Sri Lanka’s leading cricketers will return to action after a 10-week break as the Premier League Limited Over Tournament (PLOT) commences on the weekend.The first 56-match round of this year’s tournament has been crammed into just 16 days. The 16 Premier League teams have been spilt into two groups of eight. The top two in each will qualify for the semi-finals, which along with the final are to be played after the England tour on January 6,7 and 9.All the national players are expected to participate, giving John Dyson,the new Sri Lanka coach, a good opportunity to see for himself the talent athis disposal as he prepares for England’s arrival in November.Muttiah Muralitharan, once he returns from Kent and assuming he recovers from a groin injury, will take over the club captaincy at Tamil Union. Mahela Jayawardene will lead the Sinahalese Sports Club. Russel Arnold captains Nondescripts CC, but he will miss some of the tournament because of Sri Lanka A’s tour to South Africa.Several players have moved clubs this year. Tamil Union are the most affected having lost Upul Chandana, Malintha Gajanayake and Gayan Wiyekoon. Chandana has joined NCC.Bloomfield Sports and Athletic Club, lead by Kumar Dharmasena, are thereigning one-day champions.

New Zealand Cricket is not satisfied with the successful completion of the restructuring of its game as prescribed by the Hood Report in 1995 – it is setting out on the next phase of its advance, as outlined in its strategic plan released today called “Pushing the Boundaries”.Clearly defining its objectives NZC believes that by 2007 the boundaries will have been pushed to the point where:* The Black Caps are recognised as the dominant team in the cricketing world, both in Tests and ODIs
* The White Ferns will have retained the World Cup and are regarded as the best team in the women’s game
* NZC is recognised at the best administration within the cricketing world, and within New Zealand’s sporting environment
* The game will be prospering at all levels within New Zealand with the large number of participants supported by a strong infrastructure
* NZC will have a strong and sustainable financial base underpinnings its sporting and commercial programmes
* NZC will have the best people working for it within a challenging and rewarding environment
* Major Associations will be working in tandem with NZC, with district associations and with clubs and schools so that the game is serviced to a high standard at all levelsPresenting the plan, Sir John Anderson, the chairman of NZC, and Martin Snedden, the chief executive, said: “Cricket in New Zealand has come a long way since the 1995 Hood Report sought to revolutionise New Zealand Cricket as an organisation.”The numbers playing cricket have increased steadily in recent years and this year, for the first time ever, more than 100,000 registered players were actively participating in what is New Zealand’s leading summer sport.”New Zealand Cricket’s flagships, the Black Caps and the White Ferns, have experienced considerable success at international level in recent years…There has also been significant growth in the commercial base of the game. The revenues now being generated by NZC help to underpin the growth of the sport nationwide.”Cricket’s successes in New Zealand, both on and off the field, have been achieved despite having less resources than the other leading powers in the cricketing world. However, NZC recognises that if we are to press forward to higher levels of performance in all areas of the sport and business we must continue to ‘push the boundaries’ so that obstacles and limitations can be overcome.”‘Pushing the Boundaries’ sets out the strategic direction for NZC to move to higher levels of performance and provides a pathway for cricket in New Zealand to do the same.”Central to the success of NZC’s strategic vision will be our partnerships both at home and abroad. Maintaining quality international relationships will be essential but, perhaps even more importantly, there is the need for the relationships within the New Zealand cricket family to be strong and vital.”Cricket is a sport that depends on a huge amount of goodwill and commitment from parents, teachers and volunteers who underpin the work undertaken by professional administrators. It is the people who contribute to our sport at its many levels – national, Major Associations, district associations, clubs and schools – who make up the family of cricket in New Zealand.”

Stephen Fleming has been included in New Zealand’s team for the first Test against Pakistan, starting in Hamilton on Friday. However, in case his abdominal strain should flare up , there is cover in the form of Richard Jones.Fleming, as recently as last week, was in doubt for the game. However, specialist advice said he should play in Wellington’s State Insurance match against Canterbury, and he has done that, although only scoring two in the first innings. The match is scheduled to finish tomorrow.Also in the squad, for the first time since breaking down in the first Test against England at the Jade Stadium in March last year, is Chris Cairns. He has been captaining Canterbury in the same domestic match and has declared himself fit for the rigours of five days of Test cricket.The only players not considered due to injury were Shane Bond and Nathan Astle.Squad 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Mark Richardson, 3 Lou Vincent, 4 Richard Jones, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Craig McMillan, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Chris Cairns, 9 Robbie Hart (wk), 10 Daniel Vettori, 11 Daryl Tuffey, 12 Ian Butler, 13 Paul Wiseman.

I was captain when David Hookes made his debut in the Centenary Test in1977. He was a very talented cricketer, a positive and creative batsman. He always wanted to take the bowlers on and take the attack to the opposition. He made his mark in first-class cricket for South Australia by scoring five centuries in the 1976-77 season. That was capped off by his selection for the Centenary Test against England.Both teams were bowled out quite cheaply. We made 138 and then rolled England over for 95. In the second innings David hit Tony Greig for five fours in one over. With that flourish he announced himself on the international scene and turned that game on its head. Up to that point the ball had dominated the bat. It was the youthful exuberance of David that made us realise that the wicket had actually improved since the first two days when we struggled.He was quite a brash young man, full of confidence and bravado andbecame quite a mature cricketer later. Having said that, World SeriesCricket probably came a bit too soon for him. He was perhaps a bit ill at ease at that level. He coped quite well till he had his jaw broken by Andy Roberts. It was at the Sydney Showground – we weren’t allowed to play at the SCG in the first year of WSC. It was a pretty quick wicket and Hookes went to hook Roberts and was hit on the jaw. He was batting without a helmet and fractured his jaw and cheek, and his confidence left him.I’m not sure he ever fully recovered from that. It really pegged hisinternational career back a bit.When we went to England in 1977 he did well. He made a couple of good fifties in the Test series. As one of the tyros in the team he did well enough to come out of the tour with his reputation enhanced. Remember, as a team we struggled on that tour of England and lost 3-0. World Series Cricket was announced midway through and David was involved in that.It was tough cricket for a couple of years for David and it didn’t gowell that he was hit by Roberts. It took him a long time to get overthat, if indeed he ever did. He did come back few weeks later and wasimmediately bounced. He then hooked Roberts for a boundary, but wasbatting with a helmet from then on.David’s first-class career went well – he is the highest run-getter inthe Sheffield Shield for South Australia, and also led them to victoryone season. But more than that, it was his innovative ideas and captaincy that made a difference. I remember a game when South Australia were chasing a stiff target, one that looked out of reach. David was batting with the tail and devised a method where he would deliberately run a few runs short. The field was set back to give him a single. He told the other guy, I can’t quite remember who it was, “Every time I run a single, you run two”. That way he was getting one run but keeping the strike. That law was subsequently changed.He was always thinking outside the square. He was a creative thinker and it was no surprise that he made a good career in the media doing radio and television work after he was done with playing cricket. He was in the prime of his life, and it’s a tragedy that he had to lose his life over almost nothing. That’s one of the hardest things to understand.Greg Chappell was talking to Anand Vasu.

West Indies U19 371 for 3 (Maraj 117, Simmons 107) beat Papua New Guinea U19 219 (Vala 84*) by 152 runs
ScorecardTishan Maraj and Lendl Simmons each made centuries, while Xavier Marshall and Assad Fudadin chipped in with brisk fifties, as West Indies overwhelmed Papua New Guinea at Khulna. After winning the toss and batting first, West Indies clattered along to 371 for 3 in their 50 overs. Even though it was a day of upsets at the Under-19 World Cup, this particular result was never in doubt.Even so, Papua New Guinea refused to fold. The openers Vivian Kila and Kupana Amini added 51 for the first wicket, before Asad Vala came to the fore with a hardhitting 84 not out. He required just 89 balls for his innings, which included 12 fours and a six, but unfortunately he lacked consistent support from his middle order, and was left stranded at the end with a century in sight. The best of his allies was Mahuru Dai, who made 32 and helped to add 81 for the sixth wicket.West Indies shared their wickets around. Mervin Matthew picked up his two scalps with consecutive deliveries, but it was the offspin of Jonathan Augustus that proved the most successful. Augustus picked up three wickets in as many overs, but bore the brunt of Vala’s assault as he conceded 23 runs.

After undergoing a worrying ankle operation recently, Ashish Nehra proved his fitness in the first innings of the Duleep Trophy final at Mohali, with 20 overs of consistently probing bowling. He managed 11 overs today, without showing any sign of a niggle, and should now be a certainty to board the flight to Pakistan. Here’s what he said after the fourth day’s play:

On his performance in this match:
I hadn’t played much cricket after the surgery – my second surgery on the ankle – but I am feeling much better after this match. I didn’t go all out with my pace and took it more as a practice match. Domestic cricket always helps you when you are coming back from an injury. I bowled nearly 20 to 30 overs, and am feeling fit.On his performance in Australia, and how he sustained his injury:
The Australian wickets are really hard, and the outfields are very soft. So that results in a lot of fast bowlers getting injured there. I haven’t been able to get back the pace that I showed during the World Cup, but that is bound to happen when one sustains injuries regularly. After the Word Cup I was in plaster for two to three months. I wasn’t getting much swing in Australia, but it’s slowly coming back – it takes time to come back.On breaking down regularly …
Injuries are nothing new for a fast bowler. Even bowlers like Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee have sustained many injuries. It happens to all of us.And on the upcoming tour of Pakistan:
It’s definitely a big tour, and it’s coming after the Australian tour. It is a big thing for all of us. I am fully fit, and this game really helped me a lot.

Rahul Dravid has decided not to return for a second season with Scotland, and will instead take a break from the game following his two high-profile series against Australia and Pakistan.”Dravid was keen to come back," Scotland’s captain, Craig Wright, told BBC Sport, "but felt with the number of games he has played, he could not commit to us. His deal was for one year and he was our first-choice to sign again, but he feels he needs a break.”Scotland hope to attract a couple of new signings before the start of the county season, but have not settled on any particular names. “We seem to be crossing off people on a regular basis," said Wright, "but we’re pretty confident we’ll have something tied up in the next week or two.”One option would be the South African allrounder Jon Kent, who scored 469 runs and took nine wickets in their National League campaign in 2003, and already intends to return to Scotland to play club cricket this season.

Brian Lara has defended his decision to bat on for his world-record 400 not out in response to comments from Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain.Ponting suggested Lara was more interested in his own personal achievements, rather than the state of the Test match. “Their whole first innings might have been geared around one individual performance and they could have let a Test match slip because of it,” he commented. “They ran out of time in the game – that’s not the way the Australian team plays.”Lara, though, replied by saying West Indies’ main aim was first and foremost to avoid a 4-0 whitewash, and then put England under pressure. “Ponting is the leader of a great team and can afford, if situations like that present themselves, to take another course,” he said. “I saw no sense in making it competitive for the English. I saw an opportunity that if we got in excess of 700 runs, we would put England under tremendous pressure for the remainder of the match. We would be able to enforce the follow-on, if that was the case, and would know for sure that we achieved our main goal, which was to avoid the whitewash in the series.”Matthew Hayden, the Australian batsman, was the previous world-record holder with 380, scored against Zimbabwe at Perth last year. Ponting conceded that occasion did involve an exception to the team rule, as Hayden was allowed to carry on batting with the record in sight. “It was a very rare thing, for Matty to be able to bat for as long as he did and go on and make that big score,” said Ponting. “He was given the opportunity to go on and break Brian’s record and he did that. He was going to be given another half an hour, or 20 minutes, to try to get to 400 but unfortunately he got out.”

Bruce Patterson, 39, has been called up to play for Scotland in their Intercontinental Cup match against Holland at Mannofield, Aberdeen, starting on June 11.Patterson’s last international game was against Ireland in the home countries tournament in 2001. He is an opening batsman with three first-class hundreds to his name, and a wealth of experience.Stewart Bruce, the 34-year-old left-arm pace bowler, has also been named in the side. Bruce was forced to postpone his Scotland debut earlier this season, as he was serving in Iraq as an explosives expert. Majid Haq, the 20-year-old offspinner, is also in the squad for the Intercontinental Cup.Craig Wright, Scotland’s captain, told the : “All the players for the Intercontinental Cup have to be Scotland-qualified, so neither Sriram nor Arafat is eligible. Instead, we are fortunate to have both Bruce Patterson and Stewart Bruce, with whom we were greatly impressed during the winter, available for this game.”Scotland C Wright (capt), S Bruce, A Butt, C. English, M Haq, P. Hoffmann, S. Knox, B Patterson, C. Smith, I. Stanger, R. Watson, F. Watts.

New Zealand 103 for 3 (Fleming 31, Harmison 3-38) beat England 101 (Franklin 5-42) by seven wickets
Scorecard

England picked up their dismal one-day form from where they had left off against West Indies at Trent Bridge, as New Zealand completed a thumping seven-wicket victory with exactly half the day’s allotted overs left unused. Under overcast skies and on a seamer-friendly pitch, New Zealand’s hero was their exciting left-armer James Franklin, who tore through a woeful batting line-up to finish with the magnificent figures of 5 for 42. Although Steve Harmison replied in kind in front of his home crowd, New Zealand needed just 17.2 overs to complete their victory target of 102.Franklin, who began the season playing club cricket in Lancashire, was one of the stars of New Zealand’s third-Test defeat at Trent Bridge earlier this month. Once again he bowled with pace, control and late movement from his tricky left-arm line, as Stephen Fleming’s decision to bowl first was instantly vindicated. For the second match running, Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan were unable to provide their side with the necessary platform, and given the paucity of England’s middle-order resources, another embarrassment was on the cards long before it became a reality.Franklin might have struck with his very first delivery, as Vaughan jabbed down late on an inducker and squeezed it away to the fine-leg boundary for four. Instead, it was the steady seam of Jacob Oram who made the first incision, as Trescothick galumphed down the track and aimed an ugly heave across the line (24 for 1). Trescothick had started with intent, with three bullish boundaries to launch his innings, but over-confidence soon got the better of him.It did for Vaughan as well. He unfurled a glorious cover-drive as Franklin overpitched, but three balls later, he was bowled all-ends-up by one that nipped back through the gate (30 for 2). On Sunday, Geraint Jones’s promotion to No. 3 was a qualified success, but this time he under-edged an attempted square cut and was bowled for 5. Seven runs later, the local boy Collingwood was gone as well. He swished at Franklin as if he was expecting another inducker, but instead the ball held its line and the stand-in wicketkeeper, Gareth Hopkins, completed his first catch in New Zealand colours.Not even a much-needed drinks break could stop the rot. From the first ball after the resumption, Andrew Strauss (8) top-edged a well-directed bouncer from Franklin and Oram completed an excellent low catch at fine leg (51 for 5). Though Ian Blackwell and Anthony McGrath each slashed a four through backward point to keep the runs dribbling, Franklin was on a roll, and Fleming was only too willing to ride with him.Blackwell was trapped plumb lbw by Franklin’s first delivery of his tenth over, before Ashley Giles – back in the side at the expense of Rikki Clarke – was sent on his way for a first-ball duck by a venomous off-stump delivery that took the edge and whistled through to Hopkins. Darren Gough survived the hat-trick ball – just – and saw out the over, but he couldn’t keep Chris Cairns out of the limelight for long, and soon drove a thick edge to Fleming at slip (76 for 8).McGrath, who is getting used to being on a hiding to nothing, was then adjudged caught-behind as he tried to cut an Oram inducker, and at 78 for 9, England were staring at a new record low in one-day cricket, with their 86 against Australia at Old Trafford in 2001 under embarrassing threat. James Anderson and Steve Harmison did their level best to salvage the situation, with a spirited last-wicket stand, and Harmison produced the loudest cheer of the day when he was clumsily dropped by Fleming at slip. But although the last pair inched England into three figures, Daniel Vettori wrapped up proceedings as Anderson attempted a slog-sweep out of the rough.

In reply, New Zealand rattled along at six runs an over as Vaughan committed his team to all-out attack. Harmison grabbed three wickets in seven balls in the middle of a hostile spell, but New Zealand already had 48 on the board when he made his first breakthrough. By then the back of the run-chase had already been broken.With a valuable bonus point available for a swift finish, Fleming had launched the innings with aplomb, twice tickling Harmison for four behind square and driving Gough through the covers two overs in succession, on his way to 31 from 34 balls. He was eventually caught by Gough at third man, as he attempted to uppercut a Harmison bouncer.Nathan Astle had been served notice of Harmison’s intent with a stinging bouncer that cracked into the peak of his helmet, although Anderson obligingly provided him with a brace of four-balls to ease the pressure. Harmison, though, was not to be denied, trapping Astle lbw for 15 as he padded up on off stump. Hamish Marshall then flapped his ninth delivery to Giles at leg gully, but then Craig McMillan and Scott Styris eased New Zealand to victory.Astonishingly, England have not won a one-day international batting first since their Anderson-inspired victory over Pakistan at the 2003 World Cup. On this evidence, it is will be quite some time before they rectify that statistic.