The Sri Lankans, forced to follow on after scoring only 192 in reply to England's first innings 551 for six declared, extended their overnight second innings total of 381 for six to 537 for nine when bad light stopped play. It was the highest second innings score ever recorded at Lord's.

Number 10 Nuwan Kulasekara, who had a previous best of 13 from two previous Tests, batted with the assurance of a veteran to score 64 in more than three hours at the crease.

He hit seven fours and lofted left-arm spinner Monty Panesar into the Tavern stand for two sixes during a partnership of 105 with Chaminda Vaas (50 not out), a Sri Lankan ninth wicket record against all countries.

Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 69, also eating up three hours of precious time, and 19-year-old debutant Chamara Kapugedera scored only 10 but occupied the crease for just under an hour.

England were again badly let down by their fielding, grassing two simple catches and one harder chance, to add to their six previous misses.

Captain Andrew Flintoff also appeared to rotate his bowlers by numbers and continued to employ conventional field settings when the situation cried out for pressure to be placed on the tailenders.

MISSED CHANCES

Flintoff, normally one of the safest slip catchers in the world, dropped the easiest of chances by his standards before Kapugedera had added to his overnight total of five after play started 20 minutes late because of light rain.

Alastair Cook then fumbled his second catch of the innings, a crucial one as it proved, when he reprieved Kulasekara on 14. In the final session Paul Collingwood also recorded his second miss of the match when he failed to hold a high chance off Vaas when the batsman had scored 41.

Kapugedera was the first to go, caught by wicketkeper Geraint Jones gloving an attempted hook off Flintoff. It was Jones's fifth dismissal of the innings.

Dilshan added 30 to his overnight total before giving Liam Plunkett his first wicket of the match with an edge to Marcus Tresothick at slip. He had hit 11 fours for his eighth Test half century.

England took lunch 20 minutes early after another shower and at that stage victory seemed in sight.

Although their pace bowlers regularly beat the outside edge, they could not dislodge either of the ninth wicket pair who batted with increasing assurance in the afternoon session to take their team to 510 for eight at tea with 47 overs remaining.

Flintoff, who had bowled with great heart from the Pavilion End, beat Vaas three times from as many balls outside the off-stump in his 50th over then took his sweater.

Collingwood bowled in his place but after Matthew Hoggard dismissed Kulasekara, Flintoff immediately resumed the attack, hitting Muttiah Muralitharan on the left hand. The umpires then took the sides off for bad light.

Vaas continued to play serenely when play resumed, reaching his 10th Test half-century with seven fours before the players left the field for the final time.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 61 in the first innings followed by a marathon 119 in the second to keep his team in the game, was named man-of-the-match.

 Via http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2006/may/16lanka.htm

 Raina, 19, has shown maturity beyond his years and added steel to the one-day squad in an impressive first season.

Via http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2006/may/15raina.htm

The ICC Champions Trophy in India could see appeals if players believe the on-field umpire has got it wrong.

"This will complicate things. It basically sends a message to the umpires 'we don't have confidence in you,'" said Miandad.

The recommendation was made by the ICC's cricket committee in Dubai.

And it is now set to be ratified in July in London.

But Miandad, who played 124 Tests and 233 one-day internationals from 1975 to 1996, said leg before decisions were impossible to get right all of the time, even with the aid of television.

"The technology is not always correct and there is no relevancy between a umpire taking a decision in a fraction of a second and these later shown in slow motion," he said.

Players would be allowed three appeals per innings to the third umpire if they dispute a decision.

But former captain Rashid Latif backed the right to appeal.

"It will help in sorting out leg before decisions where there is an inside edge, or on catches that come off the pad," he said.

"One poor decision can change the outcome of a match and affect a player's career."

 via http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/4771995.stm

“There is a possibility of me playing for Northamptonshire this season, but nothing has been finalised,” Ganguly was quoted as saying. “Something may materialise soon,” he added.

Northants official Mark Tack confirmed the county was seeking the left-handed batsman as a replacement for Chris Rogers who has been called up for duty with the Australian ‘A’ team.

“We are in talks with Ganguly and his agent,” Tack told. “We are looking for a replacement for Rogers. A final decision will be made in a week’s time,” he added. If a contract is finalised, Ganguly will play county cricket for five wickets from the end of June, Tack said.

At stumps, on the second day, Sri Lanka had collapsed to 91 for six, still a huge 460 behind England’s first innings 551 for six declared and needing a further 261 to avoid the follow-on target of 352.

The ODI series, which features only day matches, starts on May 18 and the first two games will be played in Jamaica. The third will take place at St. Kitts while the last two would be staged in Trinidad.

"I want to play well on the bouncy pitches in the Caribbean and have practised on cement pitches with plastic balls at the Lucknow Sports Hostel," Raina told PTI.

The Uttar Pradesh batsman said the minor county experience in England as well as the tour to Zimbabwe last year will hold him in good stead during the Caribbean sojourn.

"I will be looking to spend some time at the wicket. As you saw in the last game [against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi] I spent some time at the wicket, but still scored at a good rate. I made 73 from 83 balls, which I think is a good strike rate for a one-day game. I was looking to apply myself by not taking too many risks," he told reporters in Mumbai.

"In West Indies, I will be looking to provide a good start for the team. I am a senior member and also the vice-captain so I have to play responsibly," he said.

However, he said his role in the team had not changed a lot. "My role is still the same. When we are chasing a big total, my main aim is to give the team a good start. And if we are batting first, then I look to bat around 20-25 overs and provide the team with a solid start," he added.

India are a roll at the moment after their 5-1 drubbing of England at home and then the 1-1 draw against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

Sehwag struggled in the one-day series against England, having scored just 78 runs in 5 matches at 15.60. But said he would be looking to score some runs in the West Indies.

"I know I have not done well against England, but I will try to improve in the West Indies. I am looking forward to spending some time at the wicket. I am not going to take too many risks."

The Delhi opener said the team would miss the services of Sachin Tendulkar in the one-day series. Tendulkar, who is undergoing rehabilitation after undergoing shoulder surgery, is hoping to make it for the Test series in the West Indies.

"We will miss Sachin. He has been such a good performer for India. He is the God of cricket. However, we have some very good youngsters and we are confident of doing well," he said.

The 27-year-old also praised the performance of youngster Suresh Raina, who was today named as the brand ambassador for sports giants Adidas.

"Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan have done well for us. They have finished a few games, so it's a good sign for the team," he said.

Raina was in top form against England, having scored 242 runs in 6 matches at 48.40, while taking some stunning catches in the field.

This is his first tour to the West Indies, however, the 19-year-old seemed confident of a good showing.

"I aim to do well in the West Indies. I am learning with every match," he said.

On being asked whether he would prefer batting up the order if given the chance, he replied: "If they give me a chance, I don't mind batting up the order. I am ready to bat in any position for the team's sake."

 Via (http://inhome.rediff.com/cricket/2006/may/11sehwag.htm)

BCCI has now tried to address the issue by saying that a player, if he wants to rest for some matches, he can. Says BCCI Secy Niranjan Shah, "We would certainly not like to force anyone to play, if he is feeling jaded."

Indian medium pacer, Ashis Nehra, who has been out of action for some time due to injury, says, "Injuries are happening on a regular basis. It is particularly tough for the fast bowlers who have to adjust to the climate and the ground all the time.

If we are playing five ODIs and three tests in a short span of time then ideally there should be 15-20 days of rest. I too felt the heat when I was playing regularly for the country, but my injuries have kept me out of action for the last six months."Agrees former women's India cricket player, Lopamudra Bhattacharjee, "Too much cricket has resulted in the lack of hunger in the players to perform. The hectic international schedule is surely taking its toll."

Former India opener and commentator Arun Lal feels pragmatically. "More cricket is bound to tell mentally and physically on the players.

But tell me who is to decide, if there is too much cricket. The economics of today, demands of cricket is to decide, actually and not Ricky Ponting or Sachin.

Look at tennis, the players are playing so many matches throughout the year, in different countries. Marat Safin has had injuries due to this. But no one is complaining.

If there is too much cricket and people don't come to watch the matches, then the sponsors will back off and it will lead to less cricket, " is how Arun Lal reasons.

On the other side of the cricket divide is former Pakistani captain Javed Miandad, who rubbishes the burnout syndrome. Miandad says the player should be given a choice to rest if he feels tired. Bengal cricketer Raju Mukherjee too is not much bothered about the issue.

"It is something which should be left to the players. No one is forcing the player to play more matches."India spinner Harbhajan Singh too is quick to agree that for a player it is never too much of cricket, as one should want to play more for his country.

India spinner Murali Karthik agrees with the boys in blue when they say that there is too much cricket happening. But at the same time he says,"The player needs to be made secure of his place, if he agrees to take rest and ideally given time for the teething issues to settle down."