NatWest series (India, Sri Lanka and England)

Sri Lanka repaired some dented pride by securing their first victory of the triangular one-day series with a 23-run win over England at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Four successive defeats ended Sri Lanka's chances of making the competition final, but they did not lack for motivation in dismissing England for 206 in 47.4 overs.

Scorecard | Match report | Slide show

________________

Rahul Dravid believes India have a "realistic chance" of winning next year's World Cup after booking a place in the NatWest Series final.

"We are getting a good blend of youth and experience together and we are working really hard to get the combinations right," he said.

________________

Captain Nasser Hussain has criticised his "clumsy" England side after they slumped to a 23-run NatWest Series defeat to Sri Lanka at Old Trafford.

"We were clumsy ... their score was a good one, but we gave away soft dismissals when we batted," said Hussain.

Miscellaneous

The General Council of the UCB has endorsed proposals from a conference of South African cricket leaders in which they pledged to drive transformation as part of a sustainable new culture of delivery.

Transformation quotas be done away with at the level of national teams and senior provincial sides. Selection for these teams will now be based purely on merit.

________________

Shane Bond will cover for Shaun Pollock at Warwickshire while the South African captain partakes in the Triangular series in Morocco, before he too departs to play in the ICC Mini-World Cup in Sri Lanka, at which stage Damien Fleming will become the replacement.

Looking ahead at the trip to Birmingham, Bond said he was going to England during the New Zealand off-season to advance his career.

Speaking to The Press Bond said, "I'm joining Warwickshire to advance my cricket career. "The World Cup is the big one for me, so everything else is a build-up to that," he said.

Yesterday's News .........................  News Roll archive