Glamorgan’s hopes of promotion from Division Two of the County Championship were dashed on the final day at Cardiff

16-Sep-2010
Scorecard
Glamorgan’s hopes of promotion from Division Two of the County Championship were dashed on the final day at Cardiff, first by Worcestershire’s win at New Road and then by their failure to bowl Derbyshire out in a contrived finish. The Welsh county’s match had been heading for a tame draw but when it became obvious that promotion rivals Worcestershire were going to beat Sussex, Glamorgan did a deal to set up a game.At 92 without loss in their second innings, the hosts were fed 177 runs in only 17.2 overs before they declared on 269 for 3 to leave Derbyshire needing 160 in 38 overs. Although Glamorgan reduced the bottom county to 63 for 5 in the 22nd over they failed to run through tail and when the players shook hands Derbyshire were 123 for 5 with sixth wicket pair Dan Redfern and Robin Peterson having added 60 in 19 overs.James Harris broke through twice in three overs to remove Wayne Madsen and Chesney Hughes, before Chris Rogers was bowled trying to leave a ball from James Allenby. From 33 for 3 Derbyshire lost two more wickets to Dean Cosker with Wes Durston and Greg Smith both going leg before wicket.Having held second place with a 22-point lead over Worcestershire going in the final two games, Glamorgan eventually finished five points behind the promotion places. They had started the day 68 runs behind Derbyshire in the first innings with little prospect of a positive result at that stage. But the Welsh county knew they could still afford to draw and even lose if Worcestershire did not manage to beat Sussex.Steffan Jones and wicketkeeper Tom Poynton continued to frustrate Glamorgan as they brought up a half-century stand for the ninth wicket after resuming on 234 for 8. But the partnership of 70 was ended when Jones was trapped lbw by Cosker to become the slow left-armer’s 50th first-class victim of the summer, the first time Cosker has achieved the feat.That gave Glamorgan a third bowling point, and Cosker wrapped up the innings when he trapped Poynton lbw to bring up his first five-wicket haul of the season. It left Derbyshire 276 all out, giving them a first innings lead of 110.Glamorgan took lunch on 53 for no wicket and seamlessly moved to 92 when both sides agreed to decide to try to contrive a result, which saw Madsen and Poynton coming on to bowl gentle spinners. But the hosts did lose three wickets in the pursuit of quick runs with Mark Cosgrove pulling Poynton straight to Hughes at midwicket, Ben Wright driving straight to Robin Peterson and Tom Maynard caught.Gareth Rees reached his century and celebrated it in slightly embarrassed fashion before Glamorgan declared on 269 for 3 – having scored 177 runs in quick time.

Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy steadied England’s nerves with a game-breaking stand of 67 in 7.1 overs, as Pakistan succumbed to a five-wicket defeat in the first Twenty20 at Cardiff

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller in Cardiff05-Sep-2010England 129 for 5 (Morgan 38*, Yardy 35*) beat Pakistan 126 for 4 (Umar 35*, Swann 2-14) by five wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGraeme Swann was outstanding as he took 2 for 14 from his four overs to restrict Pakistan•Getty Images

Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy steadied England’s nerves with a game-breaking stand of 67 in 7.1 overs, as Pakistan succumbed to a five-wicket defeat in the first Twenty20 at Cardiff. Chasing a meagre total of 127 after Graeme Swann had bossed the contest with a sharp-turning and incisive spell of 2 for 14 in four overs, England were at one stage in some strife at 62 for 5 at the halfway mark of their innings. However, Shoaib Akhtar undermined a feisty bowling spell with a dreadful fielding performance, as Pakistan’s bid for on-field redemption after a week of grim allegations floundered at the first attempt.The critical moment of England’s innings came in the 12th over, with the game still in the balance at 77 for 5. Morgan, on 13, unfurled his trademark reverse sweep against the legspin of Shahid Afridi, and chipped a facile chance to Shoaib at short third man. The chance, however, slipped straight through his fingers and down to the turf, and with it – there and then – went the match. Morgan shifted effortlessly into one-day finishing mode, clipping and dabbing six fours in an unbeaten 38 from 24 balls, while Yardy, also dropped on 11 by Kamran Akmal, followed up an invaluable bowling performance with a Man-of-the-Match-winning 35 from 26.After winning the toss after a half-hour rain delay, in overcast conditions that matched the prevailing mood after a week of damaging and distracting off-field issues, Paul Collingwood chose to bowl first to keep his team on the right side of any potential Duckworth-Lewis calculations. He was rewarded with a diligent display that kept Pakistan’s big-hitters very much in check throughout, and though England themselves dropped three catches of varying degrees of difficulty, they conceded just eight fours in the innings, no sixes (for the first time in Pakistan’s T20 history), and a solitary extra in the 19th over.Ryan Sidebottom, one of the key components of England’s World Twenty20 triumph back in May, opened the innings with a loose over that was biffed for 12, but that was arguably the only moment that Pakistan were in command of their innings. Two balls later, Kamran heaved across the line for Tim Bresnan to make England’s first breakthrough, and Pakistan struggled to regain the upper hand thereafter.Playing in his second Twenty20 and his first for four years, Mohammad Yousuf played some extravagant lofted drives in a carefree 26 from 18 balls, but Swann made his now-habitual early impact, striking with his fifth delivery as Morgan pouched a lofted pull at midwicket. Two overs later, Shahzaib Hasan was dragged down the track and smartly stumped by Steve Davies, who took over from Michael Lumb at the top of the order, and claimed the gloves off Craig Kieswetter to boot.With extravagant turn on offer right from the start of the spinners’ spell, Yardy once again put in an admirable spell, and was rewarded with a sharp caught-and-bowled to end a frenetic but uneffective innings from Fawad Alam, who groped and prodded to 20 from 29 balls, but never looked likely to dominate the bowling. Afridi was much more effective in his 16 from 14 balls, even though he benefitted from two lives in a single over from Stuart Broad – the second of which was a dolly to Luke Wright, running in from the long-on boundary. Abdul Razzaq, with 49 sixes in his Twenty20 international career, didn’t make it to the middle.In reply, England made an awkward start with Kieswetter’s struggle for form continuing. He made 6 from seven balls before wafting at Shoaib and scuffing a thin edge to Kamran , while Ravi Bopara, slotting in at No. 3 in place of the out-of-form Kevin Pietersen, made 11 from 13 balls before Mohammad Yousuf – not renowned as the finest fielder in the world game – backpedalled admirably on the long-on boundary to cling onto a steepling thwack, again off Shoaib.Davies looked lively for his 33 from 27, before whipping Umar Gul off his hip and straight to Wahab Riaz at square leg, while Afridi – with typical flamboyance, struck twice in two overs to remove Collingwood for 4, as he inside-edged onto his stumps, and Luke Wright for a second-ball duck, as he lined up a sweep and was bowled round his legs. But then came Shoaib’s clanger, and England didn’t look back.

After walloping India Green in the last league game, India Blue repeated the dose in the final to win the Challenger Trophy in emphatic fashion in Indore

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2010
ScorecardTanmay Srivastava cracked a well-paced ton•Getty Images

After walloping India Green in the last league game, India Blue repeated the dose in the final to win the Challenger Trophy in emphatic fashion in Indore.The game had a sense of déjà vu from start to finish: Tanmay Srivastava, opening in place of Shreevats Goswami who had fallen for a duck in the previous game, almost suffered the same fate when he edged Dhawal Kulkarni down the leg side in the opening over. Naman Ojha, however, failed to hold on to the offering and Srivastava was on his way. Shikhar Dhawan began aggressively once again, but it was Srivastava who took control with a well-paced century. After the inevitable lull in the middle overs, Manoj Tiwary once again launched a late assault to leave India Green gasping.Dhawan began the fireworks, pulling Kulkarni for six in the fifth over, and slamming him for three consecutive fours in the seventh. Srivastava was more watchful, feeling his way to 17 at the ten-over mark. Abhimanyu Mithun removed Dhawan in the 12th over, and in the process stalled the momentum of the innings . Ajinkya Rahane, who had been in top form coming into the game, scratched around to score seven off 22 balls, as India Green threatened to rein things in. Yuvraj Singh could not make an impression either and his exit in the 26th over left India Blue struggling at 118 for 3.Srivastava, however, had reached his half-century by now, and was about to turn the tide along with Tiwary. The pair laid the platform with a mixture of deft placement smart running before opening up in the 40th over. Srivastava brought up his ton with three successive boundaries off Mithun and the pair took the batting Powerplay in the next over. Srivastava, however, could not cash in and was stumped off Ashwin. There was no stopping Tiwary, though, as he accelerated with mathematical precision in the final ten. With wickets falling at the other end, he kept the flag fluttering with a boundary each in the 43rd, 46th and 49th overs. He smashed Mithun for a six and a four in the final over before perishing for 84 in search for the final flourish. Piyush Chawla finished the innings by paddle-scooping Mithun for six more, setting India Green a daunting chase under lights.Their response was meeker than yesterday’s, as RP Singh and Chawla bullied them with regular wickets. Robin Uthappa briefly threatened to repair the innings, but his exit for 30 signaled the end of the game as a contest. The final rites were administered in the 37th over as India Green folded for 147. Their captain, S Badrinath, later noted that his side has conceded 30 runs too many, but in reality, the gap between the two sides was much wider than that.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was unsurprisingly full of praise for his team after they wrapped up their first ever series victory on Australian soil with a 29-run win in the second one-dayer at the Sydney Cricket Ground

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2010Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara was unsurprisingly full of praise for his team after they wrapped up their first ever series victory on Australian soil with a 29-run win in the second one-dayer at the Sydney Cricket Ground.”There’s a lot to be taken out of the way we played these games,” he said. “It’s fantastic. We played the way we believed we could coming here. It was just a case of us fighting to convert every opportunity and tonight I thought it was a great all-round performance.”The last time Sri Lanka were in Australia, in 2007-08, they were beaten 2-0 in the Test series and failed to reach the final of the CB series, which also included India. This time, they met an Australian side struggling for form, having lost five consecutive games across all formats going into this series. But Sangakkara insisted that Australia’s struggles didn’t take the gloss off a maiden series win down under.”It means a lot,” he said. “This is a stage we always wanted to get to where everyone does what is asked of them and you can’t ask any more of the players. They have grown in stature and self-belief. Sri Lankan cricket seems to be in really good hands going forward.”While Sri Lanka’s new generation of players, such as opening batsman Upul Tharanga and allrounders Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews, played a major role in the team’s victory, Sangakkara also made special mention of Muttiah Muralitharan, who is on his final tour of the country.”What more can he do?” Sangakkara said of Muralitharan. “To win the series in Australia on his last tour here. We are thankful to have a champion like him in the side.”

Mitchell Johnson has spied the doubts in the eyes of the England batsmen after regaining his powers as one of the game’s most potent fast bowlers

Peter English at the WACA19-Dec-2010Mitchell Johnson has spied the doubts in the eyes of the England batsmen after regaining his powers as one of the game’s most potent fast bowlers. Johnson responded from his dropping in Adelaide with nine wickets in the third Test, including a game-turning effort on the second day which Ricky Ponting called “one of the all-time great Ashes spells”.His inswingers to the right-handers at 140kph make him a brutal weapon and he was a constant threat to England’s batsmen during the 267-run victory. “I saw a bit of doubt in their minds throughout the second innings and when that ball is swinging around it puts a lot of doubt in people’s minds,” Johnson said. “But there are still two Tests to go and I’ve got to take it one at a time, keep trying to improve as a cricketer.”Johnson spent two weeks rebuilding his action in the nets with Troy Cooley, the bowling coach, before the contest and Ponting was hugely satisfied with the results. England were 0 for 78 in the first innings before crashing to 187 after Johnson’s stunning burst of 4 for 7 in the opening session of the second day.”The ball was swinging and Mitch’s spell was probably one of the all-time great Ashes spells,” Ponting said. “Him coming into the game under a bit of pressure as well, it was an amazing achievement and set up this victory and the series for us.”The spell has transformed him and transformed how they think about him in the English dressing room. Some of the deliveries he bowled will have them seriously thinking about how they play him. I heard rumours coming into the game that they had Mitch’s type of bowling worked out – I am not sure they think that now. You don’t end up with the record he has by fluke, you have to have a lot of skill and commitment.”After taking 6 for 38 in the first innings, Johnson backed up with 3 for 44 in the second as he and Ryan Harris knocked England over for 123. Harris matched his team-mate’s haul of nine wickets, finishing with a career-best 6 for 47.Harris’ collection included four of the five victims on the final morning, with the crucial breakthroughs being the lbw of Ian Bell and the edge of Matt Prior. He has played only four Tests but already has 20 wickets and has quickly become a key member of the developing attack.”He’s not put a foot wrong and is at home in the international game,” Ponting said. “It was great to see him get that reward. He has toiled away all week and to see him contribute the way he has is great for him and the team.”Harris’ only worry is the state of his right knee, which was operated on a couple of times during the off-season. The pain will stay with him for the rest of his career, but it is not going to stop him from taking part in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.”He’s just taken six-for in a Test match so he’s fine,” Ponting said. “He’s got a couple of extra days off now so that will help.”

India emphasised that they are poor travellers no more by pulling off a series-levelling win in Durban, where they had suffered one of their worst Test defeats in 1996

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran29-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jacques Kallis failed to survive a vicious bouncer from Sreesanth•Getty Images

India reiterated that they are no longer poor travellers by pulling off a series-levelling win in Durban, the scene of one of their worst Test defeats in 1996. Monday’s victory at Kingsmead, after a humiliating loss in Centurion, joined other famous successes over the past decade on some of the world’s fastest tracks – Headingley, Jamaica, Nottingham, Johannesburg and Perth.The match was even at the start of the fourth day but India’s bowlers barely sent down a bad ball in the morning session to seize control of the Test. A Sreesanth snorter to Jacques Kallis started South Africa’s slide, before two lbws – one a marginal decision and the other a howler, both sure to refuel the UDRS debate – hurt them further. Ashwell Prince tried to resist but India plugged away to remove the tail an hour into the second session and set up a decider in Cape Town next week.The ebb and flow of the match was matched by Sreesanth’s bowling form. The wayward, antic-loving Sreesanth was missing in the morning as he sent down an accurate spell of sustained hostility. The highlight was in the day’s seventh over – an unplayable bouncer that reared up sharply and jagged in towards Kallis, who had no way of avoiding it. He jumped and arched his back in an attempt to get out of the way but could only glove it to gully. It was the snorter needed to remove the kingpin of South Africa’s batting. There was no over-the-top Sreesanth celebration either, just a fist pump before getting back to business.That wicket put India slightly ahead, and there was no doubt who the front-runners were when AB de Villiers offered a half-hearted forward defensive against a Harbhajan Singh delivery from round the wicket. He was struck in front of middle, looked lbw and the umpire agreed, though Hawk-Eye suggested the ball would have bounced well over the stumps.Mark Boucher has, over a decade in international cricket, built his reputation as a scrapper and, with Prince also around, it wasn’t yet lights out for South Africa. Boucher, though, made only 1 before he was given lbw to a delivery that was angling across him and comfortably missing off stump .South Africa had lost three wickets, and there was still no boundary in the morning, a testament to the scarcity of bad deliveries. When the first four did come, from Dale Steyn, it was an edge to third man. Steyn had pinged Zaheer Khan on the helmet with a quick bouncer on Tuesday, and was the target of a string of short balls. After three of those, Zaheer slipped in a fuller delivery, which Steyn duly nicked to slip.At 155 for 7, with lunch 45 minutes away, the game looked set for a quick finish. Prince and Paul Harris, however, resisted with some dour batting and a couple of confident boundaries from Prince. They saw out the 10 overs to the break but a pumped-up Zaheer, chatting with the batsmen after almost every ball, ended the stand in his first over after the resumption with a peach that clipped Harris’ off stump.Prince and Morne Morkel then stood firm for an hour, reducing the required runs to double digits. India’s wait seemed to have ended when Ishant Sharma had Morkel wafting to gully, but that turned out to be his regulation wicket off a no-ball. In his next over, though, Ishant didn’t overstep when he found the edge off Morkel to Dhoni. Two balls later, an alert Cheteshwar Pujara threw down the stumps from short leg, catching the No. 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe short, and sparking celebrations. The Indians were ready to grab the stumps as souvenirs, when they realised the third umpire had been called for. The dismissal was confirmed moments later and there was no stopping the celebrations this time.India came into this Test with their No. 1 status questioned after the clobbering in Centurion and doubts over whether they had the bowling to take 20 wickets. They provided answers to both in Durban, handing South Africa their third straight defeat at the venue.

Daniel Vettori berated New Zealand for a familiar batting collapse on the third evening in Seddon Park, as the hosts crumbled to 110, handing Pakistan a 10-wicket victory

Andrew Fernando at Seddon Park09-Jan-2011Daniel Vettori berated New Zealand for a familiar batting collapse on the third evening in Seddon Park, as the hosts crumbled to 110, handing Pakistan a 10-wicket victory. New Zealand lost their top six batsmen for 25 runs within the space of an hour, falling prey to excellent spells from Wahab Riaz and Abdur Rehman.”I think we fought pretty hard in the morning to give ourselves a chance to come back into the game,” Vettori said, after New Zealand bowled Pakistan out for 367 in their first innings. “The three seam bowlers had to work pretty hard throughout, but then to let it all slip with a familiar batting performance in the third innings leaves a really sour taste.”The match had been well poised at the tea break, with New Zealand 59 runs in arrears and all their wickets in hand before they capitulated catastrophically in what turned out to be the final session of the Test. The hosts lost ten wickets for 74 runs and Vettori blamed poor decision making for the collapse. “You need to make good decisions in Test cricket. There were four or five today, run outs, rash shots, bad decision-making and it all adds up to being bowled out for 110.” Ross Taylor was run out attempting an ill-advised single, while Tim McIntosh, Martin Guptill and Reece Young all fell to injudicious strokes.Vettori claimed that despite the woeful performance, there was enough talent in the top order to justify their places in the team. “Brendon’s obviously been outstanding since he became an opener and Timmy McIntosh got a 100 two Test matches ago. There’s been some good performances from everyone in that top six, but we are just going to have to become more consistent.”Vettori also said that he and coach John Wright had already reproached the side for the collapse and expressed a desire to bid farewell to batting efforts like today’s. “You have to look pretty closely at your own performance. [John Wright] and myself have spoken to the team and there were a lot of harsh words. Wrighty stated quite emphatically that things have to change, you can’t keep putting those performances together. He wants to be part of the change and obviously I do too, so it’s got to start at the base.”Pakistan’s bowling in the second innings should also be given credit, Vettori said, after Wahab stunned New Zealand with an exhibition of brilliant fast bowling with a tailing ball, while Rehman bowled a tight line as he had done throughout the match. “Riaz in particular came in, bowled a ten over spell and really gave them the impetus to come hard at us.”The match wasn’t completely devoid of positives for Vettori however as he reserved praise for Tim Southee, who bowled 32 nagging overs in the first innings at an economy rate of 2.56, for two wickets. “I thought this was [Southee’s] most impressive Test match performance. It was a flat wicket and for him to come in and bowl so much and so consistently was what we’ve really been looking for from Tim. He could have easily taken five or six wickets the way he bowled. He batted well in the first innings too, so it was a pretty good Test match and those are the performances that we expect of him, particularly with his talent.”Reece Young too, received plaudits from his captain on debut, after a tidy performance behind the stumps. “He looked composed with the gloves and with the bat. He’ll obviously want to go on with the bat and get some runs, but I thought he looked pretty good.”Vettori allayed fears about his own health, stating that he expects to make a full recovery after he had been ill on day two, seeming sapped of energy in the outfield. There were also reports that he had undergone blood tests for various diseases. “I feel a lot better today, all my results have come back clear. I need a couple of days’ rest but I’ll be alright for the Basin Reserve.”

With players of seven different nationalities, Canada are often called the United Nations of cricket, and are hopeful of causing an upset or two in the World Cup

Mohammad Isam10-Feb-2011Canada were the first team to arrive in Bangladesh for the 2011 World Cup on Wednesday evening and, though there is little local awareness about the team, their ride from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the team hotel made headlines for the traffic jam it caused – a reminder to Dhakaites that with the excitement of hosting a World Cup come the attendant security and other issues.Being the first team on the block, though, ensured maximum attention for Canada and their captain Ashish Bagai. Freshly shaved, Bagai, 29, was hardly recognizable to even those journalists present on that day in Durban in 2003 when Bangladesh were shocked by the Canadians.Bagai, the wicketkeeper so synonymous with Canadian cricket and one of seven professional players in the side, is leading a team that has seven different nationalities and an age-bracket typical of the ICC’s Associate nations. There is the 16-year-old Nitish Kumar (the second-youngest ever to play an ODI) alongside John Davison, at 40 the elder statesman of the side if not the entire tournament. Rizwan Cheema and Zubin Surkari – the sole Zoroastrian in this World Cup – are the bats that are billed to make heads turn while the towering Henry Osinde looks more like an NBA star. There is also the legbreak bowler Balaji Rao, an experienced Ranji Trophy player who moved to Canada for his family. And Bagai himself, born in New Delhi, but having played all his cricket in Canada.”I get asked that question a lot actually,” Bagai concedes. “Sometimes we are called the United Nations team because we have seven different nationalities. It is challenging at times, players here grew up in different cultures and they approach cricket differently.”They play for a common cause though initially it was a bit of a struggle. We learn a lot about each other, the different cultures. But it has been a real treat to lead the side over the last two years. We learn a lot from each other, we take advantage of this.”Expatriates keep cricket alive in Canada and though they get a small window every year, they make the best of it. Balaji, who migrated in 2001 to Toronto at the age when a legspinner usually approaches his peak, is one of the part-timers in the squad despite his vast experience in the Ranji Trophy. But in a country where cricket careers remain a gamble, Balaji had to make a choice between his mother and a promising career.”It was my choice to go to Canada and play,” he said. “I was doing well but I had to move due to my family conditions. My mother was unwell, she had cancer, so I had to take care of her. It was either play cricket or take care of her, and family was important to me.”Balaji took time off from his insurance job (he specialises in auto claims) to play in the World Cup. “I have the knowledge of playing in these conditions. I was exposed to first-class cricket from the age of fifteen. I have played for and against Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble,” he said, counting among his close friends VVS Laxman, and former India internationals Sridharan Sriram and WV Raman. “They have been in contact with me. I am very excited to play in India actually. I have lots of sweet memories but the sweetest has to be taking the wicket of Steve Waugh.”With the expansion of cricket in Canada over the last two years through the introduction of professional contracts, the Inter-Continental Cup and World Cup, the national players haven’t often sat idle during the long winters. “We get five months, from May to September, like the English season,” Bagai said. “Over the last couple of years we have been travelling quite a bit in the winter. We have had camps in Sri Lanka for a couple of months in the winter. We’ve done camps in India and Dubai. The board has done pretty good trying to get us prepared for this event.”The man himself left his banking job in 2009, a move that underlined his faith in the system. “For the last couple of years I’ve been involved in no other profession. We have seven full-time professional cricketers and the rest are contracted till the World Cup. It was a big step for Canadian cricket to get the central contracts. For the last six months, there have been part-time contracts for the rest of the guys.”What has affected them though, is the ICC’s proposal to trim the next World Cup to just ten teams; it would be a big blow for Canada’s cause and could mean this is Bagai’s last such tournament. “It is pretty disappointing and frustrating to have that decision made. But that decision was made keeping a lot of things in mind but that is not in our minds, as players. They have more teams in the Twenty20 World Cup, which they think is the future of world cricket.”Canada are in Bangladesh to play two warm-up games, first of which is against the hosts in Chittagong on Saturday. Canada take on Sri Lanka in their opening World Cup game in Hambantota on February 20 and the skipper is looking keenly into that contest. “It is a new venue, even they won’t know what to expect, so it’s going to be tough,” Bagai said. Obviously Lasith [Malinga] and [Muttiah] Muralitharan are the big threats but if we can get through a couple of their bowlers we have a good chance.”It would be a mammoth challenge but if Canada are dreaming an improbable dream, there’s no better country to find inspiration to carry it out.

Round-up of the third day’s play in the fourth round of matches of the Faysal Bank Pentangular Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2011Sind, driven by a 10-wicket match haul by Danish Kaneria, completed a comprehensive innings victory over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground, within three days. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa began day three on 123 for 6, 335 runs short of Sind’s first-innings total. Mohammed Sami and Kaneria made short work of the tail, picking up the last four wickets for two runs, to finish with four wickets apiece.Sind enforced the follow on and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa did only slightly better the second time around. Wickets fell at regular intervals, with only opening batsman Rafatullah Mohmand (46) and Akbar Badshah (67*) showing much fight. Kaneria did most of the damage once again, picking up six wickets in a 21.5-over spell. Supported by fast bowler Sohail Khan and left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti, he bundled Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa out for 216 to hand Sind an innings-and-110-run win.Baluchistan require a mammoth 413 to beat Punjab at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Though they began the task reasonably, ending day three on 145 for 2, scoring 268 on a day-four pitch could prove tricky. If Baluchistan settle for a draw and get there, that would be a commendable result, considering they were shot out for 126 in their first innings.Punjab, resuming on 215 for 4 – with a lead of 324 – looked for quick runs. Overnight centurion Imran Farhat was bowled by Mohammad Irfan on 128, but the lower order managed a series of cameos at strike-rates of over 100 to get the lead past 400. Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, as Punjab declared on 303 for 9. Baluchistan opener Zain Abbas was bowled by first innings wrecker-in-chief Mohammad Khalil cheaply, but a 110-run stand between Shoaib Khan Jr and Saeed Anwar Jr steadied the innings. Punjab had the last say though, dismissing Shoaib just prior to stumps for 84.

Jamie Dalrymple, the offspinning allrounder, has returned to Middlesex following his exit from Glamorgan in November

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2011Jamie Dalrymple, the offspinning allrounder, has returned to Middlesex following his exit from Glamorgan in November.Dalrymple, 30, left Lord’s in 2007 for Glamorgan, where he spent three seasons, the last two as captain. But in a tumultuous winter for Glamorgan, he quit the playing staff after he was replaced as captain by South African batsman Alviro Petersen.Dalrymple, who played 27 ODIs for England, will not be available for selection in all competitions for Middlesex until 3 June.”At a pinch we could have rushed Jamie’s return so that he was available for the start of the season,” said Middlesex director of cricket Angus Fraser. “But I did not think this was right. I believe the players who have trained hard this winter deserve the first opportunity to stake a claim for first team selection. Depriving them of this opportunity at the start of the season would have had a de-motivating effect on the squad.””I will be watching the early season closely and wish the team every success whilst trying to get up to speed as soon as possible,” said Dalrymple. “I am delighted to have been able to rejoin the club I played with for so long.”Dalrymple made 2,725 runs at 30.27 in 62 first-class matches in his previous time at Lord’s, taking 95 wickets. He also made 1,964 runs in 96 one-day matches at 31.17.”Along with his cricketing skills, Jamie is a natural leader who brings experience and know-how,” said Fraser. “The departure of Owais Shah has left us with one fewer experienced, destructive match-winning middle order batsman in limited-over cricket.”We believe Jamie can fulfil that role. He also bowls good off-spin and is a magnificent fielder. Jamie’s arrival gives our squad an excellent balance of experience and youth.”