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Scorecard

A late-order fightback by Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Sami ensured Pakistan A ended the second day of the second Test against Australia A on 238 for 8 after resuming on 22 for 3.The day did not start well for Pakistan as they lost their fourth wicket for the addition of only three runs when Khurram Manzoor, who was included in the team in place of Hasan Raza, became Doug Bollinger’s second victim and Luke Ronchi’s fourth catch of the innings. Naved Latif then formed an 86-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Faisal Iqbal, Pakistan’s captain, as Pakistan crossed the 100-mark without any further loss.Naved, however, was run out after scoring 41 with the help of three fours and two sixes as Pakistan lost another quick wicket in the form of Mansoor Amjad, who made 10. When Faisal was caught by Cameron White off the bowling of Stuart MacGill for a patient 74, Australia looked set for a sizeable lead.Sarfraz (56 not out) and Sami (32), however, played some aggressive strokes to ease the pressure and took Pakistan within 56 runs of Australia’s first-innings total when Sami was cleaned up by Bollinger.Sarfraz will resume with Tahir Khan at the crease and Mohammad Khalil to follow as the hosts will try hard to extend their innings and push for victory in order to draw the two-match series. Australia won the first Test by an innings and 203 runs.

The road to the 2011 World Cup continues for six teams with the start of the ICC World Cricket League Division Two in Windhoek, Namibia this weekend. The hosts, as well as Argentina, Denmark, Oman, Uganda and United Arab Emirates will battle it out over a week of action at three venues around the city.And at stake are four places in the World Cup Qualifier (formerly the ICC Trophy) in the UAE in 2009, the tournament that will determine which of the leading ICC Associate and Affiliate teams will go to the World Cup in the Asian subcontinent two years later. For five of the teams in Windhoek, it is a road they have travelled down before as Denmark, Namibia, Oman, Uganda and the UAE all played in the ICC Trophy in 2005 but failed to reach this year’s competition.However, Namibia (2003 in Southern Africa) and the UAE (1996 in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) have both reached World Cup finals so they should know exactly what is at stake and what sort of rewards are on offer to the successful sides.The new kids on the block are Argentina, a country basking in the glory of its success in the recent rugby World Cup where they reached the semi-finals and finished third.The cricketers have done just as well in many senses because, as late replacements for the United States of America in the ICC WCL Div.3 event earlier this year in Darwin, they were not expected to make many headlines. On paper, at least, the likes of Fiji, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and the Cayman Islands all looked likely finalists alongside the fancied Uganda, and there were also Italy and Tanzania to consider.But Argentina proceeded to rip up the formbook and won through to the final before losing out to Uganda, the other side to earn promotion from that event which gave both line-ups their tickets to Windhoek. It will be fascinating to see if Argentina can continue their journey or whether they will get stopped in their tracks by some of the more experienced sides on show.Explaining the significance of the World Cricket League and how the Windhoek tournament fits in, ICC global development manager Matthew Kennedy said: “The idea of the WCL is to give each of the ICC’s 91 Associate and Affiliate Members a clearly defined pathway to progress and develop in world cricket. Apart from Division 1, which involves the top six Associate sides, the next best teams from the ICC Trophy 2005 have been allocated to Division 2 and 3 events along with the top teams from each of five regional qualifying events.”It means that regular global one-day cricket opportunities are no longer confined to just the top sides in the LG ODI Championship table and this tournament in Windhoek is an example of that. Our belief is that by exposing these sides to different opponents and different conditions they will improve and take that improvement back into their own domestic structures thereby helping our strong sport grow even stronger by broadening its base to a significant degree.”With places up for grabs in the World Cup Qualifier, the incentives and rewards for teams to improve have never been greater and I wish all the sides in action in Namibia the best of luck in what should be a terrific tournament and a great advertisement for Associate and Affiliate cricket.”

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.

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.

India’s chances of fighting back from the 1-0 deficit against Australia have been dealt a huge blow with the news that Zaheer Khan, who missed the second Test in Sydney with a left heel injury, has been ruled out of the entire series. He has been ruled out for four to six weeks and will leave for India tomorrow while his replacement VRV Singh, the right-arm medium fast bowler, will fly to Australia on Friday.Zaheer has been India’s leading bowler over the last year – in nine Tests in 2007, he took 41 wickets at 25.73, including a nine-wicket haul in India’s win in Nottingham. However, he has also been plagued by fitness concerns. His current injury, which cropped up during practice a day before the second Test, was the same one that kept him out of the third Test against Pakistan in Bangalore last month.Zaheer first picked up the injury during the one-dayers in England in August. He had a similar fitness problem on India’s last tour to Australia in 2003-04, pulling out of the second Test in Adelaide with hamstring trouble, playing the third match and then missing the fourth. He also pulled a muscle in his right leg during India’s next tour, to Pakistan, and was forced to fly home after the first Test in Multan.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said Sreesanth and Munaf Patel were not considered as neither had proved his match fitness. Munaf is recovering from back spasms that had ruled him out of the third Test against Pakistan.A shoulder injury has kept Sreesanth out of international cricket since the ODI series against Pakistan in November. He has ignored doctors’ advice to undergo surgery and has instead opted for ayurvedic treatment. The two have been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on Friday, where they will work with Dav Whatmore. Sreesanth said he has been bowling at the nets and feels good about his recovery. “Even today I bowled at the NCA indoor nets,” Sreesanth said.These injuries are the latest in a series of fitness concerns for India’s fast bowlers. John Gloster, the team’s physiotherapist, had sent a 14-page report to the Indian board regarding the injuries suffered by the players. He said most players were forced to go through games carrying niggles because there was simply no time for them to either recover from injuries or do the rehabilitation work needed.VRV last played for India in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in May last year. He has taken 15 wickets at 33.26 in four Ranji matches for Punjab this season. He said the call-up was a godsend and that his experience of Australian conditions – he was one of three to receive the annual Border-Gavaskar scholarship in 2005 – would be valuable.”I was in Australia two years back and have some knowledge about the nature of pitches there,” he told . “I will play according to my strength and bowl according to the nature of the wicket. I hope to perform and do well.”

Chennai Superstars 155 for 8 (Harvey 36, Law 34) beat Chandigarh Lions 143 for 8 (TP Singh 35, Hall 30*, Shabbir 4-23) by 12 runs
Scorecard

Chennai Superstars became the champions of the inaugural ICL tournament, with all-round team work helping them beat the Chandigarh Lions by 12 runs. After being put into bat, the Superstars made 155 for 8 which seemed to be short of their expectations, but Shabbir Ahmed tamed the Lions with his 4 for 23, which included the first hat-trick of the tournament.The grand finale lived up to its reputation with a Super Bowl-like atmosphere: a fashion show, Bollywood stars, a full house, fireworks, and big hits. Panchkula, on the outskirts of Chandigarh, was alive and reverberating. Sadly, only part of the cricket matched the entertainment off the field.Shabbir packed off the Lions’ openers quickly. Imran Farhat’s slash ended in the hands of wicketkeeper Chris Read and Hamish Marshall’s waft at a beautiful outswinger gave Read his second catch. 19 for 2 quickly became 30 for 3 when Manish Sharma’s lofted on-drive was snapped by S Saravanan just a yard from the boundary.TP Singh along with Dinesh Mongia then did the repair work with Singh adapting well to the frequent changes in the bowling made by the Superstars’ captain, Stuart Law. But just when the Lions seemed to have turned a corner, Singh’s paddle sweep landed in the hands of Thiru Kumaran at short leg.Mongia, who had played a crucial knock in the semi-final, seemed to be doing an encore but Law once again played his card smartly bringing back his match-winner Shabbir. The Pakistani struck twice getting Mongia and Chetan Sharma off consecutive balls. Mongia tried to defend an offcutter which took his off stump while Sharma was out lbw, rapped in line with the leg stump. It completed a hat-trick for Shabbir who had got Marshall off the last ball of his second over.Cairns, the danger man, was done in by a beauty from Harvey; bowling wide of the crease, Harvey sneaked one past the strong defence of Cairns. Andrew Hall and Sarabjit Singh tried their best to fight back but they could not match the mounting asking-rate or Law’s shrewd thinking. In the process, the Superstars lived up to the billing of being the form team, with five victories in the seven games they played.Batting first, the Superstars failed to capitalise on an enterprising start given by Ian Harvey, who finished as the tournament’s leading run-getter, and G Vignesh. After Vignesh holed out to cover, Read walked in and sent a fuller one from Hall to the cover boundary. Harvey punched one in the gap between cover and mid-off against Amit Uniyal, the left-arm seamer, who tried to angle one away but pitched it short. A slow ball which came out as a full toss was pushed past Cairns to mid-off for another boundary.Mongia, who was brought on in the seventh over, soon had a smile on his face as on his second ball, Read was run out while attempting a cheeky single. Russel Arnold fell soon after, but,Harvey remained unruffled at the other end.His immaculately-timed punch off Cairns forced mid-off to be pushed back. Cairns then had to swallow the pain first of a no-ball and then bowling Harvey on the resulting free-hit. But Harvey’s cup of luck had run dry; he pushed an innocuous Mongia delivery to the unguarded leg side, but wicketkeeper Sarabjit Singh rushed to short leg and picked and threw in one motion to run Harvey out.Harvey’s departure slowed the scoring, as the Superstars could manage only 30 runs between overs 10 and 15. Hall lived to his death-bowler reputation giving away only four runs in the final over which saw two run-outs, including that of a desperate Law trying to finish a tight double. Even if the Superstars might have thought they fell short by at least 20 runs, in the end Shabbir’s bowling clinched the title and the US$1 million prize money.

2nd dayJames Tomlinson took 5 for 78 – his second five-wicket haul of his career – as Hampshire bowled out Worcestershire for 289 to gain a sizeable first innings lead of 155 at Kidderminster. Hampshire were finally bowled out for 444 after Shane Warne, the captain, belted a quickfire 46 from 30 balls. And they carried forward the momentum with an early wicket in Worcestershire’s reply, Tomlinson having Daryl Mitchell caught behind for a duck. Before long, Hampshire had reduced them to 88 for 5 but Steven Davies (84) and Abdul Razzaq rescued Worcestershire from the mire with a sixth-wicket stand of 122. Razzaq was the last man out for 78, and Hampshire built upon their lead before stumps.1st daySussex took control of the key clash against Yorkshire with Michael Yardy’s 119 helping them to 386 for 5 at Hove. Yardy and Richard Montgomerie (73) added 178 for the second wicket as Sussex ensured they had a platform from which they could build a large total for their spinners to bowl at. Yardy, who made his second Championship century of the season, then added 79 with Murray Goodwin before Adil Rashid removed both in quick succession. However the runs kept flowing as Andy Hodd and Robin Martin-Jenkins built another partnership.

Ed Smith’s 111 was the main contribution for Middlesex as they built a solid total against Gloucestershire at Bristol. The innings wobbled on 81 for 3 during the morning session, but Smith, with his third century, added 174 with Eoin Morgan (76). After they both fell within 10 runs, Ben Scott and Tim Murtagh added 99 to put Middlesex on course for full batting points. Scott ended the day unbeaten on 76.Already promoted Somerset took control against Essex at Chelmsford as Charl Willoughby helped rout the home side for 144 before building a lead of 140. Willoughby made excellent use of the new ball as Essex fell to 13 for 3 and they never recovered. Peter Trego struck two blows in the middle order before the spinners and Willoughby did the rest of the damage. Tom Westley, the England Under-19 batsman, played a lone hand with 72. In reply, Somerset raced out of the blocks as Marcus Trescothick (59) and Neil Edwards (54) added 114. Danish Kaneria shouldered a heavy burden, with six wickets, and James Hildreth’s half-century pulled Somerset further away.Northamptonshire were indebted to Nicky Boje’s fine 125 to heave them up to 310 on the first day against Leicestershire at Grace Road. But Boje apart, Northamptonshire’s batsmen struggled; the next highest score was Lance Klusener with an uncharacteristically patient 45. Ryan Cummins was the principle wicket-taker and picked up his maiden five-wicket haul with 5 for 60. Tom New and John Maunders, the Leicestershire openers, put on 57 without alarm and go into the second day trailing by 253.

Scorecard

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.

Scorecard

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.

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.