Clarke shines as Aussies win S. Lanka Test series

COLOMBO: Australia clinched the Test series against Sri Lanka 1-0 on Tuesday after resurgent skipper Michael Clarke led from the front to snatch a draw for the tourists in the third and final game.
It was Clarke's first Test tour as captain, the series win coming after the 125-run victory in the opening encounter in Galle. The second Test in Pallekele ended in a rain-affected draw.
Clarke burst into form with a fluent century and Michael Hussey narrowly missed a third consecutive hundred as Australia piled up 488 in their second innings before they were all out shortly before close with a lead of 331 runs.
Sri Lanka were 7-0 from two overs in their second knock when the match was called off at the Sinhalese Sports Club in the capital Colombo.
Clarke hit 112 and Hussey made 93 in a remarkable batting revival after Australia had conceded a first innings lead of 157 runs in good batting conditions.
The victory saw Australia and Sri Lanka exchange positions in the official Test rankings, with Clarke's men moving to fourth place and Sri Lanka dropping to fifth.
Clarke, who went 23 innings without a Test century since making 168 against New Zealand in March last year, hammered 14 boundaries and three sixes in his robust knock.
He was dismissed after he lost concentration following a verbal on-field skirmish with Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and holed out in the deep to become left-arm spinner Rangana Herath's fifth victim.
Herath finished with remarkable figures of 7-157 on an unhelpful pitch, his last wicket giving him 100 Test scalps in 29 matches.
Hussey continued his amazing run in the series, scoring 463 runs in five innings at an average of 92.60, but missed out on a century in each innings.
The left-hander moved to 93 with two fours off Tillakaratne Dilshan, but fell in the same over as he swept high to a diving Chanaka Welegedara at deep square-leg.
The West Australian had scored 95 and 15 in the first Test, 142 in the second and 118 in the first innings here.
Clarke and Hussey put on 176 for the fifth wicket after Sri Lanka had struck an important blow in the day's sixth over.
Australia added just 11 runs to their overnight score of 209-3 when century-maker Phil Hughes top-edged a sweep off Herath to Lahiru Thirimanne at square-leg.
The left-hander made 126, his third Test century.
Herath, who claimed the first five wickets in the innings, shared the second new ball, which was taken in the 87th over with the total 268-4.
Clarke responded to the gamble by driving the spinner through the covers and lofting the next ball for six to bring up his half-century.

And he reached his 15th Test century by pulling Herath to mid-on for his 14th boundary, soon after he had smashed the bowler for his third six.

Pakistan to take on India in U16 football tournament in Nepal

KHATMANDO: Arch-rivals Pakistan and Pakistan will clash in the final of the inaugural SAFF Under-16 Championship final later this Wednesday afternoon in Khatmandu, Nepal.
Green shirts seem resolved to rout India in the final. They will turn up the ground with psychological superiority, as Pakistan got better of strong Bangladesh in semi-final with two goals.
Meantime, India cruised into the final by defeating hosts Nepal.
Green shirts displayed excellent performance by overpowering India, Maldives and Bangladesh. It should be mentioned here that Pakistan scored nine goals in the event.
Head Coach Sajjad Mehmood is satisfied with the performance given by national players thus far, saying Pakistan and India had tough competition as ever.
He added team came up with full preparations.

Mendis records best figures in T20 internationals

KANDY: Spinner Ajantha Mendis produced the best figures in Twenty20 internationals on Monday to bowl Sri Lanka to an eight-run win over Australia at the Pallakele Stadium and a 2-0 series win.
Mendis bemused the Australian batsman to finish with six for 16 off four overs, including a maiden. He is the first bowler to take six wickets in the shortest form of the game.
Australia did well to contain Sri Lanka to a total of 157-9 but were restricted themselves to 149-9 after Shane Watson had got them off to a flying start with 57 off 24 balls including five sixes and six fours.
Watson and David Warner (16) put on 71 for the first wicket before an inspired piece of fielding by Angelo Mathews on the boundary line to dismiss Warner started a sensational Australian collapse.
Mathews took the catch and, before stepping over the boundary, threw the ball to Mahela Jayawardene 30 metres away to give Mendis the first of his six wickets.
Australia slid to 113-6 but skipper Cameron White kept their hopes alive with 39 off 33 balls before he fell in the final over with Australia needing 14 for victory.
Sri Lanka's innings was held together by a superb knock of 86 off 64 balls with one six and 12 fours by Mahela Jayawardene.
John Hastings put a brake on the Sri Lankan run rate by grabbing three wickets for 14 runs as Sri Lanka lost six wickets for 36 runs in the last six overs.
Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said Mathews' moment of brilliance had turned the match.
"We knew one or two wickets and we could put pressure on them. We were hanging in, and waiting for a breakthrough," he said.
Mathews said his reaction had been "pure instinct".
"I just saw Mahela and went for it. I wasn't looking at the boundary, I just wanted to take the catch and relay it to Mahela after I saw it," he said.

Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh on Test return

HARARE: Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by 130 runs in a one-off Test at Harare Sports club on Monday to claim their first victory since making their return to cricket after a six-year absence.
Zimbabwe had set Bangladesh a victory target of 375 runs in their second innings having declared at 291-5 at tea on Sunday.However, the tourists were bowled out for 244.Despite a steady start to their second innings the tourists were restricted to 228 at lunch, 147 runs short of their target with only two wickets remaining.
Robiul Islam and Rubel Hossain were left to continue Bangladesh's unlikely bid, which was ended by Kyle Jarvis when he had Islam, on 12 runs, out for lbw.
Although Zimbabwe have recently played in other formats it is their first victory in the most respected Test format since self-imposed exile in January 2005, inspired by the fact they had become the whipping boys of Test cricket with little prospect of improvement.
In recent years administrators have introduced a franchised five-province first class league that has provided players with a competitive edge.
ZimCricket managing director Ozias Bvute and chairman Peter Chingoka had also pushed for a return to Test cricket for at least 15 months since Sri Lanka and India played an ODI triangular in the country.

Injured Zaheer's England tour comes to an end

LONDON: India paceman Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the remainder of his side's tour of England after being told he requires ankle surgery, it was reported on Sunday.
Zaheer, who is also suffering from a hamstring strain, is expected to undergo surgery that could keep him out until November.
A statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India read: "Zaheer Khan is suffering from a recurrent right hamstring strain and a right ankle impingement.
"He will require a surgery for his ankle, followed by intensive rehabilitation for both the ankle and hamstring. He will need at least 14-16 weeks to recover completely.
"He will therefore not be able to participate in the ongoing Test series and subsequent T20 International and ODI series against England."
The 32-year-old Zaheer, a crucial part of the Indian Test team which is 2-0 down in the four-match series against England, picked up the injury in the first game at Lord's and missed the second in Trent Bridge.
He was able to bowl just three overs against Northamptonshire before leaving the field for treatment Saturday, prompting India team manager Anirudh Chaudhry to place doubt on his availability for the third Test at Edgbaston, starting on Wednesday.
India have called up fellow left-armer RP Singh for the remainder of the tour.
The 25-year-old Singh last played a Test match in April 2008 and an ODI in September 2009.

PCB slaps fine of Rs.500, 000 on Haider

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday imposed a fine of Rs.500, 000/- on former wicketkeeper Zulqarnin Haider.
The former wicketkeeper appeared before the PCB’s Disciplinary Committee and admitted his mistake.
The committee slapped Haider with the fine of Rs.500, 000 and decided to keep him under observation for a period of one year.
Committee’s head Sultan Rana said that a lenient penalty has been imposed on Haider due to illness of his father.
Realizing his mistake, the wicketkeeper accepted the penalty and promised to avoid such actions in the future.
Later, speaking to media men, he said that he had realized his mistake and was ready to resume his cricketing career.
It may be mentioned here that Haider ran away from the team’s hotel ahead of last one-day international against South Africa in Dubai. He claimed that he was threatened by bookies, who wanted him to fix the match.

Pakistan restores Afridi's right to play abroad

LAHORE: Pakistan on Thursday restored permission for former captain Shahid Afridi to play abroad, allowing him to join England's Twenty20 tournament and ending a damaging row, an official said.
The announcement came after the star all-rounder halted legal proceedings and appeared before a three-man disciplinary committee in Lahore, where he said he had been forced into making a mistake.
The 31-year-old locked horns with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by announcing his retirement from international cricket after being dumped as one-day captain, and by condemning the current management.
The PCB said Afridi violated the players' code of conduct, suspended his central contract and revoked permission for him to play abroad, preventing him from joining Hampshire in the ongoing Twenty20 league in England.
"Afridi regretted the matter and said he will not contest the charges," said PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi on behalf of the committee.
"The committee unanimously decided to fine him 4.5 million rupees ($53,000) for various breaches of the code of conduct," he said.
"The committee also recommended his NOCs (No-Objection Certificates) to play abroad be restored, which the Pakistan Cricket Board has endorsed," Rizvi added.
The three-man disciplinary committee was made up of former first class player Sultan Rana, Test opener Shafiq Ahmed and Usman Wahla.
The stand-off began last month after Afridi publicly criticized coach Waqar Younis for meddling in team selection during a one-day series against the West Indies, which Pakistan won 3-2.
"Afridi appeared before the committee and explained his position and conduct which led to the suspension of his contract and revoking of the NOCs," said Rizvi, the legal advisor.
Afridi's retirement announcement and allegations against officials were both serious violations of players' code of conduct, he said.
The PCB suspended his central contract and ordered him to appear before the disciplinary committee on June 8.
Instead, Afridi went to court, challenging the sanctions and demanding that he be allowed to play abroad. The court ordered the committee meeting adjourned and summoned both parties on June 9.
It temporarily upheld the revoking of the NOCs before Afridi withdrew the case after meeting PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in Islamabad on Tuesday.