Queensland v England Performance XI

The England Performance Programme exploited a deteriorating pitch at Allan Border Field in Brisbane to complete a 126-run win in their four-day game against Queensland Academy.

The EPP, boosted by Adam Lyth's century, declared on 282-4 in their second innings to set the hosts 373 from 72 overs for victory.

Queensland began their pursuit strongly with Alex Kemp and Joe Burns sharing a century stand to take their side to 115 -1. However, a middle-order collapse saw them slump to defeat.

Off-spinner James Tredwell made the most of a large crack that appeared down the middle of the pitch at one end to claim four wickets, including Glen Batticciotto who was bowled by a delivery that hit the crack and grubbered onto the base of the stumps.

Lyth, who like fourth-wicket partner James Taylor came into the side for the EPP's second innings, resumed on 93 out of an overnight 170-3 on the final morning.

The opener soon went to three figures as the tourists added a rapid 112 today before declaring.

After losing Andrew Robinson early, Kemp and Burns made 53 and 49 respectively, but Michael Neser's 35 and Batticciotto's 25 were the only other scores of note.

The EPP squad are due to fly to Perth to play Retravision Warriors on December 3 and a Western Australia XI from December 7-10.

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India v Australia

Virat Kohli struck a career-best 118 as India beat Australia by five wickets with seven balls to spare in the second one-day international at Visakhapatnam.

Kohli battled through a leg injury to guide the hosts past Australia's 289-3 and into a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Stand-in Australia captain Michael Clarke had earlier returned to form as he hit his fifth ODI century, while Cameron White smashed an unbeaten 89 from just 49 balls, as the tourists took 114 from the final 10 overs.

But India - and in particular the 21-year-old Kohli - were always ahead of the chase, with important half-century contributions from Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.

With both teams opting to rest most of their star names, there were two new faces in each team.

Left-handers Shikhar Dhawan and Saurabh Tiwary made their India debuts, while Australia fielded an inexperienced bowling attack after bringing in untried duo Mitchell Starc and John Hastings.

But it was the hosts' inexperience that was exposed early in India's chase, as Dhawan was bowled for a duck by Clint McKay from the second ball of the innings.

McKay then induced an edge from Murali Vijay to leave India in trouble at 35-2, before Kohli steadied the ship in impressive fashion.

The right-hander needed a runner, but he anchored the innings, first in a stand of 137 with Yuvraj Singh.

Yuvraj had added 58 before he became McKay's third victim, bowled by a slower ball, but Kohli remained unflustered as he and new man Raina picked off Australia's young attack.

The pair combined in a quickfire 84-run stand to ensure the hosts could afford a minor slip when Kohli's memorable knock ended 34 runs short of the target.

He thrashed Hastings to James Hopes at deep mid-on, before skipper MS Dhoni was bowled first ball by the young Victorian to give Australia a glimmer of hope.

But Rainathen calmly guided his side home with an unbeaten 71 from 47 balls.

Testing

Clarke had earlier returned to form by anchoring the Australia innings with a masterful 111, before White's late fireworks.

It meant the Australians set a testing target of 289-3 - a total that had looked beyond them even when Clarke and Michael Hussey (69) built a steadying 144-run stand in the middle overs.

The pair had come together with the score on 16-2, after openers Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine fell cheaply to Ashish Nehra.

They re-built the innings patiently, before Hussey fell on 69 when he was trapped in front by a quicker Ravichandran Ashwin delivery.

That looked a crucial wicket for India as batting was beginning to become easier, but in the end it only allowed White to significantly accelerate the scoring.

The Victorian smashed a couple of straight sixes off Vinay Kumar as he dominated his stand alongside Clarke.

They took 49 from their five powerplay overs, with Clarke hitting back-to-back boundaries in the last of those before turning a single to bring up his fifth ODI century.

White completed his impressive hitting with back-to-back sixes as he plundered 22 off Vinay's final over, but his heroics were to prove in vain.

The sides meet again in the the third and final ODI at Margao on Sunday. The first match in the series was washed out.

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Sri Lanka v West Indies

Kemar Roach removed both Sri Lanka openers as the West Indies made a positive start to a shortened first day at the second Test in Colombo.

Two hours of play were lost to rain at the start of the day, while bad light in the final session meant that only 37 overs were possible once the action got underway.

And it was the tourists who took control during that period, with Roach's double strike and another wicket from skipper Darren Sammy reducing Sri Lanka to 34-3.

But Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera then combined for an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 50, leading the hosts to recover to 84-3 by the close of play.

Sri Lanka elected to bat on the new pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium, but did not get out into the middle until 12.30pm local time.

Breakthrough

Only 10 runs were on the board when Roach (2-24) made the breakthrough as his straightening delivery clattered into Tillakaratne Dilshan's stumps to remove the batsman for four.

Roach then dismissed the hosts' other opener, Tharanga Paranavitana (16), whose edge fell into the hands of Dwayne Bravo at second slip.

Mahela Jayawardene (two) was the third batsman to fall after facing only seven balls, as a Sammy delivery caught his inside-edge before going on to strike off-stump.

Captain Sangakkara steadied the ship by making an unbeaten 25, while Samaraweera added 26 of his own, which included two fours and a six.

Thick cloud cover then forced the players off for the day, with play scheduled to start 15 minutes early on Wednesday in an attempt to recover some of the lost time.

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Bangladesh v New Zealand

Bangladesh have wrapped-up a 4-0 one-day international series win over New Zealand following a dramatic three-run victory in Dhaka.

Pace bowler Rubel Hossain bowled Kyle Mills in the final over of the match to condemn the Black Caps to another embarrassing defeat in the five-match series.

Chasing just 175 for victory, New Zealand once again produced another inept batting display as only captain Daniel Vettori (43), Grant Elliott (59) and Mills (33) reached double figures.

Number nine Mills, who earlier claimed figures of 3-36, looked to be steering New Zealand to a remarkable victory after they had slipped to 119-7.

Yorker

But Bangladesh held their nerve at the death, Rubel arrowing a Yorker onto leg stump in the final over to seal a memorable series win.

Left-arm off-spinner Vettori and Mills had earlier grabbed three wickets apiece to reduce Bangladesh to a poultry 174 batting first.

Vettori removed opener Imrul Kayes (34) and Raqibul Hasan (six) before accounting for Mahmudullah (19) to finish with figures of 3-32.

The wicket of Kayes saw Bangladesh slip to 77-4, however a battling 55-run partnership between Shakib Al Hasan (36) and Mushfiqur Rahim (29) got the Tigers back on track.

New Zealand's reply started in abysmal fashion as Rubel knocked over aggressive opening duo Brendan McCullum and Jesse Ryder (both for 4) inside the opening three overs.

BJ Watling (1), Kane Williamson (0) and Ross Taylor (3) continued the procession of wickets as the Kiwis found themselves in major trouble at 20-5.

Nerve

Vettori and Elliott rallied with a counter-attacking 86-run stand for the sixth wicket, only for the former to fall to opposite number Shakib seven runs short of his half-century.

Elliott contined to take the fight to Bangladesh and brought up his 50 soon after, however when he and Andy McKay both fell with the score on 145, New Zealand were one wicket away from another defeat.

But Mills bludgeoned runs down the order and a dramatic victory looked on the cards when the Black Caps seamer hit a four off the first ball of the final over to put his side one blow from victory.

However Rubel held his nerve when it mattered, tailing in a deadly delivery to send Mills' leg-stump cart wheeling backwards.

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South Africa v Zimbabwe

South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 272 runs on Friday to record their biggest ever victory in one-day internationals.

AB de Villiers (109) and JP Duminy (a career-best 129) also put together a record third-wicket stand of 219 in Benoni, as the hosts sealed a 3-0 series sweep.

Chasing 400 for victory, the visitors were always struggling as Juan Theron claimed three for 18 and Albie Morkel, Johan Botha and Wayne Parnell took two wickets each.

Zimbabwe were in the end reduced to 127 all out in just 29 overs, with Tatenda Taibu top-scoring with 28.

The Proteas' win eclipses their previous best winning margin of 221 runs, set against the Netherlands in 2007, and falls not far short of New Zealand's world record, set when they beat Ireland by 290 runs two years ago.

With the series already secure, Botha and Morkel were both added to Graeme Smith's side with Charl Langeveldt and Robin Peterson making way.

Zimbabwe, meanwhile, included Hamilton Masakadza and Ian Nicolson ahead of Grant Flower and Sean Williams.

Aggressive

Smith and Hashim Amla made an aggressive start, putting on 49 runs in the first five overs before the introduction of spinner Prosper Utseya tempted the skipper down the wicket to be stumped by Taibu for 26.

Amla (24) then edged Shingirai Masakadza's delivery to the wicketkeeper to make it 59 for two, but from there on in Duminy and de Villiers dominated.

Taking their side past 100 in the 16th over, the pair put on the 100 stand in 102 balls with their own half-centuries coming in 50 and 54 balls respectively.

They then took South Africa to 199 after 30 overs, with de Villiers reaching three figures for the second time in as many matches in the 36th over.

He had faced just 91 balls and hit five fours and four sixes.

Duminy had made his ton two overs later before he lost his partner - de Villiers being caught at deep mid-wicket by Shingirai Masakadza off the bowling of brother Hamilton.

Morkel joined Duminy and the 300 was raised in the 42nd over before the latter miscued Nicolson to Keith Dabengwa.

With Colin Ingram (20) and David Miller (33 not out) also chipping in, Morkel (37) took South Africa on to an imposing 399 for six, their third highest score in 50-over cricket.

Broken

Unlike in the first two matches, Zimbabwe's opening partnership was broken early with Brendan Taylor (five) caught by Theron on the third-man fence off the bowling of Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Nine for one became 18 for two when Hamilton Masakadza (five) mistimed Morkel, also to Theron, before the same bowler dismissed Chamu Chibhabha (16) for his 50th ODI wicket - Amla taking a fine diving catch at mid-off.

Taibu and Craig Ervine put together a 47-run stand but their resistance came to an end just as soon as Botha was introduced in the 16th over.

He bowled Taibu (28) with his first ball and with the final one of the over did the same to Ervine (24).

That left Zimbabwe on 80 for five and it was subsequently downhill all the way for South Africa, with captain Elton Chigumbura (one) removed by Theron and Parnell cleaning up the tail.

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Australia v Sri Lanka

Australia brought an end to their seven-match losing streak as they thrashed Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third ODI at Brisbane.

Having already lost the three-match series, Australia headed into the encounter determined to get back to winning ways and did so in some style as their bowlers set up a comprehensive victory.

They dismissed Sri Lanka for just 115 in 32 overs, Clint McKay starring with the ball as he claimed career-best figures of 5-33, while young left-armer Mitchell Starc, in just his second game, finished with 4-27.

Australia's batsmen then picked off the total in 21.4 overs, Michael Clarke answering the recent criticism levelled at him with an unbeaten 50.

It meant the Australians, who were without rested skipper Ricky Ponting, avoided the indignity of recording the longest losing sequence in their 133-year history in international cricket.

Having not won in any format since the first Test victory over Pakistan at Lord's in July, Clarke's side headed into the encounter desperate to turn their fortunes around in what was their last competitive fixture before the Ashes opener on November 25.

Devastating spell

Having won the toss and inserted their opponents, they were soon in charge as McKay quickly reduced Sri Lanka to 14-3 in a devastating new-ball spell.

McKay could even afford to have Upul Tharanga dropped from his second ball, Steven Smith spilling a tough chance at gully, before he removed Tillakaratne Dilshan (one) and in-form skipper Kumar Sangakkara (duck) in his next over.

McKay continued his early onslaught when Mahela Jayawardene edged to Cameron White at slip.

Tharanga (28) and Chamara Silva (33) briefly steadied the ship as they became the only Sri Lankans to reach double figures.

But Shane Watson trapped Tharanga in front, before Starc grabbed his first wicket when Angelo Matthews chopped on.

Tail disintegrated

Matthews had been the hero of Sri Lanka's unlikely win in the first match in Melbourne, but without him the tail disintegrated in the face of McKay and Starc who produced impressive bounce on a track that will host the first Test with England.

The premature end to Sri Lanka's innings meant Australia had to face ten overs before the break, but they put themselves firmly on course for victory in that time as they reached 63-1.

Watson was the batsman to fall, caught by Matthews off Dilhara Fernando, for 15, but Brad Haddin and stand-in skipper Michael Clarke played aggressively as they looked to wrap up a quick win.

Haddin's impatience cost him his wicket soon after the resumption when he offered a return catch to Fernando when on 31, but Clarke - who came under fire for his captaincy in the opening match - guided his side home alongside Michael Hussey (six not out).

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Pakistan v South Africa

Centuries from Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers frustrated Pakistan on the opening day of the second Test in Abu Dhabi.

The South Africa pair added 179 for the fourth wicket after Tanvir Ahmed - making his debut just a month shy of his 32nd birthday - had removed the top order with only 33 runs on the board.

Tanvir also removed Kallis, but only after the veteran had reached 100 for the 37th time in Tests, while de Villiers also enjoyed partnerships of 56 with Ashwell Prince and 43 with Mark Boucher.

South Africa reached stumps on 311-5 - a far cry from the first half-hour when they lost Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith in quick succession.

Tanvir had Petersen caught by Misbah-ul-Haq at first slip for two and Amla had added only four when he edged a delivery into the gloves of Adnan Akmal.

Captain Graeme Smith made a watchful 10, but his despair was obvious as a loose shot saw him caught behind with the score on 33.

Fast start

Mohammad Sami, making another comeback attempt at international level, allowed Kallis get away to a fast start, shipping 32 runs off his first four overs, and the 35-year-old made it serenely to 50 before lunch with nine fours and a six off just 58 balls.

It was a similar story in the second session as he and the more watchful de Villiers built their stand, the latter passing 50 off 79 deliveries with seven boundaries.

The Pakistan attack failed to back up the explosive start from Tanvir, with frontline seamers Umar Gul and Sami remaining wicketless in 35 overs combined.

Kallis passed his landmark just before tea, the hundred coming off 35 balls with 12 fours and three maximums, but he failed to add to his 105 when in the first over after the interval Tanvir got one through his defences with an off-cutter that clipped the inside edge on the way through.

De Villiers reigned in his attacking game as he took over the position of senior partner with Prince, reaching 100 in 181 balls as the duo put on 50 in 96 balls for the fifth wicket.

Six more were added before Mohammad Hafeez had Prince caught by debutant Asad Shafiq off a long-hop for 32, but there were no further successes for Pakistan despite taking the second new ball, de Villiers moving on to 120 not out with Boucher still there on 26 at the close.

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India v New Zealand

Sachin Tendulkar closed in on a 50th Test century as India assumed control of the third and final Test against New Zealand in Nagpur.

Tendulkar was 57 not out at the end of day two as the hosts reached 292-2 in reply to the Kiwis' first innings effort of 193 all out.

India removed the last three New Zealand wickets before lunch and took little time in taking a first-innings lead thanks in the main to opener Virender Sehwag, who rattled up 74 in an opening stand of 113 with Gautam Gambhir.

Sehwag clubbed New Zealand captain Dan Vettori for six as he passed 50 before lunch with the hosts going in at 89-0.

Further success

He enjoyed further success against Vettori after the interval but his reign of terror came to an end when the spinner got his revenge, claiming a sharp return catch low down.

Gambhir (78) was then joined by Rahul Dravid and the pair looked comfortable, adding 79 for the second wicket before the former fell to the returning Tim Southee, steering one to Ross Taylor in the slips.

However Dravid, who cruised to his 60th Test half-century off 115 balls, and his old comrade Tendulkar dominated the final session.

Tendulkar eventually reached his 50 after spending an age on 49, punishing a wide delivery from Martin Guptill.

The pair took their partnership to 100 just before the close, with India in prime position to force a victory after two drawn Tests in the series so far.

Earlier, play began at 9am after time was lost on the opening day but Brendon McCullum, the Black Caps' last recognised batsman, fell inside the opening half-hour when he nicked Ishant Sharma (4-43) to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Sharma then produced a leg cutter to remove Andy McKay's off stump on his debut and although Southee slogged Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha for maximums, the latter ended his fun when he holed out to Sehwag for 38.

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