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Richard Pybus, the former Pakistan and Middlesex coach, has been re-appointed as the coach of the Titans. Pybus has signed a two-year contract with the Titans after resigning as Middlesex coach.Pybus was the Titans coach before he signed a three-year contract with Middlesex in February. Incidentally, he quit Middlesex on the same day that the Titans announced that they had not found a replacement for him and that they were re-advertising for the role, leaving Middlesex supporters in no doubt that he was heading back.”The re-appointment of Richard follows a protracted and comprehensive process during which a number of high profile applicants were considered,” the chairman of the Titans’ board of directors, Andy O Connor, said. “The position was offered to an individual in June 2007 only [for Titans] to be informed at number 99 that he could no longer accept the position. This resulted in a second round of interviews in July.”Richard’s resignation at Middlesex came as a complete surprise to the franchise and his reasons for his resignation, cited as personal, were completely unrelated to the vacancy. Upon learning that Richard was returning to South Africa, the franchise expressed a keenness to re-appoint him.”Pybus also said that he was “delighted” to be back with the Titans and that there was “much work to be done to maintain the fine form shown in the four-day competition and to improve the side’s performance in the one-day and Pro20 competition.”

The fate of the Unitech Cup – a triangular tournament involving Sri Lanka, South Africa and India – remained uncertain after a bomb blast in central Colombo killed seven and injured 17 this afternoon despite an assurance of “maximum security” from the Sri Lankan board.As things stand, the series is still on, with Sri Lanka and South Africa playing on Tuesday, the reserve day, after their opening encounter was washed out owing to torrential rain. Inclement weather remained a concern but player security was the priority.Gordon Templeton, the South African team’s media manager, had this to say to Cricinfo: “Our cricket board is in consulation with the consulate here and also our security firm. They will come to a decision based on that.”When asked if that meant South Africa would not wait for the 10am meeting scheduled for tomorrow, he said: “The decision will be taken by the board,and it may happen before that meeting.”However, the Indian board has categorically stated that there is no question of their pulling out. Sharad Pawar, the president of the board, said it’s the host nation that has to take the decision on such matters. As things stand, it is likely that India and Sri Lanka will contest a bilateral series in South Africa’s absence. Lalit Modi, the vice-president of the BCCI, told Cricinfo: “What South Africa decide is their business. Let us not speculate. Let us wait for the facts and then decide. The series is on and we haven’t heard anything to the contrary.”Sri Lankan cricket officials and security experts assured both the Indian and South African team managements that the bomb blast was a one-off, and that security for both teams would be further beefed up. The blast, allegedly triggered by a Claymore mine, took place shortly after noon, near the popular Liberty Plaza shopping mall in the heart of the city. less than 2km from the Cinnamon hotel where the South Africans are staying, and just over 3km from the Taj Samudra, which is housing the Indians.”We are pretty worried,” said Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, “they tried to explain how a cricket event or the teams were least likely to be targetted. But this was quite close to home. It’s fair to say that if we hadn’t been playing today, a lot of our boys might have been over at Liberty Plaza.” This was the second blast in the the city in less than ten days.Arthur was present at a meeting organised by Duleep Mendis, the chief executive officer of Sri Lanka Cricket, with coaches and managers of the three participating teams. He assured maximum security to the three teams and communicated to them the board’s decision to go ahead with the tournament.Arthur said that the Sri Lankan officials had done their best to allay the team’s fears but admitted that the players were tense. “The situation seems to be getting worse too, if you watch the news and read the papers. We saw today that a truck full of explosives had been stopped just outside of Colombo.”Meanwhile, Rajan Nair, India’s media manager, said that a further meeting was planned for tomorrow morning, and that the Indian team was protected by three layers of security at their hotel. When asked if the prospect of a blast en route to the ground – Liberty Plaza in on the way to the SSC where India were scheduled to practise this afternoon – didn’t worry the players, he said: “Sri Lankan security officials are responsible for safety when we are travelling, and they have assured us that nothing untoward will happen.”

Tino Best’s inclination for delivering fast, high full pitches got him into trouble again yesterday. The volatile West Indies fast bowler was immediately barred from bowling when he sent down his third such delivery of the innings to left-hander Rangana Herath in Sri Lanka’s second innings early on the fourth day of the second Test. Ironically, Herath cut the ball to the boundary.Best hit Mahela Jayawardene on the glove with a similar ball on Satuday. Kumar Sangkkara received another during his hundred on Sunday when Best was cautioned. Herath’s was the third.Muttiah Muralitharan had been caught off a high full toss from Best that was called no-ball in the first innings but it was the only instance. Under the regulations, the matter has been reported by match referee Mike Procter to the International Cricket Council (ICC), “who shall take such action as deemed appropriate against the captain and bowler concerned”.Best is only the third bowler taken off for the offence in Tests. The others are fellow West Indian Colin Stuart, coincidentally at the same Asgiriya Stadium in the second Test in 2001, and Zimbabwean Travis Friend.It is not a first-time offence for Best who was debarred from bowling in the innings in the 2003 Carib Beer Series and reported during the West Indies ‘A’ team tour of England.The law states that the umpire must call no-ball when he “considers that a high full pitch which is deemed to be dangerous and unfair was deliberately bowled”. He issues a caution and on repetition directs the captain to take the bowler off “forthwith” with the over to be completed by another bowler. In this case, it was Daren Powell.The offending bowler is not allowed to bowl again in the innings and the umpire has to report the occurrence, with the other umpire, “as soon as possible to the executive of the fielding side and to any governing body responsible for the match.

The last time the players of Sri Lanka and South Africa walked off the field together in a Test match, at SuperSport Park in late 2002, both camps realised that their rivalry would never be the same again. South Africa scraped home in that memorable if rancorous match to win the series 2-0, but Sri Lanka had fought them to the wire with a fearless and aggressive performance, throwing off in the process an inferiority complex that had allowed them to be dominated for a decade.Sri Lanka realised then that the best way to counter South Africa’s abrasive style was by playing in a similarly aggressive and antagonistic manner. Sri Lanka sensed unease when they gave back as good as they got, and if that meant an acrimonious and fiery contest, then that was a necessary price of success. Sri Lanka are generous hosts, but poor losers.Thus when the rivalry resumes with a two-Test series starting at Galle tomorrow (August 4), prepare for an explosive and gripping confrontation. Two-match series can be turgid affairs, marred by an unwillingness to take risks, but this one should be anything but stale and slow-paced, although there will surely be long periods of attrition and entrenchment. The cricket is sure to be intense and tough and should be utterly absorbing. Don’t be surprised if the match referee earns his fee. You can almost feel the tension rising, the two teams, like prize boxers in the final minutes before entering the ring, looking forward to striking the first blow.Sri Lanka, buoyant after their successes in the Asia Cup and battle-hardened by their recent tussles with Australia, are a side now focused on a steady climb up the International Cricket Council’s Test table, and are determined to win their first series against South Africa. Graeme Smith’s team, meanwhile, will be starting a new season afresh, led by a bold and aggressive leader, who believes his players face a year of reckoning as they try to claw back ground lost to Australia – and England and India – and re-stake their claim to be one of the world’s best teams.Four years ago, South Africa escaped with a 1-1 series draw in Sri Lanka, bouncing back from a first-Test drubbing at Galle during a pulsating contest in Kandy, a defeat that still rankles with Sri Lanka’s players, the hard core of whom will also be playing in this series. Sri Lanka had looked far too strong for a South Africa team – which was making its return to the international game after the match-fixing scandal that had left it deeply scarred – being led for the first time by Shaun Pollock, but somehow they regrouped in time, showing immense character and resolve. The final match in Colombo was drawn.Since then, Sri Lanka’s star has risen and fallen. There was a nine-Test winning run from 2001 to early 2002 and then a slump back into mid-table mediocrity after their loss against England the same year. Changes to the captaincy – confusingly shared between Hashan Tillakaratne and Marvan Atapattu after the resignation of Sanath Jayasuriya in April 2003 – and the management team unsettled the team for a while and stymied progress. But after a welcome three-month break and a long preparation phase with John Dyson, the new coach, the first signs of progress appeared at the end of the year with a convincing victory against England.

When Australia arrived in February, the Sri Lanka team was quietly confident of pushing the world champions hard and winning the series. But, despite building winning positions, securing first-innings leads in all three matches, Australia completed a whitewash – the first Sri Lanka had suffered at home. The defeat prompted some hard-nosed self-assessment within the team. Sangakkara describes it now as “a blessing in disguise” as it precipitated a major rethink in the team’s attitude and approach. It also ended Tillakaratne’s Test career.During Sri Lanka’s tour of Zimbabwe, Atapattu and Dyson introduced a new preparation schedule. Players were encouraged to think for themselves and start taking more responsibility for their own preparation. Mundane net sessions were not forced down the players’ throats and a new relaxed, but nevertheless focused, team culture started to take hold. Players were encouraged to enjoy their cricket and trust their ability. All the while, Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene, the vice-captain, worked behind the scenes pulling the team together and fostering a stronger team spirit.A change became evident in the second Test against Australia at Cairns when Sri Lanka escaped with a well-fought draw. There was a clear spillover of confidence into the Asia Cup. A surprise 12-run victory against India, the tournament favourites, at Dambulla boosted morale further. Sri Lanka had were now playing their most vibrant and self-confident cricket since before the 2003 World Cup. Whether the Asia Cup final was won or lost, Sri Lanka had turned a corner and started to move forward. South Africa will face a resurgent team.Of course, it will be hard for Sri Lanka to quickly adapt back to Test cricket. They had just three days break between the Asia Cup final and the Galle Test. But they, at least, have been playing competitive cricket and will therefore be match-fit. Most of South Africa’s players (the lucky ones were playing county cricket in England) come straight out of a southern-hemisphere winter, where there only significant preparation was a training camp on the cold Pretoria highveld, hardly ideal preparation for the sapping heat and humidity of Sri Lanka. With only one practice game to throw off any early-season rustiness, they face an enormous challenge.South Africa’s strategy will be intriguing. They have left behind Paul Adams, their biggest turner of a cricket ball, and will come armed instead with a couple of more orthodox left-arm spinners, Nicky Boje and Robin Peterson, who while steady operators are hardly unlikely to induce heart palpitations in the Sri Lanka camp. But Smith, quite rightly, appears to have recognised that fast bowling is his team’s strength and Sri Lanka’s weakness. Spinners do win matches in Sri Lanka, but pacemen, especially swing bowlers, can also play important roles, as shown by the likes of Michael Kasprowizc in the Australia series and Chaminda Vaas over many years.Unfortunately, for South Africa, the series starts in Galle: a penal colony for quick bowlers and a fortress for Sri Lanka. For the likes of Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Nantie Hayward, the opening five days of the series will be the hardest. Somehow, they must keep their team in the series and prevent Sri Lanka’s batsmen, so at home on the slow-paced Galle pitch, from piling up their customary large first-innings total. If South Africa can escape with a draw then the quick men can look forward with a little more enthusiasm to Colombo, where the pitch at the Sinhalese Sports Club offers greater pace and bounce.The disadvantage of opening in Galle is more than compensated though by the fact that Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka’s sorcerer, will not be bowling his “doosra”, the delivery that was chiefly responsible for England’s downfall and his 28-wicket series bag against Australia. Contrary to many reports, the delivery has not been banned, but he has decided against bowling it until the International Cricket Council completes its review into tolerance levels for spin bowlers in November. Thus South Africa’s batsmen will not have to contend with a ball that darts way in the opposite direction to his stock offbreak; a wicked variation that is extremely well-disguised. However, Murali will surely remain the key threat. His top-spinner (already tested and cleared in 1999), which zips straight on, remains an important weapon.There is some more bad news for South Africa: Sri Lanka’s bowling attack is no longer two-pronged. The dangerous over-dependence on Murali and Vaas has been weakened by the emergence of new talent, particularly Lasith Malinga, and the fast development of old talent, especially Nuwan Zoysa and Upul Chanana. Zoysa has been a revelation since returning against Australia with extra zip and an inswinger, while Chandana, for so long derided by many as a gentle roller, has started to make his legbreaks spit and spin far more viciously than most observers thought possible. Rangana Herath too, a tight and reliable orthodox left-armer, has re-emerged in the Test arena successfully.South Africa’s batsmen, now without the support of Gary Kirsten, their middle-order rock, must devise a plan to keep Sri Lanka’s slow bowlers at bay. As many as three sometimes play at Galle (not including the part-timers Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera). Sri Lanka, meanwhile, must concentrate on keeping out the new ball, for once the ball softens South Africa’s bowlers will have to fall back upon a policy of containment, unless they can find some reverse-swing. In all probability, those will be the two contests that decide the series.

Yesterday, it was Robert Croft the batsman who was the scourge of Derbyshire. Today, itwas Croft the bowler who left the visitors in danger of following-on intheir Championship match at Swansea.At the end of another rain-affected day, Derbyshire were teetering on 190-8, still 205runs behind Glamorgan, with Croft having taken 5/61 from 27 overs on a wicket that,as expected, gave assistance to the spin bowlers.Dean Cosker also picked up two wickets including the prized scalps of Mohammad Kaif,Derbyshire`s newly registered overseas player and their captain Dominic Cork. Coskerfinished a good day`s work with figures of 2/44 from his 16 overs.Derbyshire`s tailenders will resume in the morning battling to avoid the follow-on, whilst Glamorgan`s supporters will be hoping that the rain, whichprevented any play in the morning session today stays away from Swansea Bay tomorrow,as the Glamorgan spinners look to press home the advantage they gained in the 65 overs today, and secure Glamorgan`s first win over Derbyshire at St.Helen`s ground since 1970..

Yorkshire paved the way for an exciting climax to the season by making a surprise declaration against Essex at Scarborough when trailing by 146 runs on the first innings.As soon as Yorkshire had reached 104 for five and avoided the follow-on, skipper David Byas injected much-needed life into the rain-hit game by making his declaration and by the close of the third day Essex were 48 for three and leading by 194.Essex, who resumed their first innings in the morning on 99 for three, collapsed after lunch to 250 all out, the last four wickets going down for 19 runs in six overs.Star of the show for Yorkshire was Matthew Hoggard who warmed up for his winter tours with England by capturing career-best figures of six for 51.He was far more accurate than his new ball partner, Steven Kirby, who went for 81 runs in 15 overs, sending down 15 no-balls and failing to claim a wicket. In one over, Graham Napier smashed him for 18 off three consecutive deliveries with a four and two sixes, one of which was hit off a no-ball.Ashley Cowan and Justin Bishop both picked up a couple of early wickets as a number of poor strokes reduced Yorkshire to 37 for four but Anthony McGrath helped stage a recovery with a solid 29 before being trapped lbw by Napier.The brightest of Yorkshire’s batting came from Byas who middled the ball well and he had advanced to 41 when he hit the boundary which brought the declaration.Hoggard struck a further blow with his second ball which dismissed Darren Robinson lbw and it became nine for two when Richard Clinton was caught at point off Kirby.Former Yorkshire all-rounder Paul Grayson batted well but after making 33 he mistimed a pull at Kirby and was caught by Vic Craven but soon afterwards the last four overs of the day were lost to bad light.

If England were downcast after a 405-run drubbing in the second Investec Test at Lord’s, you would not have known it from their demeanour as they reconvened at Edgbaston after a few days downtime.Before practice, the squad larked and joked around and England’s now traditional game of football to warm up took on greater proportions than ever before, as Stuart Broad chased Joe Root almost all the way round the Edgbaston outfield and the recalled Jonny Bairstow reprised his role as goalhanger-in-chief. Bearing in mind that it was on this ground a decade ago that Glenn McGrath trod on a cricket ball while playing rugby and altered the course of a series, that may not have been sensible.Root’s press conference was conducted in much the same chipper fashion. England, he insisted, have such belief and confidence that bouncing back from heavy defeats is not an issue; downtime is crucial in a long series; and England’s order and personnel changes – with Bairstow in for Gary Ballance and Ian Bell and Root himself bumped up a place in the order – would be seamless, and that they would continue “to play their own game.”Of his old Yorkshire team-mate Bairstow – who is averaging 108.88 with five centuries in the County Championship this season, Root said: “Jonny will be so excited and he couldn’t be in better form right now. He’ll be determined to emulate that on the highest stage. It’s never easy to come in to such a big series but he’s averaging 100 with five hundreds under his belt. He’ll be desperate to carry on the great form he’s shown this season so far.”Certainly in the nets, where England used two left-arm net bowlers – admittedly not of either Mitchell’s pace – to get in the groove, Bairstow looked in fine touch, compulsively hooking the short ball – a perceived weakness in the early part of his international career – with his tweaked, higher backlift. Mark Wood, who passed a fitness test on Monday morning, bowled without obvious discomfort.Bairstow is charged with shoring up a batting order that has continually struggled in recent times, finding itself three wickets down for less than 52 eight times in their last seven Tests, and Root was quick to play down the changes in the order that have come with Bairstow’s recall.”Ian’s played a lot at three and I’ll go up to four so not a lot will be changing. Every international player is playing for their place at all times. Ian’s record is fantastic and he’s playing at his home ground. Last time the Ashes were in England he was outstanding and I’m sure he will want to out a marker down and get form that he will stay in for the rest of the season.”The top order just have to go out and play their own game. It’s not gone to plan so far but we’ve got some really talented players out there and it’s about looking after their own games and going about their business in the same way as when they’re successful. It’s about making sure we do everything we can to build big partnerships and put them back under pressure.”Throughout this summer we’ve always come back from heavy defeats well. There’s so much confidence in the camp and we’ll be looking to put them back on the back foot on Wednesday.He could not, however, offer much insight into England’s startling inconsistency which has seen three strong victories – Grenada, Lord’s and Cardiff – followed by equally thumping defeats.”It’s hard to put my finger on it. We’re just not as consistent as we’d like to be. It’s not through lack of effort. We’ve got a few young players finding their feet and it will come with time.”All, then, according to Root at least, is well in England’s garden. But with a splash of grass on the Edgbaston pitch – in more ways than one – and Mitchell Starc goading England into leaving it that way, quite how deep the psychological scars of Lord’s are, will soon become clear.

The Titans are considering taking action over comments made by their former players Pierre de Bruyn and Alfonso Thomas about the Titans coach Richard Pybus last week. The two players were released from their Titans contracts in January and signed with the Dolphins, and on Friday they came up against their old team in the Pro20 final.Before the decider, which the Titans won, de Bruyn and Thomas slammed their former team and coach in the Afrikaans newspaper . “We owe the Dolphins a win in the final after they gave us a lifeline after being chased away from the Titans like dogs,” de Bruyn said.Their attacks on Pybus included describing him as “one-dimensional” and “a very boring coach”. de Bruyn was critical of what he called “yoga and other nonsense” that Pybus included in the team’s preparations. “The players get so drained from this that on completion one does not know where you are,” de Bruyn said.Pybus had the last laugh when the Titans secured an 18-run win in the final but his employers said in a statement they took extreme exception to the comments of de Bruyn and Thomas and the issue might not be closed. “The franchise will be taking the matter further through the channels available to it,” the statement said.”Pybus’ track record as a coach who has won four trophies in three years as well as the number of national players that he has produced is exceptional. This, together with his grooming of the next crop of Titans stars, must place him as a top contender for the domestic coach of the year award.”

As India embark on another Test tour, fans in India are asking a question they’ve raised often in the past few months: Will they be able to watch the Test matches? The answer this time isn’t much clearer but there is some light at the end of the tunnel.On paper, it’s a no-brainer: The telecast rights to the England tour are owned by ESPN-Star Sports (ESS), a seasoned player in the field and accessible in most TV homes. ESS have, in fact, launched a cricket-only channel, Star Cricket, which will be showing the Tests and the two warm-up matches, beginning tomorrow. However, the twist lies in the fact that the new channel isn’t widely available on cable and is yet to be included in DTH bouquets.So, once again, it could be only a handful of fans that gets to see the Tests, beginning on July 19 at Lord’s.The situation could, however, change for the better. “We are in discussions with DTH operators [to include Star Cricket in their bouquets] and are optimistic of an agreement by July 15,” an ESS spokesperson said. “The channel is priced at Rs 28 per month and the feedback is positive. Obviously it is our prerogative to reach as many viewers across India as possible and we will do our best to ensure that.”ESS officials also say that highlights of the three Tests will be shown on Doordarshan, which, as a policy, has telecast the ODIs live but not the Tests. It is a refreshing change from the recent Test series in Bangladesh, which a large number of viewers in India missed out on because they had no access to either Neo Sports, which owned the rights, or to the regional-language channels they had brought on board.There’s rarely a problem with watching ODIs, and ESS sources said the seven matches that follow the Tests would be simulcast; Star Cricket will have commentary in Hindi, while English commentary will be provided on either ESPN or Star Sports.The ODIs will also be telecast live on Doordarshan, in keeping with the Sports Act passed by the Indian government ordering mandatory sharing of live feed.

Amit Varma and S Rajesh discuss the third day of the Jamaica Test
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Audio length: 6.38 minsA series win outside the subcontinent has been India’s Holy Grail for the last few years, and they finally sealed one at Jamaica – their first after the win against England in 1986, if one discounts the win against Zimbabwe last year. Amit Varma and S Rajesh discuss the importance of this win, as well as the gains both sides have taken from this tour. Listen in.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”; 1.6 mb
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