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SYDNEY, Nov 17 AAP – A late flurry of wickets to former NSW allrounder Mark Higgs handed South Australia victory in a thrilling Pura Cup cricket match at the SCG today.Higgs, recruited from the Blues in the off season, bagged four wickets under immense pressure, propelling his new state to a 27-run win in a match that had everything, including the placement of former Test star Mark Waugh on report for dissent.Higgs’ 4-25 from 9.4 overs helped bowl the star-studded home side out for 255 in its second innings, short of the 283-run target late on the final day.That was after the Redbacks had already claimed first innings points with 397 on the back of man-of-the-match David Fitzgerald’s fine 153 before NSW skipper Steve Waugh closed his side’s first innings at 9(dec)-296.Higgs top scored for SA’s second innings of 181 with 70 but his finest moment came when he bowled Michael Bevan for 114 to end the match.Test skipper Steve Waugh defended his decision to send South Australia in on a green wicket in gloomy conditions, which later turned fine, after winning the toss.”The way the coin falls does not determine whether you win or lose a game,” Waugh said.”We bowled poorly first day, dropped some chances, and day four we batted poorly, we should have won the game so it’s pretty simple – we threw it away today.”But South Australia hung in there well, it was a good performance by them.”SA skipper Darren Lehmann was thrilled with the win that put SA on par with Victoria at the top of the table on 14 points, two ahead of NSW, after an action-packed battle that included 18 wickets and 404 runs on day three.”To beat a quality side with so many Test players in it like New South Wales and to come up here to Sydney with an inexperienced side, blokes who haven’t been to Sydney before, we were really happy with that,” Lehmann said.”I think it was probably the best game of cricket I’ve played in for a long time, in Shield cricket, for pure entertainment for four days, to go down right to the last hour was fantastic.”Michael Slater joined Bevan in a 150-run partnership after the home side resumed on an unsteady 2-11.Slater looked in good touch, stroking eight fours and a six to reach 91 before he was caught by Ben Higgins at short leg off the bowling of John Davison after lunch.Steve Waugh was unable to repeat his first innings heroics as he fell lbw to Ben Johnson for just seven, a stark contrast to his earlier knock of 135.Davison struck again when Mark Waugh was given out, caught behind by Shane Deitz for a duck.The batsman clearly didn’t like the decision, standing his ground for some time with one hand on his hip after the judgement was made and he was seen talking to umpire Darrell Hair as he left the field.Hair called on the batsman to appear at a hearing before commissioner Alan Sullivan QC after play with a decision to be made later in the evening or another day.Having bowled just one over before tea, Higgs was returned to the fray and the move paid off when Nathan Pilon (seven) smacked a full toss to Lehmann for a sharp catch at mid wicket.Brett Lee may have starred with the ball, taking 11 wickets for the Blues, but he only managed one with the bat before being bowled by Higgs.Harris finished with 2-37 while Davison added 2-67 to his first innings 5-81.

Yorkshire have a lot of work to do if they are to avoid another defeat at Guildford at the hands of the Championship leaders. Surrey took a first-innings lead of 210 after Rikki Clarke (56), Saqlain Mushtaq (44) and James Ormond (39) ensured another impressive performance by the tail. Chris Silverwood and Ryan Sidebottom ended with three wickets apiece. Half centuries from Victor Craven (56), Darren Lehmann (55*) and Michael Lumb (68*) have taken Yorkshire to a slender lead of 44 at the close, with seven wickets remaining.An unbeaten opening partnership of 151 between Trevor Ward and Iain Sutcliffe has put Leicestershire back into their game with Kent after yesterday’s poor start at Grace Road. Matt Whiley took three for 60 as Kent were eventually bowled out for 339 today, before Sutcliffe (74*) and Ward (66*) came within 57 runs of wiping off the arrears.Nick Knight duly completed his double century, finishing unbeaten on 245 as Warwickshire were bowled out for 493 by Sussex at Edgbaston. Jason Lewry (four for 151) and Kevin Innes (three for 106) were the main wicket-takers. An unbeaten 105 from Tony Cottey was then at the core of the visitors’ reply, which had reached 237 for four at stumps, still 256 runs behind.Chris Tremlett (five for 68) and Shaun Udal (four for 25) made it a poor first day for Lancashire at The Rose Bowl. The visitors were dismissed for just 183, with an innings of 66 from Alec Swann the only substantial contribution from the visitors.In Division Two, Glamorgan hammered an incredible 499 runs in a day of drama for both sides at Chelmsford. James Foster, playing in only his third match of the season, broke his left thumb and is now expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks. It was much brighter for Glamorgan, though, as their batsmen steered them into a comfortable lead of 274. Steve James dominated throughout, recording his highest score of the season with an unbeaten 235. With Matthew Maynard (76) he added 156 for the fifth wicket as the Essex bowling fell apart. Glamorgan closed on 505 for six.Durham made a woeful reply to Nottinghamshire’s total of 362 at the Riverside. Greg Smith (four for 24) and Richard Logan (three for 36) were the pick of the bowlers as the home side were forced to follow on after being bowled out for just 116 in their first innings. Jonathan Lewis (70) and Bradley Hodge (42*) led the fight back with a second-wicket stand of 112, but Durham still need 62 runs to make the visitors bat again.Middlesex need a miracle if they are to avoid the follow-on against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham. The home side were eventually dismissed for 494 after Alex Gidman (94) fell narrowly short of a maiden Championship century. Middlesex started positively in reply, with Andrew Strauss (49) leading from the front. However wickets then fell at regular intervals, and despite another impressive performance by in-form Owais Shah (65), the visitors, on 218 for six at stumps, still trail by 276 runs.Derbyshire suffered a late collapse at Northampton, as they were dismissed for 388 after losing their last seven wickets for 58 runs. Earlier, opener Andrew Gait had produced a superlative batting display, with a career-best 175 to put his side in the driving seat. He put on 156 with Chris Bassano for the second wicket before off-spinner Graeme Swann claimed six quick wickets, including Gait and Dominic Cork (released from England duty) for a duck.

South African captain Shaun Pollock was unhappy with the state of the pitch for Thursday’s loss but blamed his batsmen.”The pitch played its part. It deteriorated and the ball held onto it. It became difficult and difficult to bat on it but I don’t think it was the main reason for our defeat,” Pollock said at the post-match conference.He added: “Dismissals (of Jacques Kallis and Gary Kirsten) and then the batsmen’s inability to hang in there was the reason. But then when you play on such a pitch knowing that Muttiah Muralitharan will come sooner or later, its definitely plays apart in the back of your mind and in the end we were left chasing 214 to deny them a bonus point.”Muralitharan conceded 12 runs from his eight overs and allowed Dilhara Fernando, Upul Chandana and Sanath Jayasuriya pick seven wickets between them from the other end.Pollock didn’t feel his bowlers gave away too many runs and instead praised Aravinda de Silva who scored an unbeaten 73 off 84 balls.”We didn’t concede too many boundaries. We just failed to stop the single and that’s because Aravinda batted beautifully. He worked the ball into the gaps and kept the scoreboard moving”.The Warwickshire player believed it was now do-or-die for them in the remaining two matches.”We have to win both the games. We know if Sri Lanka win one matchthey go through. But we are fortunate because we play last and will know what to do.”Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya defended his decision of fielding first in the first game against Pakistan.”I thought the wicket was damp and the overcast conditions would assist the bowers. I admit we misread the wicket. But today, we all know what we have to do if we win the toss,” he said.The left-hander said the first 15 to 20 overs will be very crucial because the ball would soften up and the wicket would also lose its bounce and the ball would tend to stay low.Jayasuriya was not happy with the format of this tournament in which Sri Lanka has to play four matches in six days.Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore said it would be fair to say that batting first would be the best option after what had happened in the first three games.

THE most exciting batsman in world cricket says the best birthday gift he could have would be a series-levelling victory over India in the forthcoming third Test.Brian Lara told NATIONSPORT he was still not fully recovered from the elbow injury sustained from the collision with Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu last year, but remained committed as ever to the West Indies’ effort.”There is nothing more I would love than a hundred this week, but I am not fully there yet. I am now getting gradually back into the game, I am looking to peak soon, but it is going to take some time.”Hopefully, my contribution to this match, whether it is a hundred, whatever it is, is going to bring success to the team,” he said.India, without a series win outside the sub-continent since 1986, lead the five-Test series 1-0 going in to Thursday’s third Test here at Kensington Oval where they have had six defeats in seven matches. Lara, scorer of 18 Test hundreds including the world record 375, celebrates his 33rd birthday on Thursday.Lara, the only world-class player in the West Indies team, thinks his side has learned the lessons from the 37-run loss at the Queen’s Park Oval and are ready to hit back in Barbados where they have endured just two defeats since World War II.”Hopefully, five days after my birthday we will be celebrating a win, that is most important. I think, it will be nice to win a Test match, I will be turning 33, and levelling the series is where it is at for us right now. It is going to be a very crucial match.”It can turn the series our way and if things don’t go our way, India could be in full command, so I am looking forward to the game. I think we have assessed what went wrong in Trinidad and know what we have to do to square the series here,” he said.Lara was greeted warmly by Barbadians on Sunday night when he attended the unveiling of the life-size replica of superstar allrounder and National Hero Sir Garfield Sobers.”The Barbados Government has done a great job in recognising Sir Garry. The people of Barbados have a son they can be proud of.”It was a very special occasion and the words of Sir Garry have given me added inspiration for this series with India. We sit down here, and we talk about scoring centuries and winning matches, but we have got to give due to Sir Garry, a very simple man who played the game with the class and hallmark of a champion, and at the end of the day, greatness was bestowed upon him,” the champion left-hander added.

At the end of four days of fascinating cricket at Bath, Somerset had to settle for a draw from their championship match against Hampshire.Chasing a total of 190 to win off a minimum of 61 overs, the Somerset ninth wicket pair of Keith Dutch(15) and Matt Bulbeck (13) batted out the last seven overs to see the Cidermen hold out for a draw.Earlier in the day Hampshire had been bowled out for 98 runs with Richard Johnson having a dream return by taking 7 for 43 to set up an intriguing target for Somerset to chase.With the score on 118 for 4 after 40 overs the target looked achievable, but when three quick wickets fell shortly afterwards the situation changed and in the end they batted out for the draw and 7 points from the match.After the close of play Kevin Shine told me: "It certainly has been a very interesting day today and a draw was a fair outcome. We fought our way back into the game and were pushing hard for a result all the way, but once Rob Turner was out we decided to shut up shop, which `Dutchy’ and `Bully’ did well for us."He continued: "`Johnno’ bowled really well for us, and it’s just a shame that we couldn’t force the result, but the team spirit is high and we are all looking forward to tomorrows NUL game against Leicestershire."

Pakistan were seeing light at the other end of the tunnel after Mother Nature came to their rescue and curtailed fourth day’s play to just 32 overs in the Asian Test Championship final against Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium Saturday.Nearly 323 minutes were lost due to intermittent drizzle as Pakistan progressed from an overnight score of 193 for five to 248 without any further damage. The reigning champions still require 46 runs to avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat.The home team can take heart from meteorological department’s forecast for thunderstorm late Saturday evening. In case there is no rain Pakistani batsmen will have to battle out for the remaining 97 overs scheduled to be bowled on the final day.Not that Sri Lanka didn’t had their chance to end the match in the 32 overs that were bowled on the penultimate day. They got the opportunity as early as in the 15th ball of the day but Mahela Jayawardene failed to hold a regulation catch off Shoaib Malik in the first slip off Muttiah Muralitharan.That was the only blemish by the Sri Lankans in the match but may now cost them the lone possession of the Asian championship title.Pakistan’s hopes of escaping with a draw rest on the broad shoulders of experienced Inzamam-ul-Haq who was holding the fort brilliantly and batting with great deal of patience and responsibility.The big man, starting the day at 38, was unbeaten at 72, his first half century in five innings. But more importantly, he has been occupying the crease for 268 minutes. His innings is laced with three boundaries.”My spirits are high and I am geared up to play out tomorrow’s day. I know a big responsibility lies on my shoulders and I am prepared to take up the challenge,” the 30-year vice-captain said.Inzamam, who threw away his first turn to a poor shot, has looked compact and a model of concentration. He has kept his head down, hasn’t disturbed the ball outside the off stumps and countered the dangerous Muralitharan with great care.”The objective is to take bulk of the strike and save the partner from being exposed. I don’t suspect the potentials of my remaining partners. It’s just the need of the hour since I am the only frontline and specialist batsman left,” he said.Inzamam has not only played excellently, he has taken Shoaib Malik under his wing and has carried him along nicely. Shoaib, whose selection ahead of Saqlain Mushtaq as a specialist spinner sparked a controversy, was showing a lot of patience, guts and skills with the wood.The youngster has been occupying the crease for little over two hours and has evaded 151 deliveries while scoring just 19. But his job to prove a better Test batsman than Saqlain is not even half over. A full day remains ahead and he needs to stay there for as much time possible.There were three stoppages in the day’s play. The early start was delayed by two minutes but the play was halted after only 29 balls. The game resumed 35 minutes after lunch and stopped again after 35 minutes.The proceedings finally got going at 4.50pm. Pakistan safely negotiated the 18 overs and in the meantime reached the eventual score after resuming at 218 for five.In Rashid Latif, Pakistan has a batsman on whom they can still trust. Rashid, since his comeback last year, has proved that he is not a rabbit with the bat when he hammered a magnificent 150 and 47 against West Indies. Prior to that, he scored 94 against Bangladesh.An intriguing last day’s play is in store and if Pakistan manage to hold the Sri Lankans, that would be the most satisfying result for them after being outplayed in every facet of the game by a more professional and committed performance by the tourists.

South African fast bowler David Terbrugge will be given the once over byphysiotherapist Craig Smith on Thursday to ensure that he is fit enough to play in the third and final Castle Lager/MTN Test match against Australia starting at Kingsmead on Friday.Terbrugge finished the Highveld Strikers’ SuperSport Shield match against North West at the weekend with painful shins, and although a scan has revealed no injury and Terbrugge was able to bowl on Wednesday morning, Smith will have a look at him in Durban.”I’ve spoken to David and his doctor on the phone and they both soundedconfident that he’d be OK to play,” said Smith. “But because he only gets into Durban on Wednesday night, I haven’t had a chance to look at him myself. It seems that it’s just a bit of soreness which we can sort out with massage.”Following a spate of injuries, retirements and withdrawals, South Africa canill-afford to have their preparations disrupted again, even if the series isalready dead. Terbrugge, too, will be anxious to make his Test match comeback after last playing against the West Indies three years ago.

The touring England under-19s were left with little to cheer after the first day’s play in the warm-up match against South Zone under-19s, played at Guru Nanak College Ground, Chennai on Monday. The touring party took this opportunity to play some of their squad players, but for most of the day, the bowling was pedestrian and the fielding was a let down. Dropped catches and fielding lapses might be a cause of worry for The Management, given the fact that they have their second ‘Test’ against India this weekend. South Zone colts also did not give good account of themselves; their batting never really bloomed on a harmless track.The setting was perfect, clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine and a pretty, tree-lined ground. Electing to bat first after winning the toss South Zone opening batsman Tirumal Setti Suman took 10 runs off the very first over bowled by Chris Tremlett; two boundaries flying over the slip fielders into the third-man fence. Suman did no favour to Nadeem Malik either, smashing him for three boundaries in the fourth over of the day. The fifth over brought some joy for the English colts, when Tremlett had Shashank Nag caught behind by Mark Wallace for just two runs: 31-1.Malik’s third over also saw Suman striking three boundaries, an explosive start indeed. Kyle Hogg was brought in from the pavilion end to replace the expensive Malik and immediately found his rhythm. Monty Panesar dropped Suman off the bowling of Hogg, but the batsman could not make the most of it. Hogg soon had Suman caught and bowled, the ball bouncing more than the batsman expected and all he could do was to pop the ball back for an easy catch. Suman’s entertaining innings of 42 came off just 34 balls, which included 9 strokes past the ropes.The fall of Suman brought Deepak Chougule to the crease. Chougule was the toast of the day for South Zone scoring 97 runs off 179 balls. Chougule, who does not have the height of many of the English players, stood tall on a day when South Zone batsman failed to apply themselves. The batting was ineffective on a docile pitch, which had nothing to offer to the bowlers.Chougule holds the junior world record for the maximum runs scored in a day, 400 not out against Goa in the 1996/97 season, playing for Karnataka Under-13. He kept working hard as batsmen at the other end kept falling. South Zone lost two more wickets before lunch. Ian Pattison removed captain Arjun Yadav for 10 caught brilliantly by Kadeer Ali at point. The next ball saw the new batsman ASK Varma dropped by John Sadler at slip. Pattison had reasons to rejoice his second wicket when Robert Ferley took a good catch in the covers to dismiss Varma for just one.The English colts were in a strong position after reducing the hosts to 62/4. The new batsman, Vijay Sai Suri, was distinctly lucky early on to survive a vociferous appeal for lbw off the bowling of Pattison, without offering a stroke. The visitors let the game drift on for a while and the lunchtime score was 129/4 in 38 overs. Chougule took his time and was unbeaten on 50.The post lunch session started on a sad note for the visitors. Chougule was dropped twice on 52; Gordon Muchall dropped him at point and John Sadler floored a chance in the slips. Chougule and Suri put on 134 for the fifth wicket as English colts relied on medium pacers. The 22nd over after lunch saw the introduction of the left-arm spin of Ferley. Success followed immediately as he dismissed Suri, caught by Nicky Peng running to leg-slip from first slip as the batsman top edged a sweep shot. Suri made 44 off 136 balls with five boundaries. A little before the tea break Chougule was deceived by the guiles of Panesar, drawing the batsman forward and getting the ball to turn and kiss the edge of the bat, Peng gleefully accepted the catch at first slip. Chougule was at the crease for 238 minutes facing 179 balls, striking 12 boundaries in his innings of 97.From 211 for 6 at tea, England failed to force the initiative. Ferley, who impressed with his spin bowling, had Mohammed Faiq caught by Kadeer Ali at silly point for 23 in the 82nd over. The second new ball was taken in the 83rd over and Malik, who had a miserable spell with the first new ball, came back with the second, picking up the wicket of Taher Hussain caught by substitute fielder Justin Bishop for 26. At close of play South Zone were 275/8 with Steve Lazarus and Shankara Rao on 15 and 5 respectively. Pattison and Ferley shared the bowling honours with a couple of wickets apiece.

Despite the dreadful early spring weather, the CricInfo Championship has started well for the batsmen. Just two days into the summer, nine centuries have been scored. Still, one would have to travel up and down the country throughout the rest of the year to see a better knock than today’s innings from Neil Fairbrother.The diminutive left-hander made a breathtaking 179, including a partnership of 98 with an injured Gary Keedy who batted with a runner throughout.Fairbrother’s knock was an innings that had everything. He combined skilful running between the wickets with deft turns to the leg side, and added a collection of hearty Lancashire thumps.Now into his 20th season as a first-class cricketer, Fairbrother began his knock cautiously. Timing the ball sweetly throughout, he got underway with some tidy flicks to leg. A partnership with Joe Scuderi blossomed, and Fairbrother began stroking the ball to the fence, turning the ball expertly to fine-leg and hitting powerfully behind square on the off side.The innings looked in danger of falling away when a mini-collapse left the visitors 280-9. There were doubts as to whether Gary Keedy would bat after badly injuring his back on the opening day. Keedy did his duty however, and walked gingerly to the crease with Ryan Driver to run for him.Fairbrother was unbeaten on 93 at the fall of the ninth wicket. At first, he was content to pick up singles toward the end of the over, leaving Keedy to face as few balls as possible. When he reached his century, Fairbrother was given a warm ovation from a reasonable crowd at the County Ground. The applause was to become more grudging, if still appreciative, as the next hour progressed.Fairbrother changed his attitude once he had completed his century.Determined to get his county a match-winning lead, he was content to launch the ball to all parts. His footwork had been solid from the outset, moving way across towards off stump. As he progressed, his feet started to dance down the wicket, crashing the ball through the infield at will.There was a sense that Fairbrother’s efforts could come to an end at any time. His partner, rendered almost immobile, batted like a boy forced into a school match. With no backlift and little footwork, Keedy blocked bravely, and sneered as the increasingly desperate Somerset attack strayed wide.Most of the time, Keedy was left to graze rigidly at square-leg, with Driver putting in a fine effort as runner. Fairbrother has always been fast, but it defies logic that a 37-year-old is able to scamper and turn with such ferocity. He called loudly and definitely, startling poor Driver who may have hoped for an afternoon nap. If he was still in the England team, Fairbrother would be amongst the fittest.Toward the end of his knock, the boundaries began to flow. He blasted Joe Tucker over long on for six, and went onto the back foot and pulled with such venom that the two men on the leg side boundary were barely able to move before the ball struck the fence. Sauntering down the track, he also belted the ball through the covers with skill.After reaching his century from 138 balls, he added a further 79 from 62 balls, striking 27 fours and a six. Keedy eventually fell, and the County Ground rose in appreciation of a marvellous knock from one of the most valuable county cricketers. Fairbrother is a fine exponent of the county game, and this innings was a wonderful advert for the CricInfo Championship.

Shashikala Siriwardene will lead Sri Lanka in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in September. Sri Lanka last played a Twenty20 game in a five-match series in the Caribbean. Dilani Manodara was the captain then, and she is also part of the 14-woman squad.Four players who weren’t part of the squad picked for the tour of the West Indies but feature in the World T20 squad are Ishani Lokusuriya, Udeshika Prabodini, Maduri Samudrika and Nilakshi Silva.Sri Lanka squad: Shashikala Siriwardene (capt), Sandamani Dolawatte, Dilani Manodara, Chamari Atapattu, Deepika Rasangika, Ishani Lokusuriya, Chamani Seneviratna, Sripali Weerakkody, Udeshika Prabodini, Maduri Samudrika, Inoka Ranaweera, Prasadani Weerakkody, Inoka Galagedara, Nilakshi Silva.