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A round-up of the fourth day’s action from the ninth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Cricinfo staff06-Dec-2009

Group A

A 580-run stand for the second wicket, a first-class record, between Water and Power Development Authority’s Rafatullah Mohmand and Aamer Sajjad was the highlight of their tame draw against Sui Southern Gas Corporation at the Sheikupura Stadium. Rafatullah, who almost made it to the national squad in 2006, went on to a career-best unbeaten 302 while Sajjad fell 11 short of a triple century as the pair bettered the existing mark of 576 between Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama against India in Colombo. They easily overhauled SSGC’s first-innings total of 466 as WAPDA finished on 671 for 2, picking up three points.Rafatullah, 33, was in the news earlier this year when the ICC barred him from the World cup Qualifiers after he was deemed to have not satisfied the rules to represent Afghanistan. He has now set his sights on making the Pakistan national team. “What happened earlier is behind me and I hope that this triple hundred will help me revive my career as I want to play for Pakistan at the international level,” he told AFP. PCB chairman Ijaz Butt congratulated the pair on their achievement.Habib Bank Limited stretched their lead at the top of the group to 12 points with a five-wicket win over Pakistan Customs at the Diamond Club ground. It wasn’t all smooth for HBL after starting the day 90 runs short of the target; they lost two wickets for the addition of 26 runs, and three more wickets fell before reaching the 143 they needed to win. Both opener Shan Masood and first-innings hero Humayun Farhat made 38 to steer HBL home.Second-placed Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited slipped up, getting no points in their draw against Pakistan International Airlines at Jinnah Stadium. They had slipped to a perilous 133 for 7, an overall lead of 70, but were saved by a 85 from No. 7 Raza Ali Dar. He added 57 for the eighth wicket with Imran Ali and 67 for the ninth with Rizwan Akbar to set PIA an almost impossible target of 210 in little more than a session. Opener Agha Sabir’s 66 took PIA to 119 for 2 in 27 overs before the match was called off.

Group A

It was a draw at the Gaddafi Stadium as well, but a far more exciting one as Khan Research Laboratories came within two wickets of winning against Lahore Shalimar. On a day in which only 81 overs were played, opener Abid Ali (53) and Sohail Idrees (79) resisted for Lahore, but the rest of the top order flopped to keep KRL’s hopes of a victory alive. It required a 50-minute unbeaten 34 from No. 9 Mohammad Saeed, who swung two fours and two sixes despite the need for caution towards the end of the game, to deny KRL the win. Left-arm spinner Nauman Ali was the most effective of the KRL bowlers, collecting the second five-wicket haul of his career.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited pulled off a six-wicket win over Karachi Whites at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex to move into joint fourth position. Karachi started the day at 209 for 3 – a lead of 45 – and lost regular wickets to fold for 338 with left-arm spinner Zohaib Khan taking five wickets. Karachi’s batsmen used up 46.2 overs on the final day in setting ZTBL a target of 174, with less than half the day remaining. Powered by opener Inam-ul-Haq’s 66-ball 72, including five fours and four sixes, ZTBL knocked off the runs in 34.1 overs.

Group B

Nasrullah Khan took 5 for 70 to bowl Islamabad to a 37-run win against Sialkot on a closely-contested final day at the Jinnah Stadium. The day began with Islamabad struggling on 145 for 7 in their second innings and they were soon dismissed for 155, setting Sialkot 255 for victory. Faisal Rasheed was the best Sialkot bowler, taking 5 for 45. Islamabad’s defence, however, got off to a terrific start when their new-ball bowlers, Rauf Akbar and Nasrullah, each dismissed an opener for a duck. Sialkot went for 1 for 2 to 34 for 4 before Mohammad Ayub began to steady the innings with an aggressive half-century. Nasrullah, however, cut through the middle order and wickets fell at regular intervals as Sialkot were dismissed for 217.Faisalabad’s bowling attack dismissed Rawalpindi for 163 in 50 overs during the chase to complete a 181-run victory at the Iqbal Stadium. Defending a target of 345, Ijax Ahmed jnr took 4 for 57 while Ahmed Hayat claimed 3 for 24. Zahid Mansoor’s 37 was the top score for Rawalpindi during a disappointing second innings, which suffered from a lack of partnerships. Earlier in the day, Faisalabad’s lower order rallied to extend their total from 69 for 5 to 202. No. 10 Hayat struck five sixes during his innings of 47 off 39 balls.Lahore Ravi‘s bowlers finished the job they’d started on the third day, skittling Abbottabad cheaply in the second innings, and gave their batsmen enough time to chase down a modest target on the final day in Muridke. Abbottabad began the day on 103 for 7 and were soon shot out for 161, leaving Lahore Ravi a target of only 186. The chase suffered a jolt when Lahore Ravi lost their second and third wickets with the score on 70 but Asif Khan’s half-century and Mohammad Asim’s unbeaten 45 ensured victory by five wickets.Peshawar were always going to struggle to avoid a thrashing on the fourth day and they were dismissed for 197 in the second innings, giving Multan victory by an innings and 124 runs at the Multan Cricket Ground. Peshawar resumed on 147 for 5, still trailing by 174 runs, and Zulfiqar Babar ran through the lower order, finishing with figures of 6 for 37.Group A

Group B

Virender Sehwag has said he is happy to have got “at least 293 runs” and was not disappointed at missing out on a record third Test triple-century

Cricinfo staff04-Dec-2009Virender Sehwag has said he is happy to have got “at least 293 runs” and was not disappointed at missing out on a record third Test triple-century.”Not many people have got two triple centuries and followed that with 293,” he said after the third day’s play at Brabourne Stadium. “So there is nothing to be disappointed about.”Sehwag had moved from his overnight score of 284 to 293 when he tapped a flighted ball from Muttiah Muralitharan back to the bowler who took the catch on second attempt. “I tried to take my time, but maybe the ball was not there to be hit,” he said. “I misjudged the length and the ball went straight into Murali’s hands.”I always tell myself to bat the full day, and if there is a ball to be hit, just hit it. If I’m able to bat the whole day we will be in a good position.”Sehwag’s innings, an unbeaten century from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a string of half-centuries by the middle order fired the hosts to their highest-ever total of 726 for 9 declared, in reply to Sri Lanka’s 393. The tourists, trailing by 333 runs on the first innings, were 11 for no loss in their second innings at stumps on a wearing track and Sehwag was quietly confident of his team’s prospects.”Sri Lanka are a good team and they will play well, but the pitch is not going to be easy,” he said. “At the same time, we will also need to be patient for our wickets.”

New South Wales picked up two points after taking a 79-run lead on first innings despite a spirited batting display from John Hastings

Cricinfo staff20-Dec-2009New South Wales 8 for 390 dec & 0 for 14 lead Victoria 311 (Hastings 84, Wade 59, Sheridan 54) by 93 runs

Scorecard
John Hastings top scored for Victoria•Cricket Victoria

New South Wales picked up two points after taking a 79-run lead on first innings despite a spirited batting display from John Hastings and poor catching by the hosts. Victoria were dismissed for 311 late on the third day following Hastings’ 84 and the Blues were 0 for 14 in reply as the match heads towards a draw.Hastings, the allrounder at No. 8, led a gutsy lower-order fightback after the Bushrangers were in serious trouble at 6 for 90. Half-centuries to Matthew Wade (59) and the debutant Will Sheridan (54) delayed the Blues, who had only themselves to blame after putting down seven chances. They were also forced to call on various substitutes after injuries to Ben Rohrer and Usman Khawaja.The captain Moises Henriques (3 for 69) struck twice early in the day to remove Lloyd Mash and David Hussey while Mitchell Starc caused the problems for Nick Jewell (47) and Cameron White (14). However, Hastings forced Victoria away from most of the danger during an innings containing two sixes and 11 fours. Phillip Hughes, who can seal his spot in the MCG Test squad with another strong display, was unbeaten at stumps on 7, the same score as Phil Jaques.

A day after Mickey Arthur quit as national coach, South Africa’s selection panel has also been sacked by the board

Cricinfo staff27-Jan-2010A day after Mickey Arthur’s resignation as national coach, South Africa’s selection panel has also been sacked by the board. Mike Procter, the chairman of selectors, confirmed the development to a local radio station in Johannesburg.Procter told that Cricket South Africa had fired the entire selection panel, which included Craig Matthews, Winky Ximiya and Mustapha Khan, and an interim one would be appointed to serve until February 19. “It came as a huge shock to us all,” Procter said. He added that only CSA would be able to confirm if the developments were linked to the transformation issue.”I had a phone call early yesterday evening, Gerald Majola informing me that this selection panel would not be required in future,” Procter told eNews, a South African news channel. “Everyone was told that this was going to be a talk after the series. We were just going to make some presentations. They weren’t going to come after anyone. It wasn’t going to be a witch hunt.”I think we had too short a time in the business, as selectors we always gave our own thoughts, we never ended up voting on issues, we talked around issues, we enjoyed each others company and I think we were doing pretty well. The time we had was too short but we did introduce some new players.”Matthews, a member of the selection panel, said he understood that Majola would head the interim panel until a new one was put in place. “The way I understand it, there will be an interim selection panel and Gerald will be the convenor of selectors until a new panel has been picked,” he told Cricinfo. “We weren’t given any reason for the decision [sacking]. All that was said was that the board felt the selection process was flawed and that they want to restructure it.”It might be a transformation issue, but they didn’t give us any reasons, all they said was that the process needs to be reworked. I have been part of South African cricket for many years, nothing really surprises me anymore.”The sacked panel took over as selectors in December 2008, just before the historic series victory in Australia which put South Africa on top of both the Test and the ODI rankings. Results went downhill after that, losing the return Test series against Australia and only managing to draw the home series against England which ended earlier this month. Between those two assignments were the loss in the World Twenty20 semi-finals and the embarrassingly early exit in the ICC Champions Trophy they hosted. The panel’s tenure was supposed to be till the 2011 World Cup, the same as Arthur’s.

A round-up of the action from the preliminary quarter-finals of the 2009-10 Vijay Hazare Trophy

Cricinfo staff22-Feb-2010Mumbai’s bowlers held their nerve to clinch a thriller against Punjab at the Sardar Patel Stadium B Ground in Ahmedabad, to book their place in the quarter-finals of Vijay Hazare Trophy. The tone for a low-scoring thriller was set after Punjab won the toss and reduced Mumbai to 21 for 3 in the sixth over as Sushant Marathe, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma fell by the wayside. Wasim Jaffer tried to steady things in the company of Parag Khanapurkar, before he became the first of three Rahul Sharma scalps in the 20th over.With their best batsmen out of the equation, Mumbai needed a hero to save the day and they found one in the unheralded Khanapurkar. Despite paltry contributions from the tail, he kept the scoreboard ticking with a mixture of good running and aggressive hits. Abhishek Raut hung around long enough to help him raise 53, as Mumbai stuttered past the 200-run mark. Khanapurkar was the last man out, for a maginificent 123 off 118 balls, an innings that suggested that he was batting on a different wicket. Bipul Sharma picked three wickets and Love Ablish finished with two, as Punjab chased 228.With a modest target to defend, the Mumbai attack rose to the occasion in characteristic fashion. Dhawal Kulkarni accounted for Ravi Inder Singh early, before Rohit sent back Uday Kaul, the Punjab captain, in the 12th over to trigger some anxiety. Mandeep Singh, the India Under-19 star, took charge of the chase, and calmed the nerves with significant, if not substantial stands for the next three wickets. But Mumbai kept fighting, striking each time a partnership threatened to settle the issue.When Mandeep fell at 193 for 7 in the 45th over, the game was there for the taking, and Bipul looked intent on settling it in Punjab’s favour with a 25-ball blitz worth 33. But his fall, with 15 needed off 16 balls gave Mumbai the inch they needed to roar back into the game. It was fitting that Khanapurkar got the penultimate wicket, of Rahul who had struck a six, before Jaskaran Singh was run out off the first ball of the final over, with Punjab still four runs short.Saurashtra upstaged Uttar Pradesh comfortably by seven wickets to seal a place in the quarter-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Sagar Jogiyani, the Saurashtra wicketkeeper, starred with his maiden List-A century, laced with 10 fours and three sixes, to steer his side past UP’s 204 with almost ten overs to spare.A combined bowling effort had helped Saurashtra, who opted to field, to restrict the opposition. Left-am medium-pacer Jaidev Unadkat grabbed three for 44, and was supported by Jayesh Odedra, who picked up two wickets, as they made inroads into the top order to dent UP early into their innings. There were important contributions from Ali Murtaza (67) and Piyush Chawla (48), but a total of 204 proved inadequate in the wake of Jogiyani’s dominating response.It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Saurashtra, however. UP had nipped out three wickets for 63, including Cheteshwar Pujara, but Jogiyani was well backed up by Shitanshu Kotak, who made 69 in an unbeaten stand of 142 to seal victory.Saurashtra will take on Bengal in their quarter-final in Vadodara on February 25, while Mumbai heads to Rajkot to face Tamil Nadu on the same day.

Victoria will be without four of their best players for the FR Cup decider on Sunday, when they will try to break their final hoodoo having finished runners-up for the past three years

Cricinfo staff26-Feb-2010Victoria will be without four of their best players for the FR Cup decider on Sunday, when they will try to break their final hoodoo having finished runners-up for the past three years. The Bushrangers are without their captain Cameron White, David Hussey, Dirk Nannes and Clint McKay, all of whom are with the Australia squad in New Zealand, while Tasmania are also missing Travis Birt for the same reason.It has left Andrew McDonald to captain Victoria, who are hosting the final at the MCG for the third time in four seasons. The Bushrangers lost to Queensland in 2006-07 and also last summer, and they went down to Tasmania at Bellerive Oval in 2008-09.They are likely to regain Rob Quiney, who will have a fitness test but is thought to have recovered from an adductor strain and has been added to the squad of 12 that beat Queensland last week. Victoria are chasing their first title since 1998-99 and are hoping to keep alive their chances of winning all three finals this summer, having already won the Twenty20 title and qualified for the Sheffield Shield decider.The Tigers have eased the burden of losing Birt, their second-top run scorer this summer, by calling on the allrounder Luke Butterworth, who is back from injury. The batsman John Rogers has also been included in Tasmania’s 13-man squad after he was left out of the group that beat Western Australia recently.Victoria squad Chris Rogers, Aiden Blizzard, Brad Hodge, Aaron Finch, Rob Quiney, Andrew McDonald (capt), Michael Hill, Matthew Wade (wk), John Hastings, Damien Wright, Glenn Maxwell, Bryce McGain, Darren Pattinson.Tasmania squad Tim Paine (wk), Ed Cowan, Michael Dighton, Rhett Lockyear, George Bailey (capt), Daniel Marsh, John Rogers, Luke Butterworth, Jason Krejza, James Faulkner, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Gerard Denton.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has granted permission for two of its banned players, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, to play in a domestic Twenty20 league in Bangladesh

Cricinfo staff19-Mar-2010The Pakistan Cricket Board has granted permission for two of its banned players, Shoaib Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan, to play in a domestic Twenty20 league in Bangladesh. This comes just two days after the PCB allowed Mohammad Yousuf to play in the country.”The penalties on these players were for international cricket for the Pakistan team, but they are eligible to play in domestic competitions, so they are cleared to play in Bangladesh,” Wasim Bari, the PCB’s chief operating officer, told .The announcements have come shortly after the PCB banned and fined seven leading players on various charges during the disastrous tour of Australia which ended in February. Pakistan lost all three Tests, five ODIs and the lone Twenty20 match on tour.Former captains Younis Khan and Yousuf were banned indefinitely while Malik, also a former skipper, and allrounder Naved received one-year bans. Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal were fined between Rs 2-3 million [USD24,000-35,000] and put on six-month probations.The bans, however, do not extend to domestic cricket in Pakistan and competitions abroad although the PCB confirmed no player can participate in overseas competitions without prior approval.”Besides Malik and Naved, some other players also applied for permission and we have an open mind on that,” Bari said.Several members of Pakistan’s World Twenty20 squad, including Afridi, Razzaq and Mohammad Hafeez, were scheduled to play in Bangladesh later this month but Cricinfo understands that none of the 20-member contingent (15 plus five reserves) will be allowed to travel as the board wants them to participate in the training camp prior to leaving for the Caribbean late next month.

A calmly paced century from Ramnaresh Sarwan helped West Indies overcome a spirited Ireland in a rain-affected encounter in Jamaica, as they eased to their target with six wickets and six deliveries to spare

Cricinfo staff15-Apr-2010West Indies 213 for 4 (Sarwan 100*, Deonarine 57) beat Ireland 219 (K O’Brien 54, Stirling 51, Bernard 3-32) by six wickets (D/L)
ScorecardRamnaresh Sarwan struck 11 fours in a 119-ball innings to overcome his team’s anxieties•DigicelCricket.com

A calmly paced century from Ramnaresh Sarwan helped West Indies overcome a spirited Ireland in a rain-affected encounter in Jamaica, as they eased to their target with six wickets and six deliveries to spare.Chasing a revised target of 213 in 45 overs after their innings had been interrupted in the sixth over, Sarwan finished the match with 100 not out from 119 balls, having broken the back of the run-chase in a 111-run stand for the fourth wicket with Narsingh Deonarine.Having recently lost to Zimbabwe in humiliating fashion, West Indies were looking on course for another embarrassment when they lost Andre Fletcher and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the first ten deliveries of their innings to creep to 1 for 2. Wavell Hinds was then caught and bowled for 20 by George Dockrell (56 for 3), but Sarwan struck 11 fours in a 119-ball innings to overcome his team’s anxieties.Earlier, Ireland won the toss and batted first, and their total of 219 was built on the efforts of Paul Stirling, who made 51 from 83 deliveries, and the O’Brien brothers – Niall, who made 49 from 76 balls, and Kevin, whose hard-hitting 54 from 51 balls included three fours and the only two sixes of the innings. Kevin brought up his fifty with a fierce pull to midwicket but was bowled shortly after by Ravi Rampaul.None of the three men could go on to produce the big innings that would have anchored the innings, however, and West Indies were able to peg Ireland back to an obtainable total, thanks in particular to the efforts of David Bernard, who starred with 3 for 32 in 10 overs, and Sulieman Benn, who claimed for 2 for 29 in eight.West Indies coach Ottis Gibson was all praise for Sarwan and Deonarine. “We lost a few wickets early on, but Sarwan played well to get a brilliant hundred to win us the game,” said Gibson. “It was good to see Deonarine coming in and once again getting among the runs, he is obviously a player in form and he is showing that.”We also bowled well this morning, Bernard Jr. did very well, but all in all it was a very good performance from my boys.”Ireland’s captain, William Porterfield picked on the positives from defeat. “We played pretty well but there are a few areas that we can improve on,” said Porterfield. “But I thought the way we came out and fought with the ball was a good sign. We started very well but Sarwan’s knock was a pretty good one and it basically took the game away from us.”

Andrew Hudson, South Africa’s newly appointed convener of selectors, sees his role as one that will allow him to “give something back to the game”

Firdose Moonda05-May-2010Andrew Hudson, South Africa’s newly appointed convener of selectors, sees his role as one that will allow him to “give something back to the game”. The former international batsman said that since cricket formed such an important part of his life, his new function with the national set up was a “huge privilege, an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed and something I am very excited about doing.”Although Hudson is still basking in the glow of being appointed to the most senior role in cricket selection in the country, he is being careful not to see the position through rose-tinted lenses. “I am going in with my eyes open,” he said, when asked if he had accepted a poisoned chalice of sorts.Hudson’s predecessor, Mike Procter, was sacked along with the entire selection panel, after a slump in South Africa’s results in January this year. Before Procter, Joubert Strydom headed the committee. His tenure is best remembered for his spat with then Cricket South Africa president Norman Arendse over the dropping of Jacques Kallis for the inaugural World Twenty20.Despite the poor record of previous conveners, Hudson believes the new “refined” structure of the committee should prolong his tenure in the position. “The rest of the committee now comprises only of members who are employed by the game in some form,” he said. “The coach is obviously directly involved, Kepler Wessels is the batting consultant and Shafiek (Abrahams) represents the High Performance Centre.” The previous committee was made up of the convener, the coach (Arthur), and two other members, known as non-executive members – Winky Ximiya and Mustapha Khan.The function of the non-executive members was to liaise with franchises and keep tabs on performances. They would then filter that information to the main panel to keep the talent flow to the national side constant. While there was a general feeling that this may not have been happening as it should have, all Hudson said was the system was not “efficient enough” and that the new structure will seek to rectify it.As all the committee members are directly involved with the sport, Hudson believes they will be able to communicate better with the franchises. He said he hopes to “be involved in getting a lot closer to the franchise coaches and working with them to see where the talent is”. It appears Hudson is going for a more hands-on approach to the role than was previously applied.The other issue which has plagued South African selection committees has been the inclusion, or lack thereof, of black players in the national team. Hudson wouldn’t be drawn into what his approach to this sensitive matter would be, but he indicated a more detailed exact brief would be given to him when he meets with CSA again. He did indicate that there would be no pressure to pick players because of skin colour. “There will be a strong push to pick on merit. There are enough black players in the system; we will just have to work on bringing them through.”Hudson’s real work only starts on June 1, which means he will not be involved with the South African team selection for their tour of the West Indies. “I will have a strong interest there, to see who performs but my first task will probably be the series with Pakistan in the UAE, if that gets finalised, otherwise it will be for the home series against India.”

Haroon Lorgat has backed the United States as a prime venue for international cricket and added it is very much in the ICC’s interests to have more locals picking up the sport by taking cricket to the schools

Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2010Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has backed the United States as a prime venue for international cricket and added it is very much in the ICC’s interests to have more locals picking up the sport by taking cricket to the schools. The US, in terms of its massive fan base of immigrants from the subcontinent and West Indies, Lorgat said, had an advantage over other Associate nations as a staging venue. Lorgat also acknowledged it was not possible to get the American audience “excited” through the game’s longer formats, and that Twenty20 was the best medium to draw their attention.”Sometime back there was recognition that the United States was a significant market and a big opportunity to spread the game,” Lorgat said on Cricinfo’s audio show . “There are a lot of people who have got cricket heritage living out in the US. It is a big market. So it is important that we play cricket in the US. I think the size of the market is surely an advantage. The expats who follow the game so richly; it’s an advantage.”Lorgat, however, emphasised the US would not merely be a staging centre. “In the last couple of years in particular, we have been very conscious to get cricket played in the schools,” he said. “We were quite excited when we learnt that the New York police department was playing cricket with people of Indian and Pakistani origin. So it’s very much in our sights to make sure that people within the United States play cricket, and not just [see it as] a staging centre.”The US national team, though, has struggled when taking on the Test teams and Lorgat admitted it could be better. However, he disagreed over complaints that the globalisation of cricket had an adverse effect on the game’s quality at the international level. “Established nations continue to compete against each other. If anything, some of our established nations should be picking up their level of performance,” Lorgat said. “So it’s less about the developing world and their competitiveness. I think it’s about our established nations being competitive themselves.”I think introducing cricket to any nation presupposes that ultimately they would be competitive. It’s fair to say that by now they [USA] should have been a lot more competitive than they presently are. But we have said that they should be making a lot more progress. They have appointed a chief executive, if you recall, just about a year ago. The signs are quite positive, and I am quite optimistic.”Don Lockerbie, the chief executive of the USA Cricket Association, had admitted Twenty20 remained the preferred format for increasing the following for cricket in the country but also believed there lay a potential for the longer formats, too, to take off. Lorgat, though, was skeptical of the prospects for Tests and ODIs in the US. “For the people in the US who are accustomed to fast and short time spans, introducing Test or one-day cricket would simply be not possible to get them excited,” he said. “Twenty20 is a format, that without doubt in my mind, you would get people in the United States excited with.”