuffy and love watching cricket. Don’t like watching 60, though.”

Malinga T20 captain, Mathews vice-captain, Chandimal third in line

Lasith Malinga, if fit, will captain Sri Lanka at the World T20, Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed. SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala: “Angelo Mathews will be the vice-captain and Dinesh Chandimal his deputy. “These three players have been given the responsibility to work together and build the national team. They have a colossal amount of experience and ability to build the team.”
Malinga, who will miss the upcoming T20s in India as he recuperates from a knee injury, will lead in the Asia Cup as well if he regains fitness in time. Chandimal will captain in India in his absence.

Sri Lanka’s new coach, Graham Ford, who is set to begin his second stint with the team, has cautioned against expecting quick fixes. The team, he said, is in transition, so he expects the job to be challenging.”Sri Lanka is in the early part of a rebuilding phase, so don’t expect any quick fixes,” Ford said on arrival in Sri Lanka. “I am very aware what a huge challenge it is. A lot of hard work needs to be done. It’s very important that this team building is done on a very solid foundation, so patience is required.”I know there is an abundance of talent within the system, but it is about identifying those who have got the mental toughness to go on and become consistent players and match-winners at international level.”Jerome Jayaratne, Sri Lanka Cricket’s head of coaching, who took charge of the team on a temporary basis when Marvan Atapattu resigned as coach in Sri Lanka, is expected to be appointed full-time assistant coach. Ford said it was important to draw on his experience, and for the entire Sri Lankan cricket set-up to work together.”It’s quite a long process which is required. A lot of hard work, not just for me but all involved, particularly Jerome who has been involved in Sri Lanka cricket for a long time, knows the players so well and has a wealth of knowledge technically and tactically.”It’s important to have his input, and also to have the selectors and the board all working together to ensure the long-term process can take place so that we can take Sri Lanka back to the top of the international stage.”Jayaratne also expected to play the role of team manager, a position previously held by Jeryl Woutersz.Ford’s first assignment is the three-match T20 international series in India, which he said would be a tough beginning but one he could use to find out how good the team is at present.SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said Ford was one of 12 coaches his board interviewed for the post, and he was confident they had made the right choice. “We have secured the services of one of the best coaches in the world,” Sumathipala said. “We have appointed him for 45 months [from February 1] so that he covers the 2019 World Cup in England, where he has first-hand knowledge of the conditions having coached the counties.”Sumathipala also thanked Kumar Sangakkara for playing a pivotal role in securing the services of Ford from English county Surrey, which Sangakkara represents.

ScorecardSussex chipped away at Sri Lanka A’s first innings score of 225 on the second drizzly day at Hove, with Richard Montgomerie notching a solid 52.Resuming on 39, Montgomerie bought up his fifty but shortly after was trapped leg-before by Gayan Wijekoon, the left-armer, who was economical during his 11 overs in conceding 25 runs.Michael Yardy was still there, however, nudging and chivvying Sussex past 150 while sharing in a useful third-wicket stand of 50 with Luke Wright. While Yardy was distinctly pedestrian in his anchor-like 46, Wright took the aggressive route and clobbered five fours in his 36 before Kaushal Lokuarachchi trapped him lbw.Lokuarachchi, the 25-year-old legspinner, then removed Michael Thornley shortly before the rain curtailed the day’s play. With more rain forecast, and the match entering its third and final day tomorrow, there seems little chance of a result.

Jacques Kallis has promised his side will show no mercy to Zimbabwe in their forthcoming three-match ODI series, due to begin at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein on Friday.Kallis, standing in for Graeme Smith as captain, said his side will play as hard against Zimbabwe as they would against Australia as South Africa begin a season that will culminate with the World Cup in the West Indies next April.Kallis was quoted on a South African website as saying that the series would be ideal for a group of players, including himself, who have been out of action for a while. “This series is especially valuable for the players who have not been in action for a while. This is a good way for them to get back into things.”Kallis, who returns to international cricket after missing the tour to Sri Lanka with an elbow injury, confirmed that everything the Proteas do from now on would be with the World Cup tournament firmly in mind. Kallis has also had a bout of flu and was one of three players who did not participate in the team’s fitness tests at the University of the Free State on Wednesday.Kallis said he had just about shaken off a cold and that the elbow injury that had kept him out of the game was not troubling him much any more. “I have hit a few balls that were thrown to me. The high-intensity net practices during the next few days will be the real test. I believe I’ll be ready.”Mickey Arthur, South Africa coach, said the series would be useful for the Champions Trophy. “I expect Zimbabwe to be very competitive, but we are going to focus on our own performance. One could use these fixtures as practice matches, but we would rather ensure that our combinations and match-plans are in place for India.”South Africa will also play the Lions and the Titans after the three outings against Zimbabwe and then three matches in Indian before their first match of the tournament on October 15, against New Zealand. “We are going to play these two matches according to international one-day rules. They are part of the training camp in Pretoria before we leave for India.”One can practise in the nets as much as you want to, but it’s not the same as out in the middle. I want the lads to train with consequences. If you play the ball down someone’s throat in the nets, you continue batting. If you do so in a match situation, you have to go and take a shower. I want the players to train under pressure.”Shaun Pollock, with a sore calf, and AB de Villiers missed the fitness tests. Pollock was injured in a Twenty20 match while De Villiers has a minor foot injury. Smith, meanwhile is still recovering from ankle surgery and trained away from the rest of the team, watched by the team’s physiotherapist, Shane Jabaar.

The four sports channels – ESPN-Star, Zee, Sony and Prasar Bharti – have submitted their bids to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for four-year telecast rights of international and domestic matches in India. According to the , Ten Sports, the Dubai-based channel, has withdrawn from the telecast race. The board has fixed the floor price at US$2.14 million for each day of cricket.The bids will be submitted to the marketing committee of the board, who will examine them in a two-stage process. “The marketing committee will study the technical tender and only the bids of those who qualify will be opened,” Ratnakar Shetty, the executive secretary of the BCCI, said to NDTV. “There are some qualifications in the tender form itself which have been mentioned. And all the parties are aware of what the qualifications are.”With the board having included a three-year experience clause in the tender, it remains to be seen whether Zee will be considered eligible for the contract. However, Ashish Kaul, the senior vice-president of Zee Telefilms, had other ideas about Zee’s eligibility. “… that is why we went to the court in the first place,” he said, “because we do not believe that in a fair and a just bidding process such hurdles should be placed.”The telecast rights were fought over in court last year when Zee, who had initially won them, filed a case against the board’s decision to cancel the tender process in the Supreme Court. The appeal was, however, dismissed by the court after a protracted court battle.

The ICC has given Zimbabwe’s rebel cricketers until Wednesday to agree to go to arbitration with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and while they are likely to do so, serious concerns remain among them about the process.Their biggest worry – as it has been since the idea was first mooted – is that the ZCU will simply ignore the findings of the arbitration should they go against its entrenched policy. Talking to the players, the names of Ozais Bvute, Max Ebrahim and Tavengwa Mukuhlani are regularly mentioned as being the major obstacles to a resolution to the dispute – all three are seen as intransigent perpetrators of entrenched hardline policies.The other concern is that the whole process could become very expensive. Neither side has bottomless pockets, but given that the ZCU does receive substantial funding from the ICC, it is probably in a better position to get involved in a drawn-out legal battle than the players.The rebels’ attitude to the board has been hardened by reports that the ZCU has approached some of the younger players and offered them large sums of money to return to the fold. One of them said that this was little more than an attempt to bribe them to come back, and so to enable to board to claim that their return was proof that all was well inside Zimbabwe.They stress, however, that this is not the case. And concern at the ZCU’s attempts to take over all aspects of cricket in Zimbabwe grows. While the ZCU has been publicly quiet in recent weeks, behind the scenes it has been maneuvering to repress regional boards who have been opposing it. Earlier this month we reported how Mukuhlani had effectively hijacked the Mashonaland annual general meeting to prevent the election of officials less supportive of the ZCU.The constitution of the ZCU board remains a major stumbling block in a satisfactory resolution of the dispute. The players feel that has effectively become a self-electing elite, unaccountable to anyone.The rebels reiterate that they are against all forms of discrimination, which includes the stipulation of numbers representing each race in the team, in the board itself, and at every level of the game. They believe in selection on merit in every area, and black domination – eventually, and on merit – is both inevitable and desirable.Chris Venturas, the players’ lawyer, has spent the last few days in England collecting his clients’ opinions, and he is expected to go back to the ICC shortly before the 1600GMT Wednesday deadline.

The Celtic fringe is rising. After the successes enjoyed by Scotland in their debut season of National League cricket, today it was Ireland’s turn to shine – and they did it in style with a romping ten-wicket win against a dishevelled Zimbabwe side at the Civil Service ground at Stormont.Jason Molins, Ireland’s captain, led from the front as he smashed 107 not out from 101 balls with 14 fours and two sixes – the first century for Ireland against a touring team since Andrew Dunlop’s against South Africa in 1998. And with the help of their adopted Aussie, Jeremy Bray (67 not out), the Irish cruised to their first victory over a touring team since their famous crushing of West Indies in 1969.The fact that Ireland won with over 16 overs to spare emphasises how much of a stroll it was for Molins and Bray. They both made light of the heavy outfield and were in command all the way. Molins, in particular, dominated the bowling, driving and pulling powerfully and being particularly severe on Gary Brent, who clearly had not yet acclimatized.Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe’s acting captain, called on eight bowlers in search of a breakthrough, but none of them, not even the three who played in the last Test against England, could make any inroads.But it was a different story for the Irish bowlers as Paul Mooney and Gary Neely struck early on to reduce Zimbabwe to an embarrassing 12 for 3. Dion Ebrahim (52) and Stuart Matsikenyeri (50) did then engineer a recovery of sorts, but Zimbabwe’s eventual total of 182 was never going to be enough.The weather conditions were as variable as the Zimbabwe batting – a bit of drizzle, a bit of warm sun, but mostly overcast. For the Zimbabweans, the worst was first. Douglas Marillier drove optimistically at the third ball of the innings and Paul Mooney knocked his leg stump out of the ground, without a run on the board. Charles Coventry followed suit in Mooney’s next over, before Richie Sims was caught in the slips off Neely for the second duck in the innings.Disaster loomed, but Ebrahim and Matsikenyeri engineered a recovery by adding 96 for the fourth wicket. Ebrahim dug in without looking convincing, as he had done in the Riverside Test, while Matsikenyeri played with the ease and technique he shows in Zimbabwe domestic cricket but rarely against international opposition.Matsikenyeri was the first to reach his half-century, but then became over-ambitious and was easily stumped off Andrew White. Ebrahim also suffered a loss of concentration, bowled by Kyle McCallan as he attempted a forcing stroke off the back foot, and when Sean Ervine was slow to respond to Tatenda Taibu’s call for a quick single, Zimbabwe were back in the bog at 133 for 6.It was once again left to Taibu, captain for this brief leg of the tour, to salvage the innings. He found a useful partner in Travis Friend, who contributed some big hits in his 22. But when Friend was caught behind, the end came in a familiar flurry. Gary Brent was superbly caught and bowled by Andre Botha without scoring, and then Taibu (35) was caught at fine leg off Botha attempting a Marillier-esque scoop over the keeper. Waddington Mwayenga was last man out, caught off Neilly in the final over, to complete a poor performance and pave the way for another humiliating defeat ahead of the NatWest Series.