Gambhir, Manhas fifties propel Delhi

Delhi 191 for 3 (Gambhir 64, Manhas 60*, Javed 2-36) trail Mumbai 324 (Lad 74, Awana 5-72) by 133 runs
Scorecard

Despite the traditional rivalry between Mumbai and Delhi, the Ranji Trophy Group A tie between the arch rivals was more significant for the three biggest players featuring in the match - all of whom had received a latest setback on Thursday when two of them, Mumbai captain Zaheer Khan and Delhi senior Virender Sehwag, were excluded from the BCCI contracts list, while Gautam Gambhir was demoted from Grade A to B.

For a handful of fans - not more than 50 - who had gathered at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex facility to watch the match, the second day's play turned out to be eventful. Halfway into the match, even though the game remained evenly poised with Delhi ending day two at 191 for 3, 133 behind Mumbai's first innings score of 324, the second day was all about Sehwag, Zaheer and Gambhir.

Even though the numbers may hint at Gambhir, who scored a scratchy 64 at the top of the order, being the most successful of the three, it was Zaheer who hogged the limelight. Not just with the willow, as he took Mumbai well past 300 in the morning with his maiden fifty in the Ranji Trophy that included four huge sixes, but also with the precision of his left-arm pace bowling.

Zaheer may have been rewarded with just one wicket - that of Sehwag immediately after he brought himself into the attack the moment the dangerous batsman arrived at the wicket - but he was also the most consistent, fearsome and unfortunate bowler on the day. After getting rid of Sehwag, he time and again squared Gambhir off and induced at least two inside edges that went past the leg stump for boundaries, and another which bounced just ahead of and behind the stumps.

Even late into the evening, with Gambhir running out of patience as he drove Javed Khan straight into Siddhesh Lad's hands at point, Zaheer troubled the seasoned Mithun Manhas, who looked the best of the Delhi batsmen. Manhas played and missed Zaheer several times during a five-over spell. Had fortune been on the Mumbai captain's side, he would have easily got a rich haul of wickets. But even Manhas survived, despite finding himself squared up off the last ball he faced from Zaheer, and watching the edge flying through the slip cordon to the third man fence.

Gambhir, on the other hand, appeared to be rusty at the crease all through his innings. Even though his knock of 64 included 12 boundaries, more than a third of those came through edges on either side of the wicket. Though he left the ball outside off reasonably well, what was missing was the footwork that was instrumental in establishing him as India's leading opener not long ago. Even against Vishal Dabholkar's left-arm spin, Gambhir hardly used his feet. The only time he looked in sublime touch was when he scored three boundaries off the spinner in an over. While two of those were his trademark square cuts, in between those, he stepped out and drove through covers. Just as he was set for his second century in three first-class games, Gambhir was dismissed and joined Sehwag in the dressing room.

Sehwag, on the other hand, wasted yet another opportunity to make a case for a slot in India's middle order for the Test series in South Africa. While he opened his account with a single off the second ball he faced, in the next over, he hit Abhishek Nayar for back-to-back boundaries in contrasting style. While the first of the attempted drives raced through the slip cordon, the next raced to the cover boundary in no time. However, he tried to repeat the same to Zaheer and without any movement of the feet, all he could manage was an edge to Aditya Tare behind the stumps.

Earlier in the morning, despite Zaheer's outbreak against spinner Vikas Mishra and Manan Sharma, both of whom were hit for successive sixes in consecutive overs, fast bowler Parvinder Awana was the star of the session. Thanks to Awana's five-wicket haul, Delhi eventually restricted Mumbai to a moderate total.


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Himachal eye big win in Dharamsala

Jammu & Kashmir 14 for 1 and 178 trail Himachal Pradesh 454 (Dogra 96, Bipul 74, Chauhan 53, Dhawan 50) trail by 262 runs
Scorecard

Paras Dogra missed his second century of the season by four runs, but his 96 set the tone for a solid Himachal Pradesh total that has put them in a dominating position against Jammu & Kashmir. Dogra's innings was followed by fifties from Rishi Dhawan, Bipul Sharma and Akshay Chauhan, with Himachal's last four wickets adding 194 runs.

Himachal lost their second wicket early at the start of the day, but an 86-run stand for the third wicket between Dogra and Abhinav Bali took them past J&K's first innings total of 178. J&K were set to limit the damage when they reduced Himachal to 260 for 6, but Dhawan set about taking the game away with a quick 45-ball 50. Dhawan's innings was bettered by Bipul and Chauhan lower down the order as both batsmen scored quick fifties to take Himachal well past 400. Samiullah Beigh was the most successful bowler with four wickets while Parvez Rasool failed to pick up any.

Hyderabad 53 (Suman 28*, Reddy 20*) trail Maharashtra 616 (Jadhav 204, Motwani 107, Khadiwale 107) by 563 runs
Scorecard

Maharasthra's batting, led by Kedar Jadhav's double-century, racked up 616 runs in the first innings against Hyderabad on the second day of their Group C tie. Apart from Jadhav, Rohit Motwani scored his third first-class century, while Sangram Atitkar scored 98.

Jadhav, overnight on 175, quickly went on to complete his double-century before being dismissed by Hanuma Vihari for 204. But Motwani and Atitkar added 179 for the sixth wicket to take Maharashtra close to 600. Motwani took 239 balls to score his runs in an innings that lasted for almost six hours, while Atitkar played 175 balls in his innings. Mahrashtra's innings folded soon after both batsmen were dismissed in consecutive overs. Ravi Kiran was the most successful bowler with four wickets while Amol Shinde picked up three.

Hyderabad responded with an unbeaten half-century stand between openers T Suman and Akshath Reddy in the 14 overs possible before the end of the day.

Kerala 297 (Prem 80, Dutta 4-38) lead Tripura 140 for 9 (Takawale 45, Warrier 4-27) by 157 runs
Scorecard

Solid contribution from the Kerala batting, led by Rohan Prem's 80, helped Kerala to a strong lead against Tripura by the end of the second day in Kannur. However, Prem's was the only half-century - the first of the match after two innings.

The innings was a story of important stands: Kerala batsmen added 65, 57 and 62 for the second, fifth and the sixth wickets. The total of these three partnerships itself was more than Tripura's first-innings total of 140. The second-wicket stand was between VA Jagadeesh and Sanju Samson, who has been in good form in this season, but both were dimissed in their 40s. Then Prem was central in building the innings with Sachin Baby and Vinoop Manoharan supporting him to push Kerala past 250. Prem was the eighth batsman to be dismissed, but by that time, the lead had swollen to 137 already. Kerala were dismissed soon after, with Rana Dutta and Abhijit Dey picking up four and three wickets respectively.

Assam 116 for 4 (Jadhav 44*, Vijaykumar 2-35) trail Andhra 297 (Bharat 70, Sumanth 75, Nechim 5-62) by 181 runs
Scorecard

Assam fast bowler Abu Nechim picked up four of the five Andhra Pradesh wickets to fall on the second morning to complete his seventh five-wicket haul on the second day of their Group C match in Anantapur. That burst helped Assam wrap up Andhra's innings for 297 with the last five batsmen adding 64.

In the second over of the morning, Nechim had Duvvarapy Shivkumar caught behind off the third delivery before nipping out Syed Shahabuddin off his next delivery. Andhra resisted for the next 16 overs, with Bodapati Sumanth holding one end together, as they pushed towards 300. But once Sumanth was dismissed, Nechim picked up the two remaining wickets quickly.

In response, Assam started positively with openers Dheeraj Jadhav and Pallavkumar Das adding 45 for the first wicket. Das was the first to be dismissed and Assam's following batsmen, just like Das, failed to make use of the starts. Sibasankar Roy and Tarjinder Singh were dismissed for 21 and 19 after playing 49 and 62 deliveries respectively. Assam were pushed into further trouble when they lost Pritam Das in the last over of the day, ending the day 181 runs behind Andhra with six wicket in hand.


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Colvin steps away for new career

Holly Colvin, the England left-arm spinner who played in two Ashes-winning sides plus the victorious World Twenty20 and World Cup campaigns in 2009, has decided to pursue a career outside cricket and will not be available for January's Ashes series or the World Twenty20.

Colvin, 24, made her international debut aged 15 against Australia in 2005 and still harbours ambitions to resume her England career but believes now is the best chance for her to establish a profession off the field. She was part of the side that recently returned from the Caribbean and currently sits on 98 ODI wickets from 72 matches, alongside 63 in 50 Twenty20 internationals.

"This is not a decision I have taken lightly as playing for England means so much to me and has been an integral part of my life since I was 15 years old," Colvin said. "But after eight years in the sport I feel now is the right moment to take a break and seek to establish myself in a career outside cricket.

"The England team management fully understand my thinking and I have reassured them that I have no intention of retiring from the sport. There is still much that I want to achieve in international cricket and I very much hope that I can be part of a successful England team again in the future."

Clare Connor, the ECB's head of women's cricket, said: "This has not been an easy decision for Holly as she has played for England for all of her young adult life. She has been a key member of the team, playing her part in our World Cup and World T20 wins in 2009 as well as successful Ashes campaigns in 2009 and 2013. I am sure that many exciting opportunities will open up for Holly and we wish her every success as she takes some time away from the game to explore new avenues."

Colvin's place in the England women's performance squad has gone to 23-year-old Rebecca Grundy, a left-arm spinner from Warwickshire who has been part of the England academy system, and she will now be competing for a spot on the tour to Australia followed by the World T20 in Bangladesh where spin will play a major role.

Connor added: "Rebecca has developed enormously over the last couple of years at Warwickshire and thoroughly deserves this opportunity."


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Du Plessis, bowlers secure 2-0 win

South Africa 150 for 5 (du Plessis 58*, Amla 48, Ajmal 3-25) beat Pakistan 144 for 9 (Maqsood 37, Parnell 3-25) by six runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Dale Steyn bowled it full, Shahid Afridi hit it cleanly, the boundary was in sight but there was something in the way. Faf du Plessis moved to his left, cupped his hands and snatched the ball out of the sky. In that moment, the match and the series was won.

It ended a period in which Pakistan lost six wickets for 38 runs in the space of 32 balls, which included a South African team hat-trick, to collapse one final time in the limited-overs leg of the tour. They squandered a good start and a resilient effort by Sohaib Maqsood, surrendered to a South African attack which has been exceptional throughout the series and left themselves with a lot of questions ahead of the return leg in South Africa.

For du Plessis, there are no such worries. His team has jumped to No. 2 in the Twenty20 rankings, behind India by one hundreth of a decimal point, showed composure and confidence with bat in hand and defended with venom.

Although South Africa's bowling won them the match, their foundation for victory was set-up by a batting line-up which has progressed through their visit to the UAE. They had an explosive start from Quinton de Kock followed by a hard-hitting fifty from du Plessis and both contributed to an above-par total.

De Kock took on both Irfan and Abdul Razzaq, whose medium pace was ineffective upfront. Irfan left the field with what looked like a hip injury in his second over, leaving Pakistan without their most imposing player but Sohail Tanvir assumed the responsibility. He bowled a tight opening over before spin was introduced and Pakistan clawed their way back.

Saeed Ajmal tempted de Kock with flight and had him caught in the deep slog-sweeping. That wicket made Ajmal T20's highest wicket-taker, going past his compatriot Umar Gul and kept South Africa quiet for a little while.

Hashim Amla had quietly watched de Kock, without scoring many, but targeted Afridi. Amla took a risk when he hit him inside-out over extra cover and then tried to launch it back over Afridi's head. Instead, he presented a catchable chance but Afridi spilled it. Dropping Amla often proved costly in the next over when he hit Mohammad Hafeez over long-on for six.

At the halfway stage, South Africa were 67 for 1 and du Plessis decided to up the ante. He also took on Afridi, finding good placement down the ground and brought up South Africa's 100 with a premeditated slog-sweep off Ajmal. Amla played one more big shot, off Shoaib Malik, before holing out off Ajmal.

Pakistan used that as an opportunity to drag South Africa back. They gave away just 35 runs in the last five overs and punctured the middle order, leaving du Plessis to muscle his way to the end. Tanvir made good use of the slower ball while Ajmal ensured questions over David Miller's ability against spin will continue to be questioned as he trapped him lbw.

In between that, du Plessis reached his fourth T20 half-century, much-needed runs in what has been a lean tour for him. He may remember his innings a little less than the catch that sealed the match which came after Pakistan's opening pair posed 39 in the first five overs.

Both Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad took on Lonwabo Tsotsobe before Wayne Parnell undid their start. He had Shehzad caught at fine leg, as he went on the pull, and Hafeez lbw for a first-ball duck. Hafeez was the victim of a poor decision but with no technology available to contest it, Pakistan had to focus on rebuilding rather than being wronged.

When Jamshed became the third wicket to fall in nine balls, Pakistan could have unraveled but Maqsood and Malik found a good balance between attack and defence. They went after anything short while treating Imran Tahir with respect as he found sharp turn.

Malik had his innings interrupted when he had to retire with a finger injury which brought Umar Akmal to the crease. He batted with his usual aggression but started the collapse when he hooked a Ryan McLaren short ball straight to Tahir. When he departed, Pakistan needed 50 runs off 39 balls and were still in control.

Malik returned, only to chop Tahir onto his stumps before Razzaq left a googly and was bowled. When Maqsood was caught behind, brilliantly as de Kock dived to his right, the equation had tipped. Pakistan needed 39 off 29 balls but had only three wickets in hand.

Tanvir and Afridi could still get them over the line but Tanvir was bowled by Steyn - who turned the pace up as his spell came to an end - and then there was that catch. Game, set, catch, match. Pakistan's fight was over.


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Sunny, Dalal take Haryana to 296

Haryana 296 for 8 (Dalal 58, Sunny 53, Nadeem 3-108) v Jharkhand
Scorecard

A fine showing from Haryana's top order- including fifties from Sunny Singh and Rahul Dalal- helped them to 296 for 8 against Jharkhand in Rohtak.

With the exception of Nitin Saini who was dismissed for 8 in the fifth over, Haryana's first six batsmen all scored at least 30.

Sunny's 53 included eight fours, and he added 84 for the second wicket with Abhimanyu Khod, but Haryana were quickly pegged back by two quick wickets in the 28th and 29th overs, that left them at 96 for 3.

However, Dalal led the counterattack, putting up crucial stands of 71 and 54 for the fourth and fifth wickets with Avi Barot and Sachin Rana respectively. Dalal eventually departed for 58 - his second first-class half-century - having struck six fours, but Harshal Patel and Mohit Sharma continued the scoring, hitting a total of five fours and two sixes, that left the team on the verge of crossing the 300-run mark heading into day two.

Shahbaz Nadeem picked up three wickets for Jharkhand, and Varun Aaron and Shankar Rao picked up two each.

Karnataka 226 for 7 (Kapoor 57, Agarwal 42) v Gujarat
Scorecard

A young Gujarat attack played within its limitations to stifle and frustrate a strong Karnataka batting line-up that would be disappointed at its overall performance, given that the top order had done much of the ground work in a challenging first session.

To read the full report, click here

Mumbai 252 for 6 (Lad 74, Jaffer 61, Nehra 2-16) v Delhi
Scorecard

On a wicket that aided pacers all throughout the day, Mumbai and Delhi both would be happy with the score at the end of the first day's play in their Ranji Trophy Group A league tie at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex facility. Or both the camps will perhaps be a tad disappointed with their efforts.

To read the full report, click here

Odisha 226 for 3 (Behera 90*, Podder 74) v Vidarbha
Scorecard

Odisha's slow and steady progress took them to a comfortable 226 for 3 at the end of the first day against Vidarbha as Niranjan Behera and Govind Podder scored half-centuries. Podder scored 74 after coming in at No. 4 and Behera was unbeaten on 90, getting closer to his third first-class hundred.

Odisha had won the toss and elected to bat but the decision seemed erroneous initially when they lost both openers - Girjia Rout and Natraj Behera - to Amol Jungade within the space of eight deliveries, leaving them at 26 for 2. However, Niranjan Behera and Podder revived the innings with a stable and patient stand of 150 runs for the third wicket. While Podder scored his second consecutive fifty, which included nine fours and two sixes, Niranjan took much more time to score his 90 runs.

The partnership was broken when left-arm pacer Shrikant Wagh had Podder caught behind at the score of 176. Niranjan and Biplab Samantray carried on till stumps by adding 50 runs together, out of which 31 were scored by Samantray.


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Close contest expected in derby final

There have been 31 matches. Seven were decided in the last two overs and three others finished with a result margin of one or two runs. And now there are two teams left.

South Africa's domestic one-day title will go the way of either the Titans or the Cobras in a north-south derby that, if recent records are to be believed, will be closely contested. They've already played each twice in the tournament, the Cobras winning both matches, once by two runs and the second time in the final over.

"We've had two great battles already so whatever happens, I think we'll have another one on Friday," Rob Walter, the Titans coach, told ESPNcricinfo. "Of course, it would be nice to be on the right side of things if we do."

In his first season as a franchise coach, Walter has already had his fair share of nerves. After losing four of their first seven fixtures, the Titans seemed destined to end in the lower half of the table. They needed wins in their last three pool matches and pulled them off. Then, they needed a win against the team Walter described as the "best side in this competition", the Dolphins, in the play-off and pulled that off too.

In the process, they lost their captain Henry Davids to national duty, their senior-most player, Jacques Rudolph, to a broken hand and yet, still, three of their batsmen are in the top five run-scorers of the season.

Leading the list is Heino Kuhn, the wicketkeeper-batsman who has made five Twenty20 appearances for South Africa but has since been overlooked. He is followed by Davids, who won't be able to finish what he started because he is in the UAE with South Africa's T20 squad and another national discard, Farhaan Behardien. Walter believes all three are ready to stake a claim for regular places in the national team.

"We had discussions about developing their games to put them in positions where they could compete for places at international level," he said. "With Heino, it was about going from being a keeper who can bat to showing he is a high-quality batsmen. With Henry, it was about taking good starts with beautiful shots and then getting out to having the responsibility to bat deeper; and with Farhaan it was also about conversion."

Kuhn has handed the gloves to Mangaliso Mosehle and is focused on his role as an opening batsmen. He scored back-to-back hundreds in the last two matches to put the Titans in winning positions. Behardien, who Walters said "stands out as a leader", has taken over the captaincy in Davids' absence and blossomed under the burden. He has a century and two fifties so far and has been working on the things that saw him dropped from the South African side, such as his shot selection.

While moulding men who can turn out on the international stage, Walter has also had to concentrate on filling a trophy cabinet that remained empty last summer - a rare lack for the Titans. He has had Roelof van der Merwe to help in that mission. The left-arm spinner is the team's leading wicket-taker and fourth overall. "He knew he had to go from being a containing bowler to an attacking one," Walter said. He has taken nine wickets in the last four games as proof.

All that individual brilliance will come up against a Cobras unit that have played like a team. Only the veteran Charl Langeveldt, who is likely to recover from a hip injury to play the final, is among the top five bowlers in the competition while none of their batsmen feature on the corresponding list.

"It was never one individual getting us home. We've had performances spread all around," Paul Adams, Cobras coach, said. "And I think it's really shown in our fielding, where we've picked up a lot of run-outs. In pressure games, the younger guys have learned to step up and the more experienced ones have shown their quality."

Justin Ontong top-scored with 97 in their second win against the Titans, Langeveldt took four wickets at the death when they beat the Lions, Andrew Puttick scored a century against the Warriors to set up a win but it was up to the newer players like Dane Piedt and Lizaad Williams to bowl the Cobras to victory. Adams said tense situations like those helped ready the team for a final. "Guys are really focused now, they know what to expect."

This is the second successive season in which Cobras will feature in the one-day cup final. Last summer, they shared the trophy with the Lions, after two washouts. This time, the Lions finished bottom of the table while the Cobras have maintained their impressive run.

"The most important thing is to have a big crop of players to call on and then managing them well so they can pace themselves through the competition," Adams said when asked how he was able to continue that run. Those stocks will be added to with the inclusion of Vernon Philander and Robin Peterson for the final game.

Adams, who is in his second season in charge admitted "the nerves are always there" but said he does his job by "looking for ways to inspire people". And the ones he wants to influence ahead of the final are the fans.

Despite the high quality of cricket, stadiums have been starkly empty throughout the tournament. Matches on school-nights and late finishes are the main reasons for the dampened interest but with no New Year's Test at Newlands, Adams hopes people will go and watch their domestic team tussle it out on Friday.


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Sammy's shot reflects West Indies' poor commitment

It is unclear what West Indies have really learned from Kolkata. Their batsmen remain distracted. Their bowlers continue to spray the ball all round. And their captain has failed to lead by example

Jeff Dujon: 'West Indies need to rotate the strike more'

Empty words. That is what Darren Sammy has delivered so far not only to the fans in the West Indies, but also the general cricketing crowd. For three innings in a row this series, the West Indies batsmen have displayed an utter lack of application and a level of patience thinner than that of a toddler. To say that West Indies would be somewhere else rather than playing the farewell series for Sachin Tendulkar would not be inaccurate.

Of course, every member of the West Indies squad has said that it is a privilege to play in Tendulkar's final series. Yet if they really understood Tendulkar, they would pay their respects with a hard fight and not the limp and lame manner in which they have fought in the four days of Test cricket played so far. In the nets, Tendulkar hates a distracted bowler. For him commitment to the game has always come first.

Seventy eight, 54.1, 55.2 are the number of overs West Indies have lasted in their three innings in Kolkata and today in Mumbai. The Kolkata Test ended in three days. Already there is talk about this one, too, not lasting the distance.

No one was a bigger culprit today than Sammy. He had just played one ball, against R Ashwin. The previous delivery Narsingh Deonarine had been caught brilliantly at short gully. West Indies had already lost all their specialist batsmen except Denesh Ramdin. They had not played even 50 overs while they were yet to reach the 170-run mark. The ball was turning big. Yet Sammy slog swept Ashwin's next delivery, another turner, with a face that declared a pre-determined intent to clear the ground, except the leading edge did not even cross the 30-yard circle. A member of the West Indies management clearly showed his frustration at the selection of the captain's shot.

What really was Sammy thinking? Did he even consider playing the situation? What happened to his statement after the Kolkata defeat about learning from the pair of Rohit Sharma and Ashwin, whose record double-century partnership, had punctured West Indies' spirits decisively.

Sammy's position in the team had already been questioned going into the match. Michael Holding, former West Indies fast bowler, speaking on ESPNcricinfo's Match Point was categorical in saying Sammy did not deserve to hold a place in the team as an allrounder. According to Holding, Sammy could not adapt to the demands of a Test batsman while as a bowler he was mediocre. Just being a cheerleader, Holding pointed out, was not helping West Indies win matches.

To defend himself Sammy might send this retort to Holding: he averages 25.4 when he comes in to bat with West Indies five down or more for less than 200 runs. This is more than his career average of 21.60. His solitary Test century and three of his four half-centuries have come in these innings. But ridiculous shot selections like today and in Kolkata just diminish the importance of those numbers.

Regardless, the question about his worth in the Test team will not die down. Sammy is an impressive leader in the shorter formats where his players like to express themselves in the manner they like - be aggressive. Sammy himself contributes in all three departments with influential performances, but in the Tests he does not have the same kind of respect, the same level of influence that he can extract the best out of his players.

West Indies' last six wickets have averaged 11.38 in this series - the lowest they have averaged for their last six wickets in any series in Tests. Sadly, all the main batsmen for West Indies, men who have the ability to have an impact on the match, have failed miserably.

Chris Gayle is playing his 99th Test. Sadly, he has sleepwalked so far on this tour. Darren Bravo once again got the start but threw it away with hanging his bat to a turning away delivery against Ashwin.

Marlon Samuels was made to look like he was walking over a bed of hot coal by Mohammed Shami today. In Kolkata it was the reverse swing that Samuels found hard to negotiate. On a hard Wankhede pitch, Samuels was at large trying hard to figure out which way Shami was moving the ball. In the end, Samuels charged two successive balls but it only turned out to be a hit-and-miss exercise.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul's 150th Test was ruined as he failed to counter the away swing and seam movement that Bhuvneshwar Kumar got off the pitch and in the air. Chanderpaul in the end was squared up and edged to slips.

Ramdin can watch himself in the mirror and get embarrassed at the moment he decided to unfurl the piece of paper on which was scribbled in capital letters: " "YEH, VIV, TALK NAH."" after scoring a century in the Edgbaston Test against England in 2011. Ramdin apologised immediately to Richards, who had been critical of the Trinidadian for being inconsistent. Ramdin has just one century after that match, against Bangladesh.

Even the tailend pair of Tino Best and Shane Shillingford today played irresponsibly to get out when they had seen Ashwin, India's No. 8, score a match-turning century.

It is unclear what West Indies have really learned from Kolkata. Their batsmen remain distracted. Their bowlers continue to spray the ball all round. Their captain is under pressure. To make matters worse, West Indies do not have a batting coach after Toby Radford joined Glamorgan recently.

Sammy and West Indies might point out that they have not played Test cricket after March. But it's the same case with India. So clearly it is a question of adapting in the mind and being ready than trying to look for reasons. After their victory in the World T20 and Test victories against New Zealand (home), Bangladesh (away) and Zimbabwe (home), there has been talk about West Indies, now No. 6 on the ICC Test rankings, being on the road to recovery. But have West Indies really turned the corner?


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Injured Corey Anderson to return home

New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson has been ruled out of the remainder of the Sri Lanka tour to begin rehabilitation on the rib injury which ruled him out of the second ODI in Hambantota.

Anderson underwent an MRI scan of his side on Wednesday, which ruled out any major damage. He is being flown back to New Zealand as a precautionary measure and will miss the third and final ODI on Saturday and the two T20s.

"Corey felt pain in his right side while bowling during the first ODI. Post-match assessment indicated a minor case of rib impingement," New Zealand physiotherapist Paul Close said. "We decided it's in Corey's best interest to return home and focus on making a full recovery for the series against West Indies."

New Zealand did seek any replacement for Anderson for the remaining games. New Zealand lead the three-match ODI series 1-0.


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Fawad, Azam set up big win for NBP

A clinical performance in both departments put Habib Bank Limited over Khan Research Laboratories by seven wickets in Rawalpindi.

The slide started early for Habib Bank as they chose to bat. They lost Imran Farhat off the first ball and fumbled to 40 for 5, with captain Younis Khan (69) holding the innings together. He forged a 64-run union with wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar but with only three batsmen reaching double figures, the innings folded for 162, with more than seven overs remaining. Medium-pacer Yasir Arafat was the most successful bowler with 3 for 35 off nine overs, but was ably supported by Rahat Ali and Ali Khan who picked up two wickets apiece.

The opening partnership whittled away well over half the target as Zain Abbas (57) and Mohammad Yasin (78) eased to half-centuries. Though they lost two wickets in between the 35th and 36th overs, the game was already in the bag.

National Bank of Pakistan recovered from a horrid start to roll over State Bank by 77 runs. Fawad Alam's century led a recovery from 0 for 2 and Hammad Azam blasted 91 off 66 helped amass a match-winning total.

Tabish Khan's successes in the first over proved anti-climatic as opener Sami Aslam and Alam compiled a brisk 165-run stand for the third wicket. Reprieve did not come when Aslam fell four runs short of a second List A century, but the incoming Pakistan Under-23 captain Azam blitzed 10 fours and five sixes to power his side to a daunting 313 in the allotted 45 overs. Alam remained unbeaten with 102, with 12 fours.

Rameez Raja and Raheel Majeed made cautious fifties after losing a couple of early wickets, but with the required rate ever rising - it crossed eight before 20 overs - State Bank were always chasing the game. Both batsmen perished attempting to accelerate, as they lost three wickets in three overs to sag on 177 for 7 by the 35th over. Gulraiz Sadaf remained unbeaten on a 28-ball 43, but his efforts came far too late and were not supported by the tail as State Bank was bowled out for 236.

Steady contributions all through the batting order and a disciplined bowling effort, let by the captain Azhar Ali ensured Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited recorded a 71-run win over United Bank Limited in Faisalabad.

Choosing to bat first, they enjoyed a prosperous opening stand which fetched 62 runs, but were hurt by two quick wickets. Though only Hussain Talat, who remained unbeaten, was the only batsman to cross fifty, SNGPL were not lacking in partnerships, one of which was accounted for 100 runs between Talat and Saleem Mughal, who made 43 off 49. For United Bank, Tariq Haroon was the most successful bowler taking 2 for 30 off seven overs .

Though United Bank began promisingly in their chase of the 254-run target, losing five wickets for 27 runs foiled the efforts of opener Abid Ali who stuck it out for 49 off 64 balls. He became one of Azhar's victims as the spinners picked up six wickets between them. Wicketkeeper Bismillah Khan did his best to keep United Bank in the hunt with his aggressive 42, but they fell well short of the target in the 38th over.

Pakistan Television slumped to their third successive loss when they fell short of their target of 257 by 53 runs against Pakistan International Airlines in Islamabad. Their top and middle-order batsmen got starts but could not capitalise on them and an unbeaten fifty from No. 7 Zohaib Ahmed also went in vain.

PIA were put in to bat and after losing Shehzar Mohammad early, their next three batsmen laid the platform for a competitive score. Kamran Sajid and Fahad Iqbal scored 45 and 42 respectively and Faisal Iqbal scored 56. PTV struck back with four wickets within 35 runs, leaving PIA at 213 for 8, but Tahir Khan's 18-ball 35 charged them to 256.

PTV had two strong partnerships - for the second and fourth wickets - but once they were 121 for 4, PIA's bowlers struck regularly to ensure PTV never came back in the game. Three of PTV's batsmen scored 23 and Mohammad Sami scored 43 apart from Ahmed's 52 not out, but all of those weren't enough to take them close to victory.

A four-wicket haul by Sohail Khan bowled out Water and Power Development Authority out for 183, before half-centuries by Kamran Younis and Khalid Latif helped Port Qasim Authority to an easy eight-wicket win. WAPDA were struggling at 55 for 6 before Saad Nasim resisted with 65. A 124-run stand between Younis and Latif had all but sealed the game for PQA.


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Mathews' weather gamble backfires

Angelo Mathews has admitted Sri Lanka did not consider the likelihood of rain when they chose their XI for the second ODI against New Zealand, nor did they vouch on weather hampering the team bowling second, at the toss.

New Zealand have hoped to bowl first in both matches in Hambantota, reasoning that Duckworth-Lewis recalculations favour chasing sides, but despite the potency of Sri Lanka's ongoing monsoon season, Mathews has wished to bat first on both occasions, focusing on the inclination of the venue's surface instead. The first match had been washed out after 54.1 overs, and last November's ODI series against New Zealand had also been severely affected by rain, with the team batting first gaining a discernible advantage in those matches.

Sri Lanka were doubly disadvantaged by the rain in the second match, as they contended with a wet ball that the spinners in particular found harder to grip, and a wet outfield that lubricated the ball's passage over it. The visitors eventually secured a thrilling four-wicket win, off the last ball of the match.

"We played two spinners, because we didn't make a decision based on the weather," Mathews said. "If you looked at our innings, their spinners managed to get some good turn, which showed the pitch was susceptible to spin. We weren't taking rainfall into the equation. There was rain in the past few days, but because we couldn't foresee what would happen with the weather, we took the choice to have a balanced attack - with three fast bowlers and two spinners.

"If you look at the pitch here, it's good to bat on at the start and gets more and more suited to spin, and plays slower as the match goes on. We aimed to put a big total on the board first up, but didn't take the rain into account."

In a frank assessment of his team's failure, however, Mathews suggested changes to that strategy might be afoot, ahead of the last match of the series in Dambulla. Sri Lanka must win that match - provided the rains relent long enough to allow a game of cricket - in order to draw the series.


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All-round Imad Wasim helps Leopards to big win

Group II

A century from Afaq Raheem and a half-century from the captain Imad Wasim helped Islamabad Leopards to a massive 356 and set up a 103-run win against Hyderabad Hawks at Diamond Club Ground. Wasim also took three wickets with his left-arm spin to cap a fine all-round performance. Leopards were put in to bat and they were powered initially by a stand of 137 between Raheem and Asadullah Sumari. Raheem was dismissed for 126 off 100 balls with 16 fours and four sixes. Wasim was responsible for the fireworks towards the end with 82 off 42 balls with nine fours and three sixes. For Hawks, Haris Khan, Faisal Athar and Lal Kumar scored half-centuries but succumbed to the huge target, getting bowled out for 253 within 38 overs.

A four-wicket haul by the left-arm spinner Mohammad Irfan helped Multan Tigers sneak in a nine-run win in a low-scoring match against Lahore Lions in Lahore. Chasing 169, the Tigers fell from 58 for 1 to 82 for 6. Irfan cut through the middle order to finish with miserly figures of 4 for 12 from nine overs and the Tigers were bowled out for 159, with Aamer Yamin resisting with 45 off 40 balls. Earlier, Waqas Saleem was the top scorer for Lions with 34 but the middle and lower order failed to chip in. Ahad Raza, the offspinner, finished with 4 for 31. Lions could only make 168, but it turned out to be a winning score.

In another low-scoring encounter, in Karachi, an eighth-wicket stand of 32 between Saad Ali and Khurram Shahzad helped Karachi Dolphins to a three-wicket win over Quetta Bears. Chasing 170, the Dolphins were comfortably placed at 81 for 1 but a three-wicket burst by Mohibullah reduced them to 105 for 5, and later 137 for 7. Shahzad and Saad, unbeaten on 44, saw them through. It was a similar story for the Bears as well after they were put in to bat. Led by Abid Ali's 45, they progressed to 89 for 1 and then collapsed to 125 for 7. Shahzaib Ahmed took 4 for 31 to bowl out Bears for 169.

Group I

At the National Stadium, Karachi Zebras sneaked home by four runs against Lahore Eagles to claim their third successive win. Put in to bat, Zebras were bowled out for 182, led by the opener Ashraf Ali's 59. Qaiser Ashraf and Tanzeel Altaf took three wickets each. Chasing 183, the Eagles' top order made starts but couldn't carry on. Zeeshan Ali top scored with 37 but his side failed to match the asking rate and ended on 178 for 8.

Half-centuries by Naved Malik, Awais Zia and Muzammil Nizam helped Rawalpindi Rams beat Peshawar Panthers by five wickets in a high-scoring game at Rawalpindi Stadium. Malik and Zia made 59 and 55 respectively to set the Rams on course in their chase of 270. Nizam's unbeaten 68 off 56 balls saw the side through with more than three overs to spare. Their knocks overshadowed fifties by Panthers' opener Iftikhar Ahmed and an unbeaten 90 by Mehran Ibrahim. Ahmed's knock laid the foundation while Ibrahim took the score to 269, hitting 11 fours and a six.

An unbeaten 63 from Kamran Ghulam helped Abbottabad Falcons to a four-wicket win over Sialkot Stallions in Abbottabad. Chasing 220, the Falcons were in a spot of bother at 172 for 6, but Ghulam's unbeaten 63 off 65 balls saw them through. For the Stallions, there were no hefty contributions apart from Naved Sarwar's 72. The others batted around Sarwar, who remained unbeaten. Aziz-ur-Rehman and Shakeel Shah took three wickets apiece.


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Sixteen-year-old Doran to face England

Jake Doran, a 16-year-old, batsman from New South Wales, has been chosen to play against England in their tour match in Alice Springs that follows the first Test in Brisbane. Doran has been named in the 12-man squad for the Cricket Australia Chairman's XI and the former Test spinner Michael Beer will captain the side for the two-day match.

Most members of the side are fringe state players, with Beer the only man in the group who has played at international level. Alister McDermott, Josh Lalor and Kane Richardson will be the main pace options, while Beer, James Muirhead and Ashton Turner are the spinners in the outfit.

The top order will be made up of Tasmania's Steven Cazzulino, Western Australia's Marcus Harris and the Victorian pair of Michael Hill and Alex Keath. However, much interest will surround the teenager Doran, who last month became the youngest player to represent the New South Wales second XI since Doug Walters.

Doran, a left-hand batsman who plays for the Fairfield-Liverpool club in Sydney's grade competition, is the younger brother of sometime New South Wales spinner Luke Doran, and is considered one of the brightest young batting prospects in the country. Greg Chappell, Cricket Australia's national talent manager, said the squad boasted an exciting list of up-and-coming players.

"England has been one of the most successful international teams in recent years and the Chairman's XI team contains some of the most exciting young cricketers in the country," Chappell said. "Kane Richardson and Luke Robins are both products of the very successful youth development program in the Northern Territory, while Josh Lalor is one of two indigenous cricketers on state contract lists, with Daniel Christian being the other.

"This will be a great leadership opportunity for captain Michael Beer, who made his Test debut for Australia at the previous home Ashes series in 2011, and at age 29 still has a lot to offer. This is a great opportunity to bring elite cricket to Alice Springs. Traeger Park is a high-class venue at which we expect top-class cricket will become a regular visitor."

CA Chairman's XI Steve Cazzulino, Michael Hill, Marcus Harris, Alex Keath, Jake Doran, Ashton Turner, Kane Richardson, James Muirhead, Michael Beer (capt), Josh Lalor, Alister McDermott, Luke Robins (NT).


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Dhawal Kulkarni in India ODI squad, Ishant dropped

Mumbai pace bowler Dhawal Kulkarni has earned a maiden national limited-overs call-up, being picked in India's 15-man squad for the one-dayers against West Indies. Ishant Sharma and Vinay Kumar, who had forgettable series against Australia last month, have been dropped.

Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was rested for the preceding Test series to allow him the chance to recover from a shoulder niggle, is back. Yuvraj Singh, who also had a very poor one-day series against Australia, retains his place.

Haryana seamer Mohit Sharma, who featured in the second-string squad that played in Zimbabwe in August, has also been included. Mohit showed good touch in the first two rounds of the Ranji Trophy; he has seven wickets from two games, having extracted swing from the helpful Lahli track and claimed the prize wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in his final domestic game, as well as contributing with the bat when his team was in trouble.

Kulkarni had played in the same Lahli match and picked up three wickets. He was part of the India A squad that played New Zealand in Visakhapatnam in August-September, and claimed five wickets from two List A games there.

Ishant and Vinay were both battered during the high-scoring Australia one-dayers. While that was the case with most of the bowlers in the series, the manner in which they bowled, repeatedly erring in their lengths and lines, brought them much criticism. The duo was the most expensive among specialist bowlers from both sides, both with an economy rate a shade under eight. The lowlight for Ishant was the Mohali match, in which he was taken for 30 runs in an over by James Faulkner, with India losing the game when they looked to be on course for a victory.

In that batsman dominated series, Yuvraj produced his worst series stats in one-dayers, scoring 19 runs in four innings with a high score of 12. On comeback to the Indian team, however, in the one-off Twenty20 that was played before the ODIs, he had hit a match-winning, unbeaten 77 to propel India in a stiff chase.


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Willey looks to build on T20 exploits

David Willey is already Northamptonshire's answer to Ian Botham but he is not done there - he has already set his sights on the international stage.

That might sound like a bold claim for a man who rocketed into the public consciousness for the first time last summer with his exploits on Friends Life t20 finals day.

But after a call-up to the England Performance Programme for the winter tour of Australia, Willey, at 23, is now firmly on Andy Flower's radar. The squad depart for Perth on Thursday.

Until his impressive summer with the ball in 2012, the most famous cricketing Willey incontestably remained his father, Peter, who has followed up 26 Tests for England with more than 20 years as one of the sternest umpires on the circuit.

But David's all-round display on finals day at Edgbaston in August cemented him as a star on the rise: Willey took Surrey for a 19-ball half-century, the fastest of the season, pulled off a direct-hit run-out from the deep and finished off the match with a hat-trick as part of a four-wicket haul. It all assured him of the PCA award as the most valuable player of the season in t20.

While the left-armer is quick to admit that days like that probably only come around once in a career, with a Performance Programme tour to look forward to, Willey is confident the foundations are in place for him to end the long search for England's next allrounder.

"I probably won't have another game like that in my whole career," he admitted. "But hopefully the summer and the EPP call up is a step in the right direction and I can use it as a catalyst to kick on for the rest of my career.

"I think in all formats I would like to see myself as a genuine allrounder. Throw in the fact that I like to think I am a good fielder as well and I hope I can be an all-round player who is important in any format.

"I like to think of myself as a bit of an action man, I like to be involved and contribute in all three aspects of the game and I hope in the selectors' eyes that can only be a good thing. I definitely look at my skill set and think that the England all-rounder is a position I would like to make my own.

"I'm not denying that I am not the finished article yet and I have got areas to work on, but I will keep working on all aspects of my game so that I can put myself in the picture."

Willey is part of a 16-man EPP squad and among the 13 heading to Australia this month, swiftly following on from his appearances for the Lions against Bangladesh A in August.

England's much-vaunted programme has seen two recent graduates, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, go on to establish themselves in the senior set-up with a third Yorkshire batsman, Gary Ballance, hot on their heels.

Willey is anxious for his career to be kicked ahead in similar fashion. "With the EPP are some of the best coaches so it's the best place to progress and work on things," he said. "Hopefully, there is a lot for us to work on and we can get stuck in and make a good progression.

"On the bowling side I want to work a bit on my action, making it a bit more economical to hopefully prevent some injuries, and I also want to try and work on a genuine awayswinger to the right hander. Then on the batting side it is about drawing up a game plan so I can bat for whole days: that's how you score the big runs.

"You can see from the past record of this programme that it is one of the best, if not the best, in the world for bringing players on, so to be a part of it is fantastic.

Follow the England Performance Programme squad and their progress this winter at www.ecb.co.uk/epp


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Mark Robinson to coach England Lions

Sussex's coaching staff is suddenly all the rage. After Sri Lanka's announcement that Mark Davis was on a shortlist of two for their vacant role of national coach, Sussex's head coach, Mark Robinson, has also won recognition by being asked to take charge of the England Lions tour to Sri Lanka next year.

The Lions will play three four-day Tests against the Sri Lanka Emerging Players team on a tour that looks likely to emphasise the longer form of the game in contrast to the side's previous tour there which focused solely on one-day cricket. England will arrive in Colombo on January 27 and depart on March 2. The final schedule will be announced later this month.

David Parsons, the ECB performance director, said: "We are delighted to give Mark Robinson the opportunity to come into the England Lions set-up. This should not only provide him with an excellent opportunity to learn first-hand what the England cricket programme is really about, but also we will be able to benefit greatly from Mark's experience as one of our leading coaches within the first-class game.

"Training and playing competitive cricket in challenging conditions against tough opposition is always a great way for our players to further their individual games, so this tour will act as an important part of developing and identifying the England players of the future."

Robinson, who has been cricket manager at Sussex for eight years, has previously taken charge of the England Under-19 side.

Selection for the tour will take place in mid-December with the announcement of the squad before the end of 2013 before which the performance programme squad, another part of the ECB's development system, will be based in Australia for a month.

The tour will also benefit Sri Lanka as they consider the fringe places in their Test squad ahead of their tour of England in May and June 2014.

Davis, born in Port Elizabeth, faces competition from Marvan Atapattu, the former Sri Lanka opener, as Sri Lanka Cricket decide who should replace Graham Ford, who ended his tenure to join Surrey next season.


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Make sports cheating a criminal offence - Dravid

A law against sports fraud that offers real consequences of "jail time" could well be the deterrent for athletes in the fight against corruption in sports, former India captain Rahul Dravid has said. Speaking at a conference conducted by India's premier investigation agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, Dravid said the four issues needing legal intervention were doping, deliberate underperformance, involvement in the betting industry and age fraud.

"Criminal offences must be defined to include all forms of sports cheating, and jail time must be a genuine potential outcome where an offence is proved," Dravid, who formed part of a panel discussion on 'integrity in sport', said. Modern sport was at "a crossroads", he said, as it was "at serious risk of losing its moral compass". "The question is no longer whether the law must intervene but it is how, to what extent and on what issues."

Being banned from a sport, he said, did not end up having the desired effect, but being punished for a crime would. "Unless people see the consequences of your action… People have to see jail at the end of the day."

Former India fast bowler Atul Wassan, who was part of the audience, asked Dravid whether cricket needed to adhere to the anti-doping clauses pertaining to players' revealing their whereabouts to testing authorities, accept polygraph tests, and the possibility of entrapment by law-enforcement authorities. Dravid said, "I'm all for it - you need more regulation - it is what will protect the honest athlete even if it means a certain amount of loss of [personal] freedom."

One of the other speakers on the panel, Chris Eaton, director of the International Centre for Sports Security, said sports fraud needed to be tackled at a global, multi-dimensional level, involving sporting bodies, the police, governments and international co-operation. "Otherwise you are only papering over the problem, the entire gambling [world] needs to be called in to account." A former FIFA head of security, Eaton said just banning players involved was no solution. "Stop punishing only the players - they are the victims in this, you need to tackle the people making their money through this. You punish one lot of players, the people behind the fix move on to the next lot of players. These people have to be brought to account in some way."

The fact that betting was illegal in India did not, he said, mean that the betting industry could not be regulated and called to question. Unlike Eaton, however, Ravi Sawani, the head of the BCCI's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, said he did not believe that legalising gambling would solve the problem, stating that his view was that the laws in the western world were framed more with an eye on protecting the lucrative gambling industry rather than the sport.

The enactment of a special law pertaining to sports fraud would work best if combined with "a central agency" to investigate the problem, Sawani said. He suggested the creation of a special sports integrity intelligence unit under the CBI, which would bring several layers of the illegal betting industry under scrutiny. "Young players always ask us, we have to follow a code and if we break it, we get punished. But what happens to the bookies?"

Sawani had been part of the CBI investigation into match-fixing in 2000. At the time, the CBI, he said, had been advised by a former Supreme Court judge, Manoj Mukherjee, that laws 415 (cheating), 417 (punishment for cheating) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) under the Indian Penal Code did fall short in the case of fixing in cricket.

The IPL 2013 corruption scandal happened to be different from what happened in 2000 in one important aspect, he said: in 2013, the cricketers were under a legal obligation to their franchises by contract. Sawani said the BCCI had always "welcomed" investigation by the police agencies, and had currently passed on information to sections of the police. "It [how the information is used] depends on what the police priorities are on looking this up."

The government representative on the panel, sports secretary Ajit Sharan, said that the draft framework of a new bill pertaining to sports fraud had been prepared and was in the process of being put out on the sports ministry website to invite "stakeholder" feedback.


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Washout forces SL rethink on young players

Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captain, admitted a washed-out first match will likely force the hosts to field their best XI again on Tuesday, altering earlier plans to make player development the focus of the last two games of the series against New Zealand.

Before the tour, Mathews had said Sri Lanka would seek a series victory before entertaining thoughts of blooding new talent, but chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya suggested before the first game that he would like to try new players sooner.

Middle-order batsman Ashan Priyanjan, opener Kusal Perera and fast bowler Suranga Lakmal have all been earmarked as future players, but did not find a place in the top XI, while even two young batsmen who make the team batted well out of position. Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne would likely have moved up the order, displacing the senior batsmen, if Sri Lanka had won the first match convincingly.

"We were thinking of making a change to the team after the first match, depending on what the result was," Mathews said ahead of the second game. "Now we've got to rethink that, because this match was a no-result. As I've said before, winning the series is our priority, and to do that we have to win both games."

Sri Lanka have already invested much in youth this year - Mathews' captaincy is itself a result of the policy - and Mathews has often been adamant that packing the team with young players does not benefit them or the team. Sri Lanka have already fielded a batsman who has played only two previous ODIs in Dimuth Karunaratne, and Mathews said plenty was already being done to secure the team's future.

"If you look at our batting lineup right now, apart from TM Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, the other four in the top seven are all young cricketers, so there has to be a balance. If you look at the bowling, Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga have been doing well, so we've taken the decision to play them. The young players have to be brought into the team, but the team has to also be winning and doing well."

Opener Karunaratne was dismissed for a golden duck in the first game, but Mathews suggested the batsman deserved a longer stretch in the side, given his recent form in List A cricket. Karunaratne is also approaching a period of greater responsibility in Tests, as the retirement of Dilshan will likely result in another rookie opener joining Karunaratne.

"If you pick a player, you have to give him appropriate opportunity to show what he's got. Dimuth has been constantly among the runs for the Sri Lanka A team. He was unfortunate to be out first ball, but he's a good player and I'm confident he'll do well in the matches to come."

Mathews said he was largely pleased about Sri Lanka's total of 288 for 9 in the first match, but said they should have batted better in the last ten overs after all three seniors had been dismissed. Mathews remained unbeaten, hitting 74 from 64, but received little support from the lower middle order.

"At 40 overs we had over 210 runs [216], and our plan then was to go past 300. But we lost wickets and that was a setback. Chandimal and Thirimanne's wickets had a big effect on that, but in the end I was happy with the total. I think we had a great chance to win."


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Azhar Ali ton sets up big SNGPL win

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited moved to the top of the table with a 237-run win over United Bank Limited in Faisalabad. SNGPL were in trouble at 132 for 6 on day one after choosing to bat, but a 63 from No 8 Bilawal Bhatti stretched the innings to 279. Bhatti also starred on the final day, taking 5 for 13 as UBL were dismissed for 95 in their pursuit of 333.

After Bhatti's rearguard in the first innings, legspinner Yasir Shah took five wickets to earn SNGPL a lead of 62. Ali Asad made 87 at No 3 but there was little support for him. Batsmen No 4 to 7 departed for 15 each as UBL were bowled out for 217.

SNGPL captain Azhar Ali then took the game away from UBL with an unbeaten century, his 17th first-class hundred. Azhar came in at 46 for 2 and ensured UBL were set a difficult target. Opener Azeem Ghumman (62) and Ali Waqas (47) helped their captain build the innings and SNGPL declared on 270 for 5. Imran Ali again made key incisions with the new ball to have UBL tottering on 13 for 3 in the chase after which Bhatti took over. Barring Asif Raza and Bismillah Khan, no UBL batsman made more than 8.

State Bank of Pakistan fought back from the brink of an innings defeat to draw their match against National Bank of Pakistan in Sialkot.

National Bank of Pakistan piled up 435 for 5, after being put in to bat, and were driven by big centuries from opener Sami Aslam (191) and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal (162).

In reply, State Bank were shot out for 53 in their first innings, with National Bank medium-pacer Ataullah taking 5 for 19 off nine overs. State Bank began their second innings with a deficit of 382 runs and suffered a few setbacks but recovered steadily after a dogged partnership between opener Kashif Siddiqui (80) and Usman Arshad, who added 85 for the third wicket. Arshad scored his 11th first-class hundred and also shared a useful 87-run stand with Rameez Alam.

Once Arshad fell for 102, Alam and wicketkeeper Gulraiz Sadaf took on the task of saving the match for State Bank. The pair added 112 for the sixth wicket and Sadaf carried on after Alam's dismissal to stitch a partnership of 124 with Zahid Mahmood for the seventh wicket. Sadaf's resistance ensured that State Bank took a 144-run lead over National Bank. Offspinner Adnan Rasool finished with figures of 6 for 105.

National Bank had to play just two overs in their chase and managed to close at 4 for no loss.

Port Qasim Authority, by way of acquiring a first-innings lead, got the better of Water and Power Development Authority as their President's Trophy clash petered out to a draw at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Put in to bat, Faraz Ali (91) and Mohammad Waqas (76) overcame a shaky start as their 111-run partnership steered Port Qasim to the relative safety of 188 for 4. However, there was little resistance once the pair fell as pacer Azhar Attari took 6 for 76 and Port Qasim lost their final wicket for 273.

In reply, WAPDA's start was even worse as seamer Mohammad Talha ripped out the first four wickets with only 16 on the board. Mohammad Sami drove the stake further with three more wickets, but Adnan Raees refused to budge. His partnership with No. 9 Asif Ali revived a feeble 61 for 7 to 202 for 8. Asif's 71 was his maiden first-class fifty while Raees' century was his 12th in the format. Sami completed his 27th five-wicket haul to limit WAPDA to 231.

The Port Qasim top order could not build on their starts a second time, with the exception of captain Khalid Latif who made 73. There were only two stands over fifty as WAPDA seamer Sarfraz Ahmed held sway, claiming 5 for 36 in just under 25 overs. Asif's form continued with the ball too as he chipped in with three wickets to bundle Port Qasim out for 221.

WAPDA were chasing a target of 264, but the match was drawn with the score at 158 for 5, leaving Port Qasim winless after three matches.

Shoaib Ahmed's century and slow left-armer Mohammad Aslam's six-for in the second innings were the main highlights of another drawn match between Khan Research Laboratories and Habib Bank Limited in Rawalpindi.

After losing the toss, Khan Research Labs got off to a jittery start. At 19 for 2, opener Saeed Anwar jnr and Shoaib paired well, taking the score to 98. Shoaib starred in two more fifty-run stands - for the fourth and fifth wickets - but there was little support down the order. He was dismissed for 119, with 20 fours and the final four wickets could contribute only 15 more runs as KRL posted 307.

Yasir Arafat led a disciplined bowling performance as Habib Bank's only fifty came from No. 9 Ehsan Adil. Although a few batsmen did manage starts - Imran Farhat (32), Asad Baig (45) and wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar (31) - regular wickets thwarted their efforts to push on. Arafat's four wickets stifled the middle order, while Sadaf Hussain and Rahat Ali, who picked up two each, took early KRL wickets. Coming in at 151 for 7, Adil produced an earnest effort, lasting just under three hours for his maiden first-class fifty and took the score to 236.

KRL's second essay was a woeful story as they lost their last six wickets for 25 runs. Usman Salahuddin, coming in at No. 4 offered the only resistance with his 66 off 125 balls, but a devastating spell from 34-year old Aslam, accounting for the last five of the six wickets, bundled KRL out for 159 to set up a target of 231 runs. However, the excitement was short-lived as there wasn't enough time for Habib Bank to record more than 63 for 3.

Pakistan International Airlines demolished Pakistan Television by ten wickets in Islamabad. Kamran Sajid, the PIA captain, struck 148 to lead his side to 382 in the first innings. Aizaz Cheema then picked up seven wickets as PTV were dismissed for 156 and 230, after being made to follow-on.

PIA piled up a big score after being asked to bat. Sajid was assisted by Faisal Iqbal's 96. Though there were few contributions from the other specialist batsmen, No 9 Anwar Ali made 36 before falling to Mohammad Ali, who ended with 5 for 79.

Cheema replied with 4 for 49 as PTV conceded a first-innings lead of 226. Three middle-order batsmen fell in their thirties while the top order also gave away starts. Asked to follow-on, PTV put up a better show. Imran Ali and Nawaz Ahmed made forties at the top of the order but there was little resistance after that. Cheema took three more wickets while Tahir Khan ran through the tail to finish with 4 for 41.

PIA needed to make just five runs in their second innings, and were gifted five wides by Zohaib Ahmed in the second over.


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Lahore secure resounding win

Group II


Multan's lower-order collapse on the final day, triggered by pacer Mohammad Saeed's four-wicket haul, resulted in an eight-wicket rout at the hands of Lahore Shalimar, who brushed aside a 76-run target and moved to second place in Group II.

Lahore Shalimar won the toss and chose to bowl, and were handed an immediate advantage when Mohammad Bilawal took seven wickets to dismiss Multan for 69.

In spite of a shaky start, Lahore Shalimar grabbed a substantial first-innings lead, posting 282, built around Mohammad Saeed's maiden first-class hundred. The No. 9 batsman scored 113 off 114 balls with 16 fours and four sixes. Offspinner Haziq Habibullah was the pick of the Multan bowlers, returning first-innings figures of 4 for 81.

Faced with a 213-run deficit, and with a risk of an innings defeat at 117 for 4, Multan staged a recovery led by Ahmed Rasheed. Rasheed's 170-ball 89 had 11 fours and contributions from Abdul Rehman Muzammil (47) and openers Usman Liaqat and Ahad Raza helped Multan clear the deficit. However, Mohammad Saeed struck with a four-wicket haul to skittle Multan out for 288 as the batting side lost its last six wickets for 38.

The Lahore openers put on a 55-run stand in pursuit of the 76-run target and the side needed just 18 overs to complete an eight-wicket win. Mohammad Bilawal finished with match figures of 10 for 111, his maiden first-class ten-wicket haul, while Saeed added to his first-innings tally to finish with a seven-wicket match haul.

A high-scoring match between Islamabad and Hyderabad petered out in a draw in Islamabad.

Put in to bat first, Islamabad scored 303, helped by contributions from all batsmen, including a fifty from Moed Ahmed. Fast bowler Farhan Ayub picked up six wickets for 106, but regular partnerships between the Islamabad batsmen ensured they reached a solid score.

In reply, Hyderabad, powered by fifties from openers Zeeshan Gul and Darya Khan eked out a slender 17-run lead. The openers added 113 for the opening stand to notch up important innings where other Hyderabad batsmen failed to convert their starts. Gul fell for 50, while Darya Khan missed his maiden first-class hundred by five runs. Hyderabad's bowlers then gave their side a solid shot at victory, reducing Islamabad to 56 for 5 in the second innings, before a lower-order rally saw Islamabad climb to 200.

Set a target of 184 runs, and running out of time, Hyderabad stuttered to 41 for 5 in 21 overs by close of play. Shehzad Azam, the Islamabad fast bowler, picked up 4 for 29 in 11 overs.

Group I


Abbottabad and Sialkot held each other to a high-scoring draw, which featured three centuries at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.

Mohammad Ali (133) enjoyed a memorable debut as he rescued the home side from 38 for 2. Ali, whose innings included 19 fours and lasted just a shade under six hours, and 18-year-old Kamran Ghulam (157) carried Abbottabad to a daunting 513 for 7, before the declaration . Ghulam, though was the more aggressive of the two centurions, as his 23 fours helped him maintain a strike rate over 80. Another debutant, Baber Khan, came in at No. 9 and struck 54 off 55 balls. Hasan Ali, 19, was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 133.

In reply, opener Majid Jahangir (107) and Naved Sarwar (80) stabilised Sialkot after quick wickets. A brief collapse in the middle order hurt Sialkot's momentum but No. 8 Nabeel Malik arrested the slide - three wickets for 36 runs - with his second first-class fifty. The rest of the tail, however, could not muster similar resolve and Sialkot lost their last four wickets for 13 runs to finish at 360.

Abbottabad's second innings lasted for nine overs in which the openers hit 64 runs before the match was drawn.

It was a case of first-innings blues as Rawalpindi met Peshawar in the Quaid-e-Azam tournament at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Both teams put in strong performances in their second innings, with Isarullah scoring the only century of the match, as it ended in a draw.

Seamer Azam Khan snared four of the top-five Rawalpindi batsmen, including opener Shoaib Nasir, whose 38 remained the highest score of the innings. Azam's new-ball partner Afaq Ahmed chipped in with three wickets as Rawalpindi benefited from lower-order contributions - the last four wickets added 117 runs - to reach 180.

Peshawar's steady start was interrupted when Ashfaq Ahmed was forced to retire with the score on 42. Iftikhar Ahmed's 92 was the saving grace after the top-order could not consolidate on their starts. Striking 15 fours in his 107-ball innings, his counterattack helped Peshawar claim a 63-run lead, which proved vital in their claiming three points off this match.

Rawalpindi's solid start was dented when their first two wickets fell within four runs. The score was 99 for 2 and by the time they had added five more runs, another wicket had fallen. Regular wickets became the order of the day until Zahid Mansoor (91) and wicketkeeper Talha Qureshi (45*) steadied the innings, taking Rawalpindi from 186 for 6 to 278 before the partnership was broken. Qureshi remained unbeaten until the end of the innings, taking his side to 384.

Azizullah, the 21-year-old fast bowler, toiled away for 42.4 overs and reaped good rewards as he claimed his maiden five-for in first-class cricket.

Chasing a target of 322 runs, Isarullah's ton helped Peshawar set a good pace as they made 181 for 2 in 51 overs, but in the end the honours were shared.


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Bailey named in Test squad

George Bailey is set to become Australia's 435th Test cricketer after beating his fellow Tasmanian Alex Doolan for the final batting place in the squad for the first Ashes Test at the Gabba. Bailey has been included in Australia's 12-man squad despite his disappointing first-class form over the past year, as the selectors instead backed his strong efforts in one-day internationals, including as captain on last month's tour of India.

The allrounder James Faulkner has also been included as expected, as has the fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who is likely to share the pace duties with Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle, while Nathan Lyon retained his position as the lead spinner. Shane Watson has been chosen despite suffering a hamstring injury at the end of the Indian tour and the selectors are hopeful he will be able to bowl, which gives them a range of options regarding the balance of the team.

Although batting the vice-captain Brad Haddin at No.6 and Faulkner at 7 would be a possibility, as in the final Test at The Oval this year, the likely scenario is that Bailey will fill the No.6 position on debut at the Gabba. During a first-class career that has spanned ten seasons, Bailey, 31, has scored 6011 runs at 38.28, including 14 centuries, but his lack of red-ball form last season initially seemed to have hurt his chances of a Test call-up.

For Tasmania last year, Bailey scored only 256 Sheffield Shield runs at 18.28 and he later conceded that he had struggled significantly with the constant demands of changing formats. However, the national selector John Inverarity noted Bailey's form the previous summer, when he had made 697 Shield runs at 58.08, and it also helped that since Bailey's ODI debut in March last year only India's Virat Kohli has scored more ODI runs than his 1539 at 54.96.

"It was certainly discussed at great length last night," Inverarity said of the decision between Bailey and Doolan. "Alex Doolan is a very highly-regarded player in our eyes ... George Bailey has been in fantastic form with the bat. His confidence is riding high. His performance in international one-day cricket has been quite extraordinary and he's very deserving of his opportunity."

Australia's T20 international captain since his debut in the format in February last year, Bailey has impressed the selectors in the shorter formats not only with his run-scoring but also his calm, intelligent leadership. Although there was no place for Doolan in this squad, he appears the batsman most likely to be included if another opportunity comes up during the Ashes, after his impressive 2012-13 and strong start to this summer.

Apart from the inclusion of Bailey in the 12, the only other change to the side that played at The Oval was the absence of the injured Mitchell Starc, who has been replaced by his fellow left-armer Johnson. At 32, Johnson is set to embark on his third Ashes series and the selectors hope he can make the England batsmen jump, as he did during the ODIs that followed this year's Ashes, while also demonstrating improved control.

"I think he's bowling a lot more consistent at the moment," the captain Michael Clarke said. "His pace is certainly high, which is a great start. But it doesn't matter how fast you bowl, if you don't know where they're going it's always easy to face as a batsman. I think Mitch has that control. He showed that in the one-day format. I said a couple of days ago if Mitch was selected in this squad, it wouldn't surprise me if in a couple of months' time you see Mitch being Man of the Series."

Whether Johnson is one of four or five bowlers remains to be seen, but the Australians are hopeful Watson will be able to contribute some overs despite struggling with a hamstring problem he picked up on the ODI tour of India. Watson is expected to bat at No.3, after finishing the Ashes in England with a century at first drop at The Oval, and Inverarity is confident that will not be all he can do for the team.

"We're hoping that he'll be able to bowl," Inverarity said. "We're not sure the extent to which he'll be able to bowl. He's progressing very well and he'll certainly be fit to play. We believe he's likely to be able to bowl. But it's nine days to go, so we can't give a definitive answer on that."

Watson's fitness to bowl could determine whether there is a place for the allrounder Faulkner, who performed well on debut at The Oval and also made his maiden ODI century in India earlier this month. Inverarity said Faulkner was a player the selectors hoped could offer plenty to the Test team in the future.

"He has been a cricketer we've had our eye on for a long time," he said. "He impresses us with his batting and with his bowling and with his attitude, and his uncanny ability to have an impact on almost every game he plays. If you give him the ball, he always seems to be able to conjure up a wicket, when he goes out to bat he has the knack of forming a partnership ... we have high hopes for him."

Squad Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Steve Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin (wk, vice-capt), James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon.


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Raina, spinners deliver big win for UP

Uttar Pradesh 302 (Raina 123, Utkarsh 5-73, Bhatt 5-105) and 294 for 6 dec (Srivastava 125*, Raina 65) beat Baroda 228 (Wakaskar 70, Rayudu 65, RP Singh 4-50) and 186 (Rayudu 56*, Gupta 4-14) by 182 runs
Scorecard

Baroda failed to show fight for sustained periods on a wearing fourth-day pitch at Moti Bagh, conceding the game by 182 runs to Uttar Pradesh. Baroda were on the back foot coming in to the final day, having lost two wickets for virtually nothing late on the third day after they were set 369. Baroda resisted through a counterattacking stand of 82 for the sixth wicket between Yusuf Pathan and Ambati Rayudu, but a reckless shot from Yusuf triggered a collapse.

Resuming at 5 for 2, Baroda were fortunate on two occasions in the morning. Abhimanyu Chauhan looked to drive RP Singh through the off side but the umpire failed to pick up the thick edge to the keeper. Shortly after, Chauhan's partner, Utkarsh Patel went down the track to the spinner and survived a regulation stumping chance. UP struck in the 22nd over when Patel chopped Imtiaz Ahmed onto the off stump. Chauhan himself was bowled by the captain Suresh Raina, leaving UP in further trouble at 73 for 4.

Rayudu and Yusuf, however, seemed undeterred by the ball not only turning square but also shooting through low. They charged the spinners and cleared the infield in their positive stand. Rayudu had a close call when he fended off a short ball from RP, with the ball shaving the stump but not dislodging the bails. With this coming after the umpiring howler, it clearly wasn't RP's day.

Pathan, who scored 42 of his 49 runs off boundaries alone, showed welcome signs of a return to form. He charged Piyush Chawla and launched him high over long-on and when he looked to clear the on side again the following ball, he ended up dragging it onto his stumps.

It was the start of the end for Baroda as the left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta ran through the lower order with three wickets in an over. Rayudu was left stranded on 56 and though he was let down by his team-mates in the end, it was a commendable innings from him on a tough pitch.

UP claimed their first win while Baroda, having been denied by rain in the first round, were still looking for their first win.


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Jaffer hits yet another hundred, Sehwag's dismal run

Sehwag's poor run, Venugopal Rao's first hundred in six seasons, Akshar takes maiden five-for
Gujarat v Delhi, Surat
Virender Sehwag scored 1 and 15 in the two opportunities he got in this match; he has now gone 13 first-class innings without hitting a half-century. Venugopal Rao hit his first hundred in six first-class seasons, in Gujarat's first innings. In five first-class seasons before this one, Venugopal had scored 939 runs from 24 matches at an average of 24.71, including five fifties. This was Venugopal's first century for Gujarat. Playing for Gujarat in the last season, Venugopal had scored 110 runs from nine innings at an average of 12.22. Sumit Narwal took 6 for 71 in Gujarat's first innings - this was his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Akshar Patel took 6 for 55 in Delhi's first innings. This was his first five-wicket haul in his first-class career in only his second match. Mithun Manhas also hit a century, the 23rd hundred of his first-class career.

Samson's productive run
Kerala v Andhra Pradesh, Kannur
Sanju Samson followed up his double-century against Assam in the first round with another hundred against Andhra Pradesh in Kannur. This was his fourth hundred in first-class cricket and his second against Andhra in three innings. Samson followed it up with another half-century in Kerala's second innings. Samson's score in his last five innings read - 122, 51, 211, 115, 51*. Samson now averages 54.14 in first-class cricket in 16 innings.

Jaffer hits yet another hundred, Rajwinder takes maiden five-for
Punjab v Mumbai, Chandigarh
Wasim Jaffer hit his 33rd hundred in the Ranji Trophy and the 49th of first-class career, in the first innings against Punjab. Jaffer leads the list of batsmen with most centuries in the Ranji. Ajay Sharma (31) and Amol Muzumdar (28) are next in the list. Vishal Dabholkar, thrust into the role of lead spinner for Mumbai, took his first five-for and his first ten-for to wreck Punjab .

Aparajith completes 1000 runs, Badrinath hits third Ranji double-century
Tamil Nadu v Madhya Pradesh, Indore
B Aparajith completed 1000 runs in first-class cricket in Tamil Nadu's second round Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh. Needing just eight runs to reach the landmark before the match, he hit his fourth century in seven innings and the fifth of his career. He now averages 61.66 in first-class from 24 innings. S Badrinath hit his third double-hundred in the Ranji Trophy and the 30th century of his first-class career. He fell two runs short of his highest first-class score of 250, which he scored against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in 2009.

Dinda takes 200 first-class scalps, Aniket's maiden first-class five-for
Rajasthan v Bengal, Jaipur
Sourabh Chouhan's wicket in Bengal's match against Rajasthan was Ashok Dinda's 200th wicket in first-class cricket. Dinda has taken 203 wickets at an average of 30.64 and a strike rate of 59.3 in 58 first-class matches. Rajasthan's Aniket Choudhary took 5 for 93 in Bengal's first innings at Jaipur - his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. These were also his best bowling figures in a match.

Gokul completes 1000 first-class runs, Sibsankar hits his maiden hundred
Assam v Hyderabad, Guwahati
Gokul Sharma's 161 batting at No. 7 in the first innings against Hyderabad was Assam's highest individual score at No. 7 in first-class cricket and his third century in first-class cricket. Assam's Sibsankar Roy also hit a hundred in the first innings; his maiden first-class hundred from 19 matches.

Raina and Tanmay hit hundreds
Baroda v Uttar Pradesh, Vadodra
Suresh Raina bettered his chances of travelling to South Africa as India's reserve middle-order batsmen with a century in UP's first innings. This was his 13th first-class hundred. Tanmay Srivatsava also hit a century in UP's second innings, which was his eighth in first-class cricket.

Keenan Vaz's first half-century, Jakati's five-for after a while
Jammu Kashmir v Goa, Srinagar
Goa wicketkeeper Keenan Vaz hit 99 in Goa's first innings, which was his first fifty in first-class cricket in five games. He added another fifty to the tally in this match with a half-century in the second innings also. Vaz had scored 67 runs from six innings before this match. Shadab Jakati took a five-wicket haul for Goa in Jammu and Kashmir's first innings. This was his eighth first-class five-for and his first since November 2010 in 18 innings.

Mayank hits 90 on debut, Nadeem's highest first-class score
Karnataka v Jharkhand, Mysore
Mayank Agarwal hit 90 on his debut in first-class cricket, for Karnataka. Jharkhand captain Shahbaz Nadeem's 85 in their first innings was the fourth half-century and the highest score of his first-class career.

Jaydev and Anureet both take their fifth five-for
Railways v Saurashtra, Delhi
Jaydev Unadkat and Anureet Singh both took their fifth five-wicket hauls in this match. Unadkat has now taken 91 first-class wickets from 32 matches at an average of 33.37. Anureet has taken 78 wickets from 23 first-class matches at an average of 29.65.

Jayant Yadav takes his first five-for, Wagh's best bowling figures in a match
Vidarbha v Haryana, Nagpur
Jayant Yadav's bowling figures of 5 for 77 in Vidarbha's first innings were his best in first-class career and his first five-wicket haul. Jayant's figures of 6 for 84 for the match were also his best in first-class cricket. Shrikant Wagh took 7 for 109 in the match, which was his best figures in a match in first-class cricket. This included a five-wicket haul - his third in first-class cricket.


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Ferguson to face England again in tour match

Callum Ferguson, Aaron Finch, Adam Voges and Steve O'Keefe are among the players who will face England in a four-day match in Sydney this week as part of a Cricket Australia Invitational XI. As they did for the Australia A squad that played in Hobart last week, the selectors have picked a strong batting line-up featuring several players who could come into international contention soon, but a weakened bowling attack.

Ferguson is the only member of that Australia A side who will play in this week's match, as the severely rain-affected game in Hobart allowed him only 23 balls at the crease for an unbeaten 15. Phillip Hughes was originally meant to be part of the Cricket Australia Invitational XI but instead has been released to play for South Australia, to make way for his state team-mate Ferguson to have some more time in the middle against England.

Usman Khawaja, who the selectors had also intended to play against England in Sydney this week, has also been released to play for Queensland, due to their growing injury list. Khawaja will play for the Bulls against New South Wales in Brisbane, while Hughes will play for the Redbacks in Adelaide against Western Australia, in a round of Shield matches that begin on Wednesday, the same day as the England tour game.

"In selecting the final XI, we have tried to be flexible given the needs of particular states and individual players following the latest round of first-class matches across the country," Cricket Australia's general manager of team performance, Pat Howard, said. "We recognise the injury situation in Queensland, so it is appropriate to release Usman Khawaja from this tour match to support his state.

"We have also taken the view that due to the rain-affected match in Hobart, Callum Ferguson didn't get the depth of international exposure we hoped to give him through his Australia A selection. Through consultation with the SACA, we felt it made sense to select him in the next tour match against England. In light of Callum's selection, Phil Hughes, who has played a lot of international cricket in recent months will remain with South Australia for its next Shield match."

The invitational side will be captained by the New South Wales wicketkeeper Peter Nevill and will feature mostly New South Wales players, with only Voges, Ferguson, Finch and Ed Cowan coming from interstate sides. Although none of the batsmen are expected to be in contention for the first Ashes Test, they are all close enough to the fringes to hope that a big score against England might help them move closer to a call-up.

Ben Rohrer and Ryan Carters round out the batting line-up, while the bowling attack will be made up of O'Keefe and fringe Blues fast men Josh Lalor, Chris Tremain and Nic Bills. Geoff Lawson will coach the side for the four-day encounter at the SCG, which is England's last practice match before the first Test begins at the Gabba on November 21.

Cricket Australia Invitational XI Ed Cowan, Aaron Finch, Callum Ferguson, Adam Voges, Ben Rohrer, Ryan Carters, Peter Nevill (capt, wk), Steve O'Keefe, Josh Lalor, Chris Tremain, Nic Bills.


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Carberry gains from Flower's ruthless call

England's batting order has lost some of its stability with Alastair Cook set to have his third opening partner of the year and Michael Carberry's resurgence has surely shut the door on Nick Compton

Michael Carberry's path towards an opening batting position in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba highlights how quickly fortunes can change. After launching his Australia tour with scores of 78 and 153 not out it seems inevitable that he will now walk out with Alastair Cook having usurped two other men who have held the position this year.

For Joe Root the impact will be limited to a change in position - back to the middle order where he made his debut against India less than a year ago - but Nick Compton's career has slid much further than purely batting slots. The prospect of Compton adding to his nine Test caps (during which he scored two hundreds) were already slim after he was cut shortly before the previous Ashes; Carberry's re-emergence has all but put a full-stop on that brief top-level career.

Compton struggled in the two home Tests against New Zealand, during the second of which at Headingley Root made his maiden hundred in an energetic stand with Jonny Bairstow, and afterwards Andy Flower hinted at a change as Compton returned to county cricket while England embarked on the Champions Trophy. "Hopefully he goes away and can get back in the runs as quickly as possible," Flower said at the time. He made 166 in his first Championship match after the New Zealand series, followed by scores of 81, 34, 79 and 26 against the Australians for Somerset and Worcestershire but it was not enough - even for a place in the performance squad.

Compton's axing has been viewed as one of the more ruthless decisions by this selection panel - he scored 1001 runs at 50.05 in the 2013 County Championship season compared to Carberry's 687 at 42.93 in Division Two - but speaking in Hobart, after England's match against Australia A, Flower said that there are never any promises made regarding selection. His comments gave an insight into the deeper workings of England's selectors, who use far more than pure statistics, while acting as a cautionary tale for others who are sent away with a familiar message.

"Usually in conversations when you do leave players out, often players will ask 'well what do I need to do?' One of the things that's inevitable is that they must go away and score runs because there's nothing else they can do usually. So it wasn't a binding contract and it never is with a batsman that you leave out," Flower said. "The selectors say to him, 'go back to your first-class side and score some runs' but it doesn't mean that once they have scored some runs they are re-selected. There are other people in the mix.

"I think most selection decisions are fairly difficult because you're making decisions about people's careers. We take those decisions seriously."

It all points to Compton's fate having been decided well before the names were made official. England's selection panel under Geoff Miller - who is about to hand the role over to James Whitaker - has not erred in many decisions and their judgement could be about to be borne out even though without Cook's dodgy back in Perth, Carberry may not yet have played on this tour.

"We selected him in the squad initially so we did see certain qualities about him," Flower said. "He is a mature bloke, a mature cricketer. He leaves the ball well, he's got a good range of attacking shots. I think he is well balanced at the crease and those are some of the qualities he will bring to his batting and to the England team.

"Cook stepped off the plane and had that back trouble. We had three openers on board so as soon as Cook started talking about his back it was a very obvious move to have both Root and Carberry open in the Perth game. I think one of the advantages we have is that we've got flexible players. Carberry himself is happy batting down the order. Root we know can do both and so we're pretty comfortable to be flexible."

Flexibility, however, would ideally go out of the window for England in their final-warm match against a Cricket Australia Invitational XI where Flower would like to select to the Test top seven, but the injury concerns to Matt Prior and Kevin Pietersen could yet force his hand. This has been far from the smooth, clinical, build-up England enjoyed on the 2010-11 tour.

"Things don't always work out perfectly and this preparation has been different to the previous Ashes tour that we were on," Flower admitted. "But that's okay. Sometimes you can't recreate the past and actually I think it's a dangerous thing to try sometimes. We haven't had a perfect lead-in to that New South Wales game but that's okay. I think we're pretty comfortable that we'll ensure we're ready for that first day of the Brisbane Test. I'm confident our guys will be ready in Brisbane."

The other issue to confront England in recent days has been the leak of their dietary demands for the Test series in an 82-page document. Flower did not want to linger on the subject - "I don't think it's a very serious issue or story" - but did reveal that consideration has been given to having a chef with the squad. "We have thought about it but we don't think it's necessary," he said. Clearly, one Cook is enough for England. Now he just needs a regular opening partner.


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Qualification would be 'massive' for Scotland - Coetzer

Scotland captain, Kyle Coetzer, has targeted Afghanistan and Netherlands as the two main sides to beat in his team's World Twenty20 Qualifier group. Scotland are one of 16 teams competing for six places at next year's World Twenty20 and Coetzer said that qualification would be "massive for cricket" in the country.

Teams have begun to arrive in the UAE ahead of the tournament, which runs from November 15-30. Scotland, who played in the first two World Twenty20s in 2007 and 2009, will form part of Group B alongside Kenya, Bermuda, Denmark, Nepal and Papua New Guinea, as well as two of the favourites.

"Getting over Afghanistan or the Netherlands will fill our side with confidence," Coetzer said. "Afghanistan has been a side we have not had a huge amount of success against. So we want to make a statement that we are here and we mean business.

"It will be massive for cricket in Scotland and for all the supporters we get from throughout the country. We have not been involved in a world tournament for a couple of years now, so it will be nice to get back in the world stage."

Scotland have lost one of their key players to injury in vice-captain Preston Mommsen but should be among the contenders in the UAE. They are currently ranked 12th in the world in T20 cricket, below Ireland and Afghanistan but above Netherlands.

"Missing Preston is massive and leaves a big hole, but we have got guys who are capable of taking up his spot which is very important," Coetzer said. "We feel we have all bases covered in terms of flexibility in the squad like right-hand/left-hand combination in batting, different aggressiveness styles as well.

"In bowling, we have right-arm and left-arm bowlers, which we have not had in the previous couple of tournaments. So it is nice to have that option, we have three left arm bowlers in our ranks, which give us variation."

Coetzer, 29, is coming off the back of a successful season with Northamptonshire, during which the team secured promotion from Division Two of the Championship and won the Friends Life t20 competition. Allied to his own experience, the team will be able to draw on the knowledge of England's World Twenty20-winning former captain, Paul Collingwood, who has taken up a coaching role with Scotland over the winter.

"In terms of batting, he is really helping guys understand how to get about scoring their runs, or chasing down totals and setting a certain total," Coetzer said. "Having someone like Colly will be a massive advantage to our boys."

The Scotland squad have recently been on a training camp in Sri Lanka, to help acclimatise to conditions in the UAE as well as gain experience of subcontinental conditions, with the World T20 to be held in Bangladesh next March and April. They will prepare for the World T20 Qualifier with warm-up matches against USA and Namibia before taking on Bermuda in their opening fixture on Friday but Coetzer was not worried about his side's ability to adapt in the UAE.

"We played out there a couple of times in a year so it is not like the conditions are absolutely foreign to us," Coetzer said. "I would probably say that the conditions don't suit us as much as others, but you can't use that as an excuse. You've just got to find a way to perform the best in those kinds of conditions."


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Cutting departs from script

Ben Cutting's spell during the afternoon may have caught the selectors' eye, whilst also giving England the testing workout they craved

As he watched Ben Cutting charge in at England's batsmen on an otherwise turgid final afternoon of the Australia A match in Hobart, it is likely the selector on duty, Rod Marsh, would have been equal parts impressed and peeved.

Impressed because Cutting was taking the opportunity presented to him in a way few of his team-mates did across the match, striving to earn higher honours rather than going through the motions to avoid injury. But peeved because Cutting's rhythmic speed, lateral movement and sustained accuracy was providing England with the sort of quality batting work-out that Marsh, the national selector, John Inverarity, and the team performance manager, Pat Howard, have been deliberately trying to withhold from the tourists.

After completing a spell of 9-3-17-2 that included the significant wicket of Jonathan Trott, Cutting revealed his bowling was not only the result of earnest endeavour but also malice aforethought, including a phone call to his Queensland compatriot Ryan Harris to discuss Australia's Ashes plans for the touring batsmen. Trott faced up to a leg slip before edging a good one behind, and Joe Root floundered visibly against the ball well pitched up.

"Leading into this game when I thought I was going to be playing I spoke at length to Ryan Harris about bowling plans," Cutting said. "He did so well over in England I couldn't think of a better person to ring and talk to. That [leg slip] was one of his ideas and I decided to run with that and give it a go myself. I don't know if I was bowling that quick, I haven't seen the gun, but I only bowled one bouncer all day. I bowled a handful on day one, but in saying that I didn't bowl one to Alastair Cook, so I do pick my targets."

It was all very good and very thoughtful bowling, suggesting that the 26-year-old Cutting has matured into a paceman as intelligent as he is hostile. Looking on from the England viewing area, the team director, Andy Flower, could not help but approve of Cutting's expertise and the resultant stiffening required of the touring batsmen to counter him. For those nine overs, a lifeless game briefly mimicked something like the intensity of a Test match.

"I thought he bowled superbly," Flower said. "He bowled an excellent length, conditions were a little subcontinent-like, with the bounce of the ball. He bowled a perfect length for that pitch and he was good on the first day as well, I thought, without much luck. But he was excellent today. It was good for us to face that sort of quality bowling."

 
 
On day four, Cutting departed from the script so markedly that Flower learned more about several batsmen in just over an hour than he could have deduced from the previous 13 days on tour
 

Good for England, but in all probability too good for the aims of the Australia selectors. In much the same manner as last summer when compiling the Australia A team to face the South Africans in Sydney, Inverarity's panel had hoped to prevent England from gaining much sight of top-class fast bowling before the first Test in Brisbane. The team for Hobart was lopsided, leaning heavily on batting and choosing only the seamer Trent Copeland to share the new ball with Cutting.

As a result of this, England's captain Alastair Cook and his likely Gabba opening partner Michael Carberry were able to dominate day one, playing themselves into the pinkest of form before the rain set in for two days. They were aided by a fielding display that bordered on the uninterested, leaving many to wonder whether the players involved were fully aware of the chance on offer to them, and if they would have been so slovenly were they playing for their state.

On day four, however, Cutting departed from the script so markedly that Flower learned more about several batsmen in just over an hour than he could have deduced from any of the team's previous 13 days on tour. It can only be hoped that Cutting has also forced the selectors to depart from their own planning for the Gabba by considering him for a place in the squad. Two years ago, Cutting's chances of a debut against New Zealand were checked by a back injury in the Sheffield Shield match preceding the 2011 Brisbane Test, an experience he still winces about.

"It's a funny one because it's such an amazing high and then the next day I was injured and a ridiculous low," Cutting said. "I missed a lot of cricket after that and dropped right down the pecking order, as I have done each time I've been injured, so the goal for me is just to stay on the park. I know if I can stay on the park and put the performances together that something will happen eventually."

In Hobart, Cutting put on a performance that should make his selection happen immediately. Whether Marsh chooses to look past the foiling of the selectors' subterfuge to appreciate the bowling on display will only be known when the Ashes squad is announced on Tuesday. One thing is certain: a handful of England batsmen will be hoping fervently that he does not.


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