Easy pickings, e-mails and a Kiwi legend

Master of the willow: An hour into the second Test, Bangladesh could have been forgiven for harbouring dreams of an improbable upset. But from 48 for 4, it all went pear-shaped as Tillakaratne Dilshan produced a coruscating century that inspired another predictable seven-session rout. Supported by an accomplished 138 from Thilan Samaraweera, Dilshan clattered 19 fours and a six as Sri Lanka smashed 401 runs in the remaining five hours. As far as ripostes went, this was as emphatic as they come, and from someone who's establishing a reputation as a middle-order destroyer to watch for in the years to come. Honourable mention also goes to Rahul Dravid for a gritty 98 that held the Indian innings together even as Heath Streak delivered a peach of a spell. As Australia discovered to their cost recently, surviving swing bowling requires batsmanship of the highest quality. Right now, Dravid is very much the Patek Philippe of Test batting.

Wrecking ball: Irfan Pathan scalped 12 for 126, but most of his victims were blokes who would struggle to get into a grade side in Toowoomba. On the other side, Heath Streak rediscovered the verve and precise swing that once made him a genuinely world-class performer. Thirty Tests after his last five-for, Streak made short work of India's much-vaunted line-up, thwarted only by the dash of Gautam Gambhir and the solidity of Dravid. If, as some insiders suggested, disenchantment is to force him out of the game, he couldn't have chosen a better note on which to leave. And in Streak's performance, you caught a glimpse of what Zimbabwe cricket could have been had Ozais Bvute and his cohorts not insisted on vitiating the atmosphere with their dubious selection policies.

On skid row: Damien Martyn's sublime batting won Australia Test series in Sri Lanka and India in 2004, but an appalling run in the Ashes series was all it took for this consummate stylist to be cast aside. With the likes of Brad Hodge and Michael Hussey well capable of seizing the chances that come their way, the curtain may have come down on a career whose promise was fulfilled only in autumn after the most turbulent of springs. In his last 15 matches, which included the horror run in England, Martyn managed 1072 at 51.04 with four centuries. Across the Indian Ocean, certain luminaries sighed with relief at not being born under the Southern Cross.

Hot off the presses: The concept of e-mail as a form of private communication clearly hasn't caught on with the BCCI, who somehow managed to leak the entire content of Greg Chappell's memo on Sourav Ganguly to television and newspapers alike. Opinions have been divided since. One group accuses Chappell of not understanding Indian sensibilities, while the other insists that desperate situations require such tough love. The soft-option camp appear to have forgotten that John Wright's final year was eminently forgettable because certain egos - coincidentally those who have yet to achieve legendary status, and are unlikely to with their attitude - appeared to have transcended the team, diluting the effect of whatever shaping up had taken place in the three preceding seasons.

Seen and heard: An Indian team member tells this correspondent: "Do you think there aren't differences in the Australian team? Or Manchester United? It's just that players and officials don't go running to the media." Michael Slater waited for the publication of his book to slate Steve Waugh for his fall from grace, while David Beckham, even at the height of Bootgate - when Sir Alex Ferguson rocketed one at his eyebrow - never trashed the coach who had made his career and many others. A lesson to be learnt? Champion sides keep internal friction to themselves, while the weak and the mediocre go running to mum/microphones for succour. Unfortunately, the aforementioned team member seems to be in a minority who want to leave the comfort zone behind and go where only champions go.

Outside the amphitheatres: A cricket team from Afghanistan, where the sport was once banned by the hard-line Taliban regime, arrived in Pakistan last Thursday for a week-long tour in preparation for the Asian Cricket Council Trophy. Cricket has slowly made a comeback after the Taliban years and there are now more than 3,500 registered cricketers in Afghanistan and league-based events are played in 16 provinces.

"President Hamid Karzai takes a keen interest in cricket and has promised funds and other help for the team which are so much needed for the promotion," said Khaliqdad Noori, the team captain. The team played five one-day games in Pakistan two years ago and featured in Pakistan's first class season in 2002 and 2003.

All Fall Down: Blignaut, at the other end, appeared to be trying his hand at roulette for most part. When on 16, he survived a hat-trick of sorts when he flashed at three deliveries from Zaheer, edged thrice and saw fielders behind the stumps grass them all. Dhiraj Jadhav, the substitute, hasn't had much to do through this series and when offered a regulation waist-high chance, he muffed it. The next ball was like an action replay and Sehwag duly obliged by letting it through his fingers. The third flew to first slip but just as it was nestling into Rahul Dravid's palms, Dinesh Karthik threw himself across and floored one more. Zaheer was in the midst of his best spell of the series and his bemused look told a tale of its own. - Cricinfo's Siddhartha Vaidyanathan describes a passage of play that wasn't out of the Greg Chappell slip-fielding manual.

Blink, and you'll miss it: Sri Lanka A gave a whole new meaning to limited-overs cricket when they were routed in 26.3 overs by their South African counterparts. Dale Steyn's searing pace did the damage, and the South African openers were back in the hutch for some R&R and Castle Lager long before the chef had finished with lunch.

Another Kiwi legend? Eighteen years after the last title of the Richard Hadlee-Clive Rice years, Stephen Fleming inspired the title's return to Trent Bridge. Bristling with positive intent, Fleming smacked 908 runs from 11 matches at an average of 60.53, and also showcased the tactical nous that has made him one of the most respected leaders in international cricket.

Elsewhere, neutrals rejoiced as Surrey - the self-styled Man Utd of cricket as recently as three years ago - slid down to Division Two. Ageing players, large salaries and hubris don't a winning side make. Where are the Fat cat tangerine-haired American tycoons or the Siberian Moneybags when you need them?

Quote-hanger: "You can imagine the character of a person who within hours of a truce goes and writes such an e-mail" - Sourav Ganguly's response to Greg Chappell's e-mail, according to Ananda Bazar Patrika anyway.