With only two matches left and 11 miserable points from six matches, Delhi will attempt to bring all their powers of purpose down on Maharashtra from Saturday at the Roshanara Club in north Delhi

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2012As the winter in Delhi begins to bite, its Ranji Trophy team has decided it must do the same – with a bullet. With only two matches left and 11 miserable points from six matches, Delhi will attempt to bring all their powers of purpose down on Maharashtra from Saturday at the Roshanara Club in north Delhi. Those powers begin with the fortuitous occurrence of a home ground going into preparation lockdown for an international game against Pakistan. It is why Delhi must move groundstaff, supersopper, catering unit and everything else it needs to play yet another all-or-nothing match on the fastest wicket in the neighbourhood with the promise of a four-man pace attack and a 9:15 start time known usually for freezing fingers in Delhi’s Decembers.Even though the Kotla ODI between India and Pakistan is more than three weeks away, the logistical nightmare of moving from the Kotla to the private Roshanara Club, around 8 km away, will have to be undergone. The grumbling will be kept to the minimum if the move ends up being to Delhi’s eventual advantage, even though Ashish Nehra, their most experienced of quick men, is not on the team roster and Parvinder Awana, their quickest and most successful, finds himself in the Indian dressing room.Instead, said coach Vijay Dahiya, medium-pacer Vikas Tokas had been called into the 15. If he does indeed turn up in the XI, Tokas will make his debut for Delhi after having played two Ranji matches for Railways in 2010-11. He completes the quartet of Delhi quicks being promised to stomp all over the Roshanara Club alongside Pawan Suyal, Pradeep Sangwan and Sumit Narwal. Delhi may be tempted to play five bowlers, including left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra, according to Dahiya, given that they are trying to snatch two outright wins and sneak their way into the knock-outs.Against them will be a batting line-up that has rattled up totals of 764, 315, 333 and 540 and has six centuries, including a triple, from their batsmen in five matches. Yet, Maharashtra do not have a single outright win. Against Tamil Nadu, they were all out for 88 in their second innings in Chennai and beaten by 104 runs. Eight points and many tall totals have come from four draws, from first-innings leads against Vidarbha and Haryana. They may have three group games still left as compared to Delhi’s two, but at the tail-end of the Ranji Trophy, it is only strong and desperate opposition that lies in wait. First Delhi on what the day before the game looked like a green top, and then Baroda and Karnataka. In Group B, given Haryana’s unpredictability, Maharashtra must do all they can to ensure they do not end up hitting the bottom of the points table.

Brett Lee has called on Cricket New South Wales to sack the chief executive David Gilbert after the board fired the head coach Anthony Stuart during the week

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2012Brett Lee has called on Cricket New South Wales to sack the chief executive David Gilbert after the board fired the head coach Anthony Stuart during the week. Lee, who plays for the Sydney Sixers but is no longer a New South Wales state player, said Stuart, who was appointed as head coach in mid-2011, had been the scapegoat for deficiencies within the state’s cricket setup that had been apparent for several years.”I think the blame for a lot of things has been unfairly dumped on Anthony Stuart,” Lee told Fairfax Media. “It should have been at the top, Dave Gilbert. He should’ve been made to go in my opinion. Cricket New South Wales is all about leadership, and while that comes from the coach, it comes from the top, too, and I believe for the last five or six years New South Wales has seriously dropped the ball … you can tell by their performances and it isn’t the guys on the cricket field – it’s the hierarchy.”New South Wales last won the Sheffield Shield in 2007-08 and the domestic one-day tournament in 2005-06, and for a state with such a proud history that is something of a drought. Lee said Gilbert, who has been chief executive for a decade, should have been held accountable by the board instead of getting rid of Stuart only a year and a half in to his two-year contract.”If David Gilbert appoints Anthony Stuart and then basically fires him, even though they’re saying his contract was not renewed, it was a bad call,” Lee said. “Why is he still there? In my opinion, it is a terrible situation and while Anthony Stuart was given the tap on the shoulder I believe the board should have gone right to the top and started with David Gilbert.”Lee said he was also unhappy with the way he was treated during the final stages of his state career, including when he was told after an appendix operation early last summer that he would need to fly to Melbourne to play in an Under-19s game to prove his fitness.”I wasn’t going to ‘earn’ my stripes for them,” Lee said. “I was 35 at the time and decided to just pull the pin. I’d proven my fitness by bowling in the nets for four weeks. It was a disgrace.”Lee said his impression of the current hierarchy at Cricket New South Wales had not improved when he announced his retirement earlier this year.”When I retired I phoned David Gilbert to thank Cricket New South Wales for all it had done for me, and the opportunities it presented me,” Lee said. “I believe in New South Wales cricket, I loved wearing the baggy blue, but I have not received a reply from him … every person I phoned, Ricky Ponting, James Sutherland, Adam Gilchrist … The only person who hadn’t phoned me back was Dave Gilbert and Cricket New South Wales.”It was disappointing but it’s important in this context because it’s about communication and support, something I believe is missing at New South Wales and it’s having a negative effect on the team.”Lee said the only way things would change at New South Wales would be through changes at the top.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Ranji Trophy final for the 2012-13 season, between Mumbai and Saurashtra

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran in Mumbai25-Jan-2013

Match facts

January 26-30, Mumbai
Start time 0930 (0400 GMT)

Big Picture

Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, among a couple of other batsmen, will be missed by their respective Ranji sides in the final•AFP

Heading towards the Wankhede Stadium, there is little sign that the biggest first-class match in the domestic calendar is about to begin. Instead, on the walk up to the stadium, you are greeted by a series of posters advertising the Hockey India League going on at the adjacent hockey ground. Even inside the Wankhede there are more logos of the Women’s World Cup, which was shifted out of the ground at the last minute, than the Ranji Trophy.Saurashtra, though, need no reminders about how big a game this is. This is the first time they have made it to the title clash since independence, since the time they took up their present name back in 1950-51. Their title wins in the Ranji came when one of their previous incarnations, Nawanagar, triumphed in their debut season in 1936-37 and another team which included players from the region, Western India States Cricket Association, in 1943-44. Their most experienced player, Shitanshu Kotak, has the unwanted record of being the highest Ranji run-getter without having won the title.One key member of their set-up who has been involved in a Ranji final is long-standing coach Debu Mitra, who played in 1968-69, losing to Mumbai. Ahead of this year’s final, he says his advice to the Saurashtra players has been: “Just go and play another match, that’s all.”Mitra’s words are an attempt to reduce the sense of occasion for his players, but for several men in the Mumbai team, this just another match. The captain, Ajit Agarkar, has won six Ranji titles, Wasim Jaffer has seven, and they also have Sachin Tendulkar. Add to that Mumbai’s awesome record in Ranji finals – 39 titles in 43 attempts – and it becomes clear why the home side are overwhelming favourites despite a less than stellar league campaign this season.Both sides are missing two batsmen who pile up the runs in domestic circuit, but while Mumbai have the depth in talent to absorb the loss of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, Saurashtra’s bench is less robust and the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja affects them severely.Two areas where Saurashtra can feel they have an edge over Mumbai are fielding and spin bowling. While Mumbai have shelled plenty of catches this season – notably Kshemal Waingankar grassing a sitter from Wriddhiman Saha to allow Bengal a draw, the seven chances turfed against Punjab, and Iqbal Abdulla putting down last man Ishwar Pandey in the nerve-jangling seven-run win over Madhya Pradesh, Saurashtra have been sharper in the field. Mitra even credited the run-out of Uday Kaul in the first innings as the turning point of the semi-final against Punjab.Also, their spinners – Kamlesh Makwana, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Vishal Joshi – have all played key roles in Saurashtra’s progress this season, while Mumbai have had little variety in the spin department after the injury to Ramesh Powar, with Ankeet Chavan sometimes playing as the lone slow bowler.Still, there will be few willing to bet against Mumbai taking title No. 40 next week.

Form guide

Mumbai DDDWD (Most recent first)
Saurashtra WDWDD

Players to watch

Sheldon Jackson made his Saurashtra debut back in 2006, but before this season he had played only a solitary first-class match. He’s making up for the lost time with a series of crucial knocks: on a difficult track in Rajkot, when almost everyone else struggled to make runs, he hit a century to earn an outright win over Bengal; he came up with big runs in the quarter-final against Karnataka; and in the semi-final, there was a century in the first innings and an unbeaten 44 in the second when the rest of the batting keeled over. Saurashtra need another big effort from him in the final.As in almost every match that Tendulkar has played, he will again be the star attraction. It is a rare occasion when he fails in the Ranji Trophy, and he will add one more record to his glittering career if he scores a century in the final – that will take him level with Sunil Gavaskar for most first-class centuries by an Indian, with 81.

Team news

Agarkar said he didn’t think there would be any changes in the Mumbai XI from the semi-final game over Services.Mumbai (likely) 1 Wasim Jaffer, 2 Kaustubh Pawar, 3 Hiken Shah, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Abhishek Nayar, 6 Aditya Tare (wk), 7 Ankeet Chavan, 8 Ajit Agarkar (capt), 9 Dhawal Kulkarni, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Vishal DabholkarSaurashtra are likely to make one change to their side, leaving out one of their three spinners to bring in a quick bowler.Saurashtra (likely) 1 Shitanshu Kotak, 2 Sagar Jogiyani (wk), 3 Rahul Dave, 4 Jaydev Shah (capt), 5 Sheldon Jackson, 6 Aarpit Vasavada, 7 Kamlesh Makvana, 8 Vishal Joshi, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Chirag Jani, 11 Siddharth Trivedi

Pitch and conditions

January is among the most pleasant of months in Mumbai, with the temperature perfect for playing cricket. The surface at the Wankhede this season for Ranji matches has been batting-friendly but the curators have had very little time to prepare the track as the venue for the final was only decided a few days ago. Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah expected the pitch to provide more assistance for the quick bowlers than for the spinners.

Stats and trivia

• Sachin Tendulkar in Ranji finals at the Wankhede: 47 and 96 (1991), 140 and 139 (1995), 53 and 128 (2000), and 105 and 43 (2007)
• A century for Wasim Jaffer will give him the most hundreds in the Ranji Trophy, taking him past Ajay Sharma on 31 and will also help him reclaim the record for most Ranji runs

Quotes

“I suppose it comes with experience as we have got more than one guy who has played more than one final. That generally helps in winning big games.”

“Against Bombay you always need to score big runs and then put pressure at the start as if they don’t get a good start, they sometimes collapse.”

After Australia followed-on, middle-order batsman Usman Khawaja spoke of the benefits of having to deal with pressure in game scenarios

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2013After Australia followed-on, on the third and final day of their last practice match before the Chennai Test, middle-order batsman Usman Khawaja said there were benefits of having to deal with pressure in game scenarios. India A’s spinners, however, maintained they had struck a few blows on Australian confidence going into the Test starting Friday.Khawaja, 30 not out in the second innings, said his team was, “as ready as we will be” for the Chennai Test. The pressure exerted by the India A spinners, he said, could lead to benefits rather than anxiety. “It’s good to get out there and put ourselves under pressure in a good game scenario. You can bat in the nets as much as you want, but it’s not the same.”The Australian batsmen he said “took a lot” out of their first innings performance, “which is probably why in the second innings you saw us bat better.” Once again the openers Shane Watson and Ed Cowan, “set it up and then I think we batted pretty well throughout the second innings.”The match ended with Australia at 195 for 3 off 55 second-innings overs. India A fielded a second string of spinners, left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv from Gujarat and offspinner Jalaj Saxena from Madhya Pradesh.The two turned up to speak on behalf of their team at the end of the game. Just like Manoj Tiwary had done on Sunday evening, they identified what they saw as holes in Australia’s batting.Dhurv said, “They don’t play spinners too well which benefited us…their primary deficiency was defence. At times, they also failed to judge the speed of the deliveries.”The Australians, he said, had been asked to follow-on because India A had wanted to push for a win and the batsmen shut shop once Watson was run-out. “In the first innings they had tried to attack us but in the second they didn’t. After Watson’s run out, they went in to a defensive mode. I don’t think they were trying to get on top of us. We thought they were only trying to save the game.”Saxena stepped in saying that India A had played its part in the practice match. “We played like one unit, as a team, like we had planned. We gave our best and wanted to put them under the maximum pressure, so they go into the Test series low on confidence. We didn’t want them to get any confidence and for that we played our best.”Whether this can translate into an on-field impact in the Chennai Test depends, Dhurv said, on how early the Indians took control of the series.”Everything depends on how the Indian team plays in the first few matches. If India win the first one or two matches, then it will be very difficult for them to come back. Let’s see how things go when the Test series starts.”The way Khawaja saw it, though the Australians had put up, “quite a few good performances this game.”The three Australian spinners in the game would not include themselves on that list, but Khawaja said that focusing too much on the demands of Indian wickets was missing the point.”We’ve actually said that spin plays a big part in India but it’s not the only thing that plays a big part in India,” he said. “We’ve seen that pace can be effective as spin out here. And our bowlers proved that in the last few tour matches so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”He was asked whether Australia was “ready to face three spinners on a rank turner?” His reply gently tried to put the attention on the home side, “If you go out that way, the spinners have a lot of pressure on them too. If there is a turning wicket they are expected to take wickets and if they don’t then it’s a different game, but that’s Test match cricket. You’re in India – the ball turns, you get reverse swing that’s a part of it.”Outside Watson and Cowan, despite Australia’s nervy batting performance in the practice match, Khawaja said the central idea behind Australia’s batting approach needed to be positivity. “You have to be positive no matter where you are in Australia, South Africa or India. If you’re not trying to score runs, you might as well not be in the middle… you’ve just got to find your own way to do it.”The starting point of Australia’s positivity as a batting unit comes from its opener David Warner currently trying to recover from a fractured thumb. Khawaja said that he was confident that Warner would be ready for the Test. “David has been hitting a lot in the last couple of days and I think he’ll be alright. We’ll find out in the next few days what happens. It just depends on what is a good balance for the team.”

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches played on March 17

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2013

West Zone

Irfan Pathan took three wickets as Baroda beat Mumbai by 55 runs in Ahmedabad. Baroda put up an imposing 194 for 3, thanks to a power packing innings of 101 off 63 balls by Aditya Waghmode. This was his first T20 century, and he was supported by contributions from Kedar Devdhar (23) and Yusuf Pathan (40*). Mumbai, in reply, were 13 for 3 as Irfan Pathan, playing his first match after recovering from a knee injury sustained during a Ranji Trophy match in November 2012, struck two early blows. Aditya Tare’s 62 along with Siddharth Chitnis 21, proved to be the only form of resistance as the team struggled to 139 for 9.Asad Pathan’s swashbuckling 87 not out led Gujarat to an eight-wicket win over Maharashtra. Chasing a target of 148, Pathan dominated the bowlers to take his side to victory in 14.2 overs. His innings included six fours and seven sixes. Earlier, Gujarat restricted Maharashtra to 147 for 8, led by Nikhil Naik’s 52. Mehul Patel and Akshar Patel picked up three wickets apiece.

North Zone

Himachal Pradesh won a low-scoring thriller by one run against Services in Rohtak. Almost all of Services’ bowlers contributed, with Himachal Pradesh stuttering to 78 all out in the 19th over. Only three batsmen got into double-figures, as Shadab Nazar and Abhishek Sakuja picked up three a piece. Services were in all sorts of trouble, as they limped to 28 for 6. Only the bowlers got into double-digit scores as a few run-outs at the end of the innings ensured Himachal held on for a one-run victory, with Sakuja run out of the penultimate ball.Haryana’s bowlers contributed to their victory over Punjab by 47 runs in Rohtak. Haryana scored 150 for 4 in their 20 overs, led by Sachin Hooda’s 56 and Rahul Dalal’s unbeaten 40. Punjab were unable to string substantial partnerships through the course of their innings, with Ajit Chandila taking three, and Amit Mishra and Harshal Patel picking up two each. They were skittled out for 103 in the 18th over.

East Zone

Assam crumbled to a 53-run defeat against Bengal in Agartala. Set a target of 131, Assam folded for a paltry 77, with only two batsmen scoring runs in double figures. Sayan Mondal was the pick of the Bengal bowlers, picking up 3 for 13, while Shami Ahmed picked up 2 for 13. Earlier, Shreevats Goswami top-scored with 43, as Bengal finished their innings at 130 for 5.
Odisha registered a 22-run win over Tripura in Agartala. Put in to bat, Odisha piled up 172 for 8 in their 20 overs, with half-centuries from Bikas Pati (64) and Govind Podder (52). In reply, Tripura were restricted to 150 for 6. A 58-run, second-wicket partnership between Ajay Ratra and Udiyan Bose gave Tripura a good platform, but Odisha bowler Rakesh Mohanty dismissed three batsmen quickly to leave Tripura 22 runs adrift.

Central Zone

Uttar Pradesh successfully chased Railways target in Nagpur to win by six wickets. After being reduced to 4 for 34, Karan Sharma (62*) and Ashish Yadav (44) led a recovery for Railways to finish on 130 for 5. Praveen Kumar had best figures of 3 for 22. UP were able to string regular partnerships, as Akshdeep Nath and Piyush Chawla finished the game off in the 18th over.Vidarbha edged Rajathan in a low-scoring match in Nagpur by 10 runs. Vidarbha were unable to put together regular partnerships, with Akshay Kolhar top-scoring with 34 at the top of the order. Aniket Choudhary and Ashok Menaria picked up three wickets apiece, as Vidarbha stuttered to 113 for 9. Rajasthan started in horror fashion, reduced to 6 for 4. All of Rajasthan’s bowlers picked up wickets, led by Amol Jungade’s 3 for 12. Contributions from Dishant Yagnik (26), Raman Chahar (17) and Madhur Khatri (15*) were not enough as they finished 10 short of the target.

South Zone

L Balaji’s four-wicket haul helped Tamil Nadu beat Andhra by eight wickets. Batting first, Andhra were dismissed for 106, as Balaji and Rahil Shah struck regularly. AG Pradeep tried guiding Andhra towards a substantial total, but had no support from the other batsmen. In reply, Tamil Nadu chased down the total with ease, guided by unbeaten 30s from Abhinav Mukund and S Badrinath.Kerala registered a six-wicket win against Hyderabad in Shimoga, reaching their target with two balls to spare. Put in to bat, Hyderabad scored 133 for 6, affected by two run-outs in the innings. In reply, Kerala were cruising at 123 for 2 in the 18th over, before the wickets of Nikhilesh Surendran and Sachin Baby slowed down the chase. They eventually scored the winning runs in the 20th over.Fifties from openers Mayanka Agarwal and Manish Pandey helped Karnataka ease past Goa by nine wickets in Shimoga. Chasing a total of 120 for victory, the openers put on 108 runs before Pandey guided the side home in the 19th over. Earlier, Goa were hampered due to as many as three run-outs in their innings. Wicketkeeper Keenan Vaz top scored with 38.

Matt Prior is adamant that England are capable of recovering from another poor batting display to still emerge with a series win against New Zealand

Andrew McGlashan in Auckland24-Mar-2013Matt Prior is adamant that England are capable of recovering from another poor batting display to still emerge with a series win against New Zealand. There was something for them to cling to in the closing stages of the third day in Auckland as they reduced New Zealand to 8 for 3 after they had not been asked to follow-on, but the home side’s lead still stands at an imposing 274.In a manic 13-over period at the end of England’s innings and start of New Zealand’s second, seven wickets fell for 12 runs. However, the defining passage of the day came much earlier as England slumped to 72 for 5 in the morning session against a swinging ball that they failed to cope with. Of their final total of 204, 101 came in a partnership between Prior and Joe Root, which shows the paucity of what else was on offer.England are now starring at only their second series defeat in New Zealand unless they can chase down a large total – the highest successful chase at Eden Park is 345 – or bat out time to leave the contest at 0-0. Prior, who has had an impressive match with bat and gloves, tried to keep a sense of perspective about the situation.”I know it feels like the world’s over, but it’s not really,” he said. “We’ve got some very good cricketers who can put in match-winning, or match-saving performances. The thing I love about this team is we might do it the hard way, but we fight – and we keep fighting.”We’ve shown that in Dunedin and in Nagpur. These are memories we’ll pull out and use, and know we have the skill and ability to get something out of this game still.”We’re now in a position where we’re going to need a bit of luck and a lot of skill. But if we can get early wickets, who knows? It’s still a good deck. We’re going to have to bat a lot better, obviously, but we can chase these runs.”This was the second poor first innings that England have put together in the series following their 167 in Dunedin. There was not quite the same gifting of wickets this time – although Prior and Stuart Broad both played loose shots – but English batsmen should be able to combat the moving ball.”It’s not like everyone feels like they’re a walking wicket at the moment,” Prior said. “We’ve had a couple of bad days, and it’s certainly something we need to address – and we will do. We’re going to get another chance in the second innings. That in a funny way is a good thing. You get straight back on the horse.”The key for New Zealand was the pressure they built on England’s batsmen – the innings run rate was below two until Prior upped the tempo before the second new ball only to carve to point four deliveries before it was due. Tim Southee and Trent Boult were exemplary, something Prior was keen to acknowledge.”I know Trent ended up with the most wickets, but I thought Tim Southee bowled a couple of very good spells. Hats off to the New Zealand bowlers.”New Zealand’s grip on the contest was challenged when they did not enforce the follow-on, Brendon McCullum following the preferred route these days of not sending a side straight back with a view to giving his bowlers a breather, but they remain one good session away from being almost impregnable.”To get a rest then look to use the next two days was pretty crucial,” Boult said. “We need to push on tomorrow – 30 for 3 wasn’t in the plan but to have a 280-run lead is a pretty good position. There were a couple of signs of a bit of up and down going on, so that’s pretty exciting to see from a bowling point of view.”New Zealand have not won a home Test series against anyone other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh since beating West Indies in 2005-06. Victory here, on the back of the South Africa tour and the captaincy controversy, could be a defining moment for these players.

A round-up of matches played in the President’s One-Day Cup tournament 2012-13 played on April 11, 2013

Umar Farooq11-Apr-2013Mohammad Nawaz’s all-round performance helped National Bank of Pakistan beat Khan Research Laboratories by 12 runs at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. This was KRL’s third straight defeat, and NBP’s third consecutive win. NBP, after being asked to bat, started poorly, with Nasir Jamshed (4) and Sami Aslam (1) back in the hut in quick time. Kamran Akmal (40) and captain Fawad Alam (57) had to do the repair work. NBP, though, then slipped to 95 for 5. Alam hit his 18th List A fifty before being dismissed by Mohammad Irfan. Alam helped add 54 with Nawaz to take his team towards 206.In reply, KRL openers Mohammad Yasin (34) and Tayab Riaz (47) laid a solid foundation with an 82-run stand but three wickets in quick succession put KRL on the back foot. Saeed Anwar Junior was the only batsman who offered some resistance. His 55 was in vain, as Raza Hasan (4-36), Nawaz (2-36) and Imran Khan (31-2) ripped though the line-up to bowl out KRL for 194 in 49.1 overs.Hussain Talat’s hundred and Harris Sohail’s brisk was too much for Port Qasim Authority, as Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited won by 8 wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Asked to bat, PQA were off to a good start, with opener Khurram Manzoor scoring his second hundred of the tournament. Shahzaib Hasan (37), Umar Amin (42), and Tanvir Ahmed (36) chipped in with cameos to power PQA to 297 for 6 in 50 overs.The ZTBL reply was strong, with the openers adding 169. ZTBL lost Sharjeel Khan (81) and Babar Azam (10) in relatively quick time, but Talat (141*) and Sohail (56*) remained unbeaten to take their side home. ZTBL chased down 298 in just 42.2 overs.Water and Power Development Authority, spearheaded by Rafatullah Mohmand’s hundred, defeated Habib Bank Limited by five wickets at the National Stadium Karachi. WAPDA chased down a commanding total of 287 with Rafatullah (102), Saad Nasim (84) and Sohaib Maqsood (66) helping complete the chase with 15 balls to spare.WAPDA had put HBL in to bat. Imran Farhat (11) and Younis Khan (25) fell without making a significant contribution. Two young batsmen, Ahmed Shahzad (112) and Asad Shafiq (79), boosted HBL to a good total. Shahid Afridi scored just 5 while Junaid Khan was the key wicket-taker for WAPDA, taking 4 for 42.Abid Ali’s 91 and Kashif Bhatti’s 4 for 38 helped United Bank Limited beat Pakistan International Airlines by nine runs at Shaheed Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto International Cricket Stadium, Ghari Khuda Bakhsh. Put in to bat, PIA reduced UBL to 53 for 4 at one stage. But the middle and lower orders chipped in. Itmad-ul-Haq (28), Shabbir Ahmed (22), Kasif Bhatti (20) and Mohammad Irshad (23*) guided their team to 222 for 8.PIA, in their reply, began poorly. Agha Sabir (40) and Sheharyar Ghani (52) then tried to resist but Bhatti, along with Mohammad Zubair, shared seven wickets to bowl out PIA in 48.3 overs.

Half-centuries by Matt Pardoe and Thilan Samaraweera took Worcestershire to 198 for 3 on a rain-shortened first day in their Division Two clash with Leicestershire at New Road

08-May-2013
ScorecardHalf-centuries by Matt Pardoe and Thilan Samaraweera took Worcestershire to 198 for 3 on a rain-shortened first day in their Division Two clash with Leicestershire at New Road.Pardoe shared in partnerships of 78 with Moeen Ali and 69 with Samaraweera as Worcestershire finally started their home programme a month late because of on-going building work at the ground.A five-storey executive block and a 120-bedroom hotel created a new backdrop in the riverside corner as Pardoe, determined and disciplined for close to four hours, reached 50 in the championship for the first time in 20 innings.Given an opportunity to pin down an opening spot following the departure of Australian Phil Hughes, the young left hander kept his side on a steady footing after Daryl Mitchell’s edge to third slip in Ollie Freckingham’s third over.Relegated from Division One last September, Worcestershire have yet to find their feet at the lower level after a draw with Lancashire and defeats by Glamorgan and Hampshire in three away matches.Fellow strugglers Leicestershire, another side without a win, were again without three front-line seamers, including former captain Matthew Hoggard, when Ramnaresh Sarwan lost the toss.The stand-in bowlers kept things reasonably tight and Freckingham might have had a second success when Moeen got off the mark with a streaky boundary in his first Championship innings since signing a five-year extension to his contract.Unusually for New Road, the pitch encouraged Leicestershire to try Jigar Naik’s off-breaks only 40 minutes into the first morning and before lunch they also gave a couple of overs to a second spinner in Josh Cobb. There was even a hint of turn as Naik conceded only one run in three overs but the runs began to flow with leg-side sixes for Moeen and Pardoe.Moeen also hit seven fours in making 48 from 77 balls before a misplaced square drive off Rob Taylor found Michael Thornely at point. The unflustered Pardoe maintained a one-run-an-over tempo deep into the afternoon before he was bowled by Naik as he propped forward after making 59 from 174 balls.By then Samaraweera was showing glimpses of his Test quality after an early incident in which he stood his ground when it appeared he had turned a catch to short leg off left-arm seamer Taylor.However, the ball only found its way into Matt Boyce’s hands after bouncing up from his body and then deflecting from the grille on his helmet. After consultation between the umpires, the Sri Lankan was given not out and went on to complete his second fifty for the county. He was unbeaten on 52 when a second stoppage for rain ended the day with only 13 balls bowled after tea.

Channel Nine has retained the rights to broadcast Australia’s home international matches after agreeing to a deal worth $500 million over five years

Brydon Coverdale03-Jun-2013Channel Nine has retained the rights to broadcast Australia’s home international matches after agreeing to a deal worth $500 million over five years.Nine saw off a bold bid from Channel Ten to claim the rights to Test, ODI and Twenty20 international cricket but Ten is believed to have secured a deal worth approximately $20 million a year to broadcast the Big Bash League, which will appear on free-to-air television for the first time.Ten had made a significant play for the full cricket schedule but Nine had the right to match the bid, although that was complicated by its reluctance to sign up for the BBL.However, in order to keep international cricket on Nine, where it has been broadcast for more than 30 years, Nine was forced to more than double the amount it paid per year over the previous seven-year deal.The expiring deal had cost Nine $45 million per year; the new five-year agreement will cost $100 million a year for Test, ODI and Twenty20 international cricket, as well as approximately $10 million a year in free advertising.The two deals will provide a major windfall for Cricket Australia, which will earn about $120 million a season in broadcast rights, nearly three times what it received under the previous arrangement.

A round-up of the second day’s action from the Ramadan T20 Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2013
ScorecardShabbir Ahmed finished with 5 for 23•Pakistan Cricket Board

Shabbir Ahmed’s five-wicket haul powered United Bank Limited (UBL) to beat Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by four wickets.PIA captain Shoaib Malik, after a Man-of-the-Match performance in the last game, became Shabbir’s first victim off only the second ball of the match. PIA lost another early wicket when Shabbir removed Malik’s opening partner Agha Sabir with the score at 34 in the fifth over. Faisal Iqbal’s run-a-ball 48 steadied one end, but a flurry of wickets in the death – five in the last 19 balls, capped off by Shabbir dismissing Ali Raza and Fahad Iqbal off the last two balls of the innings limited PIA to 129.Opener Asif Ali started UBL’s chase positively, striking three sixes and a four but Salman Saeed struck in successive overs to leave UBL at 37 for 2 in the sixth over. With the asking rate hovering at a modest 6.5 per over, Mohammad Sami and Faisal Athar came together and added 35. Sami and Mohammad Irshad fell off consecutive balls in the 17th over, but Athar, who had five fours to his credit, held firm as UBL won the match with five balls to spare.
ScorecardYounis Khan, who remains outside Pakistan’s limited-overs, hit a brisk half-century to drive Habib Bank Limited to a competitive score before part-time offspinner Asad Baig ran through Water and Power Development Auhtority’s middle order to complete a comfortable victory.Imran Farhat, another experienced player who finds himself sidelined from the national team, failed to give HBL a strong start after they won the toss. His opening partner Baig fared better, making 29 as he shared a 41-run stand with No. 3 Fahad Masood. The run-rate picked up in the second half of the innings as two senior players, Younis and Hasan Raza, put together 55 in 33 deliveries. Raza hit three sixes in his 27, and Younis struck seven fours in his unbeaten 54.In the chase, WAPDA were in a reasonable position in the 13th over, with Sohaib Maqsood’s 40 guiding them to 93 for 3. It unravelled spectacularly after that, though, as their final seven wickets went down for 15 runs. What made it more galling for WAPDA was that the wickets weren’t taken by regular bowlers – Baig, who has only one wicket in his 27 first-class matches, bagged 4 for 12
while Raza, who has 27 wickets in 175 domestic one-dayers, took two in his first three deliveries to wrap up the match.