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ICC Champions Trophy Warm-up Matches Pakistan v Sri Lanka Pakistan won by 108 runs

Pakistan innings (50 overs maximum)		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	Imran Nazir	b Kulasekara	12	29	20	1	0	60.00
	6.2 outside off, cuts, bottom edge, ball goes into the ground, bounces up and just knocks the leg stump bail off 31/1
	Kamran Akmal†	b Muralitharan	82	126	78	11	2	105.12
	28.2 drives to cover, ball turns back through the gate 135/4
	Younis Khan*	c Kapugedera b Mathews	9	34	28	1	0	32.14
	13.3 looks to go over the covers, gets under it a bit, low on the bat, goes high to the man coming in off the cover boundary 64/2
	Mohammad Yousuf	b Prasad	0	8	6	0	0	0.00
	14.6 and the yorker gets under the bat 64/3
	Misbah-ul-Haq	b Muralitharan	72	134	85	3	2	84.70
	46.3 goes for the big slog sweep, no contact, bowled him 274/6
	Umar Akmal	c Mathews b Malinga	67	63	51	8	0	131.37
	42.6 charges again, lofts this very high, Matthews is under it this time and makes a good catch, that was very high in the twilight 242/5
	Shahid Afridi	not out	36	37	24	6	0	150.00
	Fawad Alam	c Dilshan b Kulasekara	9	16	7	1	0	128.57
	49.2 swings that across the line, high to square leg 304/7
	Naved-ul-Hasan	lbw b Kulasekara	0	2	1	0	0	0.00
	49.4 plays across the line, up goes the finger 305/8
	Umar Gul	not out	1	1	1	0	0	100.00
	Extras	(b 7, lb 3, w 7, nb 1)	18
	Total	(8 wickets; 50 overs; 229 mins)	306	(6.12 runs per over)

Did not bat Mohammad Aamer, Iftikhar Anjum, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Asif, Saeed Ajmal

Fall of wickets1-31 (Imran Nazir, 6.2 ov), 2-64 (Younis Khan, 13.3 ov), 3-64 (Mohammad Yousuf, 14.6 ov), 4-135 (Kamran Akmal, 28.2 ov), 5-242 (Umar Akmal, 42.6 ov), 6-274 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 46.3 ov), 7-304 (Fawad Alam, 49.2 ov), 8-305 (Naved-ul-Hasan, 49.4 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	KMDN Kulasekara	8	0	46	3	5.75	(1w)
	6.2 to Imran Nazir, outside off, cuts, bottom edge, ball goes into the ground, bounces up and just knocks the leg stump bail off 31/1 49.2 to Fawad Alam, swings that across the line, high to square leg 304/7 49.4 to Naved-ul-Hasan, plays across the line, up goes the finger 305/8
	SL Malinga	8	0	55	1	6.87	(1nb, 3w)
	42.6 to Umar Akmal, charges again, lofts this very high, Matthews is under it this time and makes a good catch, that was very high in the twilight 242/5
	KTGD Prasad	10	2	46	1	4.60
	14.6 to Mohammad Yousuf, and the yorker gets under the bat 64/3
	AD Mathews	4	0	13	1	3.25	(1w)
	13.3 to Younis Khan, looks to go over the covers, gets under it a bit, low on the bat, goes high to the man coming in off the cover boundary 64/2
	M Muralitharan	8	0	43	2	5.37
	28.2 to Kamran Akmal, drives to cover, ball turns back through the gate 135/4 46.3 to Misbah-ul-Haq, goes for the big slog sweep, no contact, bowled him 274/6
	BAW Mendis	7	0	54	0	7.71
	T Thushara	5	0	39	0	7.80	(1w)

	Sri Lanka innings (target: 307 runs from 50 overs)		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	TM Dilshan	c Mohammad Yousuf b Mohammad Aamer	0	2	3	0	0	0.00
	0.3 great ball, angled across, goes on the drive, some lift, edges to second slip, a juggle, but held 0/1
	ST Jayasuriya	c Imran Nazir b Naved-ul-Hasan	12	18	13	2	0	92.30
	3.2 on the drive, lofted, gets it high on the bat, Nazir goes back and takes the catch 23/2
	KC Sangakkara*†	c Mohammad Yousuf b Naved-ul-Hasan	21	59	26	2	0	80.76
	11.5 sucker punch, slower ball, gets forward, through the shot early, lobs it into the covers 58/3
	DPMD Jayawardene	lbw b Iftikhar Anjum	18	55	34	2	0	52.94
	13.3 gets one a touch short, into the pads, appeal, up goes the finger from Harper, Mahela does not look happy, did hit him a bit high 63/4
	SHT Kandamby	lbw b Saeed Ajmal	12	51	29	0	0	41.37
	22.1 goes on the sweep, plays well across the line, into the pad, and that even looked out from up here 83/5
	AD Mathews	c †Kamran Akmal b Naved-ul-Hasan	49	108	88	1	0	55.68
	43.5 drives, edges and thats two in two 185/7
	CK Kapugedera	c Misbah-ul-Haq b Naved-ul-Hasan	59	66	70	5	0	84.28
	43.4 goes for the six at long off, does not clear Mishbah, with the Yousuf jumper~~~~~~ 185/6
	WU Tharanga	st †Kamran Akmal b Saeed Ajmal	1	5	4	0	0	25.00
	44.5 gets down the pitch, gets some bat to it, rolls away to the keeper, stranded 187/8
	KMDN Kulasekara	not out	11	13	9	2	0	122.22
	KTGD Prasad	c †Kamran Akmal b Naved-ul-Hasan	1	4	3	0	0	33.33
	45.4 has a full swing at one just outside off, goes straight up into the air, keeper waits and takes a fairly simple catch 190/9
	T Thushara	run out (Naved-ul-Hasan)	0	5	2	0	0	0.00
	46.5 Saeed Ajmal to Kulasekara, turns that around the corner, straight at short fine leg, Naved picks up and fires at the keepers end, upends the stumps 198/10
	Extras	(lb 1, w 13)	14
	Total	(all out; 46.5 overs)	198	(4.22 runs per over)

Did not bat BAW Mendis, SL Malinga, M Muralitharan, TT Samaraweera

Fall of wickets1-0 (Dilshan, 0.3 ov), 2-23 (Jayasuriya, 3.2 ov), 3-58 (Sangakkara, 11.5 ov), 4-63 (Jayawardene, 13.3 ov), 5-83 (Kandamby, 22.1 ov), 6-185 (Kapugedera, 43.4 ov), 7-185 (Mathews, 43.5 ov), 8-187 (Tharanga, 44.5 ov), 9-190 (Prasad, 45.4 ov), 10-198 (Thushara, 46.5 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Mohammad Aamer	3.1	0	9	1	2.84
	0.3 to Dilshan, great ball, angled across, goes on the drive, some lift, edges to second slip, a juggle, but held 0/1
	Naved-ul-Hasan	9	1	41	5	4.55	(4w)
	11.5 to Sangakkara, sucker punch, slower ball, gets forward, through the shot early, lobs it into the covers 58/3 43.4 to Kapugedera, goes for the six at long off, does not clear Mishbah, with the Yousuf jumper~~~~~~ 185/6 43.5 to Mathews, drives, edges and thats two in two 185/7 45.4 to Prasad, has a full swing at one just outside off, goes straight up into the air, keeper waits and takes a fairly simple catch 190/9
	Umar Gul	6.5	0	25	0	3.65	(2w)
	Iftikhar Anjum	6	0	14	1	2.33
	13.3 to Jayawardene, gets one a touch short, into the pads, appeal, up goes the finger from Harper, Mahela does not look happy, did hit him a bit high 63/4
	Saeed Ajmal	8.5	0	46	2	5.20
	22.1 to Kandamby, goes on the sweep, plays well across the line, into the pad, and that even looked out from up here 83/5 44.5 to Tharanga, gets down the pitch, gets some bat to it, rolls away to the keeper, stranded 187/8
	Shahid Afridi	8	0	37	0	4.62	(2w)
	Shoaib Malik	5	0	25	0	5.00	(1w)

Champions Trophy 2009: Full Schedule & Coverage

 

Australia aim to climb up rankings

It might have taken the better part of three months, but the Australians finally have something to smile about entering the final week of their long, and occasionally torturous, tour of the UK. Australia's successful pursuit of England's 299 in the fourth ODI in Nottingham provided them a 5-0 series lead and with it the chance to reclaim the No. 1 limited-overs ranking from South Africa. To do so, Ricky Ponting's men must win both their remaining matches at Trent Bridge and Chester-le-Street, providing at least one hemisphere a reason to tune into a series that was decided last weekend.
English viewers may need more convincing. As if a bumbling fielding performance and a fifth straight ODI defeat were not enough, England suffered the added ignominy of watching their all-time ODI win-loss record slipping into the red for just the second time since January, 2007. In a more practical, though equally depressing, development the hosts learned on Wednesday that Luke Wright's toe injury would rule him out of the final two matches against Australia, and possibly the Champions Trophy. Dimitri Mascarenhas bowled well in Wright's absence on Tuesday, although his uneasiness against the express pace of Mitchell Johnson will not have imbued Andrew Strauss with much confidence.
England at least managed their highest ODI total against Australia since 1980, and have something to build upon ahead of the Champions Trophy. Eoin Morgan produced his best performance since defecting from Ireland earlier this year, and Strauss was at his indomitable best before being incorrectly adjudged lbw.

Door ajar for full-strength Windies squad

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West Indies could yet field a full-strength squad at the Champions Trophy, with the ICC willing to accept a "revised" line-up in the event the industrial relations dispute between the board and the players is resolved. Despite setting an August 11 deadline for national boards to nominate their 15-man squads for the Champions Trophy, the ICC has advised the WICB it would take into account the exceptional circumstances brought on by the labour dispute and allow the likes of Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to play at the tournament.

For that to happen, the WICB and the players would need to end their stand-off before West Indies' tournament opener against Pakistan at the Wanderers Ground on September 23. The recent breakdown in mediation talks between the two parties raised fears of a damaging and protracted split, although WIPA's announcement this week that it would accept CARICOM's six-point resolution plan may yet mark a turning point in the labour crisis.

Both the ICC and its broadcast partner, ESPN STAR Sports, have impressed upon the WICB their desire for a full-strength West Indies team to compete at the eight-team, two-week tournament in South Africa. The Champions Trophy has been criticised in the past for lacking context and prestige in an already crowded international calendar, and the ICC is hopeful the streamlined format - and the $4 million prize purse - will reinvigorate the appetite of both the players and the public for the embattled tournament and the 50-over game in general.

A weakened West Indies squad is hardly in keeping with that ambition. The WICB controversially named a second-string squad for the Champions Trophy while locked in mediation talks with WIPA - a move criticised by Bharrat Jagdeo, the Guyanese president CARICOM chairman, and Sir Shridath Ramphal, the former Commonwealth secretary-general and CARICOM-appointed mediator - but an ICC source told Cricinfo hope remained that an 11th-hour settlement would allow West Indies to field their elite squad.

The ICC has played a behind-the-scenes role in the WICB-WIPA dispute, although Haroon Lorgat, the council's chief executive, would not be drawn on the specifics of their involvement. He did, however, call upon the West Indian board to restore senior players to the Champions Trophy squad; a move that would enhance the tournament's objective of pitting the best versus the best.

"We would be disappointed if the best team is not taken to South Africa, but we understand the complex situation that exists," Lorgat told Cricinfo. "The West Indies have the unfettered right to select whomever they choose."

Any move to return their elite players to the field would present the WICB with a sizeable logistical and cost issue. The Floyd Reifer-led West Indies squad have already arrived in South Africa and played two practice matches against provincial sides. The bulk of those players would presumably be recalled to the Caribbean should the path be cleared for the Windies' striking cricketers to return - a scenario the cash-strapped board could do without.

But there is much at stake - not least the desire of ESPN Star Sports to protect its reported $1.1 billion broadcast deal with the ICC through to 2015. Manu Sawhney, ESPN Star Sport's managing director, delivered a veiled criticism of West Indies' current stance by stating his hope that "the unique position of the ICC Champions Trophy in the international cricket calendar will remain intact with the full participation of best available squads from all the competing teams."

"We firmly believe that the ICC Champions Trophy should be a premium international event where the best players from the top cricketing nations compete for the honours and are confident that the ICC and the cricketing community in general shares that belief," Sawhney told Cricinfo.

"As highlighted by you, lately there have been concerns regarding West Indies that have been raised in the media. As ICC's leading commercial partners, we continually maintain a dialogue with the ICC on various aspects of our relationship. However, it is our policy not to publicly comment on such discussions. We are proud of our association with the ICC and very much value this relationship."

Ponting masterclass secures another win

Ricky Ponting has already suffered the ignominy of surrendering the No. 1 Test ranking on this tour, but his final week in England may yet witness Australia's return to the summit of the 50-over game. Ponting produced his highest ever ODI total against England - a breathtaking innings of 126 from 109 deliveries - that provided the platform from which Australia launched a successful assault on England's intimidating 299.

Nothing short of a 7-0 series whitewash will allow Australia to usurp the top-ranked South Africans entering the Champions Trophy, and Ponting's 27th career ODI century delivered them to within two wins of the feat. Australia's fifth consecutive victory over England was sealed when Mitchell Johnson blasted Ryan Sidebottom for a straight six with four wickets in hand and 10 balls remaining, however it was the imperious batting of Ponting that will be remembered as the tide-turner.

The designated rest period has clearly done Ponting no harm. From the outset, his was an innings of sublime timing and intimidating power that England's bowlers could do little to repel. At one point, Ponting cuffed a Sidebottom delivery over the press box, but his most entertaining sequence came when he pounded consecutive sixes off Adil Rashid, who had the dubious honour of taking the second ball.

Ponting's only moment of trepidation came on 35 when, facing Dimitri Mascarenhas, Matt Prior removed the bails with his foot in motion behind the crease. The third umpire, Nigel Llong, found in his favour, however, allowing Ponting to resume his third-wicket stand with Michael Clarke, which produced 123-runs.

The Australians suffered a pair of setbacks when Tim Bresnan removed Tim Paine and Shane Watson, the latter for a well-struck 36 from 34 deliveries. But their exits drew Ponting and Clarke to the centre, and both appeared in an ominous mood from the outset. While Ponting powered out of the blocks, Clarke began his innings watchfully before steadily accelerating as the evening progressed. His penchant for scoring runs this series has not been in question, although his ability to do so quickly has emerged as a discussion point, particularly with the Twenty20 captaincy up for grabs. A return of 52 from 64 balls might not have ended the debate, but it did represent a higher gear than those which he has operated on thus far in the series.

England were left to rue a poor fielding display that undid much of their earlier work with the bat. Australia's final pair of Cameron White (24 not out from 15 balls) and Johnson (18 not out from 12) were too often allowed charity runs in the closing overs, turning a potentially tense finale into a relatively docile stroll.

Earlier, Eoin Morgan's flashing blade propelled England to their highest total of the series, and with it their best chance yet of ending Australia's fortnight of dominance. Morgan's frenetic innings of 58 from 41 deliveries featured an array of dazzling strokes, including powerful sixes to bring up England's 200 and his own half-century.

England seemed set for another middle order stammer when Owais Shah departed in the 39th over with the total at 192 for 5, however Morgan's late-innings partnerships with Mascarenhas and Stuart Broad provided the hosts first with ballast, and later authority. The Dublin-born left-hander made his move between the 38th and 42nd overs during England's batting Powerplay, at which time the hosts advanced their total by 45 runs, then proceeded to frustrate the Australians with powerful and occasionally improvised strokeplay, such as his stunning reverse sweep to the boundary off Nathan Bracken.

Bracken exacted revenge with his next delivery, though not before Morgan, who was dropped on 38 by juggling Michael Hussey at deep square-leg, had accelerated to his highest one-day international score since shifting allegiances from Ireland. At the time of his departure in the 48th over, England were well on course for a competitive total, and when Rashid blasted three boundaries from Johnson's final over, a intimidating score was in the books.

England's middle-order resurgence may not have come in time to save the series, but it will provide team management with a sense of optimism ahead of the Champions Trophy. Too often England's batsmen have been contained and subsequently dismissed by Australia's bowlers over the past few weeks, but on an ideal batting surface the hosts managed a display befitting of an international-standard limited-overs side.