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Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTrent Boult picked up three wickets in a burst of skillful swing bowling after lunch•AFP

Test cricket is as much about execution of tactics as much as it is about planning. It allows teams the luxury of switching plans midway. In blunting 35 overs for a little over one run per over after restricting their first-innings deficit to 67, Pakistan ensured the new-ball storm was weathered. But their crawl allowed New Zealand to take the edge when they came out with renewed verve after tea on a bright and sunny day in Christchurch.Neil Wagner, who bowled full and slanted the ball across in the hope of bringing the slip cordon into play before the interval, switched to his usual modus operandi of troubling batsmen with short balls aimed at the ribcage, and broke Pakistan’s spine in the process. At 129 for 7 at stumps, ahead by 62, with just Asad Shafiq and the tail remaining, Pakistan were in danger of losing their second successive Test, barring an unlikely thunderstorm for the better part of the next two days.Wagner triggered the turnaround when he caught Babar Azam on the hop on a couple of occasions before having him glove a bouncer down leg side to wicketkeeper BJ Watling to bring up his 100th Test wicket. Then, Younis Khan was put through a similar short-ball test, the disconcerting bounce pushing him deep into the crease to fend.Did he anticipate the sucker ball? He may have, but in sticking to his short-ball tactic, Wagner outfoxed Younis, whose uncomfortable stay ended when he tried to get out of the way of a delivery that reared up to brush his gloves on its way through to Watling. A tiring Wagner, whose second spell read 11-5-9-2, made way for Trent Boult and Southee, whose relentless attacks kept the batsmen on their toes.Azhar was reprieved when he chanced a risky run off a deflection at slip. However, the missed opportunity hardly affected New Zealand’s body language as they stuck to their Plan B and were soon rewarded with the wicket of Misbah, when an attempted hook off Southee resulted in a catch to Boult at fine leg.Three balls later, Azhar, after digging in for close to four hours, drove away from the body to get a thick inside edge onto the stumps. Boult then completed the big-ticket set when he got the ball to tail back in late to sneak past Sarfaz’s defense and flatten the leg and middle stump. By then, the complexion of the game had already changed, enough to change the mood of the Pakistan camp from hope to despair.The foundation for their rewards in the final session was laid before lunch. The two-hour passage didn’t produce runs or wickets by the truckloads. Yet, nearly every ball was an event on a surface that offered just enough in terms of lateral movement. Pakistan lost Sami Aslam after nearly 18 overs of defiance, in which the opening pair added 21.The first hour after lunch produced just 19 runs in 15 overs, with Southee, who bowled five successive maidens in a row, troubling the batsmen by swerving the ball away late. It was a classic case of pressure built at one end resulting in a release at the other when Colin de Grandhomme – whose cameo 29 helped New Zealand drive into the lead – picked up his seventh wicket on debut when Aslam’s tentative push to a delivery that angled in and then deviated a little off the pitch resulted in a nick to Watling.Boult, meanwhile, made optimum use of the crease through subtle change in angles from both over and around the wicket to trouble the batsman. All of this ensured the heat was well and truly on Pakistan despite them losing just one wicket in the session.That Pakistan were able to restrict the deficit was largely due to Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali, who picked up seven wickets between them a New Zealand, resuming on 104 for 3, were bowled out for 200. None of the batsmen except de Grandhomme looked anywhere near comfortable.Walking in after the overnight pair of Henry Nicholls and Jeet Raval, who top scored with 55, were dismissed inside four overs, de Grandhomme, who on Friday took the best figures by a New Zealander on debut, attacked. In hindsight, it wasn’t a bad approach; the swagger and nonchalance in his strokes, briefly threw Pakistan off guard. His dismissal for 29 triggered a lower order collapse that gave Pakistan a fighting chance, but they couldn’t capitalise against a troika of hostile and highly-skilled fast bowlers.

Dougie Brown has stepped down as Warwickshire’s director of cricket by mutual consent.His departure invites the possibility that Ashley Giles could be enticed back to Warwickshire to take up the role that he relinquished to join England’s coaching set-up.Giles has made an impact as Lancashire’s director of cricket, with homegrown players at the core, but his impatience with criticism from a minority of supporters has been evident and he retains strong emotional and family ties with Warwickshire where he spent his playing career.He spends most of the week in a hotel near Manchester and his family still live in Droitwich, 25 miles south of Birmingham. If he expressed an interest, it would be a surprise if Lancashire tried to stand in his way.Brown’s position seemed strengthened when Warwickshire won the Royal London Cup, following their victory in the NatWest Blast in 2014, but even two trophies in three years could not satisfy the hankering for change among senior figures in the county.Brown responded philosophically, saying: “The club has a very proud history of challenging for silverware and despite winning the Royal London One-Day Cup this season, failure to qualify for the NatWest T20 Blast quarter finals and narrowly avoiding relegation from Division One of the Specsavers County Championship on the last day of the season is not where the club should be.”It is, therefore, the right time for me to agree to step down from my role as director of cricket. I wish the club and the players all the very best in 2017 and thank everyone for a fantastic journey over the past 27 years.”Brown, 46, assumed Giles’ role at Edgbaston four years ago, stepping up from the role of academy coach and, in keeping with his 27-year involcement with the county, he has fulfilled it with undoubted passion and energy.But the sense has grown at Edgbaston that the squad is ageing, with few signs of high-quality, long-term replacements emerging from the academy. Warwickshire remain burdened by debt, with around £20m owed to Birmingham City Council, and Twenty20 crowds have not grown as fast as in some other areas of the country.Ian Bell, who took over the captaincy last season after losing his England place, has taken on a central role in Warwickshire’s affairs and his belief that the county would make a strong Championship challenge did not bear examination as they found themselves in a final match against Lancashire at Edgbaston in which either side, had results gone against them, could have been relegated.Neil Snowball, the chief executive of Warwickshire, said: “Dougie is a true Bear, having served the club with great distinction for many years as a player, coach and director of cricket.”On behalf of the players, members and supporters, I would like to thank him for everything that he has contributed to Warwickshire CCC and wish him the very best for the future.”Snowball, who held senior organising roles for the 2012 London Olympics and the 2015 Rugby World Cup, set high expectations when he assumed the chief executive’s role earlier this year, calling for the county to challenge across all three competitions and produce more than 50% of its players.Giles extended his contract with Lancashire until 2018 following the double success of winning the NatWest T20 Blast and securing Championship promotion during his first summer.Jim Troughton, a former captain, is also among the favourites for a role of 1st team coach.

Fifties from Paras Dogra (57) and Robin Bist (50 not out) helped Himachal Pradesh rebound from their dismal first-innings score of 36 to take a 142-run lead over Hyderabad on the third day in Guwahati. Himachal scored 232 for 6 in their second innings, having dismissed Hyderabad for 126 earlier in the day.Hyderabad resumed from 99 for 7 before their innings was wrapped up quickly by Mayank Dagar, Gurvinder Singh and Rishi Dhawan, who finished with a career-best innings haul of 7 for 50. Dhawan, who had taken a six-for on the previous day, bagged the wicket of Balchander Anirudh who scored 64 of his side’s 126 runs.Ankush Bains contributed a 21-ball 35 at the top of the order for Himachal in their second innings before Dogra, Bist and Sumeet Verma steadied the innings through half-century stands. Verma and Dogra added 59 for the third wicket, before a 65-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Dogra and Bist. Dogra’s 101-ball knock included seven fours, while Bist had played 113 balls until stumps.Shubham Rohilla’s 72 not out steered Haryana to 122 for 3 in their chase of 371 against Andhra at Wankhede Stadium. Earlier Andhra were restricted to 220, after having taken a 150-run first-innings lead. Hanuma Vihari scored 50, and a cameo of 42 from D Siva Kumar pushed their total to 220 after they were struggling at 136 for 6 at one stage on the third day.Rohilla and Rajat Paliwal steadied Haryana’s chase with a 67-run partnership for the third wicket after two wickets had fallen by the 14th over with the score on 48.File photo: Rohan Prem’s 11th first-class century gave Kerala a chance of recording their first win this season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Batsman Rohan Prem’s century helped Kerala set Chhattisgarh a target of 328 in Jamshedpur. Chhattisgarh ended the day on 15 for 0 in 11 overs.Prem, who had scored 62 in the first innings, remained unbeaten on 123 when Kerala declared their second innings at 307 for 2. He also shared an unbroken third-wicket stand of 125 runs with Sachin Baby who was not out on 70 off 86 balls.Early on the third day, Kerala limited Chhattisgarh for 187 to take a 20-run lead. K Monish took a four-for, while Iqbal Abdulla had returns of 3 for 26. Prem and Baby then built on solid partnerships in Kerala’s top order. Opener VA Jagadeesh scored 45 before retiring hurt while Bhavin Thakkar scored 37.Centuries from the overnight pair of Shubham Khajuria and Ian Dev Singh helped Jammu & Kashmir pile on 379 for 6 against Services on the third day in Jaipur. They ended the day trailing Services’ score of 477 by 98 runs.Having added 55 on the second day, Khajuria and Ian Dev extended their partnership to 179 before they were separated. Khajuria was dismissed by Vikas Yadav for a 257-ball 111, his second first-class century. Ian Dev was the next wicket to fall, but not before he had added 62 with Bandeep Singh for the fourth wicket. Ian Dev’s 24-ball 120 was his 13th first-class hundred. After their wickets, Parvez Rasool saw the side through to stumps, finishing on 41 not out.A 98-run eighth-wicket partnership between Rajat Dey (56*) and Gurinder Singh (41) helped Tripura stretch a slender 14-run first-innings lead over Goa to 240 in Bhubaneswar. The partnership rescued Tripura from 128 for 7 to 226 for 7 after Shadab Jakati’s 5 for 42 had cut through the batting order.Jakati had troubled Tripura with the bat earlier in the day. Goa resumed the third day at 220 for 8, trailing Tripura by 63 runs but Jakati’s stubborn 47, and his last-wicket partnership of 30 with Felix Alemao, whittled the deficit down to 14 runs. Jakati’s 47 came off 76 balls with six fours and a six.

The second match of India’s upcoming ODI series against New Zealand is likely to be pushed back by a day. According to the original schedule released by the BCCI, the day-night match was to be played on October 19 at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. But it is now set to be played on October 20, with the BCCI having approved a request from the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) to not have it clash with the North Indian festival of .”It is a big festival in Delhi,” a senior BCCI official said. “We realised having a day-night match during the festival might be disruptive.”The selectors, meanwhile, will meet in Delhi on September 12 to choose India’s squad for the three-match Test series against New Zealand, which begins on September 22 at Green Park in Kanpur. The first Test is set to be India’s 500th Test match.New Zealand’s tour will begin with a three-day warm-up match against Mumbai from September 16 to 18. They will then play three Tests in Kanpur, Kolkata and Indore, and five ODIs in Dharamsala, Delhi, Mohali, Ranchi and Visakhapatnam.

The BCCI has filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking review of its July 18 verdict in which it had accepted most recommendations of the Lodha panel. The BCCI said the bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur had “a prejudiced approach” against the board and he should recuse from hearing the matter.The BCCI also contended that the judgement was “unreasoned” and “seeks to frame legislative measures for a private autonomous society in a field already occupied by legislations, both parliamentary and state”.The board further said the judgment authored by Thakur and Justice FMI Kalifullah, since retired, has “neither noted the contentions and facts correctly, nor dealt with the same”.”The judgment is unconstitutional and contrary to many binding precedents of this Court and adversely affects and nullifies the fundamental rights granted to citizens under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution,” the plea said, adding “the judgment outsources judicial power to a committee of retired judges, which is impermissible in law.”The judgment is a nullity as the judges were functus officio after passing of the main judgment of January 22, 2015 and the matter could not have been revived suo motu as no provision of law empowers the same and is contrary to the doctrine of separation of powers and contrary to settled law that the judiciary cannot make laws.”However, the most important aspect of the review petition, which also demanded an open court hearing, is the plea for recusal of the Chief Justice of India.”Chief Justice T S Thakur seems to have a prejudiced approach to BCCI which is evident by statements such as ‘BCCI treatment’ is to be meted out to another entity i.e. the All India Football Federation in another case, ex-facie shows that the Chief Justice has a closed mind and will summarily dismiss the review petition without listing the same before another bench of five judges for hearing in the open Court,” the plea said.The Supreme Court, on July 18, had accepted major recommendations of the Lodha Committee on reforms in BCCI, including a bar on ministers and civil servants and those above 70 years of age from becoming its members, but left it to the parliament to decide whether it should come under RTI and whether betting on the game should be legalised.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEd Joyce hammered a career-best 148-ball 160* in an innings that featured 19 fours and three sixes to propel Ireland to a series-levelling win against Afghanistan in Belfast. Joyce’s knock, the second-best score by an Ireland batsman in ODIs and third-highest by a player from an Associate team, helped the side post 265 for 5, a total they defended by 12 runs. The five-match series was tied 2-2.Ireland, who were batting first for the first time in the series, lost captain William Porterfield in the fifth over when he edged to second slip for 8. Sean Terry, playing his third ODI, was dismissed in the 10th over when Yamin Ahmadzai completed a stunning one-handed grab off his own bowling, diving low to his right.Gary Wilson, promoted to No. 4, and Joyce then got stuck into rebuilding the innings. Joyce got to his fifty in the 24th over, off 70 balls. The pair combined for a 134-run stand to set up a strong platform for Ireland in the end overs. In between, Wilson survived a nasty collision with Mohammad Shahzad in the 32nd over, when he tried to return to his crease.Wilson holed out to square leg off the first ball of the 41st over, for 58 off 92 balls. At that stage, Joyce was on 93. After Kevin O’Brien fell in the following over, Joyce took charge and smashed 67 of the 87 that Ireland scored in the last 10 overs. He finished with 60.37% of Ireland’s runs, the highest percentage in a completed ODI innings for an Associate side.After the game, Joyce, who was named Man of the Series, said he was spurred on by his controversial dismissal in the previous match. “I probably was extra motivated; I was actually pretty tired this morning going into the game, had a niggle, but what happened in the last game obviously gave a bit of extra motivation.”Afghanistan’s chase was dented early by the Ireland seamers as they were quickly reduced to 27 for 3. Rahmat Shah (30), captain Asghar Stanikzai (32) and Mohammad Nabi (25) got starts in the middle order but failed to convert as Ireland chipped away.Afghanistan were tottering at 119 for 6 in the 33rd over. Najibullah Zadran and legspinner Rashid Khan, however, put on a 93-run seventh-wicket stand but the soaring asking rate proved insurmountable. Three wickets in three balls – one at the end of the 46th over and two at the start of the next – effectively killed the chase.Dawlat Zadran smashed five boundaries in his unbeaten 15-ball 31 but it wasn’t enough. O’Brien finished with 3 for 57, while medium-pacers Peter Chase and Barry McCarthy picked up two wickets each.

The BCCI has decided to do scrap its domestic Twenty20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, from the 2016-17 season and replace it with a new inter-zonal league. The new tournament will occupy the same slot in the domestic calendar as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which was played in January this year.

Ranji Trophy 2016-17 at neutral venues

The BCCI working committee has ratified the decision proposed by the board’s technical committee to play the Ranji Trophy at neutral venues. The idea was originally mooted by the technical committee, led by Sourav Ganguly, which had recommended the need for a radical idea to make the premier first-class tournament more competitive and discourage the growing trend of states offering underprepared pitches for home matches.
The idea received a favourable response from captains and coaches of domestic teams during a meeting on Thursday. A majority of them felt such a decision was inevitable considering the quality of pitches during a few games in the previous seasons, and the failure of match officials to impose a penalty for this.

“We have proposed that the T20 matches will be played on a zonal-league basis,” BCCI president Anurag Thakur said at the end of the board’s working committee meeting in Dharamsala on Friday. “The states can play these matches at any time of the year among themselves. Then a league will be started where the stakeholders would be the state units in the zone.”The new tournament will be divided into two stages – an inter-state one, followed by the main inter-zonal one. In the first stage, states within a zone will play T20 matches among themselves. Once that level is complete, every zone will have a board comprising one representative from each of the respective state associations. Members of the zonal board will appoint a CEO and selectors to pick a team for the main stage. For example, once state teams within the West Zone have finished their respective matches, their representatives can appoint a selection committee that will pick a team to compete with the other four zones. There could be an additional sixth team representing the affiliate states under the BCCI banner, but that has not yet been confirmed.The schedule for the main inter-zonal stage of the tournament is likely to be drawn up by the BCCI, but Thakur said the inter-state matches can be held anytime prior to the tournament. Incidentally, the new structure was not discussed at the captains and coaches meeting on Thursday.The format for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy comprised teams spread across four groups with the top two from each qualifying for the knockouts. When asked why the board decided to revamp the format, Thakur said the new tournament would provide an opportunity to youngsters and domestic players who were unable to participate in the IPL. He also said that the franchise-based leagues run by states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu would remain unaffected by this new tournament.”They can participate in that competitive tournament now,” Thakur said. “Rather than Syed Mushtaq Ali, the way it has been played, this new format will give more number of matches to the players and more glory and more money to the upcoming cricketers.”A BCCI official said that the idea to start the new zonal-league tournament came from Thakur, who presented a proposal to monetize the new tournament before the working committee.”He wants to find a sponsor for the tournament and market that,” the official said. “But that is not easy considering fans are interested in watching international stars and not domestic players,”The official also revealed that Thakur wants to resuscitate university cricket in a similar fashion by selling rights for the T20 University Cricket Championship. In 2013 the BCCI, along with the Indian government, had conducted the University Cricket Championship, an extension of the annual all-India inter-zone university Rohinton Baria Tournament, by selling the rights to NDTV and co-sponsor Toyota. However that venture was scrapped after one year.”The previous deal ended because there was no attraction for the sponsor. They were expecting that the BCCI would allow an international player in each team to create hype but that was not possible,” the official said.

ScorecardLuke Ronchi’s half-century was the most fluent contribution on either side•Getty Images

Birmingham Bears maintained their strong pursuit of a third successive NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day appearance with an 18-run Duckworth-Lewis victory over Lancashire Lightning at Edgbaston.New Zealand star Luke Ronchi, whose stint as overseas player is to be truncated early next month by his call up to Black Caps duty, will leave Birmingham safe in the knowledge that he won at least one game for the club after his half-century underpinned their total of 144 for 9.Against disciplined Lancashire bowling, only Ronchi made much headway as paceman Nathan Buck, with a T20-best 4-0-26-4, and spinners Stephen Parry and Arron Lilley bowled skilfully. But the Lancashire batsmen found run-scoring no easier and when rain arrived after 6.3 overs of their reply they had faltered to 39 for 4, the loss of early wickets meaning they were well behind the DLS equation.Four days after the humiliation of a 242-run DLS Royal London Cup defeat to Yorkshire at Old Trafford, Lancashire started strongly with the ball. The second and third overs, from Jordan Clark and Buck, conceded just two runs apiece and brought the wicket of Sam Hain who edged Buck’s seventh ball.The paceman struck again with his 14th which Ian Bell, having advanced briskly to 18 off 10 balls, chopped to Martin Guptill at point. Stephen Parry added the wickets of William Porterfield, caught at extra cover, and Laurie Evans, who looked dangerous on 24 from 22 balls but was then stumped by Jos Buttler, who dropped the ball fortuitously on to the wicket.Chris Woakes drove Lilley to extra cover and Rikki Clarke was yorked, first ball, by George Edwards so it was left to Ronchi to give the Bears anything to bowl at. He lifted Buck into the crowd over midwicket to reach a 32-ball half-century before his defiance ended when he sent up a skier trying to repeat the feat.The batsmen’s toil continued when Lancashire went in. Guptill hoisted Olly Hannon-Dalby to mid-off, Clark spliced a return catch to Clarke and Karl Brown lifted Woakes to deep square leg.When Buttler, match-winner with the bat against the Bears in the Royal London Cup three weeks ago, offered Clarke another return catch, the Lightning were 38 for 4. Then the rain arrived and stayed to deny Lancashire a chance to fight their way back into the game. The holders’ grip on the NatWest T20 Blast trophy is looking less than secure.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has informed Sri Lanka Cricket that he will be unavailable for the limited-overs series in England and Ireland, owing to personal issues. The limited-overs squads for England have not yet been named, but Sri Lanka are scheduled to play five ODIs and a T20 international in the country, as well as two ODIs in Dublin soon after the third Test.The news is a significant blow to the team, as Dilshan has been Sri Lanka’s most-consistent limited-overs batsman over the past two years. In 2015 Dilshan hit 1207 ODI runs at an average of 52.47. That aggregate put him on third on the year’s run-scorers’ list.His withdrawal also extends the instability Sri Lanka have experienced at the top of their limited-overs batting order. Kusal Perera is expected to open the batting in the shorter formats after being cleared of doping charges, but Sri Lanka will now have to find a partner for him for the series.Dilshan, now 39, had suggested he was not thinking of limited-overs retirement during the recent World T20. He retired from Tests in late 2013.The ODIs commence on June 16, in Ireland, before Sri Lanka return to play England. The first match of that series is at Nottingham on June 21.

Hampshire hope to give Adi Birrell “the send-off he deserves” by winning the T20 Blast and Metro Bank Cup double after announcing he will leave the club at the end of the season. Birrell, 64, joined Hampshire ahead of the 2019 season but will complete his tenure later this month and return to his native South Africa to spend time with his family.After a convincing win at Durham in the quarter-finals, Hampshire head to Edgbaston on Saturday targeting a record fourth Blast title ahead of their semi-final against Northamptonshire. They will then face Worcestershire at Trent Bridge in the Metro Bank Cup final the following weekend, eyeing a first List A trophy since 2018.Hampshire have been competitive across formats under Birrell, winning the Blast in 2022 and finishing runners-up in the County Championship on three separate occasions. They have struggled in the Championship this year in the absence of James Vince, but have still thrived in both white-ball formats.Birrell also deputised as Southern Brave coach in the men’s Hundred this year, but is now unlikely to return to that role next summer. Hampshire are expected to lean on the global network developed by the GMR Group – their new Indian owners, who co-own Delhi Capitals – in recruiting his successor.”All good things come to an end, and we are sad to see Adi go,” Giles White, Hampshire’s long-serving director of cricket, said in a club statement. “It’s been a fantastic seven years at the club, during which he has become a hugely popular figure and overseen a successful period across all formats.”Under his leadership, the team has reached numerous finals, come close in Championships, and lifted the Blast title in 2022. His contribution has left a lasting mark, and he will be deeply missed by players, coaches, and fans alike at the Utilita Bowl.”We hope to give him the send-off he deserves, with two pieces of silverware still up for grabs in the next two weeks and important days ahead in the Championship. Everyone at Hampshire Cricket and the Utilita Bowl wishes Adi the very best as he looks forward to spending more time at home on the farm.”