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Former Sri Lanka Under-19 cricketer Akshu Fernando has died on December 30, after having been in a coma for several years.Fernando had been crossing an unprotected railway track in the southern Colombo suburb of Mount Lavinia following a training session on the beach, when he was struck by a train on December 28, 2018. Having been critically injured in the accident, he had been on life support for much of the time since.A bright right-handed batter, Fernando’s domestic career seemed to just be taking off when he was hit by the train at age 27. He had scored his maiden first-class hundred for Ragama Cricket Club in the weeks before the accident, and had also been developing his offspin at the time. All told, he had seven 50-plus scores at the senior level. In a nine-year domestic career, he had played for Colts Cricket Club, Panadura Sports Club, and Chilaw Marians Sports Club, among others.International commentator and one of Ragama Cricket Club’s most senior administrators Roshan Abeysinghe paid tribute to Fernando following the news of his death.”He was truly a wonderful young man whose promising career was cut short by a cruel accident,” Abeysinghe said. “A quality player for his school and his final club Ragama, it’s a sad day for all of us who knew him. A cheerful, friendly and thorough gentleman was he. We will miss you Akshu and remember you for the rest of our life. Rest in peace sweet prince.”

A match that’s already witnessed a slew of records saw Rahul Dravid become the sixth batsman in Test history to break the 10,000-run barrier. He reached the landmark with a clip towards midwicket off Morne Morkel and raised his arms aloft mid-way through the run.He reached the milestone in the 119th over of the first innings, when he went from 79 to 80. There was a standing ovation from the audience at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, a ground where he is yet to get a century. He acknowledged the cheers from the dressing-room and also received a congratulatory hug from Sourav Ganguly at the non-striker’s end.Dravid joined two other Indians – Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar – in the list, which also contains Steve Waugh, Allan Border and Brian Lara. Dravid managed to reach the mark in his 120th Test, in a career that began in 1996. 23 of those runs, though, came for the ICC World XI against Australia in October 2005During the course of the innings Dravid also became the first batsman play 150 innings while batting at No.3. Though his was a sedate knock, his 268-run second-wicket partnership with Virender Sehwag allowed India a chance to harbour hopes of an unlikely win.

Worcestershire’s Twenty20 Cup fixture against Warwickshire at New Road has had to be cancelled after unseasonal rains caused the Severn and Teme rivers to break their banks and flood the county ground at New Road.”Around half of the ground is flooded at a depth of at least a couple of feet,” explained David Leatherdale, the commercial manager. “It is up to the engines of cars parked on the ground.” Games against Northamptonshire on Friday and Gloucestershire on Sunday are also in doubt.Although county officials immediately sought an alternative venue to stage the game, the Twenty20 regulations as they stand require all matches to be played within the county boundaries. Worcestershire had hoped to play at either Kidderminster, Ombersley or Barnt Green, but were forced to admit defeat.”Regrettably no other venue within the county with the facilities to stage the Twenty20 match could be identified in spite of the very best efforts of the home club,” said an ECB statement. “ECB has indicated that it wishes to consider changes to regulations which could provide increased options for the 2008 season but recognises that the weather conditions experienced in June have been exceptional.While the ground, which is on a flood plain, is often submerged in the winter, it is rare that it suffers during the season. In June 1931 Worcestershire had to move their match against Kent to Stourbridge because New Road was underwater. On that occasion the local fire brigade were called in to help mop up. In August of the same year heavy rain meant that a small lake formed in front of the ladies stand and the boundary had to be brought in by 25 yards midway a game against Warwickshire. It also flooded in August 1957.

Pakistan now has two players in the top five of the Test batting rankings following the drawn first Test against England at Lord’s. Inzamam-ul-Haq has climbed one place to third in the list after twin half-centuries and he has been joined in the top five by Mohammad Yousuf, who made 202, his second successive Test double hundred against England.Yousuf is up two spots to fifth place and now has his best-ever ranking and his highest tally of points. Completing a trio of Pakistan batsmen in the top 10 is Younis Khan, who missed the Lord’s Test through injury. He lies seventh in the table.The only players Inzamam now trails in the rankings are his opposite numbers Ricky Ponting of Australia and India’s Rahul Dravid. England, by contrast, has just one batsman in that top 10, Kevin Pietersen in 10th position, but below him, several of his team mates are making positive moves.Andrew Strauss’s ninth Test hundred has seen him rise two places to 12th (overtaking team-mate Marcus Trescothick in the process) while Paul Collingwood’s Test-best 186 has boosted him up to joint 34th position, a climb of 16 places.Ian Bell and Alastair Cook, two more century-makers from the Lord’s Test are up to joint 42nd and 51st place respectively, and the duo – along with Collingwood – have career-best ratings.The bowling ranks have seen no changes in the top 20 with England’s Matthew Hoggard still the highest-placed player from either side. He remains in fifth spot, ahead of injured team-mate Andrew Flintoff in sixth and another injured player, Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, in seventh position.Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan remains top rankings, clear of South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini.

Holland claimed the final qualifying place at the 2007 World Cup, and with it $500,000 of funding and ODI status, by beating United Arab Emirates by 145 runs in the ICC Trophy fifth-place play-off at Clontarf. They join the four teams who have already qualified from the event – Bermuda, Canada, Ireland and Scotland.Having narrowly missed out on automatic qualification during the group stage, Holland bounced back with two emphatic victories to seal the final place in the Caribbean. They beat Denmark by 89 runs on Saturday to reach today’s play-off and proved far too strong for UAE under a cloudless sky to claim a victory that will see them compete in a second consecutive World Cup and third in total.The key to Holland’s victory was the composure under pressure of their batsmen. After being put in to bat, the swinging white ball made the opening overs a struggle for the top order. Luuk van Troost and Dan van Bunge were both back in the pavilion with only 15 runs on the board.But Bas Zuiderent, Holland’s outstanding batsman of the tournament, took responsibility for anchoring the innings. In tandem with Tim de Leede, he set about steering the Dutch into the ascendancy. By the time that de Leede was out for 65 Holland had a solid platform so in the final overs Zuiderent and Ryan ten Doeschate were able to play without inhibition to push the score to 287 for four in 50 overs.Ten Doeschate finished on 65 not out while Zuiderent was unbeaten on 116. It was Zuiderent’s third century for his country, all of which have come in this tournamentUAE chased a bigger total than this to beat Holland in the ICC Six Nations Challenge, on home soil in 2004, but never came close to emulating that feat today. They took an attacking approach from the start, which kept them in touch with the run-rate, but at the expense of valuable wickets as too many players took chances against the disciplined Dutch pace attack.Five different bowlers picked up wickets as Holland rattled through the UAE batting line-up. The game was wrapped up when Ali Asad Abbas was clean bowled by Billy Stelling with the third ball of the 32nd over to leave UAE all out for 142.Canada v BermudaCanada claimed third place with a comfortable five-wicket victory over Bermuda. Though both countries had already qualified for the World Cup, victory in the third/fourth play-off puts Canada into a group with England, New Zealand and Kenya for 2007 while Bermuda faces the prospect of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Bermuda elected to bat after winning the toss at Malahide but found the going tough against a Canada side determined to demonstrate regional superiority. After losing two wickets for three runs at the start of the innings a series of batsmen failed to capitalise on solid starts. Irving Romaine was alone in making an impression but without significant support his 71 runs were only enough to lift Bermuda to 195 all out in 48.5 overs.Canada has the most explosive top order in the tournament with captain John Davison charged with leading the line. The early dismissal of Davison for 5 had little impact as Desmond Chumney and Zubin Surkari put on 95 for the second wicket. Both men fell just short of their half-centuries but, with wickets and overs in hand, Canada completed the victory for the loss of three further wickets with nine overs to spare.Playoffs for 7 – 12Namibia ended the tournament on a high with an emphatic 103-run victory over Denmark to finish in seventh place. But the most thrilling cricket of the day came in the matches that decided the rankings of the sides from ninth to twelfth.The final positions of teams in this tournament will have qualification implications for future events and Oman captured the crucial ninth place with a spectacular victory over USA.USA’s medium-paced bowling attack has struggled to contain sides in this event but they must have felt confident of defending a total of 345 for 6 against Oman. It seemed to be going America’s way when Oman were reduced to 82 for 4 and then 211 for 7 but an astonishing eighth-wicket partnership turned the match on its head.Azhar Syed contributed an essential 44 runs but the match-winner was Farhan Khan who smashed 94 not out from 47 balls in an innings which included four fours and an incredible nine sixes as Oman won by two wickets with five balls to spare.Khan’s heroics overshadowed a tense climax in the final play-off between Papua New Guinea and Uganda. After labouring to 203 all out from 49.5 overs, PNG managed to restrict Uganda to 202 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs to claim eleventh place by a single run. Uganda’s batsmen have struggled to come to terms with the Irish conditions but their bowling and fielding indicate great promise for the future.

After a frustrating winter on the fringes of England’s tour of the Caribbean, James Anderson took 6 for 49 in his first match of the season, as Lancashire took control against Worcestershire. Afterwards he spoke to the press at Old Trafford:

Are you doing anything different now to what you were doing six months ago?
No, I’m just concentrating on bowling pretty straight – keeping things wicket-to-wicket. The ball seemed to be coming out quickly, but it didn’t swing at all and the breeze wasn’t helping me. I just had to keep it tight. I’ve felt quite good all winter, to be honest, and I had a decent rhythm in the nets. But it’s a totally different situation when you get out into the middle.Were you apprehensive about playing in this match?
Yeah, I’ve had four one-day internationals over the winter, so it was a bit of a different situation today, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But it turned out to be exactly what I needed – a long bowl and a good couple of spells to get back into it.Are you feeling refreshed after a winter on the sidelines?
That’s one way of looking at it – I am feeling pretty fresh, yeah. Some of the guys here are saying I look fresher than they are, and that’s only a couple of games into the season. I’m definitely feeling fit and strong.There must have been some doubt about you playing for Lancashire today – Sajid Mahmood has been in good form …
He has. Someone asked me this week whether I was worried about getting my England place back, but I said: “First things first, let me get back in the Lancashire side”. Kyle [Hogg] and Sajid have been playing exceptionally well, and just because I’ve come off an England tour, it doesn’t mean I have a right to walk into the side.Does England status create extra pressure?
Not really. I was just out to bowl well, not necessarily even to take wickets. All I wanted was to feel good in myself again. That will do me fine. But six wickets under my belt is certainly not going to do me any harm with the selectors.Did you bowl as well as the figures suggest?
Maybe not, but I’ve definitely bowled better for less. But that’s cricket. You need a bit of luck, and when your second ball of the day is nicked down the leg-side, you know you’ve just got to cash in.How frustrating was your experience this winter?
At times it was extremely frustrating, sitting there watching the other guys taking all the wickets and wishing it was you out there. But that’s the way it goes. I was happy, because it was my mates who were doing the job, but I was happy and sad at the same time.Did it get you down?
Sometimes, but I tried not to let it show. I just got on with my training and practising with Troy [Cooley] and the other coaches. After that, it was just a case of getting back to the County Championship and taking wickets.Will you be a better player for the experience?
Hopefully. It’s not done me any harm at all to be out there and not playing. It should stand me in good stead for the future.What have you done in the four or five days since you returned from the West Indies?
I went home to see my friends and family, then had a net with the 2nd XI on Tuesday before the game.It’s been a rollercoaster 12 months – sometimes you’ve been taking wickets galore, and other times you’ve been getting none. Has your bowling form been tied in with that?
It’s really hard to explain. It’s the same for batters and their bad runs of form – sometimes it’s a poor decision, other times a stunning catch. As far as I’m concerned, I might be bowling well, but if I don’t take the wickets, everyone assumes I’m bowling badly.Are you a better bowler now than 12 months ago?
Definitely. I’m more experienced now. I adjust more quickly to each batsman, and I’m getting to know their strengths and weaknesses as I play more. Everyone ought to get better with experience, and as long as you’ve got the right coaches on hand, you should progress.It must be exciting to be part of this England team at the moment?
Yeah. My job now is to put pressure on the guys in the side. If I keep taking wickets, then hopefully they’ll have to perform even better as well.You might not be seeing much more of Lancashire this season?
Yeah. There is so much international cricket at the moment. It was sad to miss out on Lancashire’s one-day trophy last season as well, but unfortunately you can’t be in two places at once.Do you expect to play at Lord’s?
I haven’t a clue. All I know is I’d love to play for England again anywhere, whether it’s Lord’s or Turf Moor.

Kent v Middlesex, Canterbury
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Kent’s first win of the season was on the cards after their day of domination over Middlesex at Canterbury. Resuming play on 291 for 4, all the Kent lower-order chipped in with some handy runs, in particular Geraint Jones, the Kent wicketkeeper, who made 52 in an impressive total of 472 all out. The Middlesex reply then got off to the worst possible start when Andrew Strauss was run out on his 10th ball with only three on the board. And things didn’t get much better for them when Martin Saggers and Ben Trott took two wickets apiece as Middlesex were left dangling on 135 for 5.

Lancashire v Essex, Old Trafford
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Only the sight of Graham Gooch, the Essex coach, filling in for seven overs as a substitute fielder, brought any smiles to the Essex players on a demoralising day at Old Trafford. Iain Sutcliffe and Mark Chilton both scored hundreds as Lancashire reached 375 all out, with a first-innings lead of 160. Ronnie Irani took 4 for 59 and won a personal battle with the former Essex star Stuart Law, who he had caught and bowled for 6. In their second-innings reply, openers Darren Robinson and Will Jefferson went cheaply, and the star duo of Nasser Hussain and Andy Flower – both not in the best of nick – will have to make some timely runs tomorrow to save Essex from an early defeat.

Surrey v Leicestershire, The Oval
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In what must be one of the worst days in Leicestershire’s history, Surrey blasted their way to a rapid 560 for 8 declared, totally outplaying a demoralised Leicestershire team. Mark Ramprakash top-scored with a typically stylish 152, and built the platform for his team-mates to go out and enjoy themselves – which they did in some style. As you’d expect, the trio of Alec Stewart (71), Alistair Brown (73) and Adam Hollioake (41 from 24 balls) all got in on the act, but it was Ian Salisbury who overshadowed them all with a dazzling 101 not out – only the second century of his career. In his desperation, Philip DeFreitas (who finished with his side’s best figures of 4 for 101) used nine bowlers in all, but to no great effect. And just when things couldn’t get any worse, in the seven overs before the close they lost Trevor Ward and David Masters to end in complete disarray, still 346 runs behind a buoyant Surrey.

Division Two

Durham v Worcestershire, Stockton
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Kabir Ali, Worcestershire’s No. 9, smashed 84 from 86 balls – his highest first-class score – to help his side to a healthy 305 all out against Durham. Ben Smith (82) and Vikram Solanki (52) had earlier laid the foundations for a promising score in their innings, in which Durham’s international bowling duo of Steve Harmison and Javagal Srinath took three wickets each. And as he has done a few times already this season, Jonathan Lewis then led the way in Durham’s reply with 66 not out, as they ended on 146 for 3.

Gloucestershire v Hampshire, Bristol
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Craig Spearman continued his good early-season form with an enterprising 103 as Gloucestershire edged towards Hampshire’s first-innings total of 369. Spearman put on a 141-run opening stand with Philip Weston, who scored 61 before he was caught by Simon Katich, who also took two wickets, including that of Spearman. Jonty Rhodes remained on 57 not out as Gloucestershire trailed by 53 runs at stumps.

Northamptonshire v Yorkshire, Northampton
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It wasn’t a good day to be a bowler at Wantage Road, as bat overcame ball throughout a day in which 350 runs were scored and only three wickets fell. Richard Dawson (77) and Matthew Hoggard (21*) stretched Yorkshire’s first-innings total to 399 all out and then Northamptonshire’s Anglo-Aussie star Phil Jaques took centre stage. Jaques blasted 183 not out, with 23 fours and one six – his highest first-class score. And his team-mate Michael Hussey (an official Australian) scored 65 as the pair put on 189 for the second wicket.

Somerset v Glamorgan, Taunton
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Somerset moved in to a commanding position against Glamorgan as Peter Bowler and Michael Burns led the way with a second-wicket partnership of 128 runs. Bowler just missed out on what would have been an astonishing 43rd first-class century when he fell on 92 after four hours at the crease, while Burns scored a more rapid 82 before he was bowled by Adrian Dale. Dale finished with 3 for 29, but the other Glamorgan bowlers’ figures suffered from some blistering batting – especially from that big biffer Ian Blackwell, who smashed 42 from 27 balls as Somerset ended the day with a 194-run lead.Other matchWarwickshire v Cardiff UCCE, Abergavenny
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Warwickshire’s Ian Bell made the most of his chance to show what he could with the ball when he took 4 for 13 to wrap up Cardiff University’s innings for 251, in which Collins Obuya took his first county wicket, and Cardiff’s Alexander French top-scored with 67. Dominic Ostler then made 42 not out as Warwickshire led by 248 runs.

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has pulled out of the three-matchTest series in Sri Lanka starting on August 14, after the second scandone on Thursday night revealed that the hairline fracture on hisright toe had not healed properly. This is the first time Tendulkar will have missed a Test match since he made his debut against Pakistan at Karachi in November 1989, making it a total of 84 Tests on the trot.The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) executive secretary Sharad Diwadkartold PTI in Mumbai today that Tendulkar, who underwent a third scan,informed BCCI secretary Jayawant Lele in Baroda that he would pull outof the Test series as the injury had not healed properly.Radiologist Dr Bhujang Pai, who is treating the master batsman, saidthat Tendulkar would now consult a senior orthopaedic surgeon as thebone scan and CT scan done showed that the fracture had not healedcompletely.Sports medicine expert Dr Anant Joshi will decide which orthopaedicdoctor has to be consulted, he added. “Tendulkar, who was to undergobone scan today, was suffering from acute pain, after he returned fromChennai where he had gone to shoot a commercial. He called up head ofHinduja Hospital nuclear department Dr BA Krishna and the decision todo the bone scan was taken immediately,” Pai added.Baroda’s Jacob Martin, named as a standby, will take Tendulkar’splace on the tour.

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Pankaj Singh grabbed four wickets as Central Zone shot out England Lions for 155 and gained a healthy 115-run first-innings lead. Central, though, lost two wickets in the seven overs they had to face before stumps on the second day in Vadodara.In the morning session, Central, resuming from 238 for 7, could only add 32 runs to their first-innings effort before being bowled out. Alan Richardson, the right-arm medium pacer, took two more wickets to be the Lions’ most successful bowler with four wickets.The Lions’ batting effort got off to a poor start with Joe Denly, winner of the NBC Denis Compton award for four successive years at Kent, falling to Pankaj, who was part of the Indian squad that toured Australia recently, in the first over. Michael Yardy, the Lions’ captain, was Pankaj’s next victim, managing only 5. After some brief resistance, both Michael Carberry and Ed Joyce fell in quick succession to leave the Lions at 66 for 4.Uttar Pradesh’s left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta ably assisted Pankaj as the Lions were unable to put together any partnerships of note, tumbling to 120 for 8. It was thanks to No. 7 Adil Rashid’s 40 that the visitors managed to post their modest score – their innings ending when Sanjib Sanyal struck twice in the same over. Pankaj finished with 4 for 43 while Gupta had returns of 3 for 32 in 23 overs.

Taslim Arif, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman, died in Karachi at the age of 53 after succumbing to a lung infection.Arif made his Test debut initially as a batsman, scoring 90 and 46 on debut against India in 1980. He went on to play five more Tests as a wicketkeeper though the most significant achievement of his career was his marathon 210 not out against Australia in Faisalabad, which at that point of time was the highest score by a wicketkeeper in Tests. His performance came on a flat pitch and prompted Dennis Lillee to make the famous remark about Faisabalad being a graveyard for bowlers.It was his misfortune, however, to be a Pakistan keeper during the time of Wasim Bari and by the end of 1980, he had played his last Test. Still, his career figures make for impressive reading: 501 runs from six Tests at 62.62. He also played two ODIs against West Indies before he signed for Kerry Packer’s World Series in Australia, where he played in one season.He continued playing successfully for National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) retiring eventually in 1988. After his playing days, Arif remained involved in the game, working as a batting consultant for NBP and a selector for Karachi, his home city, where he was a regular face on the cricket circuit. He also ran an academy with former Test spinner Tauseef Ahmed and was a regular commentary voice for domestic and international matches for local radio and TV.Pakistan fans would have heard him last a few weeks back, commentating on a Pentangular trophy match between Sindh and NWFP for a local sports channel.