Thilanga Sumathipala, the most powerful and controversial administrator in Sri Lanka’s cricket history, is set to return for his fifth term as board president after the current incumbent, Mohan de Silva, announced on Friday that he would be stepping aside for Sumathipala, who has formidable support amongst voting clubs.”Thilanga [Sumathipala] will contest this year’s election,” de Silva told newspaper. “I give my fullest support to him and I have decided to step down from this year’s elections. There is a lot of support for him amongst the member clubs and there’s a feeling he should take over.”Sumathipala has built up such a strong coalition of political support since emerging on the cricket scene soon after the 1996 World Cup, especially among out-station clubs, that he was the power behind the throne and effectively president in all but name anyway during the past 12 months.The decision to take a back-seat role in 2004 had been forced uponSumathipala after his involvement in an embarrassing immigration scandal that led to his being taken into police custody for several months last year. While the case remains unresolved, the controversy has died down since Sumathipala was granted bail.Sumathipala maintained a low profile for several months before bursting back into public life late last year in his capacity as the cricket board’s “International Cricket Council envoy”. This was followed by his high-profile appointment as Cricket-Aid chairman soon after the Boxing Day tsunami.The nomination of Sumathipala, 40, was uncontested and at Sri Lanka Cricket’s forthcoming annual general meeting his appointment will merely be rubber stamped. But his most outspoken foes, particularly Arjuna Ranatunga, who suffered a galling landslide defeat to Sumathipala in 2003, may make pleas to the government to intervene.Ranatunga launched a stinging attack on Sumathipala last week, accusing him of bullying Sri Lanka’s national players into boycotting a private charity function for tsunami victims involving Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne. No contracted players, apart from Murali, eventually turned up for the dinner.But Sumathipala’s opponents are unlikely to have success upsetting his plans. His political support and connections within the present government now appear quite strong, and it is inconceivable that he would not have been given the green light to contest from political heavyweights.Sumathipala’s greatest achievement during his first three terms was theconstruction of the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, a projectcompleted in just 168 days. Aside from that, his financial acumen and strong negotiating skills have contributed to a sizable increase in broadcasting and sponsorship revenues during the past five years.But there have been plenty of controversies along the way too, including unproven allegations of misconduct. The government stepped in and took over interim control of the board during two of his previous terms in office, in 1999 and 2000.Ravin Wickramaratne, the current assistant secretary, has been nominated uncontested as the new secretary, one of the most important posts, while Aravinda de Silva is likely to retain his place as joint vice-president. The only contested appointments will be the tournament, tour organising, sponsorship and umpires committees.

The sponsorship imbroglio that threatened to rip West Indian cricket apart isseemingly over, but it has cost Brian Lara his captaincy, at least for themoment. Lara is among the four players involved in the sponsorship controversy to have been named for the second Test against South Africa starting April 8, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been retained as captain for the entire series.Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo are the other players who are back in the fold, at the expense of Daren Ganga, Donovan Pagon and Narsingh Deonarine who were part of playing XI for the first Test.Michael Carew, the convener of selectors, said he and his panel were pleasedwith the team’s overall performance in the first Test and he expected that the “team will go from strength to strength as the series progresses.”Coach Bennett King must be one of the happiest men in the Caribbean present,” Carew said, “given the talent that has been on display. He must also be quite optimistic with the cricket World Cup in mind and even beyond that.”Lara, who has captained West Indies in 40 out of his 112 Tests, had earlier declined an invitation to be part of first Test on the grounds that he wanted the selectors to pick the best possible West Indies team. Lara and six others were contracted to Cable & Wireless, business rivals to Digicel, the official sponsors of the West Indian cricket team. The matter was finally resolved with Cable & Wireless releasing Sarwan, Gayle, Bravo and Fidel Edwards.West Indies squad Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Ryan Hinds, Courtney Browne (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Daren Powell, Pedro Collins, Reon King, Dwight Washington.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Photo galleryBulletin- Pakistan run away to series win
Pakistan View – A memorable series
Indian View – Sorry end to a flat season
On the ball – Opening salvos
Plays of the day – Timber falling
Roving Reporter – Anything’s possible in Delhi
Dravid quotes – ‘Our one-day performance has not been good’
Inzamam quotes – ‘The more you captain, the more you learn’Preview package
Preview- Gripping series reaches climax
Stats- A happy hunting ground for Tendulkar
Quotes- Naved’s first spell will be crucial – Dravid

Tim Coyle has beaten Trevor Barsby, the former Queensland opening batsman, for the position of Tasmania coach after the departure of Brian McFadyen. Coyle, a wicketkeeper who played seven first-class games and a domestic one-dayer, was unveiled today after an extensive selection process that included overseas applicants.Brent Palfreyman, the Tasmanian Cricket Association (TCA) chairman, said Coyle’s knowledge of the state system was a huge bonus. “We wanted to appoint the person most capable of capitalising on the work that has already produced the talented young players in the Tigers’ squad,” Palfreyman said. Tasmania won the ING Cup last summer and Palfreyman said developing the team into a consistently high-performing unit was a priority.Coyle, 44, is a level three coach and was appointed the TCA’s game development manager in 2000 after ten years as a regional coach in Launceston. Barsby, the Queensland Academy of Sport coach, reached the final stage of the interview process.McFadyen is now the head coach of the Australia under-19 side and received a new assistant today with the appointment of Matthew Mott. Mott, a former Queensland and Victoria batsman who played 66 first-class games, has been on the coaching staff at New South Wales but will prepare the youth squad for the 2006 World Cup.

In what has been a tumultuous week for Mumbai cricket, Chandrakant Pandit, their coach who revived their fortunes and guided them to two consecutive Ranji Trophy titles, has resigned and has been replaced by Karsan Ghavri, the former Indian allrounder who was coaching Bengal. Pandit’s exit comes in the wake of the news that Sairaj Bahutule, Mumbai’s captain, might move to Maharashtra from next season.After taking over the job from Lalchand Rajput in 2001, when Mumbai’s stranglehold over the Ranji Trophy had considerably loosened, Pandit formed a successful combination with Paras Mhambrey and managed to clinch the title in 2002. There was more silverware to follow in the next year as he and Sairaj Bahutule extended Mumbai’s dominance with clinical performances throughout the season. Mumbai, under the same duo, were in line for a hat-trick of triumphs last season but lost out in a thrilling semi-final showdown against Punjab.Despite the glory achieved during his reign, there was always a lurking friction between Pandit and the Mumbai Cricket Association. While he was admired for the passion and street-smartness that he brought to the side, there was also a feeling among the establishment that Pandit got more than his share of media attention and pocketed more credit that he deserved. There were times last season when he hinted at quitting and Pandit said it was always on his mind. “Throughout last season I was thinking about it,” he told Cricinfo. “I guess four years can be a long time and it’s time to move on.”He was happy that he had been involved in moulding the side into a spirited unit but was concerned about the lack of young talent in Mumbai. “It’s been a worry for a while,” he said. “We haven’t seen too many youngsters take their opportunities and cement their place. Now, if the older players move on to different sides, the youngsters will not have anyone to guide them. It’s a big problem.”Pandit’s replacement, Ghavri, managed the Ranji Trophy winning Mumbai side in 1993-94 but he will have a huge task ahead of him in the following season. Last season’s semi-final setback proved that Mumbai were no longer the invincible force in the domestic circuit and with vital players, like Bahutule, being linked to other states, they might have to first find the right combination. With teams like Maharashtra investing on bolstering their side with a foreign coach and out-station players, and teams like Punjab and Railways improving rapidly, Mumbai’s dominance might just be coming to an end.

Two cricketers at the opposite ends of their careers faced the media at the end of the first day’s play at Bangalore. And at the opposite ends of their tether as well, to judge by the outward appearances of Anil Kumble and Michael Clarke.Kumble, who had been laid low by a flu virus and managed just six hours’ sleep on the eve of the match, was tired but contented after becoming the ninth man in Test history to reach 400 wickets. Australia’s boy wonder, Clarke, on the other hand, was utterly unfazed by his achievement in batting for more than four hours on debut to reach an unbeaten 76.For Kumble, it was the third occasion he had brought up a landmark on home turf, after taking his 100th and 300th wickets here at Bangalore too. “It’s just a coincidence,” he shrugged. “Somehow it often seems to work out like that. I did start thinking about it as I got closer, but really we just had to get on with the game, and break that partnership [between Simon Katich and Clarke].”Clarke, for his part, also admitted to nerves, although they were scarcely on show in the course of his innings. “It was great to get off the mark,” he admitted, “but obviously the longer I spent out there, the more comfortable I became. Batting with Simon really helped as well – he’s at New South Wales now, so it was great to spend time with him. He played really well, and deserved a hundred, but unfortunately he missed out today.”Katich, in the end, became Kumble’s landmark victim, as he was bowled off an inside edge for 81. “It’s a great honour to have 400 wickets,” said Kumble afterwards, before setting his sights even higher than that. “Obviously the next target for me is another 35 wickets, to go past Paaji bhai [Kapil Dev], but it’s more important to win this Test, and if I contribute to that then records will take care of themselves. I just want to keep taking wickets, and I feel good at the moment.”Tomorrow it will be Clarke’s own milestone that takes centre stage, and if anyone has the self-confidence to get to a hundred on debut, it is he. “Yeah, I hope I can get there,” he enthused. “I’ll come back tomorrow, aim to put on a good partnership with Adam [Gilchrist], and hopefully get to a hundred.”

The pitch was certainly in the batsman’s favour. “Good” was Clarke’s verdict, Kumble’s was “slow”. “I’m sure we’re getting the best use out of it, by winning the toss and batting,” added Clarke, “but on the fourth and fifth days it should break up.”Kumble dismissed suggestions that he had lacked support from Harbhajan Singh, who managed just the one wicket, albeit the big one of Matthew Hayden. “He bowled well, maybe [he was] a bit unlucky. But the wicket was slow, and they looked to get after the spinners, and on a first-day wicket, you can’t expect a pair of five-fors and the [opposition] team being bowled out for 200. We still have a very good chance.”Clarke had few problems in facing the Indian pairing, and attributed his expert use of the feet to the schooling from his Indian coach, Neil D’Costa, who sat right there in the press briefing. He added that his prior knowledge of India, where he came with the one-day side last year, helped settle his nerves no end.”One-day cricket in general has been good to me,” added Clarke. “Today was a lot easier as a result. I felt a lot more comfortable with the players and that played a big part. A lot of cricket at the top level is mental, but I backed myself to play in my own way, and fortunately today it came off.”

Sachin Tendulkar’s chances of playing in the third Test at Nagpur, starting on Tuesday, have skyrocketed after his first net session in nine weeks. Tendulkar is rated a better than 50-50 chance and one Indian team source said he would be “stunned” if he was ruled out again.Tendulkar was unable to drive, open doors, lift his children or even sign autographs with his left hand when his tennis elbow was at its most painful. But he seems certain to return for the final Test in Mumbai, when the Australian captain Ricky Ponting is expected to make his comeback from a broken thumb.”I have started using a lighter bat but it is too soon to say when I will be back,” Tendulkar said. “I am feeling much better but the doctor has said that this injury is such that it will take time to heal. I am keeping my fingers crossed.”Tendulkar has not played since the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka on August 1.

The Australian camp have laughed off suggestions, from an English tabloid, of a rift between Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne during the second Test at Edgbaston.According to a report in . “The crowd are all over us and the press have started again and there’s something in today’s papers that is an absolute fabrication and totally made up. I don’t know where people make up these lies but we know that’s the way this machine operates.””I think it’s quite funny,” said McGrath while speaking to the press after the fourth-day’s play. “I’ve been around the changing rooms the whole time and I haven’t heard or seen anything like that. It’s disappointing that it’s in the papers when it never happened.”McGrath has a column with the Mail on Sunday and said he was “keen to have a chat” with the writer of the story, Peter Hayter. “The biggest disappointing thing is that it’s not the first time something’s been in the papers over here that actually didn’t happen … It’s a blatant lie.”The row, which the London-based paper said took place in the dressing-room and could be overheard by the England team next door, stemmed directly from Ponting’s decision to bowl first in that match. In Glenn McGrath’s last-minute absence, Warne was his side’s most likely matchwinner and would therefore have benefited from last use of a turning track.He went on to take ten wickets, including a magnificent 6 for 46 in the second innings, but at the close of play on the penultimate day, he gave an indication of his sour mood at the end-of-day press conference. “To take 10 wickets in the match doesn’t mean anything if you lose,” he told reporters. “I don’t like using the word hate, but I hate losing.”Warne’s mood had not improved over the weekend, added the paper, and he was also alleged to have sworn at autograph hunters in the team hotel. And things got significantly worse for him on the fourth day at Old Trafford, where he missed out a maiden Test century, allowed a catch to pass straight between himself and Ponting in the slip cordon, and then watched Gilchrist miss two stumpings off his bowling.

Ricky Ponting says Australia have spent time on the team bus in England trying to predict the World XI sides for the Super Series. While reverse-swing and Andrew Flintoff have taken up most of their thoughts, Ponting said after the Test and ODI squads were named today that they were “highly impressive line-ups”.”It will be an amazing experience to play against a side of this calibre and for those players in the World XI it will be an equally exciting prospect to play in a team alongside the game’s greats,” Ponting said. Australia plan to name their squads for October’s six-day Super Test and three-match one-day series after the Ashes finish in September.Ponting said he expected the Australian public to be currently talking about the team’s tight battle with England, which is locked at 1-1 after three Tests. “Hopefully that can whet people’s appetites for even more great cricket,” he said.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said Australia was ready to host the biggest cricket event in the country since the 1992 World Cup. “This is the ultimate sporting contest – the best team in the world against a team of the world’s best players,” he said, although England may argue with the rankings if they win the Ashes. “The World XI is a star-studded line-up and we are looking forward to seeing how Australia’s challenge unfolds.”World XI Test squad Graeme Smith (capt), Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (vc), Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Andrew Flintoff, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Steve Harmison, Shoaib Akhtar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori. World XI ODI squad Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar (vc), Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Flintoff, Shaun Pollock (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Makhaya Ntini, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori.

Ricky Ponting“Apart from when we won at Lord’s (first Test) we were never as good as England and they deserve to win the Ashes.”Michael Vaughan“Kevin Pietersen was outstanding, but there have been a load of individual performances throughout the summer. It has been a hell of a lot of hard work but they believed in themselves and they expressed themselves out on the pitch.”Kevin Pietersen“It is fantastic. The boys have been amazing. I’m speechless really, and the last two months have been fantastic. Wearing the earrings its not going to make me cover drive any differently. I showed today that I am not just a glamour boy. Its amazing to have my mum and brother sitting up there. It is just special.”Andrew Strauss“It has been seven weeks of emotional turmoil. I am proud to be part of this team. Everyone has contributed this season. It makes you proud to be representing your country. We have just been on the very edge of our nerves all summer. It was a great privilege to watch Kevin today.”Andrew Flintoff“We witnessed one of the great innings today. His support from Ashley Giles (who made 59) epitomised what this side is about. Everyone in the dressing room plays a part from the captain to the coach. We go out there and play as a unit.”Duncan Fletcher“It has taken a long time but I would date it back three to four years when I spotted some good young players who could play for England. We have to keep on improving if we are to keep winning.”Shane Warne“England were better than us; it is as simple as that. We had a great battle but we were never as good as England throughout the series.”