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Zimbabwe 228 and 44 for 2 trail Sri Lanka 713 for 3 (Sangakkara 270, Atapattu 249, Jayawardene 100*) by 441 runs
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It was a day of records at Queens Sports Club, but it wasn’t a contest. Sri Lanka batted into the final session, amassing 713 for 3, before Marvan Atapattu gambled on a declaration. Some gamble. Zimbabwe ended the day on 44 for 2, still needing 441 to avoid an innings defeat.Brian Lara can breathe again, as neither of Sri Lanka’s double-century makers had the stamina to challenge his Test record. Atapattu fell for 249, while Sangakkara made 270 before both fell to Zimbabwe’s bowlers, who were totally outclassed but never surrendering. It was the first time in Test cricket that six bowlers had conceded more than 100 runs in a Test innings.In the morning, it took Sangakkara 18 minutes to move from his overnight 186 to his second Test double-century. He was 208 when another difficult chance went down, third man spilling an uppish slash. At the other end, Atapattu drove Elton Chigumbura classically through extra cover for four to take him past his previous Test best of 223, and continued on his stately way.Every now and then, though, the batsmen showed signs of boredom, and Atapattu’s concentration finally lapsed once too often when he tried to run Chigumbura through the vacant slip area and was well held by a diving Tatenda Taibu, the wicketkeeper (538 for 2). Atapattu’s innings lasted 516 minutes, he faced 324 balls and hit a six and 36 fours. The partnership with Sangakkara realised 438, the sixth-highest in Test cricket for any wicket.Sangakkara’s wicket was the only to fall in the afternoon, and that was the sum total of Zimbabwe’s success. Sangakkara, 250 at lunch, and dropped before he had scored, and he also fell to a Taibu catch when he attempted to glideTinashe Panyangara to third man and only got a thick edge (627 for 3). He hit 36 fours and two sixes, in 468 minutes off 365 balls. Many expected Atapattu to declare there and then, but perhaps he was under pressure from his middle order, who also wanted the chance to fill their boots.So Mahela Jayawardene took centre stage, stumbling out of the changing room like a bear roused from hibernation and determined to join the party. He was soon driving sweetly and late cutting with abandon in the absence of any slip fielders. He was in a race to reach his century before tea, but ended the session on 93. Atapattu let him go back out after the break to score the seven runs, and then called time.That left Zimbabwe facing a tricky 90 minutes and a massive deficit. Stuart Matsikenyeri began more solidly than he has often done, but it did him little good. After surviving confident lbw appeals from Chaminda Vaas to the second and third balls of the innings, he made 14 off 40 balls before Nuwan Zoysa slanted a ball across him and had him caught at the wicket (22 for 1). Shortly before the close, Mark Vermeulen fell in the same way as he had done in the first innings, driving Zoysa loosely to mid-off for 6 (40 for 2). Brendan Taylor, after a cautious start, decided to go down fighting, swinging Muttiah Muralitharan high over midwicket for six and ended unbeaten on 19.As for Muralitharan, he has been virtually anonymous in this match, Still troubled by a combination of a bruised finger, scrutiny by the ICC, and announcements made by his own board, he spent most of his nine-over spell toying with legbreaks. But he could probably switch to left-arm seam and Sri Lanka would still win at a canter.

Division OneKent v Leicestershire, Canterbury
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Paul Nixon added another half-century to his first-innings 113 not out, asKent were reminded of exactly what they will be missing this season.Leicestershire had been set an unlikely target of 387, and were in somestrife at 27 for 3, when Nixon bounced to the middle. But he added 75 forthe fourth wicket with Darren Stevens, before Damien Brandy chipped in witha half-century of his own. Martin Saggers, Alamgir Sheriyar and Amjad Khanall picked up two wickets, but Phil DeFreitas and Jeremy Snape batted out tothe close.Lancashire v Nottinghamshire, Old Trafford
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Chris Read, widely touted as Alec Stewart’s successor in England’s one-dayteam, did his chances no harm at all by guiding Nottinghamshire to a draw onthe final day at Old Trafford. Notts were still more than 200 runs adriftwhen Peter Martin (5 for 54) embarked on an inspired spell of seam bowling.But Read dug in for a 91-ball 57, and by the time he was eighth man out,Lancashire’s prospects of an unlikely win had evaporated.Middlesex v Sussex, Lord’s
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Middlesex produced the highest score of the match to record a tensethree-wicket win at Lord’s. It was a performance far removed from theirinept first-innings display, and Middlesex’s captain, Andy Strauss, led theway with 83. Ed Joyce and Paul Weekes both made vital contributions as well,but all three fell to Sussex’s James Kirtley, who was the pick of thebowlers with 4 for 87, all lbw. Kirtley took the new ball and dismissedJoyce and Weekes in the same over to set up a tense finish, but Ben Huttonand Simon Cook batted sensibly to inch Middlesex to their first victory inthe top division of the championship.Warwickshire v Essex, Edgbaston
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Ashley Giles and Ronnie Irani produced a brace of stunning performances- as captains and players – to transform a soggy mess of a match into athrilling tie. They agreed to forfeit one innings each, after the best partof two days had been lost to rain, which left Essex needing 381 to win.Irani led the way with a rollicking 87, adding 132 for the fifth wicket withAndy Flower, but Giles (5 for 115) matched him every step of the way. Essexstill needed 81 to win when Irani was sixth man out, but sensiblecontributions all down the order ensured the tightest finish imaginable.Division TwoHampshire v Glamorgan, Cardiff
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Matthew Maynard continued his majestic start to the season, by convertinghis overnight 63 into his 53rd first-class century. But that was the solehighlight of another drab rain-hit day in Cardiff. After Glamorgan hadreplied well to Hampshire’s impressive 531 for 7 dec, there was no prospectof a result, and play was called off at tea. Wasim Akram grabbed his seventhwicket of the season, but the pick of Hampshire’s attack was Chris Tremlett,who returned figures of 3 for 101.Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire, Wantage Road
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Jonty Rhodes cracked a delightful 128 from 131 balls century to giveNorthamptonshire one or two jitters at Wantage Road, but in the end theweather had the final say as the match descended into a battle for bonuspoints. Rhodes cracked 55 runs in just five overs before lunch, before JackRussell and Mark Alleyne secured Gloucestershire secured their full quota ofbatting points with a 72-run stand for the sixth wicket. By the time MartynBall had added two more wickets to his five in the first innings,Gloucestershire had won the day, but not the match.Somerset v Durham, Taunton
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Somerset bounced back from the disappointment of last week’s eight-rundefeat against Gloucestershire, cruising to a six-wicket win over Durham.Needing another 119 runs for victory with eight wickets in hand, PeterBowler’s unbeaten 67 ensured there would be no mishap after Steve Harmisonhad removed Jamie Cox in the first over of the day. Bowler added 89 for thethird wicket with James Bryant (51), before Richard Johnson, his confidencesky-high after a maiden first-class century last week, biffed three sixesand a four in seven balls to seal the win.

Australia’s final day demolition of England at The Oval to win by an innings and 25 runs and take the series 4-1 has confirmed their lead at the head of the ICC Test Championship table.By wrapping up their seventh consecutive Ashes series more than three weeks ago at Nottingham, the Australians retained the two points earned from their 3-2 victory in the last series between the two sides in England. England remain clear in third position despite losing, not being penalised as they had also lost in that corresponding series four years ago.Although they would have been knocked off the leader’s perch by South Africa with a loss in this series, Australia can not now be headed on the table until at least late November. Even this would only eventuate if South Africa managed to win in Zimbabwe in September; hold on to established points against India by winning at home in November; and if Australia was then beaten by New Zealand at home. If this trio of events fails to occur, South Africa would have to await their twin series against the Australians between December 2001 and March 2002 in order to bridge the gap or overtake their rivals.The first movement in the standings since the end of July is likely to come later this week as the third and final Test between Sri Lanka and India starts at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo tomorrow. Unlike the drawn two-Test series dominated by the bat in 1997/98, both matches thus far have ended in results inside four days.Neither side can improve its position on the table – only their points per series averages can rise – they will nevertheless force their opponents down the ladder if there is a positive outcome from the final Test. An Indian victory would see Sri Lanka slip two places, dropping below West Indies (average of 1.00) and New Zealand (0.93) to assume sixth place on 0.92. A win for the home team on the other hand would push India behind Pakistan (0.73) into eighth on 0.69.The results of the Asian Test Championship, which also starts tomorrow in Multan and which includes the opening matches of the 2001/02 Test season, will not count toward the ICC Test Championship. The matches between Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka take the form of a series of one-off Tests, and they are therefore disqualified from consideration under the rules which govern the operation of the ICCTC.

Alastair Cook has described Jonny Bairstow’s batting as having “improved unrecognisably” from his last experience of international cricket. The recall for Bairstow may not be the only change to England’s side for the third Investec Ashes Test as Mark Wood has failed to fully shake his ankle injury, with Steven Finn primed to replace him when a last-minute decision is made on Wednesday morning.Bairstow will bat at No. 5 in a reshuffled middle order after replacing his Yorkshire colleague Gary Ballance, having averaged 108.88, including five centuries, in the Championship this season. He also scored a series-sealing 83 not out in the final ODI against New Zealand in June.”Jonny couldn’t be in a better place,” Cook said. “I guess that’s what happens when you’re averaging 100. I haven’t seen him play for Yorkshire but I did when he toured the Caribbean with us and played for St Kitts in a mixed warm-up and got a brilliant 90.”His game has improved unrecognisably from where he was before. Players are allowed to improve, but we have to remember that he got a really good 90 and 50 against a good pace attack against South Africa in 2012.”Jonny’s knocked the door down with his weight of runs for Yorkshire in Division One, they’re top of the league and he’s still averaging over 100 which is fantastic cricket at any level. He’s raring to go.”Six of Bairstow’s 14 Tests have come in the Ashes, the final two as a wicketkeeper amid the wreckage of the disastrous tour of 2013-14, and his record against Australia is underwhelming, averaging just 22.90 with a single half-century. Bairstow never struggled for starts – only in his last Test innings, a duck as England were bowled out inside 32 overs in Sydney, did he fail to reach double figures against the Australians – although a pair of technical kinks prevented him kicking on and scoring the weight of rapid runs those innings against South Africa promised.Jonny Bairstow has been in prolific form for Yorkshire and played a match-winning innings on his ODI return for England•Getty Images

When Bairstow first played Test cricket, against West Indies earlier in the summer of 2012, he struggled against short-pitched bowling, while in the 2013 Ashes Australia exploited a weakness against full, straight bowling, which he tended to play around.Technically, Australia will encounter a changed batsman. This season, having been left utterly to his own devices by Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie, he has a higher backlift, reminiscent of Graham Gooch, that means he is quicker to attack the short ball and plays full bowling with a straighter bat. It has certainly reaped rewards at county level, and the sight of him hooking compulsively in the Edgbaston nets on Monday suggests it is a method he will persist with in Test cricket, even if Mitchells Johnson and Starc pose a rather different threat to anything lurking in the shires.In manner as well as technique, Bairstow has matured, his dealings with the press less forced, and he carries the demeanour of a young man – for, at 25, that is very much what he remains, even if 15 cricketers have debuted for England since he made his bow – much more at ease with himself.Doubts remain over Wood’s fitness. He passed a fitness test on Monday morning and bowled at full tilt in the nets that afternoon, but heavy rain in Birmingham on Tuesday meant England’s bowlers remained indoors, with a decision set to be made on the morning of the Test. Cook confirmed that if Wood failed to pull through that it would be the pace of Finn, not the legspin of Adil Rashid, that England plump for. Cook also said that Moeen Ali was over the side strain that left him a doubt for Lord’s, making a Test debut for Rashid even less likely.”I’ll say with the forecast around, it’s not the heatwave people have talked about, it will be Finny. Considering Wood’s past record, he’s played a huge amount of cricket over the last six or seven months, compared to what he has done for Durham. We’ve got to be careful and we’ll make that call in the morning. Finny has bowled really well for Middlesex and in the one-dayers so whichever way we go, whoever gets the nod is the lucky one.”Finn, like Bairstow, is an improved cricketer since Australia last encountered him at Test level, in the opening match of the 2013 series at Trent Bridge. Finn has battled with his run-up, pace and belief and was famously labeled “unselectable” by then coach Ashley Giles during the ODI series that followed the 2013-14 whitewash.Finn, according to those who know him best at Middlesex, is bowling as well as he ever has. His pace, rhythm and consistency has been improving throughout the season and he bowled a spectacular spell, full of hostility, to take 4 for 41 against Somerset at Merchant Taylor’s School a fortnight ago. Both Somerset’s openers were struck on the arm and Michael Bates was hit on the helmet later in the innings. If both men play, Finn’s former Middlesex captain Chris Rogers – recovering from a dizzy spell suffered at Lord’s – can expect bowling of similarly awkward length.

First Division

Click here to read John Ward’s report of the clash between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at Headingley, where Jacques Rudolph posted a century.Click here for the full report of Sussex against Surrey at Hove, where Carl Hopkinson and Murray Goodwin both fell just short of centuries.

Second Division

3rd dayGloucestershire are hoping for a gettable final-day run chase after they declared behind on the third day of their rain-affected match against Glamorgan at Bristol. Glamorgan will enter the fourth morning with a lead of 243 and with more showers possible, David Hemp will be left with an interesting call on when to let Gloucestershire have a bat. Matthew Wood picked up a half-century in the second innings as the hosts gave their part-time bowlers a run. They conceded the first-innings advantage when they closed their innings at 141 for 4, still trailing by 136 on a day that was, like the first two, interrupted by rain. Gloucestershire began the morning hoping to quickly wrap up Glamorgan’s tail but Robert Croft frustrated them with 45 as the visitors moved along to 277.Tim Ambrose showed his readiness for the international season with an unbeaten 156 as Warwickshire collected a full hand of batting points against Leicestershire at Edgbaston. He built two significant stands, 152 with Jonathan Trott (82) and 157 with Neil Carter who clubbed 82 off 94 balls. Ambrose needed 162 deliveries for his sixth first-class century, but when Garnett Kruger bowled Ian Salisbury it looked as though Warwickshire may fall short of 300. However, Carter put bat to ball as he does in one-day cricket while Ambrose moved onto the second highest score of his career, behind the unbeaten 251 he made against Worcestershire last season. But with so much time lost to the weather forcing a victory remains unlikely without some agreement between captains. Leicestershire reached 124 for 1 at the close, although both Matt Boyce and HD Ackerman were both dropped at slip by Ian Salisbury.2nd dayStephen Moore’s second century of the season put Worcestershire in charge against Northamptonshire at Northampton but a couple of late wickets to David Lucas kept the hosts in the hunt. After only 10.2 overs were possible on the first day, Moore’s 109 ensured the visitors took a comfortable first-innings lead on day two. Moore and Vikram Solanki (64) compiled a 130-run stand before Lucas removed them both late in the day to leave Worcestershire 216 for 3 at stumps. It had been a struggle for the Northamptonshire quicks until then, unlike their visiting counterparts Steve Magoffin and Kabir Ali. Kabir had Rob White lbw from the first ball of the day before Magoffin added two more with no addition to the score. The hosts were 33 for 4 when David Sales led a rally of sorts with 50 but once he and Lance Klusener (30) fell to Magoffin the rest dropped away quickly. Magoffin, the Western Australia import, finished with 4 for 49 and Kabir grabbed 3 for 44.

Following the second flood in a matter of weeks at New Road, Worcestershire have been in discussions with other counties and the ECB about finding new venues for their remaining home fixtures. It appears unlikely that any further cricket will be played at the ground this season, although the club haven’t ruled out a return in September.”I have been in contact with the ECB and a number of counties over the weekend,” Mark Newton, Worcestershire’s chief executive said. “Everybody has been very helpful in accommodating our requests and everything is subject to approval, hopefully today.”We are still under 10 to 12 feet of water but at least we can get into our offices today and start the clear up operation. This is the second highest flood ever out of 135 floods since 1899 – the highest was during the winter of 1947. The fact that it has come during the summer when all the infrastructure is in place magnifies the impact hugely.”I am still hopeful we may be able to play our last two home games in September at New Road but we will review that in a few weeks time.”The Championship match against Lancashire was abandoned on the first day following the same fate as the Kent match two weeks earlier. Worcestershire made the decision to try and play the Lancashire match after meetings between the two clubs and the ECB, but torrential rain returned on Friday.Newton previously took heavy criticism from Kent for not relocating their Championship to Kidderminster, but last week said even moving the Lancashire game wouldn’t have made a difference.”No ground in Worcestershire, or the country, could cope with this rain,” he said. “There would have been no point moving to an outground because they don’t have the same level of covering and hard-standing areas to take the rain.”

Phil Jaques, the New South Wales opening batsman, doing a county stint with Worcestershire, is in Australia to play the Top End Series featuring A teams from New Zealand, Pakistan, India and Australia.Looking to this winter’s Ashes, Jaques felt that, if given a chance, he is ready to play a big part in the series. He played his only Test against South Africa at Melbourne last December and said that it was unfortunate that he played behind Justin Langer and Mathew Hayden – “the most successful partnership in history”.”My timing is not great from that point of view,” Jaques told . “But I have to bide my time and score as many runs as I can to keep the pressure on. Every time I walk out to the middle now, I’m trying to score a big hundred and make a statement.”Jaques is averaging 102 for Worcestershire with three centuries from six matches and scored a double hundred in the county’s innings victory over Northamptonshire in June.”This spell at Worcester is great for me. I wanted to work on my game. The pitch at Worcester seams around and it’s never easy to play. That was an attraction. I wanted to test myself. If I can tighten up my game and take it to the next level before the Ashes, then brilliant.” Jaques will be returning to play for the county this month after the Top End Series.”It would be terrific to be involved with the Ashes. It’s the biggest series ever from an Australian point of view. We definitely like beating the English, and you saw last summer they like getting one over on us.”Jaques is certain that Australia are looking for revenge. “Everything is geared up to make sure we hit England with everything we have got.”

Pakistan cricket authorities have told the International Cricket Council (ICC) that their players would not sport the logo of a liquor company sponsoring the Super Series against Australia in October, since alcohol consumption is against the tenets of Islam.”We have informed the ICC that our players will in no manner promote the logos or other promotional material if they are picked in the final World XI squads,” a Pakistan Cricket Board official told . “We didn’t want to put our players in a dilemma later on in the matches.”Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, was taken to court by a Pakistan citizen after he appeared in an advertising campaign for an Indian alcohol company two years ago. Akram denied the charges saying that he was promoting the company’s cricket gear and not alcohol.Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq are the Pakistan players that have been selected in the provisional ICC World XI squad. The final team will be announced in August by a panel headed by Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian captain.

Shoaib Akhtar is facing possible disciplinary action after reports alleged he may have feigned an injury to avoid bowling on the third day of the Rawalpindi Test because of differences with Inzamam-ul-Haq. In a telephone conversation he had with Rashid Latif, Shoaib suggested that he wasn’t happy with Inzamam’s field settings for his bowling.Latif disclosed the contents of the phone call on a local channel on Wednesday night, where he claimed that some other players had also complained about problems within the team. A local newspaper reported that some team members were not convinced of Shoaib’s injury, and also revealed that X-rays on his injured wrist showed no damage.When Shoaib subsequently came out on Friday to bat, signs of a side strain or wrist injury were not immediately apparent as he blasted 28 off 14 balls, with four fours and two sixes. The cameo prompted Inzamam-ul-Haq to claim that he “was surprised at the way Shoaib had batted”. On being questioned about Shoaib’s alleged phone call to Latif, Inzamam said that an inquiry would be held and, depending on the result, disciplinary action would be taken against Shoaib. “If something like this has happened then we will take action against it. This sort of behaviour can cause disruption within the team. There will be an inquiry into the matter and action will be taken.” Inzamam did say, however, that there was no question of differences between him and Shoaib.Shaharyar Khan, the PCB’s chairman, in a chaotic press conference, also faced persistent questions about Shoaib. “He was seen hitting sixes today after not playing yesterday. But we will sit down – the management committee will look at the doctor’s report, the players’ views and the captain and manager’s views and if it is found that any player didn’t play or give their all for non-cricketing reasons, then action will be taken. Nobody is bigger than the national team.”He further added, “I went up and spoke to Shoaib myself. He was on the massage table at that point. I asked him what was wrong with him since I assumed only his wrist was injured. He said that he felt an unbelievable pain in his side when he fell over while bowling. He said that he was in so much pain that he couldn’t sleep and that regardless of what the X-rays showed, he was in much pain. The doctor’s report can say whatever, but if a guy is still saying he is in so much pain then maybe an investigation is required.”Both Latif’s statements and Shoaib’s actions attracted the scorn of the PCB chief executive, Rameez Raja. Raja said, “We are certainly going to ask Shoaib about this because it is not good for the dressing-room atmosphere. And how can Rashid be so irresponsible to discuss such things in public.”Shoaib, meanwhile, has been preparing to visit India for a commercial shoot.

The three day friendly between Somerset and Glamorgan ended in a drawafter Glamorgan challenged Somerset to score 386 in 53 overs onthe final afternoon.The home team had a brief assault on the Glamorgan bowlers, butthey settled for the draw with their score on 260-4 with 8 overs remaining.The highlight of the day for Glamorgan was an aggressive century fromDarren Thomas. The 28 year old all-rounder arrived at the crease afterDavid Hemp had hit an attractive 70, and Thomas was soon into his stridewith some firm drives on both sides of the wicket.Fellow seamers Alex Wharf and David Harrison also played some bold strokesin the April sunshine, but it was Thomas who became Glamorgan`s third centurionof the game, after Jonathan Hughes and Matthew Maynard who both reached threefigures in the Welsh county`s first innings.Soon after reaching his deserved century, Thomas was caught on the mid-wicketboundary by Keith Dutch, and Steve James promptly declared to leave the WestCountry side the task of scoring 386 at seven and a half an over to win the gameon what was an excellent batting wicket.Openers Rob Turner and Matthew Wood began in breezy style, before Turner was magnificentlycaught one-handedly by Steve James off Robert Croft`s bowling. Piran Holloway thenlaunched a few lusty blows of his own, but Somerset lost a couple of important wicketsas Andrew Davies clean bowled Matthew Wood, and then James Bryant holed out trying to hitRobert Croft for a fourth six. Despite a few more blows by Aaron Laraman, Somerseteventually opted for the draw.