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The sense of destiny that Kevin Pietersen somehow brings to his batting translated seamlessly into his first day as England captain, as he enjoyed the most blissful coronation that any new leader could hope for. With the glaring exception of Graeme Smith’s first-ball reprieve at gully, everything that could go right for his side did go right, as South Africa contributed to their own downfall on a day that revealed just how fine the line is between success and failure in this most fickle of sports.As first challenges go, a dead-rubber contest at the scene of your greatest batting triumph is a fairly pleasant way to begin, and Pietersen nestled into his job with the enthusiasm and confidence of a man who knows that The Oval will forever be his fiefdom. Not even he will be kidding himself that it will be this easy forever – Ahmedabad in December will be a vastly different prospect, for starters. And yet, the first impressions were impressive. He led his side with a smile, and for a heady afternoon, the gloom that has enveloped English cricket this past month was lifted.Sportsmen like to claim that they make their own luck, and in Pietersen’s case, that has generally involved hours and hours in the nets, perfecting the sort of outrageous strokes that thrilled Edgbaston during his 94 last week. As far as the captaincy is concerned, however, it’s all been a little bit more seat-of-the-pants. He’s admitted to knowing next to nothing about reading pitches, and until he’s had more experience in the job, his tactical acumen is sure to be found wanting when the going gets tougher.But today Pietersen nonetheless revealed himself to be a lucky captain, and as Michael Vaughan will acknowledge after his contrasting emotions at Edgbaston in 2005 and 2008, that is not an aspect of the job that can be downplayed in any way. “I don’t think he got challenged that much, but a lot of things went right for him and us,” said the main man of England’s day, Steve Harmison.That Harmison was fit and firing was perhaps Pietersen’s biggest stroke of luck of all, and yet, without careful handling from a man whose inter-personal skills have often been called into question, his presence could easily have backfired – as it so frequently did for Vaughan in his second incarnation as England captain.Instead Pietersen backed his man to the hilt, insisting Harmison took the new ball for the first time since his delinquent performance against West Indies at Old Trafford last June. His response was positive, just as Andrew Flintoff’s had been when he was asked to bat at No. 6, and in a trice, two of the most crucial members of England’s dressing-room had been won over. A timely text message on the eve of the game ramped up Harmison’s sense of belonging, and left him feeling, in his own words, as excited as if it were Christmas Eve.Those are the little details that can make or break the unity of a team. In his most symbolic display of a new beginning, Pietersen did away with the mid-pitch huddle that had become a trademark of Vaughan’s reign. Rather than get his bonding out of the way in one fell swoop, Pietersen opted instead for regular contact with as many members of his team as he could reach. Today he was not called upon to make many grand gesticulations from mid-on, but arms around the shoulder and taps on the backside were in abundance. He seems determined to spread the love in his new-look and new-feel England.”He’s up for it!” said Harmison. “He’s enjoying his challenge as captain. Obviously he’s only done it for one day, but it’s his enthusiasm for cricket, rather than the job itself, that is going to make him a good captain. He’s going to bounce around the field, and he’s always got ideas and he’s always behind you. You can’t ask for more than that.”Contrary to expectations, especially given one or two less-than-enthusiastic remarks from some of England’s senior batsmen, Pietersen’s first day as leader was their most united in the field since, arguably, Andrew Flintoff carried his men to victory in Mumbai in 2005-06 on a wing, a prayer and a chorus of Johnny Cash. That match in itself should serve as a cautionary tale, given the disasters that befell England soon afterwards, but today’s sense of enjoyment and renewal could yet prove to be contagious.”He’s not done it before so we needed to help him,” said Harmison. “There were 11 captains out there, and a lot of us helped him, not so much because he needed it, but because he’s still learning. We need to lift our own game to make sure we stand by him, and not let him die in a hole when things don’t go right.””Eleven captains”, funnily enough, was the demand that Vaughan made during his own captaincy debut five years ago. Though his own first day in the job was perhaps as far removed from Pietersen’s as is sportingly possible, the desire to raise their game for their skipper was precisely what hauled England back into contention in that memorable series.This time, of course, the deal has already been sealed, and nothing that England achieve in this contest can compensate for the losses at Headingley and Edgbaston. But, if the first impressions are anything to go by, Pietersen is putting himself out there for his team, and they are responding.

South Africa A 550 (Davids 101, Puttick 91, Petersen 86, Amla 81) and 185 for 7 dec (Puttick 52, Welegedara 3-56) drew with Sri Lanka A 395 (Kandamby 128, Paranavitana 73, Bandara 63, Louw 4-63) and 95 for 5 (Tsotsobe 4-35)
ScorecardSouth Africa A failed to win at the Willowmore Park in Benoni, but the draw meant a 1-0 triumph for the hosts in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka A. South Africa held the upper hand for the best part of the final game, but perhaps their decision not to enforce the follow-on on Sunday hampered their chances of a win.Resuming on 28 for 1 in their second innings, South Africa lost wickets regularly and finally declared at 185 for 7 after 47 overs were bowled in the day. Opener Andrew Puttick, the leading run-getter in the series, top scored with 52 as Sri Lanka were set an improbable 341. Alviro Petersen and Johann Louw scored useful 30s, while No. 3 Henry Davids made 25. Chanaka Welegedara was the most successful bowler, taking 3 for 56, and offspinner Dilruwan Perera finished with 2 for 55 off his 18 overs.Sri Lanka started shakily in their chase, with three batsmen out with just 18 runs scored. The damage was done by the opening bowlers Louw and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. A 76-run stand between wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva and captain Thilina Kandamby, who scored 128 in the first innings, steadied the innings. Tsotsobe then struck off successive deliveries to remove Silva and Angelo Mathews, but the match ended with Sri Lanka at 95 for 5 after 27 overs.Puttick, who scored 444 runs in five innings with two hundreds and two fifties, was named the Man of the Series. The teams will now play a five-match one-day series, which starts at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, on September 19. Sri Lanka A play a warm-up game in Pretoria on the 17th.

Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach, has warned Australia against focusing too heavily on spin for the upcoming Test series against India. Australia will face the vast experience of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh while their own spin stocks are down to one uncapped man, Jason Krejza, with the news that Bryce McGain could be sent home with a shoulder injury.But Lawson said he did not expect Kumble and Harbhajan to be major threats during the four-Test series. “We [Pakistan] played three Tests in India in November and the pitches did not spin,” Lawson told the . “Whether India make up spinning pitches I am not sure but the first Test venue in Bangalore is a bouncy pitch.”Kumble and Harbhajan were ineffective when we played them. They were not great in Sri Lanka either in a series after that. I wouldn’t be worried about how good their spinners are or how inexperienced our spinners are.”I don’t think they are going to be big factors. World batsmen have faced enough of Harbhajan and Kumble … unless the wickets are turning big-time, they should be able to handle them.”Pakistan dealt with Harbhajan with relative ease during last year’s Tests, when he collected ten wickets at 44.10. Kumble was the leading wicket-taker during that series but Lawson said as long as Australia did not talk themselves out of succeeding, they should do well against the slow men.”We played in Delhi last year and the word was that it was going to fall apart on the first day and spin big-time,” Lawson said. “But it just got harder and harder and we could have played for ten days on it. It did not turn at all. You can’t expect to go to the subcontinent and get slow turners.”

Kamran Younis and Shoaib Malik hit brisk half-centuries to seal an eight-wicket win for the Sialkot Stallions over the Hyderabad Hawks in Lahore. Hyderabad lost two early wickets, including Naeemuddin first ball, in pursuit of 144 but Younis and Malik sealed the win with five deliveries remaining. Younis made an unbeaten 65 off 56 balls and Malik warmed up for next week’s quadrangular Twenty20 tournament in Canada with 61 not out from 46 balls. Their partnership was worth 113. The Sialkot innings revolved around Rizwan Ahmed’s unbeaten 57 and 36 from opener Taj Wasan. Malik took 1 for 24 earlier. Sialkot lead Group B with two wins from two games.In a low-scoring affair in Lahore, the Karachi Dolphins beat the Abbottabad Rhinos by six wickets. Offspinner Tahir Khan (2 for 14) and medium-pacer Faraz Ahmed (3 for 15) helped keep Abbottabad to 96 for 9, and Karachi smoothed over a top-order collapse. Asfar Nawaz remained till the end on 33 from 35 balls and Shahid Afridi played a cameo of 26. Victory was achieved in the 17th over. This was Karachi’s third win in a row and they lead Group A.Another six-wicket win in Lahore, this one for the Faisalabad Wolves against the Lahore Eagles. Five of six Faisalabad bowlers used took wickets to keep Lahore to a poor 106 before wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman (41 from 42 balls) and Khurram Shehzad (32 from 22) steered the successful chase.Keeping with the day’s trend, the Islamabad Leopards also won by six wickets, handing the Multan Tigers another defeat in Lahore. Contributions from Sohaib Maqsood (41), Saeed Anwar jnr (34) and Bilal Khilji (26) took Multan to 141 for 8. It was not enough, as Umair Khan (37) and Bazid Khan (25) rallied the top order before a destructive 42 from just 18 balls by captain Ashar Zaidi completed the denouement in 17.2 overs. Zaidi hit five fours and a couple of sixes at a strike-rate of 233.3.Sohail Ahmed, the left-arm spinner, scored a crucial 24 and took 4 for 13 to help the Lahore Lions beat the Rawalpindi Rams by 21 runs in Lahore. Lahore chose to bat but were in trouble at 74 for 5 in the 12th over, despite a solid opening stand of 43. But Kamran Akmal led the rescue act by scoring an invaluable 49, adding 40 with Waqas Ahmed, who made 22, and 42 with Sohail Ahmed to help his team post a competitive 171. An opening stand of 79 between Umar Amin and Babar Naeem had Rawalpindi on track but Ahmed’s introduction put a serious brake on the scoring as he took the first four Rawalpindi wickets, leaving them at 135 for 4 in the 18th over. They could only manage 150 in the end, losing two more wickets in the process.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain, believes the current team will perform better with a more experienced captain or coach at the helm. Pakistan have failed to win a Test – they have played six – under the pairing of Shoaib Malik and Geoff Lawson, and besides reaching the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, their only significant limited-overs win was in the Kitply Cup, which involved India and Bangladesh.”You shouldn’t blame anybody for the bad result – neither the coach nor the captain,” Inzamam told . “The thing is that they are both inexperienced. The board should see that if the captain is new, the coach should be an experienced one or the other way round. Shoaib Malik and Geoff Lawson are both new to the system. Lawson hasn’t coached at the bigger stage before this while Malik was made the captain without any prior experience.”While expressing his confidence in the team, Inzamam felt the weak leadership in the PCB was also hurting the team’s chances. “I don’t think Pakistan are a bad outfit,” he said. “They are a balanced outfit but they are, at the moment, not being guided properly by the administration. At the moment there is no strong management in Pakistan cricket and that, I think, is important.”They [the players] are all of same age-group and they can make a superb side in the near future. It needs some planning and efficient management from the Pakistan Cricket Board.”Inzamam said an experienced player should be made captain. “They [PCB] should diminish the communication gap between the players and the board and they should give the captain’s mantle to someone who is senior and experienced. If they religiously do these things, they will get the desired result.”Pakistan recently lost the T20 Canada final against Sri Lanka. They haven’t played a Test this year and have only hosted two five-ODI series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh besides the Asia Cup in June-July. Security concerns resulted in the postponement of Australia’s visit and the Champions Trophy.

Sylvester Joseph, vice-captain of the Stanford Superstars side that recently beat England, has said he has no more ambitions of representing West Indies in Tests and ODIs. Joseph led Antigua and Barbuda in the Stanford 20/20 earlier this year, but opted out of representing Leeward Islands in the regional first-class and one-day tournaments last season.”I have to wait and see what is in store with Stanford 20/20, but at the moment I am focusing on Twenty20 cricket,” Joseph told the . “My desire for playing in the [regional] first-class competition is gone – it is not there at the moment.”Joseph was part of the XI that each won US$1 million following their ten-wicket rout of England in the Stanford 20/20 for 20. Joseph represented West Indies in 13 ODIs and five Tests and was picked for the tour of England last year after two solid domestic campaigns with Leewards Islands. He played at Headingley, which proved to be his his last Test, and holds a poor average of 14.70 at the top level, but believes he was given a rough deal.”I just believe that after dedicating my life to cricket for so many years and with the opportunities that I got [to play for the West Indies], I don’t think personally that I got a fair chance,” he said.A middle-order batsman, five of Joseph’s ten Test innings came at the top of the order. “This has been happening with West Indies every time I got an opportunity so personally I just believe being there is not beneficial for the team and for myself in the way that I know I can perform and the way I know I can help the team.”So I am in a situation now where people believe in me that when I get the opportunity to go out I can go out and perform the way in which I know I can perform,” he said. “But when I played for the first-class team and the West Indies team I don’t think I was given the opportunities to perform.”It has been frustrating for many years and it’s a decision that I had to make. I have a young family and I have other things that I need to deal with so after 12 to 13 years doing something that is not bearing fruit, I don’t think I should continue in that way.”

Dale Steyn and his fast-bowling colleagues have attracted all the attention but both teams have taken a conservative approach by leaning towards including a spinner on the bouncy WACA pitch. However, while Jason Krejza will definitely play and Paul Harris is almost certain, the bulk of the early work in Perth is likely to fall to pace attacks spearheaded by Steyn and Brett Lee.Makhaya Ntini is nominally the leader of the South Africa fast-bowling unit but the younger and quicker Steyn and Morne Morkel have been talked up having both enjoyed outstanding success in 2008. Their biggest trial for the year is about to begin and Ricky Ponting believes it will be hard for the two men, neither of whom has played a Test in Australia, to live up to the hype.”A lot of the pressure will come back on to them,” Ponting said in the lead-up to Wednesday’s first Test. “I’ve said the last couple of days and to our group in particular, there’s been a lot said about their bowlers and as yet they’re unproven in Australia. Sure, Steyn’s had a great year, 60 Test wickets is a terrific effort. But you’ve got to do it here, when it counts in the big moments of Test matches. That’s what we’re gearing up for.”In a rare hint of agreement between the two captains, Graeme Smith conceded that it had been tough for Steyn, 25, to adjust to being viewed as an international superstar after his brilliant year. Smith said Steyn was still developing and he backed his fast man to deal with his success level-headedly.”Anyone would be slightly affected by the amount of hype that has been around a person,” Smith said. “But generally he’s quite a calm, chilled-out guy off the field and I think he takes everything in his stride. With the rise to success that he’s had over the last year it’s something that he’s had to learn to deal with, it’s become a part of his life.”Steyn, Morkel and Ntini are likely to be backed up by the spinner Harris, although South Africa kept their options open by including the uncapped left-arm fast man Lonwabo Tsotsobe in a 12-man squad to be finalised on the morning of the match. There was no such fence-sitting for Australia, who confirmed Krejza would play his second Test having been picked ahead of Shane Watson.The attack takes on a fresh look with Krejza and Peter Siddle each playing their second Test after debuting in India. Ponting said with Stuart Clark out injured for the rest of the summer Siddle, 24, had a terrific chance to confirm his place in Australia’s fast-bowling future.”There’s a great opportunity for him,” Ponting said. “I’ve said from the start I like a lot about what he does. He’s a pretty simple sort of bloke that really likes bowling and having that younger, fresher face around the team at the start of a series like this will be a good thing for us.”

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

Elton Chigumbura’s fighting 64 and some disciplined bowling when defending a small total helped Zimbabwe post their first ODI win against a Test-playing nation since November 2007. Bangladesh’s efforts centered around Shakib Al Hasan, who took wickets and scored the side’s only half-century, and the hosts squandered a winning opportunity after having restricted Zimbabwe to an achievable 205.Bangladesh got off to an encouraging start. Tamim Iqbal stroked consecutive boundaries off Ed Rainsford in the first over, but the innings proceeded to fall apart. Prosper Utseya shared the new ball, bowling his parsimonious off spin – it had worked against Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe’s home series in November – and with his second ball removed Junaid Siddique. The batsman could consider himself a trifle unlucky to be given out lbw while playing forward to a delivery that seemed like missing off.Mushfiqur Rahim fell to Rainsford in the third over, completely misjudging a ball that nipped back in to clip off stump. Mohammad Ashraful was next in, and he looked fluent in his brief stay at the crease, scoring back-to-back boundaries off Rainsford.Zimbabwe, however, remained agile on the field and were firmly in control in the 11th over when they dismissed Tamim and Ashraful in the space of three balls. Tamim was run out as Ashraful failed to spot him charging down for a second, and the captain followed two balls later, out to an indiscreet loft off Utseya which was taken by a diving Vusi Sibanda. With the home team reeling at 33 for 4, Shakib and Raqibul Hasan added a fighting 59 before Keith Dabengwa, the left-arm spinner, bowled Raqibul. Dabengwa provided excellent support to Ray Price, who helped tighten Zimbabwe’s stranglehold by dismissing Mehrab Hossain jnr five balls later.Shakib was the lone resistor but was undone by an inspired bowling change by Utseya. Chigumbura, who was the backbone of the Zimbabwe innings, got one to kick off the pitch and Shakib’s attempted cut resulted in an outside edge which was pouched comfortably by Tatenda Taibu behind the stumps. Shakib’s departure erased any hopes of a Bangladeshi miracle and Zimbabwe – after squandering winning positions in their last three ODIs against Sri Lanka to lose by narrow margins – finally succeeded in shutting down the opposition.Zimbabwe’s efficient effort in the field would not have been enough had it not been for Chigumbura’s meaty blows towards the end of their innings to help them cross 200. They had crumbled to the spin of Shakib and Naeem Islam and were struggling at 123 for 6. Stuart Matsikenyeri and Taibu failed to consolidate on strong starts to leave Zimbabwe staring at a paltry score. But Chigumbura, backed well by Price (17 in 16 balls), took his time to see off the spinners before he capitalised on some lacklustre bowling by debutant Mahbubul Alam – he went for 66 in ten wicketless overs – to take his team to a score that, in the end, proved more than adequate.Bangladesh now have to beat Sri Lanka to entertain any hope of qualifying for the finals.

India are planning a series against Sri Lanka to compensate for the aborted tour of Pakistan. Officials of both national boards have confirmed they are in talks over the tour, which will take place sometime over the next couple of months – most likely between Sri Lanka’s current tour of Bangladesh and their trip to Pakistan, tentatively scheduled for the middle of February.”We are about 60% certain that we could arrange a series for the Sri Lanka team with India shortly,” Sri Lanka’s sports minister Gamini Lokuge told the . “We have had successful discussions with the Indian cricket board and at the moment we are finalising the schedule.”An Indian board official confirmed that negotiations with SLC are underway. “We are trying hard to recover losses the BCCI has incurred this year. There is a likelihood of Sri Lankaplaying at least three ODIs against India before their Pakistan tour,” the official said.India toured Sri Lanka last year for three Tests and five ODIs.Sri Lanka’s Pakistan tour has been subject to some uncertainty but Lokuge echoed comments from SLC chief executive Duleep Mendis that it was on. “We are confirming the cricket tour to Pakistan, there is no change in it,” he said.However, Sri Lanka have sought a shorter tour, which will help them accommodate the series against India. SLC had initially agreed to tour Pakistan – following India’s pullout -from January 20 for three Tests and fives ODIs.However, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials said Sri Lanka later wanted it changed to a shortened tour of two Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20 game from February 15. The new dates would, however, clash with Pakistan’s tour to Bangladesh, for which they depart on March 3.The revised dates are believed to be on the suggestion of Sri Lanka’s players, who wanted a break after their Bangladesh tour. It is not yet clear how they will react to the news of another series before the Pakistan tour.

Mark Ramprakash has been given permission by Surrey to play in the IPL and will now take his place in the February 6 auction in Goa.There is a current list of 111 players lined up to be bought, but that will be trimmed down in the coming days. If Ramprakash is successful in finding a deal he will miss the first month of the English domestic season before returning for the Friends Provident Trophy match against Gloucestershire on May 13, meaning he would be available for four weeks of the IPL which begins on April 10.The No Obligation Certificate (NOC) offered by Surrey follows swiftly from Ramprakash signing a new two-year deal with the club earlier today, meaning he will still be playing first-class cricket well into his 42nd year, despite intimating at the end of last season that he might move on from The Oval.Ramprakash last year became the 25th batsman to score a hundred first-class hundreds, joining the likes of Sir Jack Hobbs, Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Viv Richards and Geoff Boycott. At the end of the 2008 season, in which Surrey were relegated in the Championship, Ramprakash said he didn’t “really want to finish my career in Division Two”, but now that Surrey’s management has been shaken up – Chris Adams, the former Sussex captain, joined in the winter as manager – Ramprakash is staying put.”I have had a fantastic career up until now but still feel like I have much more to give,” he said. “There are a huge amount of runs left in me and I look forward to helping shape a new era of Surrey cricket, both at the crease and in the dressing room. Surrey have a number of exciting young batsmen and it’s now down to me and other experienced players at the club to work with the management team to help them use their talent and succeed in the professional game.”Adams added: “Mark’s record in recent years has been simply staggering and I am over the moon that he has decided to extend his career with us,” he said. “Statistics like those he has accumulated throughout his career simply do not lie and I look forward to watching him score thousands more runs and working with him to secure Surrey’s future as a successful club for many years to come.”Ramprakash has been in prolific form over the past few seasons, averaging in excess of 100 in 2006 and 2007. He topped last year’s averages for Surrey again, with 1235 runs at 61.75.