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Marcus Trescothick was named PCA player of the year for the third time at the annual end of season awards in London on Thursday evening. Alex Hales, the Nottinghamshire and England batsman, took the young player award while Alastair Cook was England’s most valuable player.Despite Somerset twice finishing in second place again on Friends Life t20 finals day and in the CB40 final, Trescothick had an outstanding season with 2518 runs in all competitions putting him at the top of the batting list even though he missed games towards the end of the season due to an ankle injury. Trescothick is only the second player, after Sir Richard Hadlee, to win the Reg Hayter Cup three times.Hales, meanwhile, was rewarded for passing 1000 runs in the County Championship for the first time along with hitting 544 runs in Twenty20 cricket which earned him an England call-up to face India at Old Trafford. Although he made a second-ball duck he will get another chance to impress in the two matches against West Indies.Cook and Stuart Broad, who is currently out injured, were recognised for their part in England’s triumphant summer with the overall and ODI most valuable player awards respectively. Mark Ramprakash was also named County Championship player of the decade while Andrew McDonald and Chris Nash collected domestic awards.Reg Hayter Cup for the NatWest PCA Player of the Year Marcus Trescothick (Somerset)
John Arlott Cup for the NatWest PCA Young Player of the Year Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
ECB Special Award Patrick Eagar
PCA Special Merit Award Jack Bannister
Sky Sports Sixes League Winner Darren Stevens (Kent)
NatWest ODI Player of the Year Stuart Broad
England FTI MVP of the Summer Alastair Cook
LV=County Championship Player of the Decade Mark Ramprakash
Friends Life t20 Player of the Year Andrew McDonald (Leicestershire)
Clydesdale Bank 40 Player of the Year Chris Nash (Sussex)
PCA Umpire of the Year Michael GoughFTI Team of the Year Alastair Cook, Marcus Trescothick, Chris Nash, Alex Hales, Darren Stevens, Steven Davies, Samit Patel, Chris Woakes, James Anderson, David Masters, Monty Panesar

ScorecardTim Linley claimed career best figures as Surrey beat Leicestershire by 10 wickets with a day to spare in the Division Two match at Grace Road. With opener Will Jefferson hitting his first century of the season Leicestershire totalled 286 in their second innings, with Linley taking sixwickets for 57 runs.It left Surrey a victory target of 111 and they made light work of the chase knocking off the runs in fewer than 17 overs. Captain Rory Hamilton-Brown hammered an uneaten 75 off 56 balls, with 54 of his runs coming in boundaries against a lacklustre Leicestershire attack. It was Surrey’s fifth win of the season and the 22 points they collected lifted them to third in the table, maintaining their promotion hopes.Although Leicestershire offered sterner resistance in their second innings it was never enough to deny Surrey victory. Jefferson held the innings together and kept the visitors at bay for a timewith a determined 205-ball 121 which included 14 fours and a six.He shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 119 in 24 overs with Ned Eckersley to give the home side hope that they could at least build up a big enough lead to give Surrey a few problems. But when Eckersley, who contributed 24 runs to the stand, edged a catch to slip off India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha it signalled the end of the home side’s resistance.Jefferson, who had reached his 50 off 180 balls and looked in fine form, followed five runs later with the total at 198 when he was lbw to the same bowler. Then in the next over first innings hero Rob Taylor was also out edging a catch to wicketkeeper Steven Davies to leave Leicestershire 198 for 7.Fast bowler Linley, who had claimed three earlier wickets, then ran through the tailenders after the new ball was taken at 231 for 7. He had Paul Dixey lbw and bowled both Jigar Naik and Claude Henderson to finish with 6 for 57 off 21.2 overs.It left Surrey with 25 overs plus an extra half hour to clinch victory on the third day, and they did it well inside the distance. Some wayward bowling was punished with gusto by Hamilton-Brown, with Nathan Buck conceding 20 runs off his second over and the 50 total arriving in thesixth over.Hamilton-Brown reached his own 50 off 32 balls with 10 fours and clinched the win with a cover drive to the boundary off Taylor off the third ball of the seventh over.

Match facts

August 6, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Start time 19:00 (13:30 GMT, 23:30 EST)

Big Picture

Australia commence their tour of Sri Lanka under a captain, Cameron White, who will be flying home once the Twenty20 matches have concluded. Sri Lanka, by contrast will be led in all three formats by Tillakaratne Dilshan, leading the team at home for the first time after taking over the reins for the England tour earlier this year.Until a narrow victory over England in the second of two T20 matches following the Ashes, Australia’s form in the shortest format had been poor, losing comfortably to the Sri Lankans in Perth last October and suffering a 2-0 series reverse against Pakistan in England during the 2010 northern summer. Michael Clarke’s retirement from international T20 matches handed the captaincy to White, and he will now be hoping to get the tourists off to a strong start in Kandy.The Sri Lankans have done rather better of late, defeating England in England, but that was their first T20 international since the aforementioned defeat of Australia at the WACA. Lasith Malinga’s unavailability is a significant loss for the hosts, particularly as the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and its new pitches have the potential for greater pace than most other surfaces on the island.Both sides will want to set the tone for the tour with a first-up victory, as much to build confidence in their transitional teams as to get their opponents worried.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WWWLL
Australia WLLLL

In the spotlight

Angelo Mathews missed the Test series against Engalnd due to injury but eased his way back into some form during the subsequent limited overs matches to demonstrate why he was entrusted with the vice-captaincy before his 24th birthday. Explosive with the bat and intelligent with the ball, he played a key role in lifting the Sri Lankans to a memorable ODI victory over Australia at the MCG last year and will want to repeat the dose on home soil.Steve O’Keefe, like his captain White, is only in Sri Lanka for the T20 matches, and is intent on showing that he should have been allowed to stay on. Peculiarly, his first-class bowling record is far better than any of his spin bowling rivals in Australia, but thus far the national selectors have declined to employ him further. O’Keefe has made no secret of his desire to push for bigger honours, and he can make a start by performing capably here to back-up the 3-29 he took on his T20 debut for Australia against Pakistan in 2010.

Team news

Sri Lanka’s squad includes no fewer than six capable bowlers of spin, while the pace attack looks thin without Malinga, meaning Mathews or Nuwan Kulasekara can be expected to operate with the new ball. Aaron Finch is expected to be available having recovered from a rolled ankle suffered in training, and James Pattinson could be in line for a T20 debut.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Mahela Jayawardene, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Jeevan Mendis, 7 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Suranga LakmalAustralia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Brad Haddin (wk), 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White (capt), 6 Shaun Marsh, 7 Steven Smith, 8 Steve O’Keefe, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Brett Lee, 11 James Pattinson

Pitch and conditions

The Australians have been delighted by a hint of pace in the Kandy practice wickets and are hopeful for more of the same from the match strip. The Sri Lankans have trained in the evening to prepare for any moisture that may be present for a 7pm start.

Stats and trivia

• This is Australia’s first T20 international in Sri Lanka
• It is also the first such fixture at the Pallekelle International Stadium
• Sri Lanka’s captain Dilshan is the oldest man on either side at 34, shading the Australian fast bowler Brett Lee by a little more than a month
• Dilshan will be looking for a greater share of his team’s runs, having made a meagre 23 in the five ODIs against England

Quotes

“Australian usually play very hard. They may be a bit inexperienced. But they are tough opponents.”

“Definitely I think the way a series should be run, or a tour should be run, is that you start with your Twenty20s, then your one-dayers and then your Test matches.”

ScorecardNottinghamshire spinners Samit Patel and Graeme White shared six wickets on thesecond day of their Championship Division One clash with Hampshire at theRose Bowl.Patel recorded figures of 4 for 43 as Nottinghamshire dismissed their hostsfor 213, Neil McKenzie the mainstay of the innings with an unbeaten 97. Three wickets from Chris Wood, who had earlier made 34, then left the visitors 35 for 3 at the close.After rain washed out the first day, Hampshire won the toss and elected to batin overcast conditions, but were soon made to regret their decision as a flurryof early wickets fell.Liam Dawson was the first man to go, getting stuck on his crease to a deliveryfrom Charlie Shreck which kept slightly low and trapped him lbw for just six. Fellow opener Jimmy Adams, promoted into the captain’s role because of Dominic Cork’s unexpected absence, was the next wicket to fall, bowled off his pads by former England quick Darren Pattinson for seven to leave Hampshire 13 for 2.Michael Carberry went for four, edging Pattinson behind to give Chris Read aregulation catch as his side slipped into real trouble at 26 for 3. McKenzie and James Vince temporarily steadied the ship, with Vince the fortunate beneficiary of two dropped catches.But as Hampshire nudged past 50, Vince finally fell, looping a catch toPattinson off the bowling of Patel. Sean Ervine was next up, but after battling for 44 balls, the former Zimbabwe Test player was dismissed for 14, edging left-arm spinner White to slip to leave the hosts 86 for 5 at the lunch break.The impressive and resilient McKenzie brought up his 50 and Hampshire’s 100with a nicely-timed drive after lunch, before combining in a 51-run partnershipwith wicket-keeper Michael Bates.But medium-pacer Steven Mullaney struck with the last ball of his first over,dismissing Bates for 24. A brief shower brought about an early tea before some big hitting from Wood saw him and the McKenzie rack up a half-century partnership.But after two big sixes had advanced the youngster to 34 – just one run shortof matching his highest first-class score – Wood fell to a sharp slip catch byAdam Voges off the bowling of Patel.McKenzie looked to be moving towards his second Championship century of theseason, but was left stranded on 97 after Danny Briggs and Imran Tahir fell toPatel in quick succession and David Griffiths was dismissed by White.Nottinghamshire were soon in trouble themselves at the start of their reply,Wood removing opener Neil Edwards (eight) and dangerman Alex Hales (two) in justhis second over.And he secured Hampshire’s first bowling point with his third wicket in adevastating opening burst, bowling Rikki Wessels for seven to leaveNottinghamshire struggling.

Scorecard
India finished third in the NatWest Women’s Quadrangular series after beating New Zealand by 32 runs in a low-scoring encounter at Aston Rowant. Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and seamer Amita Sharma were the major architects of India’s win, taking three wickets apiece to run through New Zealand’s lower order, after captain Jhulan Goswami had made the initial incision, to defend India’s 150 all out by dismissing New Zealand for just 118.Batsmen on both sides struggled with the conditions and India were thankful for opener Poonam Raut’s patient 38, as well as contributions from Harmanpreet Kaur (21) and Veda Krishnamurthy (29). They had actually been reasonably placed at 127 for 4, before a late push for runs resulted in an avalanche of wickets instead, with several of New Zealand’s bowlers benefitting from a collapse of 6 for 23.New Zealand could not extend their advantage with the bat, however, as Goswami removed both openers cheaply before Gouher Sultana got rid of the dangerous Suzie Bates. Sara McGlashan’s wicket – bowled by Sharma for 22 – tipped the balance firmly in India’s favour, but New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins went down fighting with a 24-ball 32 that included two fours and a six. Once she fell, Bisht and Sharma made short work of the tail.

The dispute between Shahid Afridi and the PCB took the first official step towards a resolution, with Afridi withdrawing his petition against the board in the Sindh High Court. He will now appear before a PCB disciplinary committee on Thursday; Afridi had filed the petition on June 7 against the same disciplinary proceedings the board had initiated against him in the wake of his ‘retirement’ and subsequent criticism of the board.But following a meeting between Afridi and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in Islamabad, the outlines of a compromise emerged on Tuesday; Afridi would withdraw the petition, face up to a disciplinary committee that the court had initially put a stay order on, be punished, but have his No-Objection Certifcate (NOC) reinstated, allowing him to play for Hampshire.A hearing last week had adjourned the case to June 16, after the board didn’t file a detailed reply, but following the compromise deal, Afridi’s lawyers appeared in court today to officially withdraw the petition. “The petition has been withdrawn as a part of the reconciliation between both sides,” Syed Ali Zafar, Afridi’s lawyer, told ESPNcricinfo. “If the petition has borne fruit then there is no objection or obstacle in withdrawing a petition.”Afridi has now been asked to appear before the committee on June 16 at the PCB headquarters in Lahore. In a statement released several hours after the petition was withdrawn, the board said they had been informed of the withdrawal by Afridi. “Therefore, in continuation of the proceduere that had been postponed as per court orders, PCB has directed Shahid Afrdito appear in person before the Diciplinary Committee of PCB on 16 June, 2011 at 3:00 PM at PCB Headquarters, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.”The reinstatement of the NOCs will likely happen once that hearing has taken place; in his first communication to the PCB after being served a notice, Afridi had accepted violating the code of conduct but asked for his NOC to be reinstated. His central contract also remains suspended for now.”We hope that the NOC will now be granted,” Zafar said. “The disciplinary committee hearing will be a kind of formality now.”Incidentally, there has been no indication from Afridi so far about the status of his conditional retirement and neither, it is said, was it discussed in the meeting with Butt. After being stripped of the ODI captaincy, Afridi said several times that he would not play internationally under this administration, though he insisted he would continue playing domestically at home and abroad.Earlier this week, before the Afridi-Butt meeting, the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) announced Afridi as captain of the Karachi Dolphins side in the domestic T20 tournament to be played in July in Faisalabad. They also asked the PCB whether he would be allowed to play. That issue will also now be resolved, but Afridi’s Hampshire commitment will take precedence in any case over the local tournament.

Sri Lanka will not tour Pakistan unless they get security clearance, according to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Nishantha Ranatunga. The PCB had asked SLC for their views on playing the scheduled series between the two sides in Pakistan – at the insistence of the Pakistan government – but Sri Lanka’s concerns indicate the tour is very unlikely to happen.”We have received requests from Pakistan over the past three or four months,” Ranatunga said. “The PCB told us that they would like to host our team as scheduled in the FTP [Future Tours Programme]. We told them our stance that we need security clearance first before sending a team there again.”On Sunday night, a major terrorist attack in Karachi at a naval base – which was eventually held under siege overnight – near the National Stadium further diminished the possibility of Sri Lanka visiting. A PCB official privately conceded the chances of a visit after such an attack were now significantly reduced.On Sri Lanka’s last tour of Pakistan, the tourists’ team bus was attacked on its way to the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore, cutting the tour short. There has not been any international cricket in Pakistan since. Afghanistan will become the first international team to play in Pakistan next week when they take on Pakistan ‘A’ in three 50-over games, but the PCB were aiming at a higher profile home series.”We have sent them a fresh invite to play the series of three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match in Pakistan in October-November,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said on Sunday. “We are waiting for their response but we have given them full security assurances.” His comments came before the reports of the attack in Karachi.SLC interim committee chairman Somachandra de Silva said Sri Lanka responded to the Pakistani invitation saying that they are not going to play the series in Pakistan.”We have replied to the PCB and await their confirmation. We are not going to play in Pakistan at this stage and have offered to host the series in our country,” de Silva told the . “If they agree to play in Sri Lanka they will have to bear the entire hosting costs. We have also expressed our willingness to play at a neutral venue in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.”de Silva had earlier told that security clearance from a Pakistan Task Team, formed by the ICC in 2009, is essential before considering any tour of Pakistan. Ranatunga confirmed that there were several issues that need to be worked out before any series in Pakistan can take place.”Pakistan cricket is going through a difficult period, and we are keen to help them out as they are one of our best friends. But we have to consider the safety of our players,” Ranatunga said. “First we have to get the security clearance. Then only will we discuss it with the cricketers. You have to remember that most of them were victims of the previous attack.”The difficulties in Sri Lanka committing to a tour of Pakistan were put into sharp perspective on Tuesday by Mahela Jayawardene, who was on the bus during the attack and said he still suffers flashbacks. “We were very, very lucky to be alive at the end of it … We were angry that, as innocent people, we had been placed at such risk,” Jayawardene told the . “We know it’s difficult to prevent terrorism but we asked for security and didn’t get it. People died needlessly – and our wives back home were going crazy.”Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan was even more categorical and clearly stated that he won’t be going to Pakistan. “It was a bad experience for me as a cricketer in Pakistan. As a player, I don’t want to go through the same experience in the future,” Dilshan said on Wednesday. “My personal view, I don’t want to go back to play cricket there.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirender Sehwag: Making light of a dodgy wicket•AFP

Virender Sehwag showcased his class on a tricky Nehru Stadium surface on which numerous deliveries hardly got up above ankle height. Sehwag took his time before exploding in the end to lift Delhi Daredevils to 157, a score that proved beyond Kochi Tuskers Kerala and breathed some life in to Delhi’s doddering campaign. In a knock that must surely go down as one of the best IPL innings, Sehwag smashed 49 off his last 15 deliveries to surge to 80 off 47, on a wicket where even survival was an achievement for batsmen.Smarting from the big defeat against Deccan Chargers on a green-tinged home pitch, Kochi went to the opposite spectrum of surface preparation, dishing out a dry and loose wicket on which the ball kept alarmingly low right from the start. But they ran in to a determined Sehwag who, quickly realising that his usual cavalier style was not going to work, changed his approach, playing as safely as a Sehwag can.The surface had come under scrutiny at the toss when Sehwag voiced doubts over it, saying the top surface was coming loose when someone walked on the wicket. Right away, the first ball from Sreesanth, in the second over, hardly got above David Warner’s shin, and disturbed his off stump as he was caught clueless on the back foot. The fourth ball just rolled along the ground after pitching on a length, catching Naman Ojha on the boot in front of leg stump as Sehwag watched incredulously from the non-striker’s end.Delhi’s innings was built around a 56-run stand between Yogesh Nagar and Sehwag after Venugopal Rao fell to leave them at 35 for 3 in the seventh over. The extent to which Sehwag reined himself in was evident when Delhi went without a boundary for 38 balls. It was Nagar who ended the drought when he launched R Vinay Kumar past extra cover in the 12th over.Sehwag, who was on a scarcely believable 31 off 32, broke free in the next over, slamming Ravindra Jadeja for consecutive sixes over long-off and deep midwicket. On a pitch where batsmen were finding it difficult to hang in, Sehwag toyed with the bowling. The shots that had been put away came out in a torrent of calculated hitting. It rained pulls, whips, inside-out lofts, late cuts on a hapless Kochi attack. Vinay Kumar disappeared for 15 in the 15th over, B Akhil was scattered for 18 in the next.Sehwag’s complete control over his craft was on display against Ramesh Powar. Even as the offspinner tossed the ball up, Sehwag found time to dance down the track and lift him effortlessly against the turn over extra cover. His dismissal in the next over off Vinay was also characteristic, caught at deep extra cover on the edge of the rope, going inside out with three men in front of square on the off side boundary. But his charge lifted Delhi to 157, after they had been 62 for 3 in the 13th over.Shell-shocked Kochi’s only chance on the treacherous wicket was if their top order came good, but it wasn’t to be. The pitch didn’t play a major role in the first two dismissals though. IPL debutant Michael Klinger flicked Morne Morkel only for Roelof van der Merwe, in for the injured James Hopes, to pull off a blinder at square leg. Two deliveries later, Brendon McCullum decided that the only way to tackle the unpredictable surface was the blind charge, and lost his middle stump to Irfan Pathan.Parthiv Patel found just how difficult the track was, as a back-of-a-length Pathan delivery barely rose a foot, easily going under his defensive push and disturbing off stump. As a disgusted Parthiv walked off in a volley of expletives, it was left to Kochi’s two most-experienced batsmen, Mahela Jayawardene and Brad Hodge, to salvage the chase from 28 for 3.Jayawardene hung around for a while but it was always going to be difficult to get more than eight an over on such a wicket. In trying to whip Ajit Agarkar over midwicket, he spooned a tame catch to Sehwag when on 18. Hodge could not capitalise on a dropped chance by Pathan on 15 and his dismissal by Morne Morkel in the 14th over effectively ended Kochi’s chances though a few hits from Ravindra Jadeja reduced the margin of defeat.