Just another day in Dravid's life

Many things have happened to Rahul Dravid on this England tour. He made his maiden century at Lord's, fulfilling a desire that was born the day he made 95 on Test debut at the ground 15 years ago. He opened for virtually the entire Test series barring the first innings of the first Test, and ended up with the Player of the Series trophy on the visitors' side.

He walked in the second innings of the third Test at Edgbaston believing the umpire's word for a caught-behind when replays conclusively showed the ball had kissed an aglet on his left shoe-lace.

Shane Warne has declared that he will come out of retirement

Shane Warne has declared that he will come out of retirement to play in the Big Bash League this summer, but he has not yet decided which team will win his services. Warne, 42, has not played elite cricket in Australia since his final Test, at the SCG in January 2007. 

His return will be a massive boost for the first season of the BBL, a competition that Cricket Australia has high hopes for when it starts in December. Warne said on The Footy Show on Channel Nine that he had not decided whether to turn out for the Melbourne Stars, who will play at the MCG, or the Docklands-based Melbourne Renegades, but that he was definitely planning to play. 

Two-Test series unsatisfactory - Sangakkara

On the eve of his 100th Test, Kumar Sangakkara has called on the ICC to do away with two-Test series, describing such scheduling as "unsatisfying". The third Test against Australia at Colombo will offer Sangakkara and his team the chance to pull back a 1-0 deficit, but they have not always been so fortunate. 

As a stylish batsman, successful captain and articulate statesman for Sri Lankan cricket, Sangakkara said he had taken part in too many series where the narrative felt unduly clipped due to the lack of a third Test.

One of his imponderables is the 2007 series in Australia, where the under-prepared visitors lost in Brisbane but then, through Sangakkara's own majestic 192 in the second Test, pushed the hosts far further. The prospect of a third match might have made a significant change to the script. 

he Indian team's non-appearance at the ICC Awards ceremony

The Indian team's non-appearance at the ICC Awards ceremony in London on Monday night has sparked off a controversy of sorts with the ICC expressing its "disappointment" and the team management saying it was informed too late to change existing plans.

Not a single Indian player or official attended the event and there was no one to collect the Spirit of Cricket Award, which MS Dhoni won for his decision to send back Ian Bell during the second Test of the summer at Trent Bridge.

"We are disappointed," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. "They have had a great year [before the England series] and it was an occasion to celebrate. It was a missed opportunity."

According to Lorgat, India also missed out on attracting more sympathisers after a disastrous England tour where they have lost both the Test and ODI series. "It was a good opportunity to show their sporting character despite them losing on this tour."

Indian team manager Shivlal Yadav explained that he received a call from the ICC on Monday afternoon. "I had already told the boys that it was an off day. So now how could I have asked them to suddenly change their plans? Hence I told them (ICC) that they should not keep the table free for us," Yadav said.

The BCCI's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said the board did not want to comment on the issue. "Lorgat can say whatever he wants to. We don't want to comment on it," he told the Times of India.

Interestingly, in 2009 Dhoni failed to collect his ODI Cricketer of the Year Award even though he was in Johannesburg, the venue of the ceremony. Last year's event was in Bangalore, with the Indian team in attendance albeit in denims and T-shirts. Raising more eyebrows, though, was the absence of the BCCI's top brass, including N Srinivasan, then its secretary and currently its president-elect.

Swann 'delighted' to lead England

Graeme Swann has said he is "delighted" at the prospect of captaining England in the two-match Twenty20 series against West Indies later this month, in the absence of Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan.

Broad, the regular Twenty20 captain who began his reign earlier this season against Sri Lanka, was ruled out of the remainder of England's home season, as well as the five-match ODI series in India next month, after sustaining a muscle tear to his right shoulder in the fourth ODI against India at Lord's. Morgan, Broad's vice-captain, was earlier ruled out until January with his own shoulder problem.

With Kevin Pietersen continuing his rest period, Swann was one of the few viable options within the current Twenty20 set-up. The other route would have been to give the job to Alastair Cook, the ODI captain, but that would have disrupted the top order which Andy Flower is trying to form ahead of England's defence of their World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka next September.

Harris in serious doubt for third Test

Ryan Harris the Australia fast bowler, is in considerable doubt for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo after scans revealed a minor hamstring strain sustained on the final day of the second Test in Pallekele. Having taken six wickets for the match, Harris, 31, complained of hamstring stiffness and left the field towards the end of play on the fifth day, with subsequent examinations confirming some damage had been sustained.

"It showed there was a minor strain in one of the muscles in my hammy," Harris said. "It's probably not the news we're after but I'm getting constant treatment. We'll see what happens in the next day or two. There's got to be some doubt because something showed up.

"I'm obviously pretty keen to play but going in I am a risk. If Michael [Clarke] is happy to take me in with a slight risk then I'll give it 100%. It's a pretty big game so if not I'll sit out and do as I'm told."

Harris said he felt pain in his hamstring on the fourth day of the Pallekele Test itself but continued bowling with it as it wasn't acute. "I'm a fast bowler so I bowl with stiffness every day. Walking around I don't feel it, it's not there at all. I felt it probably in the first or second step of my delivery stride; there was a bit of a twinge but it wasn't enough to make me grab it or have to stop.

"I guess the fear is pushing it too hard; I could potentially rip it further and it would become a two-month thing rather than, as it as at the moment, something that requires a week or two of recovery time."

Harris' absence would be a serious blow to Australia's chances of securing a series victory in Sri Lanka, as he has taken 11 wickets for the series at the startling average of 14.54 and a strike rate of 36, consistently troubling the hosts with the new ball and also posing plenty of problems by reverse-swinging the old one.

Should Harris be ruled out, his place would likely be taken by one of the Victorian duo of Peter Siddle or James Pattinson. Siddle is the more experienced quick but Pattinson has also impressed many on the tour with his speed and swing. Harris said either man could do the job.

Jonathan Trott is ICC Cricketer of the Year

 Jonathan Trott the England batsman, has been named the Cricketer of the Year for 2011, the ICC's top accolade. He received the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy at the annual ceremony in London, after his team-mate Alastair Cook had won the Test Cricketer of the Year award.

"It's fantastic to be part of a successful team and I never envisaged winning this award. It's a brilliant feeling to be recognised," Trott said.

In 12 Tests during the period under consideration, Trott scored 1042 runs at an average of 65.12, including four centuries and three half-centuries. He also played 24 ODIs, scoring 1064 runs at an average of 48.36 with two centuries and nine 50s. Trott was chosen for the award ahead of Cook, last-year's winner Sachin Tendulkar and South Africa batsman Hashim Amla.

Previous winners of the Cricketer of the Year award include Rahul Dravid (2004), Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis (joint winners in 2005), Ricky Ponting (2006 and 2007), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2008), Mitchell Johnson (2009) and Sachin Tendulkar (2010). 

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