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Cheteshwar Pujara’s brilliant unbeaten 129 put England to the sword © ICC

Before this match Venkatesh Prasad, the Indian coach, told his team to beruthless. They obviously listened. Their performance at the PremadasaStadium, in the first Super League semi-final, was as close to perfectionas is possible. The batsmen, led by Cheteshwar Pujara’s unbeaten 129, putthe England attack to the sword, then the new-ball attack of VijaykumarYomahesh and Abu Nechim Ahmed tore the batting to shreds as they crashedto a humiliating 58 – comfortably their lowest score at this level.England’s bowlers have kept them in the tournament with a series ofimpressive performances, but tonight they came up against a high-class line-upwho showed no mercy. Pujara and Gaurav Dhiman made an effort to attack thespinners when they were thrown into action early and, apart from a briefperiod when they claimed two quick wickets, the onslaught was relentless.But the pasting handed out to the bowlers was nothing to the demolitionjob performed to seal the win. Yomahesh and Ahmed bowled with genuine venomand extracted disconcerting bounce from a good length. They made the mostof a horrid 20-minute period that the England openers had to face beforethe interval – a rule that clearly penalises a side that bowls their oversquickly – and knocked the top off the order in five fiery overs.Varun Chopra and Mark Stoneman were both cleaned-up by beauties fromAhmed, who nipped the ball off the seam at pace, although the batsmen werecaught on the crease, while Mark Nelson fenced limply to gully offYomahesh. And tea did nothing to slow them down; when Moeen Ali flashed toslip, he cut a forlorn figure trudging back to the pavilion. A mauling likethis will take some time to get over, especially as it has come in asemi-final.Venkatesh Prasad, India’s coach, was thrilled with the stunning display:”It was an unbelievable result, we never thought the game was going to beso one-sided as we had great respect for England. We didn’t want to falterin any aspect of the game, whether it was batting in partnerships, bowlingor the fielding, which I thought was outstanding. We didn’t want to leavethe job for others and the boys stuck to their word today.”Ali was blunt in his assessment of the team’s collapse: “We lacked pridetoday. We weren’t focused enough. It didn’t look as though we wanted to beout there. I think after the Bangladesh result I think we almost expectedto do well. We didn’t expect India to be so good.”The day started to go wrong for Ali as soon as he lost the toss which meant that, whenDhiman laid into the new ball, he was forced to bring in Nick James, hisSupersub, into action as early as the ninth over. But the control that hadbeen evident throughout the tournament disserted most of the attack – withthe exception of Graeme White.Pujara made the most of being dropped at slip by Chopra when he had madejust a single and this knock continued his fine World Cup form: beforetoday he was averaging 110 from four matches. His century arrived in 135balls, then he found a second wind and tore into the final over of theinnings from Huw Waters which cost a mammoth 25 runs.Rohit Sharma was the aggressor in a second-wicket stand of 112, which putIndia on course for their imposing total and a late flurry form MaynakTehlan and Ravindra Jadeja punished England in the closing overs.Dhiman had launched the innings with 18 off the fourth over, and althoughhis aggression eventually got the better of him, India had a solidplatform. England threatened to hold then to around 270 at one stage butit wouldn’t have matter a jot. However, they will have felt chasing 293was not impossible; almost before they could blink it was 22 for 6 andreaching 50 was a milestone.India deserve immense credit for their performance. After starting poorly in thewarm-up matches they have found their feet and form when it matters. Theyhave star quality in the batting and bowling. Whether it is Australia orPakistan in the final they will give either a tough test – and thatis what a World Cup final is all about.How they were outEnglandVarun Chopra b Ahmed 2 (3 for 1)
Mark Stoneman b Ahmed 2 (12 for 2)
Mark Nelson c Das b Yomahesh 6 (12 for 3)
Rory Hamilton-Brown c Shah b Ahmed 1 (13 for 4)
Moeen Ali c Ravikant Shukla b Ahmed 4 (17 for 5)
Ben Wright c Das b Yomahesh 2 (22 for 6)
Nick James c Ravikant Shukla b Chawla 5 (35 for 7)
Steve Mullaney c Tehlan b Dhiman 7 (38 for 8)
John Simpson lbw Bipinbhai 1 (49 for 9)
Graeme White st Shah b Bipinbhai 17 (58 all out)
IndiaGaurav Dhiman c Hamilton-Brown b White 48 (72 for 1)
Rohit Sharma run out (Waters) 59 (184 for 2)
Ravikant Shukla c Nelson b James 3 (189 for 3)
Maynak Tehlan b James 43 (243 for 4)

Victoria have named a strong squad to take on West Indies in a warm-up match at the MCG on Wednesday. Having won their last three ING Cup games, Victoria made only two changes to the team that overcame South Australia on Sunday and the rest of the selection was on expected lines.Ian Hewett and Brad Knowles have been rested for the game. Shane Harwood, the opening bowler, was picked after fully recovering from a broken cheekbone and will partner the in-form Michael Lewis. Nick Jewell was also given a chance after starring for the Victorian 2nd XI in the second tier Cricket Australia Cup this season.Victoria squad
Cameron White (captain), Adam Crosthwaite, Matthew Elliott, Ian Harvey, Shane Harwood, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Nick Jewell, Michael Lewis, Jonathan Moss, Graeme Rummans, Tim Welsford.

Nashua WP and Griquas drew their friendly pre-season match in Kimberley yesterday.Playing without their SA and SA “A” players the match provided the ideal opportunity for younger players to show early form. The did not disappoint the Province selectors with Andrew Puttick, JP Duminy and Darren Bassage showing early form with the bat. Coach Peter Kisten expressed his satisfaction with the sides pre-season batting form.The WP bowlers struggled on the docile De Beers Oval wicket.Griquas first innings 304/8 declared. A McLaren 87, W Bossenger 86, B Hector 55. C Nyulu 4/79.Nashua WP first innings 303/4 declared. A Puttick 97 retired not out, JP Duminy 75 not out, D Bassage 70.Griquas second innings 320/3 declared. B Hector 133 not out, P Koortzen 108.Nashua WP second innings 144/3. N Johnson 39 not out.Result: Match drawn.

How the newspapers saw the first day’s play in the Australia-New Zealand first cricket Test at the Gabba in Brisbane yesterday:The New Zealand Herald: “As well as they played (Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer), their deeds were significantly unravelled by some of the most brainless batting seen in these parts, as Australia’s middle-order disintegrated against the part-time seam of Craig McMillan and the wile of Chris Cairns.”From the almost impregnable position of 224 without loss, the hosts lost a scarcely believable six wickets for 39 to end the day at 294 for six.”Cairns, making a courageous comeback to test cricket, had Hayden caught in a legside trap which could not have been more obvious had it been signposted.”The Daily Telegraph (Sydney): “Matthew Hayden lived out his boyhood fantasy yesterday but there were no celebrations from an Australia side smacked flush on the chin by some clever sucker punches at the Gabba.”Australia (6-294) have claimed the high ground after day one of the first Test against a fiesty and hard-toiling New Zealand but not the mountain-top that beckoned after Justin Langer and Hayden produced a superb opening stand of 224.”The Sydney Morning Herald: “New Zealand’s tenacious cricketers had two chances in the first four hours yesterday: one that was out of their hands, another that slipped through their fingers.”At tea, with the first Test of the summer careering down a widely predicted road, they might as well have been Buckley’s and none.”But Stephen Fleming has insisted his team is here for a scrap, and the tourists proved as good as their captain’s word with a stunning late rally that left the contest evenly poised.”At one stage on target to be chasing upwards of 600, and with a first-over umpiring disappointment eating away, the Black Caps turned the day on its head through a mixture of clever field placement and poor Australian shot selection that reaped unprecedented riches from a most unlikely source.”The Press (Christchurch): “New Zealand climbed off the cricketing canvas thanks to the Canterbury trio of Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, and Nathan Astle against Australia at the Gabba yesterday.”The trio took all six wickets to fall in the final session on a topsy-turvy day that had Australia slump from 224 without loss to 294 for six at stumps.”Part-time test bowlers McMillan and Astle responded to skipper Stephen Fleming’s call when it appeared the world champions were powering on to a tally in excess of 300 after centuries to Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer.”But the never-say-die Black Caps, who had to swallow a certain leg-before-wicket decision against Langer not being given to Cairns in the day’s first over, showed character to battle back.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Persistent rain washed out the fourth day too•BCCI

Any hopes India had of forcing an unlikely result were blown away after another day’s play was washed out in Bangalore. We have now had only one day’s play in this Test. The last time three days were washed out in a Test in India was 10 years ago, in Chennai against Sri Lanka. This time, too, all the wet weather is coming Bangalore’s way from India’s east coast.The rain did finally relent, though, on day four. It did not rain till 1.45pm, but the ground was considered fit only for a 2pm start. Before 2pm could arrive, though, the rain did.

Alan Nixon has revealed that Aston Villa have brought in teenage forward Omari Kellyman from Derby County.

The Lowdown: Kellyman links with Villa

Nixon first shared the links regarding Villa’s interest in Kellyman at the beginning of February. He suggested then that Villa were set to land the versatile forward in a deal worth around £500,000.

The 16-year-old is still categorised as a Derby County youth player by Transfermarkt, but according to Nixon, the Northern Irish youngster is now on the books at Bodymoor Heath.

The Latest: Nixon’s tweet

Reliable reporter Nixon was asked on Twitter by a Derby fan if Kellyman has actually left for Villa, with no official announcements from either club.

The journalist confirmed that a move did materialise, replying: “Forgot to answer this … yes, he did.”

The Verdict: Shrewd move?

The Athletic labelled Kellyman as one of Derby’s brightest talents last month, so an out-of-window move to the Midlands appears to be a shrewd one by Johan Lange and co.

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Villa have brought in plenty of players for their academy over the last 12 months, including Kerr Smith from Dundee United in January, so hopefully Kellyman can impress in the Midlands over the coming years with a view to breaking into Steven Gerrard’s first-team squad.

In other news: Gerrard now hatching plan to bring £65.7m worth of talent to Villa on free transfers

	Sutherland: “Test cricket is what is being played here. It’s not tiddlywinks.” © Getty Images

Cricket Australia (CA) threw its weight behind Ricky Ponting and his team-mates against accusations of unsporting behaviour and said sparks are bound to fly when the game is Test cricket and not “tiddlywinks”.CA chief executive James Sutherland looked unperturbed by the barrage of criticism that has been hurled at Ricky Ponting and his team-mates for their behaviour during the Sydney Test against India. At the post-match press conference, Anil Kumble, India’s captain, pointedly remarked, “Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game.”According to Sutherland, Ponting and his men might have mouthed a word or two in the heat of the moment but they never overstepped the line. “Test cricket is what is being played here. It’s not tiddlywinks,” said Sutherland, asserting Australia always played the game hard but fair.”It’s a tough game and out there from time to time emotions will bubble over and perhaps some of the words that are said will not be acceptable in genteel company. But they are said and that is what happens.”The Australian cricket team plays the game tough, tough and uncompromising. It’s the way Australian cricket teams have played the game since 1877 under all sorts of different captains. That is the way Australians have expected their teams to play.”Sutherland said Australia had improved their behaviour since 2003 when then captain Steve Waugh introduced a spirit of cricket pledge to curb on-field sledging. “The Australian cricket team will be the very first to admit that they are not perfect. They don’t get it right all of the time. But they get it right a lot more now then they used to.”However, Sutherland said he expected Ponting to hold peace talks with the Indian team. “A number of days ago he made the offer to Anil Kumble for them to get together and talk through any differences of opinions and reconcile any differences that might be existing between the two captains and the two teams,” Sutherland said. “I am very confident that that will happen.”

Adam Gilchrist: ‘We’re delighted that Archie has arrived safely as a brother for Harrison [aged 5] and Annie [aged 2]. Melinda and Archie are fit and well’ © Getty Images

The injury-hit Australian squad received a boost after Adam Gilchrist made himself available for the entire World Cup following the birth of his third child. Gilchrist is expected to arrive in West Indies ahead of his team’s opening World Cup warm-up game against Zimbabwe on March 6.Gilchrist became a father for the third time following the birth of his son, Archie, in Perth on Saturday. Gilchrist missed the recent Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series in New Zealand, which Australia lost 3-0, to spend time with wife, Melinda, in the final few days of her pregnancy. He was earlier set to miss the first three weeks of the World Cup after getting compassionate leave from Cricket Australia.Gilchrist said: “We’re delighted that Archie has arrived safely as a brother for Harrison [aged 5] and Annie [aged 2]. Melinda and Archie are fit and well.” Gilchrist will spend the next few days with his family before leaving for the Caribbean.Australia’s first game of the World Cup is on March 14 against Scotland and the squad is also waiting on the fitness of Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden. Hayden is waiting for his fractured toe to heal while Symonds had surgery on his arm before the CB Series finals and hoped to make a mid-tournament entry. Brett Lee has already been ruled out of the tournament with ankle injury.

Clive Field, the representative of the Zimbabwe players, has warned that today’s announcement that Peter Chingoka would head an interim committee of Zimbabwe Cricket would not help the current crisis.”It’s a concern to me that Chingoka continues,” he admitted. “It seems bizarre that although he was head of an administration that they see fit to remove, they now make him the head of a new one. “If this is the bunch that’s going to help them deliver cricket for the next six months, I don’t know what they are going to be delivering at the end of it. It won’t be cricket, it’ll be a corpse.”Despite that, Field is willing to talk with Chingoka. “I am prepared to meet him. He’s got my number and I’ve got his. Have tried to meet him in the past, even last week, but he said it wasn’t necessary.”Field has been the spokesman for the 37 players who have said they will not play for the national team until Chingoka steps down and money owed to them is paid. He admitted that he thought the Sports & Recreation Commission, who made today’s announcement, would be more sympathetic.”I am sad because the players had been led to believe all the issues they raised in good faith would be looked at. But it would appear there has been an agenda at play which isn’t necessary about player welfare. I think we’re stuffed, probably more stuffed than we’ve ever been,”He added that the appointment of the interim committee was unlikely to be beneficial – “It’s a grim day” – and said that the ICC would probably now re-examine the Zimbabwe situation in view of the changes, but that a removal of Test status would finish things for good. “It would be economical suicide for them to be playing for a country that does not have Test status.”The ICC were not available for comment until it had spoken to all parties concerned, but a spokesman said a statement was expected to be issued within the next 24 hours.

Russel Arnold makes a much-awaited comeback© AFP

Sri Lanka have recalled Russel Arnold for their tour of New Zealand later this month. Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was controversially axed for the Pakistan tour, has also returned to the fold. Muttiah Muralitharan will travel with the team as part of his recovery programme.The two squads – which were picked on Thursday night and passed to the Sports Ministry for approval – reflect a change of thinking within the seven-man selection committee after the public spat between skipper Marvan Atapattu and Ashantha de Mel, the chairman of selectors, in Pakistan.There, de Mel criticised Atapattu and the team management in the media for supposedly being selfish and holding back the development of young players. Dilshan was dropped, according to de Mel, to force the team to blood a youngster. Atapattu and the team management were shocked and angered by his attack.Arnold’s international future appeared uncertain when he was dropped for the Asia Cup after scoring 6 and 11 in the first Test against Australia at Darwin in July. The selectors looked then to have decided that the time had come for a younger player in the middle order. But while Arnold’s axing from the Test side was not surprising, his omission from the limited-overs team had raised eyebrows, especially considering the fact that he’d scored a crucial 51 not out in his last appearance. Admittedly, it was against Zimbabwe, but it still saved Sri Lanka’s blushes.Fortunately for Arnold, who is 31 and recently became a proud father, his good form in domestic cricket for Nondescripts, coupled with the relative failure of his replacements, forced the selectors to concede that he still has a role to play in the middle order where he can rebuild, tick along or tee off.Not only have Arnold and Dilshan returned, but Kumar Sangakkara has been handed back the wicketkeeping gloves on a fulltime basis after the retirement of Romesh Kaluwitharana. Dilshan will provide wcover for Sangakkara.The decision is another U-turn by the selectors, who had previously wanted Sangakkara – who averages 41.57 with the gloves and 68.15 without them – to concentrate on his batting in Tests. But Sangakkara enjoys wicketkeeping, and the selectors are clearly worried about the batting of Prasanna Jayawardene, the perennial A-team understudy.Muttiah Muralitharan will join the tour from the start as a 15th man despite not being fully fit. Atapattu wants him in New Zealand, and it is hoped that he will be match-fit in time for the first Test in the New Year. There is an outside chance that he might play in the last one-dayer.Mahela Jayawardene has been reconfirmed as vice-captain despite speculation that some of the selectors were pushing for a change and arguing the case for Chaminda Vaas. But Atapattu has clearly backed Jayawardene, who has provided solid backroom support and led well in his absence.Sri Lanka team for New Zealand tour
Marvan Atapattu (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Russel Arnold, Saman Jayantha, Mahela Jayawardene (vice-capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Chandana, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekera, Muttiah Muralitharan. For Tests only: Ian Daniel, Thilan Samaraweera, Lasith Malinga.