4s & 6s - India

4s & 6s - Sri Lanka

Highlights Part 2

Highlights Part 3

Highlights Part 4

Highlights Part 5

Highlights Part 6

Highlights Part 7

Highlights Part 8

Highlights Part 9

Highlights Part 10

Highlights Part 2

Highlights Part 3

Highlights Part 4

Highlights Part 5

Highlights Part 6

Highlights Part 7

Highlights Part 8

Highlights Part 9

Highlights Part 10

Full Highlights Part 2

Full Highlights Part 3

Full Highlights Part 4

Full Highlights Part 5

Full Highlights Part 6

Full Highlights Part 7

Full Highlights Part 8

Full Highlights Part 9

Full Highlights Part 2

Full Highlights Part 3

Full Highlights Part 4

Full Highlights Part 5

Full Highlights Part 6

Full Highlights Part 7

Full Highlights Part 8

Full Highlights Part 9

Full Highlights Part 10

Full Highlights Part 2

Full Highlights Part 3

Full Highlights Part 4

Full Highlights Part 5

Full Highlights Part 6

Full Highlights Part 7

Full Highlights Part 8

Full Highlights Part 9

Full Highlights Part 10

Full Highlights Part 2

Full Highlights Part 3

Full Highlights Part 4

Full Highlights Part 5

Full Highlights Part 6

Full Highlights Part 7

Full Highlights Part 8

Full Highlights Part 9

Full Highlights Part 10

Kevin Pietersen: "Not going to be a wimp" as England captain

’s successor as Test captain, while also taking the one-day leadership after Paul Collingwood handed in his notice yesterday following Vaughan’s departure. Pietersen, one of the few members guaranteed to be a key player of both teams in the next few years, was the favourite to take on the joint role and his appointment was confirmed by the ECB at Lord’s today. He will lead out the side for the fourth Test against South Africa this week and promised to lead on gut instinct but ask for advice, after making a decision he described as “very, very emotional”.

Vaughan’s resignation on Sunday brought to an end a five-year tenure as the most successful England Test captain with 26 wins. Pietersen takes over with just one ODI as captain under his belt, having led the side against New Zealand at Lord’s in June when Collingwood was serving a four-ODI suspension. Andrew Flintoff had taken the reins when Vaughan was injured for England’s last Ashes campaign, the ill-fated 5-0 walloping by Australia in 2006-07.

Pietersen said: “I am very thrilled and excited to have been given the opportunity to captain England. It’s a huge honour for me and a terrific challenge for me at this stage of my international career.”

When asked if his batting would be affected by the responsibility of captaincy, he said: “Time will tell, we will have to wait and see. I hope not. I hope it won’t restrict the way I play. I play the way that I play and it’s a way that I’ve been successful so far in my career and it’s something that I want to keep really high level.” Geoff Miller, the ECB’s national selector, added that though this had been considered it was a “very very short discussion.”

Pietersen admitted that when he qualified for England in 2004 he had no idea he would one day play international cricket for them, nor that he would one day lead them. “I couldn’t envisage playing for England. Everything just happened so quickly.”

He said that replacing Vaughan was a big task. “They are huge boots that I’ve got to fill but I will do my best. What a great leader, what a great man. I have learned a great deal about leadership from playing under both Michael and Paul and fully appreciate the level of responsibility that comes with the job of captaining your country.

“My immediate priority will be this week’s fourth Test and I will be devoting all my energies to ensuring that the team is properly prepared and plays to its full potential starting on Thursday. It’s a great honour, a great privilege and something which has turned my life around in the last 24 hours. “

Timeline October 2000 - Nottinghamshire sign Kevin Pietersen on a three-year contract October 2004 - He completes the four-year qualification period and is available for England selection November 28, 2004 - Pietersen makes his one-day debut against Zimbabwe in Harare. Scores 27 not out February 2, 2005 - Scores maiden ODI hundred against South Africa at Bloemfontein, the first of three centuries in the seven-match series July 14, 2005 - Pietersen replaces Graham Thorpe in England’s Ashes squad July 21, 2005 - He makes his Test debut against Australia at Lord’s. Top-scores for England in both innings with 57 and 64 not out September 2005 - He scores his first Test century in the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval. His 158 plays a crucial role in England saving the Test and winning the Ashes after 16 years October 2005 - Pietersen is named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year and the One-Day Player of the Year December 2005 - Pietersen is awarded the MBE June 2008 - Pietersen captains England in the fifth ODI against New Zealand at Lord’s after Paul Collingwood is banned for slow over-rate August 2008 - He is named England’s Test and one-day captain after Michael Vaughan resigned following England’s Test-series defeat against South Africa. Collingwood also quits as one-day captain

Miller said: “In choosing a new captain, we were keen to identify a player who could lead the team in all three forms of cricket and bring fresh enthusiasm and ideas to the role of captain. Kevin is a world-class player who will command the respect of the dressing room and I am sure that he will be looking to lead from the front and work closely with both the players and the coaching staff to bring England success in the future.

“I would like to thank both Michael and Paul for their outstanding contributions to the leadership of the Test and the one-day teams. I am delighted that they will both continue to make themselves available for selection as players.”

Miller gave Pietersen his full backing: “We’re looking for a fresh approach. He will take us forward in an exciting manner. I’m sure he will take us forward.”

The biggest hint about how Pietersen is going to approach the leadership came when he compared it to his general attitude. “I’m not going to be a wimp and say I’m not going to do it,” he said. “I’m going to accept this challenge and give it a go like I give everything a go.”

Ravi Bopara has been brought in to take Vaughan’s spot as batsman for the fourth Test at The Oval, a dead rubber which begins on Thursday. Vaughan has chosen to take a break from cricket and with South Africa already having sealed the series, it will be a good opportunity for Bopara - who has three Tests to his name - to try to shine.

The selectors also named a 15-man squad for one-day series and Twenty20 against South Africa which includes the uncapped Nottinghamshire batsman Samit Patel and a recall for the Sussex wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

Test squad Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen (capt), Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Tim Ambrose (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Steve Harmison, Monty Panesar.

One-day squad Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen (capt), Owais Shah, Ian Bell, Samit Patel, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.

Gary Kirsten: I can sense the team is ready to make history

India bounced back from an innings defeat at the SSC in Colombo to level the series by beating Sri Lanka by 170 runs in Galle and Gary Kirsten, the India coach, has said that the process of fighting back “started with Anil Kumble, and filtered down to the rest”.

“He [Kumble] is a fantastic leader and fighter,” Kirsten said. “He has a tremendous work ethic and takes Test cricket very seriously. To motivate the team to improve their performance wasn’t really difficult. The great thing about his team is they do hurt a lot when they lose. That’s when one knows these guys take great pride in playing for India.”

Kirsten said the big challenge for India would be to keep the momentum going for the deciding Test which begins at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo on August 8. “I can sense the team is ready to make history. If every member can perform at a reasonably good level, we would have done enough,” he said.

Virender Sehwag was instrumental in India’s win, scoring 201 not out and 50, and he approach oozed aggression. “Every player plays differently,” Kirsten said. “The success of any Test side is how each batsman sticks to his own skill and works on one or two things that he can improve. We certainly don’t say Sehwag plays like this, so the rest of the batsmen need to play like this. He plays like that since he has the skill and ability to play like that.”

Kirsten also praised Ishant Sharma, who bowled at pace and extracted sharp bounce on a fourth-day pitch. Ishant dismissed Malinda Warnapura, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan and ended with 3 for 20 in 15 overs . “He is probably our best seamer,” Kirsten said. “I’m very impressed by what he has to offer. He is a young bowler learning how to go about Test cricket. When he is bowling his natural length, he is as good as anyone in the world.”

Kirsten said he always believed the team would bounce back after the SSC loss. “They have a proven history of that. We have always believed that when this team is firing on all cylinders, it can match best in the world.” He said his long-term goal was to ensure that India was the best in the world by April 2009.

Kirsten, however, will not be available for the third Test after he was granted leave by the BCCI to travel to South Africa to be with his mother, who is critically ill. A press release issued by the board said an interim replacement has not been sought.

His temporary departure means that India will be without a full-time coach during a series for the fourth time in over a year. The team, though, managed to maintain their performances in all series - starting with their triumph in England last summer, their first in 21 years. India then beat Pakistan 1-0 in the three-Test home series. Their toughest assignment was the tour to Australia, where they lost the Tests 2-1 but won in Perth for the first time.

Last December, Kirsten signed a two-year deal to coach India effective March 2008. While he was with the team as a consultant for the last two Tests in Australia, his first assignment as coach was the three-Test series against South Africa, which was drawn 1-1.