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Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka's newly appointed captain, is reportedly considering leaving the IPL on May 10 to join the Sri Lanka squad on their way to England, a week before the rest of the country's players currently playing in the Indian league are to depart. The matter is being sorted at the board level between India and Sri Lanka, according to an official from Royal Challengers Bangalore, Dilshan's IPL franchise. "Dilshan is keen to travel with the team, to try and create a bond as some of the senior players will be joining the squad a bit late," Roshan Abeysinghe, Dilshan's manager, told  AFP . Sri Lanka Cricket last week  allowed  seven players, part of the 16-man tour  squad , to continue playing in the IPL and arrive in time for the second warm-up game, against England Lions, starting on May 19. The board had  earlier asked  the players to return on May 5 in order to prepare for the England tour, which begins with a practice match against Middlese

Shahid Afridi put West Indies in to bat after winning the toss, after two losses, in the second ODI in St Lucia, hoping to repeat the successful chase that gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The stands were disappointingly empty at the start of the game. West Indies made one change to their XI that lost on Saturday, giving Antigua legspinner  Anthony Martin  a debut. Andre Russell was the player to make way as West Indies wanted two spinners - both of them of the legbreak variety - on a slow pitch at Gros Islet. The exclusion of Russell for Martin, however, lengthened the tail significantly. Pakistan were unchanged from the first ODI. West Indies  (possible): 1 Devon Smith, 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Kirk Edwards, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Carlton Baugh (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Anthony Martin Pakistan  (possible): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Hammad Azam,

Alastair Cook, the England vice-captain, has warned the ECB that England players could consider strike action if moves are not taken to reduce the heavy schedule the side currently faces. Cook is widely tipped to take over from Andrew Strauss as England one-day captain and said the fixture list undermined England's hopes in the recent World Cup, where they crashed out in the quarter-finals. The players who featured in both the Test and ODI sides spent just three nights at home from the start of the successful Ashes tour in November to last month's World Cup exit. Cook, who is not part of the ODI team, said: "'We can go on strike, which is not recommended, but at some stage it will have to change." "I feel sorry for the lads. I've been pretty much the only one who's been able to play and to enjoy the experience of winning because of the schedule. 'It has to change before it all becomes meaningless. As players we don't have much power. We keep

Pakistan wicketkeeper  Kamran Akmal , who was dropped  from Pakistan's squad for the Twenty20 and ODI tour of West Indies, has said that he is ready to make his comeback into the national side as a "specialist batsman". "If Pakistan can find a better wicketkeeper than me," Kamran told  Express Tribune , "then I will try to make a comeback as a specialist batsman because batting is something I enjoy a lot and I can bat at any position." Kamran was dropped from the Pakistan squad following a disappointing World Cup campaign, with bat and gloves - he dropped centurion Ross Taylor three times in the game against New Zealand, including twice early on, and also committed several errors in the games against Sri Lanka and the semi-final with India. Coach Waqar Younis had  hinted  that it was time for a new wicketkeeper to be picked. Kamran said that he was still disappointed with his performance in the New Zealand game. "And some people don`t want me to

Five and a half months after fleeing to London from the UAE on the morning of an ODI,  Zulqarnain Haider , the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, has returned home, having secured security assurances from the government about his safety and that of his family. Haider landed at Islamabad airport on Monday morning and was swiftly escorted by security personnel to the office of Rehman Malik, the Interior Minister, who had convinced him to come back from London. Haider, who turned 25 on Saturday, had announced last week that he was prepared to revoke his application for asylum in the UK and return to Pakistan and resume his playing career. However, soon after that, there was confusion; some channels reported that he was  reconsidering  his decision after receiving threatening phone calls in the aftermath of his decision to return. But later he clarified to other channels - as well as leaving an update on his Facebook page - confirming that he would be returning as planned. Haider also recorded

The Big Picture West Indies' joy after their win in the opening Twenty20 of Pakistan's tour was short-lived as they crashed to an eight-wicket drubbing in the opening one-day international at Gros Islet. After the buzz and energy of their performance in the Twenty20, the hosts looked badly behind the pace for much of the game on Saturday and a fatal misreading of the pitch backfired when the seamers were carted for 162 runs in 29.3 wicketless overs, allowing Pakistan's batsmen to canter to victory on a spin-friendly wicket. Monday's game, played at the same venue, will give West Indies a chance to rectify some of their mistakes. The question of team balance is a delicate one for them, however, and the inclusion of both captain Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo when it might be argued that only one of the two similar allrounders should slot in at No. 7 in a balanced XI throws the team's ballast off centre. West Indies looked a batsman light on Saturday, but it's lik

Yorkshire opened their CB40 League programme with a shock two-run defeat against the Netherlands at Headingley when Ryan Sidebottom was run out while attempting to hit the last ball of the match for a winning boundary. It was the second embarrassment on the ground in two days for Yorkshire, who were skittled out for 86 on Friday as Nottinghamshire pulled off a dramatic County Championship victory. At least Yorkshire were involved in a thrilling finish on this occasion and some of their blushes were spared after they had slumped to 79 for 7 in their chase of a 191 target. A recovery left them requiring 19 off the final over from Brad Kruger which began with Adil Rashid dashing a single and Sidebottom hitting the next ball over long-on for six. He failed to score off the next delivery but sprinting through for two runs off the next and lashed the penultimate ball onto the top of the football stand for a colossal six. Another boundary from the last ball would have clinched it for Yorkshi

Middlesex's buoyant start in the County Championship spilled over into the limited-overs arena when they began their Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign with a 24-run victory over Worcestershire at New Road. Unbeaten leaders in Division Two in the four-day game, the Panthers made five changes after beating Derbyshire on Saturday but their re-jigged bowling line-up was up to the task in defending a total of 206. Despite a free-flowing 61 from 58 balls by Vikram Solanki, Worcestershire could muster only 182 as both teams had problems on a sluggish surface. Middlesex earlier reached 157 for 3 before losing seven wickets for 49 in 11.1 overs and the home side completely lost their way after Solanki and Moeen Ali had launched their challenge with a stand of 78 in 12.5 overs. Offspinner Ollie Rayner removed the openers in quick succession and the innings went into reverse gear. In a disciplined bowling performance Middlesex gave nothing away as Toby Roland-Jones took 2 for 28 and allrounder Gar

Somerset wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter stated his case for an England one-day international recall with an accomplished hundred as the Cidermen defeated Notts Outlaws by 47 runs. The 23-year-old hit eight fours and two sixes in a 111-ball innings before being caught at midwicket for 100. Kieswetter played second fiddle to Jos Buttler in their fifth-wicket stand of 104 as 20-year-old Buttler displayed astonishing power to blast an unbeaten 94 from just 56 balls, including two sixes and 13 fours. Needing 271 to win, Notts never threatened to reach their target, as Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis picked up 4 for 35 to help bowl out the hosts for 223. Notts got the game off to the perfect start after winning the toss and choosing to field as Luke Fletcher removed Somerset skipper Marcus Trescothick lbw for a duck with the third ball of the match. But that was about as good as the game got for the home side, who handed former Somerset seamer Ben Phillips his debut after his move to Trent

Captain Andrew Hall took five wickets and wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien smashed 94 not out as Northamptonshire began their Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign with a seven-wicket demolition of Leicestershire at Wantage Road. Hall turned in figures of 5 for 22 as the Foxes were bowled out for 162 in just over 35 overs, with only James Taylor's explosive 69 off 61 balls providing any resistance. Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien then smashed an unbeaten 94 off 63 balls, including 14 fours and four sixes, as the Steelbacks comfortably reached their target with 59 deliveries to spare. Leicestershire won the toss and chose to bat but they got off to an awful start as they lost Paul Nixon in the first over when he edged Hall to O'Brien for a five-ball duck. Hall struck again four overs later when he pinned Jacques Du Toit lbw for 15 and Josh Cobb went for the same total when Lee Daggett clipped his off stump. Wayne White added just a single when he was trapped leg before by Daggett to

Lancashire Lightning celebrated the start of a new era for their Old Trafford ground with a comfortable 20-run Clydesdale Bank 40 victory over the Unicorns. The Red Rose county, playing three spinners, defended their competitive 201 for 5 on a slow and low pitch, restricting their visitors to 181 for 9. This was the first competitive match played after the re-orientation of the square during the winter as part of the venue's redevelopment, with the Statham End and Pavilion End those now in use. Stephen Moore scored 50, Steven Croft 41 and Farveez Maharoof a brisk 38 not out after the hosts had been invited to bat first by visiting captain Keith Parsons. Glen Chapple and Sri Lankan Maharoof then returned figures of 3 for 25 and 3 for 33 respectively in the Unicorns' chase. Timing the ball was a particular problem for both sides, with Moore and Maharoof looking most at ease. Lancashire only scored 85 runs between overs 10 and 30 but Maharoof and Gareth Cross, who hit 18 off elev

Champions Warwickshire suffered defeat at the start of their Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign, narrowly beaten by three runs by Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Chasing 275 for victory, Chris Woakes needed to hit the last ball of the match from Dominic Cork for four to win. But Woakes could only hit it back to the bowler and Hampshire had completed victory in a high-scoring match on a batsman-friendly wicket. Ultimately Warwickshire were left to regret the final over of the Hampshire innings, in which Boyd Rankin conceded 24 to Neil McKenzie including a six and four fours. Hampshire, who lost the toss, went from 250 for 5 at the start of the last over to 274 for 5 with Rankin finishing with unflattering figures of 0 for 57 from seven overs. South African McKenzie was Hampshire's top scorer with an undefeated 87 which included nine fours and a six. Johann Myburgh contributed a useful 64 at the top of the innings as Warwickshire captain Jim Troughton had cause to regret his decision to field

Cosmetic surgery? Moisturiser? Who cares? Shane Warne is still ripping them legbreaks. He is still getting vicious dip and drift. He is still producing key wickets - tonight those of Brad Hodge and the top-scorers Parthiv Patel and Ravindra Jadeja - to keep Rajasthan Royals alive in the tournament. On a pitch where the bounce varied from shoulder to shin-high off similar lengths, Kochi Tuskers Kerala threatened to convert their ordinary start into a decent total, but Warne came back to remove both Parthiv and Jadeja off successive deliveries to end the 48-run fourth-wicket partnership. The resultant target was sub-par even on the slightly two-paced pitch, and Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson ensured there were no hiccups in the chase, with a 71-run opening stand. Rajasthan were right at home in conditions that their two spinners and predominantly slower-ball bowlers enjoy. They also had the injured Johan Botha back, who removed Mahela Jayawardene with the first ball he bowled. It all sta

It was a disappointing day in Colombo, as persistent rain meant that none of the matches in the women's Twenty20 Quadrangular Series between Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Netherlands and Ireland lasted a full 40 overs. Pakistan women won the final after a nine-over match against Netherlands. They had got there after beating Ireland on the Duckworth-Lewis method, while Netherlands' first match against Sri Lanka was abandoned after one over of Sri Lanka's innings, and got through to the final by virtue of a coin toss. Pakistan got to 53 for 7 in nine overs in  the final , after being put into bat. There were only six boundaries in their innings, with Javeria Khan and Bismah Maroof hitting three each. Evelien Gerrits finished with figures of 3 for 13. In response, Netherlands could not manage a single boundary in their innings, and got to just 41 despite losing only one wicket. Their openers stayed together till the eighth over, but only managed a 30-run partnership. All of Pakistan&#

Deccan Chargers had the chance to retain Rohit Sharma and Andrew Symonds, but let both of them go, and paid the price on Sunday. The pair came together with Mumbai wobbling at 70 for 4 in the 10th over, having lost three wickets for the addition of no run in six balls, and proceeded to pulverise their former side in a 102-run stand that came off just 65 balls. Mumbai followed up the pyrotechnics of their Deccan imports with a typically clinical show in the field, to surge to a four-point lead at the top of the  IPL table . Match  Meter MI Jacobs opens well:  Davy Jacobs begins with a series of innovative blows against the new ball DC Deccan surge through spin:  Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha snare three wickets in six balls for no run MI Rohit and Symonds blaze away: Mumbai's Deccan imports plunder 40 runs off the last 2 overs to put their side on course MI Malinga murders the stumps:  Malinga produces a yorker to send back Dhawan, a direct hit to dismiss White, and a full t