Sri Lanka in England

Third Test, Old Trafford, day two:
England 377-6 v Sri Lanka.

Bad weather dogged the second day at Old Trafford but England's batsmen moved into a commanding position over Sri Lanka.

Mark Butcher hit his fifth Test century in the first one-hour passage of play after bad weather prevented a start before lunch.

And Alex Stewart completed a powerful half-century in the second, before bad light brought a halt with England 377 for six.

The home side know that a first innings total in excess of 400 will put them firmly in control of the match.

But Sri Lanka were brought back to life by a double breakthough, sparked by left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas.

Scorecard | Match report | Slide show

________________

Sri Lanka's cricket board has made six changes to the squad for the one-day triangular series, beginning June 27, which also involves India.

Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillekeratne and Eric Upashantha, all of whom are playing in the current Test, will return to Sri Lanka next week, along with Prasanna Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera and Ruchira Perera, whose controversial action came under ICC scrutiny during the drawn first Test at Lord's.

They will be replaced by Avishka Gunawardene, Chamara Silva, Pramodya Wickremesinghe, Romesh Kaluwitharana and the uncapped Naveed Nawaz - all of whom are regarded as one-day specialists.

________________

Mark Butcher traces his increased confidence to his immortal 173 not out in England's thrilling Ashes Test victory at Headingley last August.

The left-hander has made 1,186 runs in 14 Tests at an average of 49.41, since his comeback a year ago.

And his 123 against Sri Lanka on the second day at Old Trafford continued his fine form in this series.

Resuming on 85 when play finally got underway on a rain-hit day, Butcher reached his fifth Test century from just 189 deliveries, with 14 boundaries.

"Confidence-wise that innings is massive," he said of England's sole win against the world champions last summer.

New Zealand in West Indies

New Zealand have added all-rounder Scott Styris to their squad for the two Test matches on their current tour to the West Indies.

When the squad was originally announced, the selectors left one place vacant and Styris has secured it with his match-winning display in the fourth one-day international in Trinidad.

He scored an unbeaten 62 and then took six for 25 as the Kiwis won by nine runs to give themselves a chance of squaring the series in the final game in St Vincent on Saturday.

"There has been some healthy competition for the final Test place and I guess you could say Scott has emerged from the pack to take the vacant all-rounder position," said chairman of selectors Sir Richard Hadlee.

Miscellaneous

Investigations into Hansie Cronje's involvement in match-fixing by the International Cricket Council (ICC) ceased with the death of the former South African captain.

But, says ICC Anti-Corruption Unit head Lord Condon, investigations are ongoing into criminals in South Africa and India who were involved with Cronje.

"Tragic though Cronje's death was, part of his legacy was that a structure is now in place to help clean up cricket," said Condon.

________________

A founder member of the Wales Cricket Association has been awarded the OBE in the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours list for services to cricket.

William Edwards of Swansea has been involved in the administration of the game in Wales for more than 30 years.

He has been chairman and secretary of the WCA and has worked closely with a number of cricket clubs across South Wales.

"It's exciting news," he said of the award. "My daughter is tickled pink about it.

"It's brought joy and gladness to her and to my immediate circle of friends.

"It means that these awards are not beyond the reach of many other people."

Mr Edwards said working with so many cricketing bodies in Wales over such a long period had left him with an abundance of happy memories.

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