short of six to sachins 100th 100

Mumbai, November 25, 2011 (AFP) - Sachin Tendulkar fell agonisingly short of an unprecedented 100th hundred while Ravichandran Ashwin hit a maiden century as the third Test between India and the West Indies headed for a draw on Friday.

Tendulkar scored a superb 94 and Ashwin a robust 103 in only his third Test before India were bowled out for 482 in their first innings in reply to the West Indies' 590 on the penultimate day.

The tourists were 81-2 in their second innings at stumps for an overall lead of 189 with eight wickets in hand, with teenager Kraigg Brathwaite (34 not out) and Darren Bravo (27 not out) at the crease.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who opened the attack, removed Adrian Barath (three) and Kirk Edwards (17).

India, needing 391 to avoid the follow-on, were struggling at 331-6 before Virat Kohli (52) and Ashwin added 97 valuable runs for the seventh wicket at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Ashwin also became the third Indian after Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar to grab five wickets in an innings and score a century in the same Test. He hit two sixes and 15 fours in his 118-ball knock.

It was the first time in the history of Test cricket that 11 half-centuries or more were scored in the first innings of a match, with the West Indies making six and India five.

Tendulkar looked set to complete a century of centuries as he had been timing the ball remarkably well before he attempted to drive paceman Ravi Rampaul on the up and was caught by Darren Sammy at second slip.

While the West Indies celebrated the huge success, the "Little Master" walked back dejectedly and nearly 15,000 cheering spectators suddenly fell silent at the 32,000-capacity stadium.

With the spectators applauding each run from Tendulkar and chanting "Sa-chin, Sachin", the batting star started the day with an attacking stroke when he flicked Rampaul past square-leg for a four in the opening over.

Tendulkar, 67 overnight, continued to play attractive shots as he straight-drove Rampaul for a four and then uppercut paceman Fidel Edwards over the slips for a six to move into the nineties before the disaster struck. He smashed two sixes and eight fours in his 153-ball knock.

Skipper Sammy's words came true a day after he said his team hoped to break a "few Indian hearts" by trying to get local hero Tendulkar out early with a disciplined bowling performance. In fact, his team broke millions of hearts.

It was the 10th time in an illustrious 184-Test career that Tendulkar had fallen in the nineties.

Tendulkar, who scored his 99th international hundred against South Africa in a World Cup match in Nagpur in March, also came close to achieving the feat in the fourth Test in England in August before being dismissed for 91.

India, resuming 281-3, lost two more wickets in the morning as Venkatsai Laxman (32) was caught by Marlon Samuels at gully off Edwards off the first ball he faced and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (eight) was bowled by Sammy.

India lead 2-0 in the series after winning the opening Test in New Delhi by five wickets and the second match in Kolkata by an innings and 15 runs.

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8:42 AM

Virender Sehwag prefers to play Tests to Twenty20s

Mumbai: The public might be enchanted with the Twenty20 format but swashbuckling Indian opener Virender Sehwag prefers to play Tests and ODIs more than the shortest form of the game that has taken the cricket world by storm.

"Personally I would like to play more Tests and ODIs than T20 games which I know have become extremely popular.”

I would like to play at least eight to 10 Tests in a year," Sehwag said at the media conference here to announce the list of nominees for this year``s LG-ICC annual awards. Sehwag batted for all three formats even as some past cricketers, including spin legend Shane Warne, have written the epitaph of the 50-over game.


The England and Wales Cricket Board already scrapped the one-dayers from its domestic schedule. "The 20-20 game is big and in future may be everything but I would like to play more Tests and ODIs.”

The message I would like to give to the ICC is to introduce a World Championship of Tests. "Every cricketer would like to play Tests against every other country and perform well.”

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4:07 AM

Fourth Test: Ashes live score and latest summary - Headingley, Leeds

Australia's Michael Clarke (R) hits out watched by England's Paul Collingwood during the second day of the fourth Ashes cricket test match at Headingley Carnegie cricket ground in Leeds, England, August 8, 2009.

Live Scorecard
Australia win by an innings and 80 runs

England First Innings 102 all out
Australia First Innings 445 all out
England Second Innings 263 all out Batsman Runs Fours Sixes
Strauss lbw b Hilfenhaus 32 4 0
Cook c Haddin b M Johnson 30 4 0
Bopara lbw b Hilfenhaus 0 0 0
Bell c Ponting b M Johnson 3 0 0
Collingwood lbw b M Johnson 4 0 0
Anderson c Ponting b Hilfenhaus 4 1 0
Prior c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 22 3 0
Broad c Watson b Siddle 61 10 0
Swann c Haddin b Johnson 62 7 1
Harmison not out 19 4 0
Onions b Johnson 0 0 0

AUSTRALIA HAVE WON THE FOURTH TEST MATCH BY AN INNINGS AND 80 RUNS.

At the end of play day 2, England have almost all but lost the game. Australia were all out for 445 runs and England came to bat for their second innings with a massive first innings deficit of 343.

Strauss and Cook appeared to make a good start but both got out in their 30s and Bopara got out for a golden duck as expected. He is not a number 3 batsman and despite failing repeatedly to show the class and temperament required for a number 3 position the selectors continued to persevere with him. A solid number 3 position may have helped prevent an England collapse in both the innings.

Following the departure of Bopara, Bell and Collingwood followed suit getting out for 3 and 4 runs respectively.

England ended the day at 82/5 still 261runs behind. Australia will look to wrap up the match within couple of hours on Day 3.

Swann is the only English bowler to have an economy rate of less than 3 (2.63 to be accurate). Broad has 3.00, but partly due to bowling so wide to the off stump. England's main strike bowlers Anderson and Harmison have an economy rate in excess of 4 runs and Anderson has 4.94 runs per over. Not a pleasant reading if you are an English fan.

North creams two fours in an Onions over, both through the off side. One beyond square and another through the cover region.

Johnson gets a short delivery from Harmison and goes for the pull/hook shot but gets the edge and the ball goes high over the slips and the keeper for four runs.

Wicket with the new ball. England have struck with the second new ball of the innings. Harmison with a short delivery that was quick on Haddin who went for a pull but completely mistimed it and scoops it up and a nice and easy catch taken by Bell. Haddin goes for 14 runs

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10:56 AM

Confident Ponting eyes Ashes urn in series decider

Melbourne, Aug 10 (ANI): A confident Ricky Ponting is ready to erase the biggest blot on his captaincy record in next week's Ashes decider at The Oval and sees everything going in Australia's favour for a match his team needs only to draw to retain the urn.

It is for the first time in 43 years that the scores have been tied heading into the final match of an Ashes series. But England is wracked by injury and form woes coming off their innings and 80 runs fourth Test defeat at Headingley.

"It will be difficult for them to bounce back now. It'll only be that because of what we've got out of this game and what we felt we got coming out of the Edgbaston Test," said Ponting.

"We've got some of our guys that have been struggling for a little bit of touch, some of them probably in the best form of their careers which is great. Everything is heading in the right direction for us at exactly the right time of the tour," FOX Sports quoted him, as saying.

With his side firing on all fronts, Ponting said the south London clash would be one of the biggest moments of his stellar career.

It is a chance for him to atone for the 2005 Ashes series defeat that is still considered as the lowest moment in his five years in charge.

"It's a chance I've been waiting for this whole tour and a chance the whole team has been waiting for," he said.

But England has a good record at The Oval, having been undefeated in their last seven Tests at the ground. England captain Andrew Strauss insisted his side's poor show at Headingley wouldn't mean a thing next week. (ANI)

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11:23 AM

Sachin Tendulkar chases 15,000 Test runs

While many of his contemporaries have retired, Sachin Tendulkar has no intention of applying the brakes on his record-breaking career and instead wants to score 15,000 Test runs and win the 2011 World Cup.

"I've given it (retirement) no thought at all," the 36-year-old, who has scored the most runs and hundreds in tests and one-dayers, told the September edition of The Wisden Cricketer magazine.

"I'm good at cricket, so I will play a while longer. I still love the game as much as ever, it is my job but it remains my passion too," added the batsman

Tendulkar, who has aggregated a record 12,773 test runs with 42 hundreds, has seen players such as West Indian Brian Lara and team mates Anil Kumble and Saurav Ganguly hang up their bats but the Mumbai player wants to make sure he can fulfil one of his childhood hero's wishes.

Tendulkar said compatriot Sunil Gavaskar, who was the first to surpass the 10,000-mark in Tests, has set him a target.

"I'm not pleased yet with what I have done," said Tendulkar. "Sunil Gavaskar has told me that I have to get to 15,000 runs. He said he would be angry with me, would come and catch me if I didn't.

"I admire him so much and to score that many would be a terrific achievement but that is not the only aim.

"What else? "Winning the (one-day) World Cup in 2011."

Huge money

He did not agree with concerns that test cricket was on a decline due to the rising popularity of Twenty20, such as the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).

"There is no way test cricket is dying," he said. "Twenty20 cricket is the dessert and you can't survive on that. Who wants to eat only desserts?

However, he cautioned upcoming players to focus on the game.

"Maybe in 10 years, or even now people will pick up cricket bats thinking only about the huge money in Twenty20 cricket," he said.

"Money should just be coincidental. The passion and the desire are the most important things," he said. "I worry about runs, not contracts."

Tendulkar rejected suggestion from former Australia coach John Buchanan that he was losing confidence against short-pitched bowling.

"Maybe he needs to change his opinion," he said. "There must be something very wrong with all the bowlers around the world that they have allowed me to score so many runs."

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11:43 AM

Ashes - Day Five: As it happened

Relive all the action from the final day of the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston where Australia secured a draw against England.

The third Ashes Test at Edgbaston has ended in a draw, and England still lead the series 1-0 after their win at Lord's! Australia have batted superbly to see out the game on the final day, with Michael Clarke unbeaten on 103 and Marcus North having fallen on 96.

113 THE MATCH IS DRAWN, AND IT IS HAND SHAKES ALL-ROUND! Australia 375-5 (Bopara 0-4): CLARKE FINALLY BRINGS UP HIS 100! It has been a very fine innings from Clarke and, after dragging his innings out for as long as possible, gets the run which gives him his century, and Australia the draw.

112 Australia 371-5 (Collingwood 0-1-0-0-2-1): The crowd are beginning to drift away as Collingwood continues and Strauss, understandably at this point, does not want to expose any of his front-line bowlers to further toil. A neat clip through midwicket from Clarke takes him to 99 at the end of the over.

111 Australia 367-5 (Bopara 0-0-0-0-0-nb-0): BOPARA HAS CLARKE CAUGHT AT GULLY BUT IT IS A NO BALL! That really is schoolboy stuff from Bopara to no ball at his pace! It really is Clarke's lucky day, and he gets another reprieve on 96. Drinks come out on the field, and this is just a very unnecessary delay. The players are keen to wrap this up now.

110 Australia 366-5 (Collingwood 0-2-1-0-0-1): Collingwood has the dubious pleasure of bowling to Clarke with the Australia vice-captain on 95, and Swann comes in to field at gully with the slip removed. Flintoff is enjoying a fair bit of banter with Clarke as he trots through for a single off the final ball of the over.

109 Australia 362-5 (Bopara 0-1-1-0-1-1): Four singles come off Bopara's latest over, and the medium-pacer is simply being milked around a sparse outfield now as Australia's batsmen coast along merrily. Paul Collingwood finally enters the fray from the other end.

108 Australia 358-5 (Broad 4-0-0-0-0-0): Broad races through is over in a pretty haphazard fashion, and Clarke appears to have the entire match resting upon his 100, because there is very little else at stake apart from his personal milestone. Manou gets four with a lavish pull through midwicket.

107 Australia 354-5 (Bopara 0-1-0-nb-1-1-0): Bopara continues as Clarke moves to 93 with the third single of the over as Manou intelligently gives his partner the strike at every opportunity. England are pretty lifeless out there now, and you can hardly blame them given that this match is - sorry to say - dead.

106 Australia 350-5 (Broad wd-2-0-0-0-0-0): Clarke misses a ball from Broad which grazes the off stump but does not remove a bail - that was tantalisingly close. It is all light-hearted stuff out there now, with Brett Lee coming out with drinks and having a laugh with Flintoff. /// Barrie is questioning why Paul Collingwood has not been given a trundle, and many others have flagged that up too - it is strange to see Bopara bowl ahead of him, but they are similar bowlers.

105 Australia 347-5 (Bopara 0-0-0-0-0-0): How on earth is Ravi Bopara still bowling? What does a bowler have to do to get a rest these days - going for 17 runs off one over is not enough? Either way, the Essex batsman vindicates Strauss's patience with a solid maiden over which would be best described as tidy. England have mustered three wickets today - it has been hard graft for the bowlers.

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12:38 PM

Clarke hundred sees Australia to draw

BIRMINGHAM: Michael Clarke's unbeaten century guided Australia to a draw against England in the third Ashes

Test at Edgbaston on Monday.


Scorecard

The result kept Australia's defence of the Ashes alive, although it also meant England remained 1-0 up in the five-match series ahead of the fourth Test at Headingley, which starts on Friday.

The Australian vice-captain was 103 not out in a second innings total of 375 for five, a lead of 262, when a draw was agreed in the fifth day's final session without England needing to bat again in this rain-marred match.

Together with left-hander Marcus North (96) he shared a fifth-wicket stand of 185 that made the game safe.

The duo had come together with Australia just 48 runs in front at 161 for four and still in danger of defeat after Michael Hussey was caught behind for 64 off paceman Stuart Broad before lunch.

North was in sight of his second century of the series when he was brilliantly caught right-handed by a leaping James Anderson in the gully off Broad to end a 159-ball innings featuring 15 fours.

But Clarke, who made 136 in England's 115-run second Test win at Lord's, pressed on to a hundred in 192 balls in nearly five hours with the match ending when he pulled occasional medium-pacer Ravi Bopara for his 14th four to go to three figures.

Clarke did have two lucky breaks in the 90s.

On 92, a ball from Broad flicked the outside of his off-stump without disturbing the bails.

And Clarke was caught by Anderson at slip on 96 off a Bopara no-ball.

He'd previously been dropped on 38 off a difficult chance by England captain Andrew Strauss.

That England had a shot at winning was remarkable given that, in effect, two days' play had been lost to bad weather, including Saturday's wash-out.

But the swing that had been so potent for them earlier in the match proved elusive and, in good batting conditions, England's attack struggled.

Clarke, whose footwork was a feature of his innings, stiffened Australia's resistance with several driven boundaries off Graham Onions.

And with Australia 203 for four, 90 ahead, Strauss turned to inspirational all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who had already starred with the bat.

However, there was a worrying moment for England when Flintoff, who has been struggling with a right knee injury, saw his left foot give way underneath him as he fell in his delivery stride.

Fortunately for England, Flintoff - their bowling star at Lord's - continued his spell although in this match he did not take a single wicket.

Strauss brought on occasional medium-pacer Bopara and his second ball almost yielded a wicket when Clarke, on 38, pulled fiercely only for the captain to drop the tough chance at short mid-wicket with Australia 106 ahead.

And that was as close as England came to reigniting their victory bid with the new ball not providing any breakthroughs.

Left-hander Hussey (18 not out overnight) fell to Broad's 12th ball of the innings - and first from around the wicket - when he edged to wicket-keeper Matthew Prior after two-and-a-half hours at the crease.

Earlier, Anderson - with his sixth ball Monday - had Shane Watson caught behind for 53. It was the makeshift opener's second fifty of the match after he'd come in for dropped left-hander Phillip Hughes.

Australia resumed Monday on 88 for two, still 25 runs behind.

England had all but ended any Australian hopes of victory on Sunday with Onions dismissing Simon Katich and Graeme Swann's classic off-break bowling Australia captain and star batsman Ricky Ponting for five.

England had been struggling at 168 for five on Sunday in reply to another inadequate Australia first innings, this time of 263.

But Flintoff revived the hosts with 74 off just 79 balls in a total of 376 as England built a first innings lead of 113.

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12:31 PM

Aussies relishing Ashes adversity says Ponting

BIRMINGHAM, England — Australia captain Ricky Ponting saluted the resilience shown by batsmen Michael Clarke and Marcus North to guide his side to a draw here in the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston.

Vice-captain Clarke made 103 not out, his 12th century in 50 Tests and second in as many matches and shared a stand of 185 with North (96) to make the game safe.

The duo had come together with Ashes-holders Australia just 48 runs in front at 161 for four and still in danger of defeat after Michael Hussey was caught behind for 64 off paceman Stuart Broad before lunch.

But by the time a draw was agreed Australia had moved on to 375 for five in their second, a lead of 262, with no time left for England to bat again in a match where bad weather effectively took out two days' worth of play.

This result still left England 1-0 up in the five-match series with two to play ahead of the start of Friday's fourth Test at Headingley but Ponting said: "We knew what job we had in hand this afternoon, we knew it would be hard work but the North and Clark partnership was pretty special

"It was good to get through the game the way we did.

"After we lost all that time it was pretty evident there was only one team that could win but full credit to our bowlers, they stuck at it and stopped England getting too far ahead."

Ashes holders Australia are not used to being behind this far into a series against England but Ponting said: "All the guys in our dressing room don't mind this. I've always said about the Australia team that we play our best cricket in adversity."

England came into this match without star batsman Kevin Pietersen, out of the series with an Achilles problem and while key all-rounder Andrew Flintoff starred with the bat in their only innings at Edgbaston, the bowling hero of the 115-run second Test win at Lord's went wicketless in this match.

The injury-prone Flintoff, who has said this will be his last Test series, appeared to be struggling with a longstanding knee injury in the latter stages of this match.

Ponting said: "The injury was more visible over the past two days than at Lord's, I don't know what to make of it. He was their best bowler at Lord's, the wicket and conditions here didn't suit his style as much.

"Having Pietersen and Flintoff out of their side would leave two pretty big gaps on the side. He went downhill pretty quickly in the course of this game with his injury."

But England captain Andrew Strauss said: "There's obviously some soreness there but nothing deteoriated. He needs to rest-up well because back-to-back Tests are hard for any bowlers."

England are due to name their fourth Test squad on Tuesday and Strauss added: "If he's fit to play we want to play him, if not not.

"The Headingley Test is a massive Test. If we win there, we win the Ashes, the same goes for both these last two games."

Reflecting on the match at Edgbaston, Strauss said the lack of swing, which had helped England bowl Australia out for 293 in their first innings, on Monday had proved decisive.

"We came to the ground optimistic we might be able to force a result. But the conditions didn't help us. We thought it would swing more and, as we've seen all match, when the ball's not swinging it's hard to take wickets."

Clarke, who made a century in a losing cause at Lord's, was delighted his latest hundred had a more positive impact upon Australia's fortunes.

"It was disappointing when I got out at Lord's, it was good to be here at the end."

He did have a moment of good fortune on 92 when the ball brushed his stumps without disturbing the bails and Clarke said: "I have seen the ball hit the stumps and the bails not come off.

"When it's your day, it's your day I guess."

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12:28 PM

England trails Australia by 147 on second day of third Ashes cricket Test

BIRMINGHAM, England — England reached 116-2 when bad light ended play Friday on the second day of the third Test after its swing bowlers James Anderson and Graham Onions shared nine wickets to dismiss Australia for 263.

Andrew Strauss was 64 not out and Ian Bell unbeaten on 26 at Edgbaston, taking England within 147 runs of Australia's total after the loss of Alastair Cook for 0 and Ravi Bopara for 23.

Strauss, who made 161 in the second Test, neared his 19th Test hundred after hitting 10 boundaries in 111 balls.

Bell, recalled for the injured Kevin Pietersen, lofted spinner Nathan Hauritz for six over long-on but later survived an lbw appeal off an in-swinger by Mitchell Johnson that TV replays showed would have struck the centre of middle stump.

Cook was out in the second over, edging a wide ball from Peter Siddle to debutant wicketkeeper Graham Manou, while Bopara did not add to his tea-time score before playing on to Ben Hilfenhaus.

Australia resumed the day on 126-1 and slumped after losing two wickets with the first two balls of the morning, bowled by Onions. Onions finished with 4-58, while fellow swing exponent Anderson had 5-80, including a sequence of 5-13 in 38 balls.

Australia's last two wickets added 60 valuable runs, with final pair Hauritz (20 not out) and Hilfenhaus (20) putting on 34. Australia, 1-0 down in the series and seeking to retain the Ashes, lost nine wickets in the day for just 137 runs from 40.4 overs.

Anderson and Onions dramatically improved on their first day figures of 0-45 from 10 overs and 0-21 from three, respectively.

In between the wickets, Ricky Ponting became the highest-scoring Australian batsman in Test history, in his 124th Test, passing Allan Border's tally of 11,174 from 156 matches after flicking Andrew Flintoff to midwicket for three runs.

But any personal joy for Ponting would have been short-lived due to Australia's slump.

Onions trapped top-scorer Shane Watson lbw for 62 on the first ball of the day and then bowled Mike Hussey, who chose to leave a ball in line with his off stump. The score was then 126-3.

Ponting, booed to the crease Thursday, acknowledged the generous applause he received for his record from English spectators. He is now third in the all-time Test run-scoring list behind West Indies' Brian Lara (11,953) and India's Sachin Tendulkar (12,773).

It was an eventful period for Ponting. He survived a run-out chance when attempting a quick single on 37 after being out of his ground when Bell's throw from cover missed the stumps.

Ponting is renowned as the best player in the world when facing short deliveries, but his attempted hook at Onions resulted in a thin edge to wicketkeeper Matt Prior. The score was then 163-4.

While Onions started Australia's demise, Anderson finished it. He dismissed Michael Clarke lbw for 29, though the ball may have missed leg stump, had Marcus North brilliantly caught for 12 by Prior diving in front of first slip and then trapped Johnson lbw first ball when he did not play a stroke. The ball may have bounced over the stumps.

The rain-affected first day allowed just 30 overs.

Anderson bowled Manou with a perfectly shaped out-swinger with the last ball before lunch.

The first Test was drawn and England won the second match at Lord's by 115 runs.

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1:12 PM

Australia reaches 126-1 on first day of third Ashes cricket Test

BIRMINGHAM, England — Shane Watson helped Australia to 126-1 against England at the close of the first day of the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Thursday after he was recalled as a makeshift opener in place of Phillip Hughes.

Watson, recovered from a knee injury, was 62 not out at stumps with his captain Ricky Ponting on 17 following an erratic bowling display from England. Simon Katich was out for 46 from 48 balls in an opening stand of 85. There were 22 fours in the session.

The match started six hours late because of rain but ended at 7 p.m. local time with conditions still playable under blue skies. Only 30 of the scheduled 90 overs in the day were played.

James Anderson was unfortunate not to have Katich lbw when he was on five after the ball struck his pad on the line of off-stump. The left-hander and Watson went on to punish some wayward bowling.

Andrew Flintoff's fourth over and the eighth of the innings cost 10 runs as both openers each struck a boundary. It summed up Australia's dominance in the first hour when 11 fours were struck.

Watson registered the team's 50 with an elegant off-drive for four off Graham Onions' second ball of the match. In the same over, Watson survived a close lbw appeal before crashing a pull through midwicket for four.

First and second change bowlers Onions and Stuart Broad each allowed two boundaries from their first overs. The boundary count numbered 16 after 18 overs. Onions was taken out of the attack after letting three fours from his third over.

England's bowling lacked the accuracy and hostility that marked its 115-run win at Lord's in the second test, which put it 1-0 up in the five-match series.

The breakthrough came with a change of pace as off-spinner Graeme Swann trapped Katich lbw with his first ball to the left-hander. Katich tried to pull Swann through midwicket and failed to connect and was struck in line with the stumps.

Ponting's first four, a cover drive off Anderson, brought up 20,000 first-class career runs and the team's 100. The same over Watson reached his half-century courtesy of an Onions mis-field at mid-on. He had stroked eight fours in getting there.

Australia won the toss before Ponting announced one change in its lineup, prior to a late drama that led to a forced second alteration.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin sustained a suspected broken finger on his left hand in practice after the toss. Australia then received permission from the England team to replace Haddin with reserve keeper Graham Manou, who is making his Test debut.

Hughes, who had scores of 36, four and 17 in the series, announced his omission on Twitter.

England made one change with Ian Bell replacing Kevin Pietersen, who had surgery on his Achilles last Tuesday.

The first Test in Cardiff was drawn after England saved the match after a defeat had seemed likely.

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12:19 PM

Muralitharan set Nov-2010 to retire from Test cricket

World leading bowler Muttiah Muralitharan has said he will retire from Test cricket at the end of Sri Lanka's home series against West Indies in November 2010. The Sri Lankan off-spinner, who is record holder in both Tests and One-Day International cricket, plans to continue in the shorter forms of the game.

“I'm thinking next year's Test series against West Indies in September will be my last," Muralitharan said after Sri Lanka's 36-run win against Pakistan in the opening ODI in Dambulla in which was named man of the match for scoring 33 with the bat and picked up 2-46. "But I still want to play on if I can to the 2011 World Cup."

Muralitharan, 37, has struggled in recent years with a knee injury that ruled him out recently concluded Test series against Pakistan. "I put in a lot of effort in the past month to get fit," Muralitharan said. "The doctors told me I have to go through the pain and train harder because an operation will mean me being out for six to seven months.”

"They think I'll be able to play for one to two years and told me to have the operation when I finish playing. That means my career is almost over and I am not going to play for long.”

Muralitharan made his Test debut in 1992 and became the highest wicket-taker in Tests when he broke Australian Shane Warne's record haul of 708 in 2007. He has picked up 770 test wickets in 127 matches at 22 runs per wicket and could become the first player to claim 800. “The hardest game in cricket is Tests. The hardest part is you have to take wickets and get batsmen out and sometimes you have to spend two days on the field. You have to mentally prepare yourself for every game.”

He however decided to play ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals, and he will be aiming to play in his fifth World Cup, held in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in 2011. “In Twenty20, you look to contain the batsmen and he tries some shots and gets out. Fifty-over cricket is also the same. In Test cricket you have to read the batsmen, set the fields properly and get the wickets."

Muralitharan is the third player in recent weeks who has opted to conclude his Test career to compete in the shorter format, after fellow Sri Lankan teammate Chaminda Vaas and England's Andrew Flintoff.

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12:13 PM

Kevin Pietersen fears for Test cricket

• Fans are abandoning Test cricket, says England's premier batsman
• Pietersen pledges six more years to England's Test campaigns


England's Kevin Pietersen is concerned that Test cricket is dying as Twenty20 becomes the game of choice for spectators. Photograph: Gareth Copley/PA

Kevin Pietersen has admitted he fears for the future of Test cricket because of falling attendances in the rest of the world. However, England's leading batsman denied that he would take advantage of the rise of Twenty20 to ignore central contracts and go freelance.

"I fear for Test match cricket simply because people are not supporting it as much as it gets supported here in England," Pietersen, who is out of the Ashes series because of injury, said in an interview with Sky Sports.

"In England we are so fortunate to play in front of full crowds all day every day. There's no other country that plays in front of full Test match crowds every day. When we go to play Australia in Australia we get full houses. I watched the South Africa series in Australia very closely because obviously we're playing them now, and you don't get full houses there. You look at the series in South Africa when Australia were there and 3, 4, 5,000 people were watching a day of Test cricket.

"And that for me shows people are now staying away from Tests to watch the Twenty20 format, which is pulling in everybody. That's the thing that frightens me because as soon as the support goes and the spectators go, it's going to be difficult to keep playing Tests. And players are going to be wanting to play the game where you get all the support."

But Pietersen dismissed speculation that leading cricketers, including himself, could soon take control of how and where they play their cricket by going freelance.

"I've played 54 Test matches for England and I've been very fortunate to have played 54 injury-free Test matches. I have a little break now for six weeks and then I've said to myself and said to my family I'm gonna try to give another five-, six-year full stint to England which I love doing and I want to do.

"I'm using this gap like a middle marker in my career to have this little break, get myself fully fit by the time I return and then continue from where I left off. I know there will be no freelance cricketer in me for years to come. I will be firmly playing for England. Test cricket is my favourite game and that's something I want to continue doing for a long time."

Meanwhile, Muttiah Muralitharan, the world's highest wicket-taker, will retire from Test cricket next November.

"We don't have many Tests next year, but I am thinking that next year's series against West Indies will be my last two Test matches," the Sri Lankan with 770 Test wickets said.

Muralitharan, 37, has been warned by surgeons that he faces long-term pain from a knee injury and the off-spinner said his body could not cope with five-day matches for much longer. "The doctors told me I have to go through the pain and train harder because an operation will mean me being out for six to seven months," he said. "They think I'll be able to play for one to two years and told me to have the operation when I finish playing. That means my career is almost over and I am not going to play for long."

However, Muralitharan plans to carry on in the shorter forms of the sport. "I still want to play on if I can to the 2011 World Cup and I will enjoy playing Twenty20 for a few more years if I can."

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12:11 PM

Lack of spectators is killing Test cricket

England great Geoffrey Boycott has warned Test cricket was "dying" around the world because of a lack of spectator interest and said radical action was needed to revitalise the five-day game. We at Zeecric.com, bring you the excerpts.

Boycott, speaking to reporters at Lord`s, said: "If you`re watching England against Australia this summer, we`re all seduced into believing Test cricket is fine because you could sell Test match cricket twice over for huge amounts of money because its the oldest form of Test match cricket and has history and tradition.”

"But every other series around the world there are declining attendances and there have been declining attendances for many years," the Yorkshireman added.

"Everywhere crowds are down except in England and Australia....we have to tweak it a bit or do something to get bums on seats or their will be hardly anybody watching except television in 20 or 30 years` time."

The MCC cricket committee, which is made-up of former and current international players such as Australia`s Steve Waugh and India`s Rahul Dravid, called for a World Test Championship similar to the World Championships that exist in 50-over and Twenty20 cricket, to reignite interest.

Although there are world Test rankings, which do ultimately lead to a team being declared the best side in the world, they have yet to become part of the fabric of the game.

"Test cricketers want to be able to say they`re the world champions of Test cricket," said Waugh.

"We can say it in the Twenty20 and 50-over game but Test cricket continues on and on. There`s the ranking system but there`s no actual trophy where you can hold it aloft.”

"Something definitely needs to be done to lift the profile of Test cricket. "Most players still believe it is the pinnacle of the game and why not reward that every couple of years with a Test cricket championship or a trophy you`ve won."

Boycott added: "The idea is not just to have a world championship but to package it better."

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced last month it was considering the possibility of trialling a day/night Test in 2010.

Fixtures under floodlights have helped Twenty20 become a popular format because spectators can attend matches without having to take so much time off work and Boycott said: "Maybe we have a coloured ball or we have day-night matches, which people have been on about for ages but never do anything about.”

"We need to get some interest going and look at the way they have marketed Twenty20, but somebody has to try and do something. Test match attendances are dying and doing nothing is not an option."

It is more than 40 years since MCC ceased running English cricket but it retains global responsibility for the sport`s laws.

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3:46 AM