All posts by h716a5.icu

Ajmal Shahzad was the hero turned villain who just failed to redeem himself as Yorkshire lost to Kent by two wickets with two balls remaining

15-May-2011Kent 232 for 8 beat Yorkshire 230 for 7 by two wickets
ScorecardAjmal Shahzad was the hero turned villain who just failed to redeem himself as Yorkshire lost to Kent by two wickets with two balls remaining in the Clydesdale Bank 40 League match at Headingley.Shahzad first of all boosted Yorkshire with a fiercely struck 59 not out to help his side recover to 230 for 7, but then when Kent were struggling on 175 for 5 in 32 overs he came back into the attack and was hammered for five consecutive fours by Martin van Jaarsveld before bowling him for 74 off 65 deliveries with 10 fours.Despite this onslaught, which followed a cleanly struck 47 from Matt Coles, Yorkshire kept their heads and Shahzad was called upon to bowl the final over with just four needed and his first ball was scooped to Andrew Gale at cover by dangerman, Geraint Jones, who had made a disciplined 39.Shahzad’s next two deliveries yielded only a single but he was then thumped to the midwicket boundary by Ashley Shaw to leave Yorkshire with just one victory from their four Group A matches.Yorkshire were without England all-rounder Tim Bresnan, who is receiving treatment for a sore calf muscle, and Gerard Brophy, who is recovering from a bruised and swollen right thumb. Director of professional cricket, Martyn Moxon, said that at this stage there had to be a doubt about both of them for the Roses match which starts at Liverpool on Wednesday.Apart from van Jaarsveld’s assault on Shahzad, Kent never really got on top ofthe Yorkshire attack, Steve Patterson leading the way with 3 for 45.Put into bat, Yorkshire’s innings was given much-needed impetus by Shahzad,who lashed out to good effect as he and David Wainwright rattled up 33 from thelast 10 deliveries, Shahzad’s 59 coming off 34 balls with eight fours and threesixes to give him his highest one-day score.Shahzad smashed consecutive sixes over midwicket off JamesTredwell and in thefinal over from Coles he skied a ball towards square leg. Jones raced to getunderneath the towering hit but dropped it and the batsman responded with twofours and a big six over cover.The late flourish helped Shahzad atone for being equally to blame in bringingGary Ballance’s innings of 47 to a sudden and violent end a few overs earlier.Ballance played Coles out to deep point and came through for a second run butthe two batsmen crashed into each other just after crossing and Jones whippedoff a bail from Sam Northeast’s return into his gloves.Yorkshire’s knock began as it ended with a flurry of boundaries, most of themfrom Gale who struck 34 with six fours before Azhar Mahmood gained his revenge for someharsh treatment by bowling him with the score on 48 in the seventh over.Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root were both bowled by Darren Stevens but Adam Lythand Ballance put on 68 together for the fourth wicket after Ballance had beendropped by van Jaarsveld at slip on 10.Alex Blake joined the attack at 145 for 3, his first ball being cut byLyth to Stevens at backward point and his fourth trapping Lee Hodgson lbw.Ballance’s run out and the early departure of Rashid left Yorkshire strugglinguntil Shahzad swung the bat.

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill found his form at the right time to fireDerbyshire to a five-run Friends Life t20 victory over Durham at Derby

10-Jun-2011
Scorecard
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill found his form at the right time to fireDerbyshire to a five-run Friends Life t20 victory over Durham at Derby.Guptill hit 60 off 43 balls and Wayne Madsen made his first half-century in thecompetition as the Falcons scored 183 for three to set up an opening win in theNorth Group.Gordan Muchall led Durham’s chase with 62, but after Derbyshire’s spinnersremoved the dangerous Paul Collingwood and Ian Blackwell cheaply, the Dynamoscame up short on 178 for five.Guptill looked in good touch from the start as he dispatched the second andthird balls of the innings from Graham Onions to the mid-wicket boundary.The Durham seamers tended to pitch too short and Guptill and Wes Durston tookadvantage until Gareth Breese stemmed the flow with his off-spin.But Guptill still reached his maiden 50 for Derbyshire off 35 balls beforelaunching Ian Blackwell over mid-wicket for six.The opening pair put on 88 in 11 overs, but when Durston tried to reverse sweepBreese he was caught behind for 25 and Guptill followed in the spinner’s nextover caught at extra cover off a full toss.Chesney Hughes hit Breese over long off for the second six of the innings butBreese took a fine running catch to remove him when he pulled Onions to deepmid-wicket in the 15th over.The Falcons were in danger of falling short until Madsen improvised well toreach 50 from only 28 balls as 53 came from the last four overs.The South African ensured Durham faced a challenging chase but Mustard andMuchall quickly moved into overdrive despite Falcons skipper Luke Suttonrotating his bowlers.Muchall reached his half-century off 30 balls and the pair equalled the Falconsopening stand before Mustard gave Hughes the charge with rain falling and wasstumped for 36.Hughes varied his pace intelligently to restrict the batsmen to just oneboundary in his four overs and with young spinner Tom Clarke also keeping ittight, the pressure told on Blackwell who drove the teenager into the hands oflong on.Durston then landed two big blows as Muchall skied to cover and Collingwood’sattempt to clear the ropes landed in the hands of deep mid-wicket.The Dynamos needed 56 off the last four overs and despite Dale Benkenstein andDavid Miller plundering 18 from Durston’s third over, the advantage shiftedtowards the Falcons when Benkenstein pulled a Steffan Jones full toss to deepmid-wicket.Although Breese pulled Tim Groenewald for six, 15 off the final over was toomuch for Durham as Jones used all his experience to seal victory.

Jhulan Goswami will lead the India Women’s team in quadrangular ODI and Twenty20 tournaments in England this summer

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2011Jhulan Goswami will lead the India Women’s team in quadrangular ODI and Twenty20 tournaments in England this summer. Amita Sharma has been named vice-captain of the 15-player squad.The squad includes three new faces in Veda Krishnamurthy, Ekta Bisht and Shilpa Gupta. Kirshnamurthy and Bisht were part of the Board President’s Women XI that played West Indies Women in Mumbai in January, as well as the 2010-11 Women’s Champions Trophy, in which Gupta featured too.The biggest name missing from the squad is that of allrounder Rumeli Dhar, a veteran of 76 ODIs (apart from four Tests and 15 T20 internationals). Dhar was in poor form against West Indies in January, picking up two wickets and getting a top score of 38 in a five-ODI series which India won 3-2. Soniya Dabir and Reema Malhotra, who were part of that squad, also missed out.The T20 tournament, which also features England, Australia and New Zealand, begins on June 23 with India taking on Australia at Billericay. The ODI series, featuring the same teams, begins on June 30.Squad: Jhulan Goswami (capt), Amita Sharma (vc), Mithali Raj, Snehal Pradhan, Poonam Raut, Neha Tanwar, Harmanpreet Kaur, Samantha Lobatto (wk), Anagha Deshpande, Gouher Sultana, Priyanka Roy, Diana David, Veda Krishnamurthy, Ekta Bisht, Shilpa Gupta.

As in Brisbane nine months ago this was a day for the record books with Alastair Cook to the fore, but the landmark of a triple hundred eluded him when he fell for 294

The Report by Andrew McGlashan12-Aug-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook fell short of the elite 300-club but his innings put England in a fantastic position•Getty ImagesAs in Brisbane nine months ago this was a day for the record books with Alastair Cook to the fore. However, the landmark of a triple hundred eluded him when he fell for 294 as England built up a monumental lead of 486 at Edgbaston. Cook and Eoin Morgan, who made his second Test hundred, added 222 for the fourth wicket on another day of complete England dominance before they were given the perfect finish by removing Virender Sehwag for a king pair.Most of the day became filled with various milestones for Cook and by tea he was in the top 10 of all-time scores for England, within touching distance of joining his mentor, Graham Gooch, in the 300-club. But, trying to drive through the off side – a rare show of aggression during a display of remorseless accumulation – he picked out deep point and, instead, joined another select band of those who reached the 290s.That list includes Sehwag – who, of course, also has triple hundreds – but in this match he hasn’t been able to score a single run. Cook’s dismissal prompted the declaration and Sehwag was back in the pavilion to the second ball of the innings when he played a booming drive at James Anderson which flew to first slip. England could also have removed Gautam Gambhir before the close when Graeme Swann had an lbw turned down that was hitting middle and leg. Swann will have a big say on Saturday.Sehwag clearly wasn’t ready for this Test, physically or mentally, but even for someone so renowned for shelving the coaching manual his shot-selection didn’t given him much of a chance. Cook’s method of batting could not be more removed from Sehwag. He has expanded his game in recent months, but in Test cricket still enjoys playing at his own pace. Cook scored seven boundaries during the day and cheers that greeted his later fours may have included a hint of irony about them. Yet even those who wished for something a touch more flamboyant can’t help but marvel at Cook’s powers of concentration and remorselessness. There was an era when England cried out for batsmen who could score huge totals and now they have a top-order full of them, with Cook leading the way.Smart stats

Cook’s 294 is now has the highest score by a batsman at Edgbaston surpassing Peter May’s 285 against West Indies in 1957.

Cook’s effort is also the second-longest innings in terms of balls faced by an English batsman against India. Geoff Boycott’s 555-ball 246 in 1967 is on top of the list.

It is the second occasion in the series that England have managed three century stands in one innings and the fourth time they have achieved the feat since the start of the year.

England’s total of 710 for 7 is their third-highest team total and their highest against India.

England’s score of 596 at the start of the fifth wicket is their fifth-highest in Tests and their third-highest against India after the 641 for 4 at Lord’s in 1990 and 599 for 4 in Chennai in 1985.

The 222-run stand between Cook and Morgan is the highest fourth-wicket stand for England against India at Edgbaston going past the 191 between Boycott and David Gower in 1979.

This is the fifth occasion that a team has taken a lead over 400 against India at the end of the second innings after fielding first. India have gone on to lose on three occasions.

Rahul Dravid became the first player to reach the 10000-run mark at the No.3 position. His 27 centuries at No.3 are second only to Ricky Ponting’s 32.

Virender Sehwag was dismissed for a duck for the 14th time in his career. This is his first pair in Tests and the fourth for an Indian opening batsman.

Before lunch he registered his double hundred from 378 balls and soon moved past his previous best of 235 at Brisbane in November. And the milestones kept on coming. When he went to 247 it gave him the second-highest score by an England batsman against India, with only Gooch ahead of him with 333, and Cook’s 250 – which came from 485 balls – was the first such score for England since that 1990 epic by Gooch.Alongside Cook’s personal landmarks it was also a day for England to set some high points with the final total their third-highest and their best in non-timeless Tests. England’s progress wasn’t always scintillating but they were content to grind India down with two days still available. The innings was also halted twice for poor light, the first occasion when the floodlights couldn’t be turned on due to a power failure at the ground.As they had yesterday, England wanted to wear down the bowlers for later acceleration and that came as Tim Bresnan played some shots during a crisp half-century in a 97-run stand alongside Cook. It was a slightly improved display from the Indians as there were a few more dives in the outfield while bowlers put in some hard yards.The main partnership, and the one that built on the previous day’s gains, was between Cook and Morgan. With a deep-set field more akin to the middle overs of a one-day game it was a perfect situation for Morgan to help himself to a Test hundred. He had to be watchful against Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma, but was given plenty of spin to milk around.His century arrived from 188 balls and he was soon using his feet to loft Suresh Raina down the ground. Morgan, though, hadn’t wasted the two lives he was given on the second day and following two scores in the 70s this season it will have settled any debate about his position in the line-up for the foreseeable future. If he’d stayed in the middle England’s rate would have increased, but attempting an inside-out drive he picked out Sehwag at cover – fortunately, given the standard of India’s catching, he didn’t have to move far to hold on.It meant Ravi Bopara, on his return to Test cricket, came in at 596 for 4 with little to gain and, almost inevitably having watched the 69-over stand that preceded him, he didn’t manage a long stay. He opened his account with a back-cut to third man but was trapped lbw by Amit Mishra when a delivery straightened and would have hit middle. It was due recognition for Mishra who had bowled with more verve and found considerable turn, although that was probably of more interest to Swann.Mishra claimed his third success when Matt Prior top-edged a sweep that was well caught by Sachin Tendulkar who made good ground running from deep square leg. Wickets, though, were irrelevant; it was just a matter of Cook’s progress and how many England wanted to lead by.Bresnan provided useful impetus just as things were threatening to stall and his stay included a mighty six over midwicket off Ishant. Cook would have dearly wanted those six runs for himself, but it was about the only thing that didn’t quite go to script. India have a huge challenge to even take this match to the final day.

Dawid Malan struck a brilliant century as Middlesex took control on the third day of their top-of-the-table clash against Northamptonshire

25-Aug-2011
ScorecardDawid Malan struck a brilliant century as Middlesex took control on the third day of their top-of-the-table clash against Northamptonshire in Division Two of the County Championship at Wantage Road. Malan made a fantastic 113 off 170 balls including 17 fours and Ollie Raynerblasted 57 off 48 deliveries as Middlesex declared on 479 for 8 – their highest total this season.James Middlebrook took 5 for 123 for Northants, who then survived nine overs in the evening to close on 22 without loss with a deficit of 181 runs to make up.Middlesex began the day on 149 for 2, 127 runs behind their opponents, with their captain Chris Rogers and nightwatchman Toby Roland-Jones both resuming on 3. Rogers was to go past 50 off 82 balls with a four through mid-wicket off Lee Daggett and Roland-Jones was to make his highest score for Middlesex.He went past his previous best total of 26, but he was to perish on 28 when he dragged Middlebrook’s first delivery, in the 64th over, onto his stumps. Middlebrook was to strike again when Rogers, who had moved on to 55, was well caught by Northants captain Andrew Hall at slip.There was a flashpoint before lunch when David Lucas gestured towards a group of spectators who sarcastically applauded him for stopping a Malan drive at mid-off after he had previously misfielded in the same position.The visitors were on 244 for 4 at the interval, but they lost Jamie Dalrymple for 40 when he was caught by Daggett, running from long leg, off Chaminda Vaas. However, by this point they had already passed Northants’ total to take the lead before Malan reached 50 off 110 balls.Resuming after tea on 371 for 5, Middlesex wicketkeeper John Simpson went cheaply for 24 in the fifth over of the evening when he launched Vaas to Alex Wakely at deep square leg. Malan then kicked on to complete the seventh first-class century of his career and his second of this season off 165 balls with a four through third man off Daggett.But he finally had to walk when he feathered Middlebrook him to Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy. Rayner then smashed an explosive half-century off just 43 balls but Middlebrookhad his 10th first-class five-wicket haul when he was caught behind by Murphy just before the visitors declared.A rain delay meant the loss of three overs but Rob Newton and Stephen Peters survived until the close and will resume tomorrow on 14 and six respectively.

Kent have lost two of their senior batsmen after Martin van Jarsveeld announced his departure to Leicestershire and Joe Denly signed for Middlesex

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2011Kent have lost two of their senior batsmen after Martin van Jarsveeld announced his departure to Leicestershire and Joe Denly signed for Middlesex, while director of cricket Paul Farbrace is also leaving the club.Denly, who has played nine one-day internationals and five Twenty20s for England, has taken a two-year deal with Middlesex as he looks to revive a career that has stalled since losing his England place prior to the World Twenty20 in 2010. He came through the Kent youth system, made his debut in 2005 and has scored nearly 5000 first-class runsHe struggled for much of the 2011 season, but finished the summer strongly with a career-best 199 against Derbyshire in the penultimate Championship match and also scored a Twenty20 hundred against the Indians at Canterbury.”A large part of me is very sad to be leaving Kent,” Denly said. “As a local lad who’s come through the system I expected to play my whole career here. This is an important stage of my career, however, and I’m really excited about the move to Middlesex, who are a club on the up as shown by their recent promotion to Division One of the Championship.”I’m committed to becoming the best player I can possibly be and firmly believe that the environment at Middlesex will help me achieve that and one day resurrect my prospects at international level. I’d like to thank everyone at Kent, particularly my captain Rob Key, for the support I’ve received over the last eight years – and who knows what the future holds, I’d certainly never rule out a return to the club one day.”The loss of van Jaarsveld, meanwhile, leaves another huge hole for cash-strapped Kent to fill before the 2012 season after he was released with one year remaining on his contract. He has played for Kent since 2005 and been a consistent scorer with more than 8000 first-class runs, although his returns in 2011 were down with 755 Championship runs at 30.20 and no hundreds.In previous years van Jaarsveld had been linked with moves to Division One, but joining Leicestershire sees him given the role of reviving the four-day fortunes of the side that finished bottom of Division Two by a huge margin.”I would like to thank everyone at Kent for the opportunity I have been given,” he said. “I have poured everything I have had into trying to score runs and win games for the county during this time, but now it is time for a new challenge which I hope will reignite my passion for the game and allow me to recapture my best form.”Graham Johnson, the Kent chairman of cricket, said they had tried hard to keep both players. “We are sad to see both players leave the club. They have contributed a great deal both on and off the field.””Martin approached the Club at the end of the season with a desire to be released from contract and after much consideration the club decided to agree to that request. Joe developed through the Kent system, indeed he was the first ‘product’ of the Kent Cricket Academy. The Club had hoped to keep him, but he decided it was time for a fresh challenge.”Kent face a difficult off-season of rebuilding after Farbrace also stepped down as the club’s director of cricket. He returned to Kent in 2009 having been Sri Lanka’s assistant coach – where he was caught up in the Lahore attack on the team bus – and had previously worked for the county as academy director.Kent had another tough season in 2011 as they finished eighth in Division Two of the County Championship, didn’t qualify for the knockout stage of the CB40 and fell at the quarter-final stage of the Friends Life t20 despite scoring 203 against Leicestershire.”It has been a privilege to be director of cricket,” Farbrace said. I have enjoyed working with the group of players and wish them well. I am now looking forward to the future and I will always have good memories of my time at Kent.”The chairman of Kent, George Kennedy, added: “I thank Paul for all of his hard work for the club. I am personally extremely sorry to see him leave, and wish him well as he moves on. It has been a challenging period for the Club and Paul has worked with great commitment to deliver results.”

Pakistan strolled to victory after being untroubled, chasing a below-par score on a batsmen friendly pitch in Harare

Firdose Moonda11-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Hafeez, with Imran Farhat, put on Pakistan’s best opening partnership in ODIs•Associated PressPakistan strolled to victory with no trouble at all, chasing a below-par score on a batsman-friendly pitch in Harare. They won the three-match series in comprehensive style as Mohammad Hafeez scored his third ODI century and Imran Farhat came good as well, in the second match after making his comeback. The pair put on 228, Pakistan’s highest opening partnership, to ensure an emphatic win.It was a tough day for Zimbabwe’s bowlers, who failed to threaten and were unable to stem the run-flow. By contrast, Pakistan’s attack restricted Zimbabwe after Brendan Taylor mistakenly put his side in to bat. Taylor actually wanted to bowl, but asked to bat instead, and when he asked if he could reverse his decision, he was denied permission to do so.With some assistance on offer for the seamers, Pakistan’s left-arm pair of Sohail Tanvir and Junaid Khan gave little away. Tanvir extracted movement early on and both bowled around the off stump to deny Zimbabwe easy runs. Their opening pair, Chamu Chibhabha and Vusi Sibanda, gave in to frustration. Chibhabha was caught at mid-off while trying to go over the top and Sibanda perished, for the sixth time in 11 innings this summer, to the pull.Junaid continued to impress as his spell went on and caused problems with the short ball. After seven overs, he injured his ankle while racing to square leg to field off his own bowling and had to go off, but returned to complete his spell.Smart stats

The 228-run partnership between Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat is the highest opening stand for Pakistan in ODIs and their fourth-highest overall.

The 253 balls faced during the opening partnership is the highest ever for Pakistan in ODIs, surpassing the previous best of 243 balls between Anwar and Wajahatullah Wasti against New Zealand in 1999.

The double-hundred partnership is the 14th for Pakistan in ODIs, bringing them level second with Australia on the list of teams with the most 200-plus stands. India are on top with 17.

The victory is Pakistan’s fourth ten-wicket win in ODIs. Their previous such win came against West Indies in the World Cup game in Dhaka.

Hafeez’s 139 is the second-highest score by a Pakistan batsman against Zimbabwe in ODIs behind Mohammad Yousuf’s 141 in 2002. Hafeez has now scored two centuries and two fifties in his last six ODI innings.

The 47 balls remaining at the end of the win is the second-highest for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in ODIs, in games in which they have successfully chased 200-plus targets.

The 104-run stand between Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor is the third-highest third-wicket stand for Zimbabwe against Pakistan in ODIs.

Spin was introduced from both ends after 20 overs and Zimbabwe eased into single scoring mode, with Hamilton Masakadza and Taylor putting on the team’s best performance against Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal. Zimbabwe scored 52 runs in 10 overs with the bulk of them coming in singles. Masakadza played responsibly, spotting the gaps and doing most of the calling.Cheema returned to try and break what was becoming a sizeable partnership but he did not succeed, though he kept the runs down. Masakadza brought up his half- century with a small nudge to fine leg and Taylor reached the milestone with a quick couple in the same area. They had crafted the platform to launch from, but neither were able to.Taylor was caught at third man after upper-cutting a short and wide delivery, and Masakadza was run out by a direct throw from Misbah-ul-Haq, after he had started the acceleration with Tatenda Taibu at the other end. With the energy Taibu brought to the crease, Masakadza was encouraged to take on the bowling and smashed the biggest shot of the match, a six that landed in the rugby field.Taibu swept confidently and was the most at ease with the attack, but could not provide the required impetus. Tanvir bowled him and it was up to Elton Chigumbura to finish strongly but it was a tough ask. Only at the end did Chigumbura launch and Zimbabwe finished with a 14-run over.Zimbabwe’s bowlers were always going to struggle to defend 225. Chris Mpofu and Brian Vitori were able to keep Pakistan to 36 in the first ten overs. The change bowlers, however, were ineffective and expensive, and Pakistan were running away with the chase at 70 without loss after 15 overs.Ray Price tried his best to contain, but had no support from the other end. Hafeez played aggressively, the pull shot serving him well, while Farhat accumulated. The pair had to take few risks as they were rarely put under any sort of pressure.Hafeez’s century came with a slog-sweep for six. He then tore into Vitori, smacking him for three fours in his eighth over. Hafeez, fittingly, finished the match off with a trademark pull behind square to win the series for Pakistan.

A round-up of the first day’s play in the fourth round of Division One matches in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2011Sixteen wickets fell on an eventful opening day between Sialkot and Water and Power Development Authority at the Jinnah Stadium. Sialkot chose to bat after winning the toss but were wrecked by Sarfraz Ahmed, who claimed 5 for 36, and dismissed for 139 in 48.2 overs. Ahmed was supported by Azhar Attari and Imran Khan, who took 2 for 48 and 3 for 43 respectively. Opener Jawad Ahmed top scored for Sialkot with 38. WAPDA’s batsmen fared no better during their first innings, and ended the day on 101 for 6, battling for a first-innings lead. The wickets were shared by Sialkot’s bowlers, with Mohammad Abbas being the most successful with 2 for 39. WAPDA’s captain Ahmed Sajjad had top scored with 25.An unbeaten, brisk half-century from Ikramullah Khan helped Abbottabad recover from 134 for 6 to reach 278 for 9 against State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. SBP’s bowlers struck frequently after they sent Abbottabad in, preventing all the top-order batsmen from coverting starts into substantial innings. Saad Altaf, Mohammad Naved and Rizan Haider took two wickets each. Abbottabad were 192 for 9 at one stage before Ikramullah, who scored 70 off 81 balls, joined forces with Mohammad Naeem, who was unbeaten on 23 at stumps.Aqeel Anjum remained not out on 119 to lead National Bank of Pakistan to a commanding position against Faisalabad at the Iqbal Stadium. Anjum added 133 for the second wicket with opener Khurram Manzoor, who scored 69. He then put on an unbeaten 64-run partnership with Fawad Alam, who was unbeaten on 29, as NBP reached 271 for 3 at stumps.Habib Bank Limited’s (HBL) top order produced a strong performance to end the first day in a comfortable position against Islamabad at the Diamond Cricket Ground. Khaqan Asral scored an unbeaten 119 at No. 4, while opener Ahmed Shehzad made 80 off 97 balls. Hasan Raza also contributed 52 before he retired hurt with the score on 242 for 3. Asral led HBL to 341 for 4 at stumps. Zohaib Ahmed took 3 for 54 for Islamabad.Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) finished the first day against Karachi Blues on 285 for 5 at the National Stadium. Their openers Agha Sabir and Kamran Sajid scored 48 and 41 and put on 88 for the first wicket but both fell in quick succession. It was left to Sheharyar Ghani to hold the innings together and he did so with an unbeaten 106. PIA lost three wickets quickly to slump to 159 for 5 but Ghani had an unbroken stand of 126 for the sixth wicket with Sarfraz Ahmed, who was also not out on 62. Mohammad Sami was the best bowler for Karachi Blues, taking 2 for 37.A four-wicket haul from Iftikhar Anjum helped Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) reduce Rawalpindi to 297 for 8 on the first day at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Rawalpindi had a promising start, with the openers adding 98 for the first wicket. Shoaib Nasir made 54 while Naved Malik scored 72. ZTBL began to strike regularly after that, and apart from Usman Saeed, who held up one end with 94, no one else made a sizeable contribution. Saeed missed his century when he was stumped by Zulqarnain Haider, who claimed five dismissals, off Zohaib Khan.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, has asked his batsmen to take responsibility and arrest their worrying slide, after his team shuddered to a 4-1 defeat in the ODI series against Pakistan

Umar Farooq24-Nov-2011Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, has asked his batsmen to take responsibility and arrest their worrying slide, after his team shuddered to a 4-1 defeat in the ODI series against Pakistan.”I can still take positives, especially from the bowling unit – who did a great job throughout the series,” Dilshan said, after the loss in the fifth ODI in Abu Dhabi. “[However], we must be worried about the batting as most of the batsmen didn’t click. We played seven batsmen, but in every match only two or three were performing and the rest were failing. So there are some areas of concern that we have to sit down to discuss. Everyone has to take responsibility before going to South Africa.”While the one-sided scoreline suggests otherwise, Sri Lanka were in strong positions in a couple of games that they went on to lose. Dilshan admitted the inability to close out matches from winning positions cost his side. “The third and fourth ODIs, we should have won easy. At some stages we were going very well, but we didn’t finish and hence lost the series. Otherwise we would have won the series 3-2.”Dilshan has endured a horror run with the bat since taking over as the full-time captain, but brushed aside the general impression that captaincy was denting his own form. “I took over the captaincy in England series and got good runs,” he said. “Unfortunately, I broke my finger and after then I didn’t play enough. After the injury I am lacking in confidence and form. But I know I am good and I can get runs. I want to go back to Sri Lanka work on few areas to get back my form.”Sri Lanka lost the Test series 1-0 prior to the ODI defeat against Pakistan. Their next assignment is in South Africa, where they are yet to register a Test win, and have generally struggled over the years.”We have three weeks before the next tour starts,” Dilshan said. “I think the batting group should be working on some area. It’s better that we can go back to the Sri lankan domestic season and every one can play at least two-three matches to get the form. Everyone knows there are mistakes, and they can correct them quickly before going to South Africa – that is on the mind at the moment.”Dilshan further described Pakistan as a better side than his own. “They have more good players, with more options on the bench. They have seven bowlers out of whom, most can bat as well. So they are not a bad side, they are a good ODI side and in Tests as well.”

Geoff Marsh, the Sri Lanka coach, has said his batsmen worked hard on their technique after the defeat at Centurion and their efforts reaped rewards

Firdose Moonda at Kingsmead26-Dec-2011As the Sri Lankan score trickled over 200, Thilan Samaraweera’s body language changed. He took the team there with a classy clip through midwicket and then relaxed a little. A good player of spin, he latched on to Imran Tahir, coming down the track with more authority. Dinesh Chandimal joined in, bringing up a half-century that proved his potential.The pair took Sri Lanka to within eight overs of ending the day in control, before Chandimal threw his efforts away chasing a wide one and Thisara Perara’s dismissal made it advantage South Africa. The stumps total of 289 for seven probably has two wickets too many as far as Sri Lanka are concerned but on the whole represents a far more convincing effort from a batting line-up that appeared frail and limp in Centurion.”Today was a bit of a breakthrough for us,” Geoff Marsh, the Sri Lanka coach said. “We looked and played a lot better.”Sri Lanka had much to ponder after they were shot out for under 200 both times in the first Test. The SuperSport Park pitch, which Marsh called “disappointing”, did nothing but expose their weaknesses against pace and bounce. Kumar Sangakkara said they had done some soul searching, captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said they put in extra hours in the nets and Marsh said it paid off with a better display today.”When you keep getting bowled out in the first innings for under 200, it happened against Australia, Pakistan and here, there were things we had to address,” he admitted. “Guys worked hard on technique, the way they were approaching their innings, and how they were thinking in the middle. We have a very good batting line-up and we should be getting 300-plus totals.”A score of that size is in sight, thanks largely to the efforts of the two men who were at the crease when the 200 mark had been passed. Samaraweera and Chandimal shared a century-stand and took Sri Lanka to a semblance of safety with an approach that showed the most maturity they have displayed on the tour so far.It was a particularly important knock for Samaraweera, who was recalled to the side for this series after missing out on the previous one – against Pakistan in the UAE – and had plenty to prove. “We are pleased he is in the side and on this tour so far he has played really well,” Marsh said. “I thought he batted well in the last game on a difficult wicket against that attack. He is a quality player and any side that has a quality player like him sitting on the bench was going to miss him.”While Samaraweera was fighting to show reasons for prolonging his career, Chandimal was trying to justify his inclusion in the team, at the expense of Kaushal Silva. Marsh felt Chandimal performed his role well, as he was picked with the idea that he could provide impetus in the lower-middle order. “He has worked very hard and we thought it was an opportunity for him,” he said. “We have Dilshan at top of the order who plays shots and we felt that we should have someone at No. 7 who will give us that oomph. He has all the shots and doesn’t mind playing those shots.”The one shot too many came when Chandimal reached for a wide ball and gave Morne Morkel a reason to celebrate what has been an uncomfortable time for him of late. Like all of this team-mates except Sangakkara, who was undone by a near-unplayable ball from Marchant de Lange, Chandimal scripted his own demise but Marsh said he was not too frustrated by the occasional moments of mindlessness from his batsmen. “Obviously you want them to get along, once they get to 30s to make a big score,” he said. “But they are working really hard and thinking about it and focusing. We’ve got ourselves up to around 300, which you’ve got to get to be competitive.”On a pitch that is flattening in the heat, but one that Kallis said “stayed pretty slow throughout the day,” and offered a little bit of turn, a total of around 300 could turn out to be a score that Sri Lanka’s bowlers will fancy defending to complete the breakthrough that Marsh hopes they are achieving.