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Stuart Broad is expected to bowl in the warm-up ahead of the second day’s play at Trent Bridge and, if he is deemed fit, will be able to return immediately for England. Australia may be down one bowler for the remainder of the Test, however, after Shane Watson suffered a “lower leg niggle”.Broad was unable to take the field on the first evening after taking a blow to his right shoulder from a James Pattinson bouncer when batting. Broad, who missed England’s warm-up game at Chelmsford due to an injury on the same shoulder sustained while diving for his ground in the final of the Champions Trophy, spent the start of the Australia innings having treatment on the bruise.An ECB spokesman confirmed that the new injury was not connected to the previous one – Broad was given a cortisone injection last week to reduce the inflammation and reduce the pain – and said there were no plans to send Broad for any scans or X-rays.Watson complained of a problem while delivering his fourth over of the match on day one. The allrounder, who has a long and troubled history of calf problems, grimaced while bowling after lunch as Australia worked their way through England’s batting. While he completed the over, he spoke with the captain Michael Clarke and did not bowl again in the innings.Darren Lehmann, Australia’s coach, confirmed that Watson had a problem, and was not entirely sure of whether he would be capable of bowling in the rest of the match.”He’s got a little but of a niggle, but he’s going to see Alex Kountouris (the team physio) and I presume he’s going to bowl in the second innings, but we’ll let you know,” Lehmann said. “It’s just in the lower leg, so we’ll just see how it goes.”Under Clarke’s captaincy Watson has endured several recurrences of hamstring and calf ailments, most recently during the 2012 Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka. After that match Watson informed the former coach Mickey Arthur that he intended to give up bowling for a time, and under Lehmann he has stated his desire to be a batting allrounder who only bowls a handful of overs each innings.

Ashley Giles has called on his England one-day side to go a step further than he managed and win the Champions Trophy.Giles, the England limited-overs coach, was part of the side that reached the final of the event the last time it was staged in England in 2004. With the game at The Oval seemingly well within their grasp, England were thwarted by an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 71 in 15 overs between Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw which took West Indies to a two-wicket victory with seven balls to spare. England are the only one of the eight sides competing in this year’s event which are yet to win a global 50-over trophy.Now, though, Giles feels England have “an opportunity” to shed that unwanted tag and has welcomed the ECB’s decision to set a World Cup win in 2015 among their targets in a new strategic plan.”I played in the last Champions Trophy [in England in 2004] and I know what it’s like to lose in a final,” Giles, who played in the game but was not asked to bowl, said. “It would be good to go one better this time.”We’ve an opportunity to win it this year. In these conditions, we should be a strong side. We’ve been very strong in all forms. We do have a strong squad and there is an opportunity there. I’m really excited about joining up with the guys next week and I’m sure they will be. There’s a good group of people.”Giles realises, however, that despite home advantage and a run of form that saw England reach No.1 in the ODI ratings in the last 12-months, nothing can be taken for granted. The condensed nature of the event means that one poor day is likely to cost a side dear and England will be without the injured Kevin Pietersen.”We’ve no God-given right to win it,” Giles continued. “It is a big target. But your targets should be big; they would not be challenging if they weren’t. We all know we have not won a 50-over world competition. Things need to fall into place, form is important, and it is important in our strategy as well that we go into that World Cup as No. 1 in the world to give ourselves a real good chance, but certainly it is feasible.”We know the Ashes is around the corner, but the Champions Trophy means a lot to these players and to me. If we get our form right and our timing right and keep people fit then we have an opportunity. It’s an exciting year.”Everyone has done fantastic things over the last few years and now we just need to build on that. We have a squad of players who are quite possibly capable of winning that World Cup.”

ScorecardMisbah-ul-Haq scored a brisk, unbeaten 83 to guide Pakistan to 231 for 7•Getty Images

Pakistan began their tour of England on a good note, registering a 96-run win over Scotland in the first ODI between the two sides. In Edinburgh on Friday, Pakistan successfully defended a total of 231 for 7, as Scotland went down to the bowling of Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan.Chasing 232, Scotland had a nervy start, losing their first wicket for no score when Neil Carter was bowled by Junaid Khan in the second over. Mohammad Irfan’s pace and bounce created problems for the hosts early on, but Kyle Coetzer brought his county experience to the fore, playing shots and hitting boundaries early in the innings. Josh Davey also hit a few fours before he was smartly caught down the leg-side by Akmal. The wicket-keeper was involved again when Irfan got Coetzer caught behind, leaving Preston Mommsen and Moneeb Iqbal to rebuild.The pressure began to show in the 28th over, when a mix-up left Iqbal stranded and he was run-out for 10 off 42 balls. The long-awaited introduction of Saeed Ajmal restricted the Scottish batsmen as they looked to push singles and hit boundaries to cope with the rising run-rate.Scotland had one card left to play – Richie Berrington, who had scored a T20 century against Bangladesh last year, came to bat at No. 7. However, Berrington’s time at the crease was short-lived as he was caught on the midwicket boundary off Ajmal for just 10. By the time Murphy arrived at the crease, the game was all but done, and Scotland needed some T20-style hitting from their last three batsmen to have any hopes of winning.Pakistan, however, had other ideas. Ajmal had Mommsen stumped with ease off the last ball of the 36th over. Murphy was trapped leg-before by Junaid Khan off the first ball of the 37th over, and he followed it up by dismissing Majid Haq for a first-ball duck. Junaid narrowly missed out on his own hat-trick bowling to number eleven Wardlaw, who got a bottom edge playing a drive. Taylor hit a few boundaries before Ajmal finished the rout.Earlier, the visitors won the toss and chose to bat on a decent pitch with Imran Farhat and Nasir Jamshed taking the crease. Pakistan cruised early on, playing their way in and punishing the bad balls with straight drives and pulls for early boundaries whilst looking very comfortable. Too easy in fact, as Jamshed pushed a nothing drive into the covers off a decent Rob Taylor delivery to give Preston Mommsen an easy catch at cover.Mohammad Hafeez took his time to play himself in while Farhat went swinging from the other end. Scotland brought spin on early with new face Matt Machan, in an attempt to keep the runs down to singles rather than boundaries. Pakistan, though, had patience and backed their ability to score runs in the middle order. But Hafeez was out to an errant cut shot after smashing a boundary, and Umar Amin fell slogging for 3.Majid Haq was brought on with his experience and took an early wicket to become Scotland’s leading ODI wicket-taker, while Machan got rid of Farhat, who dragged one on. Pakistan were reduced to 117 for 5, and with runs ticking at under four an over it was left to captain Misbah-ul-Haq and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal to rebuild the innings and set a competitive total.During the batting Powerplay, Akmal nudged the ball around gaps but played one safe shot to many, trapped in front by seamer Neil Carter. At six wickets down, Misbah had work to do with the bowlers, as Scotland looked to keep him off strike. With one wicket down and 22 runs scored, the batting Powerplay had backfired on Pakistan.In the last 10 overs, there were too many precious dot balls for Scotland. Pakistan knew that anything around 220 would give their bowlers a good chance. There were some interesting shot-selections, as paddle scoops were attempted with varying degree of success. Misbah controlled most of the strike and reached his half-century in the 45th over. Scotland continued to rotate the bowlers which meant Pakistan couldn’t establish any rhythm with their batting stuttering toward the 200 mark. Saeed Ajmal played an entertaining run-a-ball innings of 28, full of big swings and boundaries, before being clean bowled playing one paddle too many.Misbah finished strong on an unbeaten 83. Misbah attacked Carter in the penultimate over which went for 17, but Iain Wardlaw bowled an excellent final over with four dot balls, a lucky four, and a single. Pakistan accelerated well at the end to finish on 231 for 7

The Indian Premier League itinerary could undergo a minor tweakfollowing the announcement of the dates for Karnataka’s assembly elections.India’s Election Commission announced on Wednesday that polling forthe assembly elections in Karnataka will be held on May 5. Thishas put a question mark over the staging of the Royal ChallengersBangalore’s home game on May 4 and 6, to be played at the M ChinnaswamyStadium.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Royal Challengers franchise has been in touch withsecurity officials and has also indicated to the IPL authorities thepossibility of enforcing a change in the schedule. “We are in touch withthe concerned people and hope that the issue is resolved at the earliest,”an RCB insider said.IPL chief executive Sundar Raman confirmed that the tournament organisers are touch with thestate government’s security officials. “In case the security officialsconvey that it would be difficult for them to provide security, we mayhave to make a minor change to the schedule,” Raman said.The RCB are scheduled to host Kings XI Punjab on May 4 and SunrisersHyderabad on May 6.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kumar Sangakkara hit Test century No. 33•AFP

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• Kumar Sangakkara has become the second Sri Lankan batsman, after Aravinda de Silva, to score three hundreds in a Test series. De Silva did it twice, against Pakistan and India.

• Sangakkara’s 33 Test hundreds put him in seventh place in the all-time list, one behind Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara.

• It’s his fifth Test hundred against Bangladesh, which puts him level with Sachin Tendulkar as the batsmen who’ve scored the most hundreds against them. Tendulkar scored his five in seven Tests, while Sangakkara has scored them in 13.

• The 195-run stand between Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal is Sri Lanka’s fifth-best for the fifth wicket in Tests. Four of those five partnerships have come in home Tests against Bangladesh.

• Among those batting in the top seven positions, Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 14 ducks is the third-highest for Sri Lanka, after Marvan Atapattu (22) and Sanath Jayasuriya (15).

When Bangladesh folded for 240 on the first day in Colombo, it seemed an insufficient total. Only three times have Bangladesh managed to bowl out serious Test opposition below that score. Coming into this Test, their bowlers had only 22 Test caps between them, and their bowlers’ averages made for alarming reading – only offspinner Sohag Gazi manages below 75.There had also been worries that Bangladesh had gone in with three fast bowlers and no left-arm spinners, an almost unheard-of strategy for a team that has usually relied heavily on spin. But they put those dreadful numbers behind them in the morning session with a spirited display that left Sri Lanka at 69 for 4, before they were thwarted by a familiar bogeyman.The last time Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara racked up 200* and 222*, and this time he opened with twin tons in Galle. With Mahela Jayawardene out with an injury, Thilan Samaraweera retired and Tillakaratne Dilshan dismissed on the first day, there was plenty of responsibility left with Sangakkara to guide an inexperienced line-up. He duly delivered, completing a third Test century in 10 days, as he methodically negotiated the challenges posed by a testing track and Bangladesh’s attack.Dinesh Chandimal, for whom Test cricket continued to be easy, assisted Sangakkara with his second hundred of the series. The pair’s 195-run stand shifted the balance of the match towards Sri Lanka. An already feeble Bangladesh attack was further hampered by the unavailability of Robiul Islam, one of their four specialist bowlers, who had to leave the field just before tea due to cramps.This was not a track that encouraged flamboyance, and was more about waiting for the bad ball and patiently keeping out the good ones. Sangakkara did just that, cutting out the risks, and capitalised when the Bangladesh bowlers dropped short or bowled on the pads. Chandimal was a bit more enterprising, using his feet to Gazi, who bowled a marathon 18-over spell, to loft the ball as he made an energetic century. Both batsmen scored plenty of runs with dabs and tucks square of the wicket. As the partnership flourished, the batsmen brought out the big shots more often, and the pace of scoring picked up after tea.Sangakkara had a couple of close calls, with a bottom-edge on 81 evading both the stumps and the wicketkeeper, and a punch landing just out of reach of short cover, but other than that Bangladesh’s bowlers didn’t pose too much of a problem. He was the first to a hundred, and didn’t mark the occasion with any exuberant celebration, befitting someone who scores them often. Chandimal was more pumped up on reaching his second Test century, the additional duties of wicketkeeper and vice-captain seem to be resting easy on his shoulders so far.The pair were looking exceedingly comfortable, and you started to wonder where a wicket would come from for Bangladesh. It came through Rubel Hossain, who got one to nip in and beat Chandimal’s defence, leaving him bowled for 102.Before stumps, another of Sri Lanka’s next-generation batsmen, Kithruwan Vithanage, came out and played a series of shots, including an authoritative pull to get off the mark, but he perished as he flailed a wide delivery to deep point.Although Bangladesh’s bowlers wilted as the day progressed, they began with intent to rattle the top order. Dimuth Karunaratne was one of the youngsters who didn’t pile up a big score on the shirtfront in Galle, and with six of his ten Test innings having ended before he reached 15, he needed some runs to shore up his place. He and Sangakkara began confidently with a trio of boundaries in the first three overs, which was as many as Bangladesh managed in the entire first session yesterday. Karunaratne gave it away though, flashing at a short and wide delivery to edge to the keeper for 17.That wicket was a freebie for Abul Hasan, but the other two Bangladesh got came off more threatening deliveries. Lahiru Thirimanne was caught-behind for a duck, nicking a pitched up delivery that moved away slightly and Angelo Mathews was foxed by Gazi as he played for the turn, getting an outside edge that was snaffled by Mahmudullah at slip.That was as good as it got for Bangladesh, as Sangakkara and Chandimal then bailed Sri Lanka out of a tight spot. Sangakkara is still in the middle, and a lead of around 100 is likely to prove pivotal in this relatively low-scoring game.

Worcestershire County Cricket Club have announced the release of five Players at the end of the current season in addition to the previously announced retirements of Paul Pollard and Stuart Lampitt.Matt Rawnsley, Duncan Catterall and Depesh Patel will not have their contracts renewed for 2003. 2nd XI Players Nathan Round and Gurdeep Kandola will have their registrations released.Chief executive, Mark Newton, said “We have decided to reduce the size of our squad from 23 Players to either 19 or 20 next season. We wish all five Players well for the future and thank them for their services to the Club.”

Rest of India take the Irani Cup on first-innings lead
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
File photo: Wasim Jaffer topped his first innings half-century with an unbeaten hundred•Fotocorp

Rest of India won the Irani Cup for the eighth consecutive time, based on a first-innings lead after any hopes of an outright result were erased when their two overnight batsmen came out to bat on the final morning. Suresh Raina struck a half-century to follow up on his ton in the first innings, Ambati Rayudu was unbeaten on 156 before Rest of India declared, and Wasim Jaffer completed his prolific first-class season on a high. Neither featured in India’s squad for the first two Tests against Australia, which was picked today.However, Harbhajan Singh returned to the India squad and picked up two wickets, including Ajinkya Rahane, who has been retained. Mumbai were given 63 overs to chase 507, and Rest of India would have been crying for them to self-destruct if they seriously hoped of winning outright. Both Aditya Tare and Ajinkya Rahane were caught at short leg off Harbhajan, but Jaffer was calm and comfortable at the other end, smoothly moving to another century, his 48th in first-class cricket, and going past 1000 runs in the Irani Cup. Jaffer was a strong contender for an opening role in the Indian squad after averaging 76 in the Ranji Trophy but Murali Vijay and a surprise pick, Shikhar Dhawan, were preferred over him.Sreesanth, Ishwar Pandey, and Abhimanyu Mithun, aspirants for a place in India’s attack, bowled just 11 overs between them without any success, but they didn’t have a game as disappointing as another Test hopeful, Rohit Sharma. He had thrown his wicket away in the first innings, top-edging a slog-sweep when on zero, and fell for 1 today, going after India’s spin regular Pragyan Ojha but only getting as far as long-off to offer an easy catch. Neither of his dismissals in the game would have sat well with selectors.The captains called off the game with nine mandatory overs remaining. It was only the second time in the last 14 years that the winner of the Irani Cup has been decided by a first-innings lead.

ScorecardTim Southee and Luke Ronchi were outstanding for their respective teams at Karori Park. Ronchi, who qualifies for New Zealand next month, made a century in each innings and took eight catches for Wellington, but his efforts could not redress the damage caused by Southee’s exploits on the first day. Southee blitzed his maiden first-class century, from No. 8, for Northern Districts and then wrecked the Wellington top order. He set up an advantage that culminated in Kane Williamson’s unbeaten century clinching a six-wicket win for Northern Districts on the final day, despite the second being lost to rain.Northern Districts took 20 points from the game, while Wellington had only three. It was their first victory of the season, though, and they remained at the bottom of the league; Wellington were fourth.Northern Districts were in trouble after choosing to bat. They had slumped to 161 for 6, with six of their top seven batsmen getting starts but no one scoring a half-century. Southee came to the rescue with an innings of astonishing force. He hit half a dozen sixes and 18 fours on his way to 156 off 130 balls, adding 166 for the seventh wicket with Daryl Mitchell and 69 for the eighth with Graeme Aldridge. Northern Districts declared on 403 for 8, soon after Southee was dismissed.Wellington played only nine overs on the first day and in that time Southee reduced them to 32 for 4. Northern Districts’ intentions of shutting Wellington out of the game were put on hold, though, with rain washing out the second day, and they met with stiffer resistance on the third. Wellington had slumped to 67 for 7 before their No. 8, Ronchi, began to rally. Ronchi hit six sixes in his innings of 113 off 94 balls and put on 102 with Jeetan Patel for the eighth wicket. He was the last man dismissed, with his team on 206, falling to Southee, who finished with 5 for 69.Trailing by 197, Wellington were asked to follow on and they slumped again, to 108 for 5, before Ronchi revived them once again. He had more support this time, from Luke Woodcock who made 49, Scott Kuggeleijn who made 83, and Dane Hutchinson who made 45. Ronchi scored 108 off 119 balls and became one of legspinner Ish Sodhi’s five wickets, after which the tail carried Wellington to 390.Chasing a target of 194, Northern Districts lost Brad Wilson first ball and Joseph Yovich in the 11th over. Williamson held the chase steady, though, with an innings of 121 off 142 balls, and his unbeaten stand of 75 with James Marshall secured victory.
ScorecardOtago earned a point more than Central Districts did – 7-6 – in Dunedin, where the teams played out a draw that did not enter the fourth innings. Central Districts stayed on top of the league, while Otago were second. Both teams have played a game more than the others though.After losing two wickets in their first nine overs, Otago batted into the second day, with four batsmen – Aaron Redmond, Sam Wells, Mark Craig and Neil Wagner – making 60s and Ryan ten Doeschate scored 118. AY Patel, playing his second first-class game, took 4 for 86 as Otago were dismissed for 427.The Central Districts reply was strong, with the openers adding 107, Carl Cachopa scoring 55 and Matthew Sinclair making 142. There was a small blip when they slipped from 222 for 2 to 241 for 5 but lower-order contributions helped Central Districts take a lead of 22. Wagner took 4 for 103 as they were dismissed for 449.Otago began their second innings on the third evening and batted through the last day, finishing on 227 for 7 by the time the match was called off.

Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s limited-overs wicketkeeper batsman, could miss some of the one-day series against New Zealand pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing.De Kock, 20, and Cobras captain Justin Ontong will appear in front of a disciplinary commissioner “as soon as possible” according to Cricket South Africa after an altercation between de Kock and Alistair Gray, when the Cobras were fielding during their first-class match last week.Allegedly, de Kock pushed Gray after the umpires, Brian Jerling and Shaun George, changed the ball because they believed “the conditions of the ball had been altered” by the Cobras after 20 overs in the Lions second innings. De Kock was batting at the time and in accordance with protocol was asked to choose a replacement ball.The Cobras were reportedly unhappy with his choice because he selected a ball which was much older than the original one. Words were exchanged, following which there was a slight scuffle. The Lions won the match by eight wickets and lie third in the table while the Cobras remain at the top, despite the defeat.De Kock will appear in front of the commissioner on charges over his role in pushing an opposition player, while Ontong will face charges of ball tampering which the Cobras have denied. The ball itself will be sent away for tests to determine whether it was damaged in any way.If found guilty, de Kock will be banned for two matches which could rule him out of the first two ODIs in the series which starts in Paarl on Saturday. The second fixture takes place in Kimberley on Tuesday with the last match to be played in Potchefstroom on January 25. Should de Kock be ruled out, AB de Villiers will have to don the wicketkeeping gloves despite his plea to rest his chronically bad back.

ScorecardUttar Pradesh’s match against Vidarbha ended in an expected draw, but not before UP secured three points for the first-innings lead to end the round on top of the Group B points table. Vidarbha had begun the day on 237 for 6, still playing their first innings, in reply to UP’s mammoth 548. Hemang Badani, who was unbeaten on 69 overnight, could add only seven more runs to his score as Vidarbha were bowled out for 308. Piyush Chawla, who was picked in the India Test team for the Nagpur Test against England, claimed No. 10 Sandeep Singh as his first victim of the match, finishing with figures of 32.3-2-108-1. Captain Ranjit Paradkar, who had injured himself while fielding, did not bat at all.Despite taking a 240-run lead, Suresh Raina chose not to enforce the follow-on, and then came out to open for UP. While UP lost their other opener, Tanmay Srivastava for a duck, Raina went on to score 105 not out before play ended with UP on 175 for 3.
ScorecardHaryana batted out 116 overs in their second-innings in their second innings to successfully draw their match against Maharashtra in the game that pitted the bottom-rung teams of the group against each other. Haryana began the day on 75 for 2, 208 runs behind Maharashtra. Overnight batsman Sunny Singh went on to make a half-century, the only one of the innings, but the rest of the line-up too contributed cameos to keep Haryana afloat. All the batsmen who batted on the day got into double digits, right down to No. 9 Mohit Sharma. At stumps, Haryana were 28 behind Maharashtra, but importantly only seven down.
ScorecardThe wait lasted five games, as Karnataka recorded their first outright win to spark life into an underwhelming Ranji season. Only two results were realistic going into the final day, as Delhi, set an improbable 410, were left fighting to save the match after losing three in a hurry the previous evening. Karnataka were held up by a century stand from the experienced due of Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia, but the wicket of Manhas opened the floodgates as Karnataka wrapped up the game by 159 runs not long after tea.Read the full match report here.