North, Central Zone to meet in BCL final

North Zone 291 (Sajidul 76, Sanjamul 73, Ziaur 4-32) and 362 for 7 dec (Mushfiqur 89, Razzak 3-129) beat South Zone 205 (Soumya 51, Saqlain 6-74) and 278 (Sohag 85, Saqlain 4-90) by 170 runs
Scorecard

North Zone qualified for the Bangladesh Cricket League final after a 170-run win over South Zone in Mirpur. The game would have shaped into a thrilling finish but it tapered into a one-sided contest after the South Zone batsmen capitulated on the final morning.

In fact, the game had been in North's control after they had bowled out South for 205 runs in the first innings, taking a lead of 86 runs. Saqlain Sajib took 6 for 74, and the impressive left-arm spinner added four more in the second innings as South were skittled out for 278 runs.

North had a better second innings than the first, with Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain contributing with eighties while Farhad Reza blasted an unbeaten 75. In the first innings, it was Sajidul Islam and Sanjamul Islam's 127-run ninth wicket stand that gave North a total to bowl at after they had slipped to 125 for 8 on the first day.

Central Zone 655 for 7 dec (Ayub 289, Mehrab Hossain jnr 218) drew with East Zone 396 for 8 (Faisal 92, Shahadat 3-73)
Scorecard

Marshall Ayub made the second highest score in Bangladesh first-class history when he made 289 in Central Zone's drawn game against East Zone in Bogra, which also helped his team to the final of the competition against North Zone. But strikingly, Ayub is now part of the highest-ever partnership in the country by adding 494 runs for the fifth wicket with Mehrab Hossain jnr, the second highest of all-time fifth-wicket stands.

Left-handed Mehrab also scored a double-hundred on the featherbed at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium but the pair joined at the crease after Central slipped to 56 for 4 in the 22nd over of their first innings. They slowly batted out the first day, and then the second before falling in the first session of the third day. Mehrab made 218 with 27 fours and two sixes while the right-handed Ayub struck 30 boundaries and four sixes in his 289.

Ayub was also part of the 420-run partnership that this pair broke, and has also crossed the 1,000-run mark in first-class cricket this season. Mehrab too has been among the runs, making 500-plus in the National Cricket League and is now second behind Ayub in the scorers' list in this tournament.

Apart from individual records, Central got what they needed from this game - enough points - to make it to the final. East Zone's first innings did not end as they made 396 for 8 on the final day with Faisal Hossain top-scoring with 92.

The final of the tournament will be held after the Bangladesh Premier League concludes on February 19.

Rasool takes Lahore Ravi to innings win

Lahore Ravi 414 for 4 (Abid Ali 202*, Adnan Akmal 86) beat Quetta 236 (Abbas 117, Rasool 5-67) and 106 f/o (Khalil 5-44, Rasool 4-22) by an innings and 72 runs
Scorecard

Lahore Ravi got their first win of the season after Adnan Rasool took nine wickets in the match to inflict an innings defeat on Quetta at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Quetta were 213 for 7 in their first innings when they started the fourth day and needed another 51 to avoid follow-on. But their tail was wiped out for the next 23 runs and they had to bat again.

In the second innings, the duo of Rasool and Mohammad Khalil ran through their batting to dismiss them for 106. This win was set up by Lahore Ravi's batsmen, who scored 414 for 4 in the first innings after being put in to bat. Abid Ali was unbeaten with a double century, his highest first-class score which got them a huge first-innings lead.

Bahawalpur 216 (Rafiq 55, Jamal 6-80) and 296 (K Hussain 79, Jamal 5-96) drew with Abbottabad 337 (Hameed 103, Hussain 3-75) and 70 for 2
Scorecard

Abbottabad may not have chased their target of 176 on the last day, but their first-innings lead of 121 runs got them three points out of a drawn match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. After Bahawalpur started the last day on 96 for 3, Abbottabad did well to restrict them to 296, but fell short of time to chase the target. Ahmed Jamal followed his first innings figures of 6 for 80 with 5 for 96 in the second innings.

When Bahawalpur were put in to bat on the first day, half-centuries from Moinuddin and Rehan Rafiq took them to a total of 216. Abbottabad, however, were led by captain Yasir Hameed, who scored 103, and ensured they got a first innings lead which leaves them at the fourth place in Group II.

Faisalabad 265 (Salman 76*, Cheema 5-64) and 47 for 0 drew with Lahore Shalimar 458 (U Akmal 107, Butt 92, Asad 4-117)
Scorecard

Lahore Shalimar scored 458 to take three points from a huge first-innings lead against Faisalabad in a drawn match played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Umar Akmal scored a century, supported by half-centuries from Imran Butt and Mohammad Zohaib which helped them take a lead.

When Faisalabad were put in to bat, Aizaz Cheema struck five times to keep them to 265 out of which Moazzam Hayat (47) and Mohammad Salman (76*)scored respectable scores. The three points take Shalimar's total tally to 12, taking them to second position in Group II.

Peshawar 194 (Fayyaz 75, Hussain 5-40) and 294 for 5 (Israrullah 127, Rizwan 89, Maqsood 4-62) drew with Multan 340 (Yasin 141, Nazir 105*, Sajjad 6-62)
Scorecard

A 214-run partnership between Israrullah and Mohammad Rizwan helped Peshawar draw the match with Multan at the Multan Cricket Stadium. After conceding a 146-run first-innings lead, Peshawar batted out the entire last day to secure a draw.

Earlier, Peshawar were dismissed for 194 after being asked to bat which put them on the backfoot. This was followed by hundreds from Naved Yasin and Ahsan Nazir which gave Multan a first-innings lead and eventually three points. Peshawar were under pressure when they came out to bat but their top order ensured they were not dismissed again.

Confidence the main plus for Cook

It will be a big stretch to compare England's Rajkot ODI win to the famous Mumbai Test victory in November but the common factor in both is that Alastair Cook and his men have beaten India in conditions where the home side were expected to flourish.

The Rajkot victory also gains in significance given England's abysmal recent ODI run in India; James Tredwell showing again that there is talent besides Graeme Swann in England's offspin department; the handy debut for Joe Root; and the winning start for new limited-overs coach Ashley Giles.

"It is important, for the main reason that it gives us the confidence," Cook said at the post-match conference, which took place amid a deafening fireworks show. "I mean it's pretty much the same squad that we had last time out here when we lost 5-0. So to get an early win, especially in the first game, it proves to themselves that they can play in these conditions. You know it's hard, you know it's tough and it's different - but I thought the way we fought out there, we're going to have to do that again in the other games."

The victory, though, hasn't changed Cook's pre-series view that India are favourites. "I think we're still clear underdogs just because of the fact that this is India's home conditions and they're so strong at home."

What will be particularly pleasing for England is the performance of Tredwell, who removed four of the top five batsmen to grab his second Man-of-the-Match award in the two ODIs he has played in India. Swann and Monty Panesar outbowled India's spinners in the Test series and this time it was the turn of Tredwell to show the hosts' tweakers how it is done. "We know what Tredders does," Cook said. "To get four from there is really a brilliant effort." The "there" was a reference to a belter of a track where most bowlers struggled to make an impact.

Tredwell had support from an unexpected quarter. Root, the Yorkshire batsman who showed his tenacity with the bat on Test debut in Nagpur, sent down a series of tidy offspin overs to pull back India after their fast start, showing enough ability to hint that he could be counted on to bowl a few overs regularly. "We think of him as a batsman, he's in there to score runs," Cook said, after Root didn't get to bat on debut. "Clearly, with the start we got, we needed the power hitters to come in next but there'll be other times when he'll bat at the top of the order. It's a big bonus that he can bowl more than useful offspinners."

Starc's sore calf opens door for Richardson

Mitchell Starc is out of the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Sunday and may miss further matches beyond after complaining of calf soreness following Australia's opening win at the MCG. The South Australian fast bowler Kane Richardson has been called into the squad as cover.

As the most durable of Australia's young fast bowlers over the past year, Starc has played successfully for the national side across three formats without injury since his Test debut against New Zealand in late 2011. However his spell of six overs in Melbourne, returning the figures of 1 for 25, resulted in the calf complaint.

The injury marks an unfortunate point in the summer for Australia's fast bowlers, meaning every paceman in the first Test squad of the season has suffered an injury of some kind. James Pattinson was first to break down with a side injury, Peter Siddle missed the Perth Test due to a hamstring problem, and Josh Hazlewood had foot stress hot spots uncovered while bowling in the WACA ground nets. Ben Hilfenhaus suffered side injury in Hobart, Shane Watson fell prey to a calf strain in Melbourne, and now Starc has suffered similarly.

While the Australian team physio Alex Kountouris described the problem as minor, calf trouble is infamously stubborn, as Watson can attest after suffering a string of the injuries in recent times. "Mitchell Starc had some mild right calf soreness after the match at the MCG last night," Kountouris said.

"Whilst we are not majorly concerned about it, we have withdrawn him from the game on Sunday as a precaution. He will be reassessed over the next few days and is a possibility to play next weekend's matches against Sri Lanka if his symptoms resolve."

If Starc's withdrawal is another blow to Australia's efforts to reduce the amount of injuries suffered by their fast bowlers, Richardson's call-up is a reward for some of the more eye-catching performances in domestic limited overs matches this summer, including one haul of 6 for 48 at Adelaide Oval.

"Kane has been called in as cover in the squad due to his impressive form in the limited overs formats this season," the national selector John Inverarity said. "This provides another great opportunity for a young player as we look to build towards Cricket World Cup in 2015."

A part of Australia's winning Under 19 World Cup team in 2010, 21-year-old Richardson has impressed many with his speed, aggression and the ability to fire in a mean yorker. He may now get the chance to debut for Australia on his home ground.

Pakistan T20 League not to be underestimated - Lorgat

Haroon Lorgat, the former ICC chief executive, has said the value of the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL), Pakistan's franchise-based Twenty20 competition, could be in "excess of $100 million". Lorgat, who was involved by the PCB to assist the board in setting up the league, was speaking during a PCB ceremony in Lahore to unveil the logo for the PSL which is scheduled to be launched on March 26 this year.

"People should not underestimate the potential of the Twenty20 league in Pakistan," Lorgat said. "With the rising popularity of T20 cricket, every ICC member country has the right to host its own professional league. Pakistan has done hardwork and I hope with foreign players' participation, perceptions about the country will change. I can see a lot of work has been done in parallel against many odds, but certainly this league will be come into reality shortly."

The PCB announced that each team in the PSL would be allowed to sign a maximum of six overseas players and would include 10 local cricketers plus two emerging players.

The tournament would be played over 15 days between five teams and would involve a total of 23 matches for the first three years. The matches will be played at a single venue, with teams playing each other twice in a league format before the top four teams qualify for semi-finals. The PCB has ambitious plans to expand the league in the fourth year to eight teams and a 59-match tournament.

Although the names of the region/city-based franchises or the list of companies interested in buying these franchises were not revealed, the PCB is hopeful of completing the franchise-auction process and signing a broadcast deal before the end of February.

"A lot of hard work has been put in place to develop the PSL," Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman said. "The objective is to recognise the growth of T20 cricket around the world, encourage our cricketers and give them the exposure to the grass-root talent in the country. It will also provide opportunity to foreign players to compete in Pakistan."

Plenty of Indian problems to resolve

One of India's major problems in the just-concluded ODI series against Pakistan was the repeated top-order collapses against some high-quality bowling from Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan. Even Virat Kohli, who has had as purple a patch in ODIs as anyone has ever had, faltered. Virender Sehwag is already a casualty, and his limited-overs career is at a crossroads, if not an end. Gautam Gambhir's weakness against the moving ball was in the limelight once again, prompting murmurs over his place in the side as well.

India have also only had two 50-run opening stands in 19 ODIs over the past 12 months, something they are trying to fix by bringing in Ajinkya Rahane, who is set for an extended run after an eternity carrying drinks.

"The stats suggest that for quite some time we have not got off to a very good," MS Dhoni said ahead of the first ODI against England in Rajkot. "Yes, the openers have been scoring runs on and off, but we have not been able to get a good partnership between them. One of them has been getting out. We are hoping to get good starts in this series. Jinx [Rahane] is the new opener. He has played on and off and done decently well."

Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh were two others who had series to forget against Pakistan but one thing in favour of some of the struggling batsmen is that Rajkot is synonymous with big runs, regularly in the news for the latest colossal score from Ravindra Jadeja or Cheteshwar Pujara.

India's totals in the previous two ODIs in the city, though at the old Madhavrao Scindia Stadium, are 414 for 7 and 387 for 5. Though Friday's match will be played at the swank new ground in the city's outskirts, that too promises to be full of runs. The last limited-overs tournament played here was the Challenger Trophy, where not only were 300-plus scores the norm, those totals were almost chased down on occasions as well.

The flip side of a flat track is the magnifying lens it puts on bowlers. While the batting is brimful of experience, several of the quick bowlers are in the infancy of their international careers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was outstanding in his debut Twenty20 in Bangalore last month and sparked plenty of excitement, but at his military-medium pace, on tracks with little movement, he could be in for a difficult time. Shami Ahmed has had only one game so far and Ishant Sharma's propensity to leak runs has meant he hasn't been a regular in the ODI side for nearly three years.

One other plus for India is that Dhoni's personal form was exceptional in the Pakistan series, as it has been for much of his ODI career, providing some welcome respite for the under-fire captain. "I never question my ability… Self-belief is something that's very important. Especially in a team sport, it's important that everybody keeps believing in themselves and understands the roles and responsibilities they've got."

It has been a difficult month for Dhoni, with only two days to digest the morale-sapping Test series defeat to England before shifting his focus to the Twenty20s, two days after which cricketing ties with India's bitterest rivals resumed. Now, just three days after Pakistan left as victors, he's back at the start of a new series. And if he thought the England ODIs would be somewhat low-profile, he would have changed his mind after seeing the thousands who turned up outside the team hotel to catch a glimpse of their stars.

There have been suggestions, including from Rahul Dravid, that perhaps the time has come for Dhoni, who has long performed the triple-role of leader, batsman and wicketkeeper, to give up captaincy in at least one of the formats. It's not an idea Dhoni agrees with though, as of now. "We'll have to wait and watch. It's not something that's on my mind before the start of an important series. We can't be thinking about that now."

The last time India lost a live home ODI against England was way back in 2002, when Andrew Flintoff waved his shirt in celebration at the Wankhede Stadium, an act that was famously echoed by Sourav Ganguly at Lord's the next year. The previous two ODI series in India between the two sides have ended in 5-0 drubbings for England. Alastair Cook has rightly termed his team as underdogs going into the series but India have already seen one proud 28-year-old record fall this season, and have plenty to sort if they aren't to lose another.

Harbhajan backs neutral venues for Ranji knockouts

391 overs. 1133 runs. 13 wickets. The summary of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final between Jharkhand and Punjab is more than enough to indicate what kind of wicket was offered for a knock-out game of the premier domestic championship at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur.

And it's not just about Jamshedpur. The numbers in Rajkot and Mumbai - two of the other three quarter-final venues - are also similar, if not worse, in terms of competition between the bat and the ball. This, in a season when the BCCI has issued a diktat to all the state associations for producing 'sporting' tracks.

The only quarter-final that saw a result was, not surprisingly, played at a neutral venue. With England based at the Palam ground in Delhi, Services hosted favourites Uttar Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium in Indore in what turned out to be a fascinating contest with David eventually overcoming Goliath.

If the four quarter-finals were an indication, isn't it high time the BCCI returns to the policy they adopted during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons? That of playing all knockout games at neutral venues, thereby negating any home advantage and reducing the possibility of a flat-bed. Punjab skipper Harbhajan Singh supported the neutral venue theory despite ending up on the better side.

"Yes. Why not? We're playing the premier domestic competition where all the teams have got an advantage of playing at home in the league stages. When it comes to knockout stages, why not have Punjab playing in Mumbai and Mumbai playing in Gujarat and Haryana," Harbhajan said, after Punjab progressed to the semi-final on the basis of the first innings lead against Jharkhand. "It will also be good for the game. Imagine someone like Sachin Tendulkar going and playing in Haryana or in Delhi, people will come to watch and it will be a big thing for the game, so why not!"

The game in Jamshedpur turned out to be a torrid experience for the bowlers. The wicket - which neither offered movement or bounce for seamers nor turn for spinners - surprised Shahbaz Nadeem, the Jharkhand captain. "The two home games we played here, the wicket was so much better. The ball was coming off the deck much quicker and the spinners came into the game on the third and the fourth day. Such kind of a wicket came as a real surprise. It negated all sorts of home advantage we had."

With literally no help from the strip, the bowlers had nothing else to do but "hope" as Harbhajan said. But he expressed his displeasure with some of the umpiring decisions that went against him

"A few decisions didn't go my way and for that I have been fined. Otherwise, I could have had three-four wickets in my account," he said. "I hope that the umpiring standards improve. At least those who are out should be given out. On these kind of wickets, you're going to get a batsman out only once. And if you're not given the wickets you've earned, then perhaps you have to toil for another 20-odd overs."

If Keenan was bad, Khanderi could be worse for Punjab as they prepare for their semi-final against Saurashtra. With Rajkot renowned for flat pitches, Punjab could be in for yet another tough week ahead.

"It (the Rajkot pitch) would be more or less similar to this," Harbhajan said. "Let's hope we get a result-oriented wicket. Whether it's a seaming track or a spinning track, it should produce a result. That too on the fifth day, not the sixth. Sixth day will be like… I don't know. I have never seen it, I have never played it. If there is no result in six days, then what's the point. The best thing is to get a result in five days. It would be better to produce a wicket that produces a result in five days rather than extending the match by another day."

Over to Rajkot!

Inexperienced Australia bat at the MCG

Toss Australia chose to bat v Sri Lanka
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In his first match as the stand-in captain of Australia's one-day side, George Bailey won the toss and chose to bat on a hot day at the MCG. Australia named their team on the eve of the game and there were no last-minute changes, with the debutants Aaron Finch and Phillip Hughes to open and their fellow first-gamer Usman Khawaja to come in at No.3.

It is the first time since 1986 that Australia have fielded so many debutants in a one-day international, and the first time since the days of World Series Cricket that debutants would fill the top three batting positions.

"It's exciting for the whole group," Bailey said. "Three debutants and it's straight to the top of the order for those guys. The word we have really spoken about all week is opportunity. Opportunity for individuals and also as a group, we've been written off in a few circles so it would be nice to prove something and show the depth of Australian cricket."

Sri Lanka named Ajantha Mendis as their lead spinner with Jeevan Mendis as the other main spin option, while Nuwan Kulasekara was included after recovering from injury.

Australia 1 Phillip Hughes, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 George Bailey (capt), 5 David Hussey, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.

Sri Lanka 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Ajantha Mendis.

Gibson in Warwickshire frame

West Indies could be looking for a new head coach after it emerged that Ottis Gibson could be in contention for the role of director of cricket at Warwickshire.

Gibson, who led West Indies to the World Twenty20 in October, is understood to have tired of the politics inherent in Caribbean cricket and is one of more than 100 in contention to succeed Ashley Giles at Edgbaston. Giles left Warwickshire after leading the club to the county championship title in 2012 to take up the role of coach of England's limited-overs teams.

While Gibson has previously intimated his desire to remain with the West Indies team, he is out of contract with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) later this year and, after the CEO Ernest Hilaire quit in September and with the president Julian Hunte due to depart in March, he may feel his future is more secure elsewhere.

Appointed in January 2010, he has suffered public fallouts with such high-profile figures as Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan and endured criticism as various politicians, even prime ministers, in the Caribbean have sought to join the bandwagon. Gibson declined to confirm or deny his interest in the Warwickshire role when contacted by ESPNcricinfo.

Among the other candidates thought to have shown an interest in the Warwickshire job are former New Zealand, Scotland and Kenya coach, Andy Moles, the England bowling coach, David Saker - who has now withdrawn - the former Glamorgan and Bermuda captain, David Hemp, and the ECB's performance director, David Parsons. Dougie Brown and Graeme Welch, who are already on the coaching staff at Edgbaston, have also applied for the role with Welch the man favoured by the Warwickshire dressing room.

Gibson is sure to be considered among the strongest candidates. A former international player, the Barbados-born fast bowler helped Durham to their first silverware in 2007 before being appointed England's bowling coach. He has improved the fitness and discipline of the West Indies squad but, despite some encouraging performances, has been thwarted by the unavailability of senior players and his sometimes troubled relationship with them.

The interest of so many high-profile candidates underlines the attraction of the Warwickshire job. Based at a large, recently redeveloped stadium with excellent facilities, the role pays relatively well and does not require the huge amount of overseas travel involved with an international coaching position. Whether the salary could match the package that Gibson enjoys with West Indies, thought to be around $300,000, is highly debatable, however.

ECB launches ticket tout campaign

The ECB, emboldened by a Supreme Court ruling against ticket touts, have launched a poster campaign against the resale of tickets for next summer's Champions Trophy and Ashes series.

Cricket fans could even face the threat of a ban from county grounds if they are caught selling tickets for personal gain during what promises to be a sought-after summer of international cricket.

Auction websites such as Seatwave and Viagogo will also be monitored according to a poster campaign under the slogan: "TOUTS OUT! Where did YOUR ticket come from?" There has already been an unprecedented demand for Ashes tickets this year after England's recent successes.

A recent legal ruling by the Supreme Court promises to work in the ECB's favour. They are entitled to demand from ticketing websites the details of customers who are seeking to profit by reselling their Ashes tickets above face value.

An ECB spokesman said: "We want fans to understand that we are committed to eradicating ticket touting. Fans need to understand that we will make targeted interventions into the market place and will cancel tickets if we spot them being sold at inflated prices on ticketing websites."

Touts who resell tickets to concerts and sport events online faced losing their anonymity following a court ruling in November. In a case between the Rugby Football Union and Viagogo, the Supreme Court ruled that Viagogo must release names and addresses of people who resold tickets to England rugby matches on its site.

When the RFU monitored Viagogo in 2010-2011, the governing body found that tickets to its events were being sold for up to 20 times their face value, breaching its ticketing terms and conditions.

The RFU had led the way among governing bodies in the past by taking legal action, but it had previously been unable to address sites like Viagogo as the company offer anonymity to sellers.

Viagogo went into liquidation after a TV documentary criticised its methods. It now trades as Viagogo AG, based in Switzerland.

Boult thrust into leading from the front

New Zealand may be at a particularly low ebb but their young bowling attack is the main cause of optimism for the future. To demonstrate their current predicament, the bowler leading their attack has just nine Tests under his belt.

Trent Boult is accustomed to the new ball, having opened the bowling in eight of his Tests, but now, with Tim Southee absent from the tour through injury, Boult has assumed the senior role, forging a new partnership with Doug Bracewell - his third opening partner.

The pair first shared the new ball at Kingston in August and, along with Southee and the remainder of Chris Martin's career, should provide a stable base for New Zealand to try and rebuild.

"I'm only nine or 10 Tests in but to be leading the attack is pretty special and something I feel quite good about," Boult said. "I've grown a lot and although it's only a handful of international fixtures I've made pretty big strides in developing as a bowler. I'm not looking too far ahead but I've got that job with the new ball which I love.

"I've opened the bowling a few times although Tim or whoever else has been there in the past. I don't feel any more pressure than normal or any more emphasis that I've got to be the man to do the job. We've got a good bowling unit that works well together and as a long as we do our jobs and back each other up we're going to continue to be pretty successful."

Boult has been successful in his fledgling Test career with 29 wickets at 28.79. He is part of a young attack who have proved they can deliver results. Victories over Australia in Hobart in November 2011 - Boult's debut - and Sri Lanka in Colombo 12 months on were significant feathers in the caps of Boult, 23, Bracewell, 22 and Southee, 24 - a young trio who Boult enjoys playing with.

"It's definitely a collective thing. We're lucky to be three pretty good mates and we played a lot of cricket together growing up. Tim's very good, he's injured but I'm still talking to him and bouncing ideas off him back in New Zealand. He's played a lot of cricket and I really respect the way he thinks. He's tactically a pretty smart cricketer.

"We work together. I don't think you can say 'this is how I do it, this is the best way'. It's selfish thinking you're going to do it on your own and I think it's pretty important that you work as a group."

Regrouping is essential for New Zealand after the embarrassment in Cape Town. New Zealand were fired out for their third-lowest Test total of 45, from which no amount of youthful exuberance could conjure a recovery. Worse still, South Africa's reply came at a healthy run rate of above four-an-over on the first afternoon.

"It's hard with that score we had on the board," Boult said. "Maybe a couple of guys were guilty of going out there searching a bit and trying to swing the game and get wickets quickly. I don't think that's the way to go.

"We need to stick to our plans and what we've been talking about, and that's being patient and trying to outlast our opponents. Although the intensity has been high at training, it's all about keeping it simple and not getting too far ahead of ourselves."

The swinging ball will again be a factor in the second Test but Boult expects conditions to be different in Port Elizabeth from Cape Town. "There's swing there with the new ball but I'm not sure how much it's going to hang around, like the conditions in Sri Lanka or India. It's a crucial part of it to swing that new ball and use it effectively as possible."

Sri Lanka seek one-day redemption

Match facts

January 11, MCG
Start time 1420 (0320 GMT)

Big Picture

The great mystery of Sri Lankan cricket is how they can be so disappointing in Tests and yet so impressive in the shorter formats. In part it comes down to personnel, for bowlers like Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis are not in the Test setup but are consistently dangerous in limited-overs matches. Part of it must also be a down to attitude: at times during the Test series, the Sri Lankans clearly lacked the kind of patience that could have helped them challenge Australia, but across 50 overs such a mindset is not a bad thing.

Part of is simply a matter of confidence. Sri Lanka deserve to be bullish entering this five-match series. Last time they played a bilateral one-day series in Australia they won, and in last summer's triangular series they took Australia to a third final. They have also won their past three one-dayers at the MCG, the venue of this first game.

On paper, Sri Lanka appear a much stronger side than in the Tests, and not just because of Malinga and Mendis. Thisara Perera is a fine limited-overs allrounder, Akila Dananjaya is a spinner of potential and mystery, and men such as Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, who came in for the Sydney Test, should be in their element.

Australia's squad is a mixed bag. There are four uncapped men - Phillip Hughes, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja and Ben Cutting - but all four are very fine players who deserve their opportunities. At 35, Brad Haddin is back for his first international match in nearly a year, and the team will be led by the T20 captain George Bailey. Their lack of experience is glaring. Missing from this squad are Michael Clarke (221 games), Shane Watson (154), Michael Hussey (185), as well as the less experienced but first-choice David Warner and Matthew Wade.

Australia have made no secret of the fact that this squad has been chosen with tours of India and England in mind, as well as the 2015 World Cup. But in the meantime, are they good enough to beat a dangerous Sri Lanka team picked for the present?

Form guide

(Most recent first)
Australia WLWWL
Sri Lanka WWWLL

In the spotlight

Aaron Finch has been in irresistible limited-overs form this summer and has a chance to make his name as an ODI player. The leading run scorer in the Ryobi Cup this season with 497 runs at 99.40 and in the Big Bash League with 309 runs at 77.25, his powerful striking has been one of the major reasons the Melbourne Renegades have been the dominant team in the Twenty20 tournament. He even hit the roof at Etihad Stadium with one enormous stroke in December. Finch has played three Twenty20 internationals and performed well, and now he has his chance in the 50-over game. Finch will open the batting and his home crowd will be hoping to witness something memorable in his first ODI.

Just as Finch is the BBL's top run scorer, Lasith Malinga is its leading wicket taker with 13 at 10.69 for the Melbourne Stars. He mesmerised the Perth Scorchers with 6 for 7 and Sri Lanka hope he will carry that kind of form into this series. His slingy action disguises his accurate, swinging yorkers, deceptive slower balls and dangerous bouncers and along with the spinner Ajantha Mendis, he could be the most important player in the series.

Team news

Australia have confirmed their line-up, with Cutting and Steven Smith the men to sit out of this game. Finch and Hughes will open, with Khawaja at first drop, while Glenn Maxwell is expected to bat in the top six.

Australia 1 Phillip Hughes, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 George Bailey (capt), 5 David Hussey, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.

Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Ajantha Mendis / Rangana Herath.

Pitch and conditions

There was a little more pace and bounce than expected during the MCG Test and the pitch should be dry, given Melbourne's forecast of 37C for the day of the match.

Stats and trivia

Sri Lanka have won the past three ODIs between these teams at the MCG
Mitchell Johnson is the only member of Australia's squad who has played 100 one-day internationals
George Bailey will become the 21st man to captain Australia in ODIs

Quotes

"Watching a few of the replays of the games last year there were some great contests. I don't think playing in Australian conditions holds many fears for the Sri Lankans in the one-day format."
George Bailey

Agarkar shines as Mumbai squeeze Baroda

Baroda 167 for 5 trail Mumbai 645 for 9 decl. (Jaffer 150, Nayar 132, Tendulkar 108) by 478 runs
Scorecard

Mumbai buried Baroda under a mountain of runs on a flat track, and then watched irresponsible Baroda batsmen crumble under the weight. In reply to the hosts' 645 for 9 declared, Baroda got off to a good start, but their batsmen played irresponsible shots to be reduced to 157 for 5, a predicament from which there seems no way back. Not against Mumbai, renowned masters of the game of not letting the opposition back down once.

It has been thus right from the time Wasim Jaffer and Sachin Tendulkar came together to bat on the first morning. Abhishek Nayar carried their good work forward on day two, and while he could add only 10 to his overnight 122 on day three, their bowlers did the job, both with the bat and the ball. Nayar fell at 563 for 8, but Ajit Agarkar and Javed Khan attacked the tired Baroda bowlers with a 73-run stand in 13.1 overs.

Agarkar, the better batsman of the two, relied more on finding gaps and picking twos while Javed hit four sixes, one of which resulted in a lost ball. Javed holed out just before reaching fifty, but Agarkar brought up his 16th in first-class cricket. Not many expected Mumbai to declare - what with the possibility of a sixth day in the match - but they asked Baroda to bat for 25 minutes before lunch.

Those 25 minutes didn't bring much nerves as openers Saurabh Wakaskar and Aditya Waghmode continued with what has been a fruitful season. The same continued in the post-lunch session, although the openers remained content in defence, reaching 93 for 0 by tea. After tea, though, Mumbai's move of playing two left-arm spinners began to work. Debutant Vishal Dabholkar broke through soon after Wakaskar reached his fifty, and Baroda their hundred. He pushed at a length ball that didn't turn enough, and moving to his right at slip, Wasim Jaffer took a catch more difficult than the kind Yusuf Pathan kept dropping at slip.

Waghmode survived an easy stumping soon after, but his partner Abhimanyu Chauhan, who had shackled himself, didn't enjoy such luck. Dhawal Kulkarni had pushed him back with short balls, Chauhan was stuck at 0 off 20 balls, but the 21st was pitched up, and snuck through the gap created by his staying on the crease. Not that Waghmode made much of his luck: he went to punch a ball rising higher than the waist and angling away, and managed a nick to provide relief to wicketkeeper Aditya Tare, who gleefully accepted the chance.

Even before Yusuf Pathan could confound with his slash-slash-miss-miss innings, Kedar Devdhar fell lbw to Dabholkar. Agarkar came back to account for the reckless Yusuf, who toe-ended a pull shot to mid-on. Ambati Rayudu, who had been off the field with illness, came to bat at No. 7, but he is left with too much to do.

Derbyshire eye up Chanderpaul

Derbyshire hope to pull off a coup by signing the world No. 2 Test batsman, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, for part of the 2013 season.

Regarded as one of the weaker first-class counties for several years, Derbyshire have enjoyed a resurgence in recent times and were promoted to Division One of the County Championship for the first time in 12 years as champions of Division Two last season.

It was the first time they have achieved promotion having previously contested Division One cricket by default in the first season of split divisions. No other county had experienced so long in the bottom division.

The signing of Chanderpaul would underline the new ambition of the club. Chris Grant, the club chairman appointed in March 2011, swiftly demonstrated his desire to shake things up at the club by sacking John Morris, the long-serving director of cricket, in the middle of a game barely six weeks later. Karl Krikken was appointed in his place and led the side to promotion in his first full season in charge.

Chanderpaul would add solidity to a batting line-up that sometimes appeared fragile in 2012. Derbyshire gained more bowling bonus points than any other side in Division Two but finished only mid-table in terms of batting bonus points.

While the club have a strong unit of seamers, several of their "home grown" young batsmen - the likes of Ross Whiteley and Dan Redfern - are still developing and it was the overseas players, Martin Guptill and Usman Khawaja, who topped the county's batting averages in 2012.

Derbyshire have already added former Essex and Middlesex top-order batsman Billy Godleman and former Warwickshire wicketkeeper Richard Johnson to their staff. Godleman is the latest county player to seek the services of freelance coach and mentor, Neil Burns, who has been credited by Nick Compton and Monty Panesar as the man to have revitalised their careers.

Derbyshire are not the only county interested in signing Chanderpaul. It is understood that he, along with South Africa's Hashim Amla and Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq, is among Worcestershire's targets.

38-year-old Chanderpaul has enjoyed sustained success in his previous stints in county cricket. In 2011 he played for Warwickshire, scoring three centuries and averaging 89.83 in five matches to help the club finish second in the County Championship, and he has had three spells at Durham, helping them to titles in 2008 and 2009 and averaging 58.26 for them in first-class cricket. He also played for Lancashire in 2010.

Glamorgan dispense with Metson

Colin Metson, whose appointment as Glamorgan managing director coincided with a turbulent period in the county's affairs, has been sacked after his downgraded role of cricket and community manager was made redundant.

Metson returned to Glamorgan with the county in crisis after the resignation of cricket manager Matthew Maynard, president Peter Walker and captain Jamie Dalrymple because of a managerial restructuring.

But Metson's power was soon on the wane and he was shunted away from first-team duties at the beginning of the 2012 season and given a lesser role in the community development programme. That role has now been made redundant and he will leave Glamorgan at the end of the week.

Life's biggest achievement - Chatterjee

Over time, when they look back at the history of the game for inspiration, they would do well to consider Soumik Chatterjee's unbeaten 34, made on one leg and with plenty of bravado. Unable to walk, the Services captain had been carried off by four of his team-mates from the dressing room to the team bus on day one, after he'd badly damaged his left knee while fielding. He'd dragged himself out to the middle to bat at No 11 in the Services first innings, and lasted one delivery. In the second, with Services 54 for 5 in their chase of 113, Chatterjee hobbled in again and went on to play the most significant innings of his career, which led to what he called the biggest achievement of his life.

"This match is my life's biggest achievement," Chatterjee said of Services' Ranji Trophy quarter-final win over Uttar Pradesh. "Maine ye socha tha ki aaunga toh jitaake aaunga, warna baahar nahi aaunga [I won't come back without winning it for the team]. Yes, I was injured but I knew that if I made up my mind, I could win the game for the team.

"It was a matter of having a partnership for five-six overs. When that happens, the other side loses the advantage. I knew that if I and Rajat [Paliwal] could play out five-six overs, the game would be ours."

Chatterjee was asked whether he had thought about the chance of aggravating his injury when deciding to come out to bat. Scans had revealed serious clotting around the knee. "There was no risk. Even if I lose my life, I will always be there for team," he replied in the emotional aftermath of victory.

When Chatterjee came out to bat, the immediate reaction among journalists watching the game was that with his perceived inability to run, he would end up squeezing out any remaining momentum from the chase. But to everyone's disbelief, he soon started limping and then, unable to bear the pain, hopping on his fit right leg for singles.

Wing Commander Deepak Bhaskar, the Services manager, said it was a collective decision by himself, the coach and Chatterjee to send in the captain at No 7. "We were not sure whether he would be able to run," Bhaskar said. "It was all down to him, how he felt out there when he started batting."

While Chatterjee was sure he would be able to recover in time for the semi-final starting on January 16, Bhaskar was more realistic. "It is a call we will have to take," Bhaskar said. "We will see how his treatment goes."

There is still more than a week left for the semi-finals, and for the moment, Chatterjee was grateful to all his team-mates. "All 11 players of the side are special and I give credit to all of them," Chatterjee said. "We won because of all of them. Not only the 11, but all the 15 (in the squad) and the 17, including the coach and the manager, and also the four who have sat out, I credit them all. We won because of all their hard work."

No commitment yet on tour to Pak

BCB president Nazmul Hassan met Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, during the third India-Pakistan ODI in Delhi in a bid to restore bilateral relations, but no firm commitment of a future tour was made during the meeting. Last week, Bangladesh had pulled the plug on a proposed tour to Pakistan in the wake of the the security situation in Pakistan, about which the ICC has also expressed its concern.

"The BCB president assured Mr. Ashraf that he will have detailed discussion on the Pakistan tour with the board's ad hoc executive committee on his return to Bangladesh after attending the Asian Cricket Council meeting in Kuala Lumpur," Jalal Yunus, the BCB's media committee chairman, said. "The two boards also decided to work closely to find out an appropriate time to tour Pakistan."

"They also talked about participation of Pakistani players in the second edition of Bangladesh Premier League."

After the BCB voiced its reluctance to tour Pakistan, the PCB retaliated by questioning its players' availability in the BPL scheduled to begin on January 18. The domestic Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is also going to run during the same time but the BCB are confident that the Pakistan players will show up.

"When the request was made to send the Pakistani players to the BPL, the PCB president neither agreed nor denied so we have to wait and see," Yunus said.

Meanwhile, Dave Richardson, the ICC CEO, has said that the PCB has a lot to do to encourage teams to tour Pakistan. "It's premature to say whether it's still safe to tour Pakistan or not. They've got a difficult situation there. They still have a lot of work to do in convincing the international world that it is safe to go to Pakistan," he said.

In March when the BCB had first announced of its desire to tour Pakistan, the ICC had issued "special dispensation" for cases that required local match officials in a bilateral series if they can't send neutral officials.

Harbhajan Singh fined for dissent

Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh has been fined 50% of his match fee for showing dissent at the umpire's decision on the second day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur.

The incident occurred in the fifth over after tea. Harbhajan, who replaced Manpreet Gony, changed the angle by going round the wicket to Sunny Gupta. The ball lobbed off the pads and went to silly point where the fielder plucked a sharp chance. A huge appeal followed but the umpire CK Nandan turned it down. Harbhajan was so furious at the decision that the other umpire Sanjay Hazare had to step in from square leg to calm him down. Harbhajan showed his disapproval by not just gesturing at the umpire but also kicking the turf in disappointment.

"Harbhajan was found guilty under the article 2.1.3 of the BCCI's Code of Conduct for the players. As a result, he has been fined 50% of his match fees for a Level 1 offence," the match referee Sunil Chaturvedi said after conducting a hearing that involved Harbhajan, both the umpires and Punjab coach Arun Sharma.

Chaturvedi was seen going through the video footage of the incident. It was followed by a hearing, which lasted 20 minutes.

Article 2.1.3 of the BCCI's Code of Conduct for players deals with "(a) excessive, obvious disappointment with an Umpire's decision; (b) an obvious delay in resuming play or leaving the wicket; (c) shaking the head; (d) pointing or looking at the inside edge when given out lbw; (e) pointing to the pad or rubbing the shoulder when caught behind; (f) snatching the cap from the Umpire; (g) requesting a referral to the TV Umpire; and (h) arguing or entering into a prolonged discussion with the Umpire about his decision."

The clause ends with: "It shall not be a defence to any charge brought under this Article to show that the Umpire might have, or in fact did, get any decision wrong."

Jaggi ton lights up curtailed day

Jharkhand 310 for 6 (Nemat 100, Jaggi 126*) v Punjab
Scorecard

Poor visibility in Jamshedpur, due to fog, meant that only 40 overs were possible during the second day, resulting in over two sessions of play lost due to bad weather over two days. In that period, Ishank Jaggi scored his maiden hundred of the Ranji season to help Jharkhand remain in the game. Had it not been for Jaggi's resilient knock, combined with flair and caution, the Punjab openers could well have had a look in before the premature end to the day's proceedings.

If the half hour delay on the opening day was bad, the second day was worse. Play began 80 minutes after the scheduled start of 9am, reducing the first session to 70 minutes. When the teams returned after lunch, they took the field for only two balls, before returning indoors for almost an hour and a half. Another 65 minutes of play was followed by tea and the final session only lasted 40-odd minutes.

Walking in with Jharkhand at an uneasy 97 for 3, Jaggi had to resort to defensive tactics during the opening day. His overnight partner, the opener Rameez Nemat, was undone by a Harbhajan Singh top-spinner three balls after celebrating his maiden first-class ton. Following the dismissal, Jaggi preferred to play his shots instead of just blocking the ball. As a result, he ended up scoring 76 out of his team's tally of 115 on the second day to remain unbeaten on 126.

Jaggi had to move down the order from his preferred No.3 position with the inclusion of three openers in the XI. He drove the Punjab spin duo of Harbhajan, who appeared to be at his best after a while, and legspinner Sarabjit Ladda at the start of the day. He was rewarded for his approach as he managed seven boundaries in the first session, in contrast to his five during the course of the first day.

Soon after a prolonged lunch break, Jaggi flicked Siddarth Kaul to the square leg fence to bring up his seventh first-class century. Then on, it was the Kaul show with the second new ball. The medium-pacer first forced Kumar Deobrat to nick one to Uday Kaul behind the stumps. Four overs later, he forced the wicketkeeper SP Gautam to edge to Amitoze Singh at first slip. Jaggi and Sunny Gupta then avoided any further damage till the weather had the final say.

Both camps would hope for better weather in the coming days so the match will not have to be extended by an additional day in case the first innings is not completed within five days. On a day when uncertainty prevailed over who would be ruling the state of Jharkhand, there was no doubt whatsoever that the winner on the cricket field at the Keenan Stadium was the weather.

Warm welcome for Pakistan team

Pakistan returned home to a rousing welcome after winning the ODI series against archrivals India and drawing the Twenty20 series 1-1. Large throngs of people waited outside the Lahore International Airport to greet the team on their success in the historic tour.

Pakistan, after dominant performances throughout the series, came close to taking the ODI series 3-0 in Delhi. But India fought back and avoided what would have been their first whitewash since 1983-84. Pakistan, however, flourished throughout the series and were, distinctly, the better side.

"The significant part of the series was the young lot stood up to take the team's veins," Misbah said. "Throughout the series, the young and new players contributed in the victories.

"I will give credit to the whole team but there were few youngsters like [Mohammad] Irfan, Junaid [Khan] and Nasir Jamshed - who have really impressed. They have proved themselves against world's best batting line-up and have outclassed them. They have a bright future and if they continue to perform like this, they will go way forward."

Nasir Jamshed, 23, led the batting with consecutive centuries in Chennai and Kolkata and ended up as the leading run-getter in the series with 241 runs. His Man-of-the-Series-winning performance helped him climb 45 places in the ODI rankings to a career-best 31st.

"It was the great tour for me not because I have scored runs but the centuries I scored helped my team to win the matches," Jamshed said. "Riding on my current form I would like to continue the runs feast in the upcoming South Africa tour."

Mohammad Hafeez, the T20 captain, too had a magnificent series. He became the number one allrounder in ODIs following success with both bat and ball in the series.

"It was series we have been waiting desperately," Hafeez said. "The team played with full focus and proved how good we are. It's the victory of the whole nation and the highlight of the series were the trio - Irfan, Junaid and Nasir."

As the team, along with the PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf, emerged at the arrival gates, the chants of Pakistan Zindabad (Long live Pakistan) and the beats of traditional drums resonated in the chilly winter evening. In a brief ceremony at the gates, Ashraf garlanded both the captains - Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafez - and said that it was a special win beating India in India.

"It's a unique honor for us that we defeated India in their own country," Ashraf said. "Our team is very disciplined and organised, the way our captains have performed, I think they deserve congratulations from everyone in the country. The way they have fought in India, they deserve appreciation."

Warne and Samuels in ugly clash

Melbourne Renegades 1 for 147 (Finch 67*) beat Melbourne Stars 9 for 146 (Wright 29, Sheridan 3-36) by nine wickets
Scorecard

Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels were involved in an ugly confrontation as Melbourne Renegades secured a home semi-final in the Big Bash League in front of a record crowd for domestic cricket in Australia.

Aaron Finch's 67 off just 47 balls helped the Renegades to a nine-wicket win with seven balls to spare in front of a crowd of 46,581 which turned out for a fiery Melbourne derby.

Cricket Australia's delight at the success of the much-debated derby formula will be overshadowed by the ill discipline on the field as tempers flared between Warne, the Melbourne Stars captain, and Samuels, the enigmatic Renegades West Indies all-rounder, with several incidents likely to be looked at closely in the coming days.

CA officials are expected to announce details of a disciplinary hearing on Monday, although they will first check on the well-being of Samuels, who damaged an eye-socket after top-edging a ball from Lasith Malinga through the grill of his helmet and needed treatment at a Melbourne hospital. His tournament is assumed to be over.

Samuels angered the hosts during the Melboune Stars innings when he grabbed David Hussey as he was trying to turn for a second run - and Warne let him know all about it when he came out to bat.

In a verbal tirade picked up by Fox Sports microphones, Warne criticised Samuels for his unsporting behaviour at the end of the leg-spinner's second over, grabbing the West Indian by the shirt in illustration and jabbing his finger in his face.

Tempers reached boiling point the following over when Warne fielded a drive by Samuels and flipped the ball straight at the West Indian from close range as he stood in his crease. Samuels reacted angrily at the provocation, throwing his bat over Warne's head as the umpires rushed in to calm the situation.

It was a clear display of gamesmanship by Warne, who was trying desperately to pull his charges back into the match after they were restricted to just 146 having won the toss and electing to bat.The Renegades privately criticised Warne's behaviour as deliberately provocative and theatrical.

In what many will regard as another distasteful aspect of the stand-off, Warne was again wearing a microphone for the benefit of TV viewers and with the game going on used it to defend his actions to commentators.

"What are you meant to do when someone throws a bat at you?" he asked.

The night went from bad to worse for Samuels as he tried to hook a short ball from Malinga and top-edged it into his face. He was forced to retire hurt with blood streaming from an eye wound with only Malinga among the Stars players making obvious attempts to check on his welfare.

Warne later told the Herald Sun: Warne later tried to downplay the drama, saying he didn't expect to be disciplined by Cricket Australia. "I tried to throw the ball to Bobby Quiney and the next minute I decided to get out of the way of that bat," he said. "I'm more disappointed that we lost, that was just a heat of the moment thing. That's just the way it goes, I hope he's OK.

Samuels, acclaimed for his matchwinning display in the final of World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in Australia, has been a marked man in Australia. Darren Lehmann, the Brisbane coach, was fined for questioning the legality of his quicker ball, a theme later picked up by the Adelaide coach Darren Berry.

For Renegades, it was another impressive all-round team performance with a number of contributors with the ball leading to an easy win.

Aaron O'Brien continued his great form, conceding just 22 runs off his four overs and taking the valuable wicket of Brad Hodge. He was backed up by Darren Pattinson (2 for 12), Will Sheridan (3 for 36) and the ever-reliable Muralitharan (1 for 27) as the Stars limped to a score well below par given the pace and consistency of the pitch.

The Stars had four batsmen reach 20 but not one of them was able to convert it into a bigger score. All-rounder James Faulkner hit two massive sixes to start the final over before the Renegades took a team hat-trick to stem the flow of runs.

Finch and Alex Doolan (30 off 28) were brutal early against the Stars fast bowlers and quickly took the game away from the hosts with a 70-run partnership in just 49 balls.

The Stars will look to re-group quickly ahead of their do-or-die clash with the Sydney Thunder in Melbourne on Tuesday. The task won't be made any easier by the loss of Malinga, McKay, Hussey and Maxwell to international duty. With the Heat, Hurricanes, Strikers and Scorchers all battling for the final three spots in the semi-finals, nothing less than a win will do for the Stars.

Despite securing top place, the Renegades have problems of their own, with Finch joining the Australian team for the series against Sri Lanka and Doolan (ankle) and Samuels (face) both under injury clouds ahead of their game against the Sydney Sixers in Sydney on Wednesday.

Shadab Nazar routs his home state

"We don't want star players. We want performers," Wing commander Deepak Bhaskar, the Services manager, had said before the start of their quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh, when asked about the big-name players in the opposition. Performance was what he got from his players on day one. Leading them was fast bowler Shadab Nazar, a corporal in the Air Force, who routed UP for 134 on the way to his third five-for in his debut first-class season.

Nazar, 25, ironically hails from UP and played age-group cricket for the state. He was part of the same sports hostel set-up in Lucknow where Suresh Raina and RP Singh come from, before he was recruited by Bhaskar into the Air Force. Today, he showed no mercy to his former state-mates as he bustled in with a run-up full of energy and found generous bounce from the Holkar Stadium pitch to claim 5 for 51.

Nazar's been with Services for six years now, but broke into their first-class side only this season, though he played a couple of one-dayers in early 2010. He's already become a potent part of the side's fast-bowling attack, along with Suraj Yadav and Nishan Singh, and has played all their nine games so far in the season to pick up 30 wickets at an average of 23.56.

"It doesn't matter how big the batsman's reputation is. In the end, it is all about putting the ball in the right areas," Nazar said. He added more zip to the Services attack as soon as he was introduced first change and dismissed three of the top six UP batsmen. "My approach was to just keep it on a tight length," he said.

Nazar felt the pitch had eased out slightly after the morning session in which UP lost seven wickets but it was still not easy for the batsmen. Bhaskar said the deliveries that zipped through had decreased in number but were still enough of a threat.

The UP attack has delivered four outright wins in the season and it was quite an achievement for Services to earn a lead of 20 runs by stumps with five wickets in hand. Even more so, considering they had to redo their batting order following the unavailability of the captain Soumik Chatterjee, who hurt his knee while fielding in the deep. Chatterjee was taken for an MRI scan, the results of which were awaited. The seriousness of his injury was evident when, unable to walk, he was carried from the dressing room to the team bus by his team-mates.

What part, if any, Chatterjee will be able to play in the remainder of the match was unclear but for a determined Services side, it is just one of the several odds they have to tackle.

Raza leads Eagles to victory

A half-century from Sikandar Raza led Mashonaland Eagles to a 42-run win against Mid West Rhinos in Harare. Eagles made a swift start after they were sent in, with their openers adding 59 before Chamu Chibhabha was dismissed in 6.4 overs. Raza, however, went on to hold one end up, keeling the innings steady by making 62 off 56 balls. He was dismissed only in the 18th over and Eagles ended on 149 for 6. Michael Chinouya and Neville Madziva took two wickets each for Rhinos.

Rhinos' chase never got going as wickets fell in two clumps. They went from 33 for 1 to 65 for 6, and then from 101 for 6 to 103 for 9 at the end of their innings. Peter Moor top scored with 30. Eagles used eight bowlers and Ray Price took 1 for 8 in his four overs.

Rain allowed only eight overs in the game between Southern Rocks and Matabeleland Tuskers in Bulawayo. Rocks made 50 for 1 before the match had to be abandoned.

Warne banned for one BBL match

Shane Warne might have played his last game of this Big Bash League campaign after being suspended for one match following his ugly clash with Marlon Samuels on Sunday night. Warne, the Melbourne Stars captain, was also fined $4500 following the fracas in the derby against the Melbourne Renegades at the MCG, while Samuels is yet to face his hearing after also being charged over the incidents.

Warne was charged with four breaches of Cricket Australia's Code of Behaviour and found guilty of three; Samuels was charged with two offences. Warne's suspension means he will miss the Stars' last qualifying match at home to the Sydney Thunder on Tuesday and his chances of taking any further part in the tournament will hinge on whether his side, which is one of four sides locked together on four wins in the middle of the points table, reaches the finals.

Warne confronted Samuels physically and verbally during the Melbourne Renegades innings at the MCG, seemingly in retaliation for an incident that had occurred earlier during the Melbourne Stars innings. During that incident, the bowler Samuels grabbed David Hussey by the shirt and prevented him taking off for a second run, a strange act given that Hussey's path had not taken him into contact with Samuels.

Later while Samuels was batting, he took off for a run and turned back, after which Warne came down the pitch and said to Samuels: "You want to grab some more people? F*** you Marlon." Warne, who was wearing a Fox Sports microphone at the time, then grabbed Samuels' shirt, apparently to demonstrate what he felt Samuels had done wrong earlier, and pointed at him threateningly.

The clash continued in the next over when Warne collected the ball running in from the off side and under-armed it into the body of Samuels, who was in his crease not attempting a run. Samuels responded by tossing his bat down the pitch, vaguely in the direction of Warne.

On Monday morning, Cricket Australia confirmed a long list of charges from the incidents. Warne was found guilty of three: showing serious dissent at an umpire's decision; engaging in inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player; and using obscene, offensive or generally insulting language to another player. He was found not guilty of throwing the ball at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner.

After the hearing, Warne indicated that he would consider appealing the suspension, although his gut instinct was to accept it and hope the Stars reached the finals. In a series of tweets, Warne also expressed disappointment at his own actions.

"I have always been passionate when I play cricket and had the game at heart along with its image..." he tweeted. "I'm disappointed at some of my actions last night as captain & as a player,but I'm also very disappointed at the severe penalty I received !

"I am weighing up all my options at the moment & taking some advice.. Update you all soon, thanks for your support, means a lot.... My instinct says take the 1 match ban & hope the boys win tomorrow night & be available for the semi final, but as I said will keep u posted."

Samuels has been charged with engaging in inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player; and unbecoming behaviour, namely that "players and officials must not at any time engage in behaviour unbecoming to a representative player or official that could (a) bring them or the game of cricket into disrepute or (b) be harmful to the interests of cricket".

However, Samuels ended the match with a potentially serious injury to his eye socket after he top-edged a Lasith Malinga delivery through the grille of his helmet, and any suspension may not affect his availability anyway. The Renegades coach Simon Helmot said Samuels was recovering at the team hotel and would be taking some time off to care for his injury, and a time for his hearing is yet to be confirmed by Cricket Australia.

"We're now waiting for the swelling around his eye to subside before determining the full extent of the blow," Helmot said. "We are also assessing what, if anything, this means in terms of squad composition for the remainder of the tournament and will take action to source an international replacement if necessary."

Gazi's ten help South to tight win

South Zone 248(Anamul 74, Yasin 4-50) and 248(Anamul 73, Nabil 6-81) beat East Zone 236 (Nafees 83, Gazi 6-66) and 227(Nafees 63, Gazi 5-73) by 37 runs
Scorecard

Sohag Gazi's maiden first-class ten-wicket haul ended up being the difference in South Zone's tight win against East Zone in Mirpur. Needing 137 runs to win on the final day with eight wickets in hand, East Zone were in a comfortable position. But their day started disastrously as from 154 for 2, they slipped to 171 for 8 in a matter of six overs, with Gazi picking up four of the six wickets to complete his second five-for of the match. There was a brief resistance before East Zone collapsed to hand over the win to the South.

East Zone, after putting South into bat, had struck regularly to reduce them to 196 for 9 with only Anamul Haque getting past 50. But a last-wicket stand 52 runs helped South pull ahead. In response, East made a solid start with Nafees Iqbal and Mominul Haque scoring half-centuries, but a lower-order collapse triggered by Gazi and Abdur Razzak meant that East ended 12 runs behind South.

South responded with a century stand for the second wicket between Soumya Sarkar and Anamul and although Nabil Samad picked up six wickets, South again managed 248 in the second innings, setting up a tough fourth-innings chase.

North Zone 361 (Junaid 78, Mushfiqur 76*, Farhad Hossain 74, Sunny 3-80) and 397 for 6 (Nasir 131, Farhad Reza 77, Maisuqur 73) drew with Central Zone 436 for 9 dec. (Ashraful 133, Mehrab 131)
Scorecard

A rapid century by Nasir Hossain lit up the last day of the match between North Zone and Central Zone before it ended in a draw. North had already wiped off the 75-run deficit and with a result unlikely, Nasir played attacking cricket to bring up his century of 89 balls with six fours and three sixes. Farhad Reza and Maisuqur Rahman also scored half-centuries in an innings where all eleven of Central's players were used for bowling.

Nasir's ton overcame his failure in the first innings in which only North's top-order had contributed to help the team to 361 with Mushfiqur Rahim unbeaten on 76. In response, Central had stumbled to 88 for 4 at one stage, but a 228-run stand between Mohammad Ashraful, who scored 133, and Mehrab Hossain jnr, who scored 131, set the platform for the team to take a first innings lead and take three points from the match.

Buchanan 'frosty' with New Zealand CEO

Perhaps unsurprisingly after the side has been rolled for 45 in a Test match, tensions remain apparent at the top of the New Zealand management structure with John Buchanan, the director of cricket, admitting to a difficult relationship with chief executive David White which stemmed from the controversial demotion from the captaincy of Ross Taylor.

Buchanan, who joined New Zealand Cricket in April 2011, had not spoken to the media since Taylor was dumped as captain following the Sri Lanka tour and is not in South Africa. He has been monitoring events from Australia before heading back across the Tasman to resume his duties watching domestic cricket and scouting for talent.

A host of former New Zealand players, led by the vocal Martin Crowe, have been severely critical of the change of captaincy and the way Taylor, who opted out of the South Africa tour, has been treated. Neither has Buchanan agreed with everything but is hopeful of improving the situation with White.

"It can be frosty at times, but he's got a job to do, as I have," Buchanan told the Star Times. "We certainly don't always meet eye-to-eye, there's no doubt about that. But I am very confident he gives me every possible support he can and takes my views and represents them quite candidly to the board."

He also said his relationship with the coach Mike Hesson had "received a bit of a road bump" due to events in Sri Lanka but he has spoken to Hesson since the defeat in Newlands to offer his support

"I've always let it be know to Mike that I'm available," he said. "I'm not one that really wants to spend every moment ringing or intruding into the coach's domain. Having been a coach myself, I know there are good times, and there are times when you need to talk to people."

Buchanan retains the belief that there are players available to turn New Zealand's fortunes around and that he does not have any second thoughts about his job.

"It's a a fantastic role," he said. "That's why I took on the job and I still say that. I still maintain the opportunities in New Zealand Cricket are immense, in terms of what could be achieved in a short period of time - provided we all get on the same page."

Hughes, Khawaja tip out Hussey

Michael Hussey will not get his desired ODI farewell at least partly to keep Usman Khawaja and Phillip Hughes away from the Twenty20 Big Bash League ahead of the India tour, the national selector John Inverarity has admitted.

Inverarity unveiled a curious squad for the first two matches of the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka on Sunday, captained by George Bailey while Brad Haddin resumes as the ODI gloveman in order to allow rest for Michael Clarke and Matthew Wade. David Warner has also been given time off after playing all formats for the past year.

Aaron Finch was rewarded for a compelling limited-overs summer so far while Ben Cutting has returned to the national squad for the first time since he was 12th man for the first Test match of last summer. Hussey's omission despite indicating a desire to play a final round of limited-overs games before he exited the international stage was notable, and Inverarity said the the call was made with an eye on the 2015 World Cup but also the India Test tour that begins in February.

"Our intention before two weeks ago was to give Michael a break during the Sri Lankan series and then have him refreshed and ready to come back into the ODIs against the West Indies and then off to India," Inverarity said. "Of course things changed a bit last week. We've talked it over with Mike but the overriding fact is what's best for Australian cricket and we move forward.

"We're very mindful of the 2015 World Cup and we think these ODIs are very important in terms of players like Usman Khawaja and Phillip Hughes and others having the opportunity being within the team and being in the ODI side rather than playing Big Bash League cricket partly as an opportunity for India for those who are selected. So I think we need to use those places for the future of Australian cricket.

"I think we have picked a particularly exciting side. Aaron Finch, and a lot of you have seen him play, there are not many more exciting players than Aaron. When he gets runs he gets them in quite spectacular fashion. Ben Cutting too. I think this is a very very attractive side. How will we know about the best players of the future if opportunity is not invested in them?"

Australia's coach Mickey Arthur had used the term quarantine after the Hobart match when explaining why members of the national squad were not being handed over to their BBL teams in between Tests. There is real concern among the coaches and selectors that a lack of first-class cricket through such a large chunk of the season is harming the development and preparation of both current and potential international players.

Haddin's return to the team ahead of the younger Tim Paine meanwhile provided a reminder that the selectors still valued the New South Welshman's experience. Inverarity said that Haddin remained the back-up Test wicketkeeper also, and that he would tour should the panel choose two glovemen for India or the Ashes tour of England.

"We're of the view that the two best wicketkeeper-batsmen are Matthew Wade and Brad Haddin. If something happened to Matthew than Brad Haddin would come into the side," Inverarity said. "We may or may not take two keepers to India and/or England. At this stage, our firm intention is if we take two it'll be Matthew Wade and Brad Haddin.

"Matthew's a very talented cricketer, very talented keeper and batsman, he's young and we think he'll get better and better and this has been the history of Australian cricket, we go back to Rod Marsh starting in 1970-71 and he and Ian Healy and others improved remarkably over the first couple of years. So we are certainly looking towards Matthew to improve, I think he's keeping well, he's got good skills and he'll get better as time goes on."

Another on something of a Test trial over the next month will be the allrounder Glenn Maxwell, who was 12th man for the Sydney Test. Inverarity said he was hopeful that Maxwell's progress as a cricketer and a spin bowler would gain in momentum.

"We're certainly hoping Glenn Maxwell develops as a batting all-rounder who bowls decent off-spin," Inverarity said. "He's a very talented played who we think is likely to improve on a fairly steep incline. We were close to playing him [in Sydney] - It was a close decision - but we thought the best side for this game was the side we put out."

ODI squad George Bailey (capt), Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Cutting, Mitchell Starc, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty.

Warner falls early in chase of 141

Lunch Australia 1 for 13 (Hughes 12*, Cowan 1*) need another 128 runs to beat Sri Lanka 294 and 278 (Karunaratne 85, Chandimal 62*, Jayawardene 60, Johnson 3-34, Bird 3-76)
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The wicket of David Warner for a duck gave Sri Lanka hope as Australia betrayed some early nerves in their small chase of 141 on the fourth day in Sydney. Dinesh Chandimal finished unbeaten on 62 and the 41-run stand he put on with Nuwan Pradeep for the final wicket was critical in giving Sri Lanka's bowlers something to defend. Pradeep was dismissed nearly half an hour before lunch, leaving Australia's openers a short period to bat before the break.

Sri Lanka opened with the offspin of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Australia began shakily as Ed Cowan was almost run out in the first over, having been sent back by Warner while attempting a single that wasn't there. Had the throw from the leg gully area hit the stumps at the striker's end Cowan would have been out, but he survived, avoiding the ignominy of two embarrassing run-outs for the Test after his first-innings brain-fade.

But from the first ball of the second over Sri Lanka did strike as Warner edged Suranga Lakmal to Mahela Jayawardene at second slip. Phillip Hughes was nearly bowled first ball when he failed to get the bat down in time to a Lakmal ball that just missed off stump and at lunch the Australians were grateful not to have lost any further wickets, with Hughes on 12 and Cowan on 1. The total was 1 for 13 and they required a further 128 runs for victory.

Every run was important for Sri Lanka as they resumed the morning at 7 for 225. Only ten runs had been added when Rangana Herath played on to Jackson Bird while attempting to leave the ball alone, and when Lakmal was bowled for a duck trying a hefty swipe off Mitchell Johnson it appeared that the innings could be over quickly. But Pradeep offered impressive support for Chandimal, who farmed the strike effectively.

Chandimal immediately lifted his tempo and struck three boundaries off a Bird over and soon had his half-century from 75 balls with another boundary whipped through midwicket off Bird. Pradeep got in on the act with four down the ground but next ball was caught behind off Bird as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 274.

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