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Scorecard

Mathew Sinclair played a lone hand for New Zealand A with a fighting unbeaten 110 to help them to 192 for 5 at close of play on the second day of their four-day match at Kandy. With the Sri Lankans being bowled out for 284 earlier in the day, the match hung in the balance.Sinclair came in to bat after the New Zealanders had lost two early wickets, and the situation became even more dire when Jamie How was dismissed soon after as the team slumped to 22 for 3, with all three wickets being taken by Gayan Wijekoon, the left-arm medium-fast bowler. Sinclair then strung together a couple of useful partnerships, the more significant of which was a 95-run undefeated stand for the sixth wicket with Gareth Hopkins, who was unbeaten on 24, the second-highest score in the innings.Earlier, Sri Lanka A stretched their first innings to 284 after resuming at 225 for 6. Chris Martin, who had taken four middle-order wickets on the first day, added the scalp of Malinga Bandara to finish with excellent figures of 5 for 64.

Pakistan’s preparations for the Test series against England took another blow with the news that Mohammad Sami is likely to miss the first Test in Multan beginning from November 12.Although board officials weren’t willing to rule him out just yet, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain, has reportedly told a private news channel that Sami’s groin injury will require two weeks to heal, thus ruling him out of the first Test.Wasim Bari, chairman of the selection committee, told Cricinfo, “Sami has got a small niggle but he is hoping to be fit in time for the Test. The team management has not yet asked for a replacement to be picked and Sami is receiving treatment with the physiotherapists at the moment. We can’t rule him out definitely just yet.”Pakistan’s cricketers are due to assemble once more in Lahore on November 6, before departing for Multan two days later and Sami’s fitness will be tested one last time in Lahore. According to the , Sami has said he is confident he will be able to recover from the injury and pass the fitness test.The news is a further blow to Pakistan, already reconciled to the loss of Abdul Razzaq for the first Test with an elbow injury. Worryingly, however, the development yet again deprives Pakistan the luxury of choosing from four fully fit fast bowlers.Although Pakistan can boast the considerable resources of Shoaib Akhtar, Sami, Shabbir Ahmed, Umar Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, selecting any combination of three or four out of them has been impossible over the last two years owing to a combination of injuries and problems with actions.In fact, since the 2003 World Cup, Pakistan have rarely been able to field what could potentially be their first-choice pace attack, comprising Shoaib, Sami and Shabbir. They have played together in a solitary Test. Shoaib, Sami and Gul – another preferred combination – have also played only once. Gul hasn’t played a Test since March last year, Sami since March this year and Shoaib since January.Apart from their opening worries – nine different combinations in the last ten Tests since Bob Woolmer took over – Pakistan have struggled, albeit for reasons beyond their control, to find a settled new-ball pair. In the same period, eight different pairs have opened the bowling, three different third seamers have been tried and altogether eight pace bowlers have been utilised. Shoaib and Sami, in ideal circumstances, the first-choice new-ball pair, have played together in only three Tests together in that period.

ScorecardTahir Mughal finished with 5 for 64 after he tore through the Service Industries’ batting order as they collapsed from 102 for 2 to 234 all out while Masood Asim remained unbeaten on 96 against Pakistan Telecommunication in their Patron’s Trophy match at Faisalabad. Services had got off to a good start with a second-innings partnership of 58 runs between Afaq Raheem (46) and Asim. After Mughal bowled Raheem with the score on 91 for 2, a procession of wickets ensued as Services collapsed to 140 for 7 before Mohammad Irshad made 28 to take the total past 200.
ScorecardWater and Power Development Authority (WPDA) were in a sound position at 74 for no loss against Zarai Taraqiati Bank (ZTB) at the Sheikhupura Stadium. They were 122 behind after ZTB were skittled for 196 in the first innings. Kashif Raza finished with figures of 4 for 68 for WPDA. ZTB never got a substantial partnership going as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Naved Ashraf top-scored with 52 but received little support from the other batsmen.

The ICC’s Winter Training Camp (WTC) may well help to ensure that Canada can never again be accused of being a one-man band.In the past that accusation could have been made thanks to the exploits of John Davison, the offspinning allrounder who smashed the fastest hundred in World Cup history against the West Indies (67 balls) in 2003. But thanks to the work put in by the four Canada players attending the 11-week residential course in Pretoria – Qaiser Ali, Umar Bhatti, Kenneth Carto and Henry Osinde – it is an accusation that could soon be put to bed for good.”In the past it was possible to argue that if you got John Davison out or ensured he did not get any wickets then that would put too much pressure on the other players but hopefully, from Canada’s point of view, those days could be behind them,” said WTC head coach Andy Moles.”In Henry Osinde and Umar Bhatti they have two good opening bowlers, Qaiser Ali has made good progress as an allrounder and Kenneth Carto has done the same in his role as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Hopefully the strides these players are making here will add to the depth of the Canada squad and give their selectors some really tough choices over the coming months and years.” The four Canadians are part of a group of 23 players from the six Associate countries due to take part in the 2007 World Cupin the Caribbean, all of them working to improve their games.Davison, who has been working at the WTC in a coaching capacity, is modest about his past achievements but even he is prepared to grudgingly admit that Canada have had a reputation as a side that relied on his performances a little too much. “I am not sure Ian Billcliff or several others of the senior players would agree we have been a one-man band but maybe, on occasion, it has been fair comment,” he said. “But whatever may have happened in the past, I am really excited by what is happening now at the WTC. The four players here have come on in leaps and bounds and that has to be good for Canadian cricket.”Perhaps the biggest plus for Canada has been the form and improvement shown by opening bowlers Osinde and Bhatti. “They have the potential to be comfortably the best opening pair of bowlers at Associate level providing they keep up their good work here,” said Moles. “The biggest compliment I can pay them is that all the other countries would want them and that is a real feather in their caps.”Moles then went on to explain why they are likely to be so important in taking Canada’s cricket to the next level. “When the Associate sides play in the World Cup the bottom line is that they have to get early wickets,” he said. “If they do not then the bigger teams have enough quality in depth to rattle up huge scores, especially if they have wickets in hand towards the end of an innings. Both Henry and Umar have the potential to take those early wickets because they are good enough to get good players out and that is a great sign for Canada and for Associate cricket.”Davison echoed those comments, adding: “The prospects for Canada really are great if Henry and Umar keep making progress. Henry bowls fast outswingers from a good height and he bowls balls that will get rid of good players while Umar has a great ability to swing the ball and now he is learning how to work batsmen out.”Moles said he hoped the camp would be a turning point for the Canadian quartet. “I think the WTC has changed the way they think about the game because they came here as club cricketers and I think they may leave as something more,” he said. “In the past they may have got by in club cricket playing averagely well but still being successful but now we are teaching them that in order to be successful at a higher level it needs much more from them in every aspect of the game. “They have bought into that, I am very happy with their progress and they have been very hungry to learn.”WTC head coach Moles gives his assessment of the four Canada players in Pretoria:Henry Osinde – Along with Ireland’s Eoin Morgan, Henry is the player with perhaps most potential among those here at the WTC. He has a great physique and is very single-minded with the ball in his hand. At six feet and four inches in height he can generate disconcerting bounce and he hits the pitch hard. Henry can tend to bowl too short but getting him out of that habit is all part of the learning process he is going through with (bowling coach) Bob Cottam while he is here. We have told him he needs to bowl better lengths to better players and he has developed an extra level of consistency. I gather back home he is an accountant and he will be going back to work after the WTC ends in late December but I hope he is able to get some competitive cricket as soon as possible after that so he can put all he is learning here into practice.Umar Bhatti – A left-arm seam and swing bowler, Umar is wiry and has a quick arm action, just like Wasim Akram, although he is not as fast a bowler as the former Pakistan great.Thanks to the fitness work he has done Umar has developed a lot more strength and mobility and his bowling has benefited as a result because he can now keep going for longer without any loss in quality. He is a genuine swinger of the ball, able to swing it back into the right-handed batsmen but what we are trying to teach him is what is known in the boxing trade as “ring craft.” In Umar’s case it is about telling him that when you get to the top level it is not enough just to swing the ball back and he needs to think about using other deliveries too. For example, he can look to bowl several balls across a batsman so the player is looking for the ball outside the off stump and at that point he can then look to swing it back in.Qaiser Ali – Qaiser found the going tough when he first arrived because he was not in the best shape possible for a camp like this but, all credit to him, he has bought into the regime and has shown himself to be a real workaholic. He is a batsman who bowls rather than a genuine allrounder but what he has done since he has been here is to develop his seam bowling so that he is now a viable sixth or seventh bowler for his captain in a one-day game. Qaiser arrived as an offspinner but (bowling coach) Bob Cottam spotted something in him and asked him to try bowling medium pace, he agreed and has made great strides doing it, although he still has plenty of work to do on that front. As a batsman he is keen to play his shots and what we are trying to do is ensure he is more selective in his strokeplay and not premeditate his shots before the bowler bowls. Also we are encouraging him to move his feet more, especially in getting a good stride in when he plays forward.Kenneth Carto – Like Qaiser, Kenneth had an issue with his condition when he arrived and with both players it was a case of giving them some life education about how they looked after themselves and what they ate. Both players have changed their outlook as a result and both have probably lost between six and seven kilos during their time at the WTC. Kenneth’s condition meant he was not as mobile as he needed to be as he is a wicketkeeper but his improved fitness has allowed him to work on that aspect of his game and now he is moving far better. He is probably Canada’s second or third choice wicketkeeper at the moment but he is still only young and if he can carry on with the work he has put in here then he will be pressing for a spot in the senior side on a regular basis before too long. Hopefully when his peers see him in his improved condition and see how his game has moved forward it will also send a message to them and make them work just as hard as Kenneth has in order to make progress.

India’s selectors are toying with the idea of playing five specialist bowlers when the second Test against Pakistan gets underway at Faisalabad tomorrow, with RP Singh and Zaheer Khan fighting over the final slot in the starting XI.The change in tactics has been discussed after last week’s stalemate at Lahore, in which both India and Pakistan posted massive first-innings totals on a featherbed of a wicket. The team meeting went on late into Friday evening, and a final decision will be taken before the toss.The need to take 20 wickets per match, coupled with the form of India’s top order – in particular the openers Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, who added 410 at Lahore – means that there may be no need for a sixth specialist batsman, which would be bad news for the former captain, Sourav Ganguly, who is the most likely man to miss out.Whether or not India play five bowlers, Dravid is certain to remain at the top of the order after last week’s century. “The hundred I got in Lahore it has given us some options for this series and I will continue doing the job,” he told reporters at Faisalabad, as he mulled over the final selections for his team.Ganguly’s demise has been predicted and disproved on several occasions in recent weeks, so it would be no surprise if he does retain his place in tomorrow’s line-up after all. But tactically, it would make more sense to add another seamer to the equation, with RP Singh the favourite to sneak into the team ahead of the more experienced Zaheer.Pakistan, meanwhile, are likely to make one enforced change, with Mohammad Asif expected to step in for Mohammad Sami, and one optional one. Sami has come down with a sore throat and a high fever and is a doubtful starter, while Abdul Razzaq is in line for a recall, at the expense of the ever-willing Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.Pakistan (likely) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Shoaib Malik, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammad Asif, 11 Danish KaneriaIndia (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 RP Singh, 11 Anil Kumble

Ricky Ponting’s summer can’t stop getting better. After moving to No.1 in the Test rankings and scoring 1544 runs in 2005 he took out the Allan Border Medal in Melbourne with a three-point win over Michael Hussey. Hussey was rewarded with the one-day prize because of Andrew Symonds’s ineligbility while Shane Warne picked up the Test Player of the Year gong.Ponting, 31, polled 83 votes from players, media and umpires to beat Hussey and win his second Border Medal while the rejuvenated fast bowler Brett Lee finished third on 77 votes. Upon accepting his award, the most prestigious in Australian cricket, Ponting also had a message that he wanted the Ashes back.Ponting got an extra dose of motivation courtesy of a tongue-in-cheek television segment from the former England bowler Phil Tufnell. In the segment Tufnell had a shot at Ponting’s side “dropping the Ashes” like South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs did the World Cup in 1999.”Warney … just because you’re a mate of Kevin Pietersen’s, it didn’t mean at that last day at The Oval you had to drop him twice,” Tufnell teased. “Do you wake up in the middle of the night thinking you might have dropped the Ashes? I have got Herschelle Gibbs’s phone number here if you want some counselling.”Ponting was not impressed. “Quite a few guys at my table were pretty fired up at that,” Ponting said as soon as he got up to the podium. “I’m not sure whose idea that was, but it certainly made us a bit hungrier to take on the English who are coming here in 290 days time, so we’re looking forward to that.”Although 2005 was dominated by the Ashes loss, Ponting’s individual form could not be questioned. He hit 1,596 Test runs with seven centuries and also scored 1,137 runs in one-day internationals, with another two hundreds.Warne won the Test prize on the strength of a superb Ashes tour last year and an outstanding past 12 months, which reaped a world-record 93 wickets. Hussey won the limited-overs award on a countback after he, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist and Lee finished tied on 22 votes.”I feel a bit for Andrew Symonds,” Hussey said in the . “I honestly think I’m in a dream, actually, and I’m wondering when it will end. I’ve just got to try and keep a level head with it all because the game does have a way of bringing you back to earth pretty quickly.”The Allan Border Medal had its first ineligible winner when Symonds, who would have claimed the one-day award with six three-vote matches, was ruled ineligible because he was suspended for a drinking binge during last year’s Ashes tour. The former Australian captains Bob Simpson and the late Monty Noble were inducted into Australian cricket’s Hall of Fame.Phil Jaques, who made his Test and one-day debuts this summer, won the State Player of the Year award after taking 75 votes, easily beating Darren Lehmann (35) and Michael Bevan (11). Dan Cullen, the South Australia offspinner, collected the promising player prize, the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year, while Karen Rolton, the new Australia captain, was named the Women’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time in five seasons.

ScorecardIreland ended their World Cup campaign with a second successive win, this time against Uganda in the Plate Championship play-off final on Saturday. Eoin Morgan’s side restricted Uganda to 165 for 8 and then knocked off the required runs for just four wickets.Morgan was the man who steered his side home with an unbeaten 60 as Ireland secured the victory with 14.1 overs in hand. The win meant Ireland finished as the 13th-ranked of the 16 teams in action, ahead of Uganda, Namibia, and Scotland.Ireland’s victory was founded upon some excellent, disciplined spin bowling that strangled the Uganda innings.Gary Kidd took 2 for 26, the legspinner Greg Thompson picked up 1 for 21 and James Hall took 0 for 37. Jimmy Okello topscored for Uganda with 45 from 84 balls with three fours, but in the face of impressive Ireland bowling only one other player – Davis Arinaitwe with 21 – reached 20.Uganda started off well when they bowled, removing both Ireland’s openers for 31 but then Morgan took change with an 83-ball innings that included three fours and a six. He added 67 with Gary Wilson (25) and 51 with Poynter (21) and those two stands killed off any hopes Uganda had of a second successive win after their victory against Scotland on Friday.Morgan said afterwards: “We have come a long way since being bowled out for less than 100 in our opening match against Zimbabwe and to get two wins is very pleasing.Uganda coach Sam Walusimbi said: “Their spinners really pinned us down and slowed the scoring rate and I thought we were about 40 or 50 runs short of a good score. We were always going to struggle with the pitch getting easier and then Morgan’s innings decided it.”

ScorecardA flurry of wickets on the penultimate day of the State Championship final at the Basin Reserve paved the way for an interesting climax with both Wellington and Central Districts in a position to force outright victories.In sharp contrast to the first three days, the batsmen showed a sense of urgency, as Central Districts, powered by an aggressive ton by Ross Taylor, were bowled out for 221 in only 53 overs, giving them an overall lead of 233. Wellington stumbled in their pursuit of the target, finishing the fourth day on 37 for 3, still 197 away from victory.Earlier, Wellington fell 12 short of getting the first-innings lead as Michael Mason and Min Patel quickly got rid of the last two wickets. The two were the most effective bowlers for Central Districts, sharing seven wickets between them.Central Districts got off to a disastrous start in their second innings, losing their first couple of wickets with just a run on the board. However, Taylor and Ewen Thompson countered the bowling with some lusty hitting, with both batsmen scoring at over a run-a-ball. Taylor’s reached his century off 98 balls and his 107-ball 106 included 13 fours. The pair added 92 for the sixth wicket before Taylor was caught by Grant Elliot off Dewayne Bowden. Thompson lacked support from the other end as Jesse Ryder cleaned up the lower order to finish with figures of 3 for 21. Thompson rounded off a productive domestic season with an unbeaten 67 off only 64 balls with seven fours and three sixes.Lance Hamilton, the Central Districts opening bowler, applied the pressure immediately when Wellington began their run-chase, getting rid of both openers, including Matthew Bell, the captain and in-form batsman. There was further disaster for Wellington as Ryder, their other prolific player, fell to Michael Mason for 4, as Central Districts finished the day strongly.

The future of Guwahati as an international venue is in doubt following the serious crowd disturbances which followed the abandonment of Sunday’s ODI between India and England.The ICC has asked for a report on events, and the assessment of Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, is believed to be vital in the decision over the venue’s future. If local security is held responsible, then the Nehru Stadium may well be cast into the wilderness.An ICC spokesman told the BBC that the Indian board was not entirely at fault for the match being scheduled at a venue which rarely hosts such high-profile games. “India came up with an itinerary and England agreed to play a match in Guwahati,” he said. “If a board proposes a venue it’s up to the visiting country’s board to accept it or not. If the ECB had had any doubts about it they could have sent a security delegation to inspect the ground.”However, the Deccan Herald was in no doubt where the blame laid. “The events of Sunday are certain to cast a huge shadow over Guwahati’s status as an international venue,” it reported. “It wasn’t so much the anger of crowd as the lack of response from the nearly 2,000 policemen present at the stadium that was most galling.”

Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach, was, not for the first time, left pondering over his side’s ill-disciplined performance with the bat, slipping to 197 all out on the first day of the second Test at Chittagong.Bangladesh, who gave Australia a mighty scare in the first Test at Fatullah, gained an early advantage by winning the toss but Habibul Bashar and Co. surrendered the initiative with some irresponsible batting. “On the surface of it, it looks as if [after] the first session the game is gone,” he told reporters after the day’s play.A vital 71 from Rajin Saleh, the gritty middle-order batsman, lent the total some respectability but Whatmore admitted that Bangladesh were already up against a huge task. “It is going to make it very hard for us to get back into the game; it is going to take a huge effort with the ball to reduce the lead from the first innings. I was very, very disappointed. What I have seen is an inability again to play straight and even be a little patient before we start playing shots. That has been the story all along and what we are trying to cure.”