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Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo after being diagnosed with a right calf strain. He will return to the UK immediately and the injury could prevent him joining the IPL for the second year running.Broad was clearly limping during England’s failed second-innings run chase in Galle and was also increasingly hampered when bowling as the match progressed. He was sent for scans shortly after the match.He wrote on Twitter: “Annoyed to be going home a week early. Not a major injury just couldn’t get through a whole Test match.”He entered the Test under a slight cloud having injured his left ankle when tripping over the boundary rope before the first warm-up match in Colombo but, after playing the second practice match, was declared fit for the Test.It was not Broad’s best game of recent times. He bowled eight no-balls one of which cost England the wicket of Prasanna Jayawardene which would have ended Sri Lanka’s second innings with a lead of 293. He was also warned for running on the pitch and did not appear to quite be in rhythm although removed Tillakaratne Dilshan in both innings.England have opted not to replace Broad in the squad which could limit options if another fast bowler gets injured or sick before the Test starts. Steven Finn will be the favourite to come in following his impressive displays in the one-day series against India and Pakistan where he has bowled with pace and accuracy.The other alternative is Tim Bresnan, the Yorkshire allrounder, and he would compensate for the loss of Broad’s batting. However, with England needing to win the Test to square the series and retain their No. 1 ranking they will have to pick the bowling line-up most likely to take 20 wickets.It could be that both Bresnan and Finn will be called in if England decide they need an extra pace-bowling option. Bresnan could bat at No. 7 in place of Samit Patel, but that would leave a long tail of Finn, James Anderson and Monty Panesar.This injury is the latest Broad has suffered over the last 18 months. He was ruled out of the last three Ashes Tests in Australia after suffering a stomach muscle injury in Adelaide then picked up a fractured rib during the World Cup. During the home one-day series against India he damaged his shoulder which ruled him out of the rest of the summer and the return contest in India. He returned to action in the UAE against Pakistan and was outstanding during the Test series where he took 13 wickets 20.46.Broad was due to join Kings XI Punjab at the IPL straight after this tour but he could now miss the tournament altogether if the England management take a cautious approach with one of their premier fast bowlers ahead of another hectic home season which includes six Tests, 13 ODIs and four Twenty20s for which Broad is captain.

Surendranath, the former India fast bowler, has died aged 75 following prolonged illness. He played 11 Tests for India between 1959 and 1961, and also had a 15-year first-class career with Services that ended in 1969.The highlight of Surendranath’s career was the tour of England in 1959, during which he took 16 wickets at 26.62 though India were blanked in the five-match Test series. He was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells, as shown by his back-to-back five-wicket hauls in the England series during which he bowled 47 overs in an innings at Old Trafford and 51 at The Oval. He was the second highest wicket-taker in the first-class matches on that tour, with 79 scalps, only behind legspinner Subhash Gupte.”On that tour of England, he troubled the best of players – Peter May*, Colin Cowdrey, everyone,” Chandu Borde, the former India batsman who was his team-mate during the series, said. “He was mostly an inswing bowler, who got the odd one to move away. He bowled excellent medium-pace, and being a soldier he was also a fighter on the field. Along with Ramakant Desai, he formed a very good opening attack for India.”Surendranath was also a part of home series against West Indies, Australia and Pakistan. He had success in his first Test against Pakistan, in Kolkata in 1960-61, but his international career ended a fortnight later as he couldn’t make much of an impact in the next Test in Chennai.His first-class career extended for eight more years, and he ended with 278 wickets at 25.37. * May 07 2012, 04.20. The name of the player has been corrected

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has said his side erred in its shot selection in a low-scoring chase against Deccan Chargers on Sunday. Royal Challengers’ defeat in Hyderabad allowed Chennai Super Kings to hang on to the fourth spot at the end of the league stage and qualify for the playoffs.After dismissing Chargers for 132, Royal Challengers lost wickets at regular intervals, Dale Steyn finishing with figures of 4-0-8-3. Kohli said Steyn’s spell cost his team the match. “He bowled amazingly well,” Kohli said. “He’s one player that you must be cautious against. We needed to target the other bowlers but I don’t think we played the right kind of shots. On that wicket we could have played ourselves in before taking chances at the end.”We have been batting brilliantly through the tournament but today people were getting beaten on straight balls; balls that they would usually smash out of the ground. Things didn’t go right for us as far as batting is concerned but I think we bowled well and fielded well. We played good cricket for 70 percent of the game.”After the dismissal of Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary kept Royal Challengers in the hunt with a brisk stand of 46, which came at 7.45 runs an over. But Kohli’s dismissal in the 16th over led to a lower-order collapse. “My wicket changed the face of the match, we were easily poised and at that stage needed 30 from 25 balls. We made mistakes today and could have played better cricket shots,” Kohli said.”When a team has nothing to lose they play freely and they bowled in good areas today. I don’t think the wicket was that bad to bat on, it was a bit two-paced but if you played yourself in then you could hit some big shots. Apart from me and Saurabh (Tiwary ) we didn’t get any partnerships. We need small partnerships in T20 when you’re chasing a small score and that didn’t happen for us today.”Kohli said despite Gayle falling in the third over, Royal Challengers should have chased the target easily. “He’s been a big, impact player for us but (after his dismissal) the other players should have stepped up today, which didn’t happen. We should have made better decisions while batting.”You can’t smash every over in T20, you must analyse and stretch the game till the end, we needed partnerships and when I got out we needed 30 from 25 which was gettable. It was always up to the batsmen in the middle to analyse what was going on.”Despite failing to make the playoffs, Kohli said the side learnt a lot from the high-quality cricket played in the IPL this year. “Unfortunately we are out because of net run-rate but I don’t think we’ve played bad cricket at all,” he said. “It feels very bad (failing to qualify for playoffs) but as a tournament the IPL has been brilliant this year, I think six-seven teams were on 16-17 points each. It’s been really competitive and it’s good the more competitive it gets, as it brings out more quality from the players.”

ScorecardUnlike their last visit, when rain ruined Nick Compton’s pursuit of history, he and James Hildreth walked off victorious at New Road•PA Photos

Somerset have enjoyed regular success in the Friends Life t20, albeit not having lifted the trophy since 2005. Their batting line-up suggests they should sweep all before them. Here they were facing a must-win tie on a pitch not conducive to big hitting but got the job done to advance to the quarter-finals, where they have drawn Essex. They even allowed themselves a second verse of The Wurzels’ , their victory song.Despite losing, Worcestershire also went through as one of the two best third-placed sides and will now play Yorkshire at Headingley.It was a pitch typical of a riverside ground with an exceptionally high water level: pretty slow and tacky but it gave the impression of being a touch two-paced. The outfield was also soft and bumpy and it made for anti-T20, with runs being ground out against slow bowling. Much credit is due to the groundstaff for getting the game on – a washout would have seen both teams qualify regardless of results elsewhere.The situation was tailor-made for Nick Compton. He controlled the small chase. Compton’s season began prolifically when most other batsman around the country struggled. His solid technique and ability to stay patient and build an innings were the basis for his early-season form, which nearly saw him make a thousand runs before the end of May. It was on this ground where his pursuit of the feat was ended cruelly by the weather.Here again the weather briefly threatened to derail Somerset’s progress but Compton’s correct attributes enabled the visitors to carefully pick off the target. Having someone bat through is often required to marshal a small chase. Compton was the lynchpin, with an unbeaten 42 from 54-balls, holding the rudder steady to take Somerset through.”The bowlers bowled very well and the spinners got the pace of the wicket,” Compton said. “I don’t think the wicket was that bad, it was a little bit tackier for them, which allowed us to get through a few overs at the start. But when I came into bat with pace on the ball it actually came through quite nicely. When they took pace off the ball it was difficult.”It was nice to get a couple away early, I tend to get criticised for not going off like a train. But it suited me today, I like to take responsibility and it was important that I stayed until the end.”The difficulty of the surface was no more evident than in the first wicket of the match to fall: Vikram Solanki through with his stroke far too soon and providing a leading edge to mid-off. Conditions made getting away Somerset’s spinners – George Dockrell and Max Waller – very difficult. The pair proved the most successful bowlers, sending down seven overs between them for just 33.It was a work-it-around innings. There was a brief late flurry with Ben Scott’s 14-ball 19 but not enough batsman were able to play around Phil Hughes’ 50-ball 45 – his Compton innings. But it was hard to know what a competitive score was batting first.Worcestershire managed to take the chase all the way to the penultimate over but while Compton was at the crease Somerset always looked likely to get over the line. He stuck four boundaries in the first five overs but then found the rope only once more, working the ball around and allowing his more aggressive partners to try and clear the ropes.It was difficult, though, as Moeen Ali’s offspin took up much of the middle of the innings, conceding only 13 in his four overs and ending Jos Buttler’s run-a-ball knock. Left-armer David Lucas also returned for two tight overs, as the hosts tried to create a nervous ending – not knowing results elsewhere were in their favour.But what they needed defending a small score was wickets and Worcestershire couldn’t find enough of them. Somerset had two much in the armoury and when things began to get close, James Hildreth played a busy innings that was excellent considering the surface. He broke the back of the chase with three swift boundaries: reverse-sweeping Brett D’Oliveria, then taking successive Gareth Andrew deliveries over the leg side.

ScorecardNottinghamshire remained unbeaten as a record Lancashire opening stand between Stephen Moore and Tom Smith proved in vain in a rain-affected eight-wicket Friends Life t20 win.Moore (80) and Smith (56) smashed 119 from the first 14 overs before acting skipper Steven Croft (31 not out) added late impetus to carry Lancashire to an imposing 178 for 4.A lengthy rain delay with Nottinghamshire 7 for 0 after just one over of their reply left the hosts chasing 42 runs from four overs to reach a revised victory target of 49.And once Yasir Arafat’s over went for 18 – Riki Wessels (21 not out) striking three fours in four deliveries -Nottinghamshire were always going to get home, especially after Michael Lumb (22) had rattled the scoreboard along.It was rough justice on Lancashire who had batted so well and showed why home skipper Adam Voges’ decision to bowl first with bad weather forecast proved a prudent one.After a start delayed by 35 minutes Nottinghamshire – who went top of the North group with victory – bucked their usual trend of batting first and took to the field under floodlights.The ball moved around early on for Harry Gurney and Smith was fortunate to escape when on eight when Hales dropped a skier off the left-armer’s bowling.Smith slog-swept Samit Patel for a maximum and also picked the same bowler up over mid-wicket to go with six boundaries from 41 balls until Steven Mullaney finally bowled him.After Moore survived a botched stumping chance on 47, he took up the attack as he was joined by Croft, who added a further 41 in four overs that seemed likely to take Lancashire past 200.But after paddling Andy Carter for his eighth boundary, the opener tried to repeat the trick and found the hands of Gurney at short fine leg, before Croft hit 10 off the final five balls.After Ajmal Shahzad delivered the first over of the Nottinghamshire innings prior to the rain break, Stephen Parry dismissed Alex Hales (four) and conceded nine runs off the second.But Arafat was too wayward and punished by Lumb and Wessels so that even the former’s exit, after he had thumped Tom Smith for a straight six, could not halt Nottinghamshire’s momentum.An eight-wicket win under the Duckworth/Lewis method was wrapped up with two balls to spare by Wessels who drove Oliver Newby over the top for his fifth boundary.

Sri Lanka cannot seem to make up their mind about Chamara Kapugedera. His 92 ODIs have been spread over six and a half years for a disappointing average of 22.04. He has batted all the way from No. 2 to No. 9. He has gone out of the squad many times, and has made his way back again. Mahela Jayawardene spoke for almost ten minutes on Kapugedera on Monday, but the debate still remained open.Jayawardene conceded Kapugedera had not made the most of his chances, but felt that the opportunities had not been consistent. He said Kapugedera was committed and focused during practice, but admitted he struggled to handle the pressure in a game. Jayawardene hinted that time could run out for Kapugedera eventually, but asked for some more patience given that he was still only 25.”It is frustrating,” Jayawardene said of Kapugedera’s struggles. “If you see the way he bats at nets, and the way Isuru Udana bowls at nets, it’s totally different, and we give them an opportunity. I don’t know whether it’s the occasion, whether they can’t handle pressure, [but] it does not come good for them. If they cannot handle the pressure then we have to move on and give that opportunity to someone else.”But what we see at the nets, the commitment and the attitude we feel that there is something that could spark these guys. We have had players like Marvan [Atapattu] who didn’t have a great start, but people gave him opportunities and he reacted to that. Obviously if they are not performing and others come and grab hold of their chances then they will get more opportunity than guys like Chamara.”Jayawardene said Kapugedera was not being able to carry his focus in the nets to the middle and said that was something for coaches to work on. “He is still young and if he can turn a corner it’d be good. In the last World Twenty20 he was awesome for us in the Caribbean batting at No. 6 [Kapugedera made 95 runs in six games at a strike-rate of 121.79]. The talent is there, but the execution is not there and we have to identify how we can trigger that. We have to be patient. If he is struggling [then] giving him a break, obviously see if there are any other players, but if he is good we have to try him.”Jayawardene said Sri Lanka had limited resources and were looking to give chances to young players. “If you see a player like Nuwan Pradeep wasn’t bowling well six months ago, but we kept him in the squad and today he is doing well.”We try to do justice to all players. We can’t throw out simply because players fail in few games. They are all young players and we need to be patient.”Jayawardene said it was the selectors’ call on whether or not to persist with Kapugedera but added that opportunities had to be capitalised on. “He has not made most of the opportunities, but the opportunities have been far and few. Not consistent. But obviously if someone is fighting for a spot, whatever the opportunity you have to grab it. It’s tough, it’s under pressure, it’s not easy, but we will see how it goes.”

ScorecardGeraint Jones was needed to prevented Kent being blown away•Getty Images

No-one, least of all Derbyshire’s long-suffering supporters, expected the last leg of the second division title race to be a stroll in the park. But just in case anyone associated with the county was starting to get even a little giddy as Kent lost half their wickets for only 93 runs, up popped Geraint Jones to dampen down premature excitement.Kent, it must be remembered, are themselves in the thick of a promotion battle that has twisted and turned for most of this season. And in Jones, the former England wicketkeeper, they had an ideal man to transform a sickly-looking innings into something reasonably healthy.Jones is 36 now and in negotiations for a new contract. Well, he may have failed by 20 runs today to record his first Championship century of the season but it was still the sort of knock that should help to convince the Canterbury hierarchy that he is well worth another couple of years.The innings, spanning 136 balls and including nine fours, was timely on two counts. Firstly, it kept third-placed Kent well and truly in this match. And secondly it was a fitting way to mark a fine achievement: by playing today, Jones has totted up 100 consecutive Championship appearances – something only nine other Kent players have managed in the long history of the county.Whether Kent will be playing their four-day cricket in the first division next season is very much undecided. But it will take a horrible “choke” for Derbyshire to miss out on promotion – and on the evidence of what was witnessed today, they look to be made of sterner stuff than that.Kent’s decision to bat first in glorious sunshine seemed straightforward. But the visitors bowled with such discipline that the hosts could not get away to anything like a fluent start.Tony Palladino and Tim Goenewald, with 87 championship wickets between them going into this match, have been an excellent opening pair all season. This time, though, it was first change Mark Turner who achieved the initial breakthrough – removing Rob Key with the help of a stunning leg-side catch by Tom Poynton, who reached a genuine glance after a full length dive.Groenewald then got to work and, before they knew it, Kent had lost half their wickets with fewer than 100 runs on the board. And there were a couple of opportunities for Derbyshire to turn the screw good and tight.Before he had scored, Jones edged Palladino towards second slip where Usman Khawaja appeared to reach but could not hold the chance. Then, on 11, Jones pushed to mid-off and went in search of an extremely risk single – so risky, in fact, that he would almost certainly have been out had Wayne Madsen’s throw hit timber instead of narrowly missing the non-striker’s wicket.From then on, the hosts began to recover with Mike Powell, Matt Coles and Mark Davies all contributing to useful stands with Jones. A couple more opportunities came and went but Derbyshire never looked remotely ragged and duly cleaned up the tail once the second new ball became available.Jones was ninth out, edging Groenewald to the keeper. But Kent were not quite done for the day. With opener Paul Borrington having broken his nose (he is expected to bat on day two) through deflecting a ball into his face while fielding at mid-wicket, Khawaja moved up a place in the batting order. But not for long. He looked aghast to be given out lbw when well forward to Davies.

Brad Haddin, the victorious Sydney Sixers captain, has said his side’s comprehensive ten-wicket-win in the Champions League final was no fluke, and that they had been preparing for the big game for over two weeks. Sixers restricted the home side Lions to a below-par 121 on a Wanderers pitch expected to favour the batsmen, and needed just 12.3 overs to chase the target.Sixers, the winners of the Big Bash League in Australia, were the only team to remain unbeaten throughout the tournament. They began with a 14-run win in a high-scorer against Chennai Super Kings and won their next three matches convincingly until they were stretched to the final ball in the semi-final against Titans.”We’ve been building for this the last two weeks. If you look at the start of the tournament we were very nervous,” Haddin said. “We had a lot of nervous energy in the first game and the semi-final, but leading into today’s game we were quite relaxed. I’m just glad it came on the big stage. We’ve worked hard and the performance tonight wasn’t a fluke.”Sixers had one of the strongest seam-bowling attacks in the competition, comprising Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. However, Haddin chose to open with his spinners, Nathan McCullum and Steve O’Keefe, and the change in strategy worked in Sixers’ favour as Lions top order suffered a meltdown. The hosts were reeling at 9 for 4 and despite a fighting innings by Jean Symes, Lions couldn’t post a challenging total.Haddin said giving the second over to the left-arm spinner O’Keefe was a spontaneous decision.”I made the decision to give O’Keefe the second over after the fourth ball of the first, but I was always going to open with McCullum,” Haddin said. “They would have been looking at our fast bowlers leading to this game and I don’t think their two openers would have been thinking too much about our spinners. Tonight it paid off. I think Lions were quite surprised we did that. They (spinners) allowed our quicks, the best bowlers, to bowl the last ten overs.Haddin said the win was a result of contributions from several players. “I said to our guys at the start of the game that there’s going to be some big moments and if we did the simple things right then they will crack before us, and they did. We did very well in the BBL with our fielding, it won us a lot of games or put us in good positions,” Haddin said.”We built a lot of pressure, we were able to get wickets early, which in Twenty20 is a big bonus. In the first over, Nathan was hit for a six but came back and took a wicket.”

England’s hopes of fighting their way back into the series against India have been dealt another blow by the news that a throat ailment left Stuart Broad unable to train less than 24 hours ahead of the second Test in Mumbai.Broad, who was described by an ECB spokesman as “under the weather”, remained in the hotel and did not join his team-mates at training. His absence casts a serious doubt over his fitness for the game. England lost the first Test in Ahmedabad by nine wickets.Ian Botham, a former England captain, had been among those to call for Broad to be dropped in Mumbai after a poor showing in the first Test, where he was out-bowled by both India seamers, Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadev. He looked to have lost some pace and, as a consequence, lacked the potency to strike on pitches offering little. Since June, his bowling average is 48.54 and his batting average is 14.England are already without Ian Bell, who has returned to England on paternity leave, and Steven Finn, who has a thigh injury. They were at least given some encouraging news when scans showed no serious injury to Finn. He will, as a consequence, remain in India and hopes to participate in the England Performance Programme squad’s three-day game starting on November 27.Broad’s possible absence could well mean an opportunity for the uncapped Stuart Meaker, the 23-year-old Surrey quick, who was called into the squad only after Finn suffered injury in the first warm-up game, and who has impressed in training and in the warm-up game against Haryana.Tim Bresnan played in the first Test but looked some way below his best, while Graham Onions has also struggled for rhythm on the tour. Meaker, with his extra pace and ability toswing the ball, could well find himself promoted if Broad does not fully recover.Broad was also a doubt for the first Test after suffering a heel injury. While the England team management insisted his illness was not serious and that he remains in contention for the match, it must be considered a risk to select him for a game in which England may well field only two seamers.

ScorecardChris Gayle hit the fastest fifty of the BBL, off 25 balls•Getty Images

It took eight rounds across 31 days for Chris Gayle to deliver and yet, incredibly, Sydney Thunder lost again to gift the Melbourne Stars a semi-final berth. The Stars’ tournament chances had seemingly slipped after setting what appeared an underwhelming target of 146 for Thunder to chase.When Gayle lit up the MCG with the fastest fifty of the BBL, off just 25 balls, Thunder’s 12-match losing streak looked to be dead and buried along with the Stars’ season. The Sydney franchise had not won since Gayle was last the Man of the Match, for a 54-ball century in December 2011 against Adelaide Strikers at the ANZ Stadium.Gayle hurtled towards three figures here as he displayed his brutal power. He thumped Jackson Bird over the sightscreen in the second over, showing utter disdain for Bird’s Test match form. Gayle then clubbed 19 runs from John Hastings’ first over, including a flat-bat down the ground, a ramp over third man, a conventional cut to point, and a contemptuous slap that cleared the longest boundary on the ground at midwicket.He had some luck, with Cameron White failing to lay a hand on a towering sky ball, and it seemed then that the prize scalp of Gayle and a semi-final berth might have escaped the Stars’ grasp. Gayle scored 50 of the 59 runs that came in the Powerplay, with Simon Keen the only wicket to fall.Matt Prior played a slow hand by comparison to Gayle. His 16-ball 7 ended when he holed out to a superb running catch at long-on by Bird. But it brought the in-form Usman Khawaja to the crease and the chase seemed a fait accompli. Thunder needed 55 from 48 balls with Gayle and Khawaja in complete command before Gayle tried to clear the rope for a fifth time, only to be caught by Glenn Maxwell for 65.Khawaja inexplicably sliced Bird to Brad Hodge at deep point the following over and what seemed impossible at the start of the 13th over suddenly appeared inevitable.Thunder conspired to lose their last eight wickets for just 41 runs to be bowled out 13 short of their target and consign themselves to a winless season and a 13th straight loss as a franchise. All the Stars bowlers were gifted at least a wicket each. James Faulkner bagged three and Dimitri Mascarenhas picked up two in his first game for the Stars as a replacement for Lasith Malinga.Earlier, Stars looked to have blown a golden chance to make the semi-finals when they compiled only 8 for 145 having elected to bat.Luke Wright ran himself out early. Rob Quiney appeared to have found some much needed touch only for his promising innings of 22 to end when he hit Sean Abbott straight up in the air and was caught by Khawaja.Brad Hodge and David Hussey were left to mount a rescue mission, as they have done so often on this ground together. Hodge again showed his class making 39 from just 26 balls before he played around a full delivery from Dirk Nannes. Hussey did as a Hussey so often does, compiling a busy 32 that featured only one boundary.But the innings fell away badly from there. The Stars managed just 18 runs from the last 25 balls, and lost four wickets in the process. Fortunately for the Stars, Thunder’s finish was even more calamitous and Shane Warne will get another chance to captain his side having been forced to watch tonight from the confines of the change rooms due to his suspension.