1st ODI v South Africa at Belfast - Jun 26, 2007
2nd ODI v South Africa at Belfast - Jun 29, 2007
3rd ODI v South Africa at Belfast - Jul 1, 2007

Only ODI v Pakistan at Glasgow - Jul 3, 2007
Tour Match v Sussex at Hove - Jul 7-10, 2007
Tour Match v England Lions at Chelmsford - Jul 13-15, 2007

1st Test v England at Lord's - Jul 19-23, 2007
2nd Test v England at Nottingham - Jul 27-31, 2007

Tour Match v Sri Lanka A at Leicester - Aug 3-5, 2007

3rd Test v England at The Oval - Aug 9-13, 2007

Only ODI v Scotland at Glasgow - Aug 16, 2007
Tour Match v England Lions at Northampton - Aug 18, 2007

1st ODI v England at Southampton - Aug 21, 2007
2nd ODI v England at Bristol - Aug 24, 2007
3rd ODI v England at Birmingham - Aug 27, 2007
4th ODI v England at Manchester - Aug 30, 2007
5th ODI v England at Leeds - Sep 2, 2007
6th ODI v England at The Oval - Sep 5, 2007
7th ODI v England at Lord's - Sep 8, 2007

Jayawardene was also quick to defend his decision to bat first at Jade Stadium, despite the fact that his side were skittled out for just 154 in their first innings.

"I took a look at the wicket on the first morning and it appeared to be good for batting," he said. "Like on any other wicket, the first session was going to be the key as the pitch was going to have some life.

"However, generally all pitches ease out and then batting becomes so easy.

"But everything went against us with the loss three quick wickets of [Sanath] Jayasuriya, Sangakkara and myself. And the 154 we made wasn't enough to put the Kiwis under pressure."

The former England opener witnessed nine England wickets fall for 60 runs as Andrew Flintoff's side collapsed from 69 for one to 129 all out, before Australia charged to their victory target for the loss of just four wickets.

And Boycott warned there is no chance of England retaining the urn Down Under after a defeat he labelled "humiliating and soul-destroying".

"Make no mistake about it, the Ashes are gone," he wrote in his column in the Daily Telegraph.

"If you support England, don't kid yourself that they might come back. No England team in history have recovered from 2-0 down against Australia. And let's face it, on current form, this is not a side capable of making history.

"The only explanation I can see for what happened in Adelaide yesterday is that England were complacent. They thought they had done all the hard work to put themselves on equal terms."

After insisting any hope of retaining the Ashes is now futile, Boycott believes Duncan Fletcher's side must focus on returning home with at least something to show for their tour.

"Now this series is about pride. It is about whether England can stop a 5-0 whitewash, because Australia are smarting after losing the Ashes and they want to eradicate the demons of 2005 by winning every Test match.

"As for England, they must be absolutely gutted. This defeat is so humiliating and soul-destroying that I don't see how they can come back.

"I've talked about how the bowling coach needs to earn his corn by sorting Steve Harmison out; now it's the batting coach who needs to get his act together. From now on we need less talking and better cricket."

"He is the most difficult batsman I have ever bowled to and the finest player of spin," Kaneria said of Lara who made 61 and 122 in a match Pakistan won by nine wickets on Tuesday.

Lara, Test cricket's leading scorer with 11, 688 runs in 129 matches, blasted his 33rd century to follow scores of 130 and 153 against Pakistan last year in the Caribbean.

Kaneria helped Pakistan win the second Test in Jamaica after bowling Lara around his legs for a duck in the second innings.

"I have bowled against all the top batsmen in the world but Lara is exceptional, no doubt about that," Kaneria, who has enjoyed success against India, Australia and England, said.

"Bowling to him is a big challenge because he prompts you to raise your game and level of skills. He is one batsman who even punishes a good ball," Kaneria said.

The 25-year old, only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan, took just three wickets in the first Test but has taken his overall tally to an impressive 172 in 41 matches.

He has struggled in his last 10 Tests by his own standards, taking 29 wickets despite being described as a key bowler by his captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

"I tried giving little width to Lara and bowling a bit quicker to him to give him less time to play his shots. But he adjusted very well to the pitch which was slow and had low bounce," Kaneria said.

"He raises his game according to the challenge. His adjustment is phenomenal," he added.

Kaneria said Lara had lifted his spirits after the game by saying to him; "Well bowled little master." "It is such praise which qualifies you to become a better bowler," Kaneria said.

Inzamam thinks Lara remains a threat to his team's chances of winning the series.

"He has got a lot of runs against us and we keep on discussing plans to restrict him. But it is never easy against his class," Inzamam said, adding that Kaneria could have had greater rewards in the first Test.

"He bowled very well and I think he was desperately unlucky. He picked up important wickets in the first innings and in the second he was good, just not very lucky."

"He remains our key bowler but we can't expect him to take wickets every time," he added. The second Test starts in Multan on November 19.

Yuvraj suffered a tear in his left knee during a warm-up ahead of Sunday's Champions Trophy clash against Australia here and was rushed to Mumbai to see the board's medical consultant Anant Joshi.

Yuvraj will be examined again in two weeks to determine if he will be available for the subsequent three-Test series in South Africa, Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Niranjan Shah said

If you've been to Motera earlier, you will be in for a pleasant shock. A spanking new look has replaced the crumbling structure this ground used to be.

Three new pitches, a green outfield, state of the art floodlights, increased capacity, covered stands and even a car-park for 10,000 vehicles. Welcome to Motera, a stadium that seems is competing with the best in the country now.

Narhari Amin, President of the Gujarat Cricket Association, says: "We have laid a new outfield. There are going to be five day/night matches played here during the Champions Trophy. This is why we have also laid three new pitches, so that every match is played on a different pitch via rotation. And a good environment along with it so that people are entertained under the flood lights."

Nearly 6,000 seats have been added taking the total capacity close to 54,000. The media is also well taken care of, with an air-conditioned press box, a far cry from the days gone by.

Brian Murgatroyd, Media Manager for the ICC, says: "Media facilities are absolutely first-class. There's air-conditioning, there's wi-fi internet, there's a new purpose-built media conference room for all the people at home, who can see pictures of players talking in comfortable surroundings. We are standing here on the outfield which is like a carpet really, it's absolutely beautiful.

It may not have got a semi-final this time around but looking at the Motera, it will make a strong contender for a big match when the 2011 World Cup comes to India.

Ganguly is a big asset

"I am completely fit and confident of doing well. I have to do well. I have to achieve something special for my country," said a determined Jayasuriya.

The veteran batsman, who was struggling with injuries as well as loss of form, had announced retirement early 2006 but came out of it for the one-day series against England where he was instrumental in Sri Lanka's 5-0 win in the one-day series. He scored 322 runs with two centuries against England.

"There are no fitness problems. My confidence is back after the England tour. Now I want to play well in this tournament. I have always played my natural game and tried to win matches for my country," said the 37-year-old batsman who is specially effective on the less bouncy sub-continent pitches.

Despite being former joint winners with India, playing qualifying was not an issue with Jayasuriya and he said his team would not take chances against any country.

"But first we have to do well in the qualifying round. We cannot take chances against any team," said Jayasuriya, who became only the fourth batsman to score 10,000 runs in one-day cricket. The former Lankan captain said he was satisfied with the team's performance of late and praised the middle order batsmen for the improved show.

"I am happy with what we are doing. Especially our middle order batsmen are improving," he said.

However, he refused to name anyone as a "key player" and said "cricket is a team game and 4-5 players have to do well on a given day to win the match".

"We have a good chance, but first we have to qualify," he added.

About his comeback from retirement, he diplomatically said, "selectors asked me to play and so I am playing".

The Indian board wants certain clauses to be amended, saying it would otherwise badly affect its own commercial deals reported to top $1 billion (530 million pounds) for the next four years.

ICC president Percy Sonn has criticised the Indian board for not acting on the issue for six months, until the deadline was near, and said the BCCI should raise all its objections within a week.

"Despite the fact the other Members involved in the process are now in a position to sign the MPA, the Indian board has just this week announced it has problems with the agreement's content," he said in a statement.

"It is thus very disappointing the BCCI has only recently been able to review the agreement and raise its concerns.

Sonn warned the controversy could affect Indian plans for jointly staging the 2011 World Cup with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"If the BCCI fails to agree to the terms of the MPA, it will of course mean they could not continue as one of the joint hosts of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, putting the entire tournament in jeopardy," he said.

"Having said that, we hope agreement can be reached and that common sense will prevail."

Here is ICC Champions Trophy Schedule starting from next week:

Date Match Venue Sat, October 7 Sri Lanka v Bangladesh Mohali Sun, October 8 West Indies v Zimbabwe Ahmedabad Tue, October 10 Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe Ahmedabad Wed, October 11 West Indies v Bangladesh Jaipur Fri, October 13 Bangladesh v Zimbabwe Jaipur Sat, October 14 Sri Lanka v West Indies Mumbai Group Stage Date Match Venue Sun, October 15 India v England Jaipur Mon, October 16 New Zealand v South Africa Mumbai Tue, October 17 Pakistan v Qualifier 1 Jaipur Wed, October 18 Australia v Qualifier 2 Mumbai Fri, October 20 New Zealand v Q1 Mumbai Sat, October 21 Australia v England Jaipur Tue, October 24 South Africa v Q1 Ahmedabad Wed, October 25 New Zealand v Pakistan Mohali Thu, October 26 India v Q2 Ahmedabad Fri, October 27 Pakistan v South Africa Mohali Sat, October 28 England v Q2 Ahmedabad Sun, October 29 India v Australia Mohali Final Stage Date Match Venue Wed, November 1 1st Semifinal Mohali Thu, November 2 2nd Semifinal Jaipur Sun, November 5 FINAL Mumbai

The Australians, nominal favourites for a hat-trick of World Cup victories in the Caribbean next March-April, have prepared for a serious crack at the Champions Trophy by winning a tri-series against the West Indies and India in Malaysia last month.

Australia will be bolstered by the return of wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, who along with team-mate Mike Hussey ranks as the two top-ranked ODI batsmen in world cricket.

Ponting's team, who have won 16 of their 24 ODI matches this season, tuned up for the world's second biggest one-day tournament with a crushing 127-run victory over the West Indies in the final of the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur on September 25.

Ponting, who also has his eye on regaining the Ashes off England in the five-Test home series later this year, believes Australia has all the bases covered for the Champions' Trophy.

"It's obviously one we want to win. It is the second biggest one-day tournament in the world and it is one that has eluded Australia," Ponting said.

"We have been knocked out in the semi-final in the last two Champions Trophies, but we definitely have the squad and the players to challenge seriously this year.

"We've played some good cricket in Indian conditions before so we can go there now with confidence."

Total : (4 wkts, 31.2 overs): 210

Extras : (lb 1, nb 2, w 19): 22

FoW : 1/6, 2/55, 3/156, 4/194

Bowling : Zaheer 6-1-32-2, Sreesanth 8-0-51-0, VRV Singh 7-0-51-0, Powar 3-0-21-0, Kartik 5.2-0-39-1, TP Singh 2-0-15-0

After weeks of speculation on whether Hair would be included in the umpires' panel for Champions Trophy in the wake of the Oval Test fiasco, ICC said Hair had been left out due to "safety and security concerns."

India is going to host this tournament had demanded on Tuesday that the ICC omit Hair as his presence might provoke spectators.

The ICC announcement came after a disciplinary hearing found Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq "not guilty" of ball tampering, a charge laid by Hair during the Oval Test.

An indignant Hair said he wished to continue on with umpiring seconds after an ICC spokesman revealed that he had been withdrawn from the Champions Trophy.

"I wish to keep on being an umpire," Hair said. "My umpiring performance or career is on public record and if other people consider I am still good enough to umpire I will continue."

Hair denied that he felt he had been made a scapegoat over the issue by the ICC. "I think the last few weeks have been quite trying on everybody," he said.

"The Code of Conduct is there to be applied, it's been applied, I'm bound my own code of conduct but it's good to have it over."

Shane Watson, Australian all-rounder,  is being considered for the Test side in the Ashes series against England starting in November.

He is a regular in the world champions' One-Day side, has only played three Tests but would provide an extra bowling option for captain Ricky Ponting, particularly with doubts over the fitness of veteran seamer Glenn McGrath.

"He's (Watson) the guy that we're looking at very closely," Border said. "He's got the early running there's no doubt but that's not to say someone might not come out of the woodwork.

"If he can get in there with both bat and ball that's the ideal scenario. It makes the balance of the side a lot better."

The 25-year-old Watson played in the tri-nations One-Day tournament in Malaysia this month after proving his recovery from the injury problems that plagued him last season.

"It would be fantastic if we can unearth that quality of all-rounder other countries have had recently," Border said.

Shane Warne is on a collision course with Australia coach John Buchanan after claiming that the team do not need anyone in his role.