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Chaminda Vaas may have achieved his best bowling figures in his Test career against the West Indies at the SSC grounds on Monday, but coach Dav Whatmore for one believes that we haven’t seen the best yet.”Performances like that don’t happen by accident. We haven’t seen the best of him yet,” said Whatmore after Vaas had demolished the West Indies batting by ending up with the second best bowling figures by a Sri Lankan in Test cricket with 14 wickets for 191.”I think Vaas had the ability all along, but it is only slowly coming out now. He does a lot of work which a lot of people don’t see; in the weights room, on the running track, and the nets, where he rarely takes the new ball. He always works with the old ball.”To me, there is always some sort of purpose for his training in any of those areas. The results are what we all see at the moment. Results come from hard work and not by magic. A few years ago Chaminda wasn’t as focused from time to time at training, but clearly you can see that every-time we have a session, that there is always something that he needs to achieve. In doing so, he’s built up a lot of hard work and lot of effort mentally as well,” said Whatmore.”When I began the Test series, my one priority was to give as much support to our no.1 bowler (Muttiah) Muralitharan,” said Vaas, reflecting back on his wonderful performance where he picked up 14 wickets to steer Sri Lanka to a ten-wicket win and a historic 3-0 whitewash of a Test nation.”But in the end, I finished with more wickets than Murali the series. The way I bowled throughout the series gave me a lot of satisfaction. My reverse swing is working to near perfection. I have a few more things to learn and add to my armoury. I think after I’d learnt to bowl reverse swing that I started to take wickets regularly,” he said.”It took me about a year to learn to bowl reverse swing. I have not mastered it yet But as a fast bowler you should get a couple of wickets with the new ball and then come back and take more wickets when the ball is old with reverse swing. I am quite happy I was able to do that in this series,” Vaas, who was joint man-of-the-match at the SSC, said.”I had lot of help from Saliya Ahangama, Champaka Ramanayake and Rumesh Ratnayake (all former Sri Lanka fast bowlers) and Whatmore. I also received a lot of support from my team mates without whose help I wouldn’t have been able to get so many wickets,” he said.Muralitharan to some extent would have helped Vaas achieve those career best figures by bowling the majority of overs to West Indies star batsman Brian Lara.”Without Murali’s heavy workload it was difficult for us to achieve the results we did,” said Whatmore.”The West Indies batsmen particularly, Lara attacked Murali, which made him ineffective. That is the reason why he couldn’t get as much wickets as he would have,” said Vaas.Eight of Vaas’ 14 victims were out lbw, which reflected on how accurate he was in line and length. More or less, he bowled wicket to wicket not giving anything away and, the slightest attempt by the batsmen to play across the line made them a prime candidate for an lbw decision.Having made his Test debut at the age of 20 as a left-arm fast-medium bowler Vaas had instant success when in only his fifth Test he became the first Sri Lankan bowler to take a match bag of ten wickets with 10 for 90 against New Zealand at Napier in 1995. The Test was notable for Sri Lanka recording their first overseas victory in a Test match (by 241 runs).That Vaas had to wait another 50 Tests to record his second match bag of ten or more wickets in a Test can be put down to several factors.What matters is that at present, he is bowling as best as at anytime during his career.”My main ambition is to get as many wickets as possible and bring many victories to Sri Lanka,” he said.”Initially, my ambition was to get 200 Test wickets, but if I continue to bowl the way I am now, I am confident of getting to 300 wickets,” said Vaas.His present tally at the end of the West Indies series where he finished as the top wicket taker with 26 wickets, stands at 182 wickets (avg. 28.52) from 55 Tests. Only the indomitable Muralitharan is ahead of him.

England’s last game was a real end of the season affair. England withnothing to gain but more humiliation won easily in the end, defeatingNepal by 64 runs.But there was time for a couple of scares along the way and Nepal’stotal, their highest of the tournament will have raised some eyebrows.England who won the toss and elected to bat were reduced to 39-3 whenJohn Maunders (6), Jimmy Adams(13) and Ian Bell (13) all fell cheaply.However a fine 116 run partnership between Ian Pattison and theirrepressible Gary Pratt rescued the potentially embarrassingsituation and took control of the game. Gary Pratt (51) has been theone highlight of this tour and this was his third fifty. Pattison’s97 today being the only other one of the tour.The final total of 260 was always likely to be too many for anextremely weak, but highly enthusiastic Nepalese side. England triedtheir best to assist Nepal and make a game of it by gifting them with36 wides – 50 extras in total.Nepal had progressed to 71-1 before Graeme Bridge and Tim Phillipsinitiated a stunning collapse. Nepal folded to 95-7. However theNepalese, who have always been admired for their resilience, are atenacious bunch and refused to give up. A fine eighth wicketpartnership between Aamir Akhtar and Paras Luniva of 57 was followedwith a ninth wicket partnership of 39. Nepal was finally bowled outfor 196.

Phil Hay has dropped another boost for Leeds United before their game away at Leicester City alongside the return of Patrick Bamford to training.

The Lowdown: Bamford back

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match, new manager Jesse Marsch revealed that Bamford is now back in training, claiming that he is ‘close’ to being ready to return to the team.

The England international has been struggling with injuries all season, only making a mere seven appearances in total over all competitions so far.

The Latest: Phillips and Cooper update

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic journalist Hay also gave an update on the fitness of both Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper, sharing that while they will not be available for the match against the Foxes, they are ‘making good progress’ in training:

“Marsch confirms that Bamford is training and getting very close.

“Phillips and Cooper aren’t available for the weekend but are making good progress.”

The Verdict: Promising

The Whites have been terrorised by injury problems all campaign, especially to their key players like Bamford, Phillips and Cooper.

Therefore, potentially having all of them available again soon is certainly promising ahead of the relegation battle ahead.

All three rank in the top 10 performers for the Peacocks in the top flight, and their form has suffered drastically as a result of their absences, even costing Marcelo Bielsa his job.

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Nonetheless, if they can get a result against Brendan Rodgers’ men without them, then Marsch can look forward to working the trio into his set-up at Thorp Arch over the coming weeks.

In other news, find out who Hay has confirmed has now followed Bielsa out of Elland Road here!

Brett Lee accounts for 59 of the Australian pace attack’s combined tally of 68 Tests © Getty Images

Australia will rely on the sheer pace of Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson to cover the huge gaps left by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Justin Langer has also departed but filling the holes of two men who captured 1271 wickets is the main concern as the hosts attempt to retain their all-conquering ways.Sri Lanka will face a fast-bowling attack at the Gabba on Thursday that has a combined tally of 68 Tests and contains the debutant Mitchell Johnson. Brett Lee is the main man, having appeared in 59 matches, while Stuart Clark will probably begin his fourth series at first-change. The collective inexperience does not bother Ricky Ponting and he is confident the trio can kick-start the new era.”You have to look to somebody else to do the job that they [Warne and McGrath] were doing,” Ponting said. “They were great at building pressure. Now we might have to come back to sheer pace to get our breakthroughs with Brett and Mitchell.”Extra responsibility will also fall on Stuart MacGill as he tries to fit back into the team after an 18-month absence. One of the reasons Australia preferred MacGill to the swing of Ben Hilfenhaus was due to Warne’s strong performances in Brisbane, which he rated as a perfect venue for legspin because of the extra bounce.”We know Stuart MacGill’s wicket-taking ability is second to none in the history of the game,” Ponting said. “And we know we’ve got the options.”Sri Lanka’s recruiting of Trevor Bayliss, who was the New South Wales coach in June, has come with the bonus of intimate knowledge of almost half the Australian team. Mahela Jayawardene, the captain, said Bayliss had been passing on tips to his new team about what to expect from Clark, MacGill, Lee, Michael Clarke and Phil Jaques.”Trevor has been giving us a lot of information and we’ve been discussing a lot of plans,” he said. “It’s always good to have a lot of plans, but you also need to concentrate on what’s going on out there and go with your instincts.”Australia would like to bat first even though the pitch contains significant moisture and they may get their wish if Sri Lanka push for a four-man pace attack. Ponting, who has discussed the threats of the opposition bowlers with his team, felt playing so many would be risky.”If you look historically at things at the Gabba, sides that bat first win more often than not,” he said. “If they did want to play four they’d be going against that. And if the keeper [Prasanna Jayawardene] bats six it leaves them a little thin.”

Shane Warne and John Buchanan have only two more Tests together © Getty Images

John Buchanan believes Shane Warne’s Test retirement will leave a huge void in his side, but he insists plans are in place to cope with a changing of the guard. Glenn McGrath is also tipped to be the next Australian to retire, and Buchanan said it was only a matter of time before Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist stepped down.Buchanan said Australia had the infrastructure in place to handle the strain of a mass exodus, unlike the 1980s when Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh’s departure crippled the national side. “One of the significant differences that has occurred is that there are things like the Centre of Excellence program, Australia A, and we have seen the emergence of young talent,” he said. “The transition from moving the older, great players out [for] newer, younger players should be a bit easier than in the past.Damien Martyn and Warne have started the team change by deciding to walk away. “[Retirements] will occur, whether that be within two, three, six or 12 months, but it heralds an exciting time in Australian cricket,” Buchanan said.Buchanan, who will depart in April after the World Cup, hinted that Warne’s departure may force Australia to rethink the positive, attacking game plans that have allowed it to dominate world cricket in recent decades. “Certainly from a selection point of view and looking into the future that will now be a huge void that will take maybe generations to fill,” he said. “When you lose one of your great players it does mean you have to re-think and re-look at your team, its balance and the way you want to play your game.”

In a rejoinder to the ICC, Ricky Ponting has boldly maintained that verbal banter was just fine by Australia © Getty Images

Despite stern cautioning from the ICC regarding sledging, Ricky Ponting, Australia’s captain, has openly supported Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath continuing their verbal tirade against South Africa as the first Test gets underway at Perth on Friday.Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, had earlier this week stated that the ICC was determined to keep the game’s image clean and not let it fall to the level of a “hooligan’s sport”. “We don’t want cricket being reduced to a level where it turns into a hooligans’ sport and the spirit of the game is eroded,” Mani had said. “We can’t have a situation like we see in football (soccer).” The ICC is concerned by the fact that since November, eight players and officials have been found guilty of code of conduct breaches – twice the number when compared to this same period last year. So far this year 38 players and officials have been charged with offences, and Mani’s comments come a day after a blunt warning issued by Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, about the growing number of code of conduct violations.Responding to Mani’s claims, Ponting has defended his ace bowlers, maintaining that verbal banter was a part of Australia’s motivation leading into a series of this magnitude. “The main culprits this time have been the ones who do it every series, Warney and McGrath,” Ponting told . “That’s why I don’t think it’s too much different than normal. Those guys actually like the challenge of making some statements and then getting out there and backing them up. That’s the way they’ve played their best cricket over the last 10 years. “While accepting that the ICC was tolerable of verbal exchanges between players in tense and competitive matches, Mani was adamant that it would not tolerate any degrading comments that fell outside the boundary of sport. Ponting, however, maintained that this would not be the case in the series against South Africa. “As long as we’re being sensible about what we’re doing and staying on our side of the line in the sand I’m happy with that,” he said. “Glenn and Shane like to challenge themselves as much as they can and they seem to lift when those bigger occasions and one-on-one battles come around.”He does remain fairly surprised by the ICC singling out this series as a potentially volatile scenario. “There’s no reason at the moment for me to have to address the players and let them know to take it easy. It’s just a bit of banter between the players…there’s nothing untoward as far as I’m concerned at the moment,” Ponting said. “I’m sure the cricket’s going to be played in a hard and fair manner. It usually is when Australia and South Africa get out on the field of play. All the players are very aware of the spirit of cricket on the field and off the field.”He did, though, take the opportunity to mention the role that Warne will play in the tense encounters that will pepper the three-Test series. “Warney’s record against South Africa (101 wickets at 22) would be outstanding so that’s probably why he’s come out and said what he has,” he said. “It’s just another thing they (South Africa) are going to have in the back of their minds now and Warney will just go out there and play cricket.”

Michael Vaughan: ‘The best thing is that we haven’t played to the standards we’ve set ourselves, but we’re still 1-0 up’© Getty Images

Michael Vaughan was content – but far from satisfied – as he reflected onEngland’s seven-wicket victory at Port Elizabeth in the opening Test oftheir South African tour. A hard taskmaster at the best of times, Vaughanwarned that his side’s performance had been “shoddy” in places, but sethis sights on taking a 2-0 lead in the series by the time the Durban Testis over and done with next week.”We’re an honest team,” Vaughan told reporters after the match, “and weaccept that we didn’t play to our potential in this match. South Africashould have been there for the taking after Day Two, but we didn’t nail them aswe should have. We’ve been unbeaten all year, so it would be nice to go toDurban and perform to the standard that we’ve set throughout the year.”Vaughan continued: “It’s been a common theme with England teams for years,that when we get on top in a match – and at 20 runs ahead with fourwickets down, we were definitely in command – we’ve often allowed theopposition back into the game. In the end, an 88-run lead was pretty good,thanks to the tail, but we should have been looking at 150 to 200 runsahead. Then it would have been game, set and match.”But it isn’t just hair shirts that hang in Vaughan’s wardrobe, and he wasquick to single out the performances of Andrew Strauss and Simon Jones forspecial praise. “Strauss is a level-headed kind of guy and his attitude isspot on,” said Vaughan of England’s Man of the Match, who sealed therun-chase with an unbeaten 94 this morning. “He never gets too high abouthis successes, nor too low about his failures. Technically he’s prettygood, but more importantly, the mental side of his game is excellent. He’sgoing to be a good player for us for many years if he keeps working as heis.”For the first three days of the match England were in front, but far fromdominant, and it took an inspirational catch by Jones at fine leg toremove South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, and spur the side to greaterdeeds. “All credit to Simon for his catch and his spell of bowling,” saidVaughan. “When Smith and [Jacques] Kallis got in there was a period whenSouth Africa might have got on top, but his outstanding efforts changedthe game.”Simon’s a huge threat with old ball,” he explained. “He getsreverse-swing into the right-handers, and the ball that dismissed Kalliswas a beauty. He’s shown an outstanding attitude since arriving inZimbabwe, where he worked with Troy Cooley [the bowling coach], and hefully deserved his rewards yesterday.”In the end, there was not a huge amount to choose between the team’sperformances, but the key difference was England’s additional experience.Vaughan was especially satisfied by the manner in which his bowlers hadexploited the frailties of South Africa’s middle order. “Even on the firstday when [Jacques] Rudolph and [Boeta] Dippenaar got in, we never allowedthem to get away. Ashley Giles bowled a crucial spell while our seamersrotated from the top end, and then in the second innings, once Smith had gone,we opened the door to attack their inexperience.”Leading into the game, we were under a lot of pressure,” admittedVaughan, after England’s record of seven straight wins had been punctuatedby the defeat against South Africa A at Potchefstroom. “For us, the firstday was crucial, especially after losing the toss. All we wanted was agood performance to put South Africa on the back foot, and at 270 for 7 wegot that, despite a gusty wind that made bowling very hard.”Ultimately Vaughan could have few complaints about his team’s performance,but he urged his players to push their expectations to the limit. “On anindividual basis, we need to set targets for big, big scores. Even Straussin the first innings, if he’s honest, he’d have wanted a score of 180 to200, and likewise [Mark] Butcher should have been aiming at 150, ratherthan 79. You can’t take the mick in this game, as it has a knack of comingback and giving you some funny answers.”The best thing is that we haven’t played to the standards we’ve setourselves, but we’re still 1-0 up,” concluded Vaughan. “In fact, forperiods here we were quite shoddy. South Africa are a good side and theyare sure to come back strongly, but we’re up for the challenge. They’llwant to hit us hard at Durban, but we’ll keep ourselves honest, and keepup the pressure.”

A resounding 126 run victory for Lords Cricket Club against Vienna Cricket Club enabled them to temporarily dislodge Concordia CC at the top of the Open League, although Concordia do now have a game in hand over Lords. Winning the toss and batting, Lords posted the highest total of the season, 344 for 9, against a weakened Vienna CC attack, for whom only Neil Foster (10-1-43-2) and Andrew Simpson-Parker (6-0-29-3) made any impression, with Arvinde Ghai, playing his first game of the season making 94, Wasif Mohammed 67 and Deepak Sharma 61 – his second fifty in consecutive games.Vienna CC’s reply was stopped in its tracks by the bowling of Ajay Grover and Sukhvir Hira, both of whom were on hat-tricks at various points of the innings, although Andrew Simpson-Parker kept the runs coming from his end before ultimately being 9th out for 144 – the highest score of the season, and only four runs short of his highest ever – made against Greece in 1997. He shared in a sixth wicket partnership worth 134 with Michi Nedoma (11), but any resistance was put pay to by the introduction of Parivesh Padhe who cleaned up the tail to finish with 3-28.The victory by Lords CC puts them ahead of Concordia CC, with the fixture calendar pitting the two teams against each other next Saturday, in a winner-takes-all clash, in which the winner is likely to gain the “easier” semi-final draw, although Lords will be wary of this draw having slipped up to unfancied Pakistan Falken CC teams in 2001 and 2002 in the semi-finals. The same day will see Vienna CC take on Pakistan Falken CC, with a victory likely to confirm their third place, with Five Continents and United Nations CC both chasing the fourth and final qualifying place.

Taylor- time to move on Photo Paul McGregor

Northamptonshire’s former England fast bowler Paul Taylor has confirmed his retirement from first-class cricket.The 37-year-old left-armer, who played twice for England in the 1990s, was released by the County at the end of last season.He said: “There were opportunities with other clubs but I’ve decided it’s time to move on. I’ve really achieved everything I wanted to achieve on the playing side and I want to develop some other interests now.”I still feel pretty fit, and by finishing with the first-class game at this stage I should be able to have a few more years in club and Minor Counties cricket. I was obviously disappointed that my Northants career ended the way it did, but I would like to publicly thank all the club’s supporters for their tremendous backing over the years.”Taylor began his Championship career with Derbyshire in 1984 and moved to Northampton in 1991 after a spell with Staffordshire. He made his Test debut against India in Calcutta on the 1992-93 tour, and was also chosen against New Zealand at Lord’s in 1994.In all first-class cricket he claimed 559 wickets – 531 of them in his 169 matches for Northamptonshire – and his benefit in 2000 raised £92,000.Chief Executive Stephen Coverdale commented: “Paul has made an immense contribution to Northamptonshire over the past eleven seasons. He has been a model professional, and what he has achieved – particularly his international recognition – speaks volumes both for his ability and his character, bouncing back after being rejected at Derby early in his career. I know everyone at the club will want to wish him well for the future.”

Groundsman Mohammad Russell has filed a general diary with Rajpara police station in Rajshahi against Mahmood Jamal, the Rajshahi official who had allegedly assaulted him. According to acting officer-in-charge Raihan, Russell mentioned in the GD that Jamal had threatened him before kicking him out of the stadium on the first day of the Rajshahi-Barisal NCL match.The GD is a recording of a major incident within the jurisdiction of a police station and was filed at around 3:00pm in the afternoon. An investigating officer has been put in charge to file a report on the incident, which sparked outrage within the cricket fraternity in Bangladesh. Jamal, a former BCB director, denied the incident while the board has summoned Russell to Dhaka for his security.Akram Khan, the board’s tournament committee chairman, said that the NCL’s final-round match has been taken away from the Rajshahi venue. He was informed formally by the board’s security head and confirmed of the GD being filed.”The sixth round of the NCL will not be played in Rajshahi,” Akram told TV channel . “We will definitely take a decision after discussing the matter with the board president after he returns to the country. Cricket is not just about a player or an official. It has reached a stage where the wicket is a huge factor so we cannot misbehave with the groundstaff who make a contribution every day. I feel that they are a part of cricket’s progress and saving them is the board’s responsibility. We must give them security.”Our security head sent me an email regarding the incident and we have also registered a general diary against him. We want to decide on this in the next board meeting. This is not a good practice. Bangladesh cricket has reached a stage where such things shouldn’t happen. The match referee is in charge of the game while there are umpires too.”Akram said that since Jamal’s complaint against Russell was about water being sprayed on the pitch, the claim should have been referred to the match referee rather than allegedly assaulting the worker. He said that the board’s past record of stern discipline will serve as a precedent for this incident.”If the wicket wasn’t good enough, the start of the match would have definitely been delayed. The match started on time. One team made a score of 300-plus. One can blame the wicket but he should have talked to the match referee and umpires. But he cannot physically abuse a groundstaff. We have taken disciplinary actions in the past so I am sure we will take another strong decision on this matter.”