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Nigel Llong has apparently been moved off third umpire duty for the second Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Llong, who was at the centre of an umpiring controversy during New Zealand’s series in Australia, was initially listed by the ICC as third umpire in Hamilton but will now be one of the on-field officials in both matches.Llong was in the news last week for his controversial decision, as a third umpire, to rule Nathan Lyon not out on review during the Adelaide Test between Australia and New Zealand. On the second day of the Test, Lyon top-edged an attempted sweep to slip and New Zealand asked for a review after the on-field umpire turned down their appeal for a catch.After five minutes of replays, Llong upheld S Ravi’s decision even though there was a clear Hot Spot on the top edge of Lyon’s bat, and the batsman had walked halfway to the dressing room in anticipation of being given out.The decision was hotly debated and criticised by television commentators and the media at the time but the New Zealand players and team management were guarded in their response. After New Zealand Cricket questioned the decision, the ICC admitted that Llong had made “an incorrect judgement”. In a tweet, the ICC said: “ICC has reviewed the decision and acknowledged that it was incorrect. ICC confirms the umpire followed the correct protocol, but made an incorrect judgement.”Llong will officiate New Zealand’s two-Test series with Sri Lanka along with Richard Kettleborough and Paul Reiffel. Kettleborough will be the third umpire for the second Test, which begins on December 18, instead of Llong.Former Kent allrounder Llong joined the ECB’s international umpire’s panel in 2006 and replaced Billy Doctrove on the ICC’s Elite Panel of international umpires in June 2012. Llong has officiated in 33 Tests, 98 ODIs and 27 T20 internationals so far.

Venkatesh Prasad, the former India new-ball bowler who is currently the team’s bowling coach, has revealed his chat with Dennis Lillee, the former Australian fast bowler, played a part in India’s historic win in Perth.Prasad, who had worked under Lillee at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, met him on the morning of the second day of the Test in Perth and learnt how his bowlers could utilise the conditions.”I was under him at the MRF Pace Foundation,” Prasad said. “He’s a fantastic person and has a great knowledge of fast bowling. He told me how to use the breeze. He said that was the best thing to do here.”Prasad in turn passed on the advice to the Indian medium-pacers, who played a big part in Australia’s first defeat in Perth since 1997. “It depends on the line each bowler is bowling,” he said on the plan to use the Fremantle Doctor, the breeze at the WACA. “If you feel the breeze is blowing across and it’s coming back a long way you need to bowl on the fifth or the sixth stump to get it to come back towards the off and middle stump. You need to gauge that out in the middle.”I’ve always been saying our bowlers are the best in the business. Almost all can swing it at a good pace. All have a great wrist and seam position at the time of delivery. With the breeze here it helped them more. They’re usually bowling at 135-140 [kph] and swing it at a good pace. They trouble any batsman with their pace – not express but quick.”Prasad, who toured Australia in 1999-2000, was happy his bowlers had stuck to their plans for each batsman. “The venue doesn’t really bother us,” he said. “For some batsmen it’s about bowling full when they come in. For others it’s about bowling outside off. I’ve seen a lot of batsmen not being comfortable against swing bowling and our bowlers have shown they can produce that anywhere in the world. They did it in England and did it here. We’ve done it in Bangladesh and India as well.”The fact that a number of young Indian fast bowlers have managed to make an instant impact on the international circuit heartened Prasad. “The biggest difference between domestic and international cricket is in the mind. A good ball in domestic is a good ball here. But it’s about adaptability, planning and execution. In India you play on pitches that aren’t so encouraging to fast bowlers. A bowlers job is really hard and they don’t get as much credit as the batsmen do in India. Considering the wickets we bowl on, they deserve a lot of credit.”

Jaw-dropping shot of the dayBrendon McCullum briefly threatened to reprise his smash-a-thon. The shot that would have caused the most jaws to drop was the six in the third over, when he pulled Jacob Oram off the front foot, a shot so ferociously struck that it sailed over midwicket for a big six. It was just slightly short but more than enough for McCullum. He had already reclaimed the orange cap from Kumar Sangakkara, an honour bestowed on the highest scorer in the tournament.Double bluffOram got his revenge with the next ball: a fuller one that slightly left the batsman. McCullum’s flick didn’t work and the leading edge ballooned straight up for extra cover. The next ball produced another wicket. It was full and in the slot for the drive but the slightly slower pace undid Ricky Ponting, who drove straight to cover, and fell for his second successive duck of the tournament.Saha runs out of luckWriddhiman Saha paddled, top-edged and tried innovative sweeps to break the shackles. Up against an accurate Manpreet Gony, the medium-pacer, he top-edged a four over the keeper before replicating a similar shot for six, way over the ropes. Gony, visibly frustrated, followed up with a full, quick, in-ducker and was duly rewarded: Saha castled by one that ripped through the yawning gap between bat and pad.Shukla goofs upIt was an unusual way to be run-out but credit must go to the Chennai fielders for thinking on their feet. With two balls to go in the innings, Laxmi Ratan Shukla couldn’t put away a yorker but Ishant strangely seemed intent to get the strike. Dhoni immediately threw the ball back to the bowler (Joginder Sharma) and Ishant had run too far. The bowler, though, didn’t take the bails off immediately and waited for Ishant to start his walk to the pavilion. Once Ishant got into the striker’s end, Dhoni spotted Shukla out of the crease and signalled to Joginder to take the bails off. It prompted Parthiv Patel to rush the bowler and urge him to break the stumps. One batsmen misjudged the run but the other had to go.King Khan missingAfter cheering his side for the first two matches, Shah Rukh Khan was nowhere to be seen today. He and his Bollywood retinue egged on the Kolkata side in their previous match but here they had to make do with Juhi Chawla, the actress, trying her best to cheer them on in the stands.Power one, caress the nextMahendra Singh Dhoni has shown to be a versatile batsman and nothing exemplified it more than his two shots off Shukla towards the end of the run-chase. The first, a wide ball, was slashed away furiously through third man for four before the second, a full one on off, was paddled deliciously past short fine leg. First the grenade, then the flower.

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has warned his team-mates to be on their guard against Sri Lanka when the two-Test and five-match ODI tour starts later this month. Both sides are coming off a run of indifferent form – West Indies struggled on tour in South Africa and Sri Lanka won just two matches in the CB Series – and Gayle says the visitors boast a strong core of senior players.He picked out the batting of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas as major challenges for West Indies to overcome. Although Sri Lanka have struggled of late in ODIs, they won their most recent Test series – against England in December – and played some impressive cricket.”Those two guys [Muralitharan and Vaas] have been their [main] wicket-takers in Test cricket,” Gayle told . “You have the likes of [Lasith] Malinga, those guys are playing international cricket now and getting a feel and getting more experienced and so forth playing overseas.”The batting line-up as well, Jayawardene and Sangakkara are in terrific form,” he said. “You have to work really hard to score runs and actually get wickets against them. We are looking forward to the challenge and hopefully the preparation can be good going in against Sri Lanka as well.”Gayle was reappointed as captain after impressing as a stand-in for Ramnaresh Sarwan on the tour of South Africa and previously in England last year. However, he was also injured in South Africa and was forced to miss the final Test plus the one-day series.”The build-up was very good in South Africa but unfortunately a lot of injuries came into play and then guys had to sit out for whatever reason as well including myself, I sat out a number of games overseas.”It’s a new series now so hopefully we’ll be strong and ready to go againstSri Lanka. We’ll see what the selectors can come up with, [hopefully] the best possible 13 and see how well we can have the right combination going in.”The first Test starts on March 22 in Guyana and the second match is in Trinidad from April 3.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDan Christian smacked four sixes, including one onto the roof of the Gabba, during his 24-ball 56•Getty Images

In May this year, Dan Christian traded the Brisbane Heat for the Hobart Hurricanes. One week ago, as the Heat batted against the Hurricanes, he made a nuisance of himself, taking two vital wickets and four catches, one a spectacular effort to dismiss Chris Lynn. This time, he played a key role again, but with the bat, providing his old side (and their 30,000 partisan and noisy fans) with a third uncomfortable reminder of what they are missing. Christian’s 56 not out helped the Hurricanes to 4 for 194, setting up a 15-run win that propelled them to fourth place on the points table.The Heat, with the exception of their outstanding captain Lynn, who scored a brilliant 101 to take his tournament tally to 212 runs from 132 balls, looked callow and raw in losing their fourth consecutive game. The loss cemented their place at the bottom of the BBL ladder. No team in the competition is as inexperienced (Hurricanes had a combined total of 969 T20 appearances to the Heat’s 512) and no team is more reliant on one player. Unsurprisingly, their tournament is all but over.Even after losing their openers in the first eight balls for a combined total of 1, the Heat never looked out of it when Lynn was at the crease. Chasing 194, Lendl Simmons was bowled by a hooping full toss, before Jimmy Peirson sent Jake Reed straight to square leg.Lynn beat a diving mid-on with a perfectly timed, checked drive first ball and struck it stunningly until he fell in the 18th over. Twice he sent Shaun Tait – who he took for 46 runs in 14 balls – for consecutive sixes, as he peppered the boundary from long-off to deep square-leg. Lynn, the first player to score a BBL century in a losing cause, did his international prospects no harm ahead of the World T20. National selector Mark Waugh said on Channel Ten later that “he’s got to be in the top six [Australian T20 batsmen]”.He was joined for a productive partnership of 79 by the composed 20-year-old debutant Sam Heazlett, who got off the mark with a stylish six over long-on and followed it with a sliced slog for four. When Heazlett faintly edged Darren Sammy behind and walked, Lynn continued the Heat’s charge, but was short on fluent partners. Nathan Reardon became the superb Cameron Boyce’s first victim, pulling a short ball to Clive Rose in the deep, and when Lynn charged the same bowler and feathered through to Tim Paine, the game was up. The Heat unravelled, losing four wickets in the final eight balls, including a pair of run-outs.Earlier, coming in to bat in the 14th over, after a series of fast top-order starts for the Hurricanes were curtailed, Christian bludgeoned three fours and four sixes in his 24-ball 56. Mark Steketee was bunted over point for six, then ramped for four. Christian sent the second ball of the penultimate over of the innings, bowled by Luke Feldman, 117 metres over cow corner and onto the Gabba roof. Christian’s partner Sammy, who suffered a bad night with the bat (7 off 14 balls), could only laugh, offer a high-five and inspect his partner’s bat. Christian’s mouth was momentarily agape, but he recovered his composure to take two more sixes – one over backward square-leg (this one travelling 112 metres) and the other straight down the ground – from Feldman’s torrid 25-run over. In large part due to Christian, both Feldman and Steketee conceded more than 50 from their four overs.After Tim Paine and Ben Dunk, who appeared to re-find his touch after a sluggish start to the competition, made fine starts to the match, the introduction of Samuel Badree’s leg-breaks for the final over of the Powerplay slowed the Hurricanes. Badree had Dunk caught at deep midwicket in his first over, then Paine stumped with the last ball of his second.Kumar Sangakkara and George Bailey came together with the score on 58 and doubled it, the former flat-batting Steketee and tracking Badree for sixes before a Feldman yorker bowled him. Bailey ran hard and manipulated the field for 31, but miscued a pull off Feldman just as he looked set to motor. Never mind, Christian would take care of that.

John Emburey has left Middlesex to continue his career in coaching.”John’s role as director of cricket was becoming more administrative, taking him away from the area of the game where his strengths lay,” explained Vinny Codrington, the county’s chief executive. “After lengthy discussions with the club, and a full review of our cricket structure, it was mutually agreed that John pursue his ambitions in coaching. He leaves behind a strong coaching team, led by Toby Radford, and a squad under Ed Smith more than capable of competing for all four domestic competitions. The club’s cricket structure has a solid base for an exciting future and we are very grateful to John for this.”John was open and honest throughout as he always is, and I’m certain we will see plenty of him in the summer and in the future”.Emburey has spent the bulk of his career with Middlesex, firstly as a player and then, after stints with Northamptonshire and Berkshire, as a coach. In 2001 he signed to coach Berkshire with the intention of emigrating to Australia at the end of the summer, but on the eve of the season he was appointed as Middlesex’s third coach in as many seasons, taking over from old team-mate Mike Gatting.In six years he struggled to motivate a side in transition, bringing in some distinctly average players as well, and at the end of 2006 the county were relegated from the top flight in both the Championship and National League. In 2007 Middlesex brought in Richard Pybus to coach with Emburey moving to the more hands-off role as director of cricket, but when Pybus unexpectedly quit five months into his contract, Emburey returned. In between he had briefly – and remarkably – been shortlisted for the India coaching vacancyLast autumn Middlesex appointed former player Toby Radford as first-team coach, signalling another move to a less hands-on role for Emburey, and it appears to have been that which led to today’s announcement.”I’ve really enjoyed my time here, but I want to continue my career in a direct coaching role,” Emburey said in a short statement. “I believe I leave the club in great shape and look forward to the club’s success in the future”.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChristian Leopard’s single-handed show of a 61-ball hundred went in vain as New Zealand Under-19s lost to Pakistan Under-19s by 31 runs in Dubai. New Zealand were 206 for 7 in their chase of 280 before Leopard fell for 116 and they eventually ran out of batsmen, to be bowled out for 248. Pakistan, with their second straight win, jumped from the bottom of the table to finish on top as all three teams – including Australia – have two wins each from four matches and Pakistan edged ahead on net run rate.New Zealand’s chase was rocked early by legspinner Hasan Mohsin who struck thrice in his first two overs to reduce the score to 11 for 3. No. 3 Finn Allen stalled a middle-order collapse with Josh Clarkson and Aniket Parikh but a double-blow from Saif Ali dented them further to 67 for 5 in the 14th over. It was a solo Leopard chase from there. He started with three sixes within seven balls in the beginning and brought up his fifty off 27 balls by smashing Arsal Sheikh for two sixes and two fours in the 22nd over.He brought the required run rate down from over six per over to under 4.50 per over when he got out in 34th over after clobbering 12 fours and seven sixes, and No. 10 Felix Murray gave a late surge with three fours and a six but Shadab Khan finished things off in the 46th over. Mohsin finished with 3 for 25.Earlier, Pakistan were asked to bat and were led until the 26th over by captain and opener Gauhar Hafeez’s 58. Two wickets from Murray brought them down to 110 for 4 before Shadab Khan (48) and Saif Badar (99*) took them towards 200 and Badar’s 73-ball knock with five fours and six sixes charged them to 279 for 9 with only one more double-digit scores from the last five batsmen. Pakistan scored 58 runs in the last five overs.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Shahadat Hossain and Junaid Siddique were the heroes as Bangladesh had thebetter of the second day of the opening Test in Mirpur. Having establisheda 22-run first-innings lead, they were then indebted to Siddique for astodgy unbeaten 64 that stretched it to 147 by stumps. Dale Steynproduced another superb new-ball spell as Bangladesh slumped to 29 for 3before tea, but a 56-run partnership between Siddique and MohammadAshraful thwarted South Africa for a fair while in the final session.Shahadat, who bowled at a lively pace and with tremendous control forcareer-best figures of 6 for 27, may have been the main man but thetalking point of the day was provided by Ashraful. By the time he broughthimself on shortly before lunch, the momentum had swung towards SouthAfrica, with AB de Villiers riding his luck to 46 and Johan Botha offeringstout resistance.But it all changed in the space of one ball. And what a ball it was.Ashraful is no Shane Warne, and after the ball left his fingers, itbounced twice before reaching de Villiers. He chose to play it from thecrease, but could only top-edge it back to the bowler. Cue massivecelebrations from Bangladesh and no movement from de Villiers, who wasconvinced that it was a dead ball. Steve Bucknor finally sent him on hisway though, much to the dismay of the South African dressing room.Botha’s 91-ball vigil ended soon after, trapped lbw by Shahadat, and whenMornè Morkel followed on the stroke of lunch, Bangladesh were poised totake a slender lead. They did too, with Shahadat trapping Mark Boucher infront and then bowling Makhaya Ntini to complete an impressive spell.Bangladesh weren’t in the ascendancy when de Villiers was going strong.Coming to the crease after a shambolic mix-up sent Ashwell Prince on hisway in the second over of the day, he quickly signalled his intent withdrives, cuts and powerful pulls through midwicket. There was an element ofgood fortune too, with Ashraful, running back from mid-off, dropping acatch off Mohammad Rafique when de Villiers was on 30.On a pitch where the odd ball stayed exceptionally low, concentration wascrucial, and Botha played his part in a partnership that got South Africaback into the contest. He let de Villiers do the bulk of the scoring, butthere was also a lovely on-drive off Rafique and an impudent reverse-sweepoff Shakib Al Hasan in his innings of 25.There was a phase in the session where the South Africans were becalmedfor more than five overs, but once de Villiers smacked Shakib for a bigsix over midwicket and then took him for two fours in an over, the tideappeared to be turning. A bizarre dismissal though put paid to that.South Africa needed breakthroughs quickly and Steyn provided them. TamimIqbal was cleaned up by a quick one, and after Shahriar Nafees had playeda couple of lovely strokes square of the wicket, Steyn got one to shapeback and catch him in front. Habibul Bashar, whose career is in free fall,followed soon after in similar fashion and Bangladesh were once again indanger of squandering a promising position, as they had in Multan againstPakistan in 2003 and later in 2006, against Australia in Fatullah.But Ashraful and Siddique eschewed flamboyance for the most part to put onsome crucial runs. Ashraful, who was in one-day mode in the first innings,was remarkably controlled, showing his big-hitting prowess only with ahuge six over midwicket off a listless Botha.Ntini finally picked up his first wicket of the match, getting Ashraful toedge one behind, but Aftab Ahmed and Siddique saw it through to stumpswith a few dollops of luck. Edges fell short of slip and flashy drivesevaded fielders as Graeme Smith was reduced to trying out even NeilMcKenzie’s innocuous medium pace. It wasn’t South Africa’s day and unlessthey improve dramatically on Sunday, the cream of the Bangladeshi crop mayjust reprise their Under-19 team’s heroics in Malaysia.

Mark Gillespie, the New Zealand fast bowler, has been ruled out of the second Test against Bangladesh after he aggravated the shoulder injury which forced him to miss the first Test while playing for Wellington against Auckland.Gillespie took 3 for 36 off 4.2 overs during his comeback for Wellington but the injury, which he sustained in the second ODI against Bangladesh in Napier, resurfaced and forced him to leave the field.”He [Gillespie] is definitely out of the Test line-up,” Durning told stuff.co.nz. “He bowled a complete spell the other day but yesterday he was three or four overs into a spell and all of sudden something happened again. We’ll wait and see the results of the Tests before making another other decisions.”Wellington coach Anthony Stuart also couldn’t explain what the problem with Gillespie’s shoulder was. “He [Gillespie] was confident of getting through ten overs and he got three wickets for us early and then just pulled up lame so it doesn’t look good,” Stuart said. “I’ve got no idea and to be fair I don’t think many people have got any idea about it. But there’s obviously a problem in there, whether it’s a rotator cuff or a nerve.”It only hits him at certain times and I don’t know if there’s an apparent reason for it or not, whether there’s something in his action, I don’t know, we can’t pinpoint it.”Gillespie did not take part in New Zealand’s practice session at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Thursday. Fast bowlers Iain O’Brien and Michael Mason were the contenders to replace Gillespie though offspinner Jeetan Patel also had a chance depending on the nature of the pitch.

The last time South Africa played a Test in Ahmedabad it was their first in India. India’s current coach was one of their opening batsmen, Hansie Cronje and Mohammad Azharuddin were the captains and Graeme Smith was just a school cricketer in Johannesburg’s King Edward School.Twelve years on and South Africa don’t have a single player from that match – the hosts have four – but they look a side rather accustomed to India, and that’s because they have put in the hard yards in the subcontinent.South Africa have had some extremely tough visits – namely Sri Lanka in 2004 and 2006, Pakistan in 2003 and India in 2004 – but under Smith over the last four years they have toured enough to understand what it takes to win.The visitors appear a much more confident and relaxed team than some touring sides of the past, who came with limited mindsets, and with personnel not always pushing for victory. Their batting has clicked in the subcontinent recently, their bowling attack is balanced and they are led by a man who doesn’t care too much for the past. On the eve of the second Test, Smith was markedly laidback compared to his opposite number, Anil Kumble, who briefly addressed the media while looking sterner than when a leg-before appeal has been turned down. Virender Sehwag took South Africa’s attack to the cleaners during a manic 319 last week but Smith said his side had worked out a few things to contain him. Nor was he too concerned about the Motera pitch, which he described as “good, with some grass covering on it.”Smith’s attitude reflects the state South Africa are in: confident after gaining a psychological advantage from the draw in Chennai and free of injury hassles. They know all too well that in Dale Steyn, Makhaya Nitini and Morne Morkel they have the bowling firepower to trouble India, who will be without the injured Sachin Tendulkar. And, crucially, they have a spinner who inspires faith in his captain. It makes for a hungry side.While the Motera track historically breaks up to interest the spinners there’s also evidence to suggest those cracks could aid the fast men. In 1996 Javagal Srinath exploited the craters on a poor surface to take 6 for 21 and skittle the South Africans, chasing 170, for 105. If Steyn were to stumble upon a breaking pitch there’s no reason why he couldn’t – with his tearaway pace – have India in trouble. Smith strongly felt this could happen.India have struggled against reverse-swing, even as recently as the home Test series against Pakistan where, Shoaib Akhtar, when fit, hustled them in a couple of hostile spells. As the ball gets older around the 30-over mark, Steyn remains the biggest threat but Morkel, who bowled some top spells in Chennai, can summon up mean pace too.

India look likely to play three spinners but Smith wasn’t worried about young legspinner Piyush Chawla, who could play his second Test. “We’ve had a look at him in the one-dayers in Ireland so we have an idea of what he bowls,” he said. “There’s video footage as well so it’s not a major area of concern.”South Africa are pretty certain to go in with the same team, with Paul Harris playing as the specialist spinner. “We have prepared well and are confident. It’s all about executing our plans right,” said Smith. “After the last game, India have a few more things to think about than us in terms of combination, in terms of the selections of bowlers. So they have to answer our challenges, to make sure we come back down to neutral.”Ultimately the ground, the country or the continent doesn’t matter: A team with skilled players that is looking to dominate can hold down any side, and it’s with that belief South Africa are going into the second Test.