Twin delight for Powell

On the fourth day of the Dhaka Test, Kieran Powell became the first West Indies batsman to score hundreds in each innings of a Test since Brian Lara achieved the feat against Sri Lanka in Colombo 11 years ago. The only other West Indies opener to hit twin Test centuries is Gordon Greenidge in 1976, but Powell was more concerned about what awaits his team on the fifth day than in history.

Powell wasn't even aware of who he stood a chance of emulating with his 117 and 110, saying he was reminded by a member of the support staff the night before. "Last night I was speaking to my massage therapist and he told me that this is perfect opportunity to do something like this," Powell said. "I am not too sure how often it happened but I am happy that it happened to me."

After fielding for a day and a half, Powell's second-innings century has been a reflection of his marked improvement as a batsman in the past year. He has now scored three centuries this year, solidifying his position in the Test side. Even in the space of two innings, Powell has showed the maturity that has escaped many West Indies openers when batting in the subcontinent. He adjusted perfectly to the match situation and the pitch, playing a lot straighter in the second innings while he had played all around the wicket in the first innings.

He was however part of the reason West Indies are in a position of weakness as they slipped from 212 for 3 to 244 for 6 at stumps. Powell was the fourth wicket to fall when he misjudged a straighter delivery from Shakib Al Hasan, exposing two new batsmen. That too in the absence of the experienced Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was ill and resting at the team hotel on the fourth day.

West Indies are 215 ahead with four wickets in hand, which Powell felt was a score from which they could push for a win. "I think we are still in a good position. I think once we get to 300 tomorrow we should be in a good position to look for a win or even trying to save the game.

"All we need to do tomorrow is to bat through the first session. Once we do that we should be in a safe position and then push forward from there. I think we have enough time considering the [state of the] wicket."

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Vermeulen ton sets up big win for Rhinos

Mid West Rhinos 265 (Vermeulen 68, Mugava 52, Waller 42, Jarvis 4-37) and 433 for 7 dec (Vermeulen 146, Sibanda 89, Taylor 68) beat Mashonaland Eagles 245 (Utseya 77, Jarvis 48, Chibhabha 42, Chinouya 5-61) and 130 (Rainsford 3-36, Madziva 3-22) by 323 runs
Scorecard

A century by Mark Vermeulen and an effective second-innings bowling performance led to Mid West Rhinos' 323-run victory over Mashonaland Eagles in Harare. The contest was even after the first innings, with Rhinos gaining a slender lead of 20 runs. But Vermeulen, opener Vusi Sibanda - who scored 89 - and captain Brendon Taylor guided them to 433 for 7 before declaring the innings 25 overs into the final session on the third day. Eagles were derailed by six wickets from seamers Neville Madziva and Ed Rainsford, and folded after 46 overs on the final day.

After being put in to bat, Rhinos were struggling after regular strikes from Eagles but half-centuries from Vermeulen and Simon Mugava, and a knock of 42 from middle-order batsman Malcolm Waller, guided them to 265. Eagles' reply progressed similarly as No. 7 Prosper Utseya, who scored 77, No. 9 Kyle Jarvis, who had taken four wickets earlier, and opener Chamu Chibhabha led them to 245. Seamer Michael Chinouya claimed five wickets, following on from the ten-for he took against Rocks last week.

The balance of the game shifted when a 144-run second-wicket stand between Sibanda and Vermeulen was followed by a 134-run stand between Vermeulen and Taylor. At 304 for 2, Rhinos were in a position to set a huge target for their opponents, which was ultimately 435. Eagles couldn't bat to save the game or try for an improbable win, and ended up crashing to a big defeat.

Matabeleland Tuskers 380 (Querl 188*, Duffin 63, Coventry 50) and 67 for 0 (Duffin 37, Chari 30) beat Southern Rocks 152 (Slater 37, Burgoyne 30, Mpofu 6-21) and 292 (Mutumbami 75, Masvaure 72*, Slater 42, Querl 4-31, Moeen 3-73) by ten wickets
Scorecard

An unbeaten 188 and five wickets by allrounder Glen Querl helped Matabeleland Tuskers to an easy ten-wicket victory in Bulawayo. A 228-run first-innings lead, helped by Querl's ton and seamer Chris Mpofu's six wickets, helped them gain the big win despite a strong second innings by Rocks.

Mpofu ran through the top order and the lower order to help dismiss Rocks for 152 in their first innings. The last six wickets fell for 21 runs.

Tuskers built on that performance to set a strong total. Querl, who came in to bat at No. 3, played an aggressive knock, making his first first-class century and led Tuskers to a massive lead. He scored at a strike-rate of 84.68 and ran out of partners, remaining unbeaten 12 short of his double-century. His two major partnerships, both worth more than a 100 runs, came with opener Terry Duffin, and with wicketkeeper Charles Coventry.

Rocks were in danger of losing by an innings but that didn't happen thanks to a much-improved batting performance in the second innings. Wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami and Prince Masvaure scored half-centuries, with Masvaure remaining unbeaten at the end of the innings. However, with no one going on to score a big century, the small target of 65 wasn't going to challenge Tuskers, who eclipsed it without the loss of any wicket in the 16th over of their innings.

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Patel fronts up to England failings

Maybe they are in denial or maybe he was simply in an impossible position, but there were times when it was hard to remain straight faced when Samit Patel spoke to the media after the second day's play in Ahmedabad.

It was not his laudable faith in his teammates, or his admirable desire to fight from the desperate position in which England find themselves that provoked the raised eyebrows. Both are to his credit. It was the insistence, in the face of all facts, that England were "good players of spin" that was hard to take. For England, with one or two notable exceptions, are not good players of spin. The record does not suggest that. It grabs us by the shoulders and screams in our faces. It has been proved over the last year really rather often and no amount of insistence otherwise will change that. Only an improvement in form will do so.

Patel's explanation for England's struggles in their reply was also grimly amusing. "The ball's harder and I think it spins more when the ball's harder," he explained. And, while there is some truth in that, it ignores the fact that England also had a new ball. In fact they had two of them.

To be fair to Patel, he was in an almost impossible position. Having been kept out in the field for the best part of two days and then lost early wickets, there was little positive to take from proceedings. At least when he spoke of the challenge ahead, his words rang true.

"We have two world-class batsmen at the crease," he said. "Ian Bell is still to come, there's me and there is Matt Prior. There is a lot of batting. There's no question about how long we can bat. We've got the same potential of batting as India have and we've got to keep believing that. I think the telling time will be when the ball gets soft; then we can get in.

"We've put in the hard yards; we know what we can do. Tomorrow, we hope we can show what we're made of. We're going to have to play some good cricket. It's hard work - but that's Test cricket. We have to front up. We can't go anywhere. We've got to stand up and be counted. It's no place for hiding."

Patel was also quite right to acknowledge that India's batsmen had played beautifully. "Sometimes you have to give credit to the batsmen," he said. "Sehwag played outstandingly well and Pujara carried on. Yuvraj played as he does. They're good players of spin. As the Indians showed, if you bat a long time, you can wear teams down. That's what they did. It's something we expected. You lose the toss, and field for two days. We knew what was coming and we're prepared."

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Harris pushes Robin Peterson's Test case

A frontline spinner is likely be included in South Africa's starting XI for the second Test against Australia next week after the dalliance with an all-pace attack proved unsuccessful in Brisbane. While Imran Tahir is the obvious choice, being the incumbent, former Test player Paul Harris had some other advice for the national selectors.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo before the series, Harris said he would "love to see Robin Peterson get a go in Test cricket". Peterson may always be remembered as the man Brian Lara took 28 runs off in a single over at the Wanderers in 2003, still the most expensive over in Test history, but he has made massive strides since then.

While Peterson has only played six Tests, his last more than four years ago against Bangladesh, he has become and ODI and T20 regular. He was South Africa's top wicket-taker at the 2011 World Cup and was preferred to Johan Botha in the home series which followed that summer. Botha has since relocated to Australia, which has created more opportunity for Peterson, and he has made the most of it. He also finished the August one-day series in England with the most scalps and has been involved in the past three touring Test squads.

"He has always been a good bowler and has had a chance to show that now," Harris said. "What I've been impressed with is the way he flights the ball, he is not scared at all." Having a more permanent place in the side is something that has helped Peterson shed the fear, according to both Peterson himself and Harris. "It's a massive thing to know you are backed," Harris said. And he would know.

Harris played 37 Tests for South Africa between 2007 and 2011, during which he was often criticised from the outside but praised from within for his ability to dry up an end. He formed an important part of South Africa's building to the No.1 ranking and was part of the squads that won in England and Australia in 2008. During Harris' time, South Africa did not lose a series on the road and although he was not given much credit for that run, he did have something to do with it.

"I knew I had a job to do and a lot of the time my job was to hold up an end," he said. "With the attack we had at the time, it wasn't part of my role to be attacking. And maybe it would have been nice at time to be able to be more aggressive and take wickets but that wasn't the strategy then and I was happy with that."

Harris thinks Peterson is in a position where he may be able to do both. "Robbie has got the ability to take wickets and we've seen that but he is also capable of doing the holding role," he said. "That is an important job too, even if it's not very glamorous."

The South African attack's inability to keep Ed Cowan, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey quiet during the Brisbane Test was proof that a so-called boring bowler is not surplus to requirements. Debutant Rory Kleinveldt and Graeme Smith both admitted that the unit did not bowl well "in partnerships," and even where one bowler strung a few quiet periods together, the others could not back him up.

Tahir could easily fall into that category too and has been expensive in the past. Harris believes the selectors should take note of Peterson's ability to be miserly. Peterson is also a competent lower-middle order batsman and, with South Africa having lost JP Duminy, may fit better into Andrew Hudson's preferred "like-for-like replacement" category than Dean Elgar, a top-order batsman who joined the squad yesterday.

Harris said it would also be novel to see both Peterson and Tahir in the same XI, as South Africa's attitude to spin has changed enough to accommodate two. Spin went from being a defensive must-have to a genuine attacking option when Tahir made his debut in November last against Australia. Tahir has played 10 Tests since, although his return has been a modest 26 wickets at an average of 40.19, but much has been invested in him.

Not since Paul Adams has South Africa had a wrist-spinner. Both captain Graeme Smith and coach Gary Kirsten have said they are excited by the option Tahir provides and have suggested they will continue to back him in future. So far, they have reneged on that twice, both times for tactical reasons.

An all-pace attack was fielded in Wellington in March this year when Jacques Kallis had a stiff neck overnight and South Africa had to make last-minute adjustments to their XI. In that match, Duminy made his comeback and bowled 10 overs and was due to perform a similar role in Brisbane. If Harris has his way, Peterson could take over in the near future.

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Gibson defends West Indies' declaration

Following Bangladesh's fight back on the third day in Mirpur, West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has defended his team's decision to declare their first innings when they did. West Indies were cruising at 527 for 4 at tea on the second day, when Darren Sammy called the innings closed, after which Bangladesh pushed on to 455 for 6 by stumps on day three.

"You can make 600 but you will still need to have enough time to come back and win the match," Gibson said. "The pitch is flat and the ball didn't do much for pace or spin. So if you want to get 20 wickets, you need more time to bowl them out."

Sunil Narine going wicketless so far, giving away 89 runs from 21 overs, has been another problem for West Indies. Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan have picked him well, while the maiden centurion Naeem Islam faced 52 deliveries of his to score 32 without being troubled too many times. Gibson expressed his disappointment over Narine, while having good things to say about debutant Veerasammy Permaul.

"He [Sunil Narine] didn't bowl as well as we expected him to bowl, but this is his [fourth] game in international cricket and it's a learning experience for him. On the other side, young [Veerasammy] Permaul bowled really well. He flighted the ball.

"Sammy bowled well too. Today was not all bad for us. We probably expected to get a few more wickets, but we need to work a little harder."

After the first session of this Test match, the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch lost all moisture that would have ensured some bounce and turn, and transformed into a featherbed - that only ten wickets that have fallen in three days serves as evidence of the same.

Gibson put the onus on Bangladesh to still play positive cricket, the hosts yet being adrift by 72 runs in the first innings with four wickets in hand. "There are still two more days to go and I would like to say that Bangladesh will definitely want to win it. If they targeted to draw the match then it would be a negative situation. They played a really good day today and that will give them confidence to win the game. But there are two days ahead of us and they are still behind us, so who knows what will happen."

West Indies most successful bowlers so far have been the faster bowlers: Ravi Rampaul picked up three wickets from his 26 overs while captain Sammy was rewarded for being patient. Gibson said the conditions had taken a lot out of them. "There is not a lot on the pitch, not a lot of swing. So guys running in were trying hard. They put in a lot of effort.

"On a flat pitch like that you need to unsettle them with bouncers. But credit to the Bangladesh batsman, they didn't let us bully them too much."

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Pakistan seek Lorgat's help for launching T20 league

Haroon Lorgat, the former ICC chief executive, will be assisting the Pakistan Cricket Board in setting up the proposed Twenty20 league, contributing at a strategic level to ensure the board is headed in the right direction.

Lorgat, who was headed to Sri Lanka, stopped over at Lahore after the PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf invited him for his expert opinions on launching the league in March next year.

"It's not a long time from now to then but there is still a lot of planning and work has been done and a lot to be done but I can see that there is a lot of energy to get this league off the ground," Lorgat said at the PCB headquarters. "Cricket is a growing game and Twenty20 cricket seems to have taken roots and I am pleased to see the progress the PCB has made in that respect."

He served as the ICC chief executive for four years before stepping down at the end of June. He has been assisting Sri Lanka Cricket as a special advisor to help the board revamp its domestic cricket structure and improve the administration of cricket in the country. The PCB, however, didn't offer him a permanent role.

"At this stage (I am supporting the PCB) at a strategic level, ensuring that the details are being attended to and that the concept (for the league model) is correct," Lorgat said. "With my experience in dealing with sponsors, broadcasters, setting up models, the kind of objective and the financial matters are the level where I am contributing at the moment. It appears like the PCB has already done a lot in linking with the member boards and interactions have been made with the international players as well."

Lorgat sees the proposed premier league as a stepping-stone for the revival of international cricket in the country and said it needed to exploit the shortest format of the game on a commercial scale. International sides have refused to tour Pakistan since the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked in Lahore in March 2009. Last month, a World XI side played two unofficial T20s against a combined Pakistan XI in Karachi.

"Twenty20 cricket is certainly an attraction, lots of new audiences are coming and a lot of exciting players are coming into it. I can recall a few years back even players didn't consider it as a serious form of the game. So on one front Pakistan should not be left out. They should have a league of the highest professional standard and there are commercial opportunities and the PCB is looking to exploit that."

So far, Bangladesh is the only full member board to give Pakistan a positive response in breaking the ice, towards the revival of international cricket. "You do lots of little things to grow in confidence, you will get those interested in coming to Pakistan and the league will go a long way in securing the confidence that cricket can be played in Pakistan.

"It's a good stepping-stone, if international players come in personal capacity to play. Many of them can experience it themselves that cricket can be played at a secured venue and there's no reason why they can't convince the member boards to send their national teams."

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Peter Moores to review Pakistan's domestic structure

The Pakistan Cricket Board has sought an independent review of its domestic cricket structure, appointing the former England coach Peter Moores in a consulting role. Moores, on a two-day visit, is expected to submit a comprehensive report to the PCB in the next 10 days.

The PCB had invited Moores to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore along with former captains Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Aamir Sohail, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Javed Miandad and Intikhab Alam to discuss ways to improve the structure and functioning of domestic cricket and the role of the national and regional cricket academies in the country. This is the second instance during the ongoing tenure of current chairman Zaka Ashraf that the PCB has sought recommendations on domestic cricket, after an earlier a task team was formed examine the setup, but the report was never implemented.

Moores, who coached Lancashire to the County Championship title last year, will now help prepare a plan for the PCB to implement. "I know Pakistan has produced so many talented players and I came here to see where things are at the moment and if I can help in any way to move things forward it would be great," Moores said in Lahore.

"It's really interesting to put together the views of some of the great players like Miandad and Waqar. I will see what I can add to the structure, suggesting something that will work well for everybody."

The Pakistan domestic structure has undergone changes almost every two years in the past decade, with regional and departmental teams in the mix. Though the task team did recommended changes to the structure earlier this year, the report never came up and was buried citing most of the recommendations were 'not feasible'.

Moores, 49, made comparisons with the English system. "The system doesn't look particularly different (compared to England). I need some time to find out what is going on," he said. "I can't say that I have the answer because that will obviously come from the people who work here. Every country wants a strong domestic structure in place. What I can see is the great desire to keep Pakistan cricket improving."

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Watson named, pending fitness

Shane Watson will travel to Adelaide as part of Australia's squad for the second Test against South Africa but will need to prove his fitness ahead of the match.

"Shane Watson is making steady progress from his calf injury, but it is too early to determine if he will be fit to come under consideration for selection; the game beginning next Thursday," Inverarity said. "The NSP was very pleased with the strong showing by Michael Clarke's team after an indifferent opening day of the first Test in Brisbane.

"They were put under pressure early, but showed great composure to not only regroup but then put considerable pressure on South Africa."

Watson's inclusion swelled the squad to 13, with Rob Quiney to make way should the vice-captain recover from a calf problem in time. The 12th man in Brisbane, Mitchell Starc, is likely to duel with Ben Hilfenhaus for the third pace bowling spot behind James Pattinson and Peter Siddle.

More to come...

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Umar Akmal dropped by his domestic side

Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman, has been left out by his department side Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) from the President's Trophy, the Pakistan's domestic first-class tournament. Akmal had skipped several rounds of the tournament, but was 'discouraged' after being dropped as he had hoped to show his Test credentials in the remaining rounds of the competition.

SNGPL are currently unbeaten in the President's Trophy, topping the table with 45 points after winning five of their six matches. Akmal only featured in one game, against National Bank of Pakistan in mid-October. He played in two Twenty20s against an International XI led by Sanath Jayasuriya and in the Hong Kong Sixes in late October but mainly missed matches due to his brother Adnan's wedding between November 6 and 8. Akmal has been associated with SNGPL since 2007 and scored 2224 first-class runs for the department at 57.02.

"It's really discouraging for me when I was snubbed by my department for just a petty reason," Akmal told reporters in Lahore. "I am in full practice and was meant to play most of the rounds but due to Adnan's wedding I had to miss most of the matches- a reason that was known to the management but still I am dropped. I was informed that it's a decision taken by higher management, and not the team management."

Basit Ali, the SNGPL coach and former Pakistan batsman, said Akmal was dropped over his form and he need to work on his technique to play first-class cricket. "He needs to learn how to bat in the longer-format of the game," Basit told reporters on the sidelines of the on-going match against Pakistan International Airlines at Gaddafi Stadium. "No doubt he is a great talent but he must sense the nature of the formats and play according to the format. He wasn't in good touch and was asked to play club cricket."

Akmal, 22, scored his maiden ODI hundred in his third match of his career and also made a century in his debut Test in 2009. While his limited-overs career has flourished since that promising start, his Test fortunes have waned, and he is yet to establish himself in the side.

Akmal shrugged off the tag of being a limited-overs cricketer, and said he was keen to play the longer format. "I have scored a lot of runs with good average (35.82) and I think I have done well with my Test cricket," Akmal said, "but perhaps because I play aggressively, the label is there. But I had a golden opportunity to play the President's Trophy to impress the selectors and win back my Test place. I am disappointed at being dropped (by the SNGPL)."

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Patience pays for Chanderpaul

While Tamim Iqbal was taking apart the West Indies attack in Mirpur, Shivnarine Chanderpaul walked up to him. "He asked me whether I was playing a Twenty20," Tamim said. "I replied that I'm just hitting what the bowlers are bowling but I can't bat like you." To which Chanderpaul said, "Neither can I."

Perhaps Chanderpaul meant that is the case at his current age of 38, because he has batted at higher strike-rates than Tamim in the past two decades, most memorably during the 69-ball century against Australia in 2003, which at the time was the third fastest Test hundred. In Mirpur, though, he showed the side of his batting that is more frequently seen these days.

His 203 took more than seven-and-a-half hours, the fifth longest innings in terms of minutes. He used the example of the first two days of this Test to explain how he changes the pace of his innings according to the situation. He batted at a strike-rate of 63 on the first day during which he scored 123 runs off 195 deliveries, but then he took 177 balls to score 80 on the second day, at a strike-rate of 45.2.

"These are things I work out in my game, whichever way I can," Chanderpaul said. "Sometimes you find yourself in good form and things go your way, you get into a rhythm and you're able to score freely and quicker. Some days you have to work hard, that's how it goes.

"We scored freely yesterday, but we had to work hard today. The [Bangladesh] bowlers tried a little too hard yesterday but today they bowled well. They bowled to a plan, stuck to it and made us work hard. You have to, as a Test cricketer, put your head down and work hard when the time comes."

His double-century also brought him level with Garry Sobers on 26 Test hundreds, leaving Brian Lara as the only West Indian with more Test tons. "The team comes first, it doesn't matter what the individual score is. Whatever the team plan is, that is what we have to stick to. It is always a great honour [to be mentioned] with names like Sir Garry, though I have played a lot more games than him."

This was only his second double-hundred, and he doesn't have the mammoth scores that Sobers and Lara ran up. "[Batting low down the order] could be one reason. I had opportunities to get a big hundred but I didn't, it's unfortunate. Thankfully today I was able to cross it [200]."

Chanderpaul's usefulness isn't limited to the field. He is a mentor to batsmen like Kieran Powell and Denesh Ramdin, both of whom shared long partnerships with him in this game. Powell missed a short ball from offspinner Sohag Gazi to be bowled after making a century, prompting Chanderpaul to have a talk with the young opener about his dismissal. "He played a fantastic innings yesterday. Unfortunately he got out the way he did. I had a chat with him about the way he did. I thought he should have played the first ball after tea a lot straighter.

"I didn't see anybody getting him out, he's the one who's giving his wicket away. I have talked to him about already. The future looks bright, you've seen [Veerasammy] Permaul today. We were here last year, you know what we have back home on offer. The future looks good for us."

At the end of the tour last year, Chanderpaul spent nearly half an hour with the Bangladesh batsmen. How Bangladesh would like to have someone like him in their midst for the long term.

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