All posts by csb10.top

Division One

England team-mates Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott combined to lift Warwickshire to a first-innings lead against Sussex at Hove. Bell hit 104, adding 92 for the fourth wicket with Trott, to put a check on Sussex’s battle to stay on level terms as they struggle to pull away from relegation while the visitors closed in on safety. Warwickshire had begun on an uncertain 15 for 2, but Bell and Ian Westwood added 110 for the third wicket before Westwood was trapped lbw by Dwayne Smith for 57. Then the England duo came together and worked hard against an attack that was dominated by spin from Piyush Chawla and Ollie Rayner. Bell, who was always fluent, reached his hundred from 192 balls, but soon edged Chawla to slip and the legspinner also snapped up Trott for 56. But Sussex were thwarted in their hunt for further breakthroughs as Tim Ambrose and Jim Troughton added an unbroken 63.Marcus Trescothick’s magnificent summer continued unabated with his eighth Championship hundred of the season as Somerset replied in strong fashion to Lancashire’s 344 on the second day at Taunton. It has yet to be 100% confirmed if Trescothick will travel with Somerset to India for the Champions League Twenty20, but the one topic not up for debate is his current form. Lancashire’s last five managed only another 47 as Charl Willoughby picked up 5 for 109, including Paul Horton for a superb 173. In reply, Trescothick and Arul Suppiah scorched 193 for the opening wicket, though Suppiah fell five short of his fourth Championship hundred of the summer. Saj Mahmood broke through to bowl Trescothick for 102 and James Hildreth for 5, while Suppiah was knocked over by Glen Chapple. At stumps Somerset trailed by 78.Durham charged remorselessly towards the title as they pounded Nottinghamshire into the dirt at Chester-le-Street. Dale Benkenstein and Shivnarine Chanderpaul each reached their centuries, adding 203 in 57 overs, as Durham piled up a record total of 648 for 5 before calling time. Admission is free for the next two days and the champagne is on ice. Click here for John Ward’s report.Worcestershire’s relegation was confirmed against Hampshire at New Road. George Dobell watched the action.

Division Two

Kent amassed the second-highest total in their history as Darren Stevens’ equal career-best 208 led them to a massive 652 for 7 declared against Middlesex at Uxbridge. Justin Kemp also contributed 138 and Kent further tightened their vice-like grip as the home side slumped to 109 for 4 at the close. Stevens and Kemp went on the rampage as they added 228 in 48 overs against a forlorn attack in flat conditions. Kemp reached his hundred from 141 balls and Stevens his double off 249. When Middlesex were finally put out of their misery with the ball, it continued with the bat. Spin was on early and James Tredwell removed Adam London and grabbed Dawid Malan, both with arm-balls. Azhar Mahmood claimed the other two to leave Kent well on their way towards victory and another day closer to promotion.Northamptonshire took control against Surrey at The Oval with centuries from Riki Wessels and Niall O’Brien. Click here for Andrew McGlashan’s report.1st dayGareth Rees, with his second century of the season, and Danish Kaneria’s seven wickets shared the honours on the opening day as Glamorgan faced Essex at Cardiff. Both teams still have a chance of promotion if results go their way and it was a tightly contested day on a surface already taking spin. Kaneria bowled 34.2 overs and took 7 for 111 as Essex chipped away. Rees and Mark Cosgrove, back as Glamorgan’s overseas player, opened with a stand of 98 at five-an-over before Graham Napier broke through. William Bragg was soon lbw and Kaneria struck when partnerships began to take hold. Mike Powell fell for 21 and Jamie Dalrymple made 44, but Glamorgan slipped to 240 for 6 and were wasting the opportunity to bat first. However, Rees brought up his ton from 195 balls and Robert Croft helped him put on a valuable 52 only for Essex to hit back again late in the day.

As one-sided contests go, India will find it difficult to outdo this effort against New Zealand. Admittedly, New Zealand’s batting order put up a meek display for the second game running on a decent batting track, but India never eased the pressure for an over. This was further affirmation of a trait this one-day team has prided itself on over the last two years: the ability to not let the foot off the opposition’s throat. This is where New Zealand struggled against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, providing them an escape route, but not so with India.The combined hunger and character displayed in the field was inspiring for a side lacking three key players, and a significant sign for one that has a lot of one-day cricket lined up. One of the key figures today was Ashish Nehra, whose bowling performance was further indication that he has rediscovered his form after a long time out of the side. The last time Nehra bowled at the R Premadasa Stadium he took 6 for 59, but India lost the match, and with it the tri-series. His efforts today set up a win, and he was once again impressive with the new ball.One match into a short tournament which is India’s last chance before the Champions Trophy, the management will have been thoroughly impressed by Nehra’s performance. Despite featuring prominently in India’s 2-1 series win against West Indies where he grabbed three-wicket hauls in their victories in Kingston and St Lucia, Nehra was under pressure. He had spoken of his ambition to lead the attack in Zaheer Khan’s absence. The manner in which he nipped out New Zealand’s openers and stymied runs at the death suggested he will have a big role to play in South Africa, where he has done well.Nehra was spot on from the first over. Jesse Ryder is a batsman who, though extremely still as the bowler runs in and relies on pure speed, doesn’t move his feet much. Having seen Nehra pitch full and bring his first ball in to Brendon McCullum, and then have the first ball to bowled to him land full and do nothing, Ryder paid the price for not moving his feet as he attempted to clip across the line. The ball curved back in and beat the shot. To McCullum, Nehra pitched the wicket-taking ball on a length, on middle and leg. McCullum didn’t get into a good position to counter the angle and the ball rapped him on the pads. He was a dead duck.”We all know the reputation the Premadasa wicket has, of being slow and so on,” said Nehra matter-of-factly, “so the key was to bowl line and length.” His first spell, with figures of 6-0-19-2, was highlighted by his accuracy and ability to keep the right-handers tied down. He fed them a clever mixture of good-length deliveries and, while he didn’t get a lot of swing back in, he was more than enough for this line-up. Traditionally, left-handed fast bowlers provide less width to the batsmen with their angle of release. A right-handed batsman will take plenty of risk if he attempts to crack a left-arm bowler through the off side, because the ball could angle away from him, straighten, or go across and still hit off stump. Nehra kept every batsman he bowled to guessing the angle, and there were plenty of occasions where he beat the bat with lovely curve. It wasn’t fearsome left-handed bowling, but it was a lesson in the art of seam bowling; Nehra repeatedly angled the ball from over the stumps and kept it just outside off.A short ball that Martin Guptill pulled for four was an aberration in an otherwise faultless spell. New Zealand’s batsmen were able to score from only 11 of his 36 deliveries during the first spell, as he landed the ball on a good length with almost unerring accuracy.When he returned late in the innings Nehra gave nothing away and shut out New Zealand in the 47th over. He used his head, varying his pace and, most importantly, bowling with accuracy. His last 16 deliveries cost him six runs and brought him a third wicket; his overall efforts bagged him the Man-of-the-Match award too. If he can touch up on the ball that dips in to the right-hander, he could be a more potent force in time to come.Nehra’s opening partner, RP Singh, also played his part with a sturdy first spell and another at the death. Moving the ball gently away, RP took out two wickets, including Ross Taylor, the prize scalp in a weak line-up.Nehra, whose return to the team owed largely to his success in the IPL, has had his presence here overshadowed by Rahul Dravid. Today, without much fuss, he reminded all of his worth. His return has not been easy. Nehra had to undergo plenty of rehabilitation and had put in the hard yards in domestic cricket and then in the IPL to earn a call-up. “It’s down to a lot of hard work,” he said. “I had to really go through a lot to recuperate and reach where I am today. There was about 18 months when I didn’t even touch a cricket ball. I’m really pleased with today’s achievement, but more important is that we won.”Lasting a complete tour has been a problem for Nehra and he’s had double the number of injuries as his batting average. He has returned looking better than the man who was once just a passenger in the Indian side. “Because of injuries, I had been struggling for the last few years”, Nehra said. “But now I am back on track, since the last six-seven months. I’ve really worked hard and it’s paying off for me now.”Two moments stand out in Nehra’s career: the World Cup match in Durban when he hacked through England with 6 for 23 and a terrific final over in Karachi in 2004 when Pakistan threatened to chase 350. On both instances, inevitably, he had just recovered from injury. Over a month ago, in the West Indies, Nehra offered a fair indication of his fitness and mindset on return to the side; today, he further reconfirmed it with a match-winning bowling display.

New Zealand offspinner Jeetan Patel, who is scheduled to make his eighth Test appearance against Sri Lanka in Galle tomorrow, believes the two-match series will be an ideal opportunity to cement his position in the XI. “This is a chance for me to push my claims to play more for New Zealand; play more Tests, more one-dayers and maybe get back in the Twenty20 side,” he told .Since making his debut at Cape Town in April 2006, Patel has been a regular feature of New Zealand’s test squad. However, in many cases, when final pitch inspections warranted the inclusion of only one specialist spinner, he has to cede the spot to captain Daniel Vettori. However, having featured in both Tests in Bangladesh last October it is likely that Patel would be an integral part of New Zealand’s side in Sri Lanka.Patel will also be looking to improve on his 26 wickets, given the opportunity on the turning tracks of the subcontinent. And he showed what an asset he could be, taking 3 for 81 against Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI in a tour game, an effort that complemented his 72 in the first innings with the bat. “It was just good to get 25 overs under my belt and spend some time in the middle,” Patel said.He said the county stint at Warwickshire had benefited him tremendously as well. The decision to play in England after Warwickshire tabled a three-month deal followed a season where Patel felt he had been under bowled at national and provincial level.”I went over there purely to play cricket because I felt as if I’d lost a few overs [in New Zealand], I didn’t bowl as many as I’d have liked,” Patel said. ” I wasn’t looking at a county but fortunately we picked up one. I actually did get confidence out of the experience. Because I got my loads up and found some rhythm again.”Patel also believed that New Zealand Cricket’s secondment of former Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as a part-time technical advisor has also worked wonders. “He’s been fantastic with all the guys,” Patel said. “For me, we’d go through a check list and just talk about what’s going on out in the middle from a spinner’s perspective.”He’s keen to keep me kosher, keep me in line. I don’t think there’s too much to change now but in future years hopefully we’ll spend some more time together and work on different deliveries.”

It has been a quiet week for Zimbabwe cricket, as the players have finished the easiest part of their long tour and now prepare for the most difficult, the tour of Sri Lanka. They made a dismal start, losing their first two warm-up one-day matches and have a mass of improving to do before the triangular tournament starts on Saturday.On the international scene, Australia came close to losing their title as ICC Test champions when they could only draw against New Zealand. Had they lost that close final Test match, South Africa would have taken over. That would have been largely Australia’s own fault, in one sense.South Africa’s record is credited with series wins over Zimbabwe both at home and away; the ICC apparently decided that the one-off Tests, back to back, in Bloemfontein and Harare two years ago, should count as a two-nil home win to South Africa. Only series of two or more Tests count, and as Australia have still played only one Test match against Zimbabwe, they do not have any qualifying series and therefore no qualifying points from Zimbabwe matches.South Africa will indeed take over from Australia should the latter fail to win either their home or away series against South Africa. But I think Australia have a good chance of winning both, as they did four years ago when there was still no ICC Test championship. South Africa are having unexpected trouble with their pace attack: Shaun Pollock is fine, but their other top four are struggling.Allan Donald’s fitness is still in doubt; Mfuneko Ngam has suffered one injury after another and still has not returned; Makhaya Ntini has badly lost form; while Nantie Hayward seems to be on his way back but is not there yet. Much depends on the ability or otherwise of Allan Donald to stay fit and find his best form.Australia, for their part, seem to have endless reserves in all departments, although there are those who feel that the younger players coming through are not of the same quality as the experienced players. Their failure to beat New Zealand should make them more determined than ever to put things right against South Africa. However it turns out, it should be a great series.Once again the umpiring decisions favoured Australia in their recent match against New Zealand. The likelihood is that they would have lost had Steve Waugh been given out caught at the wicket early in his innings, as he should have been; they might still have lost had not Jason Gillespie been similarly reprieved. Ironically Waugh finally fell, much later, to that most unfair of cricket dismissals, run out backing up as his partner straight-drove and the bowler’s fingertips accidentally brushed the ball as it hit the stumps at the bowler’s end, just as Australia were beginning to look possible winners. Poetic justice, perhaps.What we need is perhaps some umpiring decisions to cost Australia a match or two, then they may well start pressing harder for better use of technology to cut down on these errors. They have the necessary clout worldwide to get things done.One pleasing aspect of that series was the improvement in player behaviour. Both teams have earned themselves reputations for sledging and unnecessary aggravation on the field, but there was generally not a great deal to complain about, even in a series that was unexpectedly close, as a letter from one of our regular Australian readers confirms.The main exception was the nasty and totally undeserved send-off given by Brett Lee on dismissing New Zealand tail-ender Shane Bond, who failed to score and therefore had had no opportunity of annoying the temperamental pace bowler. Here again we see the double standards applied by match referees, as Virender Sehwag was suspended for his antics against an umpire while Lee got away with a fine for his antics against an opponent.Then we get people like Clive Rice who say how nice it is to have characters like Lee in the game, and what a boring old game it would be if players were stopped from abusing their opponents whenever they felt frustrated. Fortunately most administrators still believe that cricket should be a game played in the traditional spirit by gentlemen rather than boors, even if they don’t always handle it very well. In fact, one group of thought is that the Australian team has cleaned up its act on the field largely through the disenchantment of their own public with their on-field behaviour. Let’s hope the South African series is played hard but fairly by both sides. If one drops its standards, the other will be quick to follow.The Zimbabweans actually prefer playing against the Australians rather than the New Zealanders from the attitude point of view. There has been quite a bit of aggravation between the two sides ever since Martin Crowe’s team started it on their first tour to Zimbabwe after we achieved Test status. Our players have experienced regular sledging and niggling at the hands of the New Zealanders, and have responded in kind. On the other hand, they have not endured these unsporting tactics to the same extent from the Australians, perhaps because they consider us less of a threat than the New Zealanders do.Anyway, all credit to both teams for their much more sporting behaviour, although it will take a while, especially for the Australians, to rid themselves of their `ugly’ image. Let us hope that other teams worldwide will follow suit, and not just in the international game either.Like most other Zimbabwean cricket supporters, I am keen for the black Harare club Takashinga (formerly Winstonians) to do well, but it is disturbing to hear reports from several sources of their players’ sledging and needling on the field. They are by no means alone in this; Old Georgians, captained by Gus Mackay, have earned themselves a similar bad reputation, while in the Logan Cup the Mashonaland team is unpopular throughout the country for what is perceived as an arrogant and unsporting attitude.Fortunately Zimbabwe do not usually start problems on the field at international level, perhaps at least partly because many of our players are still somewhat in awe of the big names from other countries. Also fortunately, most of our current international players are not those usually mentioned in dispatches for bad behaviour at a lower level.ACADEMYThe CFX Academy intake for 2002 has just been announced, and the list is below, kindly supplied with comments from Anthea of the Academy.Glen Barrett – University of Cape Town, South Africa
Conan Brewer – Old Hararians
Nyasha Chari – Old Hararians (second year)
Neetan Chouhan – Universals
Charles Coventry – Bulawayo Athletic Club
Glenn Goosen – Alexandra Sports Club
Andre Hoffman – Harare Sports Club
Stewart Matsikenyeri – Takashinga
Jordane Nicolle – Bulawayo Athletic Club
Mluleki Nkala – Queens (second year)
Henry Rinke – Old Hararians
Anald Rushambwa – Takashinga
Sherezad Shah – Universals
Vusimuzi Sibanda – Takashinga
Allan Mwayenga – Under-19s
Hamilton Masakadza – Takashinga
Innocent Chinyoka – UprisingAll the lads are required to be at the CFX Cricket Academy from 4 to 6February 2002 for fitness and injury testing. They have all been notified together with those who didn’t make the selection. The CFX Cricket Academy will officially start on 25 February 2002 but the squad will be coming in for practice on 13 February for their first Logan Cup fixture in Mutare from 14 to 18 February.Next week we hope to interview Dave Houghton for some more information on these players.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle has said that his team is determined to put the ICC World Twenty20 semi-final exit behind them and rebound against the Indians in the four-match ODI series in Jamaica and St Lucia. Gayle cautioned that the tourists will be out for revenge after their disappointing display in the World Twenty20, which included a defeat to West Indies in the Super Eights.The Indians have a poor recent record in the West Indies, including a 4-1 defeat in the bilateral series in 2006 and a forgettable performance in the World Cup the following year, which led to a first-round exit.”Both teams are looking to win and they [Indians] are trying to prove something against us,” Gayle said. “At the same time we want to get more wins under our belt and continue our development. It’s going to be a tough series but we’re excited about it and have fun and play some good cricket all around.”West Indies turned in a much-improved performance in the World Twenty20 after a lacklustre Test and ODI series against England. Gayle admitted that his team had an ordinary day in the semi-final clash against Sri Lanka where the top-order collapse contributed to a big loss.”We were happy to be in the Twenty20 and happy to make the semi-finals but we’re disappointed in the way we lost the game,” Gayle said. “We’re now focused on rebounding by winning here against India.”Gayle had earlier warned against complacency, given that the tourists are without star players like Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag. The coach John Dyson said an aggressive approach would work against India.Dyson also said West Indies had played a lot of cricket and the next significant break would come only after Bangladesh’s visit concludes on August 2. “The players can look forward to two significant breaks after some time and that’s at the end of Bangladesh leading up to the Champions Trophy and then after the Champions Trophy there’s another break leading into the tour of Australia at the end of the year,” Dyson said.Gayle agreed there was some fatigue but the team was focused on getting the job done. “The guys have been home for just a bit but we are back as a unit and we have been playing some good competitive cricket.”The series is part of a reciprocal arrangement between the two cricket boards. West Indies had toured India for four ODIs in 2007, just before the World Cup. The Indians have been on the road since the tour of New Zealand and their packed schedule has included the five-week IPL in South Africa and the World Twenty20. Fatigue was cited as one of the reasons for India’s poor performance in England but Gayle, nevertheless, expects a tough contest.The Indian one-day side performed well in New Zealand, taking the series 3-1.

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam is hopeful the sessions spent by the players with the sports psychologist Maqbool Babri will toughen them up ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in England next month.Babri, who was recently hired by the Pakistan Cricket Board, had two-hour one-on-one sessions with each of the players during the three practice games in Lahore last week.”One of our primary tasks is to make the players mentally tough,” Intikhab told the “Mental toughness is one of the key elements needed to win a major title and we believe that the players can improve in that area with help from steps like having a psychologist around for a while.”Pakistan finished runners-up to India in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa two years back. The players had a conditioning camp at a hill resort in Bhurban before the practice matches. They will take part in the first three days of the five-day RBS Twenty20 Cup in Lahore, beginning on Monday, before flying to England.”We have decided to give the boys a two-day rest because its also equally important to rest and rejuvenate,” Intikhab said. “We are preparing for a major event and want our boys to be in peak physical and mental condition for the England assignment.”Pakistan’s first match is against England at The Oval on June 7.

Sri Lanka’s campaign in the World Twenty20 will be the last to get underway when they play Australia in Nottingham on Monday. The contest is significant because it is Sri Lanka’s first international since the players survived the Lahore terror attacks and it’s Kumar Sangakkara first game as captain since he took over the leadership from Mahela Jayawardene. The biggest draw of the match, though, is the precarious position Sri Lanka’s opponents are in for Australia are a defeat away from becoming the first major side to get knocked out of the competition.Australia have not been eliminated in the first round of a World Cup since 1992 but their disastrous defeat against West Indies on Saturday has not only left them needing to win at Trent Bridge, they need to beat Sri Lanka soundly to improve on a net run-rate of -2.413. Man to man Australia, who bat Brett Lee at No. 10, have an arsenal that appears more explosive that Sri Lanka’s. They started the tournament as one of the favourites to qualify from the group of death but Sangakkara said that being tagged favourites counted for little in this format.”Things can change very quickly in a little period of the game. A few mistakes here and there, even by a top side, and they will pay. We saw that in a couple of games in the tournament,” Sangakkara said. “You can have favourites going into a tournament but during a tournament it changes. It doesn’t matter if a team has the top players in the world, on that day you have to be the best side.”Sri Lanka’s concern during the build-up to the tournament has been their batting. They chased 151 in a warm-up match against Bangladesh with only two balls to spare and were reduced to 44 for 7 by South Africa. Their attempt to get some outdoor practice at the Lady Bay facility in Nottingham was foiled by the wet weather, forcing them to head for the indoor nets at Loughborough on the eve of the Australia game. Should the rain wash out tomorrow’s contest, the teams will share a point, and Sri Lanka could qualify even if they lose to West Indies, as long as it’s by a margin smaller than Australia’s defeat. Given the uncertainty about the weather, Sangakkara said the key was to be prepared to play at any time in any conditions.”The rain has played a big part,” he said. “We can worry about the rain but any team has to be prepared to play and look forward to playing. As soon as the rain stops, the conditions in England enable the grounds to get up and running very quickly. It’s going to be the mental factor, coming to terms with just waiting and being ready to play at anytime.”Despite the chilly and overcast conditions, the early trends have been consistent with those of domestic Twenty20 cricket in England, with the slower bowlers playing a significant role. India deployed the two-spinner strategy with success against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge – the debutant Pragyan Ojha took four wickets – and Sri Lanka will have to make a decision whether to play Ajantha Mendis along with Muttiah Muralitharan. Mendis has the x-factor because, apart from David Hussey, who was Mendis’ team-mate during the IPL, none of the other Australian batsmen would have first-hand experience of playing the spinner. They would have had to rely on video-analysis to formulate plans on how to play him.Mendis, however, was in indifferent form during his last ODI assignment, against India at home, and the IPL, during which he played only four games and took three wickets at 39 apiece. “Ajantha has just got to be a bit more creative in his thinking, more creative in his field placements, and just change the angles of the deliveries he bowls,” Sangakkara said. “The novelty is always going to fade the longer you play cricket. He’s going to have to change and change very quickly. I’m sure he’s going to become a stronger and better bowler for the fact that batsmen are starting to read him better.”Sangakkara played down the motivation Sri Lanka would draw from the opportunity to end Australia’s campaign, saying that the team was focused on winning every game, irrespective of the opposition. But who wouldn’t want to be remembered for knocking out the Australians, especially in his first game as captain.

Leicestershire had two experienced heads to thank after surviving a tough final day against Northamptonshire at Grace Road. Boeta Dippenaar and Paul Nixon guided them through the final session after the second innings slipped to 104 for 4 in the follow-on. The home side were asked to bat again once their first innings was wrapped up for 183, although the final two wickets hung around for 14 useful overs, and Johan van der Wath was in the wickets again when he bowled Tom New. Two strikes by Andrew Hall rattled the middle order as HD Ackerman and Josh Cobb departed in quick succession before Dippenaar and Nixon prevented a collapse. Monty Panesar went wicketless in both innings, which won’t have done his England chances much good even though early-season conditions are made for the seamers.Surrey were forced to follow-on by Gloucestershire at The Oval, but came out of their opening Championship match unscathed after Usman Afzaal’s half century extended their first innings long enough into the final day. Starting the morning on 18 for 3, Surrey soon slumped to 46 for 6 when Chris Jordan edged James Franklin into the slips. Safety was by no means assured, but Afzaal found support from the lower order to finally bring some stability to the innings. The last four wickets helped to add 114 with Afzaal, who was last out for 65. They were put straight back in by Alex Gidman and soon lost Laurie Evans, gloving a short ball from Jon Lewis, and Matthew Spriegal fell to Chris Taylor’s offspin but stand-in captain Michael Brown remained unbeaten on 34.Essex comfortably played out a draw at Chelmsford after Derbyshire decided against gambling in the opening game of the season. The visitors batted on until after lunch before setting Essex 312 off 45 overs and an opening stand of 88 between Varun Chopra and Jason Gallian ensured there wouldn’t be any nerves in saving the match. Ian Hunter continued his impressive match with two more wickets to add to the five he took in the first innings. Derbyshire’s eventual declaration was set-up by half-centuries from Greg Smith (59) and Jamie Pipe (64 not out) after the top order fell early. Pipe clubbed three sixes as he upped the tempo, but there was too much time to make up after rain on the second day.

Group D

Batsmen from both teams thrived at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore but in the end it was Karachi Zebras who claimed points against Water and Power Development Authority with a three-wicket win. Chasing a stiff target of 344, Karachi received solid contributions from almost all their batsmen. Akbar-ur-Rehman and Sheharyar Ghani scored half-centuries but the vital contributions came from Fahadullah Khan, who blasted 85 off 54 balls, and Babar Rehman, who scored 46 off 30. Their aggressive innings allowed Karachi to coast home with 13 balls to spare. For WAPDA Bilal Khilji and Naved-ul-Hasan scored quick half-centuries to lead their team to 343.In an astonishing match at the Iqbal Stadium Habib Bank Limited lost to National Bank of Pakistan by 15 runs in a rail-curtailed game despite piling up 382 in 45 overs. In reply, NBP had motored to 292 for 4 in 36 overs when the match was called off and they were declared the winners based on the Duckworth-Lewis system. They were powered by Salman Butt’s whirlwind 150 not out which outweighed a similar effort from HBL’s Humayun Farhat. Butt hit 15 boundaries in his 112-ball innings. Humayun’s was a more hard-hitting knock, with 18 fours and six sixes. In a match where the bowlers hardly had a say, highly rated fast bowler Mohammad Aamer turned in a superb performance, finishing with 9-2-30-2. His team-mates had economy rates in excess of eight and a half.Khurram Shehzad and Misbah-ul-Haq missed out on centuries but their performances helped Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited complete a 70-run win against Lahore Eagles at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground . Shehzad was run out on 86 while Misbah made 93 off 91 balls to lead SNGPL to 301. Lahore’s openers, Ahmed Dar and Abid Ali, gave them a solid start but after their first two wickets fell with the score on 77 they lost they way. Ali made 83, Dar scored 43 but no one else passed 20 as Lahore were dismissed for 231 in the 43rd over.

Heath Mills, the head of the New Zealand players’ body, has said the Indian board, which runs the IPL, needs to sit immediately with players’ associations and address their concerns about security during the tournament if the players were to be reassured. Mills said the BCCI, which currently does not recognise FICA or other players’ associations, is yet to respond to a letter from FICA, sent four to five weeks ago, raising concerns over security issues.”FICA, through Tim May, sent a letter to the BCCI and the IPL four or five weeks ago,” Mills said in Wellington. “We haven’t got a response to it. We hope to engage the BCCI and the IPL through FICA and to get FICA involved in the security check process. That’s really important from the international players’ point of view. They are very used to player representatives working with the governing body in going through the security process, and if the BCCI wants the players to feel comfortable and secure about participating in the IPL then they need to include FICA in the process. The players will get comfort from it.”FICA’s position on the IPL, which features cricketers from across the world, is crucial because it plays a significant role on issues concerning player welfare in six Test-playing countries. However, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh do not have players’ associations and are hence not members of the FICA.Mills acknowledged the issue had become complicated because the Indian board does not recognise FICA, but said that needed to change. “We’re in a difficult situation because we are so used to working with the ICC on these issues. In fact Sharad Pawar [the former BCCI president] was on the security task force for the Champions Trophy with Tim May so in some instances they’ll work with us. If we don’t get a response from them we’ll be in a situation where we won’t be able to give recommendations or comfort to the players, and they’ll really begin to question the IPL and their participation in it.”The best way forward, he said, was for the BCCI and FICA to sit together and discuss the security measures being put in place and the credibility and experience of those assessing the risk. But time, he warned, was running out. “If they get FICA around the table now hopefully we’ll be in a good position to make decisions and give our players good advice. If they don’t do that we won’t be in a position to give our players any advice.”In terms of deadlines today’s as good a day as any to start working. The guys are going to be travelling four or five weeks’ time so we need time to get our ducks in a row and the players will want to know the security arrangements two or three weeks prior to travelling so it needs to start about now.”