All posts by h716a5.icu

Warwickshire’s all-rounder Keith Barker, whose early season championship form attracted attention, has signed a new three-year contract extension to remain at Edgbaston.

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2012Warwickshire’s all-rounder Keith Barker, whose early season championship form attracted the attention of a number of potential suitors, has signed a new three-year contract extension to remain at Edgbaston until at least the end of the 2015 season.Barker, 25, joined Warwickshire in 2008 after graduating from the football academy of Blackburn Rovers and made his first-class debut against Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston a year later. Since then he has taken 156 wickets in all competitions for Warwickshire and scored more than 1300 runs.In seven matches in this season’s County Championship, Barker has taken 32 wickets, including his first five-wicket haul in the competition against Lancashire in Liverpool, and his first 10-wicket match against Durham at Edgbaston.Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, said: “It’s great news for the club that Keith has committed for another three years. He’s worked incredibly hard and shown great commitment to improving his game in his training with Graeme Welch over the last two years.”The team have certainly reaped the rewards for his efforts, particularly in the LV County Championship. He’s matured as a cricketer and has taken great confidence out of leading the attack with Chris Wright in the early part of the season. Everyone is delighted he is remaining at the club.”

Don Wilson, the former Yorkshire and England left-arm spinner, has died in a York hospital at the age of 74.

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2012Don Wilson, the former Yorkshire and England left-arm spinner, has died in a York hospital at the age of 74.Wilson was a central figure in Yorkshire’s domination of county cricket in the 1960s, playing alongside such greats as Fred Trueman, Brian Close, Ray Illingworth and Geoffrey Boycott.The team began to break up after winning a third successive championship in 1968 but Wilson, whose sense of fun made him a popular figure with Yorkshire crowds, did not retire until 1974.Off the field, he had a keen sense of the theatrical and needed little encouragement before embarking on a song and dance routine with another Yorkshire and England team mate, Phil Sharpe.Wilson followed in Yorkshire’s great tradition of left-arm spinners, following such celebrated names as Wilfred Rhodes and Johnny Wardle. A tall and wiry bowler, he took 1,189 first-class wickets at 21.00 in 422 first-class matches and won seven Championships.He played six Tests for England, five against India on the 1963-4 tour and one against New Zealand on the 1970-1 tour of Australia and New Zealand. He also played twice for England against Rest of the World in 1970, matches that were subsequently stripped of their status as Tests by the ICC.After his retirement, he served as the MCC’s chief coach from 1974 to 1991 and then as coach at Ampleforth College. He was president of the Yorkshire Players’ Association in 2008.

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the third ODI between Pakistan and Australia in Sharjah

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale03-Sep-2012Match factsSaeed Ajmal has taken 7 for 62 from 20 overs so far in this series•AFPSeptember 3-4, 2012
Start time 1800 (1400 GMT)
Big PicturePakistan and Australia return to Sharjah for the third one-day international, which has become the series decider after Australia took the first match and Pakistan won the second. For Pakistan, this is a chance to end a decade-long era without a one-day series win over Australia. Last time they beat Australia was in 2002 and it was also the last time Pakistan came back from losing the first match in a three-game series to win. They will rely heavily on Saeed Ajmal, who has caused real problems for Australia’s batsmen in the first two games and has taken seven of the 15 wickets collected by Pakistan bowlers so far, at the remarkable average of 8.85. The Australians will consider attacking Ajmal more in this game, but if they continue to misread his doosra it may make little difference.Australia need more runs from their openers, Matthew Wade and David Warner, and they might be keen to take a more aggressive approach after Warner took 19 balls to get off the mark in the second game. They also need to work out the best make-up of their attack should Mitchell Starc be ruled out due to injury after he left the field late in the second match. Choosing a frontline spinner, Xavier Doherty, would not be a bad option, although if they end up bowling second and find the conditions as dewy as they were on Friday in Abu Dhabi, it might not matter. Both matches have been won by the team chasing and Michael Clarke is unlikely to make the mistake of batting first again should he win the toss.Form guide (Complete matches, most recent first)Pakistan WLLLW
Australia LWLLLWatch out forSaeed Ajmal has taken 7 for 62 in the series so far and is far and were in not for his fine work on Friday, the Australians could well have posted a much heftier total. His variations leave the Australians muddled, and after they chose to be cautious with him in the first two games they might be considering a different approach this time. “He’s a fantastic bowler. But we have to change our game plan,” David Hussey said on Sunday. “We’re defending him a little bit and to our peril. Maybe the best form of defence is attacking him. We’ve seen the Sri Lankans play him, we’ve seen the Indians play him, and we might think that’s the better route to go.”There is no question that Australia have found a dynamic and useful one-day player in Glenn Maxwell, but his challenge is to finish the series by displaying his all-round talents. He made 38 from 38 in the first game and a brisk 28 from 27 in the second game, which featured two mighty sixes. Both were impressive short-burst innings for an ODI No.7. But he is yet to take a wicket and by offering a little more with the ball he could help himself stay ahead of Steven Smith in the minds of the selectors.Team newsShahid Afridi missed the second match due to back soreness but is believed to be fit for the third game and a straight swap with Abdur Rehman seems the most likely scenario.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Junaid KhanMitchell Starc left the field late in the second ODI with what was later revealed to a problem with his side/chest and if he doesn’t play, the Australians can bring in the uncapped Alister McDermott or one of the spinners, Xavier Doherty or Steven Smith, as his replacement. Doherty would appear the most likely candidate given the conditions and the lack a frontline spinner in their line-up in the first two games.Australia (possible) 1 Matthew Wade (wk), 2 David Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 David Hussey, 6 George Bailey, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Daniel Christian, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Mitchell Starc/Xavier Doherty, 11 James PattinsonPitch and conditionsAfter the extremely dewy conditions in Abu Dhabi on Friday, the teams return to Sharjah for this third match. In the first two matches of the series it was the chasing team that emerged triumphant, so don’t expect the captains to rush into a decision to bat first at the toss.Stats and trivia Should Pakistan win the third match it will be their first ODI series victory against Australia in ten years, since they took the honours in a winter series played in Australia that included two matches under the roof of Melbourne’s Docklands stadium In the past 12 months, only Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga has taken more ODI wickets than Saeed Ajmal’s 44 at an average of 20.38 In the same period, Australia’s leading ODI wicket takers have been Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay and Brett Lee – none of whom has played a match in this seriesQuotes”We played really well and we fought really well in the first game in Sharjah so we can take some confidence into that.”

Glamorgan have announced that 22-year-old seam bowler James Harris will leave the county where he made his debut aged 16

31-Aug-2012
ScorecardGlamorgan have announced that 22-year-old seam bowler James Harris will leave the county where he made his debut aged 16 at the end of the season. The news came as Glamorgan batted their way to a draw against Northamptonshire, with Stewart Walters making 98.Harris, an England Lions player, is contracted to the Welsh club until the end of next summer but has a non-promotion clause that allows him to leave a year early. His most likely destination is Nottinghamshire, who are in Division One and offered the player a contract earlier this week.Harris, 22, has played 64 first-class matches since his debut in 2007, taking 227 wickets at an average of 27.53 runs. Glamorgan had been keen to retain the services of one of their brightest talents but were unable to reach an agreement.A club statement read: “Over the past few weeks, the club have held a number of meetings with James to discuss his future career, which culminated in the club tabling a substantial contract offer. Sadly, this offer was not accepted and James will now be leaving the club.”Glamorgan Cricket would like to thank James for his outstanding contribution to the club since making his debut back in 2007. He is a talented young cricketer and departs with the club’s best wishes. Like all other cricket supporters, we hope he will be able to fulfil his England ambitions in the near future.”Harris, the quickest man to reach 100 and 200 first-class wickets for Glamorgan, had a slow start to the current campaign after missing a month with a hernia problem but caught the eye with figures of 6 for 102 in the four-day game between England Lions and Australia A at Edgbaston earlier this month.In the Division Two game at Cardiff, Walters fell two short of his second century of the season as Glamorgan batted out a draw on the final day. Walters scored 98 from 226 balls with 14 fours and Marcus North contributed 57 as Glamorgan reached 302 for 5 in reply to Northamptonshire’s 432 for 8 declared.It was a tame final day as the captains – Mark Wallace and Andrew Hall – could not agree to set up a game. Glamorgan resumed on 10 without loss but, with little to play for, they reached 75 for 2 at lunch from 43 overs – at a pitiful run rate of 1.74. William Bragg and Nick James were the men to fall.Con de Lange thought he had a second victim on the stroke of lunch but Stephen Peters put down a difficult chance at short midwicket when North had made just one run. He went on to make his sixth half-century in 12 Championship innings this season.But North went shortly after reaching his own half-century to a fine one-handed catch by Alex Wakely off Hall. Wakely had to leave the field, however for treatment on an injured finger. Three overs later Ben Wright was neatly stumped down the leg-side by David Murphy standing up to Lee Daggett, to leave Glamorgan 177 for 4.Walters and Allenby put on 101 for the fifth wicket before Walters was bowled via an inside edge by Hall as Glamorgan went in search of a third batting point. Allenby and Wallace took Glamorgan to a third batting point before both sides shook hands.

A commanding performance from Shane Watson delivered a handsome opening World Twenty20 victory for Australia over Ireland

The Report by Daniel Brettig19-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Shane Watson had an impressive day, and the O’Briens were among his victims•AFPA commanding performance from Shane Watson delivered a handsome opening World Twenty20 victory for Australia over Ireland, as George Bailey’s team showed aggressive intent to pursue the one trophy missing from the national team’s display cabinet.Ireland had fancied their chances of upsetting Australia, but were left with their odds of progression diminished and their ears ringing from a few verbal barbs delivered by opponents in no mood to be accommodating to a team they had briefly been ranked below on the ICC’s T20 rankings earlier this month.Watson influenced proceedings from the first ball of the match, a bouncer Ireland’s captain Will Porterfield hooked to fine leg. He returned to the bowling crease to snuff out a mid-innings revival, then smashed 51 to ensure a modest chase that never assumed anything more than nuisance dimensions.Mitchell Starc and Hogg also delivered telling spells to help keep Ireland quiet, their 20 overs devoid of sustained momentum save for a rearguard stand of 50 between Kevin and Niall O’Brien from the depths of 33 for 4. Kevin O’Brien hinted at the mastery he had shown against England in the 2011 World Cup, but both he and his brother were out-thought by Watson in the same over.Aside from Watson’s all-round prowess, the other hallmark of Australia’s display was their aggression, manifested in a series of verbal stoushes with their opponents. The umpires intervened more than once, and no-one was left in any doubt about the Australians intent to make life as uncomfortable as possible for their opposition.Australia’s pursuit needed to be dogged by early wickets for Ireland to have a chance, but Watson and David Warner played with plenty of sense. They were helped by a wayward Boyd Rankin, who gave away four wides on the way to conceding 12 runs from the third over. Trent Johnston was taken for 19 in the fourth, and from that moment the result never seemed in any great doubt.George Dockrell accounted for Warner, who punched to deep midwicket, and Paul Stirling almost grasped a one-handed return catch from Watson. Having failed to take the half chance, both Stirling and Dockrell were to feel the brunt of Watson’s power, Australia’s vice-captain posting a half century from his 28th ball. An overly languid run through to the non-striker’s end was punished by Johnston’s direct hit, but by then Watson had done more than enough to put victory within sight and also underline his importance to Australia’s campaign.Michael Hussey was lbw to Kevin O’Brien, and Cameron White offered a difficult chance that Johnston put down off Rankin, leaving Australia to conclude their chase with less certainty than Watson and Warner had started it.Watson had taken the new ball for Australia, a move Ireland’s captain Porterfield would have noted from the warm-up games. What he did not expect was a first-ball bumper, as Watson tested the bounce to be extracted from a flint-hard Premadasa pitch. The ball was well-directed, Porterfield’s hook shot was hurried, and Mitchell Starc sauntered in from fine leg to take the catch.There were runs to be found in the pitch, Stirling cracking the final ball of the over to the cover fence to prove it, but Australia’s bowlers were sharp and varied enough to prevent Ireland from finding any sort of rhythm. Starc found a little swing but it was bounce that did for Stirling, his top edge sailing high for Watson to make a testy running catch look routine.Bailey introduced Maxwell’s off-breaks for the sixth over, and was rewarded when Ed Joyce toe-ended a drive to mid off. Brad Hogg’s introduction followed, and he too struck in his opening over when Gary Wilson played around a delivery pitching in line and straightening to win Aleem Dar’s lbw verdict. None of Ireland’s batsmen looked entirely capable of reading Hogg’s variations.Ireland were stuck in the T20 predicament of early wickets, the halfway point passing at a wobbly 46 for 4. The brothers O’Brien were left to fashion a salvaging partnership, Kevin O’brien hinting at his potential for destruction with a handful of boundaries. He responded to taunts from the Australian fieldsmen by clattering Starc through midwicket and cover, and the 50-stand was raised. But Niall O’Brien was unable to follow suit, bowled by Watson’s slower ball when trying to heave across the line.Watson was delivering a keynote spell, and he made it more so by coaxing Kevin O’Brien to touch a shortish, sharpish delivery on its way through to Matthew Wade. Called on to deliver the last over of the innings as well as the first, Watson allowed the innings’ only six to Nigel Jones, but the concession of 12 from the final six balls still left Australia’s batsmen with a chase they were always likely to negotiate in some comfort.

A round-up of the first round of the inaugural Bangladesh Cricket League which produced two contrasting draws

Mohammad Isam30-Dec-2012
ScorecardThe match that began with Ziaur Rahman hammering an unbeaten 152 in South Zone’s first innings ended with Robiul Islam’s four wickets in one over. But the two slow days in the middle, which were also hampered by fog, took too much time out of the game. The match ended in a draw but Central Zone earned two points more than South zone on account of their first innings lead.Islam removed Asif Ahmed off the second ball of Central Zone’s first over, before he clean bowled Mohammad Ashraful, Marshall Ayub and Mehrab Hossain jnr off consecutive deliveries, though he bowled a no-ball before taking the last wicket in the over, depriving him of the hat-trick.Shamsur Rahman also fell to Islam and immediately Central Zone’s chase of 127 runs looked too big. Captain Mahmudullah and Mosharraf Hossain battled for an hour to secure their position. The final day had begun with South Zone’s second innings moving towards safety before they collapsed from 71 for 2 to 112 for 7. Tushar Imran and Rubel Hossain added 87 for the eighth wicket to give Central Zone a modest target.South Zone’s first innings was also rescued by their lower-order as they recovered from 192 for 8 to end up on 343 runs. Ziaur’s 15 sixes helped him reach a career-best unbeaten 152, with tailenders Rubel and Murad Khan supporting him in valuable partnerships. Central Zone replied well as they took a 90-run lead. Marshall Ayub struck a patient 125, his third first-class century of the season.
ScorecardWhile there was a lot of excitement in Mirpur, the Bogra game between East Zone and North Zone stuttered all along due to heavy fog in the country’s northern parts. Only 244 overs were played after delayed starts on three of the four days. North Zone batted first to make 499 for 6 in two days. They batted only 44.5 overs on the second day before declaring overnight.Jahurul Islam, Farhad Hossain, Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain and Farhad Reza all made half-centuries with Nasir getting out in the 90s for the third time this season.East Zone made 419 for 8 with Dhiman Ghoshscoring an unbeaten hundred. Faisal Hossain, Mominul Haque and captain Alok Kapali also made half-centuries, but it was a game that never had any pace to it and ended in a tame draw due to the weather conditions.

Brendon McCullum has said he is concerned for his predecessor as well as the team as it tries to pull itself together ahead of a tough tour of South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2012

I was asked if I would lead the one-day and Twenty20 teams two days ago, and then yesterday I was asked if I would lead the Test team, after Ross turned it down so about as much involvement I’ve had in this situation

Brendon McCullum, who took over as New Zealand captain under controversial circumstances after Ross Taylor refused an offer to remain as the leader of the Test team in a split-captaincy scenario, has said he is concerned for his predecessor as well as the team ahead of a tough tour of South Africa. Taylor has asked for a break and will not be travelling to South Africa.”I’m more concerned now with how the team is handling the situation and where we go from here – how we try and galvanise the unit, rather than my own individual accolade of picking up the captaincy,” McCullum told reporters at a press conference in Lincoln. “I’m obviously worried for Ross and how he is dealing with things at the moment, and obviously how we try and ensure that we pull together this team inside a very short space of time for what is going to be an incredibly tough tour.”McCullum said he had been in touch with Taylor, who said on Friday he felt he never had the support of New Zealand coach Mike Hesson. “I’ve spoken to him a couple of times – two days ago and then left a message with him again this morning – but he obviously needs a little bit of space at the moment as well, and I thought he did a really good job yesterday with the media of being able to deal with some tough circumstances,” McCullum said. “Ross is an integral member of this team and he’s vitally important to us in terms of how we’re going to try and increase our performances. He’s also a very popular member of the team as well and there’s a lot of guys that will be feeling for him at the moment – we will welcome him back when he’s good and ready.”I know it hasn’t been a great process with the way it’s unfolded and I know there is a lot of anger towards it.”I guess from our point of view, we now need to try and move forward and get some faith back into this team and build some rapport with the public because that’s obviously taken a hit over the last seven days.”McCullum was upset at speculation that he may have had a role to play in the entire episode. “That’s probably the thing that has come out through this week that’s annoyed me the most. I guess that cuts right to the bone that someone would question your integrity and your character like that.”I guess it’s been mentioned on a number of occasions and to be totally honest, it is highly insulting, for people to cast aspersions when they certainly don’t know the full circumstances.”From my point of view, I had absolutely no involvement in that recommendation whatsoever. I was asked if I would lead the one-day and Twenty20 teams two days ago, and then yesterday I was asked if I would lead the Test team, after Ross turned it down so about as much involvement I’ve had in this situation.”Relations between Taylor and himself, McCullum said, were very good. “It’s only really been media hype and fiction over the last 16 months, since the captaincy selection of Ross, which tried to drive a wedge between Ross and I.”In terms of the public profile, we’ve got a very good and respectful relationship. We know each other, we’ve played with each other for a very long time and we know each others families.”McCullum hoped to welcome Taylor back to the New Zealand side and sympathised with Taylor for the situation he finds himself in. “I don’t want to sit here and talk about how hard it’s been on me, because it’s certainly been a lot harder on other people, but you know that as long as, through your dealings, that you are honest and you maintain your integrity throughout, then you can look yourself in the eye and know that you’re doing the right thing.”Now Ross is going through some tough times and my thoughts are with him.”When he is good and ready to come back, then we’ll certainly welcome him back, and I’ll be looking to help him as much as I possibly can to reach the standards he wants to reach in this game, to be an integral member of this team and play a vital part in that.”

George Dobell24-Jan-2013Chris Woakes has been selected ahead of Tim Bresnan in England’s 15-man squad for the three Test series in New Zealand.The omission of Eoin Morgan and Samit Patel are the other changes from the squad that beat India 2-1 before Christmas.Woakes, Warwickshire’s 23-year-old swing bowling allrounder, has played seven ODIs and three T20s for England but is yet to make his Test debut.He has an excellent record at domestic level – a first-class batting average of 38.25 and first-class bowling average of 25.56 – and, despite a concern about the lack of pace in his bowling, has an ability to swing the ball both ways that could prove valuable in New Zealand. He recently had a brief stint with Wellington in New Zealand domestic cricket and claimed four wickets in two first-class matches at a cost of 57.50 apiece.Bresnan, who has struggled to recapture his potency since an elbow operation in December 2011, will instead have the elbow assessed to see if any further treatment is required. Before the operation, Bresnan’s Test bowling average was 23.60. Since the operation it is 55.43.”We have a busy international summer ahead of us and the medical team felt this was an ideal opportunity for Tim Bresnan to take some time out to ensure his elbow is functioning effectively,” Geoff Miller, England national selector, said. “Chris Woakes has impressed on the England Performance Programme and with England Lions and Warwickshire in recent years as well as with England in the limited overs formats. This is a good opportunity for him to gain further experience in the international environment.”England also announced that Craig Kieswetter has been dropped from the one-day squad and will return to Somerset to prepare for the new domestic season. Kieswetter has played 46 ODIs and 25 T20s for England, averaging 30.11 and 21.91 respectively.”Craig has had an extended opportunity in ODI and T20 cricket,” Miller said. “He has shown evidence of delivering performances on the international stage however we don’t feel these have been delivered consistently enough. As we look forward to the Champions Trophy and Cricket World Cup in 2015 we will look to explore other options.”The door is not closed to Craig, and he can fight his way back into contention for international selection through consistent high performances with Somerset.”Joe Root, Woakes and James Harris have been added to the ODI squad for the three-match series against New Zealand. Root’s call-up means James Taylor has been appointed captain of the England Lions tour to Australia, for which Rikki Clarke, at the age of 31, has been called-up. The squad will play a series of limited-overs games in February.Clarke has enjoyed a resurgence since joining Warwickshire for the 2009 season. Last year he averaged 32.14 with the bat and 18.00 with the ball in List A cricket. He played two Tests – both against Bangladesh -and 20 ODIs between 2003 and 2006.England Test squad
Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Nick Compton, Steven Finn, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Chris WoakesEngland T20 squad
Stuart Broad (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes, Luke WrightEngland ODI squad
Alastair Cook (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, James Harris, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Joe Root, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Chris WoakesEngland Lions squad
James Taylor (capt), Gary Ballance, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Varun Chopra, Rikki Clarke, Matthew Coles, Ben Foakes, Alex Hales, Simon Kerrigan, Stuart Meaker, Craig Overton, Toby Roland-Jones, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, James Vince, Chris Wright

A round-up of the sixth round of matches in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2013A first-innings six-wicket haul by Azam Hussain followed by an all-round team effort helped Karachi Blues demolish Islamabad by an innings and 33 runs at the Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad. Islamabad ended their league stage on 18 points and although they have qualified for the super-eight along with Karachi Blues, their final position in the table will depend on the result of other group matches.Islamabad, after being put in to bat, had collapsed to 73 for 7, but recovered to finish on 197 in their first innings. Hussain, with his left-arm spin, picked up the 11th five-wicket haul of his career. The Blues responded with 345 in their first innings, with Khurram Manzoor’ 79 being the highest score. Three other batsmen scored half-centuries in the innings to give the Blues a 148-run lead. Islamabad’s batting collapsed a second time in the match, with their innings lasting 42.2 overs, and the team failed to clear the deficit. Akbar-ur-Rehman was the most successful bowler for the Blues, picking up three wickets for 63 runs.Lahore Shalimar collected nine points for their innings win against Hyderabad at the Gaddafi Stadium and went to the top of Group II. Second-placed Rawalpindi are just three points behind with the result of their match pending. Shalimar chose to field and their bowlers justified the decision by bowling out Hyderabad in the 44th over for 103. Aizaz Cheema was the pick of the bowlers with five wickets.Shalimar’s response was led by an unbeaten century by Usman Salahuddin who helped the team take a 243-run first-innings lead. Fast bowler Rehan Riaz took five wickets in the innings. But the lead turned out to be enough for Shalimar’s bowlers as they dismissed Hyderabad for 218 in the second innings. Wahab Riaz, who had three wickets in the first innings, picked up four in the second. Hyderabad, who ended the league stage on 18 points, have also qualified for super-eight stage.Centuries from Sohaib Maqsood and Naved Yasin gave Multan three points against Sialkot at the Multan Cricket Stadium, but Multan couldn’t convert it to victory, which would have given them a Super-Eights spot. After being put in to bat, Sialkot lost wickets regularly – spinner Zulfiqar Babar took seven wickets – and no one besides Majid Jahangir, who scored a century, provided any resistance. Babar’s bowling was backed up by a commanding batting performance, led by a 150-run stand between Maqsood and Yasin. Ultimately, though, Sialkot’s No. 3 and 4 consumed time on the final day to force a draw.After bowling their opponents out for 189, Multan lost two early wickets to be reduced to 33 for 2. However, the next three batsmen in the line-up – Saeed Anwar, Maqsood and Yasin – rescued them, and Multan were strong at 289 for 4. No. 7 Maqbool Ahmed scored an unbeaten half-century to help his team cross 400. But time prevented them to get more than three points out of the game, and in the final standing, they were three points behind their opponents, at the fifth spot.Spinner Atif Maqbool and seamer Adeel Malik took nine wickets between them to help Karachi Whites cement their spot in the Super Eights, as they drew their match against Faisalabad at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium. However, they were bowled out for 207 in their second dig as medium-fast bowler Samiullah Khan took six wickets, and Faisalabad needed 357 runs to win the contest. At 213 for 6 on the final day, with Faislabad having no chances of qualifying for the next stage, both sides agreed to a draw.After choosing to field, Faisalabad were pegged back right from the outset, as the openers put on 103 runs. The Whites’ dominant innings was based on knocks of 90 and 83 from Daniyal Ahsan and Khalid Latif. The last six wickets fell for 44 runs, as seamer Asad Ali took seven wickets, to leave them three short of 300. In reply, Zeeshan Butt scored an unbeaten half-century, but didn’t find valuable support from any other batsman, and Faisalabad were bowled out for 148. Although the Whites were dismissed for 207 in their second dig, rescued by Khald Latif’s century, Faisalabad still faced a daunting task of chasing 357. Their batsmen put up a decent performance, but the match was drawn on the final day.In Lahore, Imran Farhat’s triple-century in the first innings led Lahore Ravi to three points in a drawn match against Peshawar. Farhat struck 50 fours in his knock of 308, off 429 deliveries, as Ravi declared their innings at 512 for 6 on the second day. Their spinners Adnan Rasool and Jahangir Mirza shared seven wickets between them to bowl Peshawar out for 209. However, the match was drawn when Peshawar reached 59 for 3 off 37 overs, on the final day. Peshawar finished the league stage at the bottom of the points table, and Ravi took the third spot.Choosing to field, they were dominated by Ravi from the outset as Farhat built a huge total. In reply, they were in trouble at 42 for 3, and a half-century from Naved Khan and a knock of 40 from Mohammad Rizwan took them past 200, but they couldn’t avoid the follow-on. But having secured three points, and with less time, Ravi couldn’t push for victory.Rawalpindi secured their spot behind Lahore Shalimar at the top of the points table by taking three points off their drawn contest against Bahawalpur. Umar Amin’s century, and half-centuries from Umar Amin and Hammad Azam took them to a commanding total of 404 for 7. Although Bahawalpur’s captain and opener Usman Tariq also scored a century, they fell 88 short of their opponents’ total, thereby conceding three points. Eventually, both sides agreed to draw the game.Bahawalpur finished the league stage positioned second from bottom in Group II.

Mickey Arthur, the coach of Australia, has outlined some of the discipline issues that had built up over the course of the tour of India

Brydon Coverdale13-Mar-2013Mickey Arthur, the coach of Australia, has outlined some of the discipline issues that had built up over the course of the tour of India, including late attendance for team meetings, back-chat and high skinfolds (tests to estimate body fat). These were among the infractions from the wider squad that led to four players being stood down for the third Test in Mohali due to their failure to complete a task in which Arthur asked every player to give ideas for individual and team improvement.When Arthur made the announcement on Monday that Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Johnson would not be part of the third Test due to neglecting the task, he alluded to a build-up of other behavioural issues but did not go into details. However, on the eve of the Mohali Test, Arthur has confirmed what some of the problems were, which were not specific to the four players suspended.”It has been a culmination of lots of minor indiscretions that have built up to now,” Arthur wrote in his Cricket Australia blog. “Some people may ask why it was left to get to this point, such an ‘extreme measure’. We have given lots of latitude and flexibility with a young and inexperienced squad. We know it’s going to take time for them to grow and mature, but there is only so long the leadership group can hold their hand.”This decision was about sending out a strong message that it is about time all players had some accountability for their actions. Being late for a meeting, high skinfolds, wearing the wrong attire, back-chat or giving attitude are just some examples of these behavioural issues that have been addressed discretely but continue to happen. If we’re deadly serious about getting back to number one in the world, all players need to raise the bar and lift their game.”If not, we must be content at being number three or four or five in world cricket because we won’t get any better. The players won’t learn and we’ll continue a vicious cycle. It is a strong message to everyone in Australian cricket that if you want to play for the Australian cricket team, then we demand excellence, and corner-cutting, taking short-cuts or arriving with a bad attitude will no longer be tolerated.”Arthur, the captain Michael Clarke and the team manager Gavin Dovey were collectively responsible for the decision to leave the four players out of the third Test, which could leave Australia with as few as 12 men available for the game, which starts on Thursday. Cricket Australia’s chairman, Wally Edwards, said the board was “completely supportive” of the decision taken by the Australian team management, although it has created plenty of debate from the cricket public.”When we sat down as a leadership group and made these tough decisions I knew it would polarise public opinion, but internally I certainly know we’ve made the absolute right decision,” Arthur said. “The last week and a half since the end of the Hyderabad Test has been the toughest in my 11 years of coaching.”