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The pressure on Vikram Solanki grows by the day, and his five-ball duck in England’s loosener on Saturday has only added to the weight on his shoulders.His wretched form of late has been well documented – his three one-day innings against Bangladesh produced 11 runs – and despite bullish comments to the contrary, as he sloped around the team hotel on Sunday he had the air of a man who knows that the noose is tightening around his neck. Duncan Fletcher, the coach, has continued to publicly support Solanki, but even his belief that players should have a good run in the side might not save him.What Fletcher has to decide is whether Solanki is a capable player going through a rough patch or simply not quite good enough to play international cricket. In 21 ODIs Solanki has passed fifty only twice, and worryingly the nature of his dismissals have often raised doubts regarding his tendency to play loose shots early on.Solanki’s team-mates were quick to offer words of support. “He [Solanki] has only played three games, or four including yesterday, where he has not scored too many runs," Marcus Trescothick said. “I am not sure how it will pan out over the next couple of weeks. We have three one-day games left, and I hope he will get some form back pretty quickly. I have tried to help a little bit, but there is only so much you can do.”Luck plays a crucial part in a player’s career, and it was hard not to feel for Solanki after he received what was generally considered a harsh leg-before decision at Moratuwa on Saturday. But as the door came closer to closing on him, it opened for Andrew Strauss, who made the most of his chance with an impressive 83.Whereas Solanki is a hitter, Strauss is happy to accumulate. “I’ll never be a blaster of a cricket ball," he admitted. "My game is based around trying to work the ball around and keep the scoreboard ticking. We have enough players in our squad here who can hit the ball over the ropes. So, hopefully, at some stage there will be a role there for a nudger and nurdler like me. It’s not a glamorous role, but it is there.”Strauss’s chance could come as soon as tomorrow.

Dion Nash, named in the CLEAR Black Caps one-day team yesterday returns to the Auckland side for tomorrow’s State Shield match with Otago at Molyneux Park in Alexandra.Otago lost their first round game with Wellington by three runs earlier in the week and Auckland have lost both their games in the last over.Also returning to the team is Nick Horsley while Rob Nicol, the New Zealand Under-19 representative, was not available due to a broken finger and he will be unable to play for at least 10 days.Auckland coach and selection convener Tony Sail said: “We are very disappointed not to have won our first two matches, when the result was there for the taking.”The players know they have played in two hard fought cricket matches and are disappointed not to have rewarded the very vocal and supportive Auckland crowd with victories.”Also appearing in the game will be Nash’s fellow Black Caps Andre Adams, Kyle Mills and Mark Richardson.The full team is: Brooke Walker (captain), Andre Adams, Aaron Barnes, Tama Canning, Chris Drum, Mark Haslam, Matt Horne, Nick Horsley, Kyle Mills, Dion Nash, Mark Richardson, Reece Young.

Punjab comfortably earned an honourable draw against Baroda in theirRanji Trophy Super League group B match at the PCA stadium in Mohalion Sunday. In arrears by 139 runs on the first innings, Punjab whowere 84 for one at stumps on Saturday, were 274 for four when stumpswere finally drawn. Baroda got five points and Punjab three.Punjab suffered an early setback when skipper Vikram Rathour fellwithout adding to his overnight score of 46. But Reetinder Singh Sodhiand Pankaj Dharmani made matters safe by adding 122 runs for the thirdwicket off 56.4 overs. The two batted patiently, avoiding risks andwhen finally Dharmani was out for 67, Punjab were virtually assured ofa draw. Dharmani faced 175 balls and hit nine fours.Dinesh Mongia fell in the following over for a duck but Sodhi andYuvraj Singh then added 60 runs off 21.2 overs for the unbroken fifthwicket before the match was called off. Sodhi, showing deepconcentration, batted 448 minutes, faced 325 balls and hit 14 foursand a six for his unbeaten 114. Yuvraj faced 68 balls for his unbeaten31, hitting five fours.

Group A

Naumnaullah and Shahid Yousuf scored centuries as National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) set Pakistan Customs a steep target of 410 runs to attain an improbable win on the final day of the eighth round at the NBP Sports Complex. After having gained a slender 23-run first-innings lead over their opponents, NBP hammered 386 for the loss of only three wickets in their second innings and had Customs struggling at 52 for two at close. Naumanullah, fresh from his century in each innings during the previous match against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the same venue, scored his third hundred in succession and fourth in the tournament. His 136 came off 223 balls with 12 fours and a six while Yousuf’s unbeaten 125 took 212 deliveries with the help of seven fours and four sixes. Customs face a daunting task of improving on their first-innings total considerably – where only three of their batsmen reached double figures – to save the match.Hyderabad set up the prospects of their first win of the tournament when they gave third-placed WAPDA an improbable target of 458 runs to win at Niaz Stadium. After having gained a big 167 run first-innings lead over WAPDA, bottom placed Hyderabad scored 290 for five in their second innings with vital contributions from all batsmen before declaring. Faisal Athar top scored with 92. At close, WAPDA were six for no loss in reply.Table leaders Habib Bank Limited (HBL) were left with a modest target of 132 runs for victory by Multan at the Multan Cricket Stadium after having dismissed the hosts for 196 in their second innings. A disastrous start saw Multan lose their first three wickets for only ten runs and, having stabilised in the middle with three 30-plus scores, lost their last four wickets for 12 runs. At close, the HBL openers had reduced the target by seven runs without being separated.Sialkot played well to claim a first-innings lead of 18 even after losing their last five wickets for 37 runs while chasing Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC)‘s 269 at Jinnah Stadium. Sohail Khan picked up three of the last wickets to finish with figures of five for 86 – and took his tournament tally to 43 – as SSGC scored 74 for one in their second innings.Karachi Whites opening batsman Asad Shafiq was unbeaten on 197 against Faisalabad as the tourists replied with a 330 for five at Iqbal Stadium. With only one more day to go, a draw looked certain on the card although the Karachi team still need another 170 runs to overhaul the home team’s total. Asad, who scored a century on his first-class debut in October, scored his second century of his career as no other Karachi batsmen, bar his opening partner Khalid Latif, contributed much.

Group B

With only one day remaining in the match at the KRL Stadium, Karachi Blues still required another 187 runs to attain a first-innings lead over KRL after having gone into close at 217 for seven. Resuming at their overnight 347 for five in a rain-stricken encounter, KRL declared at 403 for seven soon after Bilal Asad had reached his half-century. In reply, most of Karachi’s batsmen got starts but didn’t go on to make big scores as only Shadab Kabir (54), Karachi’s captain, wicker-keeper Mohammad Masroor (56) scored half-centuries.Table leaders Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) may eventually have to settle for only the three first-innings lead points as Lahore Shalimarreached 315 for six at the Gaddafi Stadium. Facing a huge PIA total of 564 for five declared, most Lahore batsmen got among the runs and a 101-run fifth-wicket partnership between Suleman Khan and Ali Raza proved significant. Suleman top scored with 82 off 137 balls with 12 fours while Ali Raza’s unbeaten 60 has come off 102 balls with seven boundaries.At the Arbab Niaz Stadium, hosts Peshawar had Quetta following-on after being dismissed for 143 in reply to Peshawar’s 307. Quetta, however, fared better in their second innings through an unbroken 88-run third-wicket partnership between Hameedullah Khan (40) and Samiullah Agha (61) as they went into close 46 runs behind Peshawar.In the rain-hit match at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) declared at 326 for nine, looking for at least the first-innings lead points against Rawalpindi.They had lost six wickets with only 154 runs before a seventh-wicket stand of 93 between Faisal Naved (80) and Zohaib Khan (53 not out) rescued them. Rawalpindi replied with 22 for one by close.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

Australia’s perfect home summer continued with England’s tour of woe as Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting set up a crushing eight-wicket victory in the opening CB Series game. If England expected any relief after the Ashes whitewash and the Twenty20 demolition they were severely disappointed and they managed to leave the MCG with more severe bruises.Kevin Pietersen felt the most pain after receiving a cracked rib from Glenn McGrath, which ruled him out of the rest of the series, and Andrew Flintoff suffered further on a demoralising trip by giving up 11 runs of wides in the opening over of their defence.The Australian team does not need such generous donations and Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden piled on the misery during a 101-run opening stand that ended in the 16th over. Despite picking up both openers quickly, England barely had time to celebrate their minor achievements before Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke fulfilled their roles in an unbeaten 125-run partnership that earned the success with 4.4 overs remaining. The result continues their impressive winning streak over the past two months and gives Michael Vaughan an understanding of what lies ahead.Vaughan won the toss in his first ODI for 18 months as he returned from a serious knee injury, but it was one of the few highs during a disappointing contest. “When it rains it pours,” Vaughan said. Pietersen made a courageous half-century and England reached 8 for 242 with help from Flintoff, who returned to form to belt 47 from 38 balls. England’s best player of the Test series continued his strong performances, but Pietersen’s desire to dominate McGrath led to the end of his tour.Attempting to force the pace, Pietersen was on 73 when he charged the bowler – it was a popular tactic during the Ashes – and attempted to swivel the ball to the legside. He missed, was almost bent in half by the impact and collapsed to the ground out of his crease. He returned to safety swiftly, spent a couple of minutes with the team medical staff and was taken for a scan after his dismissal that revealed more bad news.The blow troubled him as he continued his innings and he fell to a slightly mistimed heave to deep mid-on for 82 from 91 balls. Pietersen arrived with England needing a boost after Vaughan’s departure for an encouraging 26 and he provided it once he settled. He registered his fifty with a six over mid-off from White, who he later pounded for two rope clearances in consecutive balls, and combined with Paul Collingwood (43) for a crucial 95-run partnership from the discomfort of 3 for 73.Flintoff built on their gains with a bright contribution after struggling during the Tests. With Vaughan in charge he was able to relax with the bat, although he did not enjoy the same feeling with the ball. While Nathan Bracken’s three wickets and two each to McGrath and Mitchell Johnson combined for a fine home-team performance, England struggled from the opening exchanges.It was Flintoff who had a strong say in his side’s early lack of direction when he started the second innings with a spray of 11 runs, none of which came from the bat. His first ball was a wide and another two went for five wides when they were not intercepted by Paul Nixon, the debutant wicketkeeper.Australia were showing off a new uniform in baggy-green colours and the opening batsmen made sure the first outing was as successful as the previous five Tests under the famous cap. Gilchrist and Hayden sped away during the stand that quickly downgraded England’s total from testing to easy.Gilchrist pounded a string of boundaries in front of the wicket during his 60 – the six he launched over long-on off Flintoff was the best – as England’s hopes of a first win drowned. Benefiting from sloppy early bowling, Gilchrist took advantage while the start was slower for Hayden, who returned to the team after missing the Champions Trophy when Shane Watson was preferred.Hayden edged Monty Panesar on 28 and Gilchrist finished with seven fours from his 61 balls in an innings that ended when he nicked Jamie Dalrymple. Ponting made sure the loss of his two frontmen was barely a blip and he eased the side to victory with an impressive 82 off 96 balls. Clarke’s 57 not out was a useful contribution alongside his captain as a new tournament started with an old result.

Derbyshire have named Graeme Welch as their new captain for the 2006 season. Welch replaces Luke Sutton, who left the club at the end of last season to join Lancashire.Welch, 33, takes over the reins of a club whose fortunes last season could hardly have been worse, finishing bottom of the Championship. Welch, though, remains optimistic for the team’s prospects in 2006.”I am very proud to have been asked to lead the side in what we see as a new era for the club,” he said. “While we struggled last season we also showed some signs of promise for the future. With the young players we have coming through and the excellent signings we have made, we are confident of making real progress in 2006.”Derbyshire had hoped to sign Justin Langer, but the Australian batsman turned down the offer in November. However, Welch will have the services of two experienced Test batsmen after Mohammad Yousuf and Jacques Rudolph signed deals for 2006. The Tasmanian batsman, Michael di Venuto, will be Welch’s deputy.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Tatenda Taibu’s maiden Test hundred gave Zimbabwe a great chance of winning the second Test and leveling the series after four days of the second Test at Dhaka. But Bangladesh’s openers launched a brave fightback in the final session and were in a good position to save the game, and maybe even post an unlikely win. At the close, Bangladesh were 98 for 0, needing another 276 for victory.Taibu’s 153, which could yet prove be a match-winning one, spanned 292 balls and included 19 fours and two glorious sixes and put Zimbabwe in a position to win the match. It was particularly special as he rescued the team from a dangerous position – they were struggling at 37 for 4 on the third day – and displayed a wonderful range of strokes once he reached his hundred. It was fitting he reached his century with a sweep, his most productive stroke of the innings, before cutting loose. He swept and pulled Enamul for two sixes and lofted effortlessly over the infield. Bangladesh were handicapped by the availability of only three frontline bowlers with Mashrafe Mortaza picking up a hamstring injury.Douglas Hondo contributed only 3 in a 65-run stand for the ninth wicket but it was a valuable knock as Taibu toyed with the bowlers and regularly jumped out of the crease while facing the medium pacers. In the last over before lunch, Enamul had Hondo caught at short leg but by then Zimbabwe had a healthy lead. Enamul, the star in the series for Bangladesh, then snapped up Taibu’s wicket to finish with 12 in the match and a third successive five-wicket haul.

Set 374 – only three sides have scored more to win a Test – Javed Omar and Nafis Iqbal set them on their way with an unbeaten 98-run opening stand, a Bangladesh record. They were helped by the superb state of the pitch which has got better for batting throughout – few balls kept low and the batsmen were free to play off the back foot. And Omar and Nafis easily negotiated the turn that the spinners extracted thanks to the slowness of the pitch.Both openers dug in deep as runs came at an dreadfully slow rate. Nafis, playing the best innings of his short career, dealt with every ball on merit. Both negotiated a tricky 23-over phase before tea, when they added 36, and Omar survived a lucky reprieve when he was on 5 when Hamilton Masakadza grassed a straightforward chance at first slip off Chris Mpofu. Soon after he survived two extremely close lbw shouts and escaped a close run-out chance.Taibu shuffled his seamers after tea but the batsmen were up to the challenge. Nafis grew in confidence as his innings progresses and soon opened up as he pierced the cover region with a couple of wonderful drives. Graeme Cremer and Stuart Matsikenyeri, the two spinners, didn’t make too much of an impact with the batsmen taking no risks and Nafis soon brought up his third fifty in Tests by lofting one over widish long-on.Taibu grew increasingly desperate, trying eight bowlers to break the partnership but for the first time in this Test, Bangladesh dominated an entire session. Both batsmen played out 57 overs either side of tea and any one of four results is possible on what should be a fascinating final day.

South Africa’s one-day squad got down to work this afternoon when they practised at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore ahead of Wednesday’s floodlit match against the City Nazim XI. After a 36-hour journey from Johannesburg and the effects of jet-lag, it was a deliberately low-key session.”They were probably between 70 and 80% of optimum capacity, which is fine at this early stage of the trip,” said Eric Simons, the coach. “But it’s going to be a really tough tour, so we will be winding up the pace over the next few days.”For some, like Boeta Dippenaar, the session offered a first taste of the conditions so peculiar to these parts. “The nets were superb, flat and a decent pace, the ball came on to the bat very nicely, I hope they are the same in the middle.”The bowlers all had brief spells of target bowling as they eased themselves back into the different lines and lengths demanded on pitches of such benign nature. Alan Dawson, who won the Man of the Series award in the ODI series in Bangladesh in April, enjoyed his first outdoor net since playing against England in July.”The winter in Cape Town is good for business, but not great for outdoor practice,” said Dawson, who is a professional landscape gardener. But with pace variation a prime weapon on the subcontinent, Dawson was pleased with his control. “Yes, it came out really well today – particularly the slower ball, which is good news.”Simons is hoping to get the go-ahead to use all 14 players on a rotation basis in the warm-up match. “It’s not the best way to prepare for a major international game, but time and circumstances mean that we need to give everyone a fair crack in the middle so that they can all make the necessary adjustments in batting and bowling disciplines. These are very different conditions from those we experienced in England.”The City Nazim XI is made up of Lahore-based players with a sprinkling of international experience. Misbah-ul-Haq will captain the team, although the batsman Faisal Iqbal is the only member of the current Pakistan ODI squad who will play tomorrow. The opening match of the series is on Friday under the lights at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Victorian batsman Brad Hodge feared he had suffered a broken cheekbone after being struck a vicious blow in the face while fielding in the Bushrangers’ Pura Cup match against South Australia here today.Hodge sent a major scare into the Victorian camp when he collapsed at third slip with his face bloodied after failing to pick up a regulation edge from Redbacksopener Ben Johnson.After having a 5cm gash under his right eye stitched in the rooms, Hodge was taken to hospital where X-rays revealed no structural damage and he will batsometime during Victoria’s first innings tomorrow.Hodge’s error turned into a costly miss for the Victorians as Johnson, on 23 at the time, went on to carry his bat in making 138 not out in the Redbacks’ first innings of 229.But it could have had far more serious implications for Hodge.Considered an outside chance of forcing his way into the Australian side for the upcoming tri series against New Zealand and South Africa, Hodge intially feared he had suffered a potentially season-ending injury.”It could have been a lot worse,” Hodge admitted after escaping with a black eye and headache to go with the stitches.”I knew it got me somewhere around the eye and I thought with the way the eye is structured, I might have chipped a bone under the eye.”Relieved at not having sustained a serious injury, Hodge was at a loss as to how he came to lose sight of the ball.One of Victoria’s best slip fielders, he had already taken a more difficult chance at third slip to remove opener Jeff Vaughan.He admitted he saw Johnson’s edge initially fly off the bat but then lost the ball in transit.”I’m not sure what happened. All I know is I found myself on the ground,” he said.”I just thought I was going to catch it once I saw it (the edge) off the bat.”

A freer dressing room culture and a renewed focus on fitness helped improve Sri Lanka’s fielding in the recent series against West Indies, interim head coach Jerome Jayaratne said.Slipping fielding standards had been a major area of concern for Sri Lanka in 2015. In January, captain Angelo Mathews had said the team’s poor catching cost them the Wellington Test match, before Sri Lanka’s fielding drew yet more criticism during the World Cup, most notably from then-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya. Chances continued to be spilt during mid-year series against Pakistan and India, but the team has been credited with a better fielding performance against West Indies. Jayaratne said giving players freedom to make mistakes was vital in bringing change.”I said I was going to bring in a policy at the beginning of the series, which was to try and catch even half-chances,” Jayaratne said. “I don’t care whether you drop catches and any dropped catch will not be discussed hereafter. The players started to believe in themselves and were not afraid to drop anything. They gave it their best shot.”Jayaratne said the dressing room atmosphere was “not all that good” when he took over as head coach. “The root of it was they were scared to drop catches. When I spoke to them individually, they preferred the catch going to the next man, rather than to them. Tillakaratne Dilshan likes the ball coming to him and he enjoys fielding. If you don’t find the means to psychologically enjoy fielding, you will never be a good fielder.”Sri Lanka earned their first trophies this year with big victories in the Test and ODI series against West Indies, but the upcoming away tour to New Zealand shapes as a key test for a transitioning team, and as an audition for its acting coach. Players have spoken out in support of Jayaratne so far, and the board is presently considering extending his tenure until the end of the World T20 in April. If the upcoming series go well, Sri Lanka Cricket may consider keeping Jayaratne in the role permanently.”The New Zealand tour will be a very stiff test for us,” Jayaratne said. “New Zealand have been playing good cricket from about a couple of years. It’s good for us especially to play under their conditions. It will show what our guys are made of at the moment.”The selection panel, headed by Kapila Wijegunawardene, have also shifted focus to the New Zealand series, which Wijegunawardene described as a “watershed tour”. He said the West Indies series had helped settle a new Test XI, but hinted the selectors would consider their options for the No. 3 position vacated by Kumar Sangakkara. Lahiru Thirimanne had earlier been groomed to take up that role, but has had a mediocre Test record so far.”What we planned earlier for the No. 3 spot is not quite working out the way we anticipated,” Wijegunawardene said. “We will be open to making a few experiments in that position to see who best needs to be slotted in there. We’re going through some of the performances from the ‘A’ team. There is some element of risk which is being forced on us when trying to identify the right player for the line-up.” Wijegunawardene named Udara Jayasundera, Kithuruwan Vithanage and Kusal Mendis as the players they have in mind for the spot.Thirimanne is not being discarded altogether from the Test set-up, however. “It’s a matter of getting his confidence back for Thirimanne. It can happen to every player now and again. He needs to work on his technical flaws and get his confidence back,” Wijegunawardene said.