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Top international players who participated in an ‘All Star Twenty20’ event in Toronto last weekend, some of them travelling from as far as South Africa and Sri Lanka, have been left in the lurch over their appearance money

Firdose Moonda17-May-2012Top international players who participated in an ‘All Star Twenty20’ event in Toronto last weekend, some of them travelling from as far as South Africa and Sri Lanka, have been left in the lurch over their appearance money and in some cases reimbursement for air travel. Events company Kat Rose, who organised the event, said they incurred substantial losses when six Pakistan players including Shahid Afridi pulled out at the last minute. The company is in contact with their lawyers and accountants to resolve the issue, but has not put a time-frame on when monies will be distributed.The match, which was played in Toronto on Saturday, was billed as a high-quality encounter between the best Asian and international players in the game, and was marketed primarily with the city’s Asian population as the target. It featured several internationals such as Mark Boucher and Sanath Jayasuriya, who were left without their fees.Boucher told ESPNcricinfo that he has not been paid, but said he “enjoyed the experience of playing in Canada”. He added that he had delivered all receipts on monies spent, including an internal flight in Canada, to his agents and they will try to recover the money. Boucher posted a message from Toronto on Twitter which read, “Absolute shambles at the @T20AllStar2012 in Canada. No players been paid. No organisers here to explain! Disgrace for Canadian cricket! So sad!”, followed by “doubt any international cricketers will be back here in Canada after this”.
Jayasuriya told Canada’s CBC news that he has “been playing for the last 20 years and never gone through this kind of thing before”, and that he is owed $15,000 for his flights and appearance in the event. And the former Pakistan offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq said those who took part wanted to help the cause of cricket in Canada but needed their basic requirements met. “”The cricketers went to Canada with their best intentions to support the event and we delivered our side of the deal,” he told . “We flew out there from all parts of the world, played to the best of our ability, so we have done what was required from us. I would urge the organisers to deliver their side of the deal and what was promised to all of the cricketers and pay us our dues.”Herb Choga, president of Kat Rose, denied some of those claims. “There are lot of rumours [around] that are difficult to justify,” Choga said. “Everything has happened in such a rush and everything is a bit upside-down.” Choga denied that Boucher had to take an internal flight. He also said that Jayasuriya was not owed as much as $15,000, although Choga would not say how much exactly was due to him. Boucher said it was not a “great deal of money, but money is money, after all”.Kat Rose’s financial troubles came to a head in the week leading up to the match. The PCB refused to release its star players for the event. “We heard on the Tuesday before the match that the players may not come but, through Cricket Canada, we engaged in further negotiation. We even spoke to the Pakistani consulate in Canada. Up until Thursday we were hopeful that they would be there,” Choga said. “When the players pulled out, we were in a very difficult position. We had a totally different concept to what was advertised. We had to refund tickets and investors pulled out. We had a choice of either cancelling the match or continuing.”Choga said he asked the players who had made it to Toronto whether they wanted to go ahead with the game but was upfront with them about the circumstances under which they would be playing. “I made it clear to them what situation we were in,” Choga said, referring to the fact that Kat Rose no longer had the money to make payments immediately. “I gave them a choice [whether to play or not] and Brian Lara, for example, said he was not willing to play but he would come to the match.” Lara’s omission from the International XI was widely questioned on the day, with no explanation offered.Various Canada players made up the rest of the Asian contingent and the result was a much lower-profile event, played in front of an estimated crowd of 12,000 in the Rogers Centre, which can hold over 50,000. Both Kat Rose and Cricket Canada made a loss and the players involved have not received any remuneration. “We’ve got our accountants and lawyers involved to see what we can do but nothing is certain right now,” Choga said. “We owe banks money and we owe sponsors explanations.”Cricket Canada, meanwhile, has also not been paid its share of the monies either and has expressed regret over the matter. While Choga said Cricket Canada was paid certain instalments in the planning phases, he admitted they were not given any of the ticket proceeds. Doug Hannum, the Cricket Canada chief executive, said they also suffered financially and although they are not directly responsible for player payment, they “will not take a penny until the players have been paid”.Hannum said Cricket Canada had noted a few important lessons from the botched arrangements of the event. “What we have learnt is that is it not easy to host these kinds of events and it requires the co-operation of multiple cricket boards. We will not enter into an agreement like this again unless we are absolutely sure that the people we make the agreement with have made proper arrangements.”Still, Hannum believes the match was “a great success and quite well attended given the circumstances”. He acknowledged that Cricket Canada’s reputation would have suffered as a result of the failed organisation. “It doesn’t help our cause at all and it will make it more challenging for us to try and hosts events like this in future,” he said.

Tom Maynard, the Surrey and England Lions batsman, has died at 23, after an incident on the London underground, the club has announced

David Hopps18-Jun-2012Tom Maynard, the Surrey and England Lions batsman, has died aged 23. His body was found dead on the rails near Wimbledon Park tube station in south London around dawn on Monday morning; police say the incident is currently being treated as non-suspicious.It was reported that Maynard had been pulled over by police while “driving erratically,” less than an hour before his death. Metropolitan Police said that he had abandoned his black Mercedes and fled the scene.A police statement said: “At approx 4.15am on Monday, officers stopped a vehicle after it was seen being driven erratically in Arthur Road, SW19. The male driver of the vehicle – a black Mercedes C250 – made off on foot. Officers were unable to locate the man. At approx 5.10am the body of a man fitting the same description was found on tracks near Wimbledon Park station.”British Transport Police officers were called to the line near Wimbledon Park London Underground station. A BTP statement said: “The incident was reported to BTP at 5.03am and was also attended by Metropolitan Police officers. London Ambulance Service medics attended but the man, believed to be 23 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is currently being treated as non-suspicious.”It is believed that the driver on an early morning District Line train alerted the authorities after he witnessed a body on the track but was unable to stop.As well as a Coroner’s Report into Maynard’s death, the Independent Police Complaints Commission is expected to receive a routine report on the circumstances, as it occured shortly after the involvement of police officers.The news was broken to shocked England players as they arrived at Maynard’s home ground of The Oval, where the flags were flying at half-mast ahead of the second ODI against West Indies on Tuesday.A Surrey statement said: “Maynard was an incredibly talented young batsman. His future potential was unlimited, with experts both inside and outside the club predicting he would soon follow in the footsteps of his father Matthew by graduating to full England honours.”Surrey have postponed their Friends Life t20 game against the Hampshire Royals at the Oval on Wednesday, but England’s ODI is expected to go ahead.Tom Maynard was the son of Matthew Maynard, the former Glamorgan batsman who played Test and one-day cricket for England. Tom Maynard was regarded as one of the brightest talents in the game, a destructive middle-order batsman who was perfectly suited to Surrey’s enterprising style of cricket. He had played in Surrey’s FLt20 defeat by Kent at Beckenham on Sunday.He left Glamorgan following the removal of his father as director of cricket in November 2010 and joined Surrey where Rory Hamilton-Brown, a former Millfield schoolmate, had been appointed the youngest captain in the country.Tom Maynard was found on the line near Wimbledon Park tube station•Alex Winter

Tragedy has struck Surrey for the third time in 16 years. Ben Hollioake, an England allrounder of rich promise, was killed in a car crash in Australia in 2002 after driving back late at night from a family meal. Hollioake, 24, died instantly when his black Porsche 924 came off the road on a ramp in the early hours of the morning in Perth, Western Australia.England’s cricketers, who were contesting the second Test in Wellington, New Zealand, when hearing of Hollioake’s death requested that the England flag be lowered to half-mast and wore black armbands.Nearly six years earlier, on New Year’s Day 1997, Graham Kersey, the county’s wicketkeeper, died in a car accident near Brisbane. Adam Hollioake, Ben’s brother and the Surrey captain at the time, dedicated their Benson and Hedges final success the following summer to the player.From Australia, Adam Hollioake’s tweet must have spoken for many when he wrote: “Wot is going on at Surrey? R we cursed or something? Graham Kersey, my bro, now this…. Treasure every moment with loved ones x.”

Fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep has been called up to the Sri Lanka squad for the remainder of the one-day series against India, in place of the injured Nuwan Kulasekara

Sa'adi Thawfeeq23-Jul-2012Fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep has been called up to the Sri Lanka squad for the remainder of the one-day series against India, in place of the injured Nuwan Kulasekara. Pradeep has played three Tests, but is yet to debut in ODIs.Sri Lanka’s chairman of selectors, Ashantha de Mel, said that Pradeep will join the team on Monday, after returning from Zimbabwe, where he had played in the tri-series involving Sri Lanka, South Africa and Zimbabwe’s A teams. Pradeep had picked up three wickets in two matches in the tournament.Pradeep debuted in Tests in October 2011, against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, and was originally part of Sri Lanka squad that toured South Africa following that. However, he injured himself in a warm-up game in South Africa and was out of action for three months. He returned to first-class cricket in March, and was picked for the home series against Pakistan.Kulasekara had strained his groin while attempting a catch in the first one-dayer against India on Saturday. After the incident, he could not complete his quota of overs and came out to bat only at No. 11 with India in control of the match.The second one-dayer will be played in Hambantota on Tuesday.

Mignon du Preez will lead a 14-member South Africa squad at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in September

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2012Mignon du Preez will lead a 14-member South Africa squad at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in September. This will be South Africa women’s first experience of playing cricket in Sri Lanka.”Our captain, Mignon du Preez, has played a vital role in our preparations and is growing quickly in this leadership role,” Yashin Ebrahim, the coach of the team, said. “Her calm demeanour, both on and off the field, has gelled the squad.””She will be backed up by some fine individual performers such as her vice-captain, Trisha Chetty – who is one of the best wicketkeepers in the world and is also ranked among the top ten specialist batsmen – Shandre Fritz, who is our only player to have scored a century in this format and Sunette Loubser, last year’s SA Women’s Cricketer of the Year.”South Africa would hope to improve their dismal record in Twenty20 matches – three wins in 21 attempts. They have been placed in Group B along with New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka. South Africa play hosts Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament on September 26 in Galle.South Africa squad: Mignon du Preez (capt), Trisha Chetty (vice-capt), Susan Benade, Dinesha Devnarain, Shandre Fritz, Alison Hodgkinson, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Marcia Letsoalo, Sunette Loubser, Sune Luus, Yolandi van der Westhuizen, Dane van Niekerk

George Dobell at New Road04-Sep-2012
ScorecardChris Wright picked up his second five-for of the season•PA Photos

Like a wrestling bout between a seal and a polar bear, this has been a disturbingly unequal contest between local rivals with little in common other than geography.Warwickshire treated Worcestershire not as an obstacle to the Championship title, but as a road. Worcestershire, who recorded their lowest first-class total since 1971 and their lowest ever against Warwickshire, were brushed away with an ease quite unbecoming of this level of cricket. Having chosen to bat first on a blameless wicket, a total of 60 was not just woefully inadequate, it was embarrassing. Tellingly, their senior pro, Alan Richardson, tweeted an apology to supporters at the close of play. “That’s about as bad as it gets,” he admitted. “It can’t be easy watching us sometimes.”This was a depressing day for Worcestershire. Not only did their distant hopes of salvation recede to the point of invisibility, but it was hard to conclude that the future was very bright, either.Lacking the budget of most of their Division One rivals, Worcestershire have had to recruit more through the address book than the cheque book. Some of the players they have brought in are decent cricketers and may well shine in the Birmingham League. But, in arguably the toughest first-class domestic competition in world cricket, they look some way off the pace.The underlying issue is not just a lack of quality at the club – though that is one issue – but also the failure to coax the best out of the talent they do have. The likes of Moeen Ali, Vikram Solanki, Ben Scott, Alexei Kervezee, Richard Jones, Gareth Andrew, Daryl Mitchell and Aneesh Kapil all have the ability to prosper at this level. Yet all have endured disappointing seasons. Failure as widespread as that suggests something in the environment at the club is wrong.The fact is that only two men in this team – overseas batsman Phil Hughes and captain Daryl Mitchell – average over 25 in first-class cricket this season – that they have failed to score 350 in a Championship innings this season (they have passed 300 only twice) and that, in this game, their first and second change bowlers were men with 12 first-class wickets between them. One – Joe Leach – barely gets a bowl in the Birmingham League and the other – Nick Harrison – gained selection after a List A performance where he conceded 83 in seven overs against Lancashire including 30 in one over. His first ball at this level was a wide and his second a long-hop that was cut for four. Aged only 20, he has the time and the talent to develop into a decent cricketer. Right now, however, he looked somewhat out of his depth.Some will call for Steve Rhodes, the director of cricket at New Road, to be sacked. But even if Worcestershire was that sort of club – and it really is not – there is no chance of that. Not only will the club remain loyal to a man who has, in the last two or three years, achieved rather a lot with rather a little, but they can scarcely afford the cost of jettisoning a long-term employee. Besides, the club know they will not find a more passionate, hard-working coach. In the long-term, it is anticipated that the development that will see the start of construction of a hotel on this ground within a few weeks will allow more money to be invested into cricket at the club. In the shorter-term, many of these players will have a chance to develop in the lower division. It may not be such a bad thing.Some changes have taken place already. Solanki has been dropped – not an encouraging scenario for Surrey supporters who will welcome him as their replacement for Mark Ramprakash next season – while Scott is pursuing opportunities outside cricket having been told that he will not be offered a contract extension. Scott remains a keeper of the highest class, but his failure to score runs consistently has undermined his career.”I feel quite embarrassed by our batting,” Rhodes admitted afterwards. “It was a terrific wicket, but either technically or tactically, we batted very poorly. They bowled exceedingly well. But some of those dismissals…Well, it was men against boys. If I had played like that as a youngster in the Yorkshire leagues, I’d have had my backside kicked. But they are young and when you are young you make mistakes. It’s been a disappointing day.”Cricket is a wonderfully unpredictable game, of course, and Worcestershire might yet stage a remarkable recovery. But on the evidence to date, the gulf between these sides is vast. Warwickshire, it should be remembered, are without several first choice players. Not only are Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes and Jeetan Patel absent on international duty (Woakes could yet be drafted into this game in place of Tom Milnes), but Tim Ambrose is absent with a thigh injury that may well keep him out of the CB40 final. Trott, too, may struggle to return for that game.Here it was the bowling of Chris Wright and Keith Barker that gave Warwickshire the initiative. The pair bowled unchanged throughout the slightly extended first session – extended so as to include the entire Worcestershire first innings – and both achieved not just five-wicket hauls (Barker’s fifth of the season; Wright’s second) but surpassed 50 Championship wickets in a season for the first time in their careers.Huge credit for their emergence must go to Warwickshire’s bowling coach, Graeme Welch. Jim Troughton, the Warwickshire captain, referred to them as “unpolished diamonds” when they arrived at the club but, through the skills and belief instilled by Welch, they have developed into high-class bowlers that would find a place in many international sides. It is worth noting that both men went unwanted elsewhere: Barker first offered his services to Lancashire, while Wright has passed through the hands of Hampshire, Middlesex and Essex. Welch, in identifying and nurturing their talent, will have played as big a part in Warwickshire’s success this season as anyone.”We wanted to have a bowl anyway,” Jim Troughton, the Warwickshire captain said afterwards. “And then neither bowler would give the ball back.”They complemented each other nicely: Barker, left-arm and persistent, found late swing, while Wright, right arm and a bit sharper, found seam and swing movement. The pitch had a hint of green and the conditions were overcast, but there were no terrors in either. Rhodes rated it as “one of our better wickets”.The truth is that the batting was painfully thin. Mitchell, perhaps deceived by Wright going wide on the crease, played across a straight one; Hughes, Matt Pardoe and Brett D’Oliveria pushed unnecessarily at ones that left them; Kervezee prodded at one he could have left and Ben Cox pulled obligingly to a deep fielder. Leach was beaten by inswing and Moeen Ali, feet in concrete, by outswing.Later Varun Chopra, in registering his third Championship century of the campaign, provided not only a nudge to the England selectors but surpassed the Worcestershire total on his own. Alan Richardson demanded respect and, on 44, Chopra survived an edge off the admirable Chris Russell that flew through the slips for four. On the whole, however, Chopra eased to a century characterised by some elegant drives and dismissive cuts with ease.It all means that, if Warwickshire score 350 and win this game, the Championship title will be theirs. Warwickshire do not have one hand on the County Championship trophy. They have it in a Bear hug.

Pakistan’s celebrated bowling unit’s rare off day put a latch on it, but their batsmen smashed down the qualification door by chasing down 176 with eight balls to spare

The Report by Sidharth Monga25-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
It wasn’t all pretty, but Imran Nazir was effective enough•AFP

Pakistan’s celebrated bowling unit’s rare off day put a latch on it, but their batsmen smashed through the qualification door by chasing down 176 – their highest successful chase – with eight balls to spare.To progress in the tournament, Bangladesh needed to not only post their first win over Pakistan in 13 years, but win by at least 36 runs. On a true pitch, Shakib Al Hasan posted the highest score by a Bangladesh batsman to facilitate their second-highest total, but Imran Nazir whacked his way to the fastest fifty in this World T20 to calm down any nerves there might have been after the effort in the field.It was also a night that will be remembered for shoddy short bowling on a flat track and shoddier catching by both sides. Sohail Tanvir put down one of the simplest catches ever put down in international cricket, Kamran Akmal let through a regulation take, but it was the drop by Abul Hasan, brought in to replace Elias Sunny, that proved decisive in the end. Had he held on, Nazir would have been gone on 1 and Shafiul Islam would have got off to a confident start with a first-ball wicket. Nazir ended up with 72.It didn’t help that the chance had come off a short delivery, which encouraged them to keep bowling short, and Nazir, often good with the horizontal bat, took full toll. In his second over, Shafiul kept bowling short and was carter for four, four and six. Another short ball that went for five wides made it 20 off the over, and Pakistan had had a head start at 43 for 0 after four overs. Clearly they were not going for just the qualification. The win was on their mind.

Smart stats

• Imran Nazir’s strike rate of 200 is the second-highest for a Pakistan batsman for a fifty-plus score. Umar Akmal is on top with a strike rate of 206.45 during his 64 against Australia in 2010.

• Shakib Al Hasan’s strike rate of 155.55 is the fourth-highest for a fifty-plus score by a Bangladesh batsman in Twenty20 internationals.

• The target chased (176) is the highest for Pakistan in Twenty20 internationals. Their previous highest was 165 against Australia in 2007.

• The 124-run stand between Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez is the second-highest opening stand for Pakistan in Twenty20 internationals. The highest opening stand for Pakistan (142) also came against Bangladesh.

• The run-rate in the game (9.12) is the seventh-highest in World Twenty20 matches (minimum 30 overs in the game) and the second-highest in a World Twenty20 game involving Pakistan.

Mohammad Hafeez remained the calm man at other end, chipping and pushing runs as Nazir kept up his power hitting while getting at least one short ball every over. After Shakib put the brakes on with just four in the seventh over, Nazir stepped out of the crease to hit Abdur Razzak over mid-off to break the rhythm. That four took him to 42 off 18, and the fifty came when Shakib provided him with a long hop for six in the 10th over.That even Shakib was making mistakes was sign enough. Relief arrived for Bangladesh when Nazir and Hafeez fell in one Hasan over, after which came a quiet five-run over, bringing the equation down to 45 needed off five overs. For the first time it seemed Pakistan might be conscious of that qualification mark – now nine runs away – but Nasir Jamshed quashed those thoughts with two of the finest shots, four through point and a flicked six over square leg, off the next two balls.That was cue enough for Kamran to open up too, and the rest was just a stroll. Had you mentioned the word stroll in the first innings, though, Pakistan’s coach Dav Whatmore would have given you a piece of his mind. For the most part, it was a stroll for Shakib, who capitalised on the brisk start provided by Mohammad Ashraful and Tamim Iqbal.Shakib had the extra responsibility after playing a significant role in Tamim’s run-out at 61 for 2 in the sixth over. He had himself raced away to 16 off 11 by then, took it easy for the next three overs, and then resumed the charge with two fours off Saeed Ajmal in the 10th over. When Tanvir dropped a dolly from Mushfiqur Rahim in the 13th over, Shakib had reached 42 off 30. He introduced a second wind to that innings now, hitting short deliveries from Yasir Arafat for four and six to bring up his fifty.Another period of calm followed when Arafat and Shahid Afridi managed two wickets in five deliveries, but Kamran failed to make it three in eight when he dropped a sitter from Nasir Hossain. At 133 for 4 in the 16th over Shakib remained the main threat. He moved around the crease in the 18th over to pay with Umar Gul’s length, scoping, flicking and cover-driving for fours. With 33 coming off the last three overs, Pakistan’s travel agent might have had a look at Karachi fares, but Nazir put them back on their way to Colombo.

The PCB has welcomed the possibility of the day-night Tests, calling the change a “boost in the game’s value for the host boards”

Umar Farooq02-Nov-2012The PCB has welcomed the possibility of the day-night Tests, calling the change a “boost in the game’s value for the host boards.”The ICC announced earlier this week that Tests can now be played under lights, allowing the boards of the two countries involved to decide on playing times and the brand, type and colour of the ball used. Pakistan have already experimented with day-night long-form cricket twice, by playing their first-class Quaid-e-Azam trophy final in January 2011 and December 2011 under lights with orange ball, instead of the pink ball that has been mainly used by various other boards.The Executive Coordination Committee of PCB met at Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday and welcomed the ICC’s decision. “Cricket has changed over time and this decision (of day-night Tests) would provide the cricket fans with an opportunity to watch the cricket matches played under this format during prime-time television,” PCB said. “The Committee observed that the application of the concept would also increase the product value of these matches for the host boards.”Pakistan has been a no-go country for major international teams after the attack on Sri Lankan team in March 2009. Since then, Pakistan have played their ‘home’ series away from home, mostly in UAE – where Pakistan failed to draw too much of a crowd for the Test matches, partly due to play being during working hours. Pakistan’s last home Test series was against England earlier this year in UAE and the next Test series is against South Africa in October next year.Experiments over the past couple of years have shown that either pink or orange balls are easier to sight than the traditional red one under lights. West Indies, England and Bangladesh have experimented with pink balls. The PCB, however, was undecided over the colour of the ball to be used for day-night Tests, though it has preferred the orange ball to the pink one in domestic trials. The experiment proved successful with the captains, umpires, referee and broadcaster giving encouraging feedback over the visibility of the ball.

A round-up of the fourth round of the President’s Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2012An unbeaten 94 by middle-order batsman Shoaib Malik took Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a six-wicket win against Habib Bank Limited in Sialkot. Chasing 176 to win, they were in trouble at 13 for 3, but Malik put on an 84-run partnership with opener Shehzar Mohammad, and followed it up with a 79-run stand with Anwar Ali to achieve the target. After conceding a 28-run deficit in the first innings, PIA’s bowlers, led by seamer Najaf Shah, bowled Habib Bank out for 147 to give their batsmen a fair chance of winning the match.After choosing to bat, Habib Bank struggled to find momentum in their innings, largely due to fast bowlers Aizaz Cheema and Anwar Ali, who took seven wickets between them. Opener Shan Masood’s 42 was their highest score as they were bowled out for 200. But Fahad Masood, by taking 6 for 33, brought them back into the contest, and helped restrict PIA to 172. Even that meagre total was reached after half-centuries from Malik and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, who put on 90 runs for the sixth wicket.Habib Bank’s No. 3 Aftab Alam scored a half-century in the second innings but he was the only one who provided some resistance as Shah and Cheema ran through their line-up. The target didn’t look likely to be overhauled when Masood shook PIA’s top order, but Malik took them to victory. Faisal Iqbal had a poor game with the bat, scoring nine runs.In Faisalabad, a strong first-innings batting performance by Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), which helped them gain a 123-run lead against State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), took them to three points after the game was drawn.Middle-order batsman Yasir Arafat led KRL’s first innings, with a patient 80, as they scored 311. SBP kept losing wickets regularly in reply, and were struggling at 107 for 8 before middle-order batsman Mohtashim Ali and No. 10 Hasan Mahmood helped them reach 188. Left-arm spinner Nauman Ali was the chief wrecker with four wickets.Half-centuries from opener Zain Abbas and Saeed Anwar jnr. led KRL’s second-innings effort before they declared at 183 for 5, at the end of the third day.Chasing 307, SBP openers began positively, putting on 103 for the first wicket. There was a brief stutter when three wickets fell for 15 runs, but opener Farrukh Shehzad and No. 6 Usman Saeed took them to safety, and the match was called a draw after 73 overs.An unbeaten century by Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited‘s (ZTBL) Haris Sohail wasn’t enough to prevent a 186-run defeat against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) in Rawalpindi.SNGPL, after being put in to bat, scored 250, led by captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s 110, the Pakistan captain’s first fifty-plus score of the season. Allrounder Abdul Razzaq was the chief wicket-taker with six wickets but it wasn’t too happy a game for him after that as he scored two ducks. WicketkeeperZTBL couldn’t recover in the contest after their first-innings collapse, bowled out for 99, mainly due to a six-wicket haul by seamer Samiullah Khan which gave SNGPL a big lead of 151.SNGPL backed their bowling performance with strong batting. Opener Taufeeq Umar scored 80, and shared a 153-run partnership with Azhar Ali, who remained unbeaten on 129 when SNGPL declared at 256 for 2, setting ZTBL a stiff target of 407.Samiullah was again the chief wicket-taker in ZTBL’s chase. Sohail was the only batsman who provided some resistance, as they were bowled out for 221, giving SNGPL victory by 186 runs and taking them to the top of the table.Adnan Akmal missed the match despite recovering from a finger injury, on account of his upcoming wedding.

Karnataka batting coach J Arunkumar defended his team’s decision to bat first on a grassy pitch, saying the batsmen had come out with a plan to bat positively after seeing off the new ball

Kanishkaa Balachandran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium08-Dec-2012After Karnataka were rolled over for 192 on the opening day of their encounter against Delhi at home, the point of debate was the wisdom of opting to bat first on a grassy pitch. Their batting coach J Arunkumar defended the move, saying the batsmen had come out with a plan to bat positively after seeing off the new ball. He admitted that the batsmen failed to execute their plans properly, playing the wrong shots before getting settled.Robin Uthappa was out in the first over to Ashish Nehra – to an lbw call that Arunkumar called “dicey” – and that opened the floodgates as Karnataka struggled to build partnerships and lost wickets at regular intervals.”It was a collective decision to bat first. We felt it was a good surface to bat on if you played positively and the batsmen went with that mindset,” Arunkumar said. “Unfortunately, before they got settled they were dismissed. Robin’s wicket was unfortunate. It looked a bit dicey. Nobody settled in long enough to start playing strokes. Stuart settled in and he too looked positive. We saw that Shikhar [Dhawan, the Delhi opener] also did the same.”Most of Karnataka’s batsmen were done in by fine swing bowling by Parvinder Awana, who took 5 for 81, and contributions from Sumit Narwal, Rajat Bhatia and Nehra. The bowlers kept the ball up and the batsmen were guilty of several edges behind the wicket.”The loss of wickets may have affected a few batsmen psychologically, especially those who are more particular about technique,” Arunkumar said. “Those who bat aggressively may not have been affected.”Arunkumar, a former Karnataka batsman, said he was accustomed to such surfaces during his playing days. He said it was a kind of pitch which didn’t give undue advantage to the bowlers, and that the batsmen could make decent scores on it too. “I have played on this type of pitch before, back when we used to have [Javagal] Srinath, [Venkatesh] Prasad, [Dodda] Ganesh. We used to get these pitches regularly. I have been quite successful here and you know as a batsman that the opportunity will come to drive and cut.”He said he didn’t expect the pitch to change much in character on the second day. “The pitch will remain green. The top layer looks a bit loose and there are chances that the ball will keep low. In the last game [against Odisha] in the first innings there were indentations on the surface. Therefore we thought we should get first use of the pitch.”

A wrap of the final day of the ninth round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jan-2013
ScorecardAround noon, during their lunch break, Railways came to know Saurashtra had won their match. That meant Railways would not qualify for the knockouts even if they won. Around that time, Sanjay Bangar, one of the most respected domestic workhorses, made up his mind it was time to end his 20-year first-class career.Bangar’s team-mates were stunned at the decision, but they delivered him and Railways a consolatory win. One for the road. Or track, in the case of the team made up for Indian Railways’ employees.Bangar himself took two important wickets, those of opener Arindam Saha and captain Wriddhiman Saha. It went into the final session, though, and towards the end Anureet Singh began Bengal’s final slide with the wicket of Debabrata Das, who scored 44 off 55.
ScorecardRajasthan had taken the lead on the third day, sending Hyderabad into relegation, and day four was pretty academic. However, Vineet Saxena used the day well to sign off the season with an unbeaten 146.
ScorecardAlong with the paucity of quality spinners in India, probably as big an issue could be the inadequacy of domestic batsmen against good spin bowling. Madhya Pradesh provided the latest example of that, losing eight wickets for 45 runs in 22.1 overs to hand the remaining quarter-final spot in Group A to hosts Saurashtra. And it wasn’t even an experienced slow bowler who did the damage. It was 22-year old debutant left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, bowling with a classical pivot, who ran through MP to finish with six wickets in the innings and nine in the match.Click here for the full report.

ScorecardMumbai aborted a chase of 135 off a minimum of 41 overs and instead settled
for three points for the first innings lead against Gujarat in their last
Ranji Trophy Group A game at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium.Click here for the full report.