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Warren Hegg may be something of a forgotten man in English cricket but thatfailed to stop him from playing an innings to remember at Headingley thisafternoon. Against a persistently accurate Yorkshire attack, Hegg was theone batsman to capitalise on a good start, his innings the differencebetween mediocrity and competitiveness as Lancashire’s soared to a mark of267 – against Yorkshire’s 4/0 – on another two-paced Leeds pitch.It was Hegg’s chanceless 75, spiced as it was with nine well struckboundaries, which proved the defining factor in a fightback much needed bythe visitors. With only a solitary half century to show from nineteenprevious appearances at the crease this county season, the former England’keeper chose an opportune moment to turn his form around in what shapes asone of the most crucial matches of the summer. Stern late resistance alsocame in the form of a painstaking 19 in a shade under two hours from GlenChapple (whose concentration on occupation of the crease enabled him toshare in a vital 88 run stand for the seventh wicket with Hegg) and a handyunbeaten 29 from number nine, Richard Green.Undone by some excellent bowling, principally from the redoubtable MatthewHoggard (4/70), the Lancastrians had looked to be tumbling deep into themire as they surrendered five wickets for fifty runs to find themselvesteetering at 128/6 an hour after lunch. Enter their enterprisingwicketkeeper-batsman, whose ability to tuck and chip the ball into gaps notonly slowed Yorkshire’s momentum but also evinced increasing signs offrustration. Michael Atherton (21), John Crawley (23), Sourav Ganguly(28), and a characteristically aggressive Andrew Flintoff (28), had allmade decent enough starts to raise hopes of a solid top order performance,but they failed to a man to continue on with a job that, in the end, was byfar best left to Hegg.

Wherever the Sri Lankan women’s cricket team go, the crowds should follow. Entertainment is virtually guaranteed. If they are not treating every run between the wicket as if it were their last (and it often is), they are hurling themselves around the field as though their lives depended on it. And, in between times, they can play some pretty good cricket.Today at Hagley Oval was no exception. In virtually guaranteeing themselves the winning of their mini-world cup within the CricInfo Women’s World Cup with a 26-win over the Netherlands, they contributed to making a low-scoring affair a highly entertaining spectacle.Being put in to bat on a Hagley Park pitch having its first use at the tournament, the Sri Lankan batsmen put supporters, opponents and neutral observers on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as they began by expertly accumulating a total of 94 for two in the 34th over, mainly courtesy of what turned out to be a match-winning innings by their captain, Rasanjali Silva. And then crashed to 113 for eight before the last two wickets added 26.It was almost as if the rest of the batsmen were in a different match from Silva. It took a special demonstration of keeper-bowler co-operation to snare the Sri Lankan captain, stumped Rowan Milburn, bowled Tessa van der Gun for 53 off 95 balls with the score at 94.Silva’s departure started the slide. The next highest score off the bat was 11 and that was from Hiroshi Abeysinghe. She was looking promising until she became the sacrificial lamb when the only case of the Sri Lankan disease in the innings struck. She found herself keeping company with Chamani Seneviratne at one end of the pitch while the Netherlands fielders were focusing with considerable pleasure on the other end.However, there was one other major contribution to the Sri Lankan score. Extras, through the generosity of the Netherland bowlers, contributed 37, 34 of those runs coming from wides. In a loss by 26 runs, it is a figure that will haunt them.While the Sri Lankans were going through their batting highs and lows, the procession from the batting crease was almost matched by that at the bowling crease. Van der Gun was the best of the eight bowlers used, picking up three for 18 off four overs, including another stumping collaboration with Milburn, while Maartje Koster’s six overs conceded eight runs for one wicket and Caroline Salomons rose above having her action scrutinised to return one for 13 off four.The boost to the Netherlands batting with Koster and Helmien Rambaldo returning from injury half worked. Koster departed in the first over, the first in a tough lbw day for Umpire Dave Quested. Rambaldo, however, went through to 38 and looked the best of the batsmen on offer from either side.The Sri Lankan’s were very keen on the possibility of lbws; their frequent demands would have been intimidating if it were not for Umpires Quested and Peter Williams towering over their tormentors. It at times looked like the Lilliputians advancing on Gulliver as they pleaded for deliverance from the batsmen.As it was, they received their quota in the space of four balls. Seneviratne was the beneficiary as Umpire Quested answered the call on the third, fourth and sixth balls of her second over. The hat-trick ball was a wide. That was the end as 43 for two suddenly became 44 for five.But the Netherlands never lie down. Amid a continuous cacophony of imploring appeals, they tried to accumulate the necessary runs. De Boer was the most defiant, her 26 coming off 67 balls. But it was just too much for the lower order to withstand the enthusiastic fielding and accurate bowling of Silva (CricInfo Player of the Match), three for 24 off eight, Seneviratne, four for 23 off 10 and Jayamali Indika, three for 14 off 6.2.A very happy Sri Lankan manager, Chandra Munaweera, said the team had done well under pressure. The bowling in particular had been very good.As far as the batting was concerned, she said, “losing the toss was a blessing in disguise. Other teams do not expect us to get runs.”And, of course, given previous performances, “just one run out was very good.”She said the team had gained a big boost from the highly vocal support from the local Sri Lankan community, who had turned Hagley Oval into a little bit of Asia with their lively contribution to proceedings.Now, said Mrs Munaweera, “we are looking forward to England.”Result: Sri Lanka 139; the Netherlands, 113. A win to Sri Lanka by 26 runs, barring miracles or disasters, depending on the points of view, guaranteeing them sixth place and a berth in the next World Cup in South Africa in 2004.

It was a dream come true for the fast bowling duo from Bangladesh. Theyhad always dreamt of emulating him. But being from Bangladesh, theirchances of realising their dream were limited. However, both ManjuralIslam and Habibul Bashar now consider themselves very lucky to haveinteracted with the legendary Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee.Islam and Bashar, incidentally are the first Bangladeshi cricketers toattend the MRF Pace Foundation at Chennai.Bashar and Islam went back to Dhaka via Kolkata today. On their way,they said that even after playing Test matches, they had not realizedthat they had so much to learn. Islam boasts the best bowlingperformance by a Bangladeshi in a Test match. Today, he said that thecaptain of their team, Naimur Rahman had captured six wickets againstIndia in the inaugural Test that their country played. "However,against Zimbabwe this year, I also took six wickets conceding a lessernumber of runs. So at the moment, the record belongs to me," saidIslam. He also added that both of them had created a record of sortsby being the first to attend the Pace Foundation from Bangladesh.Sitting at a hotel close to the airport, both expressed theirsatisfaction at the way Lillee had helped them. Bashar said, "He wassuch a great bowler. But he was always down to earth. He mixed freelywith us and paid us the same attention that others at the camp got."Of the two, the more Islam added, "We had certain problems in ourfollow through. Lillee was very patient with us and rectified ourfaults. I was not completing my follow through while Bashar was notbringing down his arm properly."While Bashar had played the first Test match against India, Islam hadnot and still regrets missing out on being a part of history. Basharincidentally had dismissed Sadagoppan Ramesh in the Indian firstinnings. Islam said, "He is lucky. However, I plan to make up when weplay in the Asian Test Championship match against India. After that wehave a full series against Zimbabwe consisting of three Test matchesand five one-dayers. Our aim is to remain fit and play in all thethree matches."Both at present, however, want to concentrate on what they have learntfrom Lillee. Islam informed that after returning home they would beunder the wing of former West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts. "He isalso a great bowler. So we plan to pick up useful tips from him also.We have learnt that to fight in the international arena one has tolearn new things every now and then. Otherwise success becomes verydifficult."

Superb spin bowling performance by Harbhajan Singh (5/40) and SandeepSanwal (4/41) helped Punjab score a convincing victory of an inningsand 166 runs over Services in the fourth round of Ranji Trophy NorthZone League on sunday.Services started the third day of the match at 69/1 needing another274 runs to make Punjab bat again. Deepak Sherawar who had compiled ahalf century (56) was caught by Vikram Rathour off the bowling ofGagandeep Singh at the score of 97. Sandeep Sawal with his leg spinhad the following three wickets to finish with a tally of 4 for 41 of19 overs. After the fall of the fifth wicket, India test discardHarbhajan Singh came into his elements as he removed all the remainingfive wickets. The latter half of Services had no answer to the guileof Harbhajan Singh’s off spin.The Services innings collapsed like a house of cards and came to anend on 177. This enabled Punjab to notch up their fourth straightInnings victory of the season. The other highlights of the match werethe wonderful bowling performance by the Punjab seamer Bharat Bushan(8/51) who ran through the Services first Innings and the brilliantcentury by Punjab’s Pankaj Dharmani (128).

Shivnarine Chanderpaul credits a little bit of divine intervention and some brute force for his last-ball six which won West Indies the first ODI at Queen’s Park Oval.”I’m happy, I’m very, very happy. I prayed and prayed and asked God to give me the strength to hit that ball out of the ground,” he said after the nail-biter. “The plan was to fire as hard as I could.”West Indies, chasing 236, needed ten from the last two deliveries of the game. Chaminda Vaas had done extremely well for the first four balls of the 50th over but Chanderpaul drilled the fifth for a straight four and walked down the track to loft the last over midwicket.”I watched the ball until it went over, then I was able to jump up,” said Chanderpaul, who was recently named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year. “When it dropped over the rope then I was happy to celebrate. I was looking for anything. I was looking for a slower ball, a wide ball, I was looking for whatever Vaas had up his sleeve. I didn’t have to do all that. He sent down a full toss and I just had to fire and fire hard.”The second last ball I knew I just had to hit. I was looking to get under it but I then had to hit it straight and hard. I timed that one very well.”Chanderpaul’s unbeaten 86 helped West Indies level the two-match Test series with a six-wicket win at the same venue earlier this week. He went into the first ODI with a bit of flu but was thrilled to have sealed another win.”I am still suffering a bit, but I knew with God’s help it could happen for us today. I have not recovered from the flu properly,” he said. “I was shaking out there all day and I was feeling weak. When I went to bat I was trembling and I was still struggling, but it worked out for me.”The second ODI is also at Port of Spain on April 12.

Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of the ODI series against New Zealand and will be out of action for at least four weeks due to a knee injury. Du Plessis did not play the T20s after picking up the injury during training ahead of the series. He should recover in time for South Africa’s tour of India, which starts in October.”It’s frustrating for me because I feel good and in form,” du Plessis said while doing a commentary stint during the first ODI. “Brandon Jackson, the physiotherapist, said I will need about three or four weeks of no running at all and then can get back into training.”This is the second injury du Plessis has had in the last few months after he suffered a broken finger during IPL 2015. Du Plessis played in the final despite the finger injury; he took the injury into South Africa’s tour of Bangladesh but did not miss any matches. “At Chennai, my nickname is Ferrari because everything looks pretty good on the outside but there’s not much going on on the inside.”Du Plessis’ absence means that South Africa are without a third senior player after JP Duminy and Morne Morkel were given time off from the series for paternity leave. Rilee Rossouw will bat in du Plessis’ place at No. 3 with Farhaan Behardien included in the lower middle order. Dean Elgar has been added to the squad as cover.

After being dismissed for 206, Uttar Pradesh hit back to takefour Saurashtra wickets for 89 runs by close of play on theopening day of their Ranji Trophy Super League group C matchin Rajkot on Saturday.UP lost four wickets for 58 runs but Pervendra Singh (59)and S Shukla (26) added 49 runs for the fifth wicket. Pervendrawho faced 112 balls, hit four boundaries. Then Md Saif, at No 7,hit a valuable 31. Niraj Odedra (4 for 56) and Hitesh Parsana(3 for 36) were the main wicket takers.Saurashtra in their reply lost wickets at regular intervalswith Gyanendra Pandey picking up two of the four that fellfor 24 runs.

Ben Stokes is ready to take on greater responsibility with the ball if that is the role handed to him for the Test matches against Pakistan in the UAE.England will spend the first two weeks of the tour – which includes two two-day warm-up matches in Sharjah – fine-tuning the make-up of their side for the first Test in Abu Dhabi, beginning on October 13, and some of the decisions they face are not simple.Alastair Cook lauded England’s adaptability as the team travelled to the UAE, pinpointing the phalanx of allrounders at his disposal. Stokes is central to that, along with Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel while Joe Root’s offspin could also see greater service on this trip.Although the prevailing feeling is that Moeen is favourite to open the batting ahead of Alex Hales, which could pave the way for a six-man bowling attack including four quicks, there remains a chance that England could go with three fast men, which would bring Stokes’ all-round role even more to the forefront of the team. In his 16-Test career to date he has only ever been one of four fast bowlers.”There will be a lot more responsibility on me when I come on to bowl,” Stokes told ESPNcricinfo. “I might not bowl as much as I have in the summer, because it’s more friendly to spinners out there, but when I do get the ball I’ll have to realise how much expectation there is on me as a third seamer because it’s hot, hard conditions to be a seam bowler in the UAE. I like added responsibility and think it brings the best out of my cricket.”Stokes began the last English summer in dramatic style with an all-round display against New Zealand at Lord’s that went down as one of England’s finest. He scored 92 on the opening day after England were tottering on 30 for 4, then struck the fastest hundred on the ground in the second innings, before a thrilling burst with the ball on the final day when he removed the lynchpin pair of Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum in consecutive deliveries.His next four Tests only brought three wickets before he produced a dramatic display in the second innings at Trent Bridge, claiming 6 for 36 to help England secure the Ashes in barely more than two days. The eye-catching feature of that performance was the prodigious swing, and though it was conventional movement on that day Stokes is also capable of reversing the ball when conditions allow, which is something that could come into play on this tour.”We do a lot of work with reverse swing leading up to tours where it can reverse so we will probably be doing quite a lot of work on that leading up to the Test series. Most of us know the characteristics and skills of reverse swing.”For Stokes, this will be his first taste of Test cricket against Asian opposition in their conditions and even though the prospect of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel looms over Christmas and New Year he believes the first phase of England’s overseas travels will be the most daunting.”We’ve had two series at home in our conditions which we all know, so the big thing for us is we are going to play in foreign conditions,” he said. “UAE will be the most challenging one, last time we didn’t do very well, but you want to test yourself against the best in the world in the hardest conditions.”

Scorecard
The experienced pair of Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor rescued an experimental England line-up from an early wobble chasing South Africa’s 158, to maintain their unblemished record this summer with a six-wicket win and ease to a 4-0 series lead.With the series already secured, England sent in Beth Morgan and Jenny Gunn at the top of the order, instead of their usual places lower down, and the pair put on a solid 40 before England lost 4 for 18 mainly through Ashlyn Kilowan.But although Kilowan finished with 3 for 19 – Gunn, Ebony Rainford-Brent and Laura Marsh – South Africa’s attack couldn’t penetrate the doughty defences of Edwards and Taylor who guided England home with an unbroken stand of 101. Taylor reached 37 not out, while the in-form Edwards caressed her way to 58. The other Taylor, Sarah, will have to wait another match to attempt her world record, but she and England can afford to wait for it.Earlier, Alicia Smith had provided substance for South Africa, making a solid 68 and Shandre Fritz added a handy 31, both falling to run-outs. England bowled well as a unit to systematically dismiss work their way through the line-up however, and there was a wicket on debut for 16-year-old Anya Shrubsole. Though Shrubsole opened the bowling, the pace bowler had to wait until the end to close the innings, as the tailender Marcia Letsoalo was snapped up by Isa Guha.The series concludes at Chesterfield on Monday and South Africa will be encouraged by the determined batting shown by Smith and Fritz and their initial bowling efforts. But with England in such dominant form, the home side are well on course for the clean sweep.

Why Shoaib Malik shouldn’t open
The last time he opened Pakistan’s innings was in Gwalior, against India on November 15, 2007. Salman Butt took first strike then and was out lbw second ball to RP Singh for a sifar (zero). Seven months later, Malik walked out once again with Butt. Malik’s partner lasted three balls this time, out edging Afzaal Haider – for a sifar. The captain might want to give up opening aspirations for the sake of a young teammate.Left-armed compliment
Pakistan’s troubles against left-arm spinners are well-documented. From Vinoo Mankad to Ray Bright to Maninder Singh to Phil Edmonds to Nick Cook to Ashley Giles to Mohammad Rafique to Monty Panesar, Pakistan have always seemed to bat for the cause of the most unglamorous variety of spinners.With that in mind, Hong Kong went with a smart strategy: packing their side with left-arm spinners, much like the Bangladesh side of not so long ago. Nadeem Ahmed, Najeeb Amar and Munir Dar gave away 120 runs in 27 overs, and Nadeem accounted for the wickets of Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi.Dodgy decision of the day
Nadeem, playing his second ODI, had everything going for him and looked good for a five-for when he finished his seventh over, his figures at the stage reading 7-1-33-4. But he was taken off at the end of the 28th over with Pakistan’s score at 158 for 6, and brought back in the 43rd over. Sohail Tanvir and Fawad Alam had settled in by then, and got stuck into Nadeem in his ninth over, which went for 12 runs. Nadeem didn’t get to bowl his 10th. Had he taken a fifth wicket, he would have become the first Hong Kong bowler to do so; in any case his 9-1-51-4 were the best bowling figures for Hong Kong.Baptism by fire
This was the first international match – and the second first-class match – for Hong Kong’s Irfan Ahmed, 18. And he got in the way of a intent to get off the blocks. Iftikhar Anjum got his first ball of the match to nip in sharply, beat Irfan’s defenses, and end his innings in exactly one delivery. The bat had come down at an angle, and Anjum made sure Irfan would have enough time to ponder over the backswing.Stretcher for two
In the 28th over of Hong Kong’s innings, Zain Abbas tried to crack Shahid Afridi through the covers and caught a helmetless Younis Khan smack on the head. The ball rebounded and went into the covers. Zain, himself cramping and batting with a runner, had taken down a player.A stretcher was called for – it wasn’t clear whether for Zain or Younis – and Umar Gul, fielding at the boundary, hitched himself a ride to the centre. Both Younis and Zain decided to go off, and shared the ride out. Younis, though, came back after a few overs to bowl, and managed to take a wicket too.