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Sri Lanka’s cricketers are enjoying a long overdue four-month break frominternational action after two years of nonstop cricket. When the team nextsteps out onto a field it will be against a rejuvenated England one-day sideat Dambulla in November.

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Apart from allowing the players a much-needed chance to rest and refresh,the break marks the start of a new era as John Dyson, the new coach fromAustralia, begins a two-year term. He will settle in Colombo from August andstart the process of pushing a talented but frustratingly inconsistent teamforward.After reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup, Sri Lanka’s form dipped andsuccess dried up. There were one-day defeats at Sharjah and during the BankAlfalah Cup, as well as a dreary performance during the drawn home seriesagainst New Zealand and a lost two-Test series against the West Indies. Wereit not from the unexpected heroics of Upul Chandana at Bridgetown, whichallowed Sri Lanka to clinch the one-day series, the team would officially bein crisis.Fans will be hoping that the rare and welcome chance to rest will itself beenough to usher in a new competitiveness during another congested and toughyear in 2003/4 that includes two Australia series, home and away, as well ashome tours against England and South Africa.It had become increasingly obvious during recent months that several playerswere exhausted. Turned into factory cricketers by the never-ending touring,the players had been distanced from family and friends for too long. Mindswere turned stale and the cutting edge was lost. Come November theirbatteries should have been recharged and their hunger restored.

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Physically, too, they suffered. The constant stream of matches meant therewas too little time for fitness training. The players lost shape – onepossible explanation for the spilled catches and momentary concentrationlapses that cost the batsmen dear – and niggling injuries stacked up. A newfitness trainer is to be appointed to work alongside the physio and his jobwill be to ensure that everyone is in peak condition by November.But a good rest will not be enough turnaround Sri Lanka’s fortunes. Firstand foremost they must shed the creeping negativity that has so shackledtheir cricket in recent times. Confidence has plummeted and the ebullientnatural strokeplayers have become stilted and unsure. Dyson, highlyqualified in the field of sports science and psychology, needs to injectfresh positivity into the dressing room and nurture greater self-belief.That assumes though that he gains sufficient respect from the players, someof who may be suspicious of his lack of coaching experience (his highestposition beforehand had been as assistant coach of New South Wales), as wellthe necessary support from the cricket board. It’s essential that he begiven extra clout, in selection and team policy, to implement his ideas andinfluence team decision-making.

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Dyson chances of putting Sri Lanka back on track will be helped by an end tothe experiment with two captains. Hashan Tillakaratne’s caretaker period incharge has been disappointing with three draws and a loss against mid-tableopposition. His safety-first approach has hampered the team’s progress,especially during the New Zealand series where Sri Lanka lacked the killerinstinct to ram home their home advantage.Marvan Atapattu, a more adventurous leader, has impressed sufficiently withthe one-day side to take over the Test captaincy burden too. His battingform has not suffered and his eagerness for the extra responsibility isplain to see. But whether the selectors, who appear less convinced about hiscredentials, are prepared to back him completely remains to be seen.They must. Only with strong and imaginative leadership from a secure captainand coach will Sri Lanka be able to make the most of their summer break andclimb back up the Test and ODI rankings. After a period of interim control,stagnation and disappointment, Sri Lanka now have a chance to move forwardagain – let’s hope that they are able to grasp this opportunity.

Brian Lara Photo © CricInfo

Brian Lara, West Indian star batsman, is set to return to top-class cricket after a long period of discomfort with hamstring trouble.He first became troubled by the injury during the West Indies tour of England in 2000, but played on until advised that rest was the only way to overcome the condition permanently. Subsequently, he withdrew from the tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya but has now been told by medical advisors in the United States that he can start playing again.The Red Stripe Bowl competition will be the platform from which Lara launches his comeback. He is set to play for Trinidad and Tobago, although he has declined to take on the captaincy, preferring to concentrate on getting back to full match fitness and back to his prolific best as a batsman. That will not only be important for Trinidad and Tobago, but also, in the longer term, for the West Indies Test side.His first outing is likely to be on October 3rd against the Leewards.

A 20-member Sri Lanka women’s squad to tour New Zealand in October-November has been trimmed down to 15, the SLC announced in a release.Eshani Lokusuriyage, Sugandika Kumari, Rose Perera and Kushanthi Liyanage, who were part of the touring party named in September, have failed to make the cut. Oshadi Ranasinghe and Lasanthi Madushani, who had been part of the 20-strong team, have been placed on standby.Sugandhika Dassanayake is one of two new additions. She makes the cut for the final 15, while Achini Kulasuriya is on standby.Shashikala Siriwardene remains the captain, while Chamari Atapattu, who had led the side in their last assignment at home against West Indies, will be her deputy.Sri Lanka play a 50-over tour game against New Zealand A on October 31 in Lincoln, which plays host to the first four ODIs as well. The fifth ODI on November 13 will be in Christchurch, as will the first T20, while Nelson will host the remaining two 20-over matches on November 20 and 22.The first three ODIs contribute to the ICC Women’s championship. New Zealand are ranked sixth out of eight teams, while Sri Lanka are at seventh.Sri Lanka squad: Shashikala Siriwardene (capt), Chamari Atapattu, Prasadini Weerakkody, Dilani Manodara, Inoka Ranaweera, Ama Kanchana, Maduri Samuddhika, Nipuni Hansika, Udeshika Prabodhini, Sripali Weerakkody, Hasini Perera, Anushika Sanjeevani, Nilakshi de Silva, Chamari Polgampola, Sugandhika DassanayakeStandbys: Achini Kulasuriya, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Lasanthi Madhushani

For many Manchester United fans, Anderson is a classic example of what might have been. An injury blighted career has stalled his progress at Old Trafford, and has effectively rendered him a dead weight.

However, his talent is still well known, and there are many clubs who would happily have the 24 year old in their team. The question is, who should he join?

According to several reports throughout the transfer window, it seems there were several clubs regularly linked with the Brazil international, the most commonly reported being that of; Tottenham Hotspur, Benfica, or AC Milan. All three of these clubs are well known, and are regular challengers for European competition places. The choice now for Anderson, who only made ten appearances last season, is which club would be the best to revitalise his career.

Benfica

Having been spotted in Portugal by Manchester United while plying his trade for Porto, Anderson would quite easily slide back into the Portuguese League style of play. An added benefit to joining Benfica is the ability to regain his grasp of football, without the added pressure of playing in a more competitive league such as La Liga or the EPL.

AC Milan

Sporadically linked with a move for Anderson during the transfer window. AC Milan have been looking for a midfielder who can boss the centre of the park and believe Anderson, who is well known when he does play for his great tackling ability, will provide the answer. Serie A is also known for it’s slower tempo in comparison to the Premier League, which will suit Anderson, and his methodical playing style.

Tottenham Hotspur

The club most regularly associated with signing Anderson during the Summer, the Brazilian would have several decent motives for joining the North London Club.  Scott Parker is their only high class midfield talent who is focused more on winning the ball in the centre of the pitch, rather than immediately pitching it forward. With Parker also getting on in years, Anderson would have the perfect opportunity to stake a first team spot at White Hart Lane. Despite all his injuries, Anderson has now been in England for five years, and by now will be more accommodated to the rigours and style of the Premier League.

This would ensure he beds in a lot quicker at Spurs, then he would do in another league. Whether Manchester United would willingly sell him to a rival of theirs, is yet to be seen.

Who should Anderson join? Leave your comments below

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Though admitting to knee pain whenever he pushes his hardest, Australia’s captain Steven Smith has declared his intent to play every match of the home summer as he comes towards the end of an overdue rest period between the West Indies Tests.The niggling knee complaint was the primary cause of Smith’s enforced rest after his side’s victory in Hobart last week, keeping him out of the Sydney Sixers’ first two BBL 2015-16 fixtures. He has been carrying the knee soreness since the ODI series that followed the Ashes in England earlier this year, with flare-ups resulting from any diving in the field.It remains to be seen whether Smith will be fit to take part in all of Australia’s limited-overs fixtures in the new year – David Warner may find himself as stand-in ODI captain against India while Aaron Finch is the incumbent T20 skipper – but the man himself is adamant he will be doing all he can to play throughout, with a tour of New Zealand and South Africa followed by the World T20 in India.”I’d love to play every game,” Smith said at the SCG on Sunday. “This little break’s going to be good for me to make sure I can sustain it and I’m just looking forward to everything else coming up, and hopefully be out in the field every game.”I’d have loved to be out here today [for the Sixers] but the rest will do me the world of good. There’s plenty on for the rest of the summer and going forward, so a little break’s not a bad thing for me and good to go for Boxing Day. It’s been good, nice to spend a little bit of time at home and just unwind and do all that.”I’d love to be a part of the World Cup and the T20s here at home as well, so we’ll wait and see how the rest of the summer goes, hopefully I’ll be fine to play those.”T20s will be the main test of Smith’s maneuverability, and he has admitted that he is presently affected by knee pain whenever striving to move at his fastest. Australia’s players reconvene in Melbourne on Tuesday, where Smith will find out how much his week’s rest has helped alleviate the issue.”It popped up in the one-dayers after the Ashes and it’s sort of stuck around. It feels ok and then if I dive and land on it just irritates it a bit, so I’ve been doing that a little bit,” Smith said. “I guess it’s fine going at 90%, it’s just if I have to go at 100% it’s a little bit sore. That’s why I’m not playing the T20s because I’m a pretty competitive guy and it’s a pretty fast-paced game and you’ve got to go 100% to do well in this format.”Smith said he was also keeping one eye on the fortunes of Usman Khawaja, testing his healing hamstring for the Sydney Thunder at the MCG in the second of Sunday’s two BBL fixtures. “It will be a good test,” Smith said. “Hopefully he gets through it okay and there are no dramas.”

Sachin Tendulkar says he isn’t even thinking about retiring © Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar has dismissed speculation about his retirement from one-day cricket, saying he was “batting brilliantly” at the moment and that the thought of quitting had not even crossed his mind.”The thought of retirement has not crossed my mind,” Tendulkar told . “I am still enjoying the game very much and want to play for as long as I can. Cricket means a lot to me.”Tendulkar’s clarification sought to end speculation over his retiring from one-day cricket after India’s home engagements against Pakistan and Australia later this season. Cricinfo had reported, quoting sources close to Tendulkar, that he was inclined to announce his retirement on this tour of England, but had been persuaded by friends to do so at home.Tendulkar, along with Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, had opted out of the ICC World Twenty20 and he had told the of the toll one-day cricket was taking on his body. “I enjoy every moment I have on a cricket field, but the recovery times between games these days are difficult, especially for one-day internationals, and that’s my major obstacle,” he said. “It does take its toll on the body. When you are 22 or 23, you recover a lot more quickly. But at 34, it’s not so easy.”Tendulkar has been in excellent one-day form on the tour of the United Kingdom so far. In 10 one-day innings, he has plundered 548 runs, with four 90s, at a strike rate of 84.3. The tour also reunited him with his opening partner Sourav Ganguly, and the pair, the most prolific in the history of one-day cricket, added four more century partnerships to take their tally to 25, 20 of them for the first wicket.

Scorecard

Mark Cosgrove provided some hope for South Australia with 43 before he departed to Stuart MacGill © Getty Images

New South Wales will chase a further 281 for victory after Doug Bollinger and Stuart MacGill dragged the Blues back into the match against South Australia at the SCG. On a day for the bowlers, Shaun Tait provided the early fireworks as the home side lost 6 for 37 to be all out for 304, giving the Redbacks a first-innings advantage of 95.However, Bollinger, the left-arm fast man, quickly made things difficult for the visitors with three wickets and MacGill chipped in with four of the last five as South Australia were dismissed for 198. Set 294, the Blues were 0 for 13 at stumps.South Australia were not allowed to escape for long once Bollinger dropped them to 3 for 33, picking up Daniel Harris (9) and Cameron Borgas (0) in consecutive balls before adding Nathan Adcock before lunch and Callum Ferguson after the break. The middle order also had to fight but Mark Cosgrove, who became MacGill’s first victim on 43, Darren Lehmann (23) and Shane Deitz (50) could not take the game away from their opponents. MacGill then demolished the tail as the last four batsmen fell for seven runs.Tait’s morning included a burst of 3 for 1 as he took care of Moises Henriques, Beau Casson and Matthew Nicholson in two overs. Reverse-swing was a feature of the spell, which was a mix of accuracy and waywardness, and he finished with 4 for 70. The end was so swift that Brad Haddin, the No. 6, was stranded on 11 not out and faced only 26 balls as his partners disappeared. Phil Jaques, who added one to his overnight 162, was the first to depart when run out by a clever flick from the wicketkeeper Deitz.

Jason Gillespie’s axing was inevitable © Getty Images

Glenn McGrath believes the axing of established players after the failure to retain the Ashes was inevitable as the Australia selectors made several changes to the squad for the Super Series against the World XI in October.McGrath, who was injured for the two defeats at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, told the website: “It was always going to be the possible outcome that a few guys might lose their positions. It’s the way the selectors have gone, obviously they’ve got a tough job to do and we’ll see what happens over the next few months.”Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz have been left out of both Australia squads for the three one-day Super Series internationals and the six-day Test match after poor performances in the Ashes. Matthew Hayden has been dropped from the one-day team while Damien Martyn has lost his Test place.Merv Hughes, the selector, denied Martyn had been made a scapegoat for the Ashes loss. “I don’t think he’s been made a scapegoat, I think his performances in England would suggest a change was needed,” he said. “Player performances weren’t to the standard that we’ve come to expect and there’s been a couple of changes, not wholesale changes.”

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No team in history can have owed so much to two more different bowlers than Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. Between them, they have accounted for nearly 1500 international wickets, and as their skills have developed over the past decade, Sri Lanka has leapt towards the top of the Test table.They are a partnership of extreme opposites. Vaas, the quiet unassuming left-arm swing bowler, whose immaculate rhythm enables him to boomerang past the sturdiest defences in world cricket, and Murali, the ever-smiling spinner whose bamboozling talents have propelled him to the very summit of the game. On May 8, 2004, against Zimbabwe at Harare, Murali took his 520th Test wicket to set a new world record, and at the age of 32, his best years may yet be ahead of him.

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Together, Murali and Vaas have pushed back Sri Lanka’s boundaries, and given their team a potency that they could never have imagined when they took their first steps as a Test nation back in 1982.Importantly they have also proved successful overseas, which is often the benchmark of the finest teams. As a 20-year-old playing in only his fifth Test, Vaas took 10 wickets to beat New Zealand on their own turf, while Murali’s apogee came at The Oval in 1998, when he ripped England to pieces with 16 wickets in the match.

The first Test between Australia and Bangladesh at Darwin is an unusual one for a number of reasons: it’s being played in the Australian winter; the venue has never been used for even a first-class match; and the Test will be played on a drop-in pitch.This is not the first time that a drop-in pitch has been used in Australia. They were experimented with at the Colonial Stadium in Melbourne during the Super Challenge series against Pakistan. But a Test match is a whole new ball game, even if it is against the weakest Test side in the world. Once the venue was fixed, however, the use of a drop-in pitch became inevitable.”The Marrara Oval at Darwin didn’t have a cricket wicket,” explains Tony Ware, the man in charge of installing the pitch. “The only way to bring cricket here was to use the portable wicket technology.” Ware, who is the head of groundstaff at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), has prepared two wickets for this series. One is the pitch that the first Test will be played on; the other is the one for the tour game against the Chief Minister’s XI, which Bangladesh won.So how long does it take to prepare an artificial pitch? Ware needed three months. The pitches were divided in half and then merged together, using a sophisticated ratchet mechanism, once it was in the ground. That sounds simple enough, but the portable pitch technology used by Ware took him four years to develop.Ware likes the weather in Darwin. With a minimum temperature in the lower 20s (degrees centigrade), a maximum around 31 and a fair amount of humidity, Ware feels that the conditions will bring the best out of his pitch. It is a hard pitch with some grass on it, and Ware says that it will favour the medium-pace bowlers.”Australia will do well on the even wicket and Bangladesh – they are learning about cricket – may find it tough,” says Ware. “With enough humidity and the climate not being too hot to dry the wicket – which would have created cracksit will last for five days or four days or whatever it takes to finish the Test.”Once the series is over the wickets will be moved back into the compound at Marrara and will be maintained for possible further use down the track. “The other main advantage is that we don’t heavily impact on grounds like Marrara, which have other usages. We can move the pitch in and out without disrupting the facility for football games.”Can the players tell the difference between a real pitch and a drop-in one? Karl Johnson, the turf manager at the New Zealand’s High Performance Centre, says, “A a lot of it is new territory and it just doesn’t seem real to some.” But he feels that if a player walks into the Jade Stadium in Christchurch – one of the two stadia in New Zealand with drop-in pitches, the other being Eden Park in Auckland – he would not know which one is drop-in and which is not.As for the anomalies of the weather, the portable pitches can be put in marquees or tents and the trays can be moved under them, where they can be monitored in a controlled environment till they are brought into play. “This is a huge advantage for us,” says Johnson, “as we can have a rugby weekend and, immediately the next week, a one-day international.”Drop-in pitches, although still a new territory, are slowly gaining interest in the cricketing world and with major big stadiums like the MCG being used for various sporting activities they are definitely gathering interest. Johnson says: “[Unofficial] level talks between the West Indies Cricket Board and the Melbourne Cricket Club are on to use the drop-in wicket at Florida, in the United States, one of the possible venues for the next World Cup in 2007.” The moot question there is: the pitch might drop in, but will spectators?