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Dean Jones has warned the Australia team not to concern themselves with the state of the country’s Test pitches. The chorus of cricketers complaining about the uniformity of playing surfaces has continued to gain momentum, with Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath and a variety of commentators all lamenting the trend.But Jones said there was little difference in the strips used for this year’s Ashes series compared to past decades and Australia’s bowlers could talk themselves into failure with negative attitudes. “I don’t think they have changed much,” Jones told the . “They are not flatter than they used to be.”The great bowlers still got wickets on them. Great players adapt. They may back off in pace like Dennis Lillee did at the end of his career. Malcolm Marshall was the same. People have to realise when it is in your favour you go hammer and tongs, and when it is flat you make sure if you can’t get a wicket you don’t give them runs. Lillee and Marshall would bowl wide of the crease. They worked on the ball and bowled cutters. They bowled slower balls. They parked their egos at the gate.”They said they didn’t care whether they were the fastest bowlers in the world. They just worked out the best way they could take four or five wickets. If you go into it with a negative thought that it is going to be flat, it will be flat. It is like a batsman thinking, ‘I bet I get the best ball of the day’, and getting out for 20.”Michael Kasprowicz is the latest fast bowler to air his concerns about pitches. “If you go and drop in a generic wicket into every ground, you are going to produce a generic cricketer who can play only on that surface,” Kasprowicz said. “That’s been the beauty and the strength of cricket in Australia, the different conditions. Travelling the world, even in the UK, all of their grounds have subtle differences. There’s an attraction to test yourself in the best conditions. If it becomes too sterile and too much of the same, then I don’t think it’s going to work.”The MCG curator Tony Ware said there was no conspiracy to standardise playing surfaces. “There’s a concern that they’re losing their character but it’s nothing deliberate,” Ware told . “I think it’s happened because this year to date has been a little bit drier, so they will play a bit the same.”

Venkatesh Prasad, the coach of Bangalore Royal Challengers, has asked for patience and trust in those who are managing the team after the Indian Premier League’s second-richest franchise sacked its chief executive following a string of poor performances in the inaugural season of the Twenty20 tournament.Terming Charu Sharma’s dismissal as “unfortunate”, Prasad feared it could send the wrong signal. “It was the management’s decision to sack him,” Prasad told Cricinfo. “Having known him, he is a fantastic individual. But it was unfortunate and it could send a wrong signal to the individuals.”The hire and fire policy might work in the corporate world, probably,” Prasad said. “But we are building a team which came together two days before the tournament. So what is very important is to have a lot of faith in the team and build the trust and faith factor. You need to show patience and trust the people who are managing the team.”Asked about pressure from the franchise on the team, he said, “I understand the franchise has put in loads of money and for them what is important is the performance, the outcome basically. You can’t do anything when performance is the key and so much is at stake.”Prasad also said that though he was the designated coach of the team, he effectively “started handling the duties of the bowling coach as Martin Crowe, the Chief Cricket Officer, and Rahul (Dravid, the captain) handle the team selections and all the other duties”. He revealed that he had briefly thought about resigning from the job following media reports that the franchise wanted to sack him too.On Tuesday, the Bangalore franchise replaced Sharma with Brijesh Patel, the secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which runs the game in the team’s home city. A Royal Challengers spokesperson said that the CEO had stepped down due to personal reasons, but Sharma said that he was dismissed by the franchise, which is owned by Vijay Mallya, the chairman of United Spirits Limited. Mallya later clarified that he had complete confidence in Prasad, the “bowling coach” and the team.”There was confusion in terms of my role and how to define it,” Prasad, the India bowling coach, said. “But both Rahul and Martin have supported me throughout. My job was more about making sure specific strategies were being worked out during the net sessions while they took care of the overall running of the team.”Prasad said that he was upset over the media reports which suggested that he was being sacked, too.”The thought (of resigning) did cross my mind when the rumours surfaced. But I didn’t want to take a decision in haste. I did chat with Rahul and the support he and the team showed in me was tremendous,” Prasad said. “I was angry as the fingers were pointed towards my commitment and integrity which I’d built over a period of a time. And now suddenly I was in the middle of this. As I said, there is a lot of money at stake but for me what matters more than the monetary aspect is being committed and organised. And as far as I’m concerned, I do it to the best of my ability.”Prasad, a former India swing bowler, admitted that it was “extraordinary” that the Challengers have not been able to get their act together in the tournament – the team lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by five runs on Thursday and is at the bottom of the table with just two wins from eight games.”With the players we have, we don’t belong to the bottom of the table,” Prasad said. “In fact, we should be in the first two for sure. It’s extraordinary that we are not getting our act together as a team, even if there have been a few individual performances which doesn’t help much in a team game. We need to get our act together. Our bowlers have done well and we have one of the best bowling units in the IPL with five international bowlers.”The Royal Challengers will take on Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Monday.

Scorecard

South Australia’s batting held together long enough – but only just – to take a tight five-wicket victory off the last ball against New South Wales under the lights in Adelaide.They needed 20 off the last 30 balls, but Andy Delmont and Graham Manou edged closer to leave themselves needing three off the last over, bowled by Doug Bollinger. Somehow they contrived to take the game to the last delivery, an aerial swish behind point completing the job.Matthew Elliott and Mark Cosgrove eased the Redbacks’ top-order concerns with a 76-run stand for the second wicket, and the side were building towards their 243-run target but they, and their long-suffering fans, have learned to take nothing for granted where their batting is concerned.Indeed, Nathan Bracken prompted a few last-minute jitters by removing Darren Lehmann late on, leaving the batsmen to cling on and make hard work of getting home. “It probably should have been a bit easier than that,” admitted Nathan Adcock afterwards with understatement.Elliott and Cosgrove’s fifties, along with Dan Cullen’s smooth spin spell, finally proved the difference in a close-fought encounter which also featured some poor fielding from both sides.Cullen’s 3 for 47 helped to calm the nerves during a lamentable display of three dropped catches and a howler of a missed run-out. New South Wales capitalised to make 7 for 233 – Dominic Thornely cashing in with 68 after being spilled on 26 – and their total, on a green and lively wicket, had looked challenging.It looked far short, though, as soon as South Australia came in. Elliott and Dan Harris put on a solid opening stand of 60 before Harris holed out to Steve O’Keefe at deep square, then Cosgrove combined with Elliott to up the ante and add an entertaining 76 in quick time.Cosgrove (51) played forcefully off the back foot, putting in another fire-cracking performance reminiscent of his 92 on the Redbacks’ opening night against Victoria, although both he and Elliott had a let-off in the same Mark Cameron over.Cameron had softened up Cosgrove earlier with a blow to the elbow, before O’Keefe fluffed in the leg gully trap on 12, then Elliott fired a hard chance to Nathan Hauritz at mid-off on 42. Cameron, though, didn’t let O’Keefe down when it was his turn to catch, snapping up Cosgrove’s high mis-hit.Elliott played with some class, climbing into the pace bowlers with some sweet shots and sound timing until he flapped at a wide one, Haddin taking the edge tidily. By this stage Nathan Adcock had already come and gone, with Lehmann taking over. He played with his usual authority until holing out at deep square off Bracken in the 46th over.Earlier, South Australia had Cullen to thank for rescuing their errors. But while he snapped up Katich (50) and Cowan (37) soon after they had given chances to patch up some of the fielding damage, Thornely went on to make 68 with some electric driving late on, punishing Lehmann in particular to apply the salt.Cullen ended with 3 for 47, his best figures against the Blues, and he also had Haddin for a duck. Haddin, who arrived on the back of a thumping century, had grounds to feel hard done by after he was deemed to have pressed to Adcock at first slip, though the ball may have come off the pad.Katich used his feet well to reach 50 but should have been run out on 45, when he slipped after cutting Cullen to gully but Delmont threw wide of Manou’s desperate right hand and he scrambled back. He finally fell sending a leading edge to the off-side. Cowan (37) was dropped on 18 – by Lehmann at short midwicket off Jason Gillespie, who had bowled tightly and with good movement – and 23, Elliott putting down a sitter off Cosgrove’s first over.The drops allowed Cowan to put on his first opening stand of fifty with Grant Lambert since the first match of last year, also against the Redbacks, but he was finally stumped off Cullen, deceived in the flight. Lambert then made 41 before driving at one outside off, much to Mark Cleary’s fist-pumping delight.South Australia picked up their fielding late on, Cosgrove standing firm to hold Peter Forrest’s skier off Lehmann for 19 and then Dan Harris’s direct throw removed O’Keefe for a sacrificial 2. But then Thornely took hold, though his efforts weren’t enough.So, the Blues’ blues continue: they have now lost three of four one-dayers, with the other washed out. The Redbacks, meanwhile, return here for the Pura Cup game on Friday on something of a rare high but with some question marks remaining.

Scorecard
How they were out

Sri Lanka were denied victory in Galle when a second torrential downpour ended the final Test with England tottering on 251 for 6 although Alastair Cook’s 118, his seventh Test century, helped keep Sri Lanka at bay. However, when he was removed after the first interruption England’s tail was left with a task that would surely have been beyond them, especially against Muttiah Muralitharan who had triggered an earlier dramatic collapse of three wickets in four balls before lunch.It was hard on Sri Lanka, who deserved a 2-0 scoreline but have the consolation of a rise to third in the world rankings. England travel in the opposite direction, down to fifth from second, a position they have held for three years, although how much those standings really mean to the players is unclear. Despite the draw England can’t take much pride from their performance, although Cook’s hundred at least means they registered three figures once in the series.The highlight of the final day of the series was Muralitharan’s pre-lunch spell which sent England crashing from 200 for 2 to 200 for 5 in four balls. He hasn’t quite been at his incisive best since capturing the world record three weeks ago in Kandy, but sparked into life with the prospect of a few week’s rest. Sri Lanka’s next commitments are not until the CB Series in February.He had already made the first incision of the morning, removing Ian Bell with a delivery which kept wickedly low to hit off stump. Cook, who was dropped early in the day on 54, and Kevin Pietersen responded by adding 72, but Muralitharan was settling into a probing spell. Switching to around the wicket he put Pietersen in a tangle, unsure whether to use bat or pad. He eventually gained his reward when Pietersen carelessly clipped a half volley to Mahela Jayawardene at midwicket.Pietersen did have time to pass 3000 runs in his 33rd Test, equalling the mark set by Herbert Sutcliffe, and he also reached 1000 for the year, but it was the first time he ended a series without at least a half century. England suffered in all three Tests from losing batsmen when they are well set and Pietersen’s departure gave an opening to Sri Lanka. Two balls later Paul Collingwood was bamboozled and left stranded by a doosra as he tried to find the gap at midwicket and Prasanna Jayawardene produced a neat stumping.

Ravi Bopara completed a depressing pair, and a chastening first Test series, when his urgency to find a run ended his stay first ball. He edged Muralitharan to Jayawardene’s right at slip and the Sri Lanka captain dived, collected the ball and in one motion returned to the wicketkeeper. Bopara had already taken a couple of strides down the pitch and couldn’t turn in time. It was another example of the athleticism Sri Lanka have shown throughout the series, but Bopara’s desperation came from a mind that has been scrambled by recent events.In contrast, Cook’s mind remained commendably focussed after watching from the non-striker’s end and he maintained his composure to reach a century off 228 balls. He now has seven Test hundreds which puts him one behind Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar who had eight by the time they turned 23, and level with Javed Miandad. Cook’s birthday is on Christmas Day. It was also England’s first overseas Test hundred since Cook scored his second-innings century at Perth a little over a year ago.Prasanna Jayawardene dropped a leg-glance off Lasith Malinga in the day’s second over, a rare error for a wicketkeeper who has impressed during the series. Cook played Muralitharan with relative ease and combined with Matt Prior – who had ground to make up after three dropped catches – in a stand spanning 30 overs either side of the rain breaks.The weather caught everyone by surprise by clearing as rapidly as it arrived meaning Sri Lanka had one more chance to push for victory. Muralitharan thought he had Prior twice, firstly with an lbw which Asad Rauf correctly ruled would have slipped past leg stump, then with an edge that dropped fractionally short of slip. Jayawardene claimed the catch and tensions were running high with him not impressed by England’s time wasting.Cook was dropped a second time from a flashing cut the wicketkeeper dives across Kumar Sangakkara, who could only get fingers to the ball at first slip; the reprieve was brief as he fell next ball when Chanaka Welegedara made once bounce outside off stump. Sri Lanka were sensing the kill, but rain began to fall again and this time there was no coming back as the ground was soaked within minutes.However, after beginning the series on the back of a hammering by Australia and rumblings of discontent in the camp, Sri Lanka have shown that in their own conditions they are one of the most formidable opposition in the world.

Ireland’s hopes of a third successive Intercontinental Cup win have suffered a blow with Boyd Rankin ruled out of next month’s match against UAE. He will also miss the three one-day internationals against Bangladesh.Rankin, who joined Warwickshire on a three-year deal from Derbyshire at the end of last season, suffered a stress fracture in his foot shortly before Christmas, and neither county or country want to risk him returning to action too soon. He is currently spending time with Allan Donald, Warwickshire’s bowling coach, on remodelling his action.”The injury has healed, and I have started back doing bowling drills with Allan Donald, adjusting a few things in my action just this week,” Rankin said. “It was decided between everyone that it would be too soon to be back bowling at full fitness for the Intercontinental Cup match and the ODIs in Bangladesh. I’m concerned that if I come back too soon it might not fully recover and I could break down again.”Phil Simmons, Ireland’s coach, said: “Hopefully with Allan working on remodelling Boyd’s action, we’ll get a fitter and more confident fast bowler.”However, Rankin’s loss is partly offset by the unexpected availability of opening bowler Dave Langford-Smith, who has had a change of heart after initially ruling himself out of contention for the first half of the year due to work commitments.”Dave’s work is going better than he anticipated and thankfully he is able to get the necessary time off,” Simmons said. Ireland take on the UAE in Abu Dhabi from March 6, and play three ODI’s in Bangladesh on March 18, 20 and 22.

Match facts

Monday, May 5 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

The relief was palpable in the Bangalore camp on Saturday after they finally registered their first victory at home, against the Deccan Chargers. A team of experienced internationals wasn’t expected to struggle early in the tournament, but at least they salvaged pride in a match which nearly fell out of their grasp in the final over. While they have every right to cherish the victory, it goes without saying that they would have to double their efforts against a team on a high, now with four consecutive wins. The Yuvraj Singh-led Kings XI Punjab have moulded into a dangerous unit and after two early defeats, are currently third in the points table, tied with three other teams on eight points. There’s little to separate the top four at this stage and it would be fair to say they start as favourites, despite playing away from home.

Watch out for …

… Kumar Sangakkara taking on Dale Steyn and Zaheer Khan. Sangakkara leads the run charts for Punjab with 203 in six games with two half-centuries. Steyn came back well after a pasting at the hands of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his first match to concede 20 runs in four overs. Zaheer is one of the leading wicket-takers in the tournament. Shaun Marsh would also be a tough nut to crack for Bangalore, like most Australians in this tournament.

Team news

Bangalore have in their ranks Cameron White, an Australian who can pack a punch with his big hitting. He was omitted after his team’s forgettable rout at the hands of Kolkata in the opening game of the tournament, but one would feel a player of his ability ought to get more opportunities. Jacques Kallis could face the axe after failing with the bat against Deccan and he hasn’t clicked with the ball either. It could be a gamble, as White is mainly a part-time legspinner and perhaps not the most reliable fifth-bowling option.Bangalore (probable) 1 Bharath Chipli, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Cameron White, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 Dale Steyn.Punjab wouldn’t want to alter their winning combination. Depth in batting is one of their strengths and the lower order demonstrated that in the previous game. James Hopes had a poor outing with the ball after missing three games but Punjab should see that as a blip and play him, not least for what he can do up the order.Punjab: (probable) 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 James Hopes, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Karan Goel, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Sreesanth, 10 VRV Singh, 11 Gagandeep Singh.

IPL form

(last five matches)Kings XI Punjab: LWWWW
Bangalore Royal Challengers: WLLLW

Stats and trivia