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Cricket South Africa have announced the appointment of Russell Domingo as coach of the South Africa A side for both the four-day unofficial Test series and the one-dayers against Bangladesh A next month. This is Domingo’s second appointment as head coach of the A side, as he was also took the squad to Bangladesh last year.”Russell has emerged as one of the outstanding young coaches in our cricket structures,” said chief executive Gerald Majola. “He did a top-class job last year when he took a very young South Africa A side to Bangladesh where they won the four-day Test series and also a triangular one-day series that also included West Indies A.”Two of the players in that squad, Colin Ingram and David Miller, have gone on to represent the Proteas with distinction while the West Indies team they beat in the final included Devon Smith, Darren Bravo and Kirk Edwards of the current West Indies World Cup squad.”Russell has achieved great success with the Chevrolet Warriors both in terms of reaching and winning finals and in bringing young players through to maturity. This includes the likes of Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Wayne Parnell, Colin Ingram and Rusty Theron, who have become regular selections for the Proteas in the various formats, and the Smuts brothers who have just had outstanding Standard Bank Pro20 campaigns.”I would also like to thank the Chevrolet Warriors for making Russell available for this important position,” Majola concluded.

The PCB has expressed its support for the process followed by the ICC tribunal that ended with Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir receiving bans of 10, 7 and 5 years respectively for spot-fixing, calling the sanctions “regrettable and a sad reality which must be faced”.”The time from August last when spot-fixing came to light, has been an extremely painful one for Pakistan cricket,” PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said. “I now hope that this unfortunate saga is put to rest and we can concentrate on cricket. We will continue to work with ICC on this sensitive matter in future also. We will also see how we can help the three players with their education and rehabilitation program.”The PCB also reiterated its commitment to dealing with the threat of corruption. “Like all my colleagues in the ICC I am determined to maintain the integrity of our sport,” Ijaz Butt said. “This is fundamental.”Under the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Code, the players can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) within 21 days of the verdict, something Amir has already said he plans to do.Butt, who was captain during the series in England, received the maximum sentence but one charge against him – of batting out a maiden over during the Oval Test – was dismissed. However, he was found to have not disclosed an approach by Mazhar Majeed that he should bat the maiden over. The other charges that were upheld relate to the subsequent Lord’s Test, where Amir and Asif were found to have bowled deliberate no-balls and Butt was penalized for being party to that.The PCB initially provided the three players with legal support and refused to suspend them, eventually compelling the ICC to do so. That sparked another war of words between Butt and the ICC, the former claiming the latter had acted with undue haste as the police investigation was ongoing. Matters took a bizzare twist when Butt claimed there was “loud and clear talk” of England’s players taking money to lose an ODI this summer. He was forced to apologise for that statement after the ECB threatened legal action and the whole affair prompted some within the ICC to consider the possibility of suspending Butt from his ICC directorship.The ICC subsequently told the PCB that “it must act and be seen to be acting to uphold the zero-tolerance attitude to corruption in sport”, and the board was given 30 days to conduct a thorough and far-reaching review of their “player integrity issues”, which it did to the satisfaction of the ICC.

Luke Woodcock, the only uncapped player in New Zealand’s World Cup squad, has been included in 12-man team for the third ODI against Pakistan in Christchurch on January 29. Ross Taylor will captain the side while Daniel Vettori will stay with the team but won’t play the match.”We think it’s important for everyone in the World Cup squad to get a run before they head to India,” Mark Greatbatch said. “Normally the selection panel would pick a squad for two matches but because of the short game in Wellington and the rained-out match in Queenstown we wanted some flexibility.”Luke Woodcock comes into the squad and deserves his place after playing so well for Wellington over a number of seasons. It’s important he gets some exposure to international cricket and I’m sure he will make the most of the opportunity when he gets his chance. Kyle Mills is a proven performer at international level and will slot back into the squad with Jesse Ryder and James Franklin going back to play domestic cricket.”Franklin and Ryder will be available for Wellington’s one-day match against Northern Districts on January 30.Squad: Ross Taylor (capt), Hamish Bennett, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Nathan McCullum, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Luke Woodcock, Kane Williamson.

Paul Collingwood’s match-saving effort against Australia at Cardiff was one of his finest•PA Photos

134 not out v India, Nagpur, 2005-06
This was Collingwood’s first Test century and the innings that proved he’d be able to hack it at the top level. Earlier that winter he’d made 96 and 80 against Pakistan, in Lahore, but this century marshalled England to a strong total and from there they bossed the Test match. Collingwood’s bottom-handed technique was suited to the subcontinent where he wasn’t troubled by extra bounce and he combated India’s twice spin threat of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh with aplomb. The innings also showed another of Collingwood’s skills, the ability to bat with the tail. When Matthew Hoggard fell England were 267 for 8, but with Steve Harmison (39) and Monty Panesar (9) for company the final two wickets added 127 runs. Collingwood also struck four sixes, showing the swift footwork against spinners that would serve him well throughout his career.206 v Australia, Adelaide, 2006-07Rarely has an Ashes double century come with so many mixed emotions. As history records, England managed to lose an unloseable Test as they succumbed to Shane Warne on the final day, but early in the match it was all about a record-breaking stand between Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen. The Australians respected what Pietersen could achieve, but had been less admiring of Collingwood yet he put their bowling attack to the sword with a 392-ball innings. Again, like in India, a slow pitch suited his game and he reached his double in emphatic style when he came down the pitch to loft Michael Clarke back over his head. This would remain Collingwood’s highest Test score but it proved hard for him to savour it too much after the final outcome.135 v South Africa, Edgbaston, 2008Even during the 2010-11 Ashes slump that brought the end of his career it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Collingwood had pulled out a hundred, because he’d already played the ultimate career-saving innings. He had been dropped for the previous Test against South Africa at Headingley, but following a heavy defeat was recalled. A failure in the first innings left the likelihood of one knock to save his place and he responded with a spine-tingling 135 as he threw caution to wind. The early stage of the innings was horribly scratchy as he, literally, lived on the edge but slowly the form began to return with his trademark leg-side nudges and powerful cuts. He reached three figures in grand style as he launched Paul Harris for six and Collingwood’s future was secure.74 v Australia, Cardiff, 2009Collingwood at his resolute best. England were gone in this match, five down and still a long way behind at lunch on the final day leaving Australia set to take a 1-0 Ashes lead. Collingwood, though, was having none of it as he resisted for nearly six hours with bloody-minded defiance. As the match went deep into the final session Collingwood withstood everything the Australians threw at him. It wasn’t the great attack of the 2006-07 vintage, but Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus had been a handful while Nathan Hauritz out-bowled Graeme Swann. However, there was a final twist when Collingwood fended to gully with England still behind by six and he could barely watch as England’s last pair, James Anderson and Monty Panesar, were left with 11 overs to survive. Would it be another Adelaide for Collingwood? Not this time, as the tailenders pulled off a great escape and it would prove that Collingwood had laid the base for a series victory.40 v South Africa, Cape Town, 2009-10After Cardiff there was Cape Town. And this was an even better rearguard because of the quality in the South Africa attack. England were 153 for 4 when Collingwood entered on the final day, not a chance of chasing down 466, and soon lost their fifth wicket as the hosts scented a kill. Then followed a 57-over stand between Collingwood and Ian Bell which gave England the chance of survival. Collingwood had to survive one of the finest spells of pace bowling in recent times from Dale Steyn, as regular 90mph leg cutters jagged past the outside edge, but each time Collingwood just refocused and faced the next ball. Ultimately, Bell – and Graham Onions, the final-over hero – took the major plaudits for the rescue act but without Collingwood it wouldn’t have been possible.

Seamers Fakhar Hussain and Nasrullah Khan bowled Islamabad to a commanding position against Sialkot at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Fakhar finished with figures of 6 for 46, and Nasrullah took four wickets as Sialkot were skittled out for 131 in response to the hosts’ 319. Nasrullah did all the early damage, as Sialkot collapsd to 25 for 5. Majid Jahangir provided the only resistance with his unbeaten 56. Sialkot’s best partnership was for the last wicket; 33 runs between Jahangir and Prince Abbas. Following on, Sialkot were in trouble at the end of the day at 51 for 4, still trailing Islamabad by 137 runs with Rauf Akbar picking up three of the four wickets to fall.A century by Imran Farhat kept Habib Bank Ltd in their match against National Bank of Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, but NBP will still fancy themselves to chase the 153 they were set to win. If it were not for Farhat’s 101 and his 102-run ninth-wicket partnership with legspinner Danish Kaneria, who made 48, HBL wouldn’t have even made it into the third day. Their next highest scorer was wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat with 15 and only three other batsmen reached double figures.When Farhat came to the wicket, HBL were 47 for 5, still 27 runs behind NBP. Running out of partners, Farhat had to score quickly, and he hit 17 fours to reach 101 off 108 balls before he was dismissed. NBP’s openers had to play out seven overs at the end of the day and came out unscathed, at 8 for 0.Multan were headed for their tenth straight defeat by the end of the second day of their match against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium in Karachi. At stumps on the second day, they were leading Karachi by five runs with just two wickets in hand. Karachi didn’t add too many to their overnight total of 194 for 5. Asad Baig went on to get a century, but seamer Abdur Rauf cleaned up the tail to finish with 4 for 94 as Karachi were bowled out for 265. Multan, who were bowled out for 65 in their first innings, were more solid in their second, reaching 164 for 3 with Ghulam Fareed (95) and Imranullah Aslam (54) adding 97 for the fourth wicket. However, they suffered a collapse after that, losing five wickets for 41 runs to end the day on 205 for 8. Seamer Tabish Khan, who took five wickets in Multan’s first innings, got four more in the second.Rawalpindi need another 121 to beat Faisalabad at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, after Sadaf Hussain picked up his second five-wicket haul of the game. Sadaf blew through Faisalabad’s top order like a tornado, reducing them to 17 for 4, but even though no other batsmen made more than 14, Adbul Rauf found enough support to make 72, taking his side to 132 and giving them something to defend. Sadaf finished with figures of 6 for 40 in the innings, and 11 for 104 in the match, his second career 10-wicket haul.Rawalpindi had eked out a seven-run first-innings lead after their last wicket pair of Haseeb Azam, who made 60, and Mohammad Ayaz, who remained not out on 10, added a potentially match-turning 60 runs. Ahmed Hayat picked up the last two wickets to fall, to end up with 5 for 50. They were 5 for 1 in their second innings, having lost Naved Malik for one to Ahmed. A win could mean Rawalpindi move up to second in the points table.Water and Power Development Authority took control of their game against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground after extending their lead to 224 with seven second-innings wicket in hand. Kashif Raza and Sarfraz Ahmed combined to take nine wickets and skittle SNGPL for 141, with only Ali Raza standing firm in making 54 not out as eight batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores. Nawaz Sardar led the way with an unbeaten 59 in WAPDA’s second innings, as they reached 138 for 3 at the close of play.A fine allround bowling display gave Pakistan International Airlines a 49-run first innings lead over Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Five bowlers shared the 10 wickets to fall, with Aizaz Cheema’s 3 for 57 the best figures of the bunch, while three other bowlers took two wickets each. Five of the batsmen got starts as well, but none of them were able to convert them to big scores. Shahid Yousuf was the top scorer with 49 and Sohail Tanveer and Kamran Naeem made 44 and 43 respectively, adding 76 for the seventh wicket to rescue ZTBL from a precarious 118 for 6 and limit PIA’s lead.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Chris Gayle’s celebrated his hundred by lying down on the pitch•AFP

A scorching double ton from Chris Gayle and half centuries from Adrian Barath and debutant Darren Bravo led West Indies to a position of complete dominance in the first Test, as they ended the opening day on 362 for 2. Sri Lanka’s modus operandi for Test matches at Galle has long been to bat first and bat big to put pressure on the opposition line-up, but it was the hosts who were at the receiving end of a stellar West Indian imitation of their tried and tested method for winning matches at the picturesque venue.

Smart Stats

• Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 219 is the second highest score by a West Indian batsman in Sri Lanka, just two runs behind Brian Lara’s 221. It is also the second highest score by a batman at Galle behind Mahela Jayawardene’s 237 in 2004 and the fifth highest by a West Indian batsman in the subcontinent.

• Gayle hit eight sixes during his 219 to go on top of the list of West Indian batsmen with most sixes in an innings. He now has 74 sixes in Tests which puts him seventh in the list of batsmen with most sixes.

• Gayle’s present strike rate of 88.66 is the fourth highest by a West Indian batsman for a 150 plus score since 1970.

• The century opening stand for the West Indies was their first in Sri Lanka. In ten previous opening partnerships in Sri Lanka in the 2000s, they aggregated just 60 runs.

• The 196-run stand for the second wicket between Gayle and Darren Bravo is the highest at Galle, going past Tharanga Paranavitana and Kumar Sangakkara who added 181 against India in July 2010.

Gayle was blisteringly savage, particularly in the second session of the day. His unbeaten innings of 219 contained 26 fours and an incredible eight sixes – the most by a West Indies batsman in a single innings. He walloped the spinners over long on repeatedly in signature style, and was also especially brutal on the pull, once muscling a barely-short Ajantha Mendis delivery over the mid wicket boundary for six. The left hander plundered 25 runs in an astounding seven-ball burst to bring up his 13th Test match century, and his first in the subcontinent, and celebrated in unconventional style: lying down mid-pitch for a moment, perhaps to better soak in the applause from his teammates and spectators.Everything Gayle did turned to gold. A lazy looking swat over cover carried all the way over the ropes and an outrageous reverse sweep off Suraj Randiv rocketed to the point fence. Nothing Sri Lanka did could halt the West Indies opener today and he rarely looked troubled at the crease, shaking off a spate of hopeful shouts towards the end of the day to continue his rampage towards 200, which he completed in just 221 deliveries. The celebrations were slightly more muted this time, with a wry smile and a raising of the bat sufficing.Gayle found support in Adrian Barath in the first session of the day, who carefully batted out a testing opening spell from the Sri Lanka seamers, before making use of the excellent batting conditions to reach his second half century in Test cricket. There was little joy for the hosts’ pacemen once the modest swing and seam movement on offer deserted them after the first half hour of play, a fact not helped by some indisciplined bowling on their part. A Randiv topspinner extracted some bounce from the flat Galle surface to get rid of Barath just minutes before lunch, but the West Indies innings continued to race along at close to 4 and a half runs an over after the break, as Gayle upped the ante and Darren Bravo held firm at the other end.Bravo’s 58 was a technician’s dream in comparison to Gayle’s unorthodox magnificence, the young left-hander cover driving the spinners beautifully to the fence each time the ball was tossed up. He also negotiated the fast bowlers without a fuss, making use of some defensive fields to rotate the strike to his more bloody-minded partner, who unleashed from the other end. The debutant brought up his half century with another cracking cover drive off Mendis after tea, but perished trying to pull the same bowler soon after as a top edge ballooned to Thilan Samaraweera at square leg, who backpedalled to take a good catch.Shivnarine Chanderpaul arrived at the crease with the score already on 306 for 2 and played out the final period of the day without incident with Gayle, who couldn’t resist making use of some tired Sri Lankan bowling to pick up some late runs. The hosts will be hoping for the wicket of Chris Gayle and a vastly improved bowling performance in tomorrow’s morning session if they are to have any chance of wresting back control of a game that is fast slipping out of reach.

British Eurosport has secured the UK rights to the Test series between Sri Lanka and West Indies which gets underway on Monday, November 15.In a deal with Zee Network Europe, British Eurosport will have live coverage of the three-Test series as well as five one-day internationals and a one-off Twenty20 match throughout November and December.The West Indies Tour of Sri Lanka follows the channel’s broadcast of the ongoing series between Pakistan and South Africa which saw Test cricket make its debut on Eurosport Television in the UK.The first Test starts on November 15 in Galle, with Colombo the venue for the second Test later this month from Tuesday, November 23. The third and final Test takes place in Kandy from Wednesday, December 1. Matches begin at 4.30am GMT.West Indies, led by newly appointed captain Darren Sammy, will aim to bounce back from their disappointing Test series against South Africa earlier this year while the Sri Lankans will be confident following their recent ODI series win in Australia. West Indies last played a Test series in Sri Lanka in 2005, losing it 0-2.Managing Director of Eurosport in the UK, David Kerr said: “Cricket is proving to be a real hit on British Eurosport and we are delighted to be able to offer our viewers yet another excellent international series in 2010. In addition, we hope it will bring new sports fans to the channel at the end of what has already been record year for our ratings in the UK.”Govind Shahi, Head of Business, Zee Network Europe, added, “I am delighted with British Eurosport and Zee’s on-going association and am confident that the coming cricket series will be pivotal in further popularising the appeal of cricket in the UK.”

Derbyshire have signed left-handed batsman Matt Lineker on a Summer Contract for the 2011 season.Lineker, 25, has played in the Second XI Trophy for both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and has performed consistently in the ECB Premier League in recent years, scoring 800 runs in 20 innings at 44.44, including two centuries, in the league in 2010.”Matt has been a standout performer on the Derbyshire Premier League scene for several years now and he deserves this opportunity to show what he can do in county cricket,” said John Morris, Derbyshire’s head of cricket. “If Matt can make a success of this opportunity he will be a fine example for other local players to follow.”

ScorecardLancashire are on course for their fifth County Championship win of the season after taking charge against Hampshire at Liverpool on the second day. The hosts, replying to Hampshire’s below-par first innings score of 160, posted a commanding 398 off 134 overs.Kyle Hogg top scored with 81 off 111 balls – the highest score of the match so far. With a deficit of 238, Hampshire openers Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams then reached 15 for none from seven overs of their second innings at the close.Resuming the day on 124 for 2 Lancashire were made to work hard for their runs early on. They only scored two runs in the first eight overs, with left-arm pace bowler James Tomlinson bowling eight maidens in his first 10 overs of the day to Mark Chilton and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Chilton was the first Lancashire wicket to fall when caught behind by Michael Bates standing up to the stumps off Tomlinson. He departed for 48 off 175 balls and it was the seventh time this season he has fallen in the forties. Steven Croft was also caught behind by Bates off Chris Wood, Hampshire’s other left-arm quick bowler.And when Chanderpaul was run out by Carberry’s direct hit from square leg for 38 Lancashire were 144 for 5 in the 68th over before lunch. At that stage Hampshire would have fancied their chances of staying in the game but Gareth Cross, Tom Smith, Sajid Mahmood and Hogg boosted the total late.Cross and Smith (31) shared 75 in 25 overs for the sixth wicket, Cross hitting 44 off 75 balls. And then Mahmood and Hogg united for the highest stand of the match so far – 89 inside 15 overs for the eighth wicket – a far cry from the 40 runs scored from 29 overs in the morning session.Cross had been well caught by Adams at gully off Wood, who also trapped Smith lbw to reduce the score to 225 for seven in the 97th over. But Mahmood, who smashed Wood over long on for a lusty maximum, passed 500 runs for the season with a series flicks, chops and drives on the way to 47 off 58 balls.He fell to the medium pace of Neil McKenzie in the first over after tea and it provided the South African batsman with only his eighth wicket of a career spanning 209 first-class matches. McKenzie later had Glen Chapple caught by Adams at point before Hogg, who took four wickets on day one, brought up his belligerent 50 off 86 balls with seven fours.The 27-year-old left hander hit four more fours and a six over mid-wicket as part of a 10th wicket stand of 54 with Gary Keedy. But he fell trying to repeat his six over mid-wicket off left arm spinner Danny Briggs with James Vince taking a juggling effort whilst trying to navigate the boundary rope at long on. Hogg was then back in action with the new ball before close, but could not break through.

Andrew Flintoff has announced his retirement from all cricket after giving in to his long-standing knee injury.Flintoff retired from Test cricket after last year’s Ashes victory and underwent knee surgery straight away. He hoped to return to action this season, but that was ruled out last month and he then aimed for Twenty20 stints in Australia and the IPL. However, his latest meeting with the surgeon has led to what has long seemed the inevitable decision.”It is with both disappointment and sadness that I am today announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket,” said Flintoff. “The decision to end my career came yesterday after consultation with medical advisers. I was told that the problems I have been trying to overcome in re-hab for the last year following the latest in a series of operations would not recover sufficiently to allow a comeback.”Having been told that my body would no longer stand up to the rigours of cricket, I had no alternative but to retire,” he added. “I would like to thank my family, Lancashire Cricket Club, England, all my sponsors, friends and advisers for all the help and support they have given me throughout my career.”Last, but by no means least, I am indebted to the encouragement and support I have always received from England’s magnificent supporters. I will now be taking a break before deciding which future direction to take.”England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, gave a warm tribute to Flintoff ahead of the third ODI against Pakistan at The Oval, the scene of Flintoff’s last hurrah in the 2009 Ashes, when his direct-hit run-out of Ricky Ponting turned the tide of the decisive fifth Test. “I would just like to say on behalf of the England team we would like to congratulate Andrew on an outstanding career,” he said. “”The impact he has had on English cricket has been immense.”Of course, it is a sad day when somebody like that can no longer keep playing. But we would prefer today to celebrate everything he has achieved as an England cricketer.”The biggest memories I will have of him are how incredibly able he was to make something happen out of nothing with both bat and ball.”He was always the ultimate impact cricketer, somebody who on so many occasions stepped up to the plate. He would put his body on the line on flat wickets when other bowlers were maybe starting to struggle.”Flintoff finishes his career with a tally of 3845 runs in 79 Tests, at an average of 31.77 with five centuries and a best of 167 against West Indies at Edgbaston in 2004. He also claimed 226 wickets at 32.78, with three five-wicket hauls, the last of which came on an emotional final morning against Australia at Lord’s in 2009. In 141 ODIs he finished with 3394 runs and 169 wickets respectively.”Because of the way he bowled, and what he put into it, it was probably not as easy for him to get seven-fors and eight-fors,” said Strauss. “But if you talked to other players around the world, they would always say Andrew was one of the bowlers they least wanted to face – because he could be so hostile. We are all striving to gain the respect of our peers. Andrew certainly did that.”Flintoff’s former England team-mate, Graeme Swann, against whom he first played as a 10-year-old in the 1980s, admitted it was a sad day for English cricket, but suggested that the team had already moved on without him. “This team is bigger than any one individual, but it’s nice when you do get an individual along whom the opposition fear and can win a game off their own back.” he said. “I’m sure a lot of people around the country were looking forward to him coming back. If he can’t, it’s sad, but so be it.””I haven’t seen him for a while, so I don’t know the extent of his injuries, but when you go a while without playing you start to think there’s a reason for it,” added Swann. “But it’s a shame because any team with Fred in is a better side for it. But our team last year was very confident, and didn’t need people going round and geeing up little quivering leaves in the corner.”The zenith of Flintoff’s career was unquestionably the 2005 Ashes, in which he starred with bat and ball to topple the Australians and win back the urn after an 18-year hiatus. It was also, as Swann pointed, a summer that changed the profile of English cricket as a whole. “Itwas a pivotal moment for English cricket,” he said. “The football was terrible at the time and everyone was watching cricket in a cracking summer.”Suddenly Fred was a superstar and deservedly so for the way he played,” added Swann. “He raised the profile of cricket, and out of the whole team he was the ultimate hero. He’s always been the same, never shy to offer his opinion and be the playmaker of the team. That’s why he was such a loveable rogue for the English public to get behind.””I don’t think anyone can put him up in the Botham stakes because Botham is the best allrounder we’ve had, but Fred changed the face of cricket if you like, because he’s the first real celebrity that we’ve had for a long time. And that was all because he was a guy who could change the face of a game at the drop of a hat. His stats don’t back that up, but everyone knows how world-class he could be on his day.”