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England may have drawn the final Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, but the 1-0 series loss meant they slipped from second to fifth in the LG ICC Test Championship table.Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have jumped up two places from fifth to third; had they won in Galle, they would have replaced England in second position.”Those stats don’t lie,” admitted Michael Vaughan, England’s captain. “We got to No. 2 in the world because we beat most teams in the world. “We’re No. 5 in the world because we lost to Australia and we’ve only got 20 wickets once in our last 14 Tests away from home.”England’s slip results in South Africa becoming the No. 2 team in the rankings for both Tests and ODIs, behind Australia. With upcoming series between South Africa and West Indies and Australia and India beginning on Boxing Day, the rankings could well change before the year ends.There is stiff competition among the teams placed second to fifth, with South Africa, Sri Lanka and fourth-placed India all on 109, only separated by fractions of a ratings point, while England are close on their heels at 107.However, top-ranked Australia remain the runaway leaders, and even a 4-0 loss to India at home won’t see them lose the No. 1 spot.In the players rankings, Kumar Sangakkara, who had displaced Ricky Ponting at the top of the list for Test batsmen after the first Test in Kandy, has fallen to third place. Ponting regains first place, but will have to battle with No. 2 Jacques Kallis to retain the position, with both players involved in series that begin on Boxing Day.Mahela Jayawardene, who won the series prize for his 474 runs against England, is now up to sixth place, ahead of Kevin Pietersen, who has slipped to seventh.Among the bowlers, Muttiah Muralitharan continues his reign at the top, while Matthew Hoggard drops three places to ninth.

LG ICC Test Championship

LG ICC Player Rankings

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A sensational spell of savagery from Sanath Jayasuriya was followed by a metronomic spell of fast bowling from Dilhara Fernando as Sri Lanka moved to the brink of a big win in the first Test at Faisalabad. Jayasuriya tore the bowling apart on his way to his third double-hundred, a wonderful 243, and almost single-handedly boosted the lead to a daunting 418. Fernando then prised out Pakistan’s top four with subtle cutters and Sri Lanka’s fightback, after playing catch-up for one-and-a-half days, was all but complete.Of the 154 runs that Sri Lanka added this morning, Jayasuriya made 123. But unlike yesterday, when he was uncharacteristically subdued, he was back to his devastating best. He lost partners at regular intervals, as a middle-order collapse reduced them to 337 for 8, but his whirlwind 101-run partnership with Fernando – of which Fernando made just 1 – left the bowlers bruised and Pakistan’s morale dented.In 11.2 overs of the new ball, Jayasuriya saw red in a big way, clattering a further 79 runs, including four fours in one over off Shoaib Akhtar, the last of which was intentionally carved over the slips. Not content with that damage, Jayasuriya then accidentally stepped on Shoaib’s foot while both were ball-watching – a classic case of adding injury to insult.Jayasuriya farmed the strike without any problems, leaving Fernando with just one or two balls to face per over. He turned down several singles, but quickly made amends by belting the ball with beastly fury. He brought up his double-hundred with a stunning six off Shoaib, swivelling in a flash and pulling with amazing bat-speed, and then raced along even faster once the landmark was passed.Shoaib’s mind probably went back to that fateful no-ball which he bowled yesterday, as Jayasuriya edged one to Moin Khan when he had made just 9. But eventually, after adding 244 more to his total, Jayasuriya was the last man to fall, trapped lbw by Danish Kaneria for 253, the fourth-highest score by a Sri Lankan in Tests.

Faced with an uphill task, the Pakistan openers launched their reply with a flurry of boundaries, as Imran Farhat hooked at the slightest opportunity. The 50 came up in just nine overs and neither of the openers were in any trouble. But a nine-over spell after tea from Fernando left Pakistan reeling. He consistently delivered an arrow-straight line with the ball cutting and swinging just enough. Yasir Hameed misjudged one that nipped back sharply and rapped him on the pads. Despite Hameed showing his disappointment with a baffled look at the umpire, the ball appeared to be going on to hit the stumps (59 for 1).The next two wickets were to identical deliveries as Asim Kamal and Farhat were undone by balls that pitched on middle and straightened a shade. Kamal was comprehensively bowled after attempting an expansive straight-drive, while Farhat was stone-dead lbw when he failed to get bat onto ball (86 for 3). Fernando landed one more blow soon after as Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was extremely scratchy in his 30-ball innings, lost his off stump after completely misreading the line (91 for 4).Yousuf Youhana was nearly dismissed by Rangana Herath a few overs before the close but Steve Bucknor didn’t spot the ball popping off his bat onto boot straight to the short-leg fielder. Youhana was unbeaten on 23 when stumps were drawn, but Pakistan would need a minor miracle to save this one.

Kevin Pietersen has settled his differences with Nottinghamshire and will play for them at least until the end of the 2004 season. Pietersen, 23, who was one of the few players to make an impression on England A’s recent tour of India, had been planning to sue the club for unfair dismissal – after assuming he had been sacked following a row last season. But has now kissed and made up.”We are delighted Kevin will play,” said Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket. “He is a player with great potential and it is our aim to provide Kevin the best possible opportunity to play for England as well as helping Nottinghamshire win competitions.””I raised a number of issues with the club last season," said Pietersen, "and since I returned from the England A tour it has become clear to me the club has made a significant number of improvements during the winter. I will be sitting down with Mick Newell and Jason Gallian [the captain] in the very near future to discuss some key issues so that we can move forward in what I hope will be a great summer for cricket.”

Glenn McGrath finished playing for Australia a year ago but he remains in the mind of Stuart Clark, who has looked at vision of his former team-mate to prepare for the West Indies series. Clark operates in a similar way to McGrath and he believes his predecessor “found the key” to success in the Caribbean.In ten Tests in the West Indies McGrath captured 50 wickets at 20.70 and he finished his career by winning the Player of the Tournament award at the World Cup. His 26 victims in 11 games were crucial to Australia claiming the trophy for the third consecutive time.”He obviously found the key over here,” Clark, who is preparing for his 16th Test, told AAP. “From the footage and the vision we have looked at, he was successful by keeping it pretty simple and being consistent and patient on these wickets.”Clark also plans to tie down the West Indian batsmen, who are led by Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and expects them to be a tough proposition at home. “They like to score runs quickly,” he said. “So I suppose I have to try and go against that and try to keep it nice and calm and force them to make the errors.”Australia’s only warm-up for next Thursday’s first Test starts on Friday against a Jamaica XI and Clark will be one of a number of players looking to adjust to the conditions. Balls leapt at the batsmen during a net session at Sabina Park on Wednesday, including one from Brett Lee to Ricky Ponting, who was struck on the glove.Ponting was unhurt, but the Australians will be happy to return to the safer conditions in the middle. Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, is with the tour party and will decide whether Simon Katich and Ashley Noffke get a chance to impress in the practice game as the team management considers its options in case Michael Clarke, who stayed at home due to a family death, doesn’t arrive in time for the first Test.

When the current academic year commences, children in government-aided schools in and around Delhi will study a rather special subject – the life and times of Sachin Tendulkar. The new textbooks for those in the 10-12 age group include an interview with Tendulkar, in which he talks about his own childhood and what it takes to be a special player.Krishna Kumar, an education official, said that the move to include a first-person account of Tendulkar’s life was part of an effort to make education “a more pleasurable experience”. “Sachin is an icon in India and kids draw inspiration from him,” he said. “So we thought that having a chapter on him will interest kids, and at the same time make them understand that dedication and determination make a successful person.”By all accounts, the kids think it’s all right. “I read the interview the day I got the book,” said Nikhil Sharma, who is only 10. “I learnt many things about his schooldays. I always wanted to know the things Sachin did as a kid, and the chapter is really interesting.”In the interview, Tendulkar, who was a cricketing prodigy long before he was out of short pants, describes himself as a mediocre boy and an average student. He also says that he was very naughty, always wanting to “escape to the playground”.The “mediocre boy” has already rewritten one-day cricket’s batting records, and is now just one behind Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 34 Test centuries. According to him, “strong determination, continuous practice, good understanding of the game, constant improvement of one’s abilities and courage to strike the ball with conviction” are central to his success. Something tells you that this is one lesson that will hold the kids enthralled, rather than reading comics under the desk.

32.2 overs
Scorecard