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Australia 9 for 602 dec and 181 for 1 (Ponting 51*, Langer 88*) lead England 157 (Bell 50, McGrath 6-50) by 626 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out – England
How they were out – Australia

Glenn McGrath announced his return to Test cricket with the superb figures of 6 for 50, and Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer added an unbeaten stand of 113, as England’s cricketers were stripped of their dignity on an extraordinary day’s cricket that verged on the sadistic. Having been bundled out for a woeful 157, a deficit of 445, England’s morale was so bleak that, with a full 45 overs of the day’s play remaining, a three-day finish was a very real possibility. But Ponting was having none of it, and in a decision that echoed Mark Taylor’s move on this same ground in 1994-95, he opted instead to send England’s frazzled players back out into the field for another dose of chastisement.The tactic had been amply justified by the close, as Australia ground their way to 1 for 181, a massive lead of 626. Ponting himself was still there on 51, having passed 9000 runs in Test cricket, and all England had to show for another 40 overs of hard labour was the run-out of Matthew Hayden. As they trooped off the field after their third humiliation in a row, it was hard to believe that this was the same body of men who had retrieved the Ashes in such memorable fashion in 2005. As many as nine of the players on each team were present in that match at The Oval, but the gulf between mindsets could not have been more acute.Since their arrival Down Under, England have been bewildered by the ferocity of Australia’s resolve, and today no-one typified that determination better than McGrath. All year long he has been claiming that, at the age of 36, he is in the best shape of his life, but a ten-month absence to care for his sick wife Jane, and an unconvincing performance on the flat tracks of India last month, had the naysayers believing otherwise. Today, McGrath did as champions do, and let his bowling do the talking.Flushed with confidence after two cheap scalps last night, McGrath tore through England’s bewildered batting, teasing and tormenting England’s outside edges in precisely the manner that England themselves had failed to do at any stage of the match. He grabbed his first of the day when Kevin Pietersen shouldered arms unwisely to one that jagged back and rapped the pads, and after watching Brett Lee dismiss Andrew Flintoff for a third-ball duck, McGrath returned to mop up the tail.Flintoff’s dismissal was an especially dismal moment for England. All through the first two day’s play, he had been a lone pillar of strength, but suddenly, with his side in disarray at 4 for 78, he was on an absolute hiding to nothing. After surviving two deliveries, he nibbled at a third from Lee, and Gilchrist completed the catch that sent the crowd at the Gabba delirious.

England rallied insofar as a team in such dire straits can rally, with Ian Bell confirming that he is a cricketer reborn since his harrowing experience in the 2005 Ashes. He had to ride his luck and back his judgment during Lee’s opening salvo, which included an edge through third man off an angled bat, but he had enough chutzpah to see off both his nemeses, McGrath and Shane Warne, whom he greeted with quick feet and an focussed mind. He brought up his third fifty against the Aussies with a tickled single to leg, but unfortunately for England he was unable to push on, as Clark located one of the cracks on a widening pitch, and Ponting at second slip took a fine catch diving to his right.Geraint Jones had by this stage perished, trapped on the crease by a full-length inswinger from McGrath, and England’s innings folded in an embarrassing heap, with only Ashley Giles provided any token resistance in a defiantly chancy 24. Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison both fell for ducks, caught behind off Clark and McGrath respectively, and it was McGrath who wrapped up proceedings when Giles retreated to leg and top-edged a short ball to point. As he led his side off the pitch, McGrath clutched at his back in a mock display of old age. So far in this Test, Dad’s Army has been doing okay.It got no better for England as Ponting opted to give them another stint in the field. In theory it could have been a blessing in disguise for an attack that is woefully short of match fitness, but Hayden reverted to his best bullying mode to ensure there were no plus-points to be gained from the new ball. James Anderson, who has arguably endured an even worse match than the hapless Harmison, was beasted for three fours in a row, and though he gained his revenge with a pin-point run-out it was scant consolation. By the close even their direct hits were ricocheting for overthrows, as Australia marched on and on and on. It is more than just a beating that England are taking in this match, it is an evisceration.

ScorecardAnother seesawing day between Lancashire and Sussex left proceedings intriguingly poised at Liverpool. The first session was fairly even, as Stuart Law played defiantly with reasonable but not dominating support at the other end. First Sussex and then Lancashire surged ahead in turn during the afternoon session, only for Sussex to redress the balance during the final two hours.Law has often been the scourge of Sussex bowling, and he looked like adding another century to his tally of five against them. It was a grafting innings, with few memorable strokes, but was of immense value. Without him, Lancashire would probably have been out of this game by now.More memorable during the morning was the return of Andrew Flintoff to the crease after missing half a season. He quickly played a superb cover drive for four and ran up 34 off 36 balls, with six boundaries, before he tried to turn a straight ball from Naved-ul-Hasan to midwicket and was trapped lbw.After lunch, Law showed more aggression, taking 14 off an over from Jason Lewry, but soon after he was caught for 95, slashing the same bowler to third man, Lancashire were nine wickets down with a deficit of 23. Then came their best hour of the match to date.Their last pair, Glen Chapple (30 not out) and Muttiah Muralitharan (28), produced a highly entertaining stand of 50 in quick time, the latter in particular playing some exotic strokes that were enjoyed by the crowd as much as himself. By the time he backed awayfrom a low full toss from Naved to be bowled, Lancashire had gained a lead of 27.The home side’s golden hour was not yet finished, as the opener Chris Nash, the topscorer of the first innings, was caught at the wicket off the first ball of the Sussex second innings, and his partner Richard Montgomerie scored only a single before being caught at slip. Then came the Sussex fightback. Mike Yardy and Murray Goodwin got their heads down and blunted the Lancashire attack with a sound partnership. Lancashire, searching for a breakthrough, decided Flintoff was ready to rise to the challenge.He began with a harmless bouncer to Yardy, and bowled two spells of two overs each at reasonable pace without either falling over or taking a wicket and conceded just a single. Even Murali failed to trouble the two batsmen.Goodwin was especially impressive through the covers, and by the close had 68 to Yardy’s 52, with their team now in the ascendancy. Even though the sun shone little this time, there was still a crowd of more than 2000 to enjoy another fine day’s play on a prominent outground. Most had left, though, by the time the match finished more than 30 minutes late due to another pathetic over-rate.

The MPCA stadium in Indore is doing its best to get dressed for the final match of this India-England ODI series. Rahul Dravid is back in the mix after a two-game break, and England have just tasted their maiden success in the shorter version of the game. While it would be untrue to suggest that there is everything to play for, considering India won the series with a convincing 4-0 scoreline some eight days ago at Kochi, many individuals still have to enough reasons to push themselves, if merely wearing national colours was not motivation enough.Ton-up FlintoffHe may have been the most dangerous batsman in the Tests, and even batted for some period on every single day of a Test (Mohali) but Andrew Flintoff is yet to register a three-figure score in the series – not even having conceded 100 runs in any bowling effort. When he takes the field, on Saturday, Flintoff will be playing his 100th ODI for England. When asked about the milestone, Dravid, who made his debut just three years before Flintoff (in 1996) and has played 184 ODIs more, allowed himself a chuckle, “It’s a terrific achievement. He’s been around for a long time, it just shows England don’t play as much one-day cricket as some other teams. It will be a big day for him.” Dhoni, who made his debut as late as December 2004 has already played 40 ODIs while Yuvraj Singh, whose first knock in ODIs was in 2000 is already a veteran of 147 ODIs.Lower-order powerOne of the keys to India’s success in limited overs cricket in recent times has been the flexibility in the team thanks to the presence of Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the lower order. What the team lacked, was seriously on the lookout for, was a spin-bowling allrounder. While it is too early to say they have found one in Ramesh Powar, he is certainly well ahead of the remaining contenders. Powar’s fitness goes against him, but then again he has always been heavy, and as Dravid pointed out, is neither as slow across the ground or unfit as his bulk makes him out to be. He has bowled with tremendous skill and guile, changing pace and loop at will, and his fighting half-century in extreme heat in Jamshedpur has gone a long way in putting him the scheme of things.End as you beginWhile every member of both teams will deny that the lead-up to the sixth game was any less intense, a drop in focus is inevitable when there is so little at stake. It’s not quite the same with the last match, though. For England it is the end of long, gruelling tour and in India, the public only seems to remember the last two matches played, so the team could cop some criticism for losing two on the trot despite having sealed the series long ago. In that sense, and with Dravid returning to the helm, the Indians will be pushing hard to end on a high note.Will he? Won’t he?Inevitably the lead-up to a match is full of speculation on who will play and who will not. Dravid has kept his cards close to his chest ever since taking over as captain and today, the final ODI was no different. Speculation is rife on whether Virender Sehwag and/or Mohammad Kaif will rest. Sehwag hinted that he would not be averse to the idea, and with two back-to-back ODIs against Pakistan scheduled for April 18 and 19, the team may well decide to bench one or both and give Robin Uthappa a much-awaited debut. One person likely to play, though is Dinesh Karthik, who has been summoned up specially for this game to give Dhoni a break. If he does not make the cut then India will have to hand either Dravid or Uthappa, who kept wickets a few years back before giving it up to concentrate on his batting, the big gloves, and both options seem unlikely.

Chandigarh’s Sector 16 stadium is likely to host its first one-day international in 14 years when Australia tour India later this year. The venue has been slotted for the fourth ODI on October 8 instead of the initially-scheduled game at Guwahati, but following the change the Assam Cricket Association will stage a match there against Pakistan on November 6.The Indian board (BCCI) and the Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) agreed to host the game there after some deliberation as the HCA was first allotted the opening ODI of the series against Pakistan.Confirming this, the BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove told Chandigarh’s , “The BCCI has okayed the HCA’s proposal to shift international matches allotted to them from Faridabad to Chandigarh. A team from the International Cricket Council (ICC) would be visiting the city in July to inspect whether the stadium could host an international match.”The last ODI hosted by the city was an India-England match in January 1993.”The stadium [at Chandigarh] has good facilities and experience of hosting international cricket before,” said Ranbir Mahendra, the HCA secretary. “I would be coordinating with the administration soon for making the facilities at the stadium match the international standards. If this match is organised well, many international matches could be in line for Chandigarh.”SK Sandhu, the finance and sports secretary, said the immediate plans for the stadium were “on track”. “The stadium is almost ready; an electronic scoreboard would come up soon. The press box also needs furnishing, as both national as well as international media would be there to cover the game. We have sufficient funds, you will find an international-class stadium ready when the match would be played here.”Australia will now play at Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Baroda, Nagpur and Mumbai and Pakistan will play at Guwahati, Mohali, Kanpur, Gwalior and Jaipur.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Pakistan showed they are focused on finishing their tour on a positive note as they warmed-up for the one-day series with a comfortable five-wicket win, and had 13 balls to spare, in the Twenty20 at Bristol. As expected, Shahid Afridi provided the fireworks in the run chase with a crackling 10-ball onslaught, before Mohammad Hafeez played a measured hand. Stuart Broad gave England hope with a memorable two wickets in two balls on debut, but their total was about 30 runs short after the Pakistan pacemen had ripped through the top order.Marcus Trescothick prevented a total collapse after three wickets had fallen in five balls as England slipped to 40 for 3, but the batsmen struggled to find the boundary and only managed one six in their innings. Boundaries are not something Afridi often struggles for and he didn’t hang about trying to open his account, despite walking in with Broad on a hat-trick.Broad, too, had wasted little time in making his mark on proceedings and gave a glimpse of the ability that has got the cricket world talking. His first over went for just two, then with his 10th ball on the international scene he trapped Shoaib Malik lbw. Throughout the season Broad has proved himself to be a thinking bowler and he then showed his adaptability by bouncing Younis Khan first ball, who gloved his pull shot to Chris Read. He wasn’t afraid of a stare towards the batsmen and while he hasn’t picked up bowling skills from his father, Chris, he certainly has traits of his combative spirit.Afridi, though, isn’t a player to give an inch and negotiated the hat-trick ball by heaving Broad over mid-off for a couple – and he never threatened a defensive shot. He was responsible for the majority of the 22 runs that came off Sajid Mahmood’s first over, then Broad was shown the other end of international cricket as 20 came off his third.Pakistan were 26 runs ahead of England after the fielding restrictions, but Afridi wasn’t about to take stock and tried to launch Jamie Dalrymple over the river to Wales. However, Michael Yardy – whose performance made it a good day for England’s debutants – ran backwards from long on, leaped, and held a stunning catch to at least keep the match interesting.When Yardy claimed Mohamamd Yousuf as his first international scalp, the equation almost came down to a run-a-ball. But through all the action, Hafeez had played a composed hand, working the strike, but also crunching the ball to the fence. A couple of cheeky sweeps were the highlights of the innings and when he was stranded by Paul Collingwood’s direct hit the job was nearly done. Inzamam-ul-Haq made a statement by launching Darren Gough – in his comeback match – effortlessly over long on and this week is looking rosier for him than the last seven days.With the striking power all the way down Pakistan’s order, England knew they needed an imposing total to have a real chance. Trescothick and Ian Bell had started promisingly enough, but Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif reduced them from 39 without loss to 40 for 3 within five balls. Asif removed Kevin Pietersen first ball for the second time in three innings and Strauss only faired one ball better. This left England needing to rebuild, but with Asif bowling four economical overs and the returning Rana Naved-ul Hasan also not giving much away the overs quickly ticked by.Trescothick held the innings together and showed a pleasing return to form after a difficult Test series. He’d kick-started his innings with three fours in a row off Shoaib and his trademark meaty thumps were quickly rocketing in the boundary boards. When spin was introduced, Trescothick went into slog-sweep mode and his fifty came off 33 balls. However, with England needing him to bat through the innings Abdul Razzaq produced a decent ball, which kissed the outside edge, and Kamran Akmal held his second low catch.It wasn’t until the final over that England cleared the ropes as Yardy’s quick-fire 14-ball effort at least handed them something to bowl at. But the ease with which Pakistan completed the chase showed they would have been capable of knocking off many more.

How they were out

Click here to read Cricinfo’s description of each England wicket
Click here to read Cricinfo’s description of each Pakistan wicket

India may be at defeat’s door, but it was a defiant Harbhajan Singh that addressed the media after a sixth consecutive five-for in home Tests against Australia. He bowled magnificently today, picking up 6 for 78 as Australia were restricted to 228 in their second innings. Harbhajan took aim at some of his more strident critics, and then insisted that India would come back hard at the Aussies, like they did back in 2001.On whether India are reconciled to defeat
The match is still going on. Rahul [Dravid] is still at the wicket.On the batting
We haven’t been at our best. Sachin [Tendulkar] not playing was a big blow for us. And we also got a couple of bad decisions. But in the first innings, we gave away too many runs, and then didn’t bat well enough.On the remarkable streak against Australia, and whether they have a weakness against his offspin
I don’t know what it is, but it’s a good habit to have against the best team in the world. I just go out there and bowl my best.On the support from the close-in cordon
It’s great to have fielders like Aakash Chopra, Yuvraj Singh at forward short leg, and to have someone like Dravid in the slips. When you bowl, you know that they won’t be dropping catches. It was the same last time, when SS Das and Sadagoppan Ramesh took some great catches.On those who have criticised him in the recent past
They have got their answer. I hope they’ll keep quiet for some time now. I’m not a God, and you can’t expect me to take 32 wickets every time. Sometimes I’ll bowl badly, sometimes I’ll go for runs.On the contentious umpiring decisions
That’s part of the game, and I can’t say anything about it. They are good umpires, and you can’t do much about it. Not me at least (laughs).On Tendulkar’s possible return to the side
When he comes back, we’ll be a different side. He’s a great batsman, no matter what kind of pitch, and he’s confident that he will be back for Chennai. He also takes a few wickets with his legspin (smiles).On what he did differently in the second innings
I was bowling in the right spots. There were a few marks on the pitch, and I concentrated on those.

Andrew Flintoff has told a British newspaper that he expects to be able to resume playing at least a month before the start of the Ashes in November.Flintoff, who underwent surgery on his ankle last week, told the Sun that he was undergoing a rehabilitation programme supervised by Dave “Rooster” Roberts, part of Lancashire’s medical staff. “I’ll hopefully be fit to play again 12 weeks after the operation, mid or late October … that should be plenty of time to be ready for the first Test.”There’s been a lot of talk that I might play some grade cricket in Australia or get a game somewhere else to help regain match fitness,” he added. “But I’m not looking that far ahead. At the moment, I’m sitting on my couch wearing a big boot and holding a pair of crutches.”I’ll be seeing Rooster virtually every day, sometimes two or three times a day. I’ll have the stitches taken out some time next week and then I’ll get rid of the crutches.””

Former England batsman Ian Ward has announced his retirement to pursue a career as a full-time cricket presenter and commentator.Ward, 33, was a key member of Surrey’s Championship-winning side between 1999 and 2002. He was rewarded with an England call-up in 2001, against Pakistan and Australia, but was quickly found out by Glenn McGrath, and failed to make an impression. He moved to Sussex in 2003 and was half-way through his contract. He hit 8575 first-class runs in a 14-year career.”I have really enjoyed my time at Sussex and the club have been very good to me,” he said. “I am disappointed I wasn’t able to make more of a contribution this year. I’d never missed a match through injury before so to miss so many games in the second half of the season was very frustrating.”Sussex are a great county to play for and I know I’ll miss it when the new season starts, especially the camaraderie in the dressing-room and the adrenaline rush you get as an opening batsman facing quick bowlers.”Ward has spent the last two winters as a presenter and commentator on Sky Sports. “Television provides its own challenges,” he said, “and I am really looking forward to developing my career in a different direction.”Ward’s departure follows that of Tim Ambrose, the wicketkeeper-batsman who joined Warwickshire last week. But Sussex, for their part, have no plans to replace either man with a big-name winter signing. “The cricket management [at Sussex] are highly confident of being able to fill the void with one of our own young players,” said Mark Robinson, the county’s professional cricket manager. “I have every faith and confidence in their ability to take up the challenge to prove themselves at this level.”

Dean Elgar has provided a forceful defence of South Africa’s coaching staff, who have taken a public battering in the aftermath of the team’s back to back series defeats. Head coach Russell Domingo and his slew of support staff were most heavily criticised by former captain Graeme Smith who questioned whether the management was getting the best out of the players and directing them in the right way. Elgar insisted they are.”My words are pretty firm. What’s been said in the media is quite wrong and a little bit hurtful. Our management deserve a lot more respect, especially by those guys who have worked with them before,” he said. “People don’t know what our management team do behind closed doors, with regards to their work ethic and giving guys freedom to prepare their own way. They have ticked all the boxes in my eyes.”Elgar found no fault with either preparation or personnel although he conceded a full-time batting coach could be a welcome addition to a backroom staff that includes two bowling coaches. “Our preparation has been brilliant. That’s a non-negotiable for us,” he said. “I do think a specialist batting coach would add a lot of value. I know there have been a few guys asked to help us, to a bit of a negative response. Even though you are playing for South Africa, you sometimes do need that little bit of fine-tuning from someone else that is just observing from the sidelines. I do think there will be a benefit for one in the squad. With regards to who it would be, I’m not sure.”South Africa have been through three batting consultants, Gary Kirsten, Mike Hussey and Smith, who played under Domingo for nine months between June 2013 and March 2014. In that time, South Africa drew a Test series against Pakistan in the UAE, beat India at home and lost to Australia. That period also saw the retirement of Jacques Kallis before Smith signed off from the international stage, putting the team into its greatest transitional period in a decade.At first, it seemed South Africa would cope with the loss of big names. They won a series in Sri Lanka and beat Zimbabwe and West Indies under Hashim Amla. But the frailties began to show in India, where South Africa were beaten 3-0 on turning tracks, and the malaise has continued into the England series.Injuries to key members of their pace pack – Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn – have hamstrung then in one department while a misfiring batting line-up, which has been bowled out for their two lowest scores since readmission in the last two series, has handicapped them in the other. As a result, there have been questions asked about the mental strength of the side and whether the behind the scenes dramas including transformation, uncertainty over AB de Villiers’ long-term future and now, the domestic match-fixing scandal is bleeding into performance.Elgar admitted the scrutiny around the team’s performances had not gone unnoticed but insisted the team remained united. “The best is to try and laugh it off. If you let that affect you, it’s taking a few steps back. I’m sure every player will say they don’t read what’s in the media, I do read the media,” he said. “It is disheartening to hear those things in the media but the Test side is a tight unit. I know that the cricket doesn’t reflect that, but we are. I can vouch for that. It is a little bit unpleasant hearing it in the media. That’s their opinions. I know from where I sit the Proteas are a strong unit.”South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo is under pressure after a string of poor results•Gallo Images

But they are also a changing unit, and that may be the biggest difference between them and a settled England side. “The English players seem to know their game very well. Two years ago, they were in a similar position to us. They were getting a beating by Australia or another team. Their players have adapted very quickly. It seems like they know their role very well.”They have a lot of impact players within their side. Ben Stokes adds a huge advantage with bat and ball and fielding at gully. They’re also a very experienced unit. Especially with ball in hand, you can see they know their stuff. They’re highly skilled and focused and they know what to do on the international circuit.”South Africa’s experience has been whittled down to that extent that even Elgar, who has only played 24 Tests, is now considered part of a senior core, especially when it comes to the top two. Given that Elgar is the experienced opener he is expected to anchor the innings, something he wants to work harder on.”I have been reasonably happy but in the same breath very frustrated as well. I’ve got three 40s, which if people know me, that really grinds me,” he said. “I would rather go out for zero than in the 40s or 50s, when the hard work has been done. All you have to do then is apply yourself a little bit more. There are still two more innings in the series and I’ll try and make it count.”If he can, it may strengthen his case as a candidate for the Test captaincy, which will be decided on during the winter break. De Villiers remains the frontrunner for the job but Elgar, who could have more years left than de Villiers, has been picked to lead the South African A side against England in a fifty-over warm-up match and may now start mulling the possibility of the main job.”Since school cricket I was someone that wanted to lead from the front. I wanted to be the best in the side. It was something that was drilled into me from a young age. Irrespective of who you are playing against. It’s about pride,” he said. “If it had to come my way, it’s something I will have to think long and hard about. I don’t think it’s something that’s very easy. I know it’s something a lot of guys take very seriously.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Shivnarine Chanderpaul carried West Indies to a thrilling final-ball one-wicket win in the first one-day international in Port of Spain after being left needing 10 off two deliveries. He responded with a straight drive before flicking a Chaminda Vaas full toss over deep midwicket to send the Trinidad crowd into wild celebrations.An enthralling match had swung one way then the other before the final act. Sri Lanka recovered from 49 for 5 to post a competitive total with Chamara Kapugedera hitting a career-best 95 in a record sixth-wicket stand of 159 with Chamara Silva. West Indies were well placed on 109 for 1 before Chris Gayle fell for 52, and when Dwayne Bravo was run out the lower-order was exposed. Sri Lanka appeared to have done enough, but Chanderpaul had other ideas.He’d struggled to find the boundary, and the strike, in the final stages but clipped a four off the final ball of the 49th over. Only three runs came off the first four balls of the last over from Vaas before Chanderpaul slammed a drive past mid-off, followed by the match-clinching six which sailed over Mahela Jayawardene on the fence. Jayawardene knew he wasn’t going to haul in a last-ditch catch and although he made his displeasure clear at the rare blemish from Vaas, on reflection he’ll find plenty to be pleased about from his team’s performance.This series marks something of a watershed for Sri Lanka as they start to build for the next World Cup. Muttiah Muralitharan has been rested, something that will become the norm for non-major tournaments or series, while Sanath Jayasuriya has been dropped to blood a young top order. Throw in the absence of Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando and Farveez Maharoof through injury and this was Sri Lanka’s weakest one-day bowling attack for some time. After Vaas’s 392 wickets, the next best was Tillakaratne Dilshan with 45.It didn’t leave Jayawardene much to work with, especially when Ishara Amerasinghe was taken to the cleaners and Kapugedera’s bowling was less successful than his batting. It was the debutant spinner, Ajantha Mendis, who stood up with three wickets leaving West Indies dumbfounded by his variations to suggest Sri Lanka may have unearthed someone to help ease the burden on Muralitharan.Mendis showed the calmness and control of a seasoned international player, not a 23-year-old playing his first game. He broke through a 56-run stand between Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, later adding Darren Sammy and, one ball after being launched for six, claiming Jerome Taylor in his further spells.Nuwan Kulasekera was another to answer his captain’s call with top-order wickets. Starting with Devon Smith he also removed Sarwan and two balls later trapped Marlon Samuels lbw. Bravo decided the best way to counter the flurry of wickets was with aggression and joined the list of batsmen to take a liking to Amerasinghe. He played his trademark pull off one leg through midwicket before unfurling the shot of the match, a back-foot drive high over extra-cover which struck one of the photographers a nasty blow on the head.It was a piece of headless cricket that opened the door again for Sri Lanka as Bravo succumbed to a misunderstanding with Chanderpaul and both ended up at the same end. Bravo’s dismissal left West Indies needing 67 off 12 overs and the onus was on Chanderpaul. He was composed, but his colleagues less so. Patrick Browne couldn’t pick Mendis’ box of tricks, but his team-mates will forgive him that. They will be less generous about his dismissal. One ball after easing the pressure with a sweet six off Dilshan he tried a repeat and found Mendis at long on. However, in the final throes it was the two most experienced players on the field who went head-to-head, with Chanderpaul coming out on topWest Indies would never have envisaged such a close call after they’d taken advantage of early movement to reduce Sri Lanka’s top order to ruins. Bravo claimed three, including Jayawardene who drove loosely to backward point, after Kumar Sangakkara had fallen in similar fashion against Taylor.Kapugedera has struggled to nail a consistent place in the middle order since making his debut two years ago but has continued to knock on the door with performances for Sri Lanka A. He expanded his strokeplay in the closing overs, taking two sixes off Sulieman Benn plus another off Fidel Edwards, and seemed to be timing his pursuit of three figures nicely until falling to the penultimate ball of the innings.He’d been helped in the well-paced fightback by Silva, the more experienced player who was happy to let Kapugedera play his natural game. With the charge on in the final ten overs Silva also began to open his shoulders, but picked out midwicket for a 96-ball 67, full of inventive strokes and quick running, to hand Bravo his fourth wicket. Bravo’s all-round contribution earned him the match award, but the Trinidad crowd made it clear they knew who West Indies had to thank for pulling off a victory that had appeared to have slipped away.