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Right from the toss, it was Pakistan Under-19s day as they dismissed hosts Sri Lanka for 131 in 36 overs and proceeded to overhaul their target with eight wickets and more than 21 remaining.Sri Lanka started well after being put in to bat, with Dilshan Munaweera (39) and Dinesh Chandimal (21) added 58 inside ten overs. But Chandimal’s dismisssal, caught by wicketkeeper Ali Asad off right-arm medium-pacer Mohammad Rameez, cued the collapse. Imad Wasim, the slow left-arm spinner, and Umar Akmal, in his first bowling effort at this level, snared six wickets between and Sri Lanka slipped to 113 for 6 in 30 overs. A couple run outs later and Pakistan found themselves chasing 132 to lift the final.That they did, with little fuss, as Ahmed Shehzad (20 from 14 balls) and Akmal (47 from 20) set about with hurried shots. The duo were back in the pavilion in seven overs, but with 68 on the board Pakistan were on their way to victory. Umar Amin’s unbeaten 38 from 77 balls and Shan Masood’s handy 26 settled the affair well before the alloted 50 overs were complete.

Iain Robertson struck his maiden first-class century to boost Canterbury to a strong first-innings total of 469 for 8 on the second day against Otago at Christchurch. Michael Papps, overnight on 143, added 26 to his score before falling to seamer Matthew Harvey. Robertson led the lower-order resistance, adding 85 with Michael Davidson for the eighth wicket and another 44 for the tenth wicket with Willie Lonsdale. Robertson dominated both stands, bringing up his century before Chris Harris declared the innings. He brisk unbeaten 102 included eight fours and four sixes. Jordan Sheed led Otago’s reply with 46 as his side ended the day at 96 for 2 when bad light curtailed play.Wellington replied strongly after conceding a first-innings lead of 74 to Auckland at the Basin Reserve, ending the second day at 243 for 3. Following the batting failure on the opening day in which 17 wickets fell, the script took a different turn today as Luke Woodcock, Michael Parlane and Neal Parlane struck half centuries. Neal Parlane remained unbeaten on 87, giving his side a lead of 169 at stumps with seven wickets in hand. Earlier, seamer Iain O’Brien bagged his best figures in first-class cricket with 8 for 55, wrapping up the Auckland innings for 174.An impressive showing by the Northern Districts top order gave them a first-innings lead of 25 on the second day against Central Districts at Gisborne. Chasing Central’s first-innings score of 305, openers Bradley Watling and Brad Wilson put together a stand of 118. Wilson departed for a patient 56 while Watling carried on, adding a quick 57 for the second wicket with Hamish Marshall. Watling though was unfortunate to miss his ton, falling nine short when he was bowled by legspinner Robbie Schaw. James Marshall strengthened Northern’s position with an unbeaten 86, taking the side past Central’s score in the company of Grant Robinson who was seven short of a fifty at stumps.

Yorkshire have made a loss of £1.2million for the financial year, the club has announced. The loss stemmed from Headingley being overlooked as one of the Ashes Tests venues in 2005, as well as the late conclusion of the ground deal, which was finally sorted in December.Despite the shortfall, the club are confident that they will be able to turn in a profit of around £300,000 for the current year, owing to buying the ground, and hosting a Test.A statement on the club’s website said: “The situation is much healthier now – thanks to the ground purchase and agreement with the ECB to stage international matches at Headingley until 2019.”But the finance director Brian Bouttell admitted that after buying Headingley, finances would be tight at Yorkshire for some time to come. Bouttell said: “As with any first-time mortgage, things will be tight for the first five years, reasonable for the next five and then much easier.”In order to ease the financial burden, Yorkshire plan to hold a ground appeal, which they hope could bring in £3million, and to hold a club benefit, which they believe could raise £1million.

Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka’s spin wizard and previously one of the island’s most eligible bachelors, has married his Chennai-based bride, Madhi Ramamurthy, during a colourful traditional South Indian wedding ceremony on Monday morning.Muralitharan, his entire family and close friends decamped to Chennai early last week to organise four days of celebrations that started with an informal party on Saturday night thrown by his brother Shashi and will end with a grand reception on Tuesday night for a 1000 relatives and friends.But the formal and traditional marriage to 24-year-old Madhi, a business administration postgraduate and the director of a leading private heart hospital founded by her late father, was the centrepiece attraction, a glittering five-hour celebration of the couple’s wedlock that started at 8am and was still going strong when guests were invited for lunch.The 2000 invitees – plus a couple of Sri Lanka politicians who invited themselves, and a swarming mass of photographers and television cameramen, a few of whom had to be restrained as they searched desperately for the best angles – crowded into the Rani Meyyammai Hall in central Chennai to watch Murali and Madhi, sat cross-legged under a lavishly decorated wedding pavilion, tie the matrimonial knot.Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas were the only current cricketers to attend – the others could only arrive in time for the reception – and were joined by a string of ex-internationals, including Arjuna Ranatunga, a close friend, and Sidath Wettimuny. Current coach John Dyson flew in from Colombo and ex-coach Dav Whatmore jetted in from Dhaka.The invitees gazed onto a wedding platform, helped by giant television screens that showed the guests entering and the ceremony on stage unfold, as a temple priest, B Kumar from the Lord Muruga Temple, lead the couple through an intricate South Indian Hindu ceremony that included 27 separate stages, from symbolic rituals to blessings and prayers to the gods.

Murali, dressed handsomely in a shining white long kurta and trousers, started by washing his parents’ feet. Prayers to the Goddess of Wealth were next, followed by the cooking of rice and the tying of a sacred Mangalyam thread around Madhi’s neck, the confirmation of their new bond that guests celebrated by showering the couple with yellow rice and flower petals.After exchanging garlands the couple paid homage to a sacred fire and then welcomed all the guests onto the stage to accept their congratulations and best wishes. With the official photographer working overtime, snapping each exchange, handshake and hug, the process lasted two hours before the final series of rituals.Muralitharan had started to think about marriage after his shoulder injury in August. Bored and frustrated by his absence from the team, he started to look towards the future and possible marriage, a changing mindset that delighted his mother Lakshmi, who had for some time been keeping an eye out for a suitable bride.The actual engagement happened swiftly after a visit to Chennai in November set-up by S Chandrasekhar, a Tamil movie star and close friend of the Ramamurthy family, and Murali’s mother, who was a Chandrasekar-movie fanatic. Murali and Madhi warmed to each other immediately and the horoscopes matched well. By the time Murali returned to Colombo a few days later both families had happily agreed to the marriage.Although her father had been a cricket obsessive, Madhi was clueless about the game and her future groom’s cricketing exploits when they first met. But she is a furious reader, with a particular love for psychology, and soon swatted up on the game, pouring through literature and logging onto cricket websites.The pair will now return to Sri Lanka to start their new life together. Fortunately, for Sri Lanka cricket fans, Madhi has promised Murali all the support he needs to continue his career for the foreseeable future. A year ago Murali had talked about the 2007 World Cup as his retirement date but now he’s keen to play well beyond. Madhi hopes to continue working with the hospital, now run by her mother, from Sri Lanka.

A hamstring strain threatens to spoil Chris Cairns’s comeback plans. Cairns, who bowled for the first time in an ODI since a World Cup match against Zimbabwe in March this year, limped off after sending down just three overs in the rain-hit match against India at Chennai on Wednesday. Cairns bowled with a fair amount of pace, taking the wicket of Virender Sehwag with the last ball of his first over, and Stephen Fleming was clearly disappointed with the latest injury concern.”It’s a shame and it’s the most frustrating for Cairnsy. What he was delivering was pretty good, and he’s been pretty excited about getting out there,” Fleming said. “We feel for him but hopefully it’s not too bad. He’s icing it at the moment and we’ll assess it tomorrow.”Cairns has five more days to recover, though: New Zealand’s next match in the tournament is on October 29, against Australia at Faridabad.

A wiser Brett Lee will begin his summer of reckoning tomorrow with an instruction to blast out New Zealand’s shaky top order in the First Test at the Gabba.Lee will celebrate his 25th birthday tomorrow as part of the potent pace attack with Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, but without the momentum which propelledhim into last year’s home summer.The right-armer struck his first rough patch in Test cricket when he took just nine wickets in the recent Ashes series at a poor average of 55.11, blowing out his remarkable rookie statistics.But he is still expected to beat hometown favourite Andrew Bichel for the final bowling spot, with captain Steve Waugh predicting Lee can rediscover the touchwhich earned him 18 wickets at 17.50 in his last series in New Zealand.”He’ll be nervous coming into the Test but he is a great talent and if he gets it right he will trouble New Zealand in the same way he did 18 months ago,” Waugh said.”It is a good challenge for him and something every player needs.”He took 42 wickets in his first seven Tests at an average of 15 and probably thought Test cricket was an easy game.”In some ways it is good to have a bit of leveller and to assess your game and go back to basics. It will be good for him and he will come back better for it.”Lee’s golden run was always going to end at some time and now he has the chance to prove he can bounce back by lighting some fireworks under a batting orderyet to prove itself in Australia.Black Caps openers Mark Richardson and Matthew Bell struggled in their last two lead-in matches and the pair will be given a thorough workout by a pace attackwhich rarely gives batsmen a break.Kiwi No.3 Mathew Sinclair is also unproven against McGrath, Gillespie and Lee despite crashing two double centuries in less than two years of Test cricket.The Kiwis must also think about Shane Warne’s outstanding Gabba record after Waugh predicted the slow bowlers could cause problems on a wicket which playedlike an airport runway for a tour match last weekend.”It is not as grassy as it normally is up here and it should suit the spinners at some stage, probably earlier than normal,” Waugh said.”Whoever wins the toss will have an interesting choice … I am hoping to lose it.”The coin toss is the only area in which bookmakers expect New Zealand to mount a serious challenge against Australia, rolling the Black Caps out to odds of 15-1to win the series.But Waugh again painted the Kiwis as intense competitors, especially armed with the bowling of left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori and paceman Dion Nash.That pair is almost certain to play after recovering from injuries, giving New Zealand an attack which is capable of bowling out Australia twice.”They will be fired up tomorrow morning. They will come steaming is and give it to us,” Waugh said.”We have to make sure we are sharp and well focused and ready to go. Last time New Zealand caught us a bit on the hop on the first morning of the Test match.”Australia: Steve Waugh (capt), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, JasonGillespie, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Bichel (12th man to be named).New Zealand (likely team): Stephen Fleming (capt), Mark Richardson, Matthew Bell, Mathew Sinclair, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore,Daniel Vettori, Dion Nash, Shayne O’Connor.

New Zealand Cricket has reported an annual net surplus of NZ$23.7 million for the 2014-15 financial year, after the annual general meeting on Thursday in Wellington. The considerable surplus was a consequence of the board co-hosting the World Cup 2015 along with Australia.NZC’s chief executive Dave White praised an extraordinary year for the board, as significant gains were made both on and off the field, including New Zealand’s performances, a strong financial result, and agreement on a lucrative FTP programme, an NZC release said.White, however, stated that the nature of ICC’s funding model meant NZC would face difficult financial challenges over the next two or three years, and the board is forecasting a loss of $5 million for the year 2015-16.”The 2015-16 surplus is critical for NZC in terms of our long-term viability, especially with the next two of three years promising to be financially demanding,” White said. “Having said that, I’m delighted to report that NZC has achieved, or is in the process of achieving all our Cricket World Cup legacy goals, including improving the playing infrastructure, growing attendances and viewership numbers, and improving participation numbers – especially at junior level.”NZC chairman Stuart Heal stated that New Zealand’s performance in the past year helped raise the profile of cricket, and created a surge in the interest for the sport, including women’s cricket.”Seldom has cricket in New Zealand been celebrated in the way it has over the past twelve months.” Heal said. “In reaching the Cricket World Cup final – and soaring up the Test and ODI rankings, the BLACKCAPS helped lift the profile of cricket to unprecedented heights, and create for us an excellent springboard into the future. We are noticing a profound upturn in interest in cricket.”The WHITE FERNS’ success in winning crucial Women’s World Championship points against England, India, and more recently Sri Lanka, has only reaffirmed cricket as a game for all New Zealanders.”Three NZC directors – Martin Snedden, Don Mackinnon and Geoff Allott – were re-elected to the board, while Heal returned as the board chairman.

The junior selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the names of 21 probables for a tri-series tournament in Sri Lanka and the World Cup, to be held in Malaysia in February-March.A two-week training camp will be held at the National Cricket Academy from January 4, before the team departs for Sri Lanka for the tri-series – also involving the hosts and England.Pakistan will take their place in Malaysia subsequently as the defending champions, having won the Under-19 World Cup in 2006 and 2004.Probables: Shan Masood, Umer Ameen, Ahmad Shahzad, Usman Salahuddin, Umer Akmal, Hamza Zaheer, Muhammad Yaseen, Fawad Hussain, Imad Waseem, Jibran Khan, Ali Asad, Umair Mir, Muhammad Rameez, Adil Raza, Junaid Khan, Junaid Nadir, Abdul Ameer, Azhar Attari, Shahzeb Ahmad, Kamran Hussain, Ahsan Mirza

Shane Warne believes Shaun Tait will be a useful addition to Australia’s World Cup defence, but he was surprised by the omissions of Stuart Clark and Cameron White from the 15-man squad. Warne told AAP Tait was an excellent choice because of his “explosive pace and versatility”.”He can bowl the powerplays or he can take the new rock and bowl at 160kph and take early wickets,” Warne, who retired at the Sydney Test, said. “The key to one-day cricket is taking wickets, and when you’ve got someone who can bowl that express pace, he can take wickets at any stage of the game.”However, Warne felt Clark and White, who is the leading candidate to replace Andrew Symonds if he is not fit, were unlucky. “I thought Cameron White, in that No. 7 sort of spot, is a finisher who can clear the fence, [but also] knock it around, so I was a little bit surprised. But I suppose you can’t fit everybody in and hopefully the guys who were picked in the squad will do the job.”In his column in The Times this week Warne said England were an outsider to win the World Cup, but he told AAP the CB Series victory did not make up for the tourists losing the Ashes. “It shows that in one-day cricket anyone can win and the way they fought back shows a bit of character,” he said. “But England will be very, very disappointed with their tour, to lose 5-0. It took them a couple of months to win their first game.”

After the setback of hearing the news that his wife has suffered a recurrence of cancer, Glenn McGrath could yet continue to play in the VB Series, and might return to the side which faces South Africa at Sydney on Sunday.”I know he is quite keen to play, so that’s what they [the family] will have to work out,” Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s vice-captain, said on Saturday. “Longer term, I don’t know. We just have to let the dust settle a little bit and really give them a chance to work out what’s best for them and then secondary to that is what’s best for the team.”I have just spoken with Pigeon [McGrath] this morning [and he is] very optimistic and very positive,” Gilchrist added. “If anyone knows how to deal with it, those guys do.”Australia have already booked their berth in the finals of the VB Series. Meanwhile, South Africa must beat Australia on Sunday or else face “live” final qualifying match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. Graeme Smith, South Africa’s out-of-form captain, was dismissed for a second-ball duck against Australia on Saturday; he has yet to make a fifty this series.Herschelle Gibbs – who, on 33, played a rash slog and was bowled by James Hopes – was criticised by his coach, Mickey Arthur. “It was an irresponsible shot,” Arthur said, “bearing in mind that we had got Botha in to take the pressure off him.”