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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAt 13 for 5, the game was all but over•AFP

When Darren Sammy walked back after compiling a fighting, unbeaten 60, he had given West Indies hope in an otherwise unconvincing batting performance. He wasn’t done yet for the day. He returned with the new ball and inflicted a top-order wobble that not only dictated the course of the match, but also gave West Indies their second-consecutive win, with the teams locked at 2-2 going into the decider on Saturday.Having restricted West Indies to a middling 212, Bangladesh would have fancied their chances of sealing their second series win at home against a formidable side in two years. During the mid-innings break, judging by the threat posed by their own spinners, Bangladesh would have discussed Sunil Narine at length. By the time Narine came on to bowl, Bangladesh had lost half their side – they were 13 for 5 – and it was the West Indies seamers, Sammy and Kemar Roach, who got the ball to wobble around under lights. The expectant crowd had a glimmer of hope via a positive half-century stand between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, but Mushfiqur’s departure ensured the initiative remained with West Indies.The slide began in the second over when Anamul Haque popped a tame leading edge back to Sammy. He slanted the following ball across the right-hander and Naeem Islam edged to Darren Bravo at second slip. Two balls later, Roach softened Tamim Iqbal up with a short ball and then followed it up with a fuller delivery which skidded through and clipped the stumps. Bangladesh were reeling at 4 for 3 and their chances of overhauling what looked like a modest target had receded sharply.The dire situation got worse for Bangladesh when Nasir Hossain edged Roach low to the wicketkeeper. The first four wickets were all done in by the seam movement. Mominul Haque perished trying to literally pull Bangladesh out of the rut, finding Kieron Pollard at square leg. At 13 for 5, Mushfiqur’s task of guiding his side to a position of respectability, let alone victory, was far greater than his opposing number’s.It took nearly eight overs for Bangladesh to register their first boundary, a firm push by Mahmudullah down the ground off Sammy, followed by an elegant flick past midwicket. Mahmudullah looked to take control by chipping down the track and cutting strongly square of the wicket. Mushfiqur too played some authoritative slogs against the spinners, conscious of not allowing them to settle.The decibel levels picked up in the crowd as the sixth-wicket pair showed fight. The hush returned when Mushfiqur was stumped off the carom ball, beaten in flight and turn. Narine, brought on as late as the 16th over, troubled Mushfiqur with the carom ball earlier and it looked like a wicket was around the corner. At 87 for 6, the fight had gone out of Bangladesh and Mahmudullah, who ran out of partners.It was a pitch that tested the skills of the batsmen from both sides. West Indies’ struggles against spin were exposed yet again as they scrapped and later recovered to 211. West Indies lost wickets in a clump – four specialist batsmen for nine runs, resisted with a watchful stand between the two Darrens – Bravo and Sammy, stumbled again before the captain Sammy himself struck late blows when Bangladesh took their eyes off the ball.It was a combination of incisive spin bowling in helpful conditions and impetuous strokes that contributed to West Indies’ precarious position at the start. West Indies needed an in-form batsman to pilot the innings, but Marlon Samuels’ departure seemed to have a profound impact as the likes of Dwayne Smith and Kieron Pollard were left swimming against the tide.Bravo and Sammy then made a slow recovery, giving the spinners their due and pinched the singles in a stand of 43, the best of the innings. After Bravo fell cheaply for 34, it was left to Sammy to muster as much as he could with the tailenders. His first six, off Mahmudullah, was hit straight back and he tried to repeat that off Mashrafe Mortaza but was lucky to be dropped by Sohag Gazi at deep midwicket. That let off cost Bangladesh 30 runs as Sammy tore into the spinners in the final two overs with only No.11 Kemar Roach for company. Sammy’s ferocious bat speed was responsible for his seven boundaries.West Indies smacked 81 off the last ten overs to give the bowlers some runs to work with. It was more than what they could have asked for and fittingly, Sammy took the final catch to seal the series leveler. The turnaround time, however, is so quick that Bangladesh have less than a day to regroup.

ScorecardWorcestershire’s lower-order batsmen made the most of a window in the weather late in the third day against relegation rivals Lancashire at New Road. The match was at standstill for more than five hours before Gareth Andrew and Ben Scott came out to add 27 runs and lever their side up to 251 for 7.Scott (14 not out) twice drove Kyle Hogg for four and when Andrew (12 not out) clipped the same bowler backward of square to register a second bonus point, Daryl Mitchell called his side in. With 27 balls still available before the 110-over cut-off, his declaration denied Lancashire an opportunity to try for the two wickets they needed for a third bowling point but Paul Horton and his new opening partner, Luke Procter, negotiated seven overs to the close.Allrounder Procter, promoted to the top of the order after Stephen Moore was left out, nudged the only boundary off Chris Russell as they made 10 without loss. Where the game goes from here depends on whether the captains are prepared to strike a deal. Otherwise the last day is set to be a battle for bonus points.Only eight overs were squeezed in before lunch but that was enough to dash Worcestershire batsman Neil Pinner’s hopes of making a maiden century some 15 months after being dismissed for a duck in his only previous Championship innings.Resuming on 79, the 21-year-old, who has been playing for Kidderminster Victoria in the Birmingham League, confidently clipped Glen Chapple’s third ball for two but this was the only action before a shower stopped play after two overs. After a 35-minute delay, Pinner added a single in the first over but 21 dot balls were logged before Worcestershire added another run.For Pinner, that proved to be the end of the road after batting for nearly four hours. As on Saturday, when he was out for 98 in Kidderminster’s game at Himley, a three-figure score eluded him. Having played so well, hitting 11 boundaries from 190 balls, he was leg-before for 82 when moving across his stumps as he shaped to turn a delivery from Chapple off his pads.It was a well-deserved success for Chapple, Lancashire’s 38-year-old captain, who eventually got through 31 overs with a return 4 for 60. Like his new-ball partner, Hogg (2 for 63), he beat the bat often enough to merit even better figures.

Afghanistan Cricket Board chief Hamid Shinwari has said the one-day game scheduled to be played between Afghanistan and Australia, on August 25 in Sharjah, has been creating a lot of “excitement” back home. This will be Afghanistan’s second ODI against a Full Member, following the game against Pakistan, at the same venue, in February.”The value of the match in terms of increased experience as well as confidence and skill building will be immeasurable,” Shinwari said. “Our players and supporters greatly admire and love cricketers from Australia, and the opportunity to play them has created widespread interest and excitement. They are anxiously waiting for the day to come.”Earlier this month, Cricket Australia had confirmed that their team – which will be in the UAE at the time for the series against Pakistan – would play a one-off match with Afghanistan, in an effort to assist with Afghanistan’s cricketing development. Afghanistan have qualified for September’s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, and they have one-day international status valid until 2013. They have had wins over Kenya, Canada, Netherlands and Scotland, and won more than half of the games they have played.Waleed Bukhatir, vice chairman of Sharjah Cricket Club (SCC), also extended Afghanistan support. “Afghanistan has a national team that is definitely on the rise. I think it’s the responsibility of every cricket-loving country to develop the game and to reach out to a country in need,” he said. “We [the SCC] hope Afghanistan’s matches against top teams in the world will go a long way in honing their competitive edge.”

Rob Nicol, the New Zealand opener, has said it is about time he ensures he plays a long innings at the top of the order, not merely get starts. Since making a century on ODI debut in October last year, Nicol, 29, has scored another ton and two fifties but in his last eight innings, has failed to convert starts into something substantial. His scores in this ODI series, in which New Zealand have been defeated and are trailing 1-3, read 14, 15, 59 and 35.”The reality of it is, pretty much during the whole series, I’ve got myself into positions but haven’t been able to push on for the side,” Nicol said on the eve of the fifth ODI in St Kitts. ”I’m steadily finding my feet (at international level), but I’m a realist and I know time is of the essence.”I need to start producing scores of 100+ for the side and batting in partnerships, like JW (coach John Wright) says. I’m really hoping that I can forge something with someone tomorrow.”New Zealand were outplayed in the first four matches of their tour of the USA and the Caribbean, beaten comprehensively in the two T20s in Florida followed by the first two ODIs. However, since then, there has been a significant improvement. They won the third ODI before putting up a fight in a losing cause in the fourth.’You’ve got critiquing from every point of view, even within your own side, so if you’re not positive yourself then you’re never going to get any enjoyment out of the game,” Nicol said. ”We put a concerted effort up against them again (in the fourth match) and I think, if a couple of things had gone our way, we could have got over the line and we’d be fighting for the series.”But you can always massively dissect a game, but in reality in the heat of the moment you’ve got to go with your gut. We’re slowly getting there, hopefully tomorrow we can get over the line.”

Pakistan fast bowler Sohail Tanvir has been retained for the ODIs in Sri Lanka and will replace the injured opening batsman Nasir Jamshed in the squad. Tanvir impressed in the two Twenty20s in Hambantota, bowling economically and taking four wickets. He also picked up the Man-of-the-Series award.On the request of team management, chief selector Iqbal Qasim in consultation with the National Selection Committee has recommended the inclusion of Tanvir in the ODI Squad for the series. The chairman of the PCB has approved the replacement.”In view of the request from the team management and keeping in consideration the current form of Sohail Tanvir, the selection committee has decided that he may be retained for the ODIs in Sri Lanka.” Qasim said.Jamshed, who was originally named in the ODI and T20 squads, was ruled out before the team left for Sri Lanka due to a fractured left index finger. The PCB hadn’t named a replacement back then.Tanvir, who was named only in the Twenty20 squad for the current tour, last represented Pakistan in ODIs during the tour of Bangladesh in December 2011 where he played two matches but failed to pick up a wicket. He will miss at least the first two matches of this season’s Friends Life t20 after signing up with English county Worcestershire.The five-match ODI series starts on June 7 in Pallekele.

The West Indies team led by Darren Sammy have a fear of winning. That analysis was made quite recently by Rudi Webster, who has worked with some of the great West Indies teams as a mental skills coach over the last three decades.According to Webster, each time Sammy’s team have found themselves with controls in hand, they have retreated. That is because they found themselves in unfamiliar territory and did not know how to seize the opportunity.”I don’t think deep down the fellas believe that they can win,” Webster said. “Consciously, they will tell you ‘of course, we can win.’ But when you question them and you get below the surface, belief is not there.”It is that lack of belief, he contends, that is negating all the other positives Sammy and the coach, Ottis Gibson, are steadily constructing in the background; the magic card that the likes of Frank Worrell and Clive Lloyd used to inspire their teams is missing.”At this level performance revolves more around self-belief than around talent or potential,” Webster said. “Worrell and Lloyd did one thing that lifted West Indies cricket to greater heights: they were able to get the players to change their self-image and to start believing in themselves. Their self-belief was so firm and strong that nobody could beat them.”Webster presented a ready example to justify his claim. “If you look back at West Indies they were in a similar position in the late 90s. Remember we went to South Africa and got beaten very badly. And then played Australia at home and almost won the series. Everybody said we were improving. And then see what happened subsequently. So, although we have performed better in the last two Test series, it does not mean that we have turned the corner.”The figures support him. In 1998 West Indies travelled to South Africa under Brian Lara’s captaincy. They were mauled 5-0 in the Tests and then drubbed 6-1 in the ODI series. But Lara and the West Indies bounced back triumphantly when they fought hard against Australia to share the Frank Worrell Trophy 2-2. The ODI series was also shared, 3-3 with a tied game. Lara scored three scintillating centuries including a memorable 153 at Bridgetown when West Indies chased down 308 to lead 2-1 in the series. But just like a birthday candle, any hopes of a West Indies revival were blown away quickly as the slide over the last decade indicates.Back in the present, the same sort of optimism has been present in the past 12 months. Late last year, West Indies lost the three-Test series in India 2-0, but on two occasions they relinquished a firm grip on the match. In the first Test in Delhi, West Indies had a 95-run lead but squandered it as they were bowled out for 180 in the second innings. India successfully chased the target of 276.Then in the final Test in Mumbai, the West Indies batting bonded well to raise a formidable 590 and then took a 108-run lead as their bowlers responded strongly, too. But once again, as their hopes started soaring, they plunged equally fast as they were bundled out for 134. If there was any consolation, the match finished as a draw.Then at home this April, Sammy’s side initially dominated the first Test against Australia in Barbados. West Indies had made 449 after electing to bat and when Australia were struggling at 250-7, West Indies dared. But the bowlers suddenly lost the plot as the Australian tail wagged. Incredibly, Australia took the lead in the series with a three-wicket victory. In the third Test, chasing 374 with enough time in hand, West Indies lost the match by 74 runs and the series.So here they are in England, where in the last ten Tests spread over three series, West Indies have lost nine. In these 10 matches they have scored six centuries, while England have scored 20 hundreds. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (3), Ramnaresh Sarwan (2) and Chris Gayle (1) are the only ones to score a Test century in England during this period. England’s bowlers have taken a wicket every 46 balls in these 10 Tests; West Indies’ have taken a wicket every 78 balls.Much of the English media has been blunt in giving a thumbs down to Sammy and his team, even going to the extent of asking how Sammy could hold his place in the team when he has failed miserably as a batsman. At every given opportunity, the West Indies players have been reminded that their top order has a spine weaker than a straw, their bowlers seem to be unfit and how the best players are plying their trade in the IPL.To their credit, Sammy and Gibson have so far successfully ducked all such arrows, while keeping their heads still. Both have been modest in suggesting the main challenge will be to last five days against the No. 1 team. Hence you can understand Sammy when he says that it is not as frustrating to lose players to the IPL as it is to hang the pendant of belief on the remaining players each time they take the field.”It’s about getting victories under our belt and that is something that will come when we play more together and believe even more in ourselves,” he said on the eve of the first Test. “I’m not really frustrated by who’s here and who’s not.”In Sammy’s 16 Tests as captain, West Indies have won 2, lost 6, and drawn 8. That compares favourably with the 17 Tests before Sammy took over the captaincy when they won 1, lost 8 and drew 8.The major improvement has been in bowling. From a bowling average of 44.18 runs per wicket in those 17 Tests, West Indies’ bowling average has improved to 33.61 runs per wicket during Sammy’s time and you can definitely predict a strong hand of Gibson here. Although any batting improvement has remained insignificant (30.63 before Sammy, 28.96 during Sammy), there is more than a whiff of promise.Sammy did not discount Webster’s analysis. “We keep finding ourselves in winning positions and some way we keep letting it go,” he said. “When you are playing against a champion team, they find a way to win so we need to have that way when we are on top not to collapse and stuff.”That’s been happening to us: in India, India in the Caribbean and Australia recently. We’ve been competing and pushing teams down to the wire, if you look at the last series, the 2-0 scoreline doesn’t reflect the way we played. Hopefully we can eliminate these things in this series here.”

Michael Clarke’s belief that the Bridgetown Test match could be won was forged six years ago in the middle of Adelaide Oval. He had been joined at the wicket by Shane Warne, Australia struggling for first innings parity with England on the fourth day of what seemed destined to be a drawn Ashes Test. Simply and clearly, Warne told Clarke the match would be won. On a scarcely believable final day, it was.Clarke carried that memory with him throughout the first Test against the West Indies, and echoed Warne in assuring his team that the Barbados match remained within their grasp. After a mighty struggle over the final two days, the visitors dragged themselves up from a position every bit as dire as the one occupied by Australia against England in 2006, and another remarkable victory was secured. It made Clarke only the second captain in the history of Test cricket to win a match after declaring behind.”I remember Warney telling me back then that with a day and a half left in the Test match that we would win the game and I was trying to work out how,” Clarke said of 2006. “At best surely we’d get a draw but he had no doubt in his mind. For me as a young player I thought ‘right-o, that’s my attitude, I’m going to win’. A few years on and I’m in the change rooms telling the boys we’re going to win this Test match. Hopefully a few of them believed me the way I believed Warney back then.”It shows, if you have that self-belief and belief in the inner sanctum and the guys that sit beside you that you find ways. That was the main thing I said to the boys today. I know it’s tough, I know we’re tired, I know there’s going to be issues of the foot marks, I know it’s going to be a tough run chase but find a way. Everyone and individually as a team we’ve got to find a way and we’ll win this Test match. Credit to the boys, they certainly found a way.”Australia are building a team to be reckoned with under Clarke, and he had little hesitation declaring the Bridgetown result the equal of any he had enjoyed. It was as much a victory over the conditions and late season lethargy as the opposition, a West Indies team that is gathering discipline, skill and experience but is still learning how to fight out the critical phases of a Test.”A just reward for hanging in, the team showing true character and fight and not giving up,” Clarke said. “I think whatever happened this afternoon, whether we won the game, drew the game or lost the game, I think we certainly showed a lot of fight, a lot of character. We tried to win the Test.”We did everything we could to try and win the Test match and it’s very, very rewarding now sitting in the change rooms with that bunch of boys that we got the result we were after…after a lot of hard work, a couple of days with, I guess, our backs to the wall. But to be able to fight and get a result like that, that’s as special a win as I’ve had in my career.”This is as good as I’ve had, no doubt, because we had our backs to the wall for the first three days of the game. And the spirit and the character, I guess of the guys in the change room is what drives you, I guess, as a captain to make a bold decision, to declare when I declared. The confidence around me from everybody in that group, there wasn’t one bit of fear of losing that Test match, it wasn’t spoken about.”From day one of the Test all that’s been spoken about is what we have to do to win this Test match. And a lot of time it’s easier said than done, especially when a team gets 450 on the board in the first two days, you get some time taken out of the game with the light, so full credit to every single player and support staff person in that change room.”The Australian team is beginning to bear the stamp of Clarke – relentlessly positive, adventurous, tactically agile and skillful. He said the team was learning more about how to best operate under pressure, meaning the lapses that occurred in Cape Town against South Africa and Hobart against New Zealand are now growing less likely to occur. It is also benefiting from the balance between the brash youth of David Warner, and the poise of older heads like Michael Hussey, so calm in the chase as he had been in Adelaide six years ago.”I think we are just learning more and more about each other every day, especially under pressure,” Clarke said. “We’re working out what guys require to perform their best under pressure. We’re seeing guys stand up when they get an opportunity to play Test cricket. We’re seeing some old hands and some old legs still pulling tricks out of the bag to help us win games and Huss is a great example of that.”We’re putting in really good team performances. You’re not going to be successful individually every single time you walk out to bat or walk out to bowl. But I think the team we have at the moment, the players we have around the group at the moment aren’t bothered about themselves. They care most about the team winning and doing whatever they can to contribute to success. In my mind, there’s no coincidence the team’s doing well because we’re all putting the team first.”Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

ScorecardAlastair Cook once again held England’s batting together•Getty Images

Alastair Cook picked up where he left off in the UAE with an unbeaten 163 on the second day of England’s warm-up match against a Sri Lanka Board XI, but the middle-order display was less convincing with Ian Bell and Matt Prior collecting ducks.Cook showed the durable qualities that England will need during the Test series as he faced 293 deliveries to take the total to 303 for 8 at the close, a lead of 134, which continued his run of form from the one-day series against Pakistan where he scored two hundreds and an 80.Cook added 89 for the first wicket with Andrew Strauss (40) and 59 with Kevin Pietersen (39) for the third, but from 188 for 2 England slipped to 247 for 8 as legspinner Malinga Bandara and offspinner Sachithra Serasinghe caused problems. Of particular concern was another failure for Bell who endured a miserable Test series against Pakistan with 51 runs in six innings where he was constantly bamboozled by Saeed Ajmal.It was an offspinner that dismissed him again when he was bowled second ball by Serasinghe who could yet be the man to partner Rangana Herath in the Test series. Ravi Bopara, seemingly pencilled in for the No. 6 spot as a replacement for Eoin Morgan, made 12 off 55 deliveries before falling lbw to Dilruwan Perera and Matt Prior got an inside edge against Kaniskha Alvitigala.”To get 300 in a day is a great effort from the team. Today was my day to carry on and I’m sure some other people are disappointed it wasn’t their turn,” Cook said. “With Ravi’s shot, we were trying to push on then. We can only bat 100 overs in the first innings so we were trying to score at four an over which is tough with a long outfield and a ball that was pretty soft by the end.”With Belly, you can always miss one early doors. He’s a world-class player. His record over 18 months is that of a world-class player. He had a poor series in Abu Dhabi but I’d expect him to bounce back and I’m sure he will do.”And Straussy spent a couple of hours out there and hit some nice shots too. It’s a flat wicket and it doesn’t spin too much but it was quite hard to score quickly with the outfield. It’s a grind, that’s what happens in these conditions.”Bandara picked up two more wickets and it appeared England would be bowled out before the close, but James Anderson supported Cook in an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 56 with Cook continuing to push along with ease.England had made confident progress during the morning session as Strauss spent valuable time in the middle until falling lbw on the back foot against Perera shortly before lunch. Jonathan Trott became Bandara’s first wicket but seemed far from happy with the lbw decision he received.Pietersen began in positive style by using his feet against the spinners and employing the sweep and momentum was building for England as they took the lead. However, when Pietersen was given lbw against Serasinghe the ensuing collapse was a timely reminder that the next few weeks will be another severe test for this batting line-up.

The World T20 Qualifier is a path to fulfilling potential for USA’s Sushil Nadkarni. He toured Australia with India Under-19s in 1994-95 and averaged 30. Now with his new adopted country, Nadkarni hopes to prove why he was once considered among India’s bright talents.Together with making the most of his own ability, Nadkarni, 35, has the task of leading a young USA as they attempt to qualify for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September.”Leading team USA is an honour for me personally and I want to lead from the front,” Nadkarni said. “We are representing thousands of cricketers in the USA and the expectations are pretty high from the stakeholders out here. The average age of the team is about 27 years so a lot of responsibility will sit with the senior players. Everyone is excited to be a part of this high profile tournament.”USA had to qualify just to reach the qualifying tournament, which begins on March 13 in the UAE. But Nadkarni thinks that if his side can overturn the rankings, the impact for cricket in the USA could be significant.”Qualification to the World T20 would be a historic achievement and a dream come true for the entire nation. Much as Major League Soccer went to the next level when the USA soccer team made the World Cup, the same will happen with cricket in the country.”USA will play three practice matches in Dubai before their campaign begins against Uganda in Sharjah. They are drawn with Ireland, Kenya, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Italy in group B.

A day after the BCCI extended an olive branch to sort out issues with Sahara, the Pune Warriors players still remain in the dark about their future. A few players, speaking to ESPNcricinfo, revealed that Sahara, who withdrew their ownership of the franchise, are yet to give them a strong indication that the team will participate in the fifth IPL season, which starts on April 4.”We’re in the dark just as everybody else is, but the franchise has told us not to worry,” Robin Uthappa, one of the senior players at Warriors, told ESPNcricinfo. According to Uthappa, he had received an email after Sahara India Parivar chief Subrata Roy made public his grievances with the BCCI, which had forced him to end the eleven-year relationship with the Indian board and withdraw ownership of the franchise.”They’re doing all they can. It was nice of them to email us because they knew, as players, we would be worried. Hopefully in the next few days we should know something more,” Uthappa said.But not all of the Warrriors’ players retain the same optimism. Murali Kartik, the Warriors’ most experienced spinner, said the players have only been checking for updates via the media.The batsman Abhishek Jhujhunwala hoped that Roy would not let go of the team. “We haven’t heard anything further, but we’re planning to ask (Roy) to reconsider,” Jhunjhunwala said.On Monday, the former South Africa bowler Allan Donald, who was freshly recruited by the franchise as a bowling consultant, had described how it came as a shock for him when he was told Warriors were pulling out of the players’ auction in Bangalore last Saturday. Donald was involved with the rest of the senior team management including Sourav Ganguly, the team’s mentor and senior-most player, as they worked out the plan for the auction.Wayne Parnell, the South African fast bowler, said he was waiting to receive some information from the franchise, but wasn’t panicking yet. Mitchell Marsh, the Australian allrounder also part of the Warriors setup, tweeted on the day the news broke: “Someone tell me what has happened to my Pune!”As the Sahara management prepares itself to sit with the BCCI top brass in the coming week, the Warriors players have decided to push hard, asking Roy to keep the team alive. It is understood that there is a movement within the squad, led by none other than Ganguly, to write to Roy, requesting him to seriously reconsider the decision.()