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You could never accuse of Brian Lara of lacking in timing. And if his retirement announcement was made without customary flourish, it didn’t lack drama. It was the most delectable of late cuts: perfectly conceived and deftly executed, it left those in its presence breathless.There was no gasp, because it took time to register. He dropped it in casually, just after he had finished answering his last question and when notebooks were being put away. He leaned forward, almost as if he was preparing to leave, and whispered these words into the microphone: “I gave extensive consideration to this. I want everybody to know that on Saturday I’ll be playing my last international match.”Journalists turned around and looked enquiringly at each other. Did I hear it right? Did he say merely international or was there a one-day before it. Some rushed to the dais to confirm it with Imran Khan, the West Indies media manager, who nodded his head. Some shoved miniature bats and notebooks to be autographed. But Lara had made it clear that there would be no further questions, and none were asked.The very first question had been about his future and Lara had cut the questioner off. “This is about today’s match,” he had said firmly, and had repeated the refrain whenever the subject had veered towards it. However, he had fielded other broader questions, about West Indies cricket, about Ramnaresh Sarwan – the leading contender for the captaincy – and one about how he would like to be remembered. Given what transpired, the question now seems prescient though, to be honest, it was asked in the context of his one-day career.Lara’s answer was typical of him. He didn’t bother mouthing platitudes about service to the country and the game. “I would like to be remembered as someone who came out there and tried to entertain.” That was the truth about Lara. It was his essence. Over a 17-year career, lots of his relationships – with the board, with selectors, with the media and even his own team-mates – were stretched and tested. But one bond remained unshakable, that between a conjurer and his spellbound audience. You fell for him instantly, and were hooked for life.With hindsight, it is obvious now that the press conference had so many touches of a farewell. “I am also proud,” Lara said. “I have been knocked down so many times, as a player and as a person, and I have had the strength, I suppose that has come from my parents, to be able to pick myself each and every single time and go out there in the face of adversity and try my best and perform. I didn’t read it up in a book. It’s deep down and it’s part of my family trait.”Time and again during the press conference, Lara was provoked to bring his dispute with the administrators in the open. He refused the bait. But what he left unsaid, said a lot. “Whoever is the new captain must receive the support he deserves.” When asked if he received the support he needed, he merely said it was no time to cry over spilt milk. Success in the international arena, he said, depended on much more than the 11 players on the field but, when pressed further, he insisted that “this was not the forum to discuss this”.There will be another press conference in a couple of days, and Lara will surely be there. This time though, his inquisitors will be much better prepared.

Scorecard
Subashis Roy grabbed a four-wicket haul to power Bangladesh Under-19s to a series-clinching win against West Indies Under-19s.West Indies were in pursuit of 233 but Roy never allowed their chase to get underway. Roy struck in his first over, removing Kieran Powell before knocking out the other opener Horace Miller and Adrian Barath in quick succession to leave West Indies struggling at 34 for 3.Suhrawadi Shuvo, the left-arm spinner, gave able support to Roy and ended up with a three-wicket haul. Sharmarh Brooks and Darren Bravo revived the innings with an 83-run partnership for the fourth wicket but Shuvo trapped Bravo to terminate it. And when Brooks fell soon after, with West Indies at 140 for 6, the chase was all but over.Earlier, an 87-run partnership between Nadimuddin (49) and Saikat Ali (49) helped Bangladesh recover from 25 for 3 before Rony Talukder (59) propelled them to finish at a healthy 232.

Ian Bell has called on the England team to support Andrew Flintoff during the Ashes series so that his workload doesn’t become too much. Flintoff was handed the captaincy for the tour of Australia after being narrowly favoured ahead of Andrew Strauss, but concerns linger that he has a lot on his plate as England aim to defend the Ashes.But Bell believes that Flintoff will lead from the front and take the challenges in his stride, although does concede that he can’t do it all on his own.”Even without his captaincy, Freddie is a leader in whatever he does, whether it be batting, bowling or fielding,” he told the Press Association. “It will be great to have him back on the park and great to have him lead us out there [in Australia].”But we are going to have to support him because it is a hell of a long winter for all of us especially with Freddie batting, bowling, fielding and captaining the side against the number one team in the world in Australia.”It is going to be a long winter for him so we all need to be with him and making sure he is not doing too much. That is probably a danger. The last thing you want is for Freddie to be burnt out. It’s a good thing in a way we’ve still got people there like Straussy [Andrew Strauss] and Tresco [Marcus Trescothick] around. These guys can talk to him and make sure he doesn’t do too much.When Flintoff led England in the Test series against Sri Lanka he bowled 51 overs in the second innings of the Lord’s Test. Those in favour of having Strauss as captain said he would have been able to manage Flintoff’s workload better than the man himself.”With Freddie being captain, he’ll want to do things from the front and makes sure everything is done properly and sometimes he does too much himself,” Bell said. “He needs to have that support from everyone in the team to say: ‘Freddie, you just look after yourself a bit more rather than doing too much’.”It’s great for us to have Freddie but we need to be aware he is a key player for us for the whole winter and we need him all the way through.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Twin double-centuries from Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene left Sri Lanka in control of the first Test against South Africa as they ended the second day on 485 for 2, thanks to a record unbeaten 471-run partnership for the third wicket. Their lead was 316 and with the pitch already taking turn, South Africa have a massive job on their hands if they are to stave off defeat.The ease at the crease and grace of strokemaking of both batsmen made viewing a pleasure even as the runs came at a fast clip. Neither batsman looked to hit the ball hard, and after a watchful period in the start of the day they settled into a comfortable groove and picked off runs at will. And as the runs came the records tumbled. This partnership is now the second best in the history of Tests, only Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama with 576 against India are ahead of this pair. This partnership is also the best ever for the third wicket beating the 467 that Andrew Jones and Martin Crowe added against Sri Lanka.To be fair to the South Africans the pitch was slow and the bounce was evenly on the low side. Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn ran in with enthusiasm, but even when they banged the ball in short of a length it barely rose past stump height. This meant that both Sangakkara and Jayawardene only had to pick the line early and they could then play whatever shot they wanted without fear of extra bounce beating the bat.The Sangakkara-Jayawardene association was only Sri Lanka’s fourth 300-plus partnership in Tests, and South Africa could do nothing to stop the march towards a big score that Sangakkara and Jayawardene were on. There were shades of that famous Test against India at the Premadasa Stadium in 1997 where Sri Lanka put on a massive 952 for 6 declared. Of course, they will not go that far in this Test, but it might feel just as terrible for South Africa’s bowlers.Sangakkara, who was dropped on 28 by Jacques Rudolph at gully received another reprieve, from the same gentleman, on 99. Dancing down the wicket to Nicky Boje, Sangakkara lofted to long-on without quite being to the pitch of the ball but Rudolph, running around, could not hold onto the catch.

But that was the only moment where either batsman’s wicket was threatened. It was an otherwise blemishless performance. Sangakkara, who began the day on 59, and Jayawardene, who had 55 on the first day, spent the early overs reacquainting themselves with the conditions, but once that was done the runs flowed freely. Both batsmen timed the ball well, playing late and easing the ball into the gaps with consummate ease. Sangakkara was the quicker of the two, and raced along to 100 off only 116 balls.When Mark Benson and Billy Bowden, the two umpires, took the players off at the end of the day it was almost an act of mercy. Sri Lanka had not lost a wicket all day, and reached 485, a lead of 316. Sangakkara (229 not out) and Jayawardene (224 not out) matched each other, run for run, stroke for stroke, and the two old friends appeared to be enjoying every moment of their stay at the crease. “When you’re in you have to make the most of it,” a tired Jayawardene said in a snap interview immediately after the day’s play. And what’s Sangakkara’s secret? “I just like batting,” he said, smile plastered across his face.Already Ashwell Prince, South Africa’s stand-in captain, has a massive task on his hands. Facing Muralitharan in the second innings is going to be a tough ask. Sri Lanka have plenty of time on their hands, and it is in their interests to bat on. After all, with some wear and tear already on the pitch, the ball is turning sharply from the rough. And it’s hard to see any of the South African batsmen matching either of the two Sri Lankans on display today.

Middlesex have completed the signing of Murali Kartik, the India left-arm spinner, as their second overseas player for 2007. Kartik, 30, will join Chaminda Vaas at Lord’s as Middlesex look to recover from their disastrous season in 2006.”Kartik is a hugely exciting signing for the club,” Vinny Codrington, Middlesex’s chief executive, told the club’s website. “Over the past few seasons, we have lacked an international-class spinner and are delighted to have addressed that with Kartik.”He is a popular signing with our players and I am sure he will quickly become a favourite with our supporters.”Kartik represented Lancashire in 2005, becoming the first overseas player representing the club to take ten wickets on debut. He also made a brief appearance in 2006. Subject to international call-ups, Kartik will be available for Middlesex for the entire 2007 season.

Shane Warne feels like he’s had “50 Vodka and Red Bulls” whenever he’s walked on to the field during the series, but it won’t stop him from waving goodbye at the next Test at Sydney. The first of Warne’s two tribute laps ended with him being chaired briefly by Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds before he stepped down to walk off with his fellow retiree Glenn McGrath.Warne showed his full repertoire to his home crowd for the last time in a Man-of-the-Match performance that was boosted by his unbeaten 40 in the first session. Two wickets as England fell to an innings loss pushed his match tally to seven and the team is now in sight of a 5-0 result.The first time Warne came to the ground was when Allan Border and Jeff Thomson failed by four runs to beat England in 1982-83. Money was tight in the Warne family back then, so they caught the train and entry was free. In the future those who have been lucky enough to be at the MCG at any time during Warne’s career will remember his performances as fondly as Border and Thomson’s brave steps.”I’m jumping out of my skin at the moment, I feel like I’ve had 50 Vodka and Red Bulls every time I go out on the field,” Warne said. “I suppose that’s why I’m trying all my tricks. I feel very happy and young and fresh.”Warne said there were tears in the dressing room when Andrew Symonds earned his first Test century, but he felt only excitement at the victory when he stepped off his “backyard”. “I’m not sad,” he said. “I’m leaving when I’m on top and feel I’m bowling as good as at any stage during my career.”I couldn’t ask for this to go much better. I got my 700th wicket, runs down the order, some catches.”The performance of Warne left Ponting light-heartedly reconsidering his decision not to challenge him when he originally brought up the exit plan. “I didn’t even think about talking Warney out of retirement,” he said, “but I might have to think about it after today.”

Scorecard

The Sri Lankans’ Test preparations suffered another severe wobble when their top order collapsed for the second time in the tour match against Queensland. After folding to 5 for 45 in the first innings, the visitors were in more trouble at 4 for 55 as they tried to overhaul the 85-run deficit created by Andy Bichel’s muscular century.Ashley Noffke continued his fine match when he raced through the openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu before Michael Vandort and Thilan Samaraweera added to the tourists’ pain. They finished the day at 4 for 62, still 23 runs behind, and will rely on Mahela Jayawardene (22) and Chamara Silva (2) to ease the headaches of a side already missing Kumar Sangakkara with injury.Jayasuriya began the tour with a century on a flat surface in Adelaide, but he has struggled with the pitch’s pop at Allan Border Field and managed only three runs for the game. Noffke, who captured five victims on Friday, forced him to fend a lifting ball to Clinton Perren and he departed to similar dismissals on both occasions.The exit of Atapattu, who was lbw to Noffke for 7, was less of a concern as he has performed strongly in both games, but Michael Vandort missed an opportunity for a meaningful contribution when he went for 26 to an excellent legside take from Chris Hartley. At least the Sri Lankans have an idea of what they will face at the Gabba from Thursday after dueling with a high-quality attack.Shaun Tait’s elbow injury means Mitchell Johnson is a virtual certainty for the first Test even though he has struggled for wickets in this match. He took one on Friday and was again out-bowled by Noffke, who had 2 for 8 off six overs in his opening spell. Bichel chipped in late to dispose of Samaraweera and complete a satisfying day of personal achievement.Bichel smashed seven sixes, the most in a first-class innings for Queensland, and 11 fours as he led the Bulls from the early-morning trouble of 4 for 60 to relative comfort. Entering at No. 6 in a bowler-heavy line-up, Bichel started the day cautiously but expanded his repertoire as he got comfortable and reached three figures shortly before tea.”I was a bit lucky today, I got away with a few things, but it worked for me,” Bichel said. “I’m feeling quite comfortable with the bat in my hand and I hope that continues.”The rescue mission of 125 from 168 deliveries ended when he top edged a sweep off Malinga Bandara, who suffered the most bruises from Bichel. Taking advantage of a dropped chance at mid-off on 18 and a run-out escape, Bichel hit freely and rushed to 99 with two sixes in a Bandara over before flicking a single to midwicket for his century.A couple of mistakes in the field did not help the bowlers, who were unable to shut down a pesky lower order despite regular movement off the pitch. Farveez Maharoof was the most successful with 3 for 72 while Bandara picked up 2 for 89 and Jayasuriya claimed the final two wickets as Queensland were dismissed for 285. Maharoof was unlucky, forcing numerous plays and misses, and eventually gained a reward when he had Hartley caught behind for 8 after Noffke had fallen for 34.Bichel and Noffke, who lost a ball with a six over mid-on, combined for an 80-run stand before Johnson and Bichel added 94 in quick time to pass the Sri Lankans’ first-innings total of 210. Johnson may have struggled for impact with the ball over the opening two days but he contributed a lively half-century to complement the work of Bichel.Maharoof, who was pleased with his return, said there was a lot of work to do on the final day. “Whoever gets in just has to bat on,” he said. “You can’t do that much on this wicket, the only thing you can concentrate on is playing down the line and occupying the crease. The first day the pitch was a bit spongy, but it’s dried out a bit and it’s taking off from a length.”

Michael Hussey wants Australia to ignore Friday’s disturbing hit-and-miss performance and recall the strong batting memories from last week at the SCG for the first final. Hussey was one of the many failures as Australia fell from 0 for 107 to 208 all out against Sri Lanka in Melbourne, but he does not believe the display will affect the home team when it faces India in the most crucial one-day match of the season so far.As a spiteful summer draws to a close, Hussey has urged his team to shut out the various distractions, which have ranged from on- and off-field verbals to the shadow of the Indian Premier League, as they attempt to win the last Australian tri-series. “I’d prefer to bury everything and focus on final,” he said. “Both teams and the Australian and Indian public have had enough of the controversy.”Hussey encouraged his team-mates to take the emotion out of the encounter to achieve their peak performance. “It’s important we don’t let the distractions play any part on our minds,” he said. “If we play on emotions sometimes those distractions can have a detrimental part on your performance. If we take emotion out of it, I think we can play our best and go 1-0 up in the series.”A key ingredient to any Australian success is a well-rounded batting performance, which is something that has been missing for much of the series – they have played eight games and only twice passed 250. Despite the stuttering, Hussey expects the more batsman-friendly surface at the SCG to help the side forget the low of Friday night.”There have been difficult conditions in Melbourne during the year and all teams have struggled,” he said. “We don’t want to look too much into [the MCG performance]. We’re looking to our last performance in Sydney, when all the batsmen played particularly well.”Ricky Ponting broke free from his run drought with 124 in that game and all of the top six made useful contributions in the total of 7 for 317, which led to an 18-run victory. “We know we’re playing well,” Hussey said, “and we know we can put on a good performance.”

SuperSport Series

Johan van der Wath took six second-innings wickets to help the Eagles to an emphatic innings and 29-run victory over the Dolphins at Durban. The Eagles victory was set-up by centuries from Loots Bosman (117) and Morne van Wyk (159) in their first-innings score of 575 for 8, with Jacques Rudolph, Nicky Boje and Ryan McLaren also scoring half-centuries. The Dolphins soon slumped to 42 for 4 in reply, with McLaren claiming three wickets, and despite a courageous 75 from Imraan Khan, they were eventually dismissed for 236, some 189 short of the follow-on target. Things did not get any better second time around, with with the pace of van der Wath to the fore, his 6 for 29 from 17 overs rolling the Dolphins for 210 just before lunch on the final day.The Cobras managed just 87 in their second innings, going down by eight wickets to the Warriors at Newlands. In a low-scoring match – only 503 runs were scored in the four innings – Nantie Hayward proved the star turn for the Warriors, claiming two wickets in the first over of both the Cobras’ first and second innings. While the Cobras recovered first-time around to post a respectable 164, Arno Jacobs’ 50 in the Warriors 196 meant they conceded a 32-run first-innings deficit. Hayward then combined with Lonwabo Tsotsobe to reduce the Cobras to 7 for 4, and then 33 for 7 before they finally crawled to 87, with Tsotsobe finishing with 5 for 31 and Hayward 4 for 34. The Warriors were left needing just 56 runs for victory, and knocked it off with ease.A fine all-round performance from Alfonso Thomas led the Titans to a seven-wicket victory over the Lions at Potchefstroom. Thomas took four first-innings wickets to help dismiss the Lions for 132, with Morne Morkel also taking four scalps. At one stage the Lions lost five wickets for five runs, slumping from 97 for 3 to 102 for 8. Thomas then starred with the bat, scoring 54, with Farhaan Behardien and Albie Morkel also scoring half-centuries to help the Titans to 282 and a first-innings lead of 150. The Titans rallied impressively to score 327 second-time around, with Blake Snijman and Werner Coetsee scoring half-centuries, but the damage had been done by their poor first-innings display. Martin van Jaarsveld comfortably guided his side to their 178-run target with an unbeaten 54.

Brian Lara believes West Indies will now have a chance to rebuild their ailing fortunes without being overshadowed by his presence. Lara, who will be watching the team take on England at Lord’s, hopes a largely youthful squad led by Ramnaresh Sarwan will thrive away from the glare of publicity he generated.”After 1995 we sort of went downhill,” Lara said. “It doesn’t matter how many runs one person puts together. We want to get partnerships and get 400 runs on the board. One person can’t get 400 runs on the board if there is nobody at the other end.”Maybe the disparity between my achievements and how the other guys were looked upon was a problem. My expectation is that the team raise a bit and rally round Ramnaresh Sarwan. You don’t need a group of superstars, you need a team working together to bring you better results.”Lara said it would feel strange to be at Lord’s and not be taking the field. “I saw the covers and the greenery and it was tough,” he said. “Thursday will be emotional for me. But at the end of the day it’s not the reason I play cricket because I want to play at Lord’s. I really want to see West Indies do well. We’ve got to move on.”However, Lara said he hadn’t given up on the idea of playing first-class cricket. “I’m still physically fit and still capable of playing so I’m not going to rule that out,” he said. “I am not going to put on 10 or 15 pounds and forget about the game.”Lara said his international retirement had been hastened by West Indies’ early World Cup exit. “I thought we were making a lot of strides in the one-day game, getting to the ICC [Champions Trophy] finals in 2006 after winning it in 2004 was a stepping stone,” he said.”I thought I can exit and continue to play Test cricket which honestly is the game I love the most. We went a bit backwards and physically I don’t know what else I could have done to really make a difference.”Lara said the key problem was the domestic set-up in the West Indies which didn’t convert youthful talent into Test match standard players. “I still believe West Indies has the best Under-15, Under-19 talent,” he said. “It’s just the infrastructure doesn’t go hand in hand with that and international cricket. That’s where the problem lies.”Should anyone at Lord’s need reminding of Lara’s achievements all they have to do is visit the MCC Museum behind the Pavilion where a special exhibition charting his career is being staged. Among the exhibits is the bat with which Lara scored 213 against Australia at Kingston.Also included is the bat with which he made 375, then the record Test score, against England at Antigua in 1994. The bat has been signed by his then team-mate Curtly Ambrose: “375 not enough Brian”. However, the bat with which he scored 277 against Australia in Sydney in 1993 is missing. “At age 23 I don’t know what I did with that bat,” Lara said. “Maybe we can have an international request to have it back.”