Afghanistan sign up to Pakistan support

Afghanistan have received a boost after a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the development of Afghanistan cricket ahead of the 2015 World Cup.

The PCB will provide technical and professional support, including game-education programmes, coaching courses, skill and performance analysis, and basic umpiring and curator courses. High performance camps for emerging players will also be organised. The PCB-regulated National Cricket Academy (NCA) will help in improving technical, tactical, mental and physical skills, and will host lectures on doping, anti-corruption and various codes of conduct. The finance for the project will be decided later, with the NCA-related activities likely to be subsidised.

The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has served as Afghanistan's base since 2010, after they were forced to shift out of their country due to lack of infrastructure. But Pakistan's cricketing history, expertise and the opportunities for exposure to regular competitive cricket will polish their cricketers more than in the UAE, and this has brought ACB to accept Pakistan's helping hand.

"The PCB has always supported and helped the ACB with regards to cricket development there since the 1990s," PCB chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmad, said. "With the PCB's continued support, Afghanistan has the potential to go places. This would be good not just in terms of spreading the game in Afghanistan but promoting peace and harmony there by bringing the people closer."

Afghanistan became a member of the ICC in 2001 and qualified for World Cricket League (WCL) Division One in 2009 to attain one-day international status. They recently made their third trip to Pakistan in the last two years, having lost a one-day series 3-0 to a second-string Pakistan side in May 2011. They followed this up by participating in a domestic Twenty20 competition in Karachi.

Noor Muhammad, ACB CEO, acknowledged PCB's support. "The MoU that we have just signed shall take Afghanistan's cricket development on a fast track," he said. "Our cricketers, coaches and umpires shall be able to make use of PCB's excellent facilities and various education programmes. Our boys will get the opportunity to hone their skills in high-calibre competitions.

"I am indeed obliged to the PCB for this kind and voluminous support," Noor said. "Actually it is Pakistan's support that has seen Afghanistan cricket make rapid strides among affiliate nations, taking it to the verge of an enhanced status to associate member."

Zimbabwe surrender to Shillingford, again

West Indies 381 for 8 dec (Chanderpaul 108, Gayle 101) beat Zimbabwe 175 (Taylor 33, Shillingford 5-59) and 141 (Sibanda 35, Shillingford 5-34) by an innings and 65 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

It took just 42.2 overs on the third day for West Indies to clinch the second Test, sweep the series, win six Tests in a row and inflict another surrender to spin on Zimbabwe.

The hosts promptly declared during a 15-minute rain delay in the morning, and a solid start from the Zimbabwe batsmen was a hugely misleading prelude to what was to follow. Once again, Zimbabwe failed to sustain a promising phase of play long enough against a superior opposition. Shane Shillingford was their nemesis again, picking up 10 wickets in the match, several of which owed to the unsettling bounce he was able to extract from the track in his hometown.

The strategy for West Indies was simple, having successfully employed it in the first Test and the first innings in Dominica. The spinners, Shillingford, brought on in the 13th over, and Marlon Samuels, who picked up six wickets in the game, got the ball to turn, and more crucially bounce, from the off stump, surrounded the Zimbabwe batsmen with close-in fielders, who snapped up what came their way or had their team-mates in the outfield ready for opportunities borne out of a desperate attempt to find a release.

Vusi Sibanda and Brendan Taylor countered that pressure temporarily by sweeping Shillingford, Sibanda even struck him for six over deep square leg, but it was only a matter of time before the spitting bounce that proved Zimbabwe's undoing throughout the series returned to trouble them. Taylor was caught on the glove when Shillingford held his length back and caught at short leg.

Taylor's wicket marked the start of the spinners coming to dominate the innings, but Tino Best and Darren Sammy did their bit to end Zimbabwe's early resistance. Best was guilty of bowling too short, and Sibanda had cashed in, slashing hard through the off side and even driving handsomely for boundaries when the ball was pitched up, as he did against Shannon Gabriel. But Best went round the wicket to Hamilton Masakadza, who was also set, got him to seemingly glove one down the leg side, reviewed the "not out" decision and got it overturned. A possible reason for the third umpire to reverse the original call was a change in rotation of the ball as it reached Masakadza's glove, indicating there may have been contact.

Minutes earlier, in the same over, Masakadza had successfully reviewed another caught-behind decision, this time having been given out, though the evidence, in the absence of Hot Spot, was again inconclusive.

Just two balls after Taylor had been sent back, Sibanda played a rash shot across the line to Sammy to be trapped in front, his failed review confirming the ball would have clipped the bails.

With the top order out of the way, Shillingford and Samuels eased past those that came after. Sean Williams got a top-edge while trying to play a cut against Shillingford, to be caught at point, and the capitulation picked up speed following the lunch break. Craig Ervine survived 34 balls but was caught brilliantly by Chris Gayle diving to his left at slip to pouch an edge with one hand. The extra bounce in the track brought the backward short leg into play and Malcolm Waller found that fielder when he tried to work Samuels away off the back foot. Shillingford had, six overs earlier, dismissed Tino Mawoyo, forced to bat at No.7 after missing a good part of the second day's play, in the same region.

With Waller, perhaps Zimbabwe's best batsman in the limited-overs series this tour, back in the pavilion, West Indies required just four more overs to wrap up the innings. Graeme Cremer's stand-out shot was a six over long-on with his eyes staring at the ground at the point of, as well as after, impact, but inside-edged a catch towards midwicket trying the same stroke to give Shillingford his fifth wicket. It was also Shillingford's tenth for the match and 19th for the series - the best returns in a two-match series for a West Indies bowler, going past Courtney Walsh's 16 in New Zealand in 1994-95.

Paul Jarvis and Tendai Chatara lasted just two deliveries, Samuels hastening the end of a mismatch that continued West Indies' best run of consecutive victories in Tests - now six - since 1988.

'I'm back and I plan to stay' - Shillingford

As West Indies completed an innings and 65-run victory over Zimbabwe in Dominica to wrap up the series 2-0, there were a number of milestones achieved: keeper Denesh Ramdin claimed his 150th Test dismissal, West Indies won six consecutive Tests for the first time in over two decades, and offspinner Shane Shillingford snatched the team record for the highest wicket tally in a two-match series from a certain Courtney Walsh.

The pitch aided the spinners, and Shillingford made the most of it, adding another five-for to the one he took in the first innings to finish with a match haul of 10 for 93. His 19 wickets in the series - three more than Walsh against New Zealand in 1994-95 - came at 10.52 apiece.

Shillingford put his success down to perseverance: "Today, I concentrated and was willing to be patient to get my wickets. It was a matter of not being complacent and applying ourselves. One of our goals was not to be complacent. We knew once we had them down we had to keep them down and that is what we did."

In the home series against Australia in April 2012 too Shillingford had good returns, taking 14 wickets in two Tests at 26.14 - second only to Kemar Roach on West Indies' wickets chart. However, in the past year he did not feature in the squad that played New Zealand at home and Bangladesh away.

Shillingford recalled the disappointment of being overlooked: "When I was dropped I felt a certain way, but I never let it get to me too deep. I kept looking forward to the first-class season, to go there and take some wickets and work my way back into the Test team. It was hard work to get back, but now I'm back I plan to stay here."

Here, captain Darren Sammy declared overnight, leaving his bowlers with a lead of 206 to work with. And they delivered, bowling Zimbabwe out in 42.2 overs to seal victory in under three days. While Sammy and Tino Best struck once apiece, it was fellow offspinner Marlon Samuels who provided Shillingford with the most effective support once again, taking 3 for 35, including two wickets in two balls to finish off the tail.

Shillingford said he knew the pitch would assist him, and he was happy to have the support of his team-mates as well. "Here is one of the places where the wicket is spin-friendly, I knew I had to get the balls in the right areas and build the pressure, and that is what I tried to do out there," he said. "It was a really great team performance and we are all very proud of what we achieved. The spirit was really good."

Southee cameo takes New Zealand past 400

Tea New Zealand 414 for 6 (Southee 35*, Watling 13*) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

He may not have been the man Alastair Cook envisaged making the breakthrough when he inserted New Zealand five sessions ago, but Jonathan Trott claimed a vital wicket for England on the afternoon session of the second day of the final Test in Auckland.

Trott, called into the attack when Cook had exhausted all other options, dismissed Bendon McCullum just as it seemed the New Zealand captain was putting the game beyond England. Pushing the ball wide of off stump, Trott gained just enough swing to draw McCullum into a drive only to find the outside edge and see Matt Prior, standing up to the stumps, claim his second excellent catch of the day. It was just the fourth wicket of Trott's 41-Test career and may yet turn out to be the most important.

The wicket just about sustained England's ever diminishing hopes of winning the series. McCullum, batting aggressively and scoring with a freedom that none of his top-order colleagues could replicate, had once again made a mockery of England's attempts to bowl short at him by pulling and cutting with power. He also unsettled Monty Panesar's length by skipping down the pitch to drive and, when the bowler compensated, sitting on the back foot and cutting. Had he spent another hour at the crease and this game may well have been put beyond England.

Whether New Zealand had already struck the decisive blow in this series remains to be seen. By the time Trott struck, McCullum had added 68 runs for the fifth wicket with Dean Brownlie and steered his side away from a position from where England were threatening to claw their way back into the game.

England claimed three wickets in the morning session. Bowling with more discipline than the previous day, England conceded just 62 runs and, having been looking down the barrel of a huge total when New Zealand reached stumps on the first day on 250 for one, reduced New Zealand to a less daunting 297 for 4.

It might have been worse for New Zealand without the Decision Review System. McCullum was originally given out by the on-field umpire, Paul Reiffel, to the second delivery he faced only to review it and win a reprieve. Whether Reiffel thought McCullum had edged the ball or been trapped lbw remains unclear, but replays suggested neither decision would have been correct. It was a persuasive example of the merits of the DRS.

Brownlie followed not long after McCullum. Attempting to cut an innocuous delivery from James Anderson, he could only steer the ball to backward point where Nick Compton held on to a low chance.

New Zealand were not finished, though. Tim Southee pulled Broad for successive sixes and thrashed three fours, two drives and a cut, off Steven Finn as the bowler struggled with his length. The seventh-wicket partnership had added 41 runs in 8.2 overs at tea.

Batting was not straightforward in the first session. James Anderson, gaining just a little swing, found the edge of Kane Williamson's perfectly reasonable - if not fully committed - forward defensive stroke with a beauty that moved away just enough in the fifth over of the day, and England's ploy of plugging away outside Peter Fulton's off stump - an area of obvious weakness for him - resulted in the game drifting towards stalemate. His policy of blocking on off stump and picking up runs when the bowlers stray can work well if bowlers perform as loosely as they did on the first day. But against better quality bowling, it looks desperately limited. Resuming on his overnight score of 124, Fulton faced 69 deliveries in about 140 minutes in the morning and scored just 12 runs.

Perhaps Fulton scorelessness contributed to Ross Taylor's demise. While Taylor drove his seventh delivery, from Stuart Broad, for a flowing four through extra-cover, he looked increasingly frustrated by his side's lack of progress. He utilised the short boundary to flick Monty Panesar for 10 in two deliveries - a six followed by a four - over midwicket but, attempting to flick another one into the leg side a couple of balls later, was beaten by one that held its own and gifted a leading edge back to the bowler.

If the ball that accounted for Fulton was unimpressive - a thigh-high delivery heading down the leg side from Steven Finn - the catch was exceptional. Matt Prior, leaping to his left, clung on to a superb one-handed chance that Fulton must have thought was heading to the boundary as he glanced it fine.

Injured Smith unlikely for Benoni decider

Graeme Smith is unlikely to play a part in the fifth and final ODI against Pakistan in Benoni on Sunday due a recurrence of an ankle injury during South Africa's defeat in the fourth ODI in Durban. Smith was unable to field for a majority of Pakistan's innings due to the injury.

"Graeme's chronic left ankle problem has surfaced again during this ODI series," Dr Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa's team manager, said. "We have been trying to manage him but unfortunately the impingement syndrome slowed him down today and he is quite symptomatic.

"As things stand, he is unlikely to play in the last ODI but we will make a final decision tomorrow (Friday). He has had surgery on this ankle a while ago and I think the load and the volume of cricket for the year, and particularly during this ODI series, has troubled him."

Smith was bowled by Junaid Khan for 12 in Pakistan's three-wicket win that levelled the series 2-2.

The selectors will decide on Friday, whether or not to name a replacement.

Batting fightbacks on 'slow pitch' please Misbah, de Villiers

A lot of attention coming into the fourth South Africa-Pakistan ODI in Durban was centred around the pitch and subcontinental-like conditions the venue often proffers. While both captains agreed that the track was a bit slow after Pakistan's three-wicket win, South Africa's AB de Villiers said the conditions weren't that "difficult" to deal with, rather it was losing set batsmen at the wrong time that cost his team.

"The main thing was to adapt quickly and to assess the pitch conditions, it just took us a while and cost us a few wickets," de Villiers said after the match. "After about three or four overs that I faced, I got used to the pace of the deck and realised that it wasn't turning the much. It only started to turn more after about 30-35 overs, because of which the leading edges were there. There wasn't a lot of turn and was quite slow, once we got used to that started to rotating really well and we picked up a few boundaries and got the momentum on our side again."

De Villiers was left to salvage the South African innings with the injured Faf du Plessis' replacement, David Miller, after the top order was carved up by Pakistan's new-ball pair. Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan had the hosts gasping at 38 for 4 in 10 overs, before a 115-run stand between de Villiers and Miller them back on track. However, both batsmen were dismissed within four overs of each other on either side of the 35-over mark, denying South Africa an ideal finish.

While that proved costly for his side, de Villiers pointed out that they were dismissed by the "best bowler in the world", in Saeed Ajmal, so it was not "the end of the world". "It was very important to bat till the end. But it's part of the game, you're not going to bat 50 overs every game as an individual.

"My gameplan was to get to 45 overs, which I didn't, and I'm sure Dave too wanted to bat longer … I thought both of us batted really well, did a massive job for the team to get back into the game and to get a decent total. At one stage we were staring a low total in the eyes but we fought back well. Unfortunately I got out at a really bad time, it cost us 20 runs which would have been handy during the end of the bowling session there."

Pakistan's innings took a similar course, with a clutch of wickets going down at the start, only for captain Misbah-ul-Haq to resurrect the chase in the company of Imran Farhat. Importantly for Pakistan, Farhat stayed till the 48th over, bringing them to the very brink. Misbah had good words for him: "The ball wasn't coming at an even pace, there was a little bit of extra bounce in the second half, some balls were stopping a little bit, it wasn't easy to bat on that, but I think at the end Imran batted well. They bowled well, but we showed little bit of character and we managed to win this game."

It was a game Pakistan had to win to keep the series alive, and their chances of doing that took a blow early on as Mohammad Hafeez was out for a duck in the second over, becoming the first batsman in international cricket to be dismissed obstructing the field under the new laws. While Misbah accepted that the decision ultimately lay with the umpires, he said Hafeez's reaction suggested he did not wilfully change course while running to get in the way of de Villiers' throw.

"He was just running in line, trying to shorten the length," Misbah said. "He wasn't looking behind when AB threw the ball, so what he was suggesting was it wasn't intentional because he didn't know where the ball was thrown [from]. But in the end, it was the umpire's call."

Chanderpaul thrives on 'pretty tough day'

West Indies might have piled up a 206-run lead against Zimbabwe by the end of the second day in Dominica, but the pitch remains a tough one to bat on, according to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored his 28th Test century on the day.

"It was a pretty tough day, hard work. You could see it was not an easy wicket to bat on," Chanderpaul said after play. "The ball was bouncing and turning a lot, and you had to really dig in Some of the balls were bouncing, some were keeping low, you weren't always certain what the ball would do so you had to stay watchful and patient, and wait on the bad balls."

And stay patient Chanderpaul did, compiling 108 at a strike-rate of 38 in significant stands with Chris Gayle - who also scored a hundred - and Denesh Ramdin, who made 86. It was Chanderpaul's third score of over 100 in five Test innings, following scores of 203 not out and 150 not out on the tour to Bangladesh late last year.

Chanderpaul had to come out as early as the second ball of the day, after overnight batsman Marlon Samuels was bowled for 26 off the first delivery by a splendid Tendai Chatara yorker. "I was just about to sit and watch some cricket and Marlon got a good first ball," Chanderpaul laughed. "There wasn't much he could have done about it, it was a real beauty. He's pretty upset about it, that he missed out; hopefully we don't bat again but if he gets an opportunity again he'll want to cash in."

Given West Indies' big lead and the impact the spinners have been having - Zimbabwe lost eight of ten wickets to spin, while West Indies have lost five of eight to the slow bowlers so far - Samuels might not get that chance. Chanderpaul affirmed West Indies are in a position to dictate terms in this game: "We have a lead of over 200 so that's pretty good for us. All the spinners are making things happen on this pitch, Shane [Shillinford] turned up in the first innings, [Graeme] Cremer's showing it, Marlon showed it. Who knows what's going to happen second time around, but it's spinning and it's not going to stop spinning."

Fulton, Williamson lay platform

Tea New Zealand 173 for 1 (Fulton 95*, Williamson 39*) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Peter Fulton, with his highest Test score, helped New Zealand tighten their grip on the first day of the final Test in Auckland. New Zealand have only once beaten England in a Test series at home - in 1983-84 - but, going into this game with the series level at 0-0, will hope that Fulton has laid the foundations for a similar success.

Fulton, who went into tea five short of a maiden Test century, has so far been the main beneficiary of Alastair Cook's decision to invite New Zealand to bat after winning the toss. On an easy-paced track and under bright skies, none of England's bowlers were able to find any help and batting looked a relatively straightforward proposition.

Fulton, the 34-year-old opener whose previous highest Test score - 75 - was made in 2006, added 79 for the first wicket with Hamish Rutherford and 94 more for the second with Kane Williamson as New Zealand established a strong position.

Fulton was never totally convincing outside off stump. Several times he was drawn into playing deliveries he could have left and, on 12, was fortunate to see his indeterminate prod at a ball from James Anderson fly to the boundary just past third slip. Perhaps, on a larger playing surface, he might have been caught on 30 when he top-edged a pull off Stuart Broad and saw the ball clear the fine-leg boundary, just 53 metres from the bat.

His real strength lies on the legside. His first boundary, a clip through backward square, came when Broad strayed on to his legs and it was fitting that he brought up the 50 partnership and his own 50 with flowing on drives. He plundered 14 - two fours and a six, all through midwicket - in three deliveries off the ineffectual Monty Panesar.

But if Fulton has made the greater contribution to date, Williamson has, arguably, played the more eye-catching strokes. At one stage, he took three boundaries in an over from Anderson, deliberately guiding two balls to third man and driving another, quite beautifully, back past the bowler for another.

The only wicket New Zealand lost to date owed more to a lapse in concentration than any incisive bowling. In the penultimate over of the morning session, Hamish Rutherford attempted a footless slash at a wide delivery and was well taken, high at first slip. He left the field cursing his carelessness and will know he squandered an opportunity to join Fulton in exploiting the friendly conditions.

Cook's pain will have been tempered somewhat by the knowledge that his counterpart, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum admitted that he, too, would have chosen to bowl first. But England may also reflect that they failed to utilise the new ball as they might have done. Neither Anderson nor Broad made the batsmen play as often as they would have liked in the opening overs and, with the conditions offering little assistance to the bowlers, batting looked increasingly and, from an England perspective, worryingly comfortable.

With the seamers finding little help in the surface, both teams will be relieved they decided to stick with their spinners. Indeed, New Zealand retained the same XI that had represented them in the first two Tests, resisting the opportunity to bring in Doug Bracewell for either the spinner Bruce Martin or to freshen up the seam attack, while England brought in Jonny Bairstow in place of the injured Kevin Pietersen.

Kushal Perera slams triple for Colts

Kushal Janith Perera's brutal 336 from 275 deliveries for Colts Cricket Club was the highlight of round seven in the Premier League tournament, after which Panadura Cricket Club and Tamil Union remained atop the group tables. The round produced one draw and five innings victories, and the leading clubs have now pulled firmly away from those that will fight to remain in the league in the two remaining rounds. Each group presently has ten teams in it, and the bottom three teams in each group will be relegated to an emerging tournament next year, which will not have first-class status.

Perera's blitz came against Saracens Sports Club at the Colts' home ground. Coming in at 46 for 2 after the Colts had been asked to bat, Perera put on a 224-run partnership with Nisal Randika, who made 93, before combining with Thisara Perera for the sixth wicket for 137 from 110 balls. Perera's 336 featured 29 fours and 14 sixes, and Colts' innings was eventually declared when he was out on the second morning with the total at 611 for 8. Colts' bowlers then ripped through Saracens twice, dismissing them for 184 and 140. Ishan Jayaratne took five wickets in the second innings, while Akila Dananjaya and Sajeewa Weerakoon grabbed useful hauls. Only Rajkumar Rathika was able to cross fifty for Saracens, who are bottom of Group A after the innings and 287-run loss.

Tamil Union remained the only unbeaten team in the competition, despite its four best bowlers being away on Test duty, as they defeated Chilaw Marians by four wickets in a low-scorer at the P Sara Stadium. Marians batted first and made 209, thanks to an aggressive fifty from Sachith Pathirana who earned a call-up to the ODI side after his 75 runs and 7 for 124 in this match. His five-wicket haul in the first innings helped secure a 53-run lead over the Marians, but totaling just 155 in the second innings, as TN Sampath took five wickets for Tamil Union, allowed the opposition back into the match. In the end 58 from Sachith Pathirana in the final innings, as well as contributions from Pulina Tharanga and Denuwan Rajakaruna, helped Tami Union score the 209 runs required for victory.

Panadura Sports Club defeated Air Force Sports Club by 254 runs at Riffle Green, thanks largely to a ten-wicket haul to left-arm spinner Gayan Sirisoma and a strong first-innings total, built largely by the lower-middle order. Chamara Silva and Chandana Aravinda hit fifties for Panadura in the first innings, with Chathura Peiris, Dilruwan Perera and Sudesh Umangaya also helping propel their side to 309. Sirisoma then helped his side secure a big lead with 5 for 72, as Air Force slumped to 173. Dilruwan Perera then made from 60 balls in the second innings, after Chamara Silva had notched up another fifty, and Dilruwan Perera returned with the ball, to remove four batsmen for 60 runs as Air Force chased an unlikely 440.

Sohan Boralessa's seven-wicket haul and Farveez Maharoof's 116 highlighted Nondescript Cricket Club's five-wicket win over Navy Sports Club. Navy were dismissed for 180 in the first innings, before NCC hit 354, with Maharoof top-scoring. Boralessa then reaped 7 for 96, as Navy put up better resistance, with Duleeka Thissakuttige's unbeaten 100 from No. 3 being the backbone for the team's 278. NCC lost five wickets in their fourth innings, but chased 105 comfortably. Angelo Perera and Niroshan Dickwella also hit half-centuries in the match.

Sinhalese Sports Club, who remained ahead of NCC at second on the Group B table, scored an innings and 70-run victory over Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club. Sachithra Senanayake took nine wickets in the match in the same week he earned an ODI recall, and he is now second on the league's wicket-takers list, with 49. Kaushal Silva provided the anchor for SSC's 448, with 148, with support from Kaushal Lokuarachhi, who made 85 and then took four wickets in the second innings.

A 153 from 181 from Shehan Jayasuriya and a five-wicket haul for Malindu Pushpakumara could not prevent Moors Sports Club from succumbing to Army Sports Club, after Army made 365 in the first innings, with Manjula de Zoysa hitting 142. Army's offspinner Roshan Jayatissa took six wickets in the final innings to help dismiss Moors 265 runs short of an unlikely target.

Elsewhere, Bloomfield Cricket Club's left-arm slow bowler Upul Indrasiri took ten wickets in their innings victory over Ragama Cricket, while another left-arm spinner, Colombo Cricket Club's Dinuka Hettiarachchi became the league's top wicket-taker, when he took 11 Galle Cricket Club scalps, in his side's innings win.

In Badureliya Sports Club's match against Ports Authority cricket club, a 165-run second-innings partnership between Badureliya's No. 7 Malinga Bandara and No. 9 Saliya Saman, rescued the side from defeat, and set Ports Authority a target of 91, which they could not achieve in the nine overs remaining to them in the match.

Lahore Lions hold off Sialkot to reach final

Lahore Lions 232 all out (Siddiq 59, Nasim 55*, Bhatti 3-40, Abbas 3-38) beat Sialkot Stallions 192 all out (Yousaf 40, Ashraf 4-33) by 46 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Lahore Lions beat Sialkot Stallions by 46 runs in a rain-affected match to secure a spot in the Faysal Bank One-Day Cup final, which will be at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on March 23. Saad Nasim's late unbeaten half-century proved the difference as Lahore Lions posted a fighting total.

An overcast day led Sialkot to opt to field first. Lahore Lions were reduced to 31 for 2, losing their captain, Azhar Ali, and Raza Ali Dar, for ducks. Umar Saddiq (59) and Usman Salahuddin (44) held their nerve though, stringing together a 62-run partnership for the third wicket. However, rain intervened during the innings to reduce the overs to 44 a side.

Salahuddin anchored another 60-run stand, for the fourth wicket, with Fahad-ul-Haq (32) to keep things on track before Lahore Lions' middle order slumped, losing five wickets for 30 runs.

Nasim fought hard as he waged a lone battle to keep Lahore Lions in the game. He smacked eight boundaries including four sixes in his unbeaten 55 off 44 balls, muscling his side to a respectable 232. Bilawal Bhatti and Nayyer Abbas took three wickets each.

Requiring 5.2 runs per over, Sialkot replied confidently, with Mukhtar Ahmed clubbing two back-to-back boundaries in the very first over. But Sialkot began to stall as they were reduced to 117 for 6 inside of 29 overs. Shahid Yousuf (40) along with Ali Khan (36) resisted for a while, but the required rate was getting out of hand.

Abbas (20) and Ali battled for a 42-run cameo stand for the seventh wicket, but were pinned down by Lahore Lions' disciplined bowling. They eventually were dismissed for 192, with Ashraf being the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 33.

Karachi Zebras and Karachi Dolphins will go head to head tomorrow at the same venue to decide who Lahore Lions will face on Saturday.

My honesty helped earn Tendulkar's captaincy recommendation - Dhoni

MS Dhoni believes his forthrightness helped him earn a captaincy recommendation from Sachin Tendulkar. He said he received Tendulkar's backing in the matter, which was a "huge thing".

"On the field, I always give my honest inputs about team strategy," Dhoni said at the launch of Sachin - The Cricketer of the Century, a book that celebrates his stellar innings. "Tendulkar and I used to discuss team strategy on the field. If I was convinced [about something], I would even disagree with him and it happened quite often.

"I think my honesty has paid dividends when he recommended me for captaincy. He might [have been] thinking that I had learnt in quick time [about] different aspects of the game and team strategy. Even if I was not made the captain, it was a huge thing that Tendulkar had recommended my name for captaincy."

Dhoni, who debuted for India in 2004, took over the limited-overs captaincy from Rahul Dravid after India's tour of England in 2007. He had a smashing start to his captaincy, leading India to victory in the World Twenty20 2007 in his first series in charge. Soon after, he lost his maiden ODI series as captain, at home to Australia, but followed up with victory in the tri-series in Australia that also included Sri Lanka. He took over the Test captaincy full-time from Anil Kumble in November 2008 in the Nagpur Test against Australia, and has now become India's most successful Test captain with 23 wins from 46 Tests.

Dhoni, who labelled Tendulkar his "sporting hero", also spoke about the first time he met him. "I think that was in a Duleep Trophy match in Pune in 2000-01 or 2001-02 season. I was in East Zone squad and was carrying drinks. Tendulkar made 199 in that match and he was batting when I went onto the field to serve drinks to my team-mates in the drinks break.

"Suddenly, he asked me, 'Can I have a drink also?' That was my first meeting with Tendulkar, my idol. I did not speak a word to him and ended up serving a drink to him."

Deadlocked sides target final flourish

Match facts

Friday, March 22, Eden Park, Auckland
Start time 1030 (2130 GMT previous day)

Big Picture

There is a Test series up for grabs in New Zealand, but England's thoughts are never far away from the important summer that lies in wait. Their hosting of the Champions Trophy offers them a chance to break their duck in a 50-over ICC tournament and then there is the little matter of back-to-back Ashes series. There is no point pretending otherwise - it is on everybody's mind.

Three back-to-back Tests in New Zealand are bound to leave England a little queasy. Every time James Anderson frowned in his run up in the second Test in Wellington, awful visions appeared of him missing an entire summer with an as yet undiagnosed injury. But Anderson came through 37 grueling overs, largely into the wind, with nothing more than a few back and heel niggles and with the help of the rain that washed out the final day confirmed he felt okay again. The slightest concern about his fitness, though, could tempt England to play safe and rest their most prized bowling asset; Graham Onions was one of only three players who had optional nets on Tuesday.

And what of Monty? He was outbowled by Bruce Martin at the Basin Reserve and before this series few people in England had even heard of Bruce Martin. As Graeme Swann's sidekick in India, Panesar shared in one of the finest spin-bowling feats in England's Test history. As a lone spinner in New Zealand, his ability to block up an end allowed England to rotate their fast bowlers (and, no mean feat, probably helped to keep them fit in the process).

Accusations that New Zealand have been intent solely on a nil-all draw are somewhat unfair. If the pitch in Dunedin was a drudge, Wellington provided a decent Test surface. New Zealand have been competitive, not remotely the pushovers that some imagined as they have battled back from the mess of the Ross Taylor ousting; they can take pride in that. Indeed, their professionalism has been so exemplary it invites the New Zealand public to consider whether the replacement of Taylor with Brendon McCullum was actually more logical than it has so far cared to admit. Now there's a debate to pass the time while watching Test cricket in the mind-numbing surroundings of a rugby ground - isn't it about time New Zealand's capital city provided a venue fit for Test cricket?

Form guide

New Zealand DDLLW
England DDDWW

Players to watch ...

Brendon McCullum has led from the front for New Zealand throughout this tour. His counter-attacking half-century in Wellington (are his innings ever anything else?) was his fifth in consecutive innings. However, his form is too good for him not to convert into a hundred. If the surface at Eden Park does have more pace and bounce as suggested McCullum is one of the New Zealand batsmen best equipped to deal with it. Beating England after all that has happened - what an achievement that would be.

Jonny Bairstow has played one first-class innings in seven months and now he is set to be pitched into a deciding Test. No surprise, then, that while most of the squad had a day off on Wednesday he was working in the nets with Graham Gooch. It has been a difficult for months for Bairstow - form and family issues impacted his tours - but this is a chance, albeit an unexpected one, to play a key role for England.

Team news

Kevin Pietersen will not only miss the final Test in Auckland but the whole of the IPL because of a knee injury which has been ruled out of all cricket for up to eight weeks. Instead of the adulation which he laps up on every visit to India, he faces a lengthy rehabilitation with a view to regaining match fitness in time for the Champions Trophy and the Ashes series which follows. Bairstow is expected to deputise although Chris Woakes remains an outside chance. For New Zealand, a third Test in quick succession will tempt them to shuffle their pace attack with the possibility that Doug Bracewell may get an outing instead of Trent Boult.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Peter Fulton, 2 Hamish Rutherford, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross taylor, 5 Dean Brownlie, 6 Brendon McCullum, 7 BJ Watling, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Bruce Martin, 11 Neil Wagner

England (probable): 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Nick Compton, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Joe Root, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Steve Finn, 10 James Anderson, 11 Monty Panesar.

Pitch and conditions

Drop-in Test pitches are regarded with such suspicion - somewhere between an artificial surface and the real thing - that discussing their likely behaviour still seems a little unreal. A couple of days to help the seamers before the pitch flattens out was one analysis. As for the weather, temperatures at the end of the summer have slipped a tad, but a maximum of 23C and a good deal of sunshine is the forecast.

Stats and trivia

Eden Park has staged 47 matches since 1930 and many suspect this may be its last. Its straight boundaries fall well short of the 70m minimum distance from the centre of the pitch, but ICC regulations allow any ground approved for international cricket before 2007 cricket to be exempt. So that's alright then.
New Zealand have beaten England only once in 15 attempts at Eden Park (10 have been drawn). Daryl Tuffey was the star of their win in 2002 with nine wickets in the match and his 6 for 54 in the first innings was a Test-best analysis.
England have won deciders on this tour over both 50 and 20 overs.
England have never won a 50-over ICC trophy; if they tell you they have not even given the Champions Trophy, to be played in England in June, a second thought, greet it with suspicion.

Quotes

"The confidence within the group is building nicely but there's also a realism that we will have to perform outstandingly well for five days. England stepped up in those previous two deciders and we went missing so this will be a good challenge to see if we've progressed as a team."
Brendon McCullum

"In an ideal world a pitch with more pace and bounce would make for a more exciting wicket. But whichever pitch we get in Auckland we'll try to find the best way to win the game."
Alastair Cook, England's captain, vows to keep going.

Mishra, Patel build Kenya reply

Kenya 202 for 3 (Patel 59*, Mishra 57*) trail Canada 358 by 156 runs
Scorecard

A century partnership between Tanmay Mishra and Rakep Patel saw Kenya fightback against Canada on the second day in Dubai. At 95 for 3 Kenya were facing a sizable deficit but Mishra and Patel got together to put their side in a strong position.

Both players made half-centuries with Patel's the livelier, coming in just 54 balls with seven fours and a six. Mishra was more sedate and had faced 119 balls by the close for his 57 not out. Together, the pair had got Kenya back into the game.

They had made a poor start in reply to Canada's solid total, losing openers Irfan Karim and Duncan Allan after both had made starts. Captain Collins Obuya also settled with six fours but he fell top-edging Nikhil Dutta's off spin to leave his side struggling.

At that stage Canada were right on top having added 112 to their overnight total with useful contributions from the tail, the pick of which, 32 from No. 11 Henry Osinde, included three fours and two sixes. The tenth wicket added 57 as Canada took control of the game before the response from Mishra and Patel.

Concerns over SL players' IPL 2013 stint

The participation of Sri Lanka players in the 2013 IPL, which begins on April 3, has been thrown into some doubt following political tensions in India over the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Players' Association has raised strong concerns about the safety of Sri Lanka cricketers who will play in Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, and officials from a couple of franchises admitted that the IPL has "verbally communicated" the same concerns to them.

The political fallout of the issue has led to the DMK, a Tamil Nadu-based party, pulling its ministers out of the federal coalition government in New Delhi and threatening its future. There have been at least two reported attacks on Sri Lankan tourists in Tamil Nadu in the past few days and Sri Lanka's foreign ministry has asked its nationals visiting Tamil Nadu to exercise caution. The fear is that the controversy will snowball and put players at risk.

Twelve Sri Lanka players are contracted to IPL teams in 2013, with fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara and offspinner Akila Dananjaya part of the Chennai Super Kings franchise. Ten matches will be played in Chennai.

In Sri Lanka, the players' association said it was currently consulting with its parent organisation, the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations, to determine a course of action that will ensure cricketers' safety. "We have sent a letter to FICA outlining the situation, which they are not aware of at the moment," SLPA general secretary Ken de Alwis said. "They will talk to their security consultants and get back to us about what needs to be in place." Alwis said, however, that the cricketers who are set to play in the tournament have expressed confidence in existing security arrangements. "The players aren't worried at all. In fact, I spoke to a few of them and they said, 'No, security will be tight, and we're not too concerned right now.'" In India, where the issue was given a dramatic twist on Tuesday with the DMK's withdrawal from the government, franchise officials now say the IPL is concerned at events. "They [IPL] have told us that the federal government might impose certain restrictions with regard to Sri Lankan nationals travelling to Chennai. If that happens, [we have been asked to] be prepared to play those games without the Lankan players," a franchise official said on condition of anonymity.

Most of the franchises contacted by ESPNcricinfo said they were not really concerned about the league stage, where they could ask teams not to field their Sri Lankan players for the Chennai matches. The "real concern" for them is the Eliminator, scheduled to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 22. "If the situation doesn't improve by then and either or both teams have to do without one or two key players, the match could be seriously affected," another franchise official said.

While for seven teams, it will mean being without the services of one or two players for a game, the biggest impact will be for the Chennai Super Kings, the host team, who might have to do without Kulasekara and Dananjaya for all eight home games.

The first IPL game in Chennai will be between the hosts and Mumbai Indians, for whom Lasith Malinga is a key player, on April 6.

Dhawan out, Raina in for Delhi Test

Suresh Raina has been called up to the India squad for the fourth Test against Australia as replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan, who has been ruled out for six weeks with a fractured left hand. Gautam Gambhir, who had been dropped in favour of Dhawan for the Australia Tests, was also added to the squad initially, before a blood test showed he was down with jaundice, a BCCI release said.

Dhawan had injured his hand while trying to stop a Phillip Hughes square drive during Australia's second innings on the fourth day of the Mohali Test. He did not field for the rest of the day and also did not bat during India's chase after having made 187 in his debut innings. ESPNcricinfo understands the selectors had discussed that the need for naming a replacement for Dhawan would arise only if the team management asked for it.

Dhawan's fracture, Gambhir's illness and Virender Sehwag's axing after the Hyderabad Test leave M Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane as the only openers in the squad. Vijay is the only India opener to have played in all three Tests so far, with hundreds in Hyderabad and Mohali. Rahane is yet to play a Test but looks most likely to partner Vijay in Delhi.

However, with Raina's inclusion as a back-up batsman, it won't be surprising if Cheteshwar Pujara opens, like he did in the second innings in Mohali, and Raina bats in the middle order, leaving no place for Rahane.

The last of Raina's 17 Tests came against New Zealand in Bangalore in September 2012. He wasn't part of the squad for the four Tests against England and the first three Tests against Australia. He had an underwhelming Ranji season, with 304 runs in six games at an average of 33.77, although he did make 134 and 71 in the Irani Cup game against Mumbai last month.

'Didn't want to break down in front of Yuvraj' - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar has said he was scared of breaking down in front of Yuvraj Singh when he met the latter in London after his treatment in the United States for a rare germ cell cancer. Tendulkar was speaking in Delhi at the release of Yuvraj's book The Test of My Life: From Cricket to Cancer and Back, published by Random House India.

"When I went to meet him in London, I was telling my wife that I don't want to break down when I see him," Tendulkar said. "I met him and gave him a tight hug. We enjoyed a meal and from the way he ate, I was convinced that he was back on track.

"When I saw my wife discussing medical terms with Yuvraj, I realised what he had been going through," Tendulkar said. "He is like my younger brother and I would ask God why it (the illness) had to happen to Yuvraj."

Yuvraj recollected his first meeting with Tendulkar. "My first conversation was when I was looking at him in awe at the dressing room when suddenly he said 'please pass on the biscuits'," Yuvraj said. To this Tendulkar replied, "I have not got those biscuits till now."

Apart from Tendulkar, India captain MS Dhoni also spoke about Yuvraj's fight with cancer. Dhoni said he knew about Yuvraj's situation even before the latter told him about it. "When his test reports came, someone told me he has cancer," Dhoni said. "I just said 'are you sure?' The person repeated that Yuvraj has cancer. I was shocked."

Following his return from the United States after his treatment for mediastinal seminoma, Yuvraj has set up a cancer charity called Youwecan which focuses on spreading cancer awareness, and early detection.

Several players who spoke at the event in a three way conversation along with Yuvraj and Harsha Bhogle said they had seen Yuvraj cough and throw up repeatedly in the 2011 ICC World Cup but assumed they were throat or stomach problems. Yuvraj was named Player of the Tournament for the World Cup and described the moment after Dhoni hit a six to win the final for India. "I was running towards Mahi to hug him and he was running towards the stumps." Later then when he asked Dhoni what he had been doing, Dhoni had said he'd made a run for the stumps because otherwise the rest of the players would make a grab for them.

During his stay in Indianapolis for his cancer treatment, Yuvraj said he had followed the team's matches in Australia and admitted to feeling "sad" at not being involved with the cricket. "I would watch videos of my batting until one day, Anil Kumble came to visit me and shut my laptop. He said I should forget about the cricket and concentrate on my recovery." The only time he found himself "jumping" with excitement and joy during two difficult months of chemotherapy in the United States was on hearing about Virat Kohli's century in Adelaide.

The India team and support staff were called onto stage for photographs but as the players went on, Virender Sehwag stayed seated at his spot. Yuvraj called out to him and said, "Veeru, main bhi team main nahin noon, tum bhi team main nahin ho - chal aa jaa [I'm also not in the (Test) team, you're also not in the team - come on up]." Sehwag did with a smile on his face.

Sangakkara expects tough finish

Kumar Sangakkara has said Sri Lanka have tough work ahead of them on day four if they are to avoid an embarrassing score line on a Premadasa pitch that is becoming difficult to bat on. Bangladesh finished the third day 52 runs ahead with six wickets in hand, as the surface grew handier for the slow bowlers with each session.

Sri Lanka had two opportunities to have the visitors at least five down at stumps, but shelled two catches late in the day to help keep Bangladesh in the match. Nuwan Kulasekara grassed a chance at mid-on when he parried an aerial stroke from Mominul Haque, before Angelo Mathews dropped a low catch off Mushfiqur Rahim at slip soon after. Both chances came off the bowling of Rangana Herath, who took three of the four wickets in the innings.

"It would have been brilliant to have them five down," Sangakkara said. "We had the opportunities, though a close decision also didn't go our way towards the end. We've got ourselves to blame. One was quite an easy chance, and one not so easy. It's important, because we want to go into a fourth or fifth day in the last innings with as little to chase as possible. Rangana Herath did a great job again, and the fast bowlers held their own - especially with the slightly older ball. I think they bowled quite good, but a lot of work [still needs] to be done, and chances to be held, if we want to really get on top tomorrow.

"The pitch is not too bad for batting at the moment, but there's a bit of inconsistent bounce and the wicket's a bit two-paced, with the outfield quite sluggish. All of that makes run-scoring a bit difficult. Maybe the bowlers will fancy themselves a chance of tying a batsman down, and then building pressure to try and get him out."

Sangakkara said Sri Lanka's spinners would be the key to knocking over the final six wickets cheaply, and singled out Herath as the man most likely to inflict damage. Bangladesh have one more recognised batsman in Nasir Hossain, who is yet to take guard, but Sohag Gazi at no. 8 and Abul Hasan at no. 9 are also capable of playing significant innings.

"If there's more turn tomorrow, I think both Dilshan and Rangana will be important for us," he said. "You saw that even in the first innings when the wicket was supposed to be seaming around, it really wasn't. It was Rangana that got us those five important wickets, so he's always going to be an important bowler."

Sangakkara also gave credit to Sri Lanka's fast bowlers, although they have taken only five wickets in the match among the three of them. On day three, the pace attack was largely disciplined, with only Shaminda Eranga threatening to take a wicket.

"The fast bowlers I thought bowled well in partnerships, and as they keep playing - they're quite an inexperienced attack - they'll get a lot better. It's about bowling in partnerships on this track. It's not a wicket that you can come in and blast the opposition out. You have to bowl tight lines, set tight fields, and stop the batsman scoring."

Sangakkara was dismissed, somewhat controversially, in the morning, having made his third consecutive hundred in the series. The third-umpire referral took almost six minutes, as officials attempted to determine whether Sangakkara had edged a ball from Abul Hasan, before eventually giving him out. Sangakkara was philosophical about his demise, but said he was satisfied with his 139.

"It was a strange five minutes, from the delivery to the referral, to [then] being given out. But that's the way cricket goes. Some go your way, some don't.

"Every hundred I score is equally special. I really don't judge if this was better or that was better. Whatever the situation the team is in, you [have to] go out there to score some runs. That's the way to get the team out of a bad situation. My thinking pattern was just to go out there and bat. It was not a wicket or an outfield when you can go out there and play your strokes. All I thought was that I'm just going to wait and make sure the bowlers get tired, and that I'm still hanging around when they do."

Notts take pre-season title

Success on pre-season tours has been the precursor to good performances during the season for many counties in previous years, so Nottinghamshire can take heart from winning the Barbados T20 cup.

Six counties took up the opportunity of some warm-weather practise ahead of the new season and Notts thrashed Derbyshire in the final at Kensington Oval to add this trophy to the T20 competition won in Dubai prior to the 2011 season.

They were only chasing 115 after Derbyshire's top order failed with the bat. Early wickets left them 57 for 6 on a pitch that had been used for the Zimbabwe Test match earlier in the week. Tony Palladino and Richard Johnson rescued the innings into double figures.

But it was a paltry target as Michael Lumb and Alex Hales took 54 from the Powerplay - 18 from Mark Footitt's first over. Lumb holed out in the deep for 35 and Hales fell caught at midwicket for 33. James Taylor launched three sixes in his 32 before Steven Mullaney applied the coup de grace, hitting the winning runs into the pavilion.

Notts had overcome Yorkshire in the semi-final while Derbyshire had squeezed past Warwickshire by two runs. Hampshire beat Northamptonshire in the plate final.

But Notts can take most from the tour and Mick Newell, their director of cricket, said they had achieved a lot from the trip. "Sam Wood and Graeme White have had a couple of excellent days, in conditions suited to spin bowling," he told nottsccc.co.uk. "Steven Mullaney's chipped in with the bat but over the course of the two days everybody's contributed.

"We haven't given a lot of runs away in any of the three matches, the wickets have been conducive to spin but we have also batted nicely when up against quicker bowling.

"We have Samit Patel and David Hussey to come into our T20 side as well and we'll need lots of different players over the ten qualifying matches but certainly Sam Wood has shown what he can do here."

Bracewell to be added to New Zealand Test squad

Doug Bracewell, the New Zealand seamer, will be added to the New Zealand squad for the final Test in Auckland if he gets through Central Districts' Ford Trophy game against Canterbury on Wednesday unscathed. Bracewell missed the first two Tests against England due to a foot injury and the extent of his recovery will be tested on Wednesday.

Two other members already in the Test squad, Tom Latham and Ian Butler, will play their Ford Trophy games on Wednesday before joining the national squad for the final Test. The deciding Test in Auckland begins Friday.

"Doug's availability creates a real battle for spots for this deciding Test against England," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said. "It also helps to manage the workload for a group of bowlers who have carried a heavy load during the first two Tests.

"We'll be keenly watching how he performs in the Ford Trophy tomorrow and how his foot comes through the game."

New Zealand squad for Auckland Test: Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell (pending getting through Ford Trophy game on Wednesday), Dean Brownlie, Ian Butler, Peter Fulton, Tom Latham, Bruce Martin, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk), Kane Williamson.

Starc flies home for ankle surgery

Mitchell Starc will fly home from India to have surgery on his ankle and will miss the fourth and final Test in Delhi.

Starc has been affected by bone spurs in his right ankle for some time and the problem was a key factor in him being rested for the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka, and while he was able to continue through the rest of the Australian summer and the Indian tour, the Australians are gambling on an early operation they hope will have him fully fit for the Ashes.

Starc was one of Australia's strongest performers in the loss in Mohali, where he scored 99 and 35, and collected two wickets during a spell of impressive swing bowling with the second new ball in India's second innings. However, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy now in India's hands, the Australian team management decided that Starc's injury was best dealt with immediately to give him the best chance of being available for the tour of England.

"Mitch has been experiencing ankle pain related to bone spurs during the India Test series and whilst manageable, this represents an appropriate time for Mitch to have the surgery with a view to having him fully fit for the Ashes in late June," the team doctor Peter Brukner said. "Mitch will have surgery later this week and we'll assess his recovery as he returns to bowling."

Australia's coach Mickey Arthur said Starc could have continued playing but the operation would have been required at some stage.

"We were aware that Mitch would need surgery at some point in the future to have the spurs removed," Arthur said. "He could have continued playing but we want to take a proactive approach in managing Mitch to have him fit for the Ashes series in England. Our medical team will monitor his progress closely on whether he is available for selection for the ICC Champions Trophy."

Starc's absence for the Delhi Test could bring Mitchell Johnson into contention to play his first Test of the tour. Johnson and James Pattinson will again be available for selection after being left out due to their failure to complete a team task in Mohali and while Pattinson is a certainty to play, the make-up of the rest of the attack is less clear. The pitch in Delhi is expected to offer significant turn.

SA stay cool to take series lead

As Shahid Afridi flayed the South African attack, memories of their last two, perhaps even three ODIs at the Wanderers came flooding back.

South Africa have not won at the Bullring since February 2008, losing to Australia, India and Sri Lanka in the process. The last two were close defeats in matches which underlined South Africa's problems with pressure. Against India, South Africa were bowled out for 189, chasing 191 and against Sri Lanka, they could not defend 312 despite having them eight down.

Every time Afridi breached the boundary, he provided another flashback to those fixtures. It was possible that, once again, South Africa would be beaten even though they should have been doing the beating.

What made this time different, according to AB de Villiers, is that South Africa did not panic. "I always felt we were in the game," he said. "Shahid Afridi played really well but I felt like we were in control I always felt our bowlers always had the skill to get him out."

He was not wrong because soon after Ryan McLaren's almost yorker-length low full toss had Afridi driving and playing on. Had McLaren not overstepped, Afridi would have been out for 73.

That ended up being just 15 runs short of what he eventually scored, but the shot Afridi followed that escape with would have sent alarm bells off in any captain's mind. De Villiers did his best to hit the snooze button after Afridi sent a ball over the Golf Course End stand.

"There was a bit of a breeze coming in and I when I looked at the shot I just didn't how he hit the ball that far," de Villiers admitted. "I forced myself to think, 'he is playing a great knock, there is no reason to get emotional, he is playing out of skin here. It's not as though we are bowling badly, but this guy is playing an amazing knock'. We've seen it all over the world, one guy can come in and take the game away, there is nothing you can do about that."

Eventually Lonwabo Tsotsobe managed to do something. Another full toss tempted Afridi but he holed out to long-off. South Africa still had to toil to remove the tail and a lack of yorkers made the job harder.

De Villiers explained it was not the plan to aim the toes, even though Allan Donald had earlier said it was. "That wasn't the plan. We wanted to go length and try and nick him off," he said of their plans to Afridi. "The rest of the time the bowlers hit their lengths well and bowled bouncers well, especially the slower ball bouncer."

That is exactly the delivery Donald said anyone could come up with and although change of pace got South Africa the first five wickets, they still needed something more potent at the end. For the three days between this match and the next one, that will be one of the things they will work on as they look to wrap up the series and string two consecutive wins together.

De Villiers believed the batsmen showed the right approach to becoming more consistent. In saying that, he was talking mostly about himself and Hashim Amla, who shared a world-record third wicket stand of 238. "In our body language, we showed that we are here to play," de Villiers said. "When we got a gut feel when a bowler is feeling a bit weak, we sensed it was time to take them on. That happened a few times."

While South Africa feel they have made a statement of intent, so do Pakistan. Despite defeat, they showed their ability and for Misbah, that was good enough. "Everybody believed that Pakistan can't play well while they are chasing, especially such a huge total. Today we showed that we can do that," he said. "It's all about the mind, you need to be positive."

Afridi also announced himself and both captains hope that is a sign of things to come in the remaining two matches. "He was also under tremendous pressure but we know he can be really dangerous at No. 7," Misbah said. "He has really good confidence and he will be good for us in the next matches."

De Villiers said it was "good to see Afridi back" but joked that he wouldn't like him to keep being back as the series heads into its decisive week.

Wellington washout keeps series square

New Zealand 254 (McCullum 69, Broad 6-51) and 162 for 2 (Williamson 55*) drew with England 465 (Trott 121, Compton 100, Prior 82)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Auckland will decide the Test series after the final day at the Basin Reserve was abandoned without a ball bowled. The final decision, which had looked likely from early morning as steady rain fell, came shortly after 2pm.

The tail-end of Cyclone Sandra had arrived on cue during the fourth day and the weather was worse on the final morning, with low cloud and rain meaning that players from both teams returned to their hotels when it was clear there would be no action before lunch. Although the skies brightened around midday, the outfield had taken a lot of water and there was never really a big effort to clear the area.

The umpires, Asad Rauf and Rod Tucker, had a couple of inspections during the afternoon and some of the players prodded around on the outfield without anyone looked particularly keen to get out there. Further rain then made the decision easy.

In a flip of the situation in Dunedin, this time England will be frustrated and New Zealand relieved. Alastair Cook had enforced the follow-on on the third evening but his bowlers only managed two wickets in the second innings on a docile surface. Even without the assistance of the weather, the home side could have saved the match - their top-order put in a stubborn display in their second innings, led by Kane Williamson's unbeaten half-century.

England's bowlers were not at their best second time around, having worked hard to remove New Zealand for 254, and the fast men were feeling the effects of back-to-back innings in the field. Monty Panesar, while steady, did not provide the wicket-taking threat that will have been hoped for although did create some difficulties out of the rough.

Both teams will now travel north with an eager eye in the pitch, a drop-in, that will be prepared at Eden Park. Bowlers from both sides have been forced to labour during lengthy stints in the field and it is not inconceivable that some fresh legs will be needed for the final match.

Watson returns to India tour

Shane Watson is to return to India in time for the fourth Test after spending a week in Australia around the birth of his first son, Will.

Watson had arrived in Sydney on Tuesday, his departure from Chandigarh also coinciding with him being one of four players stood down from the Australia team for this week's third Test due to their failure to complete a task set by the coach Mickey Arthur.

When he left India, Watson said he would use his time at home to weigh up his cricket future, which given his new family commitments was taken as a suggestion that long Test tours might no longer be on his radar.

However, Clarke and Watson spoke on the phone after Watson landed in Sydney and Clarke said at the time the best-case scenario for Australia was that Watson could still return to India in time for the final Test in Delhi, which starts on Friday next week.

As Clarke now struggles with back trouble and Australia face the possibility of going 3-0 down in the series in Mohali, Watson's return for the final Test is welcome. He may yet lead the team.

More to come...

Obuya, Otieno lead Kenya to 21-run win

Kenya 139 for 7 (Aga 31, Patel 2-23) beat Canada 118 (Gunasekera 38, Obuya 3-17, Otieno 3-18) by 21 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Some late hitting from Ragheb Aga and three wickets each from Collins Obuya and Elijah Oteino helped Kenya win the second T20 against Canada in Dubai and share the series 1-1. Having scored 139 after electing to bat, Kenya dismissed Canada for 118 with seven balls to spare.

The top five Kenya batsmen reached double-figures but couldn't score more than 20 as they lost wickets regularly and were 76 for 5, primarily due to two wickets from left-arm spinner Hiral Patel. Rakep Patel and Aga then put on 57 off 37 for the sixth wicket which helped them reach 139.

After Canada lost Rizwan Cheema in the second over, Hiral and Ruvindu Gunasekera kept them in the hunt, scoring 45 together. But Obuya and Otieno took six of the remaining nine wickets as Canada lost their last seven for 35 runs. Only one other batsman, apart from Hiral and Gunasekera, Usman Limbada reached double figures with a 12-ball 21 but Canada fell short by 21 runs.

'Lots of fun' getting to 99 - Starc

Mitchell Starc has described his innings of 99 as "lots of fun", despite the agony of falling one run short of a Test century. Starc came within touching distance of becoming the first Australian in more than 65 years to score a Test hundred batting from No.9 or below, but instead he edged behind off Ishant Sharma.

Starc smiled to himself as he walked off the field, disappointed at the missed opportunity but pleased at the fact that he was able to contribute so much to Australia's batting effort. Starc said he was nervous once triple-figures came within sight and hoped it wouldn't be his only chance to register a Test century.

"I was just enjoying it up until I got out," Starc said. "At the start of the day I was just hanging around for hopefully Steve Smith to get a ton. Unfortunately he didn't get there and that was just a lot of fun to play the way I liked to (after Smith's dismissal) and play my shots. To fall one short is disappointing and hopefully I can get another chance one day. I felt a bit nervous and it probably felt a bit harder ... when you get to 99. It's something I can learn from and I'm still happy I got that far"

After the departure of Smith for 92, Starc became the architect of Australia's lower-order run scoring and added 51 in a ninth-wicket partnership with Nathan Lyon. He was helped by the defensive captaincy of MS Dhoni, who at times pushed as many as six men back onto the boundary to gift Starc singles - although sometimes he pinched twos - and get Lyon on strike.

Lyon, who had batted for 85 minutes in the second innings in Chennai, was untroubled by the plan and it was only when Starc reached 99 that Dhoni put pressure on him by bringing the field in. That led to a series of plays and misses against Ishant as Starc tried to force the ball through the infield and in the end he edged low to the left of Dhoni.

"It doesn't happen too often," Starc said of the field being back for a lower-order batsman like himself. "The way he [Dhoni] captains is probably pretty reactive so if I play my shots he's going to push them back. I just enjoyed the moment being out there with the bat."

Starc was willing to go over the top earlier in his innings, including one especially handsome chip over the head of the bowler Ishant for four. He didn't thrash the ball like he did during his 68 not out from 43 balls against South Africa in Perth, but rather showed a wide range of more conventional strokes that suggest he will be an especially useful lower-order player for Australia in future.

"I've got a couple [of hundreds] in club cricket games, but it's a bit different playing Test cricket. Hopefully I get a chance to get back there one day," Starc said. "I enjoy batting, growing up as a kid I was a wicketkeeper, so I'd like to think I can hold a stick and be able to score a few runs if need be. All the bowlers work hard on our batting, we put a bit of emphasis on our tail scoring runs and we did that in this innings."

'I didn't feel I rushed things' - Dhawan

As he put together his whirlwind debut century, Shikhar Dhawan had it in the back of his head that he could have been run out without facing a ball.

As Mitchell Starc ran in to open the bowling in the Indian innings, the ball slipped out of his hand and fell onto the stumps at the non-striker's end. Dhawan, at that time, was a foot outside the crease.

It is debatable if he had been given out had Australia appealed. The umpires would have had to consider an important part of the manakading playing condition, which says, "The bowler is permitted, before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery swing, to attempt to run out the non-striker." Since the ball had slipped out of his hand unintentionally, they could have concluded "an attempt had not been made".*

However, Dhawan thought he was gone. He found himself laughing, while the Australia captain Michael Clark made signs to the umpires to go up to the TV umpire in jest, and the incident passed without rancour.

Dhawan, who was batting on 185 at stumps on day three, said after play: "It was lunch after that over. I was laughing in the dressing room, that history could have been created, that without facing a ball I would have been out and back in the dressing room."

He returned after the break and, in the matter of a single session, rewrote history. He produced one of the most breathtaking of debut centuries in recent times: it was the fastest ever by a Test debutant (85 balls) and the highest score on debut for India, surpassing Gundappa Viswanath's 137 in Kanpur against Australia in 1969.

He was given his Test cap by Sachin Tendulkar before the match and Dhawan said Tendulkar's words to him had been simple: "He told me that we all have known you as a gutsy player, and you've been performing well on the domestic circuit. We'd like to see your gutsy nature and shots over here."

And so he did. Dhawan's strike rate so far in this Test innings has been just over 110, the numbers closer to 50-overs and T20 cricket. But Dhawan said he was in no hurry to score at a particular rate, nor did it form part of any larger team strategy. "I wasn't really playing in a hurry. The fours were coming on their own after the ball hit the bat. But I guess I was in good flow today. I felt my shot selection was good and I played according to how I'd assessed the wicket. I didn't feel that I rushed things. There was no strategy, I was hitting the ball well, I was middling the ball very nicely and the runs came on their own. My only focus was that I'd play the ball on merit."

He admitted to being nervous, remembering his ODI debut against Australia on October 20, 2010, where he was bowled by Clink McKay off the second ball he faced. "This time I was nervous, that it was again Australia on my Test debut, because I'd scored zero then. But everything went well and I was really happy that I grabbed this opportunity and scored a century... It was a very satisfying feeling."

After his disastrous ODI debut, captain MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina had offered Dhawan solace, which had stayed in his mind. "They told me that the players who've got out on zero for India on debut, they went really big."Dhawan last played for India in June 2011, and was dropped after five ODI appearances. "I worked really hard and changed myself, and became a more mature player. I was waiting for a chance. I did very well on the domestic circuit, and was waiting for a chance to play in international cricket. I guess then that went my way."

Apart from Test and ODI debuts against the Australians, Dhawan's other Australian connection is personal. His wife, Aesha Mukherjee, a British-Asian, currently lives in Melbourne with her two daughters. After returning to the dressing room, Dhawan said: "I called my wife first. I knew she'd been praying for me, so it was an emotional moment for my wife. It's a great moment for me and my family."

Dhawan's nickname amongst his peers is Jaat-jee, which comes from his Jaat heritage. The Jaats are a rural north Indian community, concentrated in Haryana and portions of western Uttar Pradesh, surrounding Delhi. Dhawan's distinctive and carefully maintained moustache owes some allegiance to that heritage. As he walked off the field at tea and then at stumps, he twirled his moustache upwards, in a somewhat old-fashioned but instantly-recognisable gesture of bragging-rights ownership. On Saturday, he couldn¹t be denied.

*07.20pm GMT, March 16: The article has been updated after reviewing the laws of the game.

Williamson and Taylor lift NZ

Tea New Zealand 254 and 153 for 2 (Williamson 51*, Taylor 36*) trail England 465 by 58 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Cyclone Sandra wiped out the afternoon session at Basin Reserve to undermine England's attempts to force a victory in the second Test. Even before the rain made its long-heralded arrival over lunch, the going was tough for England as New Zealand batted resiliently on a surface showing little sign of deterioration to whittle down a first-innings deficit of 211 to 58.

Chief whittler was Kane Williamson, a circumspect half-century secured shortly by the interval when he pulled Joe Root securely through square leg - 51 not out from 158 balls. If Williamson was a boy scout, his whittling would be of such a high standard it would be enough to make him patrol leader, although not necessarily make him the chief attraction at the village show.

He played diligently and with sound technique, particularly against the quick bowlers, and if he was unsettled at times by Monty Panesar's left-arm spin, Panesar never managed to get on top of him for long. He looks mature beyond his 22 years and looks set to serve New Zealand with distinction for many years.

Williamson's third-wicket stand with Ross Taylor was worth 72 by lunch, with Taylor displaying flashes of attacking intent. It was clear for England that there would be no easy pickings against a side which has played with resolve throughout the series. At times Panesar seemed at odds with himself, or the field he had to bowl to, or the weather. Dr Panesar, as he jokes he wishes to be known these days since taking some business exams earlier in the tour, needed a spot of self-diagnosis.

England's only wicket in the session was that of Peter Fulton, whose obdurate innings ended with a push away from his body against James Anderson and a straightforward wicketkeeper's catch for Matt Prior.

It was touch and go whether Anderson had overstepped, but after several replays the third umpire, Paul Reiffel, ruled in the bowler's favour. He had stayed behind the line by little more than a bit of stray ankle strapping.

Anderson was variously troubled by an ankle battered by footholds that were entirely to his taste and a back made stiff by the Wellington breeze. If he came back to Basin Reserve on a really windy day, he would get an inclination about what it would feel like to be 90 years of age. Nobody would have predicted with certainty that he would get through the day unscathed but he reached lunch in reasonable order.

The aches and strains of a fast bowler's lot was enough to put him in one of his complex moods, revealed by a put-upon smile that forever seems likely to be his last. He was never more put upon than when Kevin Pietersen misfielded badly at mid-on to allow Taylor, who was on a pair, to get a single off the mark, the pressure released in an instant.

An unbroken morning session had seemed unlikely before play began. Rain was forecast, imminent rain, and the groundstaff were not overly enthusiastic about taking the covers off. But Cyclone Sandra was a playful adversary and, although rumoured to be in the vicinity, delivered nothing more than a sprinkle or two in the first few overs before taking her sport elsewhere until more extensive rain arrived at the interval. Wellington, with little more than a fortnight's water left after one of its driest summers on record, will be grateful for that.

New Zealand began 134 runs in arrears with eight wickets remaining. The pitch was still sound, the weather unsettled. England needed the ball to turn for Panesar - and not merely out of the rough. He came into the attack after eight overs and his first two deliveries did just that, bringing hope that Panesar could progress from a good containing job to potential matchwinner. He threatened sporadically all morning, the tail of his patka catching the wind like a built-in weather vane, but no wickets were forthcoming. He must have felt he was due a change of fortune.

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