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Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday termed Sports Minister M S Gill's view that cricketers should sign the World Anti-Doping Agency clause as his personal opinion and claimed that the Cricket Board would stick to its own stance.

Reacting over Gill's comments, BCCI spokesman Shukla said the matter was now between BCCI and ICC and there was no need to raise the issue with the Sports Ministry.

"The Sports Minister has got his personal view on the subject but we at BCCI have taken a position which ensures what is promised in the Indian constitution," Shukla told mediamen.

The "whereabout" clause of the WADA code has become the bone of contention with the 11 Indian cricketers in the WADA pool refusing to sign the provision which requires them to inform there whereabouts three months in advance, which they consider a breach of privacy and a security risk as well.

BCCI has already thrown its weight behind the cricketers and has asked ICC, a WADA signatory, to explore the option of having an anti-doping mechanism of its own.

Scoreboard at tea on the fifth day of the third Ashes test between England and Australia in Birmingham, England, on Monday.

Australia first innings 263 (S. Watson 62, J. Anderson 5-80)

England first innings 376 (A. Flintoff 74, A. Strauss 69, S.

Broad 55, I. Bell 53)

Australia second innings (overnight 88-2)

S. Watson c Prior b Anderson 53

S. Katich c Prior b Onions 26

R. Ponting b Swann 5

M. Hussey c Prior b Broad 64

M. Clarke not out 73

M. North not out 64

Extras: (b-4, lb-2, w-1, nb-1) 8

Total: (four wickets; 93 overs) 293

Fall of wickets: 1-47 2-52 3-137 4-161

To bat: G. Manou, M. Johnson, N. Hauritz, P. Siddle, B.

Hilfenhaus

Bowling (to date): Anderson 21-8-47-1 (1nb), Flintoff

15-0-35-0, Onions 19-3-74-1 (1w), Swann 27-4-99-1, Broad

8-2-18-1, Bopara 3-0-14-0.

Michael Clarke and Marcus North both scored half-centuries as Australia moved on to 260-4 in the afternoon session on the final day of the third Ashes test against England on Monday.

Clarke survived one chance when he pulled Ravi Bopara to mid-wicket but England captain Andrew Strauss spilled the catch.

Australia led England by 147 runs with 43 overs remaining in the day.

* England struck first in the morning when Shane Watson edged James Anderson to wicketkeeper Matt Prior for 53 to reduce Australia, who resumed on 88-2, to 137-3.

* Michael Hussey edged Stuart Broad to Prior for 64. Australia 161-4.

* Australia 172-4 at lunch.

Mahela Jayawardene scored a brilliant hundred to guide Sri Lanka to a series-clinching six-wicket victory in the third one-day international against Pakistan on Monday.

The former Sri Lanka captain, who opened the innings after Sanath Jayasuriya fell sick, scored a sublime 123 as the hosts overhauled Pakistan's 288 for eight with 21 balls to spare.

Jayawardene compiled a 202-run partnership for the first wicket with Upul Tharanga, who scored 76.

Victory gave Sri Lanka an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, their first ODI series win against Pakistan on home soil.

"At breakfast I heard that Sanath (Jayasuriya) was sick and I told Sanga (Sangakkara) that I'd love to open," Jayawardene told reporters.

"We did not have a proper opener and I thought as a senior player I should step up and take responsibility.

"I just tried to play as straight as possible and looked to be positive. I took some chances against the harder ball but the pitch was excellent I soon got into a groove."

"I don't see opening as a permanent thing for me as we have some quality openers in Dilshan (Tillakaratne), Sanath (Jayasuriya) and Upul (Tharanga)," he added.

Jayawardene's century, an innings that was hampered at the end by painful leg cramps, was the 11th of his career and his first since 2007.

Pakistan hopes were briefly buoyed after the fall of three quick wickets, Sri Lanka sliding from 202 without loss to 212 for three.

However, skipper Kumar Sangakkara finished off the game with an unbeaten 37, adding 56 with Thilina Kandamby (32) for the fourth wicket.

"What can you say about the batting of Mahela and Upul -- it was just amazing," Sangakkara said.

"You cannot ask for more than a double hundred stand when you are chasing 289."

Umar Akmal top-scored with a brisk 66 for Pakistan and his elder brother Kamran Akmal chipped in with 45, sharing a 71-run second-wicket partnership with skipper Younus Khan, who scored 44.

Pakistan's lower order also rallied, with Shahid Afridi (32), Abdul Razzaq (30) and Naved-ul-Hasan (30 not out) all making contributions.

Australia's Michael Clarke and Marcus North compiled a feisty century partnership to frustrate England on the final day of the third Ashes test on Monday.

The Australians took tea on 293 for four, 180 runs ahead with one session remaining and the match looked certain to end in a draw which would leave England 1-0 up in the series with two matches left.

Clarke was unbeaten on 73 at the interval with North on 64 and the pair have added 132 runs for the fifth wicket.

Resuming on 172 for four after lunch, Clarke and North mixed watchful defence with crisp attacking strokes to the boundary and the England attack struggled for inspiration.

Clarke was dropped on 38 by England captain Andrew Strauss at mid-wicket, a very difficult chance from a full-blooded pull off medium-pacer Ravi Bopara.

England had a scare when all-rounder Andrew Flintoff tumbled to the ground after slipping in his delivery stride.

Television replays appeared to show he twisted his ankle but England's injury-prone talisman dusted himself down and resumed the attack.

Earlier, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson shared a gritty third-wicket partnership of 85 in the morning.

FEW ALARMS

After resuming on 88 for two, Watson and Hussey survived the first hour with few alarms against the seam attack of Graham Onions and Flintoff.

Watson received a painful blow on the elbow from a Flintoff bouncer but he batted calmly and reached his second half-century of the match in the unfamiliar role of opener.

His fifty included nine fours and it was a surprise when, on 53, he drove loosely in James Anderson's first over of the day and gave wicketkeeper Matt Prior a simple catch.

England off-spinner Graeme Swann also bowled an ineffectual spell and Hussey struck several sweet drives through the covers on the way to his second half-century of the series.

He had made 64 when he fell, pushing tentatively at Stuart Broad and offering Prior another simple catch.

Pakistan's cricket officials are happy that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will probe claims that bookmakers tried to approach players during the current tour of Sri Lanka.

A source in the PCB said Monday that the Pakistan Cricket Board's top brass is satisfied with the ICC's response to the claims and believes that the game's governing body will be able to tackle the issue in an appropriate manner with the help of its anti-corruption unit.

An ICC spokesman said that they have taken note of the developments. 'The ICC is aware of the media reports on attempted match-fixing allegations,' ICC communications officer James Fitzgerald said in an interview.

'Appropriate action will be taken by the ICC in this regard,' he added.

'The ICC cannot comment further as the investigations of ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) are highly confidential,' Fitzgerald added.

Last week, the PCB said in a statement that it reported the matter to the ICC in Sri Lanka and 'it took urgent steps'.

The ICC formed the ACSU in 2000 as match-fixing controversies rocked the cricketing world.

Many leading players, including Pakistan's Salim Malik and Ata-ur-Rehman, India's Mohammed Azaruddhin and South Africa's Hansie Cronje were banned for life after investigations by the ICC.

Back home, there have been demands from various quarters for a probe into the incidents with former PCB chief Tauqeer Zia and ex-Test spinner Abdul Qadir suggesting that the PCB should carry out its own investigations.

Australia moved on to 245-4 in the afternoon session on the final day of the third Ashes test against England on Monday.

Michael Clarke was unbeaten on 44 with Marcus North on 45.

Australia led England by 132 runs with 47 overs remaining in the day.

* England struck first in the morning when Shane Watson edged James Anderson to wicketkeeper Matt Prior for 53 to reduce Australia, who resumed on 88-2, to 137-3.

* Michael Hussey edged Stuart Broad to Prior for 64. Australia 161-4.

* Australia 172-4 at lunch.

Pakistan's legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram was impressed with the nine young fast bowlers who attended the 19-day camp that concluded here Monday.

The camp was conducted by Gatorade Centre for Pace Excellence (GCPE) at the Modern School in Vasant Vihar.

During the camp, players were taught by chief coach Akram how to identify a batsman's weaknesses, especially when they are bowling on the flat, sub-continental pitches.

Akram said that such initiatives will help bowlers correct their techniques.

'India has never had dearth of talent but initiatives like Gatorade Pacers that spots and scientifically trains the talent will go a long way in getting India's next generation of fast bowlers. This initiative is special to me for another reason - it also inculcates the culture of sports science in the players at the young age; which I believe is critical if one were to consistently deliver at one's best over a long period of time,' said Akram.

The boys, who were selected by a talent hunt programme, were also taught about personalised hydration and fitness program so as to ensure that they bowl at the best from the first over of the day to the last over of the day.

'Optimal Hydration is a strong performance differentiator once you have similar skill and fitness levels. We learnt this the hard way, I am happy initiatives like this are exposing young students, coaches and administrators to the importance of optimal hydration,' he added.

T.A. Sekar, who is the chief technical consultant, said that more centres like GCPE to spot talents and correct their techniques at a young age were proposed to be set up.

'While India today boasts of match winning pacers, it is critical that we keep spotting and developing that talent at grassroots level to get the next generation ready. It takes a lot of efforts, from a variety of experts to shape a talent into a good fast bowler.

'Wasim and I reviewed the progress and we are very satisfied with the results. The bowlers too are very happy. The next camp will be conducted in December. We are giving them home work till then,' he said.