Freddie fingers the Sri Lankans In the absence of Muttiah Muralitharan, batting was supposed to be Sri Lanka's strong point in the NatWest series, but England usurped that advantage for their own benefit. Putting on 293 after winning the toss, England recovered well from a shaky 104 for four. Veteran Alec Stewart (83) showed why he is still around, holding the innings together even as fireworks were provided from the other end courtesy Andrew Flintoff. The burly all-rounder hit England's fastest one-day fifty off 28 balls, but he wasn't finished. He struck again during the Sri Lankan innings, taking 3-48 as the visitors reached 249 for nine in 50 overs. Romesh Kaluwitharana (52) and Marvan Atapattu (47) played comfortably during the initial stages of the innings, but few others could stick around to score the required runs. Flintoff unsurprisingly won Man of the Match, and if he continues in similar vein for the remainder of the series, his performances may end up being the deciding factor in otherwise close matches.

Marooned by selectors, Robin-Singh Crusoe plays coach He is 38 years old, but he still has many vociferous supporters of his inclusion in the Indian team. The national selectors, unfortunately, do not number among them, and so Robin Singh has had to be content with sterling performances for Tamil Nadu. Now, as coach of the Indian Under-19 side for the forthcoming tour of England, he is preparing to use his experience to maximum advantage. "I did my share of coaching even when I played (club) cricket in England," said Robin. "I've played in the leagues there a few times. Obviously my own game was the biggest contribution, but I've also done my bit with the youngsters and in the nets, that sort of thing." Having played league cricket in Lancashire, Durham, Southampton and Scotland, Robin knows more than a little about the conditions that await the Indian youth. The side is due to tour England in July-August to play three unofficial Tests and as many limited-overs matches, Robin's English experience will be a big asset. "I realise that coaching the Under-19 team is totally different from working with a club side," said Robin. "These are young cricketers working hard to break into higher levels in the near future. Obviously getting results also becomes that much more important. So as a coach you need to make doubly sure that you do your homework." As the Indian senior side and the women's team are also playing cricket in England, it is only fitting that the boys are in the neighbourhood at the same time. "It will certainly be inspirational for the youngsters. After all, the boys look up to the senior team, and many of their heroes will be in action," said Robin. Read the full interview here.

Lights of fancy On first hearing that Trent Bridge was to host a day-nighter, one would have been forgiven for wondering where the floodlights would come from. The answer - from America. Giant lights-on-wheels were flown in from the United States and actually driven to the venue. The apparatus is self-contained; a generator provides six kilo-watts of power to illuminate the ground amply. One hitch that made its presence felt at Nottingham, though, is that the lights cannot be raised during windy conditions. Wind speed of over 25 miles per hour make the apparatus unsafe, and for much of the first innings, it was gusting well above that. But the wind died down in time for the lights to shine on England as they rampaged to a 44-run win over Sri Lanka in the NatWest series opener.

We're not guaranteeing that you turn into Sachin Tendulkar, but having his bat can't hurt. Buy it on CricShop. Click Here Relive all the NatWest series action through our sizzling set of action photographs. Click Here Put all that "useless" knowledge to the test. Play CricWhiz, CricInfo's online cricket quiz. Click Here