He was disappointed and he was defiant. If he was going anywhere he was not saying so. It was neither the time nor the place. There was a series still to be fought. Almost inevitably, it happens to all England captains, or at least those who have been any good at the job and hang around for a while. And now it is happening to Andrew Strauss, the saviour himself, the man who has appeared in more winning England Test teams, 44, than any other player, and who has led them to 21 victories as captain.

But not this winter. The defeat by 75 runs to Sri Lanka yesterday was England’s fourth in succession in Test matches, in which period Strauss’s top score is 56. It is not an alliance, a losing side and poor captain, to keep somebody around for long.

Strauss, 35, is an extremely wise man. He knows the questions are being asked, some of them by men who have done the job in the recent past and know exactly how it works. All of them have usually managed to get out because they have sensed the time has come - Michael Atherton (though he knows now he should have gone before), Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan all resigned eventually because it was time.

“That’s not the sort of question I’m going to answer in the middle of a series,” said Strauss when asked about his role after the match yesterday. “My focus is very much on winning the next game. It would be wrong of me to think anything otherwise at this stage. I can understand why it’s being asked but it’s not something I’m focusing on.”

He will have thought about it all right, because he knows there is a certain inevitability about what could happen if England lose the second Test next week and he fails to make runs. If he scores some and they win the legitimacy of the question recedes, if it does not disappear.

At times like these it is natural to think of replacement and renewal.

Strauss has no runs, no wins and the credit is running out. The selectors may soon have to engage this issue properly rather than deal in the anodyne response that has become their stock in trade as England have climbed to the top of the world. “I’m hitting the ball nicely,” said Strauss. “I feel in good form but you’re judged on your own performances and I haven’t performed well enough. Hopefully, I can put it right next week.

“Sometimes it goes with the territory, you go through periods where you can’t kick on for whatever reason but suddenly you get through that and it releases a barrier. When that happens you can get a lot of big scores in a row. At the moment it’s frustrating for me as much as anyone.”

He may, for all anyone knows, be two innings away from the end of his batting career. It is to be hoped not in so many ways. It is to be hoped he goes out at the P Sera Stadium in Colombo next Tuesday and scores a big hundred. It would not terminate the debate exactly, but it would buy time for him and the team.

“My job in the side is to score runs, the same as any other batsman, and I haven’t scored as many as I would have liked in the last 12 months or so,” he said. “That’s very frustrating but, hopefully, I’ll put it right next week. If you want to win Test matches you need to get runs on the board and we haven’t done that.

“I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist to work out where things have gone wrong. I thought we showed in the second innings that, technically and game-plan wise, there’s a lot of skill in our dressing room against spin bowling but we didn’t apply ourselves in the right manner in the first innings.”

Now, as he pointed out, is not the time to be looking for new blood because there is a series and a ranking at stake. But the selectors had better have a clue about their intentions. England have not taken a Test match to its fifth day yet this winter and it was always unlikely that this would happen in Galle after 17 wickets fell on the second day. England were much better yesterday, or at least Jonathan Trott was, although there were still too many poor shots in a Test match full of them on both sides. It was absorbing but it was error-strewn.

They regroup in Colombo without Stuart Broad, who has a strained right calf. Strauss said: “A lot of the guys in the side have a great pedigree with the bat and they’ve got another opportunity to prove it next week.” And, the way things are going, another one at Lord’s in May should that not work out.

— By arrangement with The Independent 

London, March 30
Fast bowler Stuart Broad has been ruled out of England's second test against Sri Lanka with a calf strain, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Friday.

Broad suffered the injury to his right leg in the 75-run defeat in the first test which finished in Galle on Thursday, having only just recovered from an ankle problem sustained while tripping over a boundary rope.

"A scan today revealed a right calf strain," the ECB said. Broad's place for the second test which starts in Colombo on Tuesday will go to either Steven Finn or Tim Bresnan. England have lost their last four tests and captain and opener Andrew Strauss has come under pressure because of a string of low scores with the bat.

In his last eight innings he has managed only one 50 and he has not scored a test century since November 2010. He gave away his wicket cheaply as England chased 340 in their second innings to try to force an unlikely victory in Galle but former opening batsman and current batting coach Graham Gooch said Strauss was still the man to lead England.

"He is one of the two best opening batsmen in the country, along with Alastair Cook," Gooch said. "I have every confidence in him. I see the passion in him; I see the commitment every day on the training pitch trying to improve his game.

"There have been plenty of captains down the years who have struggled. What we have to do is to remain faithful to all our players and believe in their ability." — Reuters 

Lahore, March 30
The new Pakistan cricket team coach Dav Whatmore has shown he meant business as he spent most of his time this week at the Rawalpindi cricket stadium where the National Super Eights T20 championship is underway. Whatmore along with fielding coach, Julian Fountain have been present at the Pindi stadium for all the matches since Monday.

"They come to the stadium before the start of the first match and leave late night all the while watching the players in action and taking down notes," a board official said.

The official said that Whatmore was expected to have a meeting with the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Zaka Ashraf after the tournament as he was planning to set up a conditioning and training camp for a shortlisted players picked from the National Super Eights event.

"It is clear that Whatmore wants to have a close look at the young talent in Pakistan and get a chance to work on them with Fountain," another official said. Whatmore's presence at the national tournament has also prompted national selectors to be present at the venue.

Pakistan's next international assignment is tour to Sri Lanka, starting late May. Whatmore took over as Pakistan coach before the Asia Cup, where Pakistan beat Bangladesh in the final to win the title after 12 years.

The board has given him an initial two-year contract to work with the team but officials say the contract can be extended depending on the results Whatmore produces. A board official also confirmed that they have got encouraging response for the position of bowling coach with the national team, which was advertised with a deadline of March 23.

"Mostly local coaches have applied but there are also some foreigners interested in the job," he said. The PCB advertised for a bowling coach after Aaqib Javed's resignation from the position.

The PCB chief has said that he was keen to appoint another professional coach, who can help Pakistan produce the best bowlers. "The committee is handling the appointment of the bowling coach. We have experts on that committee who will be dealing with that matter. I don't involve myself in their day to day work, but just ensure that they are doing their job properly," Ashraf said.

"My personal preference is to appoint the best person for the job, irrespective of whether that individual is from Pakistan or outside. We want whoever is appointed to be a professional coach and help us in producing the best bowlers and to give those bowlers the best techniques," he added. — PTI 

New Delhi, March 30
The Wrestling Federation of India announced here today that two Indian free style wrestlers have qualified for the London Olympics following their medal-winning performances in the on-going Asian Qualifying Tournament at Astana [Kazakhstan]. Amit Kumar won the 55kg gold to make the Olympic cut while Yogeshwar Dutt, who bagged the silver in the 60kg, also qualified for the London Olympics.

Amit Kumar defeated Yumoto Shinichi of Japan in the title clash while ogeshwar Dutt won the silver after losing to Iranian grappler Esmaeil Poorjouybari Masud Mahmoud.

Sushil Kumar won the bronze in the 66 Kg. but could not qualify for the Olympics. The bouts of 120kg free style and all weight categories of Greco Roman and female weights will be held on Saturday and Sunday, holding out hopes of more qualification for London. 

New Delhi, March 30
Delhi Daredevils players will wear blue ribbons during their Indian Premier League matches to support UNICEF's initiative to protect and empower the girl child in India.

Daredevils today announced their partnership with UNICEF and the campaign, coined as 'Dare To Care', will witness the franchise as well as UNICEF working towards sensitising the public on the important role girls can play in transforming the society and why education and protection can ensure that they can grow up and develop to their full potential.

Apart from this, some percentage from IPL ticket and merchandise sales will go into 'Dare To Care' funds while some Daredevils memorabilia will also be put for auction on DD website and also on indiatimes.com, and funds from that will also be used in this campaign.

"It is very important for us to protect young girls in India. We have to support them and give them strength so that they are in a position to say no whenever needed. They should be raised to a position in the society that they can give their opinions in their own household," said Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag.

"It's shocking for me to know that 40 per cent girls in the 14-17 age group are not in schools and 50 per cent girls are married before they are 18. For this 'Dare To Care' initiative, I promise UNICEF that we are ready to help in any form for this greater cause," Sehwag added.

The partnership aims to protect millions of adolescent girls still facing obstacles in their lives by experiencing various forms of discrimination, exploitation and abuse on account of their age and sex. — PTI

Miami, March 30
The possibility of an almost Indian showdown in the ATP Miami Masters final was wiped out after Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna crashed out of the event in the semifinals even as Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek advanced to the finals here.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (L) look on as Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek celebrate after their doubles match in Key Biscayne, Florida on Thursday. — AFP

Seventh seeds Paes and Stepanek caused a major upset beating formidable top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan 6-4 6-4, but the "Indian Express" went down 2-6 4-6 against second seeded Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Canada's Daniel Nestor.

Paes and Stepanek, who had defeated the Bryan brothers in the Australian Open title clash earlier this year, took an hour and 11 minutes to topple their opponents. The Indo-Czech combo go into the final without having dropped a set in the tournament so far.

They won a total of 66 points as compared to 43 by the Americans during their semifinal encounter.

However, Paes and Stepanek could convert only three out of as many as 11 breakpoints they got.

Meanwhile, the sixth seeded Bhupathi and Bopanna lost in less than an hour to the Belarus-Canadian pair. The Indians, who had recently won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, failed to convert any of the six breakpoints that they got.

Though they managed to save three of the six breakpoints received by Mirnyi and Nestor. — PTI

New Delhi, March 30
Young Indian shuttler Sai Praneeth B and men's doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu today advanced to the semifinals of the Vietnam International Challenge at Hanoi today.

Fourth seed Sai Praneeth notched up a 21-15 21-15 victory over Thammasin Sitthikom of Thailand in a men's singles match that lasted for 40 minutes. The Indian will next take on top seed Zi Liang Derek Wong tomorrow.

The 19-year-old from Hyderabad had defeated Chinese Taipei's Han Chou Chu 21-15 21-18 in the quarterfinal match last night.

Seventh seeded Indians Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu beat Chinese Taipei's Chu-En Huang and Chia Yu Lin 21-17 21-19 in a 32-minute match in the men's doubles competition.

Among other Indians in fray, fifth seeds Pranav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar suffered a 14-21 21-13 18-21 loss to second seeds Gideon Markus Fernaldi and Agripinna Prima Rahmanto Putra in a 47-minute match.

Fourth seeds women's doubles combo of Aparna Balan and Siki Reddy N also couldn't cross the quarterfinal hurdle and lost to Malaysian pair of Amelia Alicia Anscelly and Fie Cho Soong 21-19 14-21 17-21 in 50 minutes. In mixed doubles, second seeded Indian pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan lost to Hafiz Faisal and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth 21-15 16-21 7-21. — PTI