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Five Australians will make their debut against New Zealand on Wednesday in the first women’s Twenty20 international to be played in Australia. Sarah Andrews (NSW), Melissa Bulow (Qld), Michelle Goszko (NSW), Leah Poulton (NSW) and Jodie Purves (Qld) are in the Southern Stars’ starting line-up for their opening experiences of the short-form game at Allan Border Field.It is only Australia’s second Twenty20 after the seven-wicket win against England during the 2005 tour. Karen Rolton smashed an unbeaten 96 from only 53 balls as they reached the target with more than two overs to spare.The game on Wednesday is part of New Zealand’s tour of Australia, which includes a battle for the Rose Bowl over five ODIs. Rolton will lead the side during the series and the first one-day match begins on Friday.Australia Twenty20 side Karen Rolton (capt), Lisa Sthalekar, Sarah Andrews, Kate Blackwell, Melissa Bulow, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Michelle Goszko, Julie Hayes, Kirsten Pike, Leah Poulton, Jodie Purves (wk).New Zealand squad Haidee Tiffen (capt), Nicola Browne, Maria Fahey, Louise Milliken, Helen Watson, Aimee Mason, Rebecca Rolls, Sarah Burke, Sara McGlashan, Ros Kember, Sophie Devine, Anna Dodd, Sarah Tsukigawa.Itinerary
October 18, Twenty20, Australia v New Zealand (all games at Allan Border Field, Brisbane)
October 20, 1st ODI, Australia v New Zealand
October 22, 2nd ODI, Australia v New Zealand
October 24, 3rd ODI, Australia v New Zealand
October 26, 4th ODI, Australia v New Zealand
October 28, 5th ODI, Australia v New Zealand

Peter Borren, the Netherlands batsman, will replace Jeroen Smits as captain for his side’s Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland beginning on Thursday at Mannofield Park in Aberdeen. Smits, who replaced Luuk van Troost as captain after the 2007 World Cup, is missing the match because of work-related commitments.The Netherlands coach Paul-Jan Bakker, said that they could overcome Smits’ absence and draw confidence from their victory against Canada in June. Borren had scored 105, his maiden first-class hundred, in the second innings of Netherlands’ 45-run win against Canada.”I am sure that the boys will not be affected by this latest setback and will keep the momentum going,” Bakker said. “Peter [Borren] is an excellent batsman and has shown his talent on more than one occasion. But he can’t live on tales and will need to start all over again. While saying this, I am sure he is also looking forward to the new challenge [captaincy] and will try to make the most of it.”Bas Zuiderent and Ryan ten Doeschate both missed the game against Canada and remained unavailable for the match against Scotland. Netherlands were further depleted with medium-pacers Edgar Schiferli and Mark Jonkman and offspinner Adeel Raja pulling out due to injuries.”We can’t have a full-strength team all the time, which means there will always be opportunities for the youngsters,” Bakker said. “Now it is for them to take advantage of this and cement their places.””Scotland are a strong team and we respect them. But I understand that they will also be without some of their key players. I think we both are in a situation where we have to fill gaps and hope that the youngsters will raise their hands, take responsibility and fill those gaps.”Scotland’s Intercontinental Cup opener against United Arab Emirates in Ayr was washed out and the quadrangular series that followed, involving West Indies, Ireland and Netherlands, also affected by bad weather.Scotland captain Ryan Watson acknowledged the importance of the match against Netherlands. “We are keen to do well in this competition so it’s very important, after the UAE match was washed out, that we make the most of our remaining home games and take maximum points.””Obviously, as our preparations are already limited by player availability because of their work commitments, we have been somewhat handicapped of late. But the Dutch also fell foul of the weather [in the quadrangular series] and are in similar circumstances, while they also play a lot on matting.”Scotland recalled fast bowlers Richie Berrington, who has played just one first-class match, and Gordon Drummond, who has appeared in four first-class matches, for the game against Netherlands. Gavin Hamilton, Dewald Nel and Glenn Rogers will return to the squad for the third match against Ireland in Stormont from August 9.Despite their loss to Netherlands, Canada remained on top of the Intercontinental Cup table with 26 points from two games. Netherlands were second with 14 points from one game and, UAE and Scotland have three points from one game each. Bermuda, Ireland, Kenya and Namibia were yet to make an appearance.Netherlands: Peter Borren (capt), Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom de Grooth, Alexei Kervezee, Geert Maarten Mol, Mongesh Panchal, Jelte Schoonheim, Pieter Seelaar, Nick Statham, Eric Szwarzcynski, Somesh Kohli.Scotland: Ryan Watson (capt), Richie Berrington, Fraser Watts, Craig Wright, John Blain, Gordon Drummond, Majid Haq, Omer Hussain, Paul Hoffmann, Ross Lyons, Qasim Sheikh, Neil McCallum, Simon Smith.

Sri Lanka’s coach, John Dyson, had his chin up as he spoke about the team’s performance in the first one-dayer. But he felt that the dismissals of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana were a bad setback. "I thought we did a terrific job to restrict them to 262 after their start on what was a good wicket," Dyson said. "It was a great tragedy though to lose both Sanath and Romesh like we did at the start. They’re the kind of players you want to hang around for a few overs. We’re not too disappointed, though. Mahela and Kumar batted well and so did Dilshan. It’s just a shame that the lower order couldn’t stay with him any longer.""We came back well after the initial assault and 250-odd on this track was very gettable," Marvan Atapattu said, sharing Dyson’s views about the loss of the openers. "We had a shocking start though and never recovered from that loss. It was a tragedy because we know the firepower that they have. Australia played really well and are a very good side. They did very little wrong and bowled extremely well. We will have to consider our line-up for the next game and make sure we minimise our mistakes."

England’s hopes of victory in the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington have taken a serious blow after their hero of the first innings, James Anderson, twisted his left ankle while playing football on the outfield after the close of the third day’s play.Anderson was a surprising selection for this match ahead of Matthew Hoggard, but he excelled in the first innings taking 5 for 73 in 20 overs of pacy swing bowling. According to an England spokesman, he received immediate ice treatment after going over his ankle during England’s warm-down session.There are no plans to send him for a scan as yet, and he was able to put weight on his foot soon afterwards. But he was seen leaving the ground on crutches, and it remains to be seen whether he will be fit to bat when England resume tomorrow on 277 for 9, let alone bowl.If Anderson is unable to lead the attack, England’s chances of drawing level in the series will rest on their remaining frontline seamers, Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad, as well as the spin of Monty Panesar. With an overnight advantage of 421, they would still remain huge favourites against a side that has only ever passed 400 twice in the fourth innings and lost both matches, but even before the news broke, New Zealand were confident of putting up a fight when their turn comes to bat.”We’re pretty jovial, there’s a lot of time left in the match,” said Kyle Mills, who felt that the pitch conditions had eased significantly on the warmest day of the match so far. “If we get a day like today tomorrow and our batsmen can get in and cement themselves, I think it’s game on because we bat a long way down.”We feel a tick over 400 is definitely gettable,” he added. “Hopefully we can get the final wicket fairly early tomorrow and hopefully there won’t be many too clouds around. If we can get that sun on the wicket it can turn onto a flat one. There’s so much time left in the match.”Paul Collingwood, who carried England into the ascendancy with his second half-century of the match, also agreed that the conditions for batting had improved overnight. “With the sun being out all day today, it has dried it out a touch,” he said. “So we’ll have to wait and see what it plays like tomorrow. There is still a little bit in there though.”England may have one eye on past contests if the track does turn out to be flat when their turn comes to bowl. On their last tour in 2001-02, Nathan Astle gave them an almighty scare with an incredible 222 from 178 balls, and carried New Zealand within 100 runs of chasing down a total in excess of 500.Astle has moved on, but with aggressive strokeplayers such as Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum in their middle order, Collingwood predicted that New Zealand would come out fighting once again. “I think they will play the same way they are always playing and that’s pretty positive,” he said. “That is a good thing for us because it gives us chances. They’re an aggressive side and if they get to four or five-down it’ll be interesting to see how the McCullums and Orams come out to play it. It’s a big total but the wicket has played really well and we have to bowl well to stop them from getting the target.”Another man who could be expected to rise to the occasion is the former captain, Stephen Fleming. He has never scored a century on his home ground at Wellington, and in his final appearance before his retirement, tomorrow would be the perfect day to break that duck. “He’s a class batsman and I’m sure he’ll want to cement his mark on this Test match,” said Mills. “He always talks about doing well against England, but I’m sure he’s looking forward to making a big contribution tomorrow.”New Zealand’s record in Test run-chases is not too great, but the same players have enjoyed some notable success in one-day cricket, including against Australia last year when they twice chased down totals in excess of 330. “Australia posted those big scores and I guess at half-time people were writing us off and never thought we’ll reach them.”But this is just another target for us. There’s a lot of belief in this team and if we play to our potential, play well and get the conditions to suit us, all I can say is game on, we’ll definitely be fighting right to the end that’s for sure.”

The voice of Australian cricket is about to become the face of Australian culture. Richie Benaud is fronting a series of funny, glossy TV advertisements, which will be screened all round the world in an attempt to reinvent Australia’s image as a tourist destination.The ads depict Benaud, wearing his favourite beige suit, strolling through Queensland rainforests and across Sydney’s Bondi Beach.He is pictured at the Camel Cup in Alice Springs, perched atop breathtaking escarpment, sticking his head out of a helicopter, riding a hot-air balloon and living it up outside the Bat & Ball Hotel. At every new location he delivers his trademark pronouncement: “Mmmmaaaarvellous.”The ads are a new variant on the pioneering “throw another shrimp on the barbie” commercials fronted by the actor Paul Hogan in the 1980s. Entitled”Australia: A Different Light”, they are part of an ambitious $360m campaign to show that Australia is about more than just beer and barbecues, sun and surf.Benaud, who appeared free of charge, confirmed this morning that the ads were not shot on location.”I’ve been to all of those places or similar places in all the years I’ve been in Australia,” he told Channel Nine, “but I wasn’t actually there. It was a brilliant piece of technology and I’m very happy to be part of it.”Benaud looks in magnificent shape at 73 and had no hesitation in starring in the ads. Nor was he worried about the fact that they, ever so affectionately, take the mickey out of him.”It was just one of those fun things,” he said. “You need a very, very good director to do anything like that and you must always obey your director, and that’s exactly what I did.”There can now be no doubt that Benaud is on something of a late-life roll. He played 63 Tests for Australia as a daring and innovative captain, legspinner and middle-order batsman. He has been the friendly, vaguely reptilian, face of Channel Nine’s cricket coverage for 27 years. Never, though, has he been more famous.He delivered the eulogy at Don Bradman’s funeral in March 2001 and has since stepped effortlessly into The Don’s shoes as cricket’s wise old king. In 2003, Wisden revealed that he had seen 486 Test matches – more than any man alive. By my calculations, this week’s first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord’s will be his 500th.It was widely feared Benaud would hang up the microphone when his Channel Nine contract expired at the end of last summer, prompting jittery speculation about who might succeed him. Simon O’Donnell, Ian Healy, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh, James Brayshaw, Mark Nicholas and even Brendon Julian were mentioned. Instead Benaud declared that he was happy, the fans were delirious, the station was cock-a-hoop and he planned to bat on indefinitely.His distinctive voice – dry, wry and nasally – is mimicked by schoolkids, taxi-drivers, housewives and CEOs alike. His commentary shines on as fresh and droll and economical and astute and understated as ever. His fame now extends beyond cricket: last year he was an outside, though not entirely far-fetched, tip to become Australia’s next Governor-General. And it reaches beyond Australia too: the readers of Wisden Cricket Monthly voted him best commentator in England, by ever-expanding margins, six years in a row.The pop singer Delta Goodrem and poet Les Murray appear in similar ads. But Benaud’s ranks as the funniest and the campaign’s centrepiece. “Richie’s been an icon for years, not just of Australian cricket but of Australian culture,” said Australia’s Tourism Minister Joe Hockey. “When I rang Richie it was an immediate: `Yes, I’m prepared to do it.'”The ads have already been roadtested in the UK, Italy and Singapore – and “for some of the ads people had tears in their eyes”, according to Hockey. But can this same smooth-talking, silver-haired 73-year-old conquer the land of baseball and woo potential US visitors to Australia? That might be Benaud ‘s biggest challenge in decades.”When Hoges was taken to America 20 years ago nobody knew Hoges,” Hockey points out. Benaud is equally, and typically, confident.”Don’t worry about America,” he purred. “The Americans will be down in Australia. I’m patron of a cricket club in America, would you believe, the Sarasota Cricket Club in Florida, have been for many years, and you’ll get a few people wandering down to Australia with that.”He’s rarely been wrong before. Only a fool would doubt him now.

John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, has admitted he is unsure of what types of pitches to expect in the forthcoming NatWest Series after the tracks used in the Tests.Bracewell, who coached Gloucestershire for five years, said England had produced pitches to suit their style of play during the Test series, rather than using the typical early-season seamers.”The types of wickets they produced are not consistent with the ones they produced over the last five years in the early season,” Bracewell said. “They obviously found a combination playing in the West Indies of playing on drier wickets suited their bowlers who hit the deck, and they found that variable bounce.”Bracewell insisted he now wasn’t sure what to expect in the one-dayers. “They’re a canny bunch and they may come up with something completely different for the one-day series,” he said. “Last year they varied them, they played one team on faster wickets [Zimbabwe] throughout the series and one team [South Africa] on slower wickets.”He added that preparing pitches was not something not in the rule book in New Zealand. “Good luck to them. While we’re not allowed to do it in New Zealand, they’re obviously allowed to do it over here,” Bracewell said. “Our policy is to produce the best cricket wickets possible, not ones that suit the home team. I’m quite happy to go along with our policy.”England have done it well. It hasn’t been a surprise, it’s been a surprise it’s taken them so long to work it out.”New Zealand began their preparations for the NatWest Series with a loss against Derbyshire, and they face Essex and Northamptonshire before their opening game of the competition, against England at Old Trafford next Thursday (June 24).

As if things weren’t bad enough for India after their crushing 217-run defeat at Bangalore, it is now being reported that Sachin Tendulkar might miss the remainder of the series.Details of the tennis-elbow injury have been far from clear as team officials sought to keep the exact extent of it under wraps. In the build-up to the first Test, Sourav Ganguly told reporters that Tendulkar would be fit while Andrew Leipus, the physiotherapist, said he would not. He was only finally ruled out on the day before before the match started. Leipus has now been ordered by the Indian board not to comment.Yesterday, Dr Premchand Khincha, an orthopaedic specialist in Bangalore, who examined Tendulkar was quoted in the local Deccan Herald as rating him 50-50 to play in the second Test at Chennai. “He is still feeling the pain while driving the ball and the injury still persists,” Kincha explained. “Normally, it takes about six weeks to three months to recover from a tennis elbow, but in the case of a person involved in heavy physical activity, such as Tendulkar, recovery could take longer.”Tendulkar has been out of action for seven weeks, but several Indian journalists who have spoken privately to the specialist have reported that the outlook is far less optimistic.While there is no doubt that he is on the mend, the process is slow. Initially he was almost incapable of any backlift, and while he can now bat in the nets, he is only able to face three or fours overs before packing in. With the Chennai Test starting on Thursday (October 14) it is almost inconceivable that the improvement in the intervening four days would be enough to enable him to bat for several hours.Tendulkar himself admitted in an interview with The Sun-Herald that he is struggling and that he also needs to rebuild the muscle in his arm which has wasted because of his inactivity. “If I try to rush into playing early there could be a repeat injury because the muscle is not strong enough to take the pressure of batting,” he said. “When there is strength, I can start practising.”On Friday, Tendulkar, who was with the Indian squad at Bangalore, left the Test for a few hours to visit Sai Baba, a popular spiritual guru. He is also believed to be toying with the idea of using a lighter bat to speed his recovery. It seems he is prepared to explore any avenue to get fit, but the reality is that it is simply a matter of time.

Close South Africa 368 for 3 (Smith 132, Gibbs 60, Kallis 87*, van Jaarsveld 69*) v West Indies
Scorecard

Graeme Smith said this Wanderers pitch was a belter before the match started, and right from the second ball – the first one he could reach – he set about proving it. In his first home match as captain, Smith pasted 132 to lay the foundations for a huge total. By the close South Africa had amassed 368 for 3, and West Indies’ limited bowling resources were increasingly stretched.Smith shovelled the second ball of the day, from Fidel Edwards, over short leg’s head to the fence, and there were 21 more fours in all for Smith as he bustled past his fifth Test century. He was in ominously solid form from the start after winning the toss. Those characteristic clunking pushes off his legs, so evident during his big scores in the early part of last summer’s series in England, were again to the fore. He went to his half-century from 76 balls, and played the major role in an opening stand of 149 with Herschelle Gibbs.Shortly before tea Smith reached his hundred, which came up from 147 balls in 226 minutes. His closest shave came from the last ball before tea, when he had 110. Ramnaresh Sarwan looped down one of his rarely-seen legbreaks, and Smith pushed it firmly round the corner. At short leg Brian Lara knocked the ball up, but couldn’t quite hold on to the bobbling rebound. Smith walked off, relieved; Lara held his head in frustration.The torture continued for a while after tea, before Smith drove at a wide one from Edwards and edged it low to slip, where this time Lara gratefully held on. Smith said later: “Throughout my innings my feet did not work well” – the bowlers would probably dispute that – “but my hands did and I felt good on the drive.”That wicket made it 240 for 3 – but it was the last celebration of the day for the West Indians. Jacques Kallis was equally solid, once tonking Daren Ganga’s rusty offspin for a big six. He also collected eight fours, but was outscored in a lively fourth-wicket partnership so far worth 128 – a Test record at the Wanderers – by Martin Jaarsveld, who reached his maiden half-century in his fourth Test with two crunching fours off Corey Collymore. There were ten other boundaries as van Jaarsveld cruised to 69 not out and flogged the tiring bowlers.Earlier the openers had put on 149. Gibbs was more restrained than usual, and he was lucky to escape when one from Vasbert Drakes moved sharply back into him but flew just over the top of middle stump. Drakes caused the batsmen to hop about a bit, and Edwards’s slingy action pushed them back on their heels at times, but generally the West Indian attack toiled on an unforgiving track.

Gibbs reached his own half-century, in 90 balls with eight fours, and cantered to 60 with a vast pull for six. But the bowler, Collymore, got his revenge shortly afterwards, when he brought one back to beat Gibbs’s forward push, and clipped the top of the stumps (149 for 1). The TV replays suggested that the umpire, Darrell Hair, had missed the fact that Collymore had overstepped the crease.Jacques Rudolph joined his captain – but not for long. He had made only 2 when he stretched to drive at one from Drakes which was moving away, and edged it low to the diving Lara at first slip (160 for 2). On TV one of the Afrikaans commentators observed acidly: “If Rudolph went back to school now he would struggle to make the first team.”But the departure of the red-faced Rudolph only brought in Kallis, his eyes wide open – perhaps he couldn’t believe how flat the track was – and he set out his stall for a big score. He finished the day 13 short of what would be his 12th Test century.In the morning South Africa had left out Andrew Hall and the uncapped Garnett Kruger from their assembled squad, preferring the pace of Andre Nel to Hall’s batting potential. West Indies, wracked by injuries which have led to Marlon Samuels, Omari Banks and Jerome Taylor flying home, decided not to risk the untried left-arm spin of the recently arrived Dave Mohammed, and went in with four fast bowlers.Lara was philosophical after losing the toss: “We won the toss here five years ago and batted, and you know what happened then.” Five years ago South Africa won a low-scoring game by four wickets: this time, on a perfect pitch, high scoring was always going to be the order of the day.After his innings Smith reflected on a fine first day in charge at home. “It’s my first hundred at the Wanderers, and a very good way to start the series. Herschelle and I worked well together, talking and encouraging each other. I had some nerves in the nineties, and had to fight off some demons.” After South Africa’s display most of those demons will have decamped to the other dressing-room, where the West Indian bowlers have a lot of hard graft ahead of them tomorrow – and then their batsmen will need to outSmith the South Africans.

The Afro-Asian Cricket Cooperation might have made great plans to stage cricket matches between teams representing the two continents in August, but the South African cricket board is yet to commit itself to it. Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the UCB said that no decision has been taken so far about the series.”We haven’t confirmed anything, we haven’t received any formal invitation yet,” Majola was quoted as saying as saying in the SuperCricket website. “When you agree to something like this you need guarantees, and nothing has come to our table for us to be able to say it’s on or off.”The planned series consists of three one-day matches between the cream of Africa and Asia, and will be played either in India or South Africa on August 17, 19 and 21. On July 16, Peter Chingoka, president of the African Cricket Association, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Asian Cricket Council, will meet in Kolkata to discuss details of the series. Majola said that a decision would be taken following the meeting. “They will discuss the matter and come back to the individual countries after that,” Majola said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out – England
How they were out – Sri Lanka

Mahela Jayawardene added another chapter to a memorable tour with a series-sealing century as Sri Lanka overpowered England by eight wickets at Chester-le-Street. Kumar Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga provided the necessary support and a competitive target of 261 was made to seem like a stroll. Ian Bell had been England’s main source of runs, grafting his way to 77, but the bowlers again produced a horrendously wayward display and once Sri Lanka were off to a flyer the result was never in doubt.Bell, along with jaunty knocks from Jamie Dalrymple and Geraint Jones, had lifted England after an innings that laboured for 40 overs before coming to life as the final 10 brought 89 runs. However, any chance England may have had of keeping the series alive disappeared with a new-ball spell that abandoned all notions of line and length.The confidence that is surging through the Sri Lankans was evident with the way they started the run chase. Sanath Jayasuriya lashed a series of wide long-hops to the cover and third-man boundary as Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett fluffed their lines in front of a home crowd. Sajid Mahmood’s first ball brought the breakthrough as he charged through after delivering and caught Jayasuriya short – but that was as good as it got for Mahmood.At The Oval he was caned for 80 in seven overs; here his first three overs were carted for 27 as the ball was sprayed on both sides of the wicket, allowing Tharanga and Jayawardene to help themselves. Andrew Strauss was left in a hopeless position because each time he tried to cover another gap in the field the bowler would be hit somewhere else. When one was pitched in the right place, producing a nick, there was no one in the slips to catch it. The bowlers only had themselves to blame.Jayawardene brought up a sparkling fifty off 40 balls and his stand with Tharanga – who again looked a million dollars through the covers – added 87 off 69 balls. Dalrymple gave England some relief when Tharanga top-edged a sweep to short fine-leg, but Sri Lanka were so far ahead of the rate they could just bide their time.

With Jayawardene in such rich touch, Sangakkara just kept the singles coming and ensured his captain had the strike. Jayawardene slowed up in the second half of his innings – but only marginally. He lofted Dalrymple over midwicket to move into the 90s and reached three figures, off 104 balls, with a spanking cover drive off Harmison, making it a century apiece for Sri Lanka’s top three in the series. Just one of the marked differences between the teams. Sangakkara completed the formalities with a flourish, taking four boundaries in six deliveries, to register his own half-century and carry the magnificent stand with Jayawardene to 140.The flamboyance of Sri Lanka’s batting was in stark contrast to a generally stodgy effort from England, only boosted by the late flurries of the middle order. Vaas removed Strauss and Marcus Trescothick during a tight opening burst and put the breaks on a solid start from England after an opening stand of 62. The most worrying sight for England came when Kevin Pietersen was struck on his injured left knee by Farveez Maharoof. He went down in obvious pain and Dean Conway, the England physio, spent a couple of minutes checking Pietersen’s knee. He resumed batting, but virtually on one leg, and not for long as he flashed a short, wide ball from Lasith Malinga which suggested his mind was elsewhere.Sri Lanka gave Bell a life when Russel Arnold spilled a low chance in the gully on 17 and he and Paul Collingwood started to form a useful partnership as Jayawardene brought his spinners into operation. Malinga Bandara, in his first appearance of the series in place of Muttiah Muralitharan, bowled fairly flat, but gave the ball a tweak. Dalrymple continued to make a positive impression, showing an aggressive intent from the outset, cracking Bandara for six down the ground. He went inside out through, and over, cover as he and Bell took 15 off Vaas’ ninth over after the first eight had cost 23.Bell reached fifty off 86 balls after it took him 69 to find the boundary. Dalrymple’s flourish rubbed off and he began to back away, planting the bowlers through the covers. Thoughts at the interval were that the score was about right to create an exciting game but Jayawardene turned the chase into one-way traffic. This was another black day for England but everything Sri Lanka have touched over the last three weeks has turned to gold.