Nasir, Ziaur script massive victory for Bangladesh

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNasir Hossain’s timely half-century lifted Bangladesh to a competitive 269 for 8•AFP

Bangladesh came out on top by making fewer mistakes, and ended up crushing Zimbabwe by 121 runs. The home side fell into a sink-hole of wickets in the middle order, from which they never recovered.The material differences between the two teams were Nasir Hossain’s timely 68, which rescued Bangladesh from their own middle-order implosion, and Ziaur Rahman’s five wickets, which damaged the Zimbabwe middle-order badly. It also helped Rahman bring down his bowling average.It was Brendan Taylor’s dismissal for 33 that saw the home side slip from 78 for two in the 15th over to 148 all out in 32.1 overs.Taylor had his offstump rattled by Razzak after batting confidently for 37 deliveries. After a short partnership, Sean Williams was run out after some hesitation with his partner Hamilton Masakadza, who fell for a promising 38 soon after. He was Ziaur Rahman’s first wicket of the day, before the Bangladesh bowler dismissed Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya in quick succession.Chigumbura played a slog off his third ball, while Mominul Haque took a catch to remove Utseya for a duck. Television replays of Utseya’s dismissal weren’t conclusive as the umpires went to the third-umpire for a decision.This was the worst period of play for Zimbabwe’s batting as they lost 5 wickets for 15 runs in 39 balls. The last four of these wickets fell on 93, as Bangladesh took control of the game. Malcolm Waller and Shingi Masakadza added 55 runs for the eighth wicket but Ziaur broke the stand and later took the wicket of Tinashe Panyangara to complete the five-for. Robiul Islam removed Shingi who made 33 to add to his four-wicket haul.Earlier, Nasir held the Bangladesh innings together after they were 94 for 4 in the 22nd over. It was his fifth ODI fifty, and he struck seven fours and a six in his 67-ball innings. He put together two important partnerships too. For the fifth wicket, he and Mominul Haque added 76 off 87 balls in quick time, before Nasir and Mahmudullah put together 44 runs for the sixth wicket.Nasir’s knock was the only element of the innings that wasn’t riddled with mistakes, although his innings ended with a well-timed shot that was caught at deep point. But he dominated the Zimbabwe bowlers despite the situation. He found boundaries regularly, striking the ball very well and piercing the off-side field from the start.Mominul struck three boundaries in his 66-ball 38, which was slightly slower than what was desired at the stage. And not for the first time, he was out playing a ball far from his body.All the main Bangladesh batsmen gave away their wickets to a combination of soft dismissals, poor calling and overall complacency.It began with Tamim Iqbal, who was caught down the legside off Shingi Masakadza in the 14th over. He and Mohammad Ashraful added 65 runs quite confidently but their reticence at playing shots regularly had them getting out in such ordinary manner.Ashraful, too, got out to a poor shot, caught at deep square-leg off Shingi’s next over. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim under-edged to the wicketkeeper after chasing a wide one outside offstump from Masakadza. Three balls later, Shakib Al Hasan was run out after Mominul’s poor call.After he tapped the ball on the offside, Mominul initially called him for the single but stopped him midway through the run. Shakib slipped and before he could run, Malcolm Waller had hit the stumps with an underarm throw.Masakadza was the best Zimbabwe bowler, taking four wickets for 51 runs. It was a frustrating morning session for the home side as they gave away 36 extras, including 18 wides. Masakadza completed his third four-wicket haul in ODIs after he clean bowled Mahmudullah. The beleaguered batsman came out at No. 7 to make 36 off 38 balls with three fours, key to their 88 runs in the final ten overs.

Kenya strike after taking first-innings lead

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCanada finished day three with a 11-run lead over Kenya, with eight wickets in hand. Tanmay Mishra and Rakep Patel had Kenya in a solid position coming into the day, but Canada were able to strike in the first over itself, with Jimmy Hansra, their captain, getting Mishra leg before. Patel continueed to soldier on, as he and Maurice Ouma put on a 98-run partnership, before Ouma fell leg before to Nikhil Dutta. Patel hung around for his maiden first-class century, finishing on 130 as he too fell lbw. Shemi Ngoche and Nelson Odhiambo each contributed 35 as Kenya were finally dismissed for 406. Rayyan Pathan and Hansra finished top wicket-takers with three apiece.Canada, in their reply, got off to a shake start as they lost opener Ruvindu Gunasekera and Nitish Kumar in the space of six balls, to leave them at a precarious 12 for 2. Hiral Patel and Raza-ur-Rehman were left to rebuild the innings, and they put on a restrained 47 runs off 157 balls to help steady the ship.

Ill Warner misses training

David Warner was a notable absentee from Australia’s practice session in Hyderabad on Thursday, struggling again with a bout of gastro. Warner also suffered from gastro during Australia’s second innings of the first Test in Chennai and batted at No.3 instead of taking his regular opening spot.The rest of the squad had its first training session in Hyderabad and were greeted by a pitch that bore a few small cracks and a hint of grass. There was no indication it would be the same kind of surface as they encountered in Chennai, although there was still likely to be plenty in it for the spinners.”I’ve played quite a bit of one-day and Twenty20 cricket here and in those matches, it’s as close as you get to the Gabba around the world,” Shane Watson said before the team arrived at the ground and saw the surface. “It’s a beautiful wicket. There’s true pace and bounce in the wicket so I’m not sure if we’re going to get that exactly.”There’s less chance of it being like the Gabba [for a Test match]. They obviously play very well in those conditions when the ball is turning. They’ve also got the make-up of the side to be able to make the most of those conditions as well. It would not surprise me if the wicket is a bit more conducive to spin bowling than fast bowling.”Australia’s major selection decision over the next two days surrounds the make-up of the attack and whether they should include two spinners, or even replace Nathan Lyon with Xavier Doherty. There is also the possibility that Mitchell Johnson will be considered after the lack of wickets from Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc in Chennai, with Starc the most likely to make way if Johnson is chosen.

Anderson digs deep for final effort

James Anderson is five wickets away from becoming only the fourth England bowler to claim 300 Test scalps, but milestones will not be near the forefront of his mind as he steels his tired body for one last effort in Auckland.Ian Botham, Bob Willis and Fred Trueman are the three who occupy the 300-club and, although globally the figure is not as exclusive as it once was, it will be further validation towards Anderson being one of England’s finest bowlers.Anderson’s journey has not always been smooth. After bursting onto the scene in 2003, he became a fringe player by the end of that year for a period of two more, before suffering a career threatening back injury following attempts to modify his action. It was only when Peter Moores became coach in 2007 that Anderson was given a sustained second chance and since 2008, the previous tour of New Zealand, he has not looked back.From that comeback in Wellington, an excellent career has taken on a number of guises. He has taken 233 wickets at 28.13, the most by any bowler in the world over the same time frame albeit in 14 matches more than second-placed Dale Steyn on 227 scalps. It is, though, further proof as to why those two are talked about in the same breath.He has not been quite at his best in this series – collecting seven wickets at 33.14 – although there have been examples of his skill, including a spell with the second new-ball in Dunedin, which was accompanied by much pent-up frustration, and a burst of reverse swing in Wellington, when he was being buffeted by a strong wind. However, Anderson’s own uncertainty about his numbers shows the pending landmark does not occupy all his thoughts.”It would be a huge achievement. But first of all, I’ve got to get some wickets,” he said. “I think two is the most I’ve got in an innings on this trip. I’m aware of it. But it’s something once I get into the game, I won’t be thinking about.”Yet, if Anderson’s statistics are a guide, an England victory and the 300-landmark could go hand-in-hand. Since returning to the side in 2008 he has averaged 4.82 wickets in matches England have won.There were concerns about Anderson’s fitness during the Wellington Test, where he needed some treatment on a stiff back, but he has benefited from an extra day off due to the rain which curtailed that match. England also did not train on Wednesday except for those who wanted an extra net, which were Nick Compton, Jonny Bairstow and Graham Onions.”When you’ve got just one big Test left, you always manage to find something a little bit extra in the tank – knowing we have got a few weeks off when we get home,” Anderson said. “I feel okay. The rain probably helped in the end, getting an extra day off.”There was expectation before the series that England’s quick bowlers would enjoy a profitable time in New Zealand, but the successes that have come their way – notably Stuart Broad’s 6 for 51 in Wellington – have been hard-earned. That, however, does not come as a surprise to Anderson who has become used to trying to extract wickets in tough conditions.”Test pitches around the world are generally quite flat, and you’ve got to work hard for your victories,” he said. “It’s no different out here. So you can’t say they’re not result pitches … you’ve just got to work hard as a bowler to get 20 wickets in a game.”That’s just the way things are. You have to find different ways of getting people out. You can’t always just steam in and try and roll sides over. You’ve got to use other skills, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do this trip.”Anderson, without doubt, has the skills. Now he just needs to find the energy.

ICC floats window for domestic T20 leagues

English cricket could find itself out of step with the world game after the ICC gave the first clues that it was considering creating space in the international calendar for domestic Twenty20 leagues.At the ICC Board meeting in Dubai the principle was accepted that domestic T20 leagues can add to the game as a whole and that a policy of co-existence should be sought between domestic T20 leagues and international cricket.A working party chaired by Sundar Raman of the BCCI, and including James Sutherland, David Collier and David White, in charge respectively of Australia, England and New Zealand cricket, concluded that the “growth and sustainability of international cricket” should be achieved by “attaining co-existence between domestic T20 leagues and the international game.”If such a belief is implemented across the cricketing calendar, windows could be created for T20 leagues such as the IPL to avoid clashes with international fixtures.That could be good news for the ECB if the Indian board was persuaded to move – and potentially shrink – IPL to avoid a clash with England’s international season – although it is possible that it would be the English season that would be expected to shrink with the possibility of compensation as a result.More striking is that fact that the ECB have proposed a new Twenty20 competition that will not be able to easily slot into a world cricket calendar. From 2014, the tournament will consist of 14 group matches in a consistent schedule, most on Friday nights, throughout the season.Support for a summer-long league was championed by counties such as Somerset and Essex, much to the frustration of some of the Test match counties, many of whom favoured a short-and-sharp format which would have potentially attracted T20 specialists and – if the ECB was persuaded of the advantages of a domestic window – England players.The ECB is conducting its own analysis of its domestic T20 tournament. A working party under the chairmanship of Essex’s Nigel Hilliard has been charged with examining how to freshen up domestic Twenty20, but attracting leading overseas players will be difficult because of the summer-long structure.”You always want the best players in your domestic tournaments for the simple reason that it raises the standard,” Giles White, Hampshire first XI manager, told ESPNcricinfo. “Young players that are coming through can test their skills against the very best which can only be a good thing. We’ve been lucky in the past with some very good overseas players, for example Shahid Afridi who was very instrumental in the development of Danny Briggs.”Without the lure of overseas stars, the ECB working committee, says Hillard, will “think outside the box” to make the game more interesting to spectators, considering changes to the playing conditions for the new tournament.”It is an opportunity to make changes in 2014 when we relaunch the whole thing,” Hilliard told the . “Nothing is off the agenda. We just want to think about how we can improve the competition and see what ideas are out there.”Changes could see restrictions lifted on the number of overs permitted for each bowler and bonus points to promote good pitches, an idea that is favoured by Leicestershire’s chief executive Mike Siddall.”We need to be playing on pitching where sides are capable of scoring 180 rather than 130,” Siddall said. “You want hard, flat wickets where the batsman is in the ascendency – that’s what the crowd wants. You can have all the background entertainment but the thing that matters is the onfield entertainment – that’s what draws the crowds.”Attendances at T20 have started to fall and we don’t know exactly why that is. There is a feeling that Twenty20 isn’t hitting the sweet spot as it was in the early days.”Siddall said the notion of franchise cricket had probably run its course. “We’ve looked at the franchise idea and there was a big feeling a few years ago that it might happen but now that it hasn’t happened by now probably almost means that it won’t happen. Unless you can attract the top players to play in this country, the franchise arrangement won’t work.”The ECB appears to be ploughing a lone furrow with their season-long model for T20 but, having created Twenty20 cricket in 2003, 2014 could be the time for further progress.”We need to learn what others are doing, in cricket and in other sports and take that to another level,” said Jamie Clifford, Kent’s chief executive. “We’ve now got quite a lot of test beds in terms of what can work both inside the ground and what it looks like on the TV.”Watching IPL, Big Bash, the game is presented well. More mic’d-up players, more interaction, a player’s eye view, boundary interviews and that sort of thing to draw the viewer in to what’s going on, so it’s not just bat versus ball there’s some context to it and a greater level of engagement.”With our audience it’s a longer summer and it can sustain a competition throughout the course of the season and gives us counties better opportunity to market each match as an occasion. And if we can’t get the top overseas players we have a responsibility to do all we can to make sure the customer is engaged.”

Hafeez wants Pakistan to play more Tests

Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s Test vice captain, has urged the PCB to schedule more Test matches for the national team because he believes it is the format that helps produce quality cricketers. In the last five years, Pakistan have played 35 Tests, more than only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. England, in comparison, played 63.”It’s unfortunate that we get less Test matches,” Hafeez said in Karachi. “We played three Tests in January [2012] and then three in June, and again after six months we will play in South Africa, which is hard on us. I would urge the board to take up this issue and try to schedule more Test matches for us because I believe players only develop by playing Test matches.”Test cricket produces good quality cricketers, like we have found Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. We need to promote Test cricket but if we play only six Tests in a year then it will be tough. I think PCB needs to fight for more Tests in the next fixture because you get quality cricketers from Test cricket.”According to the ICC’s FTP, Pakistan are scheduled to play 88 Tests between 2012 and 2020. They will play ten Tests in 2013 and then face a five to six-month break before hosting Australia for three Tests in October 2014. Pakistan have had to play their home Tests at off-shore venues such as England and the UAE after the Sri Lankan team was attacked by terrorists in Lahore in March 2009.Pakistan’s last Test series was in Sri Lanka in June and July and they head to South Africa later this month for a three-match contest, which begins on February 1. Their previous tour to South Africa was in 2007, and of this current squad only Hafeez, Younis Khan and Faisal Iqbal were in that tour party.”A Test series in South Africa will be challenging because the conditions are different. We played there in 2007 but this time we are carrying an entirely new combination,” Hafeez said. “We are going there ten days in advance and have a side match before the Test so it will give us some good preparation. They have a good combination of batting and bowling but we too are going there after winning our series in India, which has lifted our morale a lot.”Pakistan selectors on Friday named two rookie fast bowlers – Mohammad Irfan and Ehsan Adil – for the South Africa tour, along with Junaid Khan and Umar Gul. “It’s a decision of the selection committee,” said Hafeez, accepting his “side is short of another fast bowler” but he was confident this attack, which includes spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, would fare well in South Africa.”We have an emerging bowler in Junaid Khan and then Umar Gul is very experienced,” Hafeez said. “Mohammad Irfan is also progressing well.”

Ford expects better in Adelaide

Sri Lanka’s coach Graham Ford has criticised his team for sloppiness in the field and between the wickets during their opening ODI loss to Australia, stressing that both departments must improve if the visitors are to achieve parity in the series with a victory in Adelaide on Sunday.Facing an Australian side lacking numerous luminaries, including the captain Michael Clarke and the opening batsman David Warner, Sri Lanka allowed the hosts to post a muscular 5 for 305 before tossing away their chance at getting near to the target by surrendering three wickets to run outs. Ford was concerned by both the issues between the wickets and a lack of consistent pressure with the ball.”We know we’re a better side than that in the field,” Ford said before the team’s departure from Melbourne. “We dished up some fairly easy boundary balls which released pressure for the batters. The game plan is to try to build pressure and when you’re releasing it every couple of overs it puts up on the back foot.”The new field-place restrictions, we found that a little bit hard and maybe the fielders didn’t support the bowlers as well as they could have. The problem is we did just give away too many easy boundary balls.”Both Australia and Sri Lanka had been bedevilled by run outs during the recent Test series and the pattern was maintained at the MCG, though the hosts’ loss of Usman Khawaja proved far less ruinous than the trio – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirmanne – lost by the tourists during their chase.”There’s been a bit of discussion. There was some good fielding which contributed to some of them,” Ford said. “When you’re chasing a score like that, you just can’t have the guts of your batting taken out through run outs. The pleasing thing is that quite a number of our batsmen look in good form and played really nicely but to give away three wickets to run outs makes the job almost impossible.”Eyebrows were raised at the indifferent showing of Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis in Melbourne, after both had been considered major inclusions to the Sri Lankan limited overs XI following the Tests. Ford expressed hope that neither would lose confidence as a result, suggesting both would be better for the run in Adelaide.”As far as their confidence goes, I certainly hope not,” Ford said. “They all showed at times how classy they are as bowlers but one or two overs got away from them which made their figures look a little bit nasty.”We always knew we were up against some high-class one-day cricketers. You just can’t afford to be off your game at all against players of that calibre. I don’t think anything’s changed. I don’t think there’s any sort of intimidation. We know we’re up against a good team.”You want to get on the scoresheet. We want to get out and play some good cricket and show that we’re a good team. The next game is really, really important.”

Bates slams ton in big win

Scorecard
Suzie Bates’s unbeaten 122 helped New Zealand complete the chase in the the 45th over•Getty Images

An unbeaten century by Suzie Bates led New Zealand to a comfortable eight-wicket win against Australia in the first match of the Rose Bowl at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Chasing 249, New Zealand lost opener Lucy Doolan in the seventh over, but Bates found solid support from Amy Satterthwaite as the two put on 168 runs for the second wicket at almost a run a ball. Satterthwaite fell for 98, but Bates carried on, got to her century with a boundary, and completed the chase in the 45th over in the company of Sara McGlashan.Australia had earlier chosen to bat and had slipped to 4 for 97 in the 20th over with Rachel Candy picking up two big wickets of Jess Cameron and Lisa Sthalekar. Opening batsman Meg Lanning, who was unbeaten at this stage, stabilised the innings with a half-century, but three more wickets fell for nine runs reducing Australia to 7 for 157. An 80-run recovery stand between Jodie Fields, who scored 51, and Erin Osborne took the team to relative safety and helped them set a competitive target. Candy was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 35.The second ODI of the four match series will be played on December 14 in Sydney.

Patterson responds for Yorkshire

ScorecardSteven Patterson’s four wickets helped bowl Glamorgan our for 272•Getty Images

Yorkshire’s quest for one of the victories which would be likely to secure promotion to Division One of the County Championship was looking a lot healthier at the end of the first day at Headingley than it was half way through it. After Glamorgan’s openers put on 124 Yorkshire worked their way doggedly through the remainder of their side and dismissed them for the addition of only 148 more runs. Adam Lyth and Joe Root then saw out six uneventful overs while chipping 20 runs out of the visitors’ lead.With the September early start, and a green tinged pitch, Andrew Gale, upon winning the toss, chose to field. At lunch time, with bottom side Glamorgan 103 without loss, he must have been wondering whether that had been a wise choice, and the plethora of desperate and unsuccessful lbw appeals in the 40 minutes before and after the interval spoke loudly of Yorkshire’s frustration. However, by the close of play and as a result of a dogged display in the field, they had worked their way into a position from which to build confidently tomorrow.Ryan Sidebottom came into the Yorkshire side at the expense of Adil Rashid, but neither he nor Steven Patterson threatened significantly during their opening spells. Indeed by midday Gale had turned to off spinner Azeem Rafiq, with no immediate success.The Glamorgan trail was blazed by Will Bragg, who played beautifully on both sides of the wicket. His partner Nick James was content to prop up his end, and by lunch time, benefitting from one of three missed chances close to the wicket in Glamorgan’s innings, had scored 32 to Bragg’s 69.20 minutes after lunch Yorkshire finally broke through, James edging Sidebottom to give Andy Hodd the first of four straightforward catches in the innings. Bragg moved on to 92, his best first class score of the season, before edging Steven Patterson behind. What followed was a collapse that put into perspective the excellence of the opening partnership.Young David Lloyd, making his first class debut, fell to the same Patterson and Hodd combination without scoring. Australian Stewart Walters made 42, but only after being dropped in successive overs by Gary Ballance and Andy Hodd. Adam Lyth soon sent him on his way, though, taking a very sharp chance one handed at slip off Azeem Rafiq.After that three wickets fell in the space of 20 balls. Anthony McGrath chipped in with two of them, Joe Allenby falling to another outstanding Lyth catch after the ball deflected off the wicketkeeper’s gloves. Allenby had looked dangerous, whacking his fourth ball from Rafiq straight for six, and then cover driving the same bowler for four, but he was one of several who made a start but was unable to capitalise on it. Graham Wagg was one of three Glamorgan players to fall without scoring, and although skipper Mark Wallace made his way to 29, he was caught brilliantly at forward short-leg by Phil Jaques off Rafiq. While the last two wickets added 36 runs the total of 272 was still some way below par.

Kallis to play World Twenty20

South Africa’s World T20 squad

AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Jacques Kallis is set to make a Twenty20 international comeback, having been selected in the South Africa squad that will travel to Sri Lanka for the World Twenty20 in September. Kallis was last a regular member of the side in mid-2010, during South Africa’s tour of the West Indies.AB de Villiers will lead the squad. Graeme Smith, who was picked in the 30 probables, has not made the final 15. Fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who were rested for the triangular Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in June, return for the marquee tournament.Marchant de Lange, the 21-year-old quick, has not made the squad due to injury. He had sustained a lower back injury during the Twenty20 triangular series, missing the ongoing Test series in England as a result.”We have had basically the same squad together for the past year and many of them also produced stand-out performances at the Indian Premier League,” Cricket South Africa’s selection convener, Andrew Hudson, said. “[They] will have excellent preparation for the World Twenty20 by finishing the England tour with three [Twenty20] matches there. They may be playing on a different surface to that they will find in Sri Lanka, but they will be able to hone their Twenty20-specific skills.”Kallis was part of the IPL-winning Kolkata Knight Riders this year, scoring 409 runs in 17 games. He provided the team with solidity at the top of the order all through their successful campaign, and produced a vital 69 off 49 in the final, to help Knight Riders chase down 191 against Chennai Super Kings. He also put in a solid showing with the ball, aggregating 15 wickets in the tournament, to finish second on Knight Riders’ bowling charts.

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