PCB hopeful of international cricket's return

The Pakistan board is in negotiations with its Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe counterparts to try and bring international cricket back to the country soon, according Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman. Ashraf said the staging of two unofficial Twenty20 matches, between an International XI led by Sanath Jayasuriya and a Pakistan All Stars team, in Karachi was a boost and he expected to have "good news" early next year.

"I think these matches, despite being private, are a good step," Ashraf said. "The PCB supported and encouraged these matches and they generated a lot of enthusiasm from the fans, which is a good sign."

The unofficial games at the National Stadium were well attended by fans, who have not been able to watch international cricketers in action in Pakistan since the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009. The PCB disassociated itself from the games, however, providing only no-objection certificates to its contracted players to participate, while giving no assistance in terms of security and logistics. All arrangements were made by the Sindh sports minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah and the Karachi government.

Ashraf was Karachi on Sunday, as the Pakistan All Stars won the second match, and he hoped the games would be a start of more visits by foreign teams. "When you talk of international cricket, we are in negotiations with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe cricket boards and we will give you a good news as early as next year," he said. "We are talking to two other boards as well but I am not going to reveal names. We have given them security plans and I am sure the day is not far when we have big time cricket in Karachi, Lahore and other cities."

Pakistan's next international series is a tour to India in December and to facilitate those limited-overs matches they have postponed a scheduled tour of Zimbabwe. Pakistan were due to play two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 matches in Zimbabwe this December but will visit sometime in 2013 instead. It will be Pakistan's first bilateral series against India since the attacks on Mumbai in November 2008.

Read More..

Pakistan XI sweep series

Pakistan All Star XI 145 for 4 (Nazir 53, Taylor 3-22) beat International World XI 142 for 9 (Hayward 42*, Faraz 3-20) by six wickets
Scorecard

Even a stunning 16-ball 42 from last man Nantie Hayward wasn't enough to prevent International World XI from sliding to a six-wicket defeat against Pakistan All Star XI in the second Twenty20 match in Karachi.

For the second day in a row, the International XI's batting failed to run up a substantial score. They had slid to an embarrassing 85 for 9 in the 16th over, and were only taken to the respectability of 142 due to Hayward swinging four sixes and three fours in the final stretch of the innings. They were also helped by the fact that the home side decided to give part-timers Asad Shafiq and Imran Nazir the ball for the final overs; the two were caned for 56 runs in four overs.

Before the tenth-wicket stand, they had been little of note from the International XI's batting. Sanath Jayasuriya bagged a duck as seven of the top nine were dismissed in single figures. The difference between the two teams was evident just from the first over of each innings: International XI were 3 for 1, while Pakistan XI were 18 for 0, including sixes from Nazir off the first two deliveries.

Nazir and Shahzaib Hasan pummelled the new-ball bowlers to put the home side on course for a comfortable victory. In the first seven overs, the pair smashed seven sixes and eight fours, motoring along to 87 for 0. Though International XI struck three times in the next three overs, it didn't affect the chase too much, with Shafiq calmly taking the home side to victory, with more than three overs still to go.

Read More..

'We got what we deserved' - Katich

It's usually the captain's duty to perform the post mortem after even the most grisly of defeats, but Perth Scorchers' skipper Marcus North couldn't bring himself to face the (admittedly tiny) press corps after his team's three-wicket defeat to Delhi Daredevils sent them crashing out of the Champions League, Simon Katich appearing in his place.

Katich, a senior player even in a squad that includes the likes of Brad Hogg, Herschelle Gibbs and Paul Collingwood, didn't mince his words. "We got what we deserved," Katich said. "We didn't prepare as well as we should have, and we paid the price."

The match had been a close one, but both Katich and North had every reason to be a touch grumpy. Leading an undercooked side who hadn't played a competitive match together since their defeat to Sydney Sixers in the final of the Big Bash in January, North also had to do without the services of Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson, who both played for their IPL franchises. The result was a pair defeats to the Titans and the Delhi Daredevils, and a washout against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Katich refused to be drawn into an explanation as to what the preparation problems were, saying only: "I'm not going to go into details about that, but we got what we deserved, simple as that. We haven't shown what we're capable of in this tournament. We had a very good Big Bash last year, but in this tournament we've let ourselves down."

The Scorchers were, indeed, a dominant force in the Big Bash, their successful run ended only by the Sydney Sixers in the tournament final at the WACA. They had three of the top six run-scorers of the tournament in their side in Mitchell Marsh, Gibbs and North. Marsh managed a half-century against the Titans, but neither Gibbs nor North have contributed as much as was needed.

The story was the same at Newlands on Sunday. No batsman made a telling contribution, and as Katich summed it up: "The platform was there, the execution wasn't."

Such are the fine lines by which this tournament is drawn, the Scorchers might still have been in with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals had they managed to beat the Daredevils. As it stands, they'll have to make do with a dead-rubber against the Auckland Aces on Tuesday before they fly home. There is little more than pride to play for, and Katich admitted as much.

"I'd like to think they'll have a lot of pride in their own performance and the team's performance," he said. "We certainly haven't played anywhere near what we did last summer, and hopefully that's going to bug quite a few of the guys to put in a good performance to finish well."

The taking of positives is a cricketing staple after every match, and Katich suggested that the silver lining in the Scorchers' campaign was the exposure it gave to some of the squad's less experienced members.

"There's a lot of guys in our squad that haven't played a lot of international cricket, and they're trying to press for higher honours," he said. "It's a great experience for them to come up, and for Beery [Michael Beer] to bowl at the likes of Pietersen, Sehwag and Ross Taylor and face Morne Morkel, because these guys are all very good international players. So from their development point of view it's been a positive, but from a team point of view we've let ourselves down."

Read More..

Holland's season in doubt due to shoulder injury

A week ago, Jon Holland was hoping to get a chance to prove himself over the next fortnight after being named one of Australia's best two spinners by the national selector John Inverarity. Now, Holland is simply hoping he won't be told he needs another shoulder reconstruction after hurting himself in Melbourne's grade cricket at the weekend.

Holland injured his left shoulder while throwing a ball in from the outfield and preliminary scans on Sunday indicated he might have suffered a recurrence of a problem that forced him to have a reconstruction in early 2010. He consulted Victoria's team doctor on Monday and was due to see a specialist on Tuesday to find out how long he would be sidelined.

While the best case scenario would be only a few games - Peter Handscomb has been brought into Victoria's squad to replace Holland for this week's Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania - the worst case would be another reconstruction. Holland, 25, also missed most of the 2007-08 season with a shoulder problem and the timing of his latest injury could hardly have been worse, as he hovered on the fringes of the Australia side.

"He's had a preliminary scan, which showed there might be a bit of a problem," Shaun Graf, Cricket Victoria's general manager of cricket operations, told the Age. "He certainly looks as though he may have re-injured the same spot that he had repaired [in 2010]. He threw off balance and he's obviously created a problem. We won't know the full extent [until after further scans] but I'd say at this stage he's in a bit of strife."

Holland impressed the national selectors during the Australia A tour of England this year, when he outbowled the Test incumbent Nathan Lyon. A left-arm orthodox bowler whose subtle changes of pace and flight troubled the batsmen in England, Holland had played both of Victoria's first two Shield matches of the season but had bowled only 10 overs as the fast men skittled their opponents.

While Lyon was expected to hold his position for the Test series against South Africa next month, Inverarity's praise indicated Holland could put pressure on Lyon with strong Shield performances. Western Australia's left-arm spinner Michael Beer, who played a Test during Australia's tour of the West Indies in April, is likely to be the second in line behind Lyon if Holland's injury proves to be serious.

It's not the first time luck has deserted Holland at the wrong time. He was part of Australia's ODI squad for their tour of India in 2009 and was set to make his international debut in the final game, but the match was washed out.

Victoria Sheffield Shield squad Chris Rogers, Rob Quiney, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Peter Handscomb, Andrew McDonald, Matthew Wade (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Peter Siddle, John Hastings, James Pattinson, Clint McKay.

Read More..

Tamim signs up for Wellington

Tamim Iqbal will play for Wellington Firebirds in this season's HRV Cup. Tamim will join the New Zealand domestic side after Bangladesh's series against West Indies, and is expected to play seven games in the Twenty20 competition.

Jamie Siddons, the Wellington coach who was in charge of the Bangladesh team between 2007 and 2011, was the key element in the deal as he broached the idea to Tamim a few months ago.

"We are excited to have signed Tamim to play in our T20 competition," Siddons told ESPNcricinfo. "He will be a great addition for the Firebirds. I chose him over the many other overseas candidates because I think he possesses the explosiveness that we need at the top of our batting order. Tamim is yet to take off as a T20 player but I have seen him enough to know that it is going to be very good when he gets it all together in this format. I want my team to benefit from this in our competition this year."

Siddons, however, would have liked to keep the batsman a little while longer, but the start of the Bangladesh Premier League would shorten Tamim's stay by a few matches. "He will only be available for a possible seven games and the final but the BPL will possibly reduce that to six and no final as the dates suggest he would have to leave early which is disappointing."

Siddons said he would have liked if Shakib Al Hasan also joined Tamim at the Wellington side. "We were interested in Shakib but he declined due to injury at the time," Siddons said.

Tamim said that the BCB has given him the No Objection Certificate, though he is likely to miss some form of domestic cricket in Bangladesh after the West Indies series. He could play first-class cricket in New Zealand though Wellington will be playing only two Plunket Shield matches.

"Jamie asked me a few months ago whether I would like to join them," Tamim said. "At the time I was playing the Sri Lanka Premier League and the World Twenty20 was coming up so I didn't proceed with the formalities. The board too has given me the NOC so I will be joining Wellington after the West Indies series."

Tamim's average in Twenty20s is 24.76 and he has played in domestic competitions in Sri Lanka (for Wayamba) and England (Nottinghamshire) with mixed results. Among the other Bangladesh players who have played in domestic first-class tournaments abroad are Shakib (for Worcestershire) and Enamul Haque jnr for Maharashtra.

Read More..

Tuskers, Mountaineers score comfortable wins

Craig Ervine and Glen Querl played leading roles with bat and ball in Tuskers 132-run bonus-point win over table-toppers Rhinos in Bulawayo. Ervine scored an unbeaten 106 to power Tuskers to 294 before Querl picked up his first List A five-for which was instrumental in wrapping the Rhinos' innings in 38 overs.

Tuskers, after being put into bat, started slowly with 34 runs coming off the first 11 overs, but set up a good platform after a solid 71-run opening stand between Terry Duffin (26) and Brian Chari (64) in 16 overs. Ervine joined Chari after Cremer struck to remove Duffin and shared a 63-run partnership in 12 overs. Although Tuskers only lost two more wickets by the 40th over, Rhinos had their run rate well under five. Tuskers went past 200 in the 44th over, after which Ervine and captain Keegan Meth (58 off 37 balls) launched an unprecedented attack in the last six overs to score 89 runs.

The late assault numbed the Rhinos, who lost early wicket in their chase. Querl struck in his second over to remove Brendan Taylor, and then picked up two more wickets in his fourth off successive balls. He returned later to mop up the tail and finish with figures of 8-2-26-5.

Tino Mawoyo steered the chase with an unbeaten century that helped Mountaineers beat Rocks by seven wickets at Mutare sports club. Chasing 267, Mountaineers' openers - Mawoyo and Kevin Kasuza (85 off 102 balls) - racked up a 182-run opening partnership in 31.4 overs and Mawoyo stayed till the end to see his team through. His 120 came off 128 balls and included 18 boundaries and a six and was his first List A century.

Rocks, in search for their first win, chose to bat first and were boosted by an 82-run second-wicket stand between Alester Maregwede, who scored 62, and Ben Slater, who scored 32. But regular wickets thereafter meant that they were not able to accelerate and were at 170 for 5 with 10 overs to go. The tempo was changed by Prince Masvaure's cameo, an unbeaten 56 off 39 balls, that saw the Rocks score 96 runs off the last ten helping Rhinos to their highest total in this year's tournament, which wasn't enough this time.

Read More..

Chennai take last-ball win in dead rubber

Chennai Super Kings 173 for 8 (du Plessis 52, Malinga 5-32) beat Mumbai Indians 167 for 7 (Karthik 74, Hilfenhaus 2-14) by six runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Around 5pm on an overcast evening, an enthusiastic crowd at the Wanderers were faced with the prospect of a washout. This, after what was supposed to be the marquee Saturday night match involving teams featuring some of the world's biggest Twenty20 stars turned into a dead rubber as Lions qualified for the semi-finals earlier in the day, knocking out both Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. They were glad they stayed behind, though, as the widely predicted thunderstorm stayed away paving the way for a last-ball finish in one of the highest scoring matches of the tournament with Super Kings walking away victors.

It was hard to believe that the match was so closely contested given the stark difference in the starts the two teams had to their innings: Super Kings motored to 86 for 0 in eight overs, while Mumbai had stumbled to 38 for 2 after eight.

The contrast was mainly due to the different stages in which the teams used their best fast bowlers. Lasith Malinga took two key wickets in the 11th over - of the fluent Faf du Plessis and the dangerous Suresh Raina - and two more crucial ones in the 17th - of MS Dhoni, who was showing glimpses of the big-hitting that first made him a star, and of the renowned finisher Albie Morkel. After being caned for 16 in his first over, Malinga took 5 for 16 in his remaining three to rob the second half of Mumbai's innings of momentum.

Super Kings, instead, gave their most potent quicks the new ball. Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger justified the strategy of using two of their overseas slots on specialist fast bowlers, as the pair smothered the Mumbai openers. Despite Dinesh Karthik slog-sweeping Ravindra Jadeja for 19 in the 11th over, the Super Kings' bowlers seemed to have done enough early on to secure a comfortable victory.

It certainly seemed that way when Ambati Rayudu swiped a long hop from du Plessis straight to deep square leg in the 14th, but the contest was back on after Karthik and Kieron Pollard lashed 24 in the 18th over, leaving 27 to get in the final two overs. Dhoni stuck to the policy of giving the side's best bowler the 19th over, and Hilfenhaus delivered by removing the rampaging Karthik.

With 19 required for Mumbai in the final over, Super Kings shone again in the one department in which they were clearly ahead of the rest in the IPL - the fielding. While there had been several notable efforts earlier in the innings, the best were saved for the final over. Pollard had pummelled the first ball from Jadeja for six, before he fell to a face-forward diving catch by Raina at long-on. Two balls later, Harbhajan Singh hammered a four through extra cover with as much power as any Pollard shot, before he was dismissed by a well-judged clasp by Wriddhiman Saha, arching his body backwards at deep square leg to hold an overhead chance.

It left Mitchell Johnson needing to hit a six off the final delivery to tie the game, which could only be thumped towards long-on to confirm Super Kings' first victory of the tournament.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 NB/Wides Chennai Super Kings 47 16 7 66/0 42/4 0/6 Mumbai Indians 55 10 12 25/2 67/3 0/3

Read More..

Pakistan XI thrash International XI at packed National Stadium

In the end, it didn't matter that this match had no official sanction. Try telling that to the tens of thousands of people who thronged the National Stadium in Karachi. In the end, what counted was that an international XI, no matter how ragtag and rusty it was, had set foot on Pakistan soil, and had safely played a game of cricket. A game, such as this, had not been played for close to four years in a nation where following for that game frequently crosses the line between passionate and fanatical. For the record, Pakistan All Star XI demolished International World XI who were led by the 43-year old Sanath Jayasuriya.

Young batsmen Umar Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan made half-centuries at frenetic pace and were backed by handy contributions from the rest. Pakistan XI were set on their way by the pair of Shahzaib and Imran Nazir, who put on 83 by the time the field restrictions were lifted, at nearly 14 an over. The International XI fielders showed they were short on match practice by dropping numerous catches and fielding poorly on a ground where the ropes had been pulled in. Shahzaib was the first to fall for 54 off just 21 deliveries, which included six fours and four sixes.

Akmal, coming in at No. 5, soon took over and blitzed ten boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 67 off 37 as Pakistan XI zoomed to 222 for 7. Thandi Tshabalala, the South Africa offspinner, picked up 3 for 20 while Shapoor Zadran, the Afghanistan fast bowler, took 2 for 38.

Jayasuriya hit a six and a four in the first over of the chase but fell of its last delivery, caught by his counterpart Shahid Afridi. Facing such a tall target, International XI kept losing wickets regularly, and fast bowler Tabish Khan soon dealt the decisive blows. He bowled Ricardo Powell, Jermaine Lawson and Tshabalala off successive deliveries to take a hat-trick and reduce International XI to 52 for 6 in the seventh over.

Zadran stuck around to make 42 along with Loots Bosman, who batted low at No. 9 due to an injury and remained unbeaten on 27. Pakistan used everyone but wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed as bowlers. Afridi, who had lasted seven balls with the bat to club three boundaries, had Zadran stumped off the final delivery of the match as International XI managed 138 for 8.

The second and final game in the series will be played tomorrow at the same venue.

Read More..

Rain continues to follow the IPL sides

Auckland Aces v Delhi Daredevils Match abandoned without a ball bowled
Scorecard

Rain seems to be following the IPL sides wherever they go. A third successive evening game in the Champions League Twenty20 was washed out today, in Durban. While some play had been possible in the previous no-results, even the toss could not take place at Kingsmead as a persistent, but not heavy, drizzle set in. It was Delhi Daredevils' turn to be satisfied with two points, after Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians on the previous two evenings.

While the rain had knocked Knight Riders out, and left Mumbai Indians hoping for a Yorkshire win against Lions, it did not impact Daredevils' chances as much. They were still placed second on the points table, behind Titans, and ahead on net run-rate of Auckland Aces, who also pocketed two points.

Read More..

Lions one step away from semi-finals

Match facts

October 20, 2012
Start time 1330 (1130 GMT)

Big Picture

With two wins and a game to play, Lions are just one victory away from joining Sydney Sixers as the other team from Group B in the semi-finals. Lions play the opening game of the Wanderers double-header on Saturday and their match against Yorkshire will be closely followed by Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, who face each other later in the evening. A Lions win will reduce the IPL derby to a dead rubber. It's been that kind of a tournament for the IPL teams, having to rely on other results to progress. If Yorkshire can sneak in a win, though, it opens up the group.

Nothing much has gone right for Yorkshire since qualifying for the main draw. After being demolished by Sixers in the most one-sided game of the tournament, their match against Mumbai Indians was washed out. They managed to get some game time though, conceding 156 in just under 18 overs. They opened their account with two points from the washout, but their anxieties grew when Ryan Sidebottom and Moin Ashraf pulled up with injuries. Though Sidebottom returned to bowl, Ashraf limped off after pulling his hamstring. Their fitness will be a concern ahead of the Lions clash.

Yorkshire will have to get their act together against one of the form teams of the tournament. Having calmly brushed aside the two IPL teams, Lions tripped up against the most dangerous of the lot, Sixers, on Thursday at Newlands. Gulam Bodi continued his good form from the Super Kings game with a half-century, but his colleagues, Neil McKenzie and Quinton de Kock, failed to show up. They will be back in home surroundings at the Wanderers, but both teams will be up against the weather, with rain forecast on match day.

Watch out for...

With six wickets in three games at an economy rate of 4, priceless by Twenty20 standards, Lions' Aaron Phangiso has been the find of the tournament so far. Bowling Sachin Tendulkar was his most cherished scalp, and to prove that it wasn't a fluke, he silenced Sixers through his spell, giving away only 14 and taking out the top three.

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale is in need of runs. After his 61 against Sialkot Stallions in the qualifiers, his next three scores have been an underwhelming 13, 2 and 8. He struggled to get bat on ball against Sixers, before losing his leg stump while trying to manufacture a scoop to fine leg. The struggling side needs their captain to lead from the front.

Quotes

"We want to lead. We want teams to take us seriously."
Lions' middle-order batsman Jean Symes on his team's philosophy

"I'll have to speak to Scott McAllister, our physio, but at this stage we're just going to monitor the progress of both of them."
Jason Gillespie, the Yorkshire coach, on the two injuries in the team

Read More..