Sanath Jayasuriya dealt a potentially fatal blow to the West Indies’ semi-final hopes with a blazing century to set up Sri Lanka’s 113-run win in the World Cup Super Eight match on Sunday.
   The left-handed opener gave a magnificent display of power-hitting to crack a 101-ball 115 for his 25th century as Sri Lanka posted a challenging 303-5 to leave the hosts to score their highest total batting second.
   The West Indies wilted under pressure as they were bowled out for 190 to suffer their third successive defeat in the second round, with Shivnarine Chanderpul top-scoring with an impressive 76 which contained five sixes.
   They now have just two points from four matches, thanks to their win over fellow-qualifiers Ireland in a group game. No hosts have ever won the World Cup and the West Indies look unlikely to change the trend.
   The West Indies’ slim hopes of making it to the last-four now largely depend on other teams’ results. They will meet South Africa, England and Bangladesh in their last three games.
   The West Indies, whose highest total batting second was 300-3 against South Africa at Centurion in 2004, faced a tall order after losing three wickets for a paltry 42 runs.
   A change in the batting order failed to produce the desired results as the West Indies lost Dwayne Bravo (21), skipper Brian Lara (two) and Chris Gayle (10) in the opening 11 overs.
   Lara was undone by a smart piece of stumping by Kumar Sangakkara, standing up to left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas. The Sri Lankan wicket-keeper brought off another fine stumping, the victim this time being Ramnaresh Sarwan (44). Sarwan and fellow-Guyanese Chanderpaul defied the Sri Lankan attack, but the asking-rate kept climbing after their team had managed just 100 in the first 30 overs.
   The West Indies were yet again let down by batting as they lost their last six wickets for 56 runs, with left-arm spinner Jayasuriya finishing with 3-38.
   Pacemen Lasith Malinga and Vaas, and off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan each took two wickets.
   Sri Lanka’s total owed much of its substance to Jayasuriya, who surpassed Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq (11,739) to become the second-highest scorer in one-dayers with 11,816. He is behind only India’s Sachin Tendulkar (14,847).
   Sri Lanka were struggling at 35-2 after being put in to bat, but were rallied by man-of-the-match Jayasuriya who put on 183 for the third wicket with Jayawardene (82).
   Jayawardene returned to form just when his side needed runs to boost their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals. He had failed in his last two matches, but played a vital innings under pressure.
   Jayasuriya, deprived of the strike in the opening 15 overs, began the fireworks when he hooked left-arm seamer Ian Bradshaw for a four and then lofted him over mid-on for another boundary.
   His best came in the next over as he used his feet remarkably well to punish seamer Dwayne Smith, smashing three fours and a straight six. His first 14 runs had come off 33 balls, but the next 27 off just nine.
   The West Indies had virtually lost their early advantage after Jayasuriya’s amazing blitz. They grabbed two early wickets before being dominated by the Sri Lankan opener.
   Jayawardene took time to settle down, but grew in confidence as the innings progressed. He rotated the strike intelligently, giving Jayasuriya enough chances to step up the run-rate.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene paid tribute to opener Sanath Jayasuriya for helping him return to his big-scoring ways in the World Cup victory over the West Indies.
   After failing in the last two matches, Jayawardene scored a solid 82 in a Super Eight match against the West Indies here on Sunday and shared a 183-run stand with Jayasuriya.
   ‘Obviously, Sanath took a lot of pressure off me. He gave me the freedom to play risk-free, straight as much as possible and just occupy the crease,’ said the Sri Lankan skipper.
   Jayasuriya smashed 115 runs off 101 balls for his 25th century to help Sri Lanka post a challenging 303 for five before a capacity crowd at the National Stadium hoping for a home victory.
   The West Indies crumbled under the pressure as they were bowled out for 190 in their third straight Super Eight defeat, and now face elimination.
   Jayawardene said Jayasuriya had been something special.
   ‘I have seen quite a lot from Sanath, but I would rank this as one of the best. He has done it not just against small teams, in low-key tournaments, but in big tournaments, under pressure. That’s what makes him so special.’
   The Sri Lankan skipper admitted he would have fielded first had he won the toss after a rain-delayed start.
   ‘I lost a difficult toss. That is the difficult part of this tournament. You can’t play for the toss. Obviously, if I had won the toss, I would have fielded in those conditions.’
   He dismissed suggestions of any planning behind West Indian captain Brian Lara’s dismissal, a bizzare stump off paceman Chaminda Vaas.
   ‘It was not planned,’ he said of Lara’s dismissal for two. ‘I don’t think that was the only wicket. Brian is in form and he is one of the guys. The only thing we concentrated on was not to give them a big start.
   ‘When we saw Brian batting in front of his crease, we felt we needed to get Kumar (Sangakkara) up. Kumar has worked really hard. If you see him work on his game, it is amazing. I mean, that guy is a workaholic.’
   Jayawardene said his bowlers kept a tight length and never allowed the hosts an explosive start.
   ‘We managed to get those early wickets and put them under pressure. Obviously Ramnaresh (Sarwan) and Shiv (Chanderpaul) had to bat through to consolidate, but I thought our bowlers did pretty well during that period.’
   Jayawardene said he was not worried about off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan losing some runs against the West Indies.
   ‘Murali bowled from a tougher end to a left-hander with shorter boundaries. The wind was also assisting the batsmen, so obviously they would be taking chances. Murali was very happy because one of those shots could have easily got a top-edge and gone up.’
   The skipper said he was not looking ahead to a final.
   ‘I am not looking too far ahead. If I dream about (lifting the World Cup) it’s brilliant but hopefully, not too soon. We just have to concentrate on one game at a time, and that’s what I have been telling the guys.
   ‘It’s a big tournament, but if you think too far ahead, you won’t concentrate on the first post.’
   Sri Lanka, who lost their first Super Eight match to South Africa by a close margin of one wicket, now have four points and next play England at Antigua on Wednesday.
   Their remaining matches are against New Zealand on April 12, Australia on April 16 and Ireland on April 18 – all in Grenada.

Just hours before I was preparing to watch Bangladesh against New Zealand, I was told by a friend that opening batsman Shahriar Nafees had been dropped from the playing eleven. Although it was not very unexpected news, I felt shocked. Please don’t think that I am against the move. It was not a bad decision for the team management to exclude Shahriar as did not do anything good in the first four matches. But I am afraid how the decision was made.
   It’s no a secret that Shahriar is a talent (I would love to say super talent), a kind of batsman that Bangladesh badly needs. It doesn’t however mean we have to carry him all the time even if he doesn’t score. Any player,who does not score in four consecutive matches, deserves to be dropped. But he is a talent and needs to be handled with care. I hope the coach, captain and chief selector have talked with him. If they don’t talk, it would be another shock.
   My previous experience suggests that we are not always best in handling our talents. Just imagine what happened to Mohammad Ashraful. The way sometimes he was treated, Ashraful would have been finished by this time. I would expect Shahriar will not get the same treatment. I think Bangladesh could take a lesson from India and Australia in this case. India never snubbed Virender Sehwag despite he did not score too many runs in the recent past and the result was evident in the group stage of the World Cup. Despite sheer failure of Team India, Sehwag left the Caribbean with a relatively high-head. Australia did the same for Michael Clarke.
   The team management should tell Shahriar that his position in the team is never vulnerable. With a little break, he would be back in the side anytime. I hope he will also take his first axe sportingly. We have still at least four matches to go in the tournament. So there is every possibility for the team management to turn again to him. Shahriar should be prepared to use his next opportunity.
   The entire Bangladesh team also should keep it in mind that they have still a long way to go. It seemed they were very happy to reach in the Super Eight. In our first Super Eight match, the team looked aimless. The way batsmen played Glenn McGrath, it really hurt me. They had no plan at all.
   The wicket was very flat and there was no sideways movement. After seeing off McGrath, they could easily swoop on the other bowlers. Instead, they charged McGrath, who is best even on a dead wicket. The result was very pathetic.
   We gave more than 33 per cent dot balls, which is very unlikely in a 22-over-a-side match.
   I am not happy with captain Habibul Bashar in the Australia match at all. He left too many balls. His running between the wickets was also very poor. When there were two runs, we saw him taking just one. His captaincy was also flawed. The position sense of slip fielder and wicketkeeper was poor. There was too much gap between them, which gifted Australians at least two boundaries. These are the nitty-gritty Bashar needs to take care of in the coming matches.

Pakistani players and dignitaries on Sunday paid their respects to cricket coach Bob Woolmer, two weeks after his mysterious murder that shocked the genteel sport and stumped Jamaican investigators.
   Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq led a contingent of seven players among 400 mourners at Lahore’s 100-year-old Sacred Heart Church, while officials lit candles and laid floral wreaths at a portrait of the late Englishman.
   Archbishop of Lahore Reverend Lawrence Saldanha said Woolmer, found strangled in his hotel room on March 18, one day after Pakistan’s shock World Cup exit to Ireland, was like a ‘second father’ to his players.
   ‘We pay tribute to his excellent qualities. He was known for his passionate interest in cricket. We salute him for his professional competency, as well as his sense of responsibility and commitment,’ Saldanha said.
   ‘He was also a kind and gentle person who won the hearts of his players who looked up to him as a second father.’
   Inzamam, accompanied by team-mates Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Hafeez and Kamran Akmal, said Woolmer was an ‘excellent coach and above all things was an excellent human being.’
   ‘After Woolmer’s family, the Pakistan team was the most aggrieved by his death,’ Inzamam said during the hour-long service.
   Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf described Woolmer’s death ‘a terrible tragedy’ and said that he was a ‘rock of stability’ who lived for cricket and loved the sport.
   ‘He was internationally known and was the first modern coach of cricket. The world will follow his method and teachings,’ Ashraf said.
   Kingston pathologist Ere Seshaiah has said his examination of the body showed that Woolmer was killed by ‘manual strangulation.’
   Woolmer’s murder has triggered a frenzy of speculation about a possible link to match-fixing in cricket, although detectives in Jamaica have so far said they have uncovered no evidence of corruption.
   The killing of the coach is also the subject of the biggest and most complex murder investigation in Jamaica’s history, with police revealing that they are trying to trace up to 1,000 people staying at Kingston’s Pegasus Hotel in the days leading up the killing.
   Jamaica deputy commissioner Mark Shields, the detective heading the inquiry, has failed to announce any significant breakthroughs in the case and warned that the whodunit may take months to unravel.
   A delegation of senior Scotland Yard detectives is to arrive in Kingston from London this week to ‘review’ the progress of the investigation.
   The team will consist of three detectives and a crime scene expert, London’s Metropolitan Police told AFP Saturday. It was not clear when they would arrive.
   ‘They will be looking to see if there is anything else we can do,’ Shields said on Friday. ‘You know when you’re involved in any piece of work and you are right up against it, sometimes you can miss the most blindingly obvious.’
   The request for assistance from Scotland Yard has renewed media speculation about whether Woolmer was in fact murdered or died from natural causes.
   Although Shields has said authorities continue to view the case ‘very categorically’ as murder, British press were divided on the issue Sunday, with some reports saying police now believed Woolmer had died after a seizure, while others saying that he had been poisoned.

Australia’s ruthless form at the World Cup has been no more than captain Ricky Ponting expected from the reigning champions.
   The Cup holders’ fifth win in as many matches at the tournament was achieved in devastating style with a 10-wicket hammering of Bangladesh here Saturday for a second straight Super Eight success following their equally one-sided 103-run rout of hosts West Indies.
   Some believed Australia, bidding for a third World Cup triumph in a row, were vulnerable after a run of five straight one-day defeats at the hands of England (twice) and New Zealand (three times).
   But Ponting’s men were not at full strength for all of those matches and the captain was in no doubt his side would raise their game in the Caribbean.
   ‘This is a World Cup, and a lot comes with playing cricket for Australia,’ said Ponting.
   ‘When you cross that white line it’s about giving 100 percent and doing your best for yourself and for your team, and so I’m not surprised with what we’ve done so far.
   ‘We’ve got room for improvement, sure, but I think we’re pretty sharp in all areas. It’s early in the tournament and no trophies are being handed out now, so we need to keep a lid on things, have a look at how we’re playing and keep trying to improve.’
   However, the sight of all-rounder Shane Watson - who missed the recent 5-0 Ashes thrashing of England with a hamstring problem - leaving the field against Bangladesh because of a calf strain could cause headaches for Australia as they look to maintain the balance of their side.
   And such has been the overwhelming dominance of their top order, the likes of Andrew Symonds and Michael Hussey have had little opportunity to make any meaningful contributions with the bat at this tournament.
   ‘At end of the day, if they don’t get much of a hit, then we must be doing a great job through the tournament,’ Ponting said. ‘I’m sure they’ll get runs if they get the opportunity.’
   Australia now have a week’s break until their next Super Eight match when they return to face their surprise triangular series conquerors England in Antigua on Sunday, April 8.
   England have looked anything but convincing in their matches so far and during the group stage lost decisively by six wickets to New Zealand in their only match so far against a Test match nation.
   Ponting, looking ahead, said: ‘England played excellent cricket in Australia, but we were a long way off our best. We’ve got a little bit to prove when we play them on Sunday.’

Bowl straight and move the ball away late from the batsman have been instructions handed down by generations of cricket coaches to pace bowlers.
   But few have followed them quite so thoroughly as Australia’s Glenn McGrath who on Saturday beat Wasim Akram’s record of 55 World Cup wickets.
   ‘Wasim Akram was one of the best bowlers of all time so to go past him is something pretty special,’ said McGrath who took his career tournament record to 57 wickets with figures of 3-16 in the 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
   The New South Welshman, who will retire from international cricket after the World Cup, has been renowned throughout his career for his remorseless accuracy and fondness for publicly targeting opponents’ key batsmen.
   Yet away from the field, the 37-year-old is said to be a much quieter, reserved man.
   Born in the country town of Dubbo, New South Wales, McGrath lived in a caravan when he first came to Sydney to try to make it in state cricket.
   He soon worked out a method that would help him become the most successful fast bowler in Test history.
   Realising he would never be as fast as a Dennis Lillee or Jeff Thomson, McGrath settled instead for the disciplines of line and length.
   Although not the quickest, McGrath was soon developing the ability to move the ball away at a sufficiently sharp pace to trouble the world’s best batsmen.
   Called up by Australia in 1993 as a replacement for Merv Hughes, McGrath never looked back and became a key member of one of the most successful cricket teams of all time.
   In particular he was soon making a specialty of claiming the wicket of Michael Atherton in Ashes contests at a time when the opener was England’s batting rock.
   McGrath’s accuracy proved a particular asset in one-day cricket.
   He helped Australia reach the 1996 World Cup final, where they lost to Sri Lanka, before starring in their victorious 1999 and 2003 campaigns, the last featuring a record-breaking seven for 15 against minnows Namibia.
   There were doubts about his future when he returned from ankle surgery in 2004 and two years later when he returned from a break when he was looking after his wife, Jane, who has suffered several bouts of cancer.
   And it is his wife’s health and a desire to spend more time with their children that have sparked his retirement.
   Only occasionally have McGrath’s boasts not been backed up by events. Before the 2005 Ashes he predicted a 5-0 whitewash for the men in baggy green caps. Instead England won the series 2-1.
   In common with many other quicks, McGrath’s age has been held against him the longer his career has gone on and he was one of the ‘Dad’s Army’, England great Ian Botham had in mind when he taunted the Australians about the several ‘30-somethings’ in their squad ahead of the last Ashes campaign.
   McGrath, who by then had long since surpassed West Indian Courtney Walsh’s mark of 519 Test wickets, responded with 21 wickets at an average of 23.90 as Australia regained the Ashes 5-0.
   And on his home Sydney Cricket Ground, McGrath bowed out of Test cricket by taking a wicket with his last ball when he dismissed James Anderson.
   That left him with a Test record of 563 wickets from 124 matches at 21.64.
   But perhaps even more indelible was the attitude displayed by McGrath, who occasionally would stand with hands on hips and pass a comment or two to a batsman who’d had the temerity to hit him for four, and fellow bowling great Shane Warne who also retired from Test cricket after the Sydney Ashes clash.
   ‘He’s a very proud man, Glenn,’ Australia captain Ricky Ponting told reporters here Friday.
   ‘He actually had a dig at me the other day for not bowling him at the tail against the West Indies because he wanted a couple of more wickets.
   ‘When it’s big game time it’s generally the Warnes and McGraths and those sorts of guys that really stand up.’
   But few ‘guys’ rank alongside the Australian duo.

Adam Gilchrist described teammate Matthew Hayden as an intimidating talent on Saturday after Australia maintained their perfect World Cup record with a 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
   Although Gilchrist top-scored with 59, Hayden also hit an unbeaten 47, to add to a couple of centuries he has already made, in an easy Super Eights win for the defending champions in a match reduced to 22 overs a side because of a wet outfield at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
   ‘Matty has been the standout performer,’ said Gilchrist of his partner who hit three massive sixes in his innings.
   ‘He’s in really intimidating form at the moment and to be part of that parternership is really pleasing.’
   Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was happy that his side wrapped up their win in the 14th over as they chased down their target of 104.
   ‘It was another good performance. We were lucky to get a game in at all today as the outfield was pretty wet all day, so all credit to the umpires for being sensible,’ said Ponting.
   He was also full of praise for opening bowlers Nathan Bracken and in particular Glenn McGrath who took 3-16 to become the most successful wicket-taker in World Cup history with 57 to go past Wasim Akram’s old mark of 55.
   ‘We wanted to make sure we did well with the new ball because we knew Bangladesh would come out hard, they have done so in all their games. We wanted to make sure we executed things well at the start.
   ‘Then Adam and Matty played some great cricket shots, they are both in great form at the moment. We’ve been playing well ever since the warm-up matches in St Vincent. We wanted to carry that through to the tournament and we have done that. But it’s still early days.
   ‘We have to make sure we keep it going for the next few weeks.’
   The defeat left Bangladesh at the bottom of the Super Eights table and struggling to make the semi-finals. ‘We lost three early wickets and that cost us the match,’ said captain Habibul Bashar after his team were put into bat and slumped to 25-3 in the sixth over.
   ‘We didn’t get enough runs but we hope to take the lessons from this match into out next game.’

West Indies skipper Brian Lara has said he remains optimistic of making it to the World Cup semi-finals despite his team’s third successive defeat in the Super Eights.
   The hosts have just two points from four games following their crushing 113-run defeat against Sri Lanka here on Sunday. They had already lost to defending champions Australia and New Zealand in their first two matches.
   Their two points came after their win over fellow-qualifiers Ireland in a group match. They will now take on England, South Africa and Bangladesh in their remaining three matches.
   ‘We’ve a lot of time to regroup and make sure we win the remaining matches. Let’s hope it’s not too late. Let’s make sure we have a chance. We have got to stay upbeat as we are representing the Caribbean,’ said Lara.
   The West Indies play South Africa in Grenada on April 10, followed by matches in Barbados against Bangladesh (April 19) and England (April 21).
   ‘I am an optimist. We’ll be hoping that some teams beat others, but it still boils down to us beating South Africa, Bangladesh and England to give us a glimmer of hope and that is the job we have to do.’
   The West Indies were let down by their batting as they could manage just 190 chasing a stiff 304-run target, with only Guyanese pair of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (76) and Ramesh Sarwan (44) offering resistance.
   ‘There is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel and we have got to go for that and be strong,’ said the West Indies captain.
   ‘I know everyone is disappointed in the dressing-room at the moment and everyone is disappointed in the Caribbean.’
   Lara said he hoped the senior players would deliver in the remaining matches to sustain the team’s hopes.
   ‘I think the senior guys are understandably disappointed,’ he said.
   ‘They understand the situation and we are in a crisis situation now. The guys know we have to dig ourselves out of that hole and move on.’
   Lara conceded his team were outplayed by Sri Lanka, saying left-handed opener Sanath Jayasuriya played a big role with his century. ‘They were brilliant and outclassed us. They ticked all the boxes right. They have still got Australia and other teams to play and we now need to focus on ourselves,’ he said.
   ‘Sanath was exceptional. It was 50-2 and we were trying to put pressure on them, but he built the innings and set the tone. Credit must be given to him.’
   Jayasuriya cracked a 101-ball 115 for his 25th century with the help of four sixes and 10 fours to help his team post a challenging total.
   The West Indies faltered in reply as they lost three wickets for 42 runs, including that of Lara.
   ‘We found ourselves in trouble, losing three early wickets before the innings reached any stage,’ he said.
   ‘It is very disappointing, but there is still a slight equation to allow us to get there (semi-finals) but it would depend a lot on other teams.’

One has arthritis, another has needed heart surgery. At the cricket World Cup, umpires boast stories as colourful as some of the players.
   None more so than Billy Bowden with his flamboyant on-field gestures.
   The crooked finger to indicate ‘out’, a staggered raising of the arms for a ‘six’, and a bizarre, crouched sweeping movement for a ‘four’ all make the New Zealander a favourite with the cameras and crowds alike.
   The 44-year-old Bowden, who has arthritis in his elbow, started using the hooked finger for giving a batsman out in 1996. Bowden says it’s all a feature of his enjoyment of the game.
   ‘It just came naturally. All cricketers and umpires have personalities and it’s just the way I express myself; I love the game,’ Bowden told reporters.
   ‘The main objective for the umpires is to get their decisions right and work as a team. But one-day cricket is exciting. It’s got colour, music and I enjoy that. I can be serious too, but at the best of times I like to enjoy myself. Today we are here, tomorrow we could be gone.’
   Bowden has come under fire from traditionalists for his colourful approach. But he has no regrets.
   ‘I am not disrespecting the game, it is just me,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.
   Benson has had a dramatic time in the job.
   He was facing minor heart surgery after suffering palpitations during the second Test between South Africa and India at Durban in December.
   ‘I wasn’t very well for a time because my heart rate suddenly went up to 190 beats a minute,’ said the Englishman who had to leave the field.
   ‘There’s no pattern to it and the doctors aren’t sure what triggers it.’
   Veteran umpires Steve Bucknor of the West Indies and Pakistan’s Aleem Dar once received death threats when they were on duty in South Africa.
   ‘I don’t mind constructive criticism,’ Bucknor told the Sunday Telegraph.
   ‘I enjoy it because it can help to make you a better decision-maker. I don’t like it when that criticism becomes personal. It can become stressful. The key thing is not the stress itself, because you can’t eliminate it, but how you manage it.’
   There is little doubt that the greatest stress level was encountered by Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove in the now-infamous forfeited Oval Test in 2006.
   Hair fought a bitter and ugly battle with the ICC in the aftermath of the game and is no longer a member of the Elite Panel.
   Doctrove is still involved and is officiating at the World Cup.
   The 51-year-old West Indian believes the Oval controversy has made him a better umpire.
   ‘I look back at it as a learning experience. I learnt a lot from that episode both personally and professionally,’ said Doctrove on the eve of the World Cup.
   ‘I’ve become not only a better umpire, but a better person. I’ve learnt about myself, about how to react under different situations.’

The next Pakistan coach will be a Pakistani, and the decision is not going to be taken in the near future, Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said on Saturday. Addressing the media at the PCB headquarters at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Ashraf announced some immediate changes in the administration of Pakistani cricket, said some key decisions were on hold and promised that some were in the pipeline.
   Time, Ashraf said, was on Pakistan’s side - their next international assignment is the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September, giving them enough time to regroup after the debacle in the West Indies.
   The immediate concern was filling the key positions of coach and captain, and both decisions are on hold. Pakistan have been without a coach since Bob Woolmer’s death in Jamaica two weeks ago - Woolmer’s contract was to expire anyway in June; later that day Inzamam-ul-Haq announced he was giving up the captaincy.
   ‘In all probability we will certainly now look for a Pakistani coach, but it will take some time to find a suitable man,’ Ashraf said. On a replacement captain, he said: ‘We don’t want to make a hasty decision, we will name the captain and vice-captain within 30 days.’
   Some decisions announced on Saturday related directly to cricket. One has already been executed: The PCB has suspended central contracts of members of the Pakistan team, Ashraf said. ‘All players contracts stand suspended. We are going to introduce performance-base contracts very soon.’
   Ashraf also had some things to say on the players themselves. No player, matter how big he is, should take his place in the Pakistan team for granted, he said. He also said he believed that Pakistan’s cricketers lacked in mental toughness. ‘We need to work upon this aspect as this is the most important area through which most of the top teams win matches.’
   Ashraf himself had resigned after Pakistan’s successive defeats in the World Cup eliminated the 1992 winners from the ninth edition of the mega event in the Caribbean. However, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who is also patron of the PCB, had rejected the resignation yesterday and asked Ashraf to continue.
   It was also announced that a baseball coach would be hired from the USA to improve fielding standards. ‘The coach will be not for three months or four months, we would hire him for at least one year’, Ashraf said.
   Off the field, the PCB has set up a three-member Performance Evaluation Committee to look into the causes of the World Cup debacle. The committee, comprising former Test players Ijaz Butt, Salahuddin Ahmed and Salim Altaf, will submit its report within the next 30 days, Ashraf said. The report, he added, will be made public.
   The PCB has been without a constitution for some time now and Ashraf said the document was currently being vetted by the attorney general and would be put in place at the earliest possible opportunity.

Malinda Warnapura hit an unbeaten 104 to guide Sri Lanka A to a comfortable six-wicket victory over the visiting Bangladesh A at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo on Monday. Bangladesh A batted first and posted a modest 206 all out, which the hosts overhauled riding on the ton of Warnapura scoring 207 for four with 5.3 overs to spare.
   The top three Bangladesh A batsmen – Jahurul Islam, Mehrab Hossain and Nazimuudin – all departed after making 1,0 and 1 respectively and they could never recover from the disastrous start. However, Farhad Reza’s 82, Tushar Imran’s 38, Nadif Chowdhury’s 25 and 25 runs from extras helped Bangladesh A go past the 200-run mark. M Amerasinghe took three for 34 and K Lokuarachchi grabbed three for 57 runs.
   Malinda Warnapura played 113 balls and hit nine fours and three sixes in his match-winning knock. M Perera scored 46 and Jehan Mubarak added 21 as the hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Runs were in abundance in the Ispahani Mirzapore Tea National Cricket one-dayers with seven batsmen hitting centuries at different venues on Monday.
   Former national opener and first ODI centurion of the country Mehrab Hossain scored 155 runs for Dhaka against Khulna but the match between Rajshahi and Chittagong produced four centuries. Alok Kapali, the Sylhet skipper, clobbered 101 against Barisal but his ton went in vain as Nasiruddin Faruk notched up 115 to steer Barisal to victory.
   Junaed Siddiky stroked 104 and Anisur Rahman scored 106 not out as Rajshahi piled up 329 for six against Chittagong at the Fatullah stadium. But Mahbubul Karim’s 145 from 121 balls and a knock of 100-ball 147 by Dhiman Ghosh propelled Chittagong to 330 for six with 1.4 overs to spare.
   Mehrab Hossain’s 155 gave Dhaka a mammoth total of 335 against Khulna at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium. The match saw a thrilling finish as Khulna scored 333 for nine to concede a two-run defeat. Mazhar scored 85 and Asadullah Khan added 68.
   Alok Kapali cracked 101 from 77 balls to take Sylhet to a total of 288 for eight in the curtailed 43 overs at the BKSP. In reply, Nasiruddin Faruk rattled up 115 and Rakibul Hasan remained unbeaten on 93 as Barisal cantered to a four-wicket in 38.4 balls.

Amol Roy and Henry Prithul Mondal moved into the men’s singles final of the Independence Day Tennis winning their respective semi-final matches at the National Tennis Complex on Monday.
   Amol secured the final spot after his opponent Alamgir Hossain retired with the scoreline at 4-6, 6-4, 3-1 while Prithul won 6-4, 6-4 against Ranjan Ram.
   In the boys’ U-16 group singles, Mofazzal booked a final berth beating Sanjiv Pashi 6-0, 6-0 in the semi-final.

The winding road to Champions League treasure in Athens next month will make another key turn when the eight surviving clubs battle for precious advantages in the first leg of the quarter-finals.
   With holders Barcelona consigned to the scrapheap after defeat by Liverpool in the previous round, the draw has thrown up four intriguing ties, Milan’s clash against Bayern Munich offering real heavyweight appeal.
   Milan are down in sixth place in Serie A but have six European Cups to their name and would view a glorious finale in the Greek capital as redemption for a season that began very much under a cloud.
   In the other ties, Manchester United, still on course to repeat their famous treble of 1999, take on Roma; Chelsea, bidding for their first Champions League final, face Valencia and Liverpool do battle with PSV Eindhoven.
   Bayern Munich, who have won the European Cup four times, have traditionally struggled to make any impression on Italian soil and the memory of last season’s defeat by Milan in the first knockout round will be fresh in their minds.
   Milan tore Bayern apart in the San Siro then, winning 4-1 with goals from Filippo Inzaghi, Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka, after the first leg in Munich had been drawn 1-1.
   Shevchenko is now at Chelsea but Inzaghi and Kaka remain and will have the German champions in their sights again.
   Bayern, six points off the pace in the Bundesliga, will be confident of taking a positive result back to Bavaria for the second leg when experienced goalkeeper Oliver Khan will be eligible after being suspended for today’s first leg.
   Kahn is banned after losing his temper in a doping control following the victory over Real Madrid in the last round and 22-year-old Michael Rensing wears the gloves in the San Siro.
   In today’s other tie, PSV Eindhoven coach Ronald Koeman’s hopes of wrecking another English club’s ambitions have been hampered by an injury crisis as they prepare to host 2005 champions Liverpool.
   Koeman masterminded the exit of Arsenal in the previous round and knocked out Liverpool and Manchester United last season when in charge at Benfica.
   However, with Brazilian central defender Alex and Ivorian striker Arouna Kone out and rising talent Ibrahim Afellay doubtful, a seasoned Liverpool side should prove too strong over the two legs.
   Chelsea, bidding for their third semi-final in four seasons, have been far from impressive recently, although their ability to grind out results has kept them in touch with Manchester United in the Premier League title race.
   They struggled for a last-gasp 1-0 win over bottom club Watford on Saturday and will have to raise their game against a Valencia side who provide the spine to Spain’s national side.
   Valencia are without Fernando Morientes, tormentor of Chelsea for Monaco in 2004, with a dislocated shoulder and Carlos Marchena and David Navarro, both of whom are suspended for their part in the ugly scenes against Inter Milan in the previous round.
   Jose Mourinho’s side are without Dutch winger Arjen Robben who needs a knee operation, although midfielder Frank Lampard will play despite a fractured wrist.
   Roma produced possibly the shock of the previous round when they eliminated highly-fancied Olympique Lyon and they will be relishing the visit of Manchester United on Wednesday.
   United have been unreliable away from home in Europe this season, losing in Copenhagen and Glasgow, and will be without three key defenders against a Roma side for whom talisman Francesco Totti is pulling the strings.
   Nemanja Vidic joined Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre on the sidelines on Saturday after dislocating his shoulder in the 4-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.

Jose Mourinho admitted that Chelsea had been on the brink of surrendering their Premiership title on Saturday after he was forced to wait until the 93rd minute before Salomon Kalou grabbed the winner at bottom side Watford.
   Just as it seemed that Watford had done enough to earn a draw that would have allowed Manchester United to stretch their lead at the top to eight points, the Dutch striker drifted into the box to meet Andriy Shevchenko’s cross and head the ball past United’s on-loan goalkeeper Ben Foster.
   Afterwards, Mourinho admitted that the title race would have been effectively over if Kalou had not taken his chance to ensure that the champions matched United’s win over Blackburn earlier in the day.
   ‘Mathematically we could still win because there are still 21 points in the game, but if you go to eight behind it is much more difficult,’ Mourinho said. ‘It was a crucial goal and a crucial victory.’
   Six points clear with seven matches to play, United remain firmly in the driving seat. But the last-gasp nature of Chelsea’s win will only strengthen the champions’ belief that they can close the gap.
   United had to come from behind to beat Blackburn 4-1, but once they hit their stride they were irresistible.
   A Matt Derbyshire strike had given Blackburn a half-time lead. But after a superb solo equaliser from Paul Scholes just after the hour, goals from Michael Carrick, Park Ji-Sung and substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ensured an ultimately comfortable win.
   Ferguson was left with a potentially major headache however. Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic had to be stretchered off with a shoulder injury that will keep him out of action for up to five weeks, potentially upsetting the defensive solidity on which United’s challenge for league, cup and Champions League silverware has been based.
   Elsewhere on Saturday, a classic hat-trick by Peter Crouch
   helped Liverpool crush Arsenal 4-1 at Anfield and leapfrog their London rivals into third place in the table.
   Arsenal’s defeat offered Bolton fresh hope that they could yet claim fourth spot in the table and a place in the final qualifying round for next season’s Champions League.
   Kevin Davies scored ten minutes from time to earn Sam Allardyce’s side a 1-0 win over Sheffield Utd, who ended the afternoon just one point above the relegation zone.
   Charlton’s battle for survival continued to gather momentum with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Wigan that came courtesy of an 86th-minute penalty from England striker Darren Bent.
   Alan Pardew’s side are now unbeaten in four games and look capable of overhauling both Sheffield United and Wigan.
   Manchester City’s fears of being dragged into the relegation battle were eased by a 1-0 win at Newcastle. Belgium striker Emile Mpenza scored the goal that allowed Stuart Pearce’s side to maintain a six-point cushion between them and the bottom three.
   West Ham’s faint hopes of avoiding relegation were given a shot in the arm with a 2-0 home win over Middlesbrough, although Alan Curbishley’s side remain five points adrift of safety.
   Argentina forward Carlos Tevez was the Hammers’ hero once more, setting up Bobby Zamora for a second-minute opener before making the win safe by hitting the net himself just before half-time.
   Portsmouth’s push for European football suffered a setback when Ian Pearce snatched a last-minute equaliser for Fulham after Croatian midfielder Niko Kranjcar had given the visitors the lead at Craven Cottage.

Second-placed Sevilla handed reigning champions Barcelona a two point lead at the top of the Spanish first division when they were held to a 0-0 draw at Osasuna on Sunday.
   There were few chances for either side, in a game conducted in a downpour, with perhaps the best falling to Osausna’s Javier Flano whose shot skimmed the post 20 minutes from time.
   Fredi Kanoute only appeared as a second half substitute 15 minutes from time, Sevilla coach Juande Ramos leaving the Spanish first division’s top scorer on the bench to keep him fresh for Thursday’s UEFA Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur.
   Barcelona beat Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 on Saturday to continue to make the pace in La Liga with the Catalan club bidding for their third successive league title.
   Second-half substitute Robinho again came to Real Madrid’s rescue and headed the winner for the Spanish giants seven minutes from time in their 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo earlier on Sunday.
   Real striker Gonzalo Higuain sent a pass across the area which Celta goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto could only punch away and the Brazilian was on hand to head home from the edge of the six yard box.
   ‘A draw would have been fair. Both teams went out to win and neither of the two just went out to defend,’ admitted Real coach Fabio Capello.
   Ruud van Nistlerooy opened the scoring for Real from the penalty spot after 27 minutes after Pinto had brought him down with a badly timed tackle.
   Angel Lopez then brought Celta back level two minutes before the break, scoring from the right edge of the area after an outstanding back-heeled defence-splitting pass from Nene.
   Celta, who are still just one place and one point above the relegation zone, pressed hard in the second half and only the brilliance of Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas denied them another goal.
   ‘It was an open game. With a bit of luck, this will get me in the starting lineup,’ said Robinho, whose relationship with Real coach Fabio Capello has sometimes been strained.
   The game ended on a sour note for Real with Jose Maria Gutierrez getting carelessly sent off after receiving two yellow cards in less than a minute in injury time.
   The victory means Real remain third, five points behind bitter rivals Barca.
   Racing Santander improved their chances of qualifying for European competition for the first time when they won 5-4 in a bizarre game with relegation-threatened Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
   ‘I’m happy to have won but when your team concedes four goals you know, as a coach, that you haven’t done your job,’ reflected a bemused Racing coach Miguel Angel Portugal.
   ‘Well at least the fans had some fun and we can continue dreaming about Europe but we committed a lot of errors which we are going to have to sit down and analyse,’ added Portugal.
   Athletic went ahead from a Luis Prieto free kick after seven minutes but the fire works started in earnest after the break.
   Eight second half goals, including five within a 12 minute period, were topped off by a winner from Racing’s Nicola Zigic less than two minutes before the whistle.
   The defeat leaves Athletic in deeper relegation trouble, third from bottom and the possibility looms ever larger that the historic Basque club will be relegated from the first division for the first time.
   Bottom club Gimnastic Tarragona got a 1-1 draw with Recreativo Huelva but still remain at the foot of the Spanish first division.
   Recreativo’s Florent Sinama Pongolle opened the scoring after 10 minutes, chipping the ball over the head of Gimnastic’s oncoming goalkeeper Albano Bizarri from the edge of the area.
   However, Gimnastic were back on level terms within five minutes thanks to a blistering left foot shot from 20 metres by Javier Portillo.
   Getafe came from two goals down to snatch a point in a 2-2 draw with fifth-placed Real Zaragoza.
   Sergio Garcia put Zaragoza ahead midway through the first half and Andres D’Alessandro got one of the best goals of the season 10 minutes before the break, scoring from a wonderful free kick 35 metres out on the right wing.
   Getafe replied through Manu Del Moral and Francisco Casquero.

Inter Milan won 2-0 at home to relegation-threatened Parma on Sunday to move within touching distance of the Serie A title.
   The visitors frustrated the reigning champions for 55 minutes before goals from Brazilian Maxwell and Argentine striker Hernan Crespo ended the visitors’ stubborn resistance.
   A far from straightforward victory left Inter still unbeaten on 79 points, 20 ahead of second-placed Roma, who drew 1-1 with AC Milan on Saturday.
   Inter, who finished third last season but were awarded the title after Juventus and AC Milan were found guilty of match-fixing, need just eight more points from their remaining nine games to be certain of retaining the Scudetto.
   Crespo, who played for Parma when he first arrived in Italy before spells with Lazio and AC Milan, said he was looking forward to becoming a champion for the first time.
   Lazio strengthened their grip on third place with a 4-2 win at Udinese. A seventh consecutive victory for the 2000 champions put them on 52 points, seven behind city rivals Roma but four ahead of Palermo who could only manage a goalless draw at Torino.
   Luca Saudati scored twice as Empoli boosted their chances of a Champions League place for next season with a resounding 4-1 home win against bottom club Ascoli.
   Victory for the division’s surprise package left them in fifth place on 45 points, three less than Palermo but one more than AC Milan.
   Fiorentina, who are chasing a UEFA Cup place, threw away a two-goal lead in their 2-2 draw at Atalanta while Cagliari boosted their survival hopes with a 2-0 home win over fellow relegation candidates Messina.
   Livorno captain Cristiano Lucarelli scored a hat-trick in his side’s 4-1 hammering of Catania, while Chievo remain in danger of the drop after a 1-1 draw at home to Sampdoria.
   Inter were struggling to find a way through against Parma before a moment of magic from Maxwell broke the stalemate.
   The 25-year-old wingback chased a wayward pass from compatriot Maicon and kept the ball from going out of play with a clever touch that also enabled him to get past Damiano Ferronetti tight on the left touchline.
   The former Ajax player then exchanged passes with Crespo before swerving past three Parma defenders and firing an angled shot into the top corner with his left foot.
   Crespo practically extinguished Parma’s hopes of taking something from the match in the 70th minute, tapping into an empty net after a square pass from Adriano.
   Parma threw caution to the wind in the last 20 minutes and Inter were indebted to their keeper Francesco Toldo for a string of fine saves that preserved their two-goal cushion.
   On Saturday Roma and AC Milan, who are both involved in next week’s Champions League quarter-finals, played out a draw at the Olympic stadium.
   French defender Philippe Mexes gave Roma an early lead with a rising drive from the edge of the box, before Alberto Gilardino equalised with a glancing header.
   In Saturday’s other match, Siena eased their relegation fears with a precious 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Reggina.

Manchester United director Bobby Charlton believes speculation about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo is unsettling the player and the club.
   ‘Ronaldo is having a marvellous season and he is enjoying himself at Manchester United,’ Charlton told reporters at the Laureus sports awards in Barcelona on Monday.
   ‘I can see no reason at all why he should want to play for another club. It’s really destabilising for both the club and the player to have all this speculation about his future. All of it is coming from abroad and none from our club.’
   Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has said they want to sign the United forward, while Spanish media have reported that Barcelona are interested in the 22-year-old.
   Charlton also said if United maintain their form and go on to win the league title it would rank as one of Alex Ferguson’s biggest successes in his 21 years in charge of the club.
   ‘I would say that it would be one of Sir Alex’s greatest achievements at Manchester United if we won the league title,’ said the former England international.
   ‘Winning the championship has never been so difficult since Chelsea’s emergence and it will be absolutely sensational.’
   Charlton also called for the media to take the pressure off England manager Steve McClaren following the national side’s lacklustre start to their Euro 2008 qualification campaign.
   ‘He’s not been in the job that long and I think people should leave him alone to get on with it,’ he said.
   ‘The present atmosphere is certainly not conducive to working well. It is bound to affect you.’
   ‘I can only compare it to 1966 when Alf Ramsey was in charge. He allowed the press in from two to four pm every Thursday and after that they had to go away and let him get on with the job. The press have to realise that they, too, have a responsibility in this.’

England coach Duncan Fletcher believes the recent arrival of the England cricket team’s wives and girlfriends can play a key role in helping his side raise their game during what will be a vital week for their World Cup hopes.
   Many former England players criticised the presence of the WAGS, as they are collectively called, during England’s 5-0 Ashes series humiliation in Australia, saying their presence was a distraction and meant the team didn’t bond as a close-knit unit.
   And during last year’s football World Cup in Germany, the partners of England players received widespread criticism for what was deemed to be their publicity-seeking conduct.
   But England coach Fletcher was gratified by the arrival of England’s ‘other halves’ at the team hotel in Antigua here Sunday and believes they could provide his under-performing squad with a timely boost.
   ‘We’ve done it on previous tours and on some of the tours when they’ve arrived we’ve put in some very solid performances,’ said Fletcher.
   ‘India was a good example a few years ago when we were losing 1-0 in the Test series and the wives arrived and we ended up drawing the series – they do help when they arrive.’
   England were convincingly beaten by New Zealand, the only Test nation they’ve played so far at this World Cup, in the group stages while they failed to go for the jugular during wins over ‘minnows’ Canada, Kenya and Ireland.
   However, this week they will need to raise their game against Sri Lanka, World Cup winners in 1996, and reigning champions Australia who are bidding for a third successive title.
   England have never won the World Cup and the last of their three losing appearances in a final was back in 1992.
   Fletcher knows that if his side are to make it out of the Super Eights they have little margin for error after losing to New Zealand.
   ‘We’ve got to the stage now where we’ve got some big matches to play,’ admitted Fletcher. ‘Sri Lanka is going to be a huge game for us on Wednesday.
   ‘But having lost to New Zealand we have to make sure we win every game from here on in. This is the biggest week of our World Cup so far because we’re up against the big countries now.
   ‘We need to find consistency. We just don’t seem to be consistent and we have to be very careful that when we don’t play well, other sides can take advantage of that situation and we’ll struggle to get out of that.’

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn confirmed in the German press on Sunday that he will hang up his boots at the end of next season.
   His club had hoped he would sign a contract extension but Kahn reiterated his desire to call it quits in June 2008.
   ‘My career as a goalkeeper will definitely end on June 30, 2008,’ said the the 37-year-old in Die Welt newspaper.
   Kahn is still the first choice shot-stopper at Bayern but has been surpassed by Arsenal’s Jens Lahmann in the national team set-up and retired from the German team after the World Cup.
   ‘Just like I did with the national team, I will leave at the top. I don’t want to find myself in the situation where someone decides for me.’
   Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge tried to urge Kahn to change his mind last month and sign a new contract.
   However, that angered Kahn’s understudy at Bayern, Michael Rensing, who has long been touted as the natural successor to the emblematic Kahn.
   But Bayern bosses later confirmed that 22-year-old Rensing was indeed the man for the future.
   ‘We signed him for that and for the moment, that’s what should happen in 2008,’ said the Munich club’s general manager Uli Hoeness.

Former Brazil striker Romario remained stuck on a career tally of 999 goals after failing to score in Vasco da Gama’s game against Botafogo on Sunday.
   Vasco went down 2-0 as the 41-year-old was forced to continue the wait to emulate Pele by scoring 1,000 goals in his career.
   ‘The greatest of them all had to wait four or five games to do it,’ he told reporters. ‘I’m going to keep on playing and hopefully the chances will appear.’
   Nearly 60,000 watched the Carioca championship match, a competition were few games have attracted crowds of more than 5,000, in the hope of seeing Romario make history.
   Few Brazilians are bothered about Romario’s admission that his total includes goals scored in junior, friendly and testimonial games.
   Botafogo, however, refused to let the occasion get to them and went ahead when Lucio Flavio scored with a low shot from outside the penalty area in the 15th minute.
   Vasco goalkeeper Cassio made three outstanding reflex saves in the second half before midfielder Tulio added the second with the last kick of the game.
   Romario had three clear chances to score.
   He had a toe-poked shot saved by Botafogo goalkeeper Julio Cesar just before halftime and shot into the side-netting after being released by Leandro Amaral ten minutes after the break.
   His best effort was a cheeky lob which was just too high in the 64th minute.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter will be unchallenged when he stands for re-election on May 31, world football’s governing body said Monday.
   No other candidate had come forward by the March 31 deadline for the election during the FIFA Congress in Zurich, FIFA announced in a statement.
   Sixty-six out of world football’s 207 national associations have nominated Blatter for his third term at the helm of FIFA.
   ‘Over the past nine years, I have managed to overcome a range of difficulties and bring about several improvements thanks to their help and to the support of other members of the global football family,’ the 71 year-old said.
   ‘During my third period of office, football will acquire a more pronounced and extensive social role,’ he added.
   The Swiss lawyer was FIFA General Secretary under the wing of Joao Havelange until he was elected president for the first time in 1998 when the Brazilian retired.
   Blatter’s re-election in 2002 for what became a five-year period was marked by an
   acrid battle with African confederation chief Issa Hayatou, as critics raised allegations of financial impropriety or mismanagement at FIFA headquarters.
   Blatter has firmly denied any wrongdoing and underlined the health of the governing body’s finances under his stewardship in recent years.

Sanath Jayasuriya may be playing in his last World Cup, but has proved he still has it in him to demoralise any attack with his breath-taking strokes.
   The 37-year-old Sri Lanka opener was on song in his team’s second Super Eights match against the West Indies here on Sunday, hammering a 101-ball 115 for his 25th century with four sixes and 10 fours. The knock revived memories of the 1996 World Cup in the sub-continent when Jayasuriya redefined batting in the opening overs with his consistent over-the-top hitting. He was one of the stars of Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning squad 11 years ago.
   The left-hander looked subdued in the beginning against Brian Lara’s side because his team had lost two early wickets and he didn’t get much of the strike in the initial overs.
   He made 14 off 33 balls, but his next 27 came in just nine. The Jayasuriya show had begun as runs came with amazing rapidity from his bat.
   ‘I want to finish the World Cup on a high note. I haven’t planned beyond this tournament,’ said the man-of-the-match.
   ‘This is one of the best knocks I’ve played. It came in the World Cup and in a crucial game. We lost to South Africa the other day and we didn’t want to lose again. Although I have 25 centuries, I’ll never forget this one.
   ‘Somebody had to take the responsibility in the middle, so I thought after I had batted for ten overs that I should take the responsibility and bat for a longer period,’ said Jayasuriya.
   The longer he batted, the more helpless the West Indies bowlers and fielders looked. When he was bowled by seamer Daren Powell in the 39th over, he had already put his team on course for a big total.
   Sri Lanka scored 303-5 before bowling the hosts out for 190 for their first win in the second round. They now have four points from three games, thanks to their win over fellow qualifiers Bangladesh in a group match.
   It was Jayasuriya who also set up his team’s emphatic 198-run victory over Bangladesh with an explosive 87-ball 109 in Trinidad last month. But he admitted it was not easy batting in the initial stages here.
    ‘It was not an easy wicket early on. The ball was not coming on to the bat and it was seaming around a little bit. We didn’t want to lose any wickets, so I think Mahela did a very good job from the other end,’ said Jayasuriya.
   He put on 183 for the third wicket with skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who regained form with a solid 82. Jayasuriya then returned as a left-arm spinner to test the West Indies, finishing with three wickets. Jayasuriya has been in tremendous nick in recent times, having already made more than 1,000 runs with five centuries last year. His current form augurs well for Sri Lanka, who now play Australia, New Zealand, England and Ireland.

South Africa will treat their next World Cup Super Eight matches against Ireland and Bangladesh as ‘huge’ games which could clear the way to the semi-finals, according to coach Mickey Arthur.
   The Proteas have two points in the second round, courtesy of a narrow one-wicket win over Sri Lanka. They could leave Guyana with six points in the bag to get ready for crucial matches against the West Indies and New Zealand in Grenada.
   South Africa will then lock horns with a steady, but unspectacular England, in their last Super Eights match in Barbados.
   But Arthur has warned against complacency against Ireland and Bangladesh, two teams South Africa would normally be expected to roll over.
   ‘They are huge games because when you sit down and make plans for the rest of the tournament, they are both ‘banker’ games and, with games like that, there comes an added pressure,’ Arthur said ahead of today’s fixture against Ireland at Providence.
   ‘If things go well, we would also hope to work a little bit on our net run-rate because, in the event of two teams finishing with the same number of points after the Super Eights, they will be divided by their overall run rate.
   ‘But first prize is to leave Guyana with six points – if we can do that I’ll be a very
   happy man,’ said Arthur,
   whose team were given an early shock by debutants Ireland in a warm-up match in Trinidad last month.
   Irish skipper Trent Johnston (4-40) and Dave Langford-Smith (3-30) reduced South Africa to 91-8 before Andrew Hall (67 not out) and Robin Peterson (29) added 85 for the ninth wicket to help their team post 192.
   Ireland then batted well and were cruising towards the target with 139-4 before being bowled out for 157.
   Since that great escape against Ireland, the South Africa middle-order has yet to fire and came a cropper in their last Group A match against Australia which they lost by 83 runs.
   They were also let down by the middle-order against Sri Lanka, almost losing the match from a well-set 206-5 with Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga recording a unique four-in-four-ball feat before the Proteas sneaked through.
   It was a tense win which Arthur admitted had ‘taken quite a few years off my life.’
   ‘At five wickets down with four runs needed to win, I started packing away the kit bags, but then it suddenly became very hectic. It was always going to take something extremely special to derail us from there and Malinga certainly nearly delivered it,’ Arthur said.
   And a semi-final place is already on Arthur’s mind.
   ‘Based on current form I wouldn’t mind staying away from Australia in the semi-finals,’ said the coach.
   ‘Right now I firmly believe the last four teams will be Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa based on what I have seen but we still have an awful lot of work to do to be sure of our place.’
   World number one South Africa are hoping their pace spearheads Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini get back to their lethal best after being lacklustre in the earlier matches.
   Pollock is particularly worrying, having conceded 83 in ten overs against Australia and 46 off eight in the match against Sri Lanka. He was also wicket-less on both occasions.
   Ireland captain Johnston said his team is not in awe of any opposition.
   ‘We gave a good account of ourselves in the match against England and need to lift our performance by at least 25 per cent in the remaining matches,’ said Johnston whose team lost their first Super Eights match against England by 48 runs.
   ‘We played well in the warm-up match against South Africa and then during our win over Pakistan (in the first round), so if we can repeat those two performances we can achieve the best results.’
   Teams
   South Africa (from): Graeme Smith (captain), Jacques Kallis, Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Roger Telemachus.
   Ireland (from): Trent Johnston (captain), Kyle McCallan, Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray, Kenneth Carroll, Peter Gillespie, Dave Langford-Smith, John Mooney, Paul Mooney, Eoin Morgan, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Andrew White.

Glenn McGrath played down comparisons between himself and Wasim Akram after breaking the Pakistan great’s record for World Cup wickets.
   McGrath, who had been one behind the legendary left-arm quick’s mark of 55, took three for 16 in world champions Australia’s 10-wicket thrashing of Bangladesh at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
   ‘Wasim Akram is one of the greatest bowlers of all time, a left-armer who swings it both ways with the new ball – and so dangerous with the old ball too,’ McGrath said after Saturday’s match.
   ‘I guess to go past him is something special and something I’ll always remember.’
   However, the 37-year-old McGrath, who has appeared in the last three World Cup finals – the 1996 defeat to Sri Lanka and the wins in 1999 and 2003 over Pakistan and India respectively, said his longevity as a cricketer as much as anything else explained his latest record-breaking achievement.
   ‘But probably the other side of the coin is if you play for long enough you are going to break records here and there – so maybe I’ve just been playing for a long time.’
   McGrath, the most successful fast bowler in Test history with 563 wickets in 124 matches, is set to retire from all senior cricket after the World Cup.
   On a pitch freshened by heavy overnight rain, McGrath took the new ball rather than coming on as first change behind left-armer Nathan Bracken and the express pace of Shaun Tait.
   McGrath, never the fastest of fast bowlers, has built his reputation on remorseless accuracy and late movement.
   And Australia captain Ricky Ponting said the New South Welshman’s skills could see him take the new ball in other matches at this World Cup.
   ‘If we are presented with conditions that will help Glenn with the new ball, then we’ll certainly use him.
   ‘The breeze across the ground was perfect for Bracken and Tait from one end, and Glenn up into the breeze to use whatever moisture in the wicket,’ Ponting explained.
   Australia have now won all five of their matches at this World Cup and top the Super Eight standings in the race for a semi-final spot.

Irate West Indies fans called for captain Brian Lara to be sacked following the team’s third consecutive defeat in the Super Eights of the World Cup on Sunday.
   After Sri Lanka trounced the home team by 113 runs in Guyana, many fans drowned their sorrows with a traditional glass of rum in the Barbados capital Bridgetown, which will hold the final of the seven-week tournament on April 28.
   The defeat was likely to spell the West Indies’ eventual exit from the tournament before the semi-finals.
   They have three more second-stage matches to play against South Africa, Bangladesh and England and must win them all to stand any chance of progressing.
   Lindon Albert watched the game in an inner city bar and joined friends in calling for Lara’s removal as captain of the host team.
   ‘What we are getting is simply not good enough,’ he told Reuters. ‘I don’t see them (West Indies) winning another game. This is over for us.’
   He turned his anger towards 37-year-old Lara, who holds the records for highest test and first-class individual scores, and said he should give up the game.
   ‘Lara should go, he should retire from the game. He is a great batsman but his leadership is weak.’
   Also in the bar watching the match on a small television was Timothy Daniel, a 54-year-old die-hard West Indies supporter.
   ‘In all my days I’ve never seen us as bad as this. We can’t take this any more,’ he shouted across the room. ‘Time for a change ... We have to get rid of Lara. He looks lost ... he looks rusty.’
   The West Indies won the first two editions of the World
   Cup in 1975 and 1979 but have rarely threatened to win a third since losing the 1982 final to India.
   They topped Group D in this tournament, the first to be played in the Caribbean, but have heavily lost second-stage matches to Australia, New Zealand and now Sri Lanka.
   Mary Vaughan blamed the recent war of words between Lara and selector Andy Roberts, the former West Indies fast bowler, for unsettling the team ahead of Sunday’s match.
   ‘There is too much shuffling in the team and the team is clearly unsettled,’ she said. ‘What happened between Lara and Roberts was a shame and they have to look at themselves and see if their actions made sense.’
   Roberts criticised the selection of the team, sparking Lara’s ire at a post-match news conference.
   At Brown’s Beach outside the city, some fans splashed in the Caribbean while other sat on the shore listening to the commentary on radios.
   ‘Another rough ride,’ said Sean Clarke, ‘I’m not surprised. I sort of expected us to lose. We’re not a strong team.’
   Rommelle Hillaire blasted the entire team and called for change. ‘From Lara at the top to all the others at the bottom, they have to go,’ he said.
   Tens of millions of dollars have been spent upgrading and building new stadiums for the tournament, including the Kensington Oval just outside Bridgetown which will stage the final.
   Meanwhile, former Test fast bowler Michael Holding called on Sunday for Brian Lara to step down as West Indies captain as the host’s World Cup campaign continued to unravel.
   Holding believes that the West Indies, who are in danger of failing to reach the semi-finals after losing both of their opening Super Eights matches, will only enjoy a renaissance in their fortunes if the record-breaking Lara quits.
   ‘Lara has to step aside, not necessarily as a player, but as captain,’ said Holding.
   ‘He needs to co-operate with the new captain and allow him to have a free hand to take the West Indies forward.’

Pakistan bowling great Wasim Akram Sunday hailed Australian paceman Glenn McGrath’s feat of breaking his World Cup record of most wickets, saying he wanted to congratulate his all-time favourite.
   ‘I just want to pass on my best wishes and say “mate you deserve all the records that cricket offers”. I am relieved that a bowler of McGrath’s calibre has broken my record,’ Wasim told AFP by telephone from Singapore.
   McGrath overhauled Wasim’s World Cup record of 55 during his three for 16 in world champions Australia’s 10-wicket thrashing of Bangladesh at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Saturday.
   Wasim, who now works as commentator for the ESPN-Star channel, still holds the record of most wickets in one-day cricket history with 502, a tally McGrath will not pass as he will retire after the World Cup.
   The 37-year-old McGrath, who retired from Test cricket early this year with 563 wickets, has 367 one-day victims in 244 matches.
   Wasim said McGrath is an all-time great bowler.
   ‘I consider McGrath and (former West Indies star) Malcolm Marshall as two all-time greats and I think they were a cut above the rest. McGrath is the complete bowler – physically and mentally.
   ‘He has the cunning for all batsmen and the way he executes his plans is great. You become his fan once you see him bowl and I have had the privilege of playing alongside this great man.’
   Wasim said players like McGrath make the Australian side world beaters.
   ‘Australia look miles ahead of the other teams simply because they have players of McGrath’s calibre and, as far as I’m concerned, it will take a huge effort from other teams to stop them from running away with their third World Cup title in a row.’
   Wasim, who led Pakistan to the runners-up spot when Australia won the 1999 World Cup, said Sri Lanka and South Africa must produce their best to stop Australia.
   ‘If not Australia then it’s Sri Lanka for me. I have been backing them since the start and the South Africans are also looking good.’
   Wasim, who retired after Pakistan’s first round exit from the 2003 tournament, said Pakistan and India had both disappointed him in the current World Cup.
   ‘Pakistan and India played badly and that led to their own downfall. They both need to lift themselves and they have the talent to do that,’ said Wasim.
   The South Asian giants both made first round exits in the Caribbean.
   Pakistan lost to the West Indies and Ireland in Group D, while India were upset by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to go out from Group B.
   A day after their upset defeat against Ireland, Pakistan also lost their coach Bob Woolmer, strangled to death in his hotel room in Jamaica.
   ‘It was sad to lose a man like Woolmer. He was a great coach, a great human being and a great friend. The circumstances in which he died were unacceptable,’ said Wasim who added that the Pakistan Cricket Board now needs wise planning to lift the game.
   ‘What the PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf needs to do is to have wise advisers like Imran Khan (former captain) and pick the best possible coach like Waqar Younis or Aaqib Javed,’ suggested Wasim, who ruled himself out as coach.
   ‘Coaching is a specialised field and I don’t think my busy schedule with television would allow me to do that, but I am ready to help the youngsters in bowling. Whenever I am required I will go and train them.’