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ScorecardFile photo: Mohammad Hafeez took three wickets before falling for a two-ball duck•Getty Images

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited’s pacers, along with Mohammad Hafeez, put themselves in a strong position by dismissing United Bank Limited for 208 on the first day of the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy final in Karachi. However, Hafeez could not follow his three wickets with any runs as he fell for a duck, and SNGPL finished the day on 35 for 2, with a trail of 173 runs.Opting to bat, United Bank saw a steady start from openers Shan Masood and Sharjeel Khan with a stand of 71, which was dominated by Sharjeel. Hafeez then struck in consecutive overs and Sharjeel also fell for a 77-ball 73 before the team score could reach 100. No other batsman could reach 50 after that. Pacer Azizullah trapped Younis Khan (16) and Sohaib Maqsood (18) lbw, leaving United Bank on a precarious 126 for 5.No. 6 Hammad Azam (39) helped the score towards 200 along with Gulraiz Sadaf, who stayed unbeaten on 27, as they lost their last five wickets for 24 runs. Bilawal Bhatti, who had also dismissed Sharjeel, took the last two wickets in the same over to finish with 3 for 39. Hafeez ended with 3 for 45.SNGPL lost Hafeez on the second ball of the innings and would have ended on 35 for 1, but also saw Hussain Talat fall for 10 in the last over of the day.

A boost from the boss
Kolkata Knight Riders’ co-owner and Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, who cheered and danced as his team got off to a victorious start, was missing when they came down crashing against the Chennai Super Kings in their third game. This time he didn’t miss the action, and came down to the dugout before the start of the game to personally greet each player.Duck, wait and hit
Runs were coming at a trickle for Kolkata – at least by Twenty20 standards – when Shaun Pollock brought himself on for his second spell in the 11th over. David Hussey had already smashed him over extra cover, and Pollock bowled a slower bouncer on the final delivery. Hussey did not pick it initially, and he looked set to let it go. But the ball took ages to arrive, by which time the batsman adjusted, and a last-minute dab, almost out of the wicketkeeper’s gloves, set the ball running to the boundary.A quick bite, Sanath
No doubt the television producer is under pressure to drag out the top performer and put the camera in his face for a mid-innings or post-match interview, but in the mad rush one still needs be logical. Sanath Jayasuriya was the star in the field for the Mumbai Indians, but he also opens the innings and was rushing back to the dressing room to change and pad up in the break. But the television guys cut short his progress requesting him for a quick chat. Obviously the Sri Lankan legend was annoyed. Mumbai coach Lalchand Rajput settled matters and Shaun Pollock, the second-best performer, faced the camera instead.Missing revenge
Chasing 138, Mumbai had been reduced to 25 for 3. Ashok Dinda had dismissed Manish Pandey for a duck and Robin Uthappa should have been his second victim. Uthappa slapped a short delivery to the left of backward point, where Debabrata Das reached out, but the ball didn’t stick. Das had fluffed the chance to avenge his dismissal – Uthappa took a catch to his left at point to end the debutant’s innings on 29.Come on Billy, raise that finger …
… would have been the refrain from the Kolkata crowd when Murali Kartik rapped the batsmen twice on the pads and led loud appeals from the home team. But umpire Billy Bowden didn’t budge. Perhaps Sourav Ganguly should have considered a change of ends for the spinner.Coincidences
Till today’s game, Sanath Jayasuriya’s quiet time in the IPL hadn’t helped the cause of the Mumbai Indians. But after his four-over spell, his figures read 3 for 14, uncannily similar to his 3 for 12 off seven overs against India in the 1996 World Cup semi-final at the same ground. He took two catches then, and the 38-year-old showed he was no slouch, pouching two, the first of Sourav Ganguly at wide slip ample proof the reflexes were still top-notch.

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An impressive all-round display helped the Hyderabad Heroes book their place in the semi-finals with a 33-run win over the Chandigarh Lions. Chris Harris, the Heroes captain, was the star of the show, top scoring with 38 off 26 balls and picking up two wickets in his three overs.The Lions, who were already out of the reckoning to progress further, won the toss and put the Heroes in. The had success early, with Jimmy Maher playing Ishan Malhotra straight into the hands of Lou Vincent of backward point in the first over, which was a maiden.Abdur Razzaq brought some momentum into the innings with five boundaries during his 29, but when he and Nicky Boje fell in quick succession, the Heroes were still off the pace at 54 for 4.Justin Kemp and Chris Harris then took charge with an unbroken 65-run stand to guide the Heroes to a challenging total of 148. Kemp hit three sixes in his 35, but Harris did more damage during his 38 off 26 deliveries. Harris’ former New Zealand team-mate Daryl Tuffey suffered the most; his four overs went for 42 runs.Matthew Elliott got the Lions off to a blazing start in response, before Alfred Absolem trapped him leg-before on 34. Ibrahim Khaleel then had a busy time behind the stumps, effecting three stumpings off three different bowlers, and the Lions were left struggling at 68 for 4.Dinesh Mongia chipped in with 37, but the Lions couldn’t make a fist of it as the Heroes sealed their spot in the semis.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFour specialist bowlers and one of them succumbing to injury. For Kagiso Rabada, an up-and-coming fast bowler acting as spearhead one moment, workhorse the next, it was an onerous burden. But Rabada was up to the task, producing the most redoubtable display of his fledgling career to leave South Africa anticipating victory in the final Test in Centurion.Radaba’s return of 7 for 112, his finest figures in a Test career only five matches old, presented South Africa with a first-innings lead of 133 which they extended to 175 for the loss of Dean Elgar by the time bad light fell upon the third day.With reason to expect that this surly surface will become more indifferent as the Test progresses, South Africa retain strong hopes of a consolation victory which would reduce the series margin to 2-1 and enable them to claim their first victory in 10 Tests.Rabada tore through England’s batting line-up with three quick wickets on the stroke of lunch, removing Joe Root, James Taylor and Jonny Bairstow in succession to turn the Test heavily in South Africa’s favour. With Kyle Abbott leaving the field as tea approached for intensive treatment on a tight hamstring, South Africa’s four-strong attack was under heavy strain and Rabada, at the tender age of 20, bore most of it.By the time he led South Africa from the field half an hour after tea, his figures were the third best ever recorded at Centurion, outdone only by two other outstanding displays of recent vintage – Abbott’s 7 for 29 against Pakistan in 2013 and Mitchell Johnson’s terrorising of South Africa to claim 7 for 65 a year later.The accolades were thoroughly deserved for a display of great control, nous and stamina. His best Test figures followed a return of 5 for 78 in the third Test in Johannesburg. His achievements so young are rarely achieved. An unrewarding Test introduction on spin-friendly surfaces in India has been well and truly put behind him.His progress this series has been swift, his speeds around 145kph until fatigue took a hold and he sensibly throttled back, and his control of line excellent. He caresses the pitch – the antithesis of Hardus Viljoen who in Johannesburg tried to deep mine it. At 20 years old, he is a prize asset but he is still physically developing and South Africa will have to nurture him with care as they prepare for a future – not too distant now – without Dale Steyn.Alastair Cook, the first wicket to fall on the third day, must wait for the potential accolade of the youngest player to reach 10,000 Test runs – and as he watches England flounder after losing an influential toss he must be ageing by the minute.Cook, 67 not out overnight, began fifty runs short of the record, but he added only nine runs in an hour before he was unpicked by Morne Morkel, an excellent delivery from around the wicket which bounced and seamed away to take the edge. The wicket stirred Morkel, whose signal has come and gone like a mobile in an iffy reception area.Cook has one more innings in South Africa to secure a record that looks inevitable, barring injury, as he still has a full English summer to achieve it. He has ticked off the record thousand by thousand since his Test career began to evolve, the youngest batsman at every measuring point.The removal of Root, the mainstay of England’s batting line-up, was a huge breakthrough for South Africa. Root had launched England’s challenge by taking three back-foot boundaries off him in an over, the first of them thick-edged wide of gully, but he became the first victim of the morning when Rabada produced one that shaped away a tad around off stump for Quinton de Kock to hold a simple catch.Rabada struck again when Taylor was too early on a pull shot that was both too wide and high for the shot, especially with wickets falling and lunch approaching, and cue ended the ball to the wicketkeeper. Taylor might have been defeated by the inconsistent bounce, but it was an unwise shot with a short leg and two men back for the shot.Three balls later – the last before the interval – Rabada added Bairstow for nought. It was a dismissal that emphasised he is already a bowler of craft, an offcutter bouncing back at Bairstow who failed to withdraw from the shot to catch the glove and give de Kock his fourth catch of the innings.South Africa had squandered two reviews in the morning session. Morkel’s belief that he can get Cook caught down the leg side is all very well, but not when South Africa review an appeal – as they did when Cook was 70 – that missed the bat by several inches. The noise must have been that made when a theory collides with reality.There was over-eagerness, too, in de Kock’s belief that he had held a leg-side tickle from Root off the offspinner, Dane Piedt. Such considerations were soon forgotten as Rabada made deep inroads into England’s order, reducing them to 211 for 6 – still 63 short of avoiding the follow-on.Rabada added the wicket of Ben Stokes, picked off at second slip with only the second delivery with the second new ball, a success Rabada greeted with nothing more aggressive than the gentlest of smiles.England would have sensed an unlikely escape route, especially with Moeen Ali fashioning resistance with his usual languid unpredictability, leaving South Africa eminently grateful for the charitable departure of Chris Woakes shortly before tea.JP Duminy, a notional fifth bowler, whose confidence impaired by an injury in India when he split the webbing of his bowling hand, looks in bad shape, bowling wise, and seems to have adopted a strange, whirly Harbhajan Singh impression.He did nothing more than slip a straight one across Woakes, who edged it into the pads of the wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and from there to first slip where Dean Elgar held a simple chance. Woakes had also been dropped on 1 when de Kock failed to hold a one-handed catch above his head off Morkel.After tea, South Africa threw the ball to Rabada once more. By the time he added his seventh – Stuart Broad obligingly pulling to deep square leg – he was running on empty, about 10kph down on his speed at the start of the Test, unable to summon the energy to run and congratulate the fielder.Moeen’s departure to Morkel, for 61, driving on the up to extra cover, finally gave Rabada release. His 29 overs had revealed a few home truths about the arduous nature of Test cricket. In another 24 hours or so, perhaps even less, he would be doing it all again.

A fractured left thumb has ruled Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of the T20 series against Australia. Rishi Dhawan, who is part of India’s ODI squad, will stay on in Australia as Bhuvneshwar’s replacement.Bhuvneshwar picked up the injury while trying to stop a David Warner straight drive off his own bowling during the fourth ODI in Canberra. The injury forced him out of the fifth ODI in Sydney, with India picking the debutant Jasprit Bumrah in his place.Ajinkya Rahane also sat out the Sydney ODI with an injury, having split his webbing while fielding in Canberra. Gurkeerat Singh has been named as cover for Rahane in the T20 squad.The three-match T20 series will begin on Tuesday in Adelaide.

England’s two most senior bowlers, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard, have paid the price for their poor performances in last week’s 189-run defeat against New Zealand at Hamilton. Both men have both been dropped for Thursday’s second Test at Wellington, with Stuart Broad and James Anderson coming into the side at their expense.The decision marks the end of an era for England. With 460 wickets between them in 124 appearances, Harmison and Hoggard have formed the backbone of their Test attack for the best part of five years, including the seminal Ashes victory in 2005. But the pair were badly off the pace in Hamilton, where they took the combined figures of 2 for 278, and in the opinion of their captain, Michael Vaughan, the time is right for a revamping of the attack.”It was a very tough call,” said Vaughan, “but we had a gut feeling that we needed to make a change. The attack needed a bit of a shake-up and it’s a great opportunity for Jimmy and Broady to establish themselves at this level, and stamp their authority on Test cricket. I also hope that Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison really fight and try to take their places back because that will create a healthy environment.”Though Harmison’s axing had been on the cards ever since his lacklustre display in Hamilton, the decision on Hoggard was more of a surprise. He has had an unlucky year with injuries, in which he completed only two of England’s 11 Tests in 2007, but in his last-but-one outing in Galle in December, he claimed four first-morning wickets to give his side the brief ascendancy. This is the first time that he has been dropped since the corresponding tour to Sri Lanka in December 2003, and in that time he at one stage appeared in 40 consecutive matches.”He’s been and hopefully will be a tremendous bowler for England again,” said Vaughan. “He’s always been a dream to captain and I expect to captain Matthew Hoggard again in the not-too-distant future, because that’s the kind of character he is. I hope they both bounce back. It’s not a nice thing for me to do, to tell two players I’ve played basically all my Test cricket with that they are not in the team.”But we all know how both of them can bowl and at the minute not bowling to the standards they set themselves,” said Vaughan. “I really hope they react in a positive fashion. If they don’t play next week, I hope they go back to their counties, start the season well and fight back into the Test team.”In the meantime, it is all about the new incumbents. Anderson has been around the England Test team ever since 2003, but has failed to claim a regular berth, although at the age of 25, his best years should be ahead of him. Broad meanwhile played a solitary Test at Colombo in December, in which he performed admirably on a lifeless track, taking 1 for 95.Both men have cemented themselves as regulars in the one-day side, although New Zealand’s batsmen dented their confidence during the recent 3-1 series defeat, especially Anderson, who was dispatched for 86 runs in ten overs in the tied match in Napier. He has since found some form in a solitary outing for Auckland against Wellington, taking 2 for 95 from 38 overs in an innings defeat, and Vaughan was happy that the time had come for him to be unleashed.”We have seen Jimmy for a while now, and he’s got a hell of a lot of talent,” said Vaughan, who recalled his Man of the Series performance against India last summer, in which Anderson took 14 wickets in three Tests. “He then played one game in Sri Lanka and got dropped, so he deserves his chance. When you’re in positions like we are, you have to make that gut feeling. He’ll be looking to establish himself for the distant future, and that’s the opportunity for all the players.”England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Michael Vaughan (capt), 3 Andrew Strauss, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Tim Ambrose (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Ryan Sidebottom, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.

West Indies women will tour Netherlands for four one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games between July 1 and 9. This series follows their tour of Ireland in June.They will open with a Twenty20 on July 1 and play two ODIs before breaking for another Twenty20 on July 6. The last two ODIs will be played on July 7 and 9. After that West Indies will travel to England for two ODIs on July 11 and 12.West Indies last toured Netherlands five years ago for the International Women’s Cricket Council Trophy and they won four out of their five matches there. Their last international outing was the World Cup 2005 in South Africa. Netherlands are better prepared for the series, having played the World Cup qualifiers in February.West Indies in Netherlands schedule
July 1 – 1st Twenty20
July 2 – 1st ODI
July 3 – 2nd ODI
July 6 – 2nd Twenty20
July 7 – 3rd ODI
July 9 – 4th ODI

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Sri Lankan opening batsman Malinda Warnapura and captain Mahela Jayawardene struck form against an inexperienced Guyana President’s Select XI (GPS) bowling attack and steered the visitors to 343 for 5 on the opening day of the tour match at the Providence Stadium.Warnapura struck 14 fours and a six before retiring on 132 off 184 balls, while Jayawardene was dismissed for 99 off only 110 deliveries with 12 fours. None of GPS’s bowlers impressed and the attack which contained three Under-19 bowlers – Jason Dawes, Steven Jacobs and Sharmarh Brooks – struggled to contain an experienced Sri Lankan batting like up after choosing to bowl.GPS’s captain Patrick Browne was the most experienced player since choices for the team were restricted because players were participating in the sixth round of Carib Beer Series matches.Warnapura took advantage of an inexperienced new-ball attack – Kemar Roach and Dawes – and added 115 for the first wicket with Michael Vandort. Dawes’ time in the middle was brief, as he pulled up after bowling 2.1 overs and was forced to leave the field. Vandort fell soon after lunch, bowled by legspinner Davendra Bishoo for 29. Kumar Sangakkara added 59 for the second wicket with Warnapura before Brooks bowled him for 22.Jayawardene had a stroke of luck early on when he was dropped on 6 by Roach on the midwicket boundary. At tea, Sri Lanka were 253 for 2 and Warnapura retired during the break to allow Thilan Samaraweera some batting practice. They continued to dominate and put 68 for the third wicket before Jacobs bowled Jayawardene and Samaraweera was run out just before the close.In addition to dropping four catches, the President’s XI were handicapped early in the day when the genuinely quick Jamaican teenage pacer Jason Dawespulled up’ and was forced to leave the field after bowling 2.1 overs.

Johann Myburgh scored 88 off 58 balls to lead Hampshire to a competitive total against Windward Islands, after which Hamza Riazuddin’s four-wicket spell helped secure a narrow victory, and with it a spot in the Caribbean T20 final. Hampshire had a solid start to their innings, with Jimmy Adams and Myburgh adding 47 in 6 overs before Adams was run out. Myburgh provided the acceleration, striking six sixes during his half-century, while James Vince made 36 off 32 balls. Myburgh, who was eventually bowled by Mervin Matthew with the score on 160, was the only batsman dismissed by a Windward bowler. The other three wickets in the score of 166 for 4 were run out.Windward lost Johnson Charles early but Andre Fletcher and Devon Smith steadied the chase. They didn’t score at breakneck speed but they led Windward to 75 in the 10th over, when Riazuddin struck for the first time, getting Smith caught behind. Keddy Lesporis was run out for 6 but Windward were still in it, at 114 for 3, when the 16th over began. In that over, Riazuddin ripped out three wickets, reducing the innings to 116 for 6, and severely broke Windward’s momentum. Riazuddin finished with 4 for 15, and even though Matthew blasted 27 off 15, Windward fell four runs short.Trinidad & Tobago’s passage to the final was easier as they beat Jamaica by eight wickets with 13 balls to spare in the second semi-final. The result ensured T&T’s qualification to the Champions League later this year by virtue of being the best Caribbean side in the competition.Jamaica’s innings failed to take off as wickets fell regularly and the run-rate struggled to rise over six. The top four batsmen fell for less than 20 and strike-rates of less than 100. Wavell Hinds and Andre Russell provided some stability, scoring 23 and 36, but the tail folded after their departures. T&T legspinner Samuel Badree, who opened the bowling, finished with 1 for 15 in four overs, while Ravi Rampaul and Sunil Narine picked up two wickets each. T&T needed only 137 to set up a summit clash with Hampshire.The top order did the job, with Adrian Barath making 37 and Lendl Simmons contributing 51. Darren Bravo continued his impressive form, scoring 25 off 19 balls at No. 3, to lead T&T to 140 for 2 in the 18th over. Of the six bowlers Jamaica used, only Jerome Taylor took a wicket.

NATAL relied on the talents on veterans Eldine Baptiste and Jonty Rhodes toemerge victors by 28 runs from their match against Western Province atKingsmead on Friday.The home side totalled 216-9 before restricting Province to 188 for nine.Neil Johnson, with 48, and Ashwell Prince, the match’s top-scorer with 76not out, were unable to pull it out of the fire for Province.Baptiste, bowling his best for Natal for some time, finished with theimpressive return of 9-3-17-3 and Rhodes added spectacular catches todismiss Johnson and Andrew Puttick to his solid 42 off 45 balls scored whenhis team needed it most.After a stuttering start to their innings, the Natal cause was given a newlease of life by a fifth-wicket stand of 53 off 52 balls between Rhodes andAshraf Mall.They took the score from 55 for four to 108 before Mall steered a widishdelivery from Graeme Smith into the safe hands of Herschelle Gibbs atbackward point. He made a classy 40 in facing 67 balls and hit fourboundaries in rendering fine support to the ever-keen Rhodes.Rhodes mistimed a delivery from Claude Henderson and hit a return catch tothe left-arm spinner.Province were earlier in command and with Roger Telemachus and CharlWilloughby making the early inroads they reduced Natal to 55 to four in the19th over.Rhodes and Mall did their bit to put that right, but then Goolam Bodi wasadjudged run out for 22 and it was 184 for seven. With no third umpire onduty the decision stood although television replays showed Bodi tobe clearly home.The almost forgotten man of the innings was Errol Stewart, who in asupportive role scored 45 not out off 57 balls.After reaching 51 without loss Province stumbled to 52 for three as Jon Kentand Baptiste, who bowled Graeme Smith for one and then trapped HD Ackermanin front with his next ball, rattled the visitors’ top order.Thereafter Johnson lost his momentum and Rhodes took the vital catches todismiss the Zimbabwean and Puttick before the total had reached 100.Half the side was out and the run rate had climbed to a staggering 8.3 perover. From there, only one team was going to win it – and they weren’twearing blue.