Jayawardene to quit as Sri Lanka captain

Mahela Jayawardene is to stand down as Sri Lanka captain after the Pakistan tour. Jayawardene, who has led Sri Lanka since February 2006, announced his decision after a meeting with the national cricket selectors.

He presided over a 4-1 loss to India in a one-day series that ended last week and told selectors the time was right to hand over the captaincy so his successor would have time to prepare the team for the 2011 World Cup.

"In the best interests of the Sri Lanka team, I have decided to stand down as Sri Lanka captain after this Pakistan tour," Jayawardene said. "This is something I have been considering for some time as it has been my long-held belief that my successor should have at least 18 months in the job to imprint his vision on the team for the 2011 World Cup."

He led Sri Lanka in 26 Test matches and 97 one-dayers and was Sri Lanka's most successful captain with a win percentage of 62.50% in Tests and 57% in one-day internationals.

"After much thought, I have concluded that the right time has now come for fresh leadership to take over," he said. "It was not an easy decision to make because being Sri Lanka national captain has been the source of enormous pride. I am very grateful to have been granted the honour of leading the team during the last three years.

"I look forward now to extending my full support to my successor and hope to play a major part in the team's success during the coming years as a batsman," he said.

Sri Lanka play two Tests against Pakistan with the first beginning in Karachi on 21 February. The second is slated to be held in Lahore from 1 March.

Cricket-Indian board is almost $25 million down

NEW DELHI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - India's cricket board has lost almost $25 million from the scrapping of two one-day games against England and the cancellation of the 2008 Champions Trophy and this month's tour to Pakistan.

"The working committee noted there would be a reduction in revenue in the current year to the effect of 1.2 billion rupees ($24.87 million) as a result of the cancellation of two ODIs against England and India's tour to Pakistan," said Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary N. Srinivasan.

"This includes the loss of revenue arising out of the postponement of ICC Champions Trophy 2008," he added in a statement.

"It is to be noted that while there will be a decrease in revenue the BCCI will still have a healthy excess of income over expenditure for the current year."

The Indian government refused permission for the tour to Pakistan due to strained bilateral ties after blaming Islamist militants based in that country for the November attacks which killed 179 people in Mumbai.

India had been scheduled to play three tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international.

Security concerns also forced the last two games of the home one-day series against England to be scrapped at the end of 2008.

The Champions Trophy has been put back to September 2009 after last year's tournament in Pakistan was postponed due to security concerns.

Clarke rescues Australia after top-order collapse

Sydney (IANS): Michael Clarke shouldered Australia to 267 for 6 after skipper Ricky Ponting got out to a golden duck and opener Matthew Hayden struggled yet again to come to terms with his batting on day one of the third and last cricket Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on Saturday.

Clarke was still out there at stumps with a meticulous 73 after the South African pace battery had reduced the hosts to 162 for 5.

Clarke and Brad Haddin (38) then stitched together 75 runs to prevent South Africa from going for the kill. Mitchell Johnson (17) will go out to resume the inning with Clarke on the second day Sunday.

Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, South Africa looked determined for a rare whitewash against Australia and a top spot in Test rankings as they took the field after Ponting won his third straight toss.

The hostile pace attack, led by fiery Dale Steyn (2-71), kept the brittle Australian top-order on a tight leash, giving away nothing on a batsman-friendly wicket.

Hayden (31), under pressure to keep his place in the side, batted through the first session, but never looked like getting on top of the bowling. His sledge-hammer strokes have deserted him of late.

Simon Katich, in contrast, looked fluent and attacked the new ball bowlers with flair, racing to 47 off 52 balls. His five sweetly-timed boundaries promised much more from the left-hander but his innings came to an abrupt end as he jabbed at a sharp delivery from Jacques Kallis and the resultant edge went straight to AB de Villiers in the slips.

Ponting, who played a lone hand in a vain attempt to stop the South African from clinching the series in Melbourne, was out inside-edging Morne Morkel to Mark Boucher.

Hayden and Michael Hussey (30) tried to stem the downslide with the latter scoring the bulk of the 46 runs scored during the partnership.

Steyn bowled leaden-footed Hayden, who dragged the ball onto the stumps while going for an expansive drive. His 31 off 78 balls had four fours, mostly driven down the V.

Hussey then offered a simple catch to Kallis at slip off left-arm spinner Paul Harris as Australia slumped to 130 for four.

Debutant Andrew McDonald faced a torrid spell taking some blows on his body. A nasty Morne Morkel bouncer knocked down his helmet, but the Victorian battled it out for 54 balls before nicking an angled Makhaya Nitni delivery behind.

Brad Haddin (38) then joined Clarke and the two attacked the bowlers to break the shackles.

Haddin was particularly aggressive against Harris and dispatched him to the onside for two fours and a six. Clarke got a life when Ntini failed to pluck the ball at mid-off. The vice-captain stepped out often to drive the ball through the covers and hit nine boundaries.

But Steyn got his second wicket as he bowled Haddin. In came a resolute Mitchell Johnson and added 30 runs with Clarke for the unfinished seventh-wicket stand.

Dilshan puts his hand up

Tillakaratne Dilshan sets off for a run during his sixth Test hundred

Tillakaratne Dilshan's sixth Test hundred rescued Sri Lanka from a potentially embarrassing first day against Bangladesh in the second Test in Chittagong. Bangladesh had continued in much the same spirit of their brave last-innings chase in the first Test and had Sri Lanka reduced to 75 for 4, before Dilshan intervened.

It was some intervention as well, for defying the traditionally dour rearguard, he sped along mostly at over a run a ball, finally ending with a strike-rate just a touch under. And though it was captain Mahela Jayawardene's 100th Test, mostly overlooked was the fact that it was Dilshan's 50th. More than a present for the skipper, it was one for himself.

"It was an opportunity for someone to put a hand up and I am happy to have contributed," Dilshan said. "Every game is important for a Test cricketer. It was also my 50th Test match and very important for me also."

Sri Lanka's troubles had been caused by a slow surface, though Dilshan made it look a lot better as the day wore on. It wasn't chanceless; an innings of that much aggression rarely is but Imrul Kayes' drop at mid-on, when Dilshan was on 78, was a costly one. "That's part of the game. It gives you an opportunity to capitalise and if you get a let off you should then try and make a big score.

"The wicket is very good. It is a good Test wicket but maybe a bit on the slower side."

That chance was one of a few Bangladesh fluffed and it was the one thing they couldn't afford were they not to slip from the heights of the last Test. Enamul Haque jnr, the left-arm-spinner who came in at the expense of the seamer Mahbubul Alam, eventually dismissed Dilshan, but his return to the Test side after nearly a year wasn't a particularly memorable one.

"It [the day] could have been a lot better if we hadn't dropped three catches and missed a stumping chance," Haque said. "Still I think we are in it. The situation I should say is 50-50 after day one and if we can bowl them out early tomorrow and bat well then we should be back in the game. We just need a big effort from the batsmen.

"I think our fielding has improved a lot. Today was one of those days and there are days when we take difficult catches and miss easy ones. I am sure that if you give Imrul ten such catches he'd take each and every one of those. The misses today were just accidents."

At some point tomorrow, Bangladesh will be properly introduced to the threat of Ajantha Mendis, who is back himself in the side after an injury. The pitch will deteriorate as the Test progresses and the combined threat of Muttiah Muralitharan and Mendis, said Dilshan, will be considerable.

"I think it will turn for those two. The bounce could be a bit uneven later on and they [Bangladesh batsmen] haven't played Ajantha much. So I hope both bowlers will do well here," said Dilshan.

Intikhab to meet players on central contracts

The PCB has sought to get the players' opinions on the contracts by appointing Intikhab Alam as a negotiator

Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, has been asked by the PCB to get inputs from national team players and draw up recommendations before the board hands out its central contracts for this year. The board also strongly denied reports of the players being unhappy with certain terms in the contracts.

"We have given him (Intikhab) an outline of what we feel should be the terms and conditions of the new contracts and he will add the players' info to these," Salim Altaf, the PCB's chief operating officer, said. "But so far nothing has happened. So there is no question of players being unhappy as yet."

Their had been reports in various sections of the press that senior players were unhappy with terms of the new contracts; captain Shoaib Malik is alleged to have spoken to several senior players in an effort to stop them from signing new contracts and holding out for better terms.

But Altaf rubbished the claims. "The question of players revolting or not being happy with the new terms of the contracts does not arise. Because as yet nothing has been formalised regarding the new terms and conditions of the contracts."

The reports have an interesting context in that they come at a time when talk of forming a players' association has been mooted for the first time in many years. Pakistan has never had a players' association of any credible standing, though Asif Iqbal, former captain, and some players in the late 70s did try to set one up. In recent months, both Malik and vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq have spoken of the need to set one up in Pakistan.

But Altaf acknowledged that the financial crunch the board is facing will force it to rationalise the benefits given to cricketers. "There is a suggestion that while special bonuses for individual performances be cut, the match fees of players be increased specially for Test matches to balance things.

"But the players have to understand we are facing a financial crunch and we are taking measures in the board administration and expenses also to rationalise things," he said.

The central contracts for 2008 have already expired, on the last day of the year, and the new ones, with a tenure of one year, will be announced only after receiving the approval of the board's general council meeting later this month.