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While acknowledging the opportunity to shut out Pakistan had passed, fast bowler Chris Martin felt New Zealand’s 244-run lead was nearly enough

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009.Chris Martin said Peter Fulton was “unsure” whether he had hit the ball when he was given lbw•Getty Images

New Zealand’s plan at the start of the fourth day in Dunedin would have been to dismiss the tailenders as soon as possible, take a sizeable lead, and then bat Pakistan out of the Test. They achieved their first objective by capturing a 97-run advantage but their quest to accomplish the second was ambushed by Pakistan’s seamers and they limped to 147 for 8 before bad light ended play.However, while acknowledging the missed opportunity to shut out Pakistan, fast bowler Chris Martin felt New Zealand’s 244-run lead was nearly enough. “It wasn’t a direction we wanted the game to head in but the opportunity is there tomorrow,” Martin said. “We may have let an opportunity slip today by not batting them out of the game but, with the lead that we have and the runs that we’ve got now, the game is poised and is definitely there for us to take tomorrow.”Anything over 250 on a wearing wicket with variable bounce is going to be a big ask for them, especially if we do everything in a disciplined manner. In the past, our bowling has given us more opportunity to win games and I think that’s going to be the case tomorrow.”New Zealand’s troubles on Friday were caused by Pakistan’s fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. They swung the ball conventionally, and reverse, cut it, seamed it and thoroughly examined the batsmen’s technique. And Martin said he and the other New Zealand bowlers had learnt “quite a lot” by watching the carnage from the dressing room.”They put us under pressure by bowling straight, making us make a lot of decisions and giving us very few opportunities to score,” Martin said. “They got some nip by hitting the wicket hard and got it to wobble around a bit to make it do a little. If we are a thoughtful side, our bowling line-up in particular, we’ll be able to take a lot from that and take it into tomorrow.”Martin also offered insight into a baffling moment during New Zealand’s innings. Peter Fulton, making his comeback to the Test team, appeared to get an inside edge on to his pad against Umar Gul but he was given out lbw, reducing New Zealand to 91 for 4. Curiously, he didn’t ask for a review and made his way off the University Oval.”He was unsure whether he’d hit the ball,” Martin explained. “It was a very fine edge and sometimes you think you hit your pad or your boot or the ground, it’s hard to know. It’s a new format and such a new part of the game that, like most things, it’s going to take a while to get used to it and to get better at it. I think next time if you’ve got a hunch you’ll pretty much go for it [the review].” New Zealand will want to make better use of the system on the final day.

Sri Lanka have a shot at redemption during this final leg of the tour against a a side that has not been the most confident in this format of late

The Preview by Jamie Alter14-Dec-2009

Match facts

Tuesday, December 15
Start time 09:00 (03:30 GMT)Sanath Jayasuriya is all set to move to the middle order•AFP

Big picture

After a one-sided Test series and an even Twenty20 contest, during which flat pitches and big bats rendered the spinners ineffective, India and Sri Lanka embark upon a five-match ODI series beginning in Rajkot. Chastened by a 2-0 defeat in the Tests, Sri Lanka have a shot at redemption during this final leg of the tour.The focus will be on Kumar Sangakkara and how he backs his talk with leadership and runs – he did thump exceptional fifties in the Twenty20s. The most interesting sub-plots of the series, though, should be the return of Zaheer Khan to 50-over cricket, and Sanath Jayasuriya’s expected move down to the middle order. Jayasuriya’s equation in the middle order – where he has not batted regularly since the early 1990s – and his role with the ball as Sri Lanka nurse Muttiah Muralitharan back will be crucial if Sri Lanka are to compete with India. For Sri Lanka these five matches provide an opportunity to assess their one-day prospects and identify areas they need to work on.Despite their No. 2 ICC ranking, India are not exactly bristling with confidence. They might have won 14 out of 23 completed ODIs this year, but are coming off a disappointing Champions Trophy and a home-series defeat to Australia. Sreesanth is surely out, and Yuvraj Singh is unlikely to play in the opener. That leaves a shaky middle order and a patchy bowling attack, neither of which fired cohesively against Australia. Zaheer and Harbhajan Singh’s task of boosting India’s bowling is now cut out.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
India – LLLWW

Sri Lanka – LLWLW

Watch out for…

A hungry Kumar Sangakkara is precisely the captain and player Sri Lanka need. His successive thrilling half-centuries in the two Twenty20s underlined his quality – if proof were needed – and he remains a formidable figure at the top of the order. Sangakkara hasn’t made a one-day hundred in 34 innings since June 2008, but there were signs in Nagpur and Mohali that his best form might just be around the corner.Sanath Jayasuriya did better than Tillakaratne Dilshan in the Twenty20s but was comfortably overshadowed by Sangakkara’s top-order fireworks. Always a powerful striker, he will now be an important middle-order player regardless of whether Sri Lanka get away to a flier or lose early wickers. The test will be for him to add extra patience to his game in the latter scenario. Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin is equally vital – his spell in the first Twenty20 was crucial to Sri Lanka’s win – and he has a knack of breaking through when the lead bowlers are struggling.It has been exactly 10 months since Zaheer Khan played an ODI, but he held up during the Tests and the break from the Twenty20s should have given him time to rest. India’s bowling wasn’t at its best in the time Zaheer was out with injury and he will reunite with Ashish Nehra, India’s best fast bowler since he returned in June, for the first time since 2005. The two are clever one-day bowlers, and having a potent left-arm opening duo could lift India’s chances.Suresh Raina was a spectator during the Twenty20s and needs to raise his stock in the 50-over format. Yet to be given a fixed spot in the line-up, largely due to Dhoni’s penchant for flexibility, Raina will assume more responsibility now that Yuvraj is likely to miss the first match. He scored two fifties against Australia, but his only centuries so far have come against Hong Kong and Bangladesh. The time may have come for Raina to rectify that.

Team news

Dhoni didn’t name India’s final XI, but Yuvraj’s absence at training signalled towards Virat Kohli getting a game. Sreesanth’s absence may not mean an ODI debut for rookie Sudeep Tyagi, because Praveen Kumar could fill up that opening. Harbhajan will take the lead spinner’s role and the allrounder’s spot should go to Ravindra Jadeja.India: (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.Sri Lanka’s line-up is likely to be significantly different from the Twenty20s, with key changes at the top and in the middle. With Jayasuriya playing in the middle order, Upul Tharanga will open. The last middle-order spot will be a toss-up between Thilan Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby, the latter being the frontrunner.Sri Lanka were dealt a jolt today when Lasith Malinga came down with fever and did not train at the ground. The good news, though, was that Murali is almost certain to return as the lead spinner after missing the Twenty20 internationals due to a finger injury sustained during the Mumbai Test. He showed no signs of discomfort in the nets, though he visited a hospital later for a pain-relief injection on the finger. With Angelo Mathews a guaranteed allrounder, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando and Ajantha Mendis will contest two spots.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Thilina Kandamby/Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Sanath Jayasuriya, 8 Angelo Mathews, 9 Muttiah Muralithara, 10 and 11 Nuwan Kulasekera/Dilhara Fernando/Ajantha Mendis.

Pitch and conditions

For the second year running a bilateral series gets underway at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground. Last November, India and England squared off here and the home side set the tone for a series sweep with a resounding win. While it is a venue with plenty of runs on offer, it isn’t one where India have always enjoyed playing. They have a 50-50 record here and the last time they played Sri Lanka at this ground, in 2007, they lost by five runs.

Stats and trivia

• India have a clear 25-10 win-loss advantage in home ODIs against Sri Lanka. Their recent record is even more dominant, with 10 wins and two losses since 1999.
• Virender Sehwag is the leading run-scorer at this ground, with 259 runs in five innings at an average of 64.75 and a strike rate of 115.62. Sachin Tendulkar has struggled, though, scoring only 161 in six innings. Among the Sri Lankans, Kumar Sangakkara is the only one to score a century here, while Tillakaratne Dilshan has two half-centuries.
• Five of the last six ODIs here – dating back to November 1999 – have been won by the team batting first. Four out of India’s five victories have come batting first.
  

  Quotes

  “We cannot afford to drop our guard and become complacent. Every time we take the field, we go out with the intention of winning the game. We will strive to finish the year with a series victory.”
  “It’s not about what has happened in the series. He’s still a great bowler and can have an impact on the game at any time in the series it has nothing to do with what has happened till now.”

Nasim Ashraf has criticised the amendments made to the board’s constitution which, he believes, provide the sports ministry with the authority to undermine the board’s independence

Cricinfo staff08-Jan-2010Former PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf has said the amendments made to the board’s constitution provide the sports ministry with the authority to undermine the board’s independence. The amendments, recently approved by the constitutional committee, sparked fears of the PCB being consigned to a subordinate role in running Pakistan cricket.”This will prove the death knell for Pakistan cricket,” Ashraf told Dawn. “Nowhere in the world are cricket boards run by any government body. Even in the time of Justice Cornelius, the cricket board always kept its independence and autonomy for good reasons. One can only wonder at the motive of the sports ministry. This will further make cricket victim of political vagaries and bureaucratic red-tapism.”The amendments gave the sports ministry a significant say in the functioning of the PCB. The board could now be directed by the sports ministry to take actions that it saw fit to ensure efficiency in administration and governance. Also, the government could now appoint a nominee to the PCB committees involved in tendering contracts and organising the bidding process for broadcasting rights to cricket matches.An independent governing board headed by a visionary and competent chairman acting as a chief executive, Ashraf said, was in the best interests of Pakistan cricket. “An independent Governing Board comprising regional presidents as well as technocrats should make up the full authority, with the chairman working as chief executive to provide leadership and vision to the Governing Board.”Ashraf added he had appealed to the patron-in-chief of Pakistan cricket, President Asaf Ali Zardari, to review the amendments and said he hoped the current PCB administration will heed the views of former chairmen, including Shahryar Khan, on the matter. “I wish the authority consider the views of the former chairmen of the PCB, who have no interest except love for the game and the country as they have played their innings.”

Cricinfo presents the plays of the day from the second day of the second Test between Bangladesh and India in Mirpur

Sriram Veera in Mirpur25-Jan-2010Twice shy
Rahul Dravid’s innings ended in trouble with a bruised jaw, but he had his share of luck during the knock. The first one came when he was on 9; he backed up too far and Gautam Gambhir’s straight drive went very close to the lunging bowler Shafiul Islam and hit the stumps. Dravid was short of the crease but the question was whether the bowler got a touch. Shafiul was confident that he had but the replays didn’t offer conclusive evidence. Dravid survived. The next one came when Dravid was on 28; a wonderful bouncer from Rubel Hossain had him fending awkwardly low and to the right of the wide slip where Junaid Siddique took a superb catch but it was a no-ball. Unaware of his lifeline, Dravid walked away and had almost reached square-leg when he got the news. There was no visible emotion; he just turned and headed back to the crease.Short stories
Does this even qualify for trivia? When was the last time both Indian openers were done in by bouncers? Virender Sehwag could not get away from a Shahadat Hossain bouncer which came in to cramp him and Gambhir was taken out by an accurate bouncer from Shafiul, operating from round the stumps. The sparse crowd loved both dismissals.And one that wasn’t

Dravid got a ton but it wasn’t all happy news for his fans though, as he fractured his jaw after being hit by another sharp bouncer from Shahadat which forced him to leave the field. He ducked into a short one, in the second over of the second new ball, but it didn’t climb as high as he thought it would. It thudded into the ear-guard, as he yanked his face away at the last minute and after a chat with the physio, Dravid walked off the field.More luck

Sachin Tendulkar had his share of luck as well, being dropped on 27 and again on 53, Raqibul Hossain playing Santa both times. The second was a difficult chance; Tendulkar didn’t connect well with his upper-cut and Raqibul moved to his left at gully and dived but couldn’t get his palms under the ball. The first was a sitter, though. Tendulkar hit an uppish square-drive off Rubel but Raqibul, at gully, floored it. Raqibul sank to the ground, Mahmudullah held his head, the rest looked shocked and the crowd gasped.

Tasmania successfully defended their 261 as they gained a 28-run first-innings lead and extended their advantage over Western Australia

Cricinfo staff20-Feb-2010Tasmania 261 (Bailey 58, Cowan 57, Doolan 53, Magoffin 6-44) and 1 for 31 lead Western Australia 233 (Davis 67) by 59 runs

ScorecardSteve Magoffin started the day with a six-wicket haul, but his batting team-mates let him down•Getty Images

Tasmania successfully defended their 261 as they gained a 28-run first-innings lead and extended their advantage over Western Australia to 59 after two days. Steve Magoffin started the day on a high for the Warriors with a six-wicket haul, but there was no help from the batsmen as they were dismissed for 233.The opener Liam Davis tried hard to keep the innings together with 67, but the Tasmania bowlers kept chipping away and were rewarded with two points and a jump over their opponents into fourth spot. Western Australia’s chase was going well at 2 for 110, but Michael Swart and Mitchell Marsh went in four overs and they were 7 for 157 after Davis, Luke Ronchi and Nathan Coulter-Nile departed in quick succession.Luke Pomersbach was left to hold on and his 32 was supported by Magoffin’s 20, but they both left with too much work to do, even with Michael Hogan’s late blast of 24 off ten balls, including three sixes. The wickets were shared around, with Adam Griffith, Brendan Drew, Tim Macdonald and Xavier Doherty earning two apiece.Tasmania had to face 18 overs before stumps and lost Rhett Lockyear for 18 on the way to 1 for 31. In the morning the Tigers added seven runs as Magoffin finished with an impressive 6 for 44. Macdonald and Tim Paine (31) were both caught behind in a quick finish to the innings.

Plays of the day from Bangladesh v England, 2nd Test, Dhaka, 1st day

Andrew Miller in Dhaka20-Mar-2010Innings of the day
Tamim Iqbal’s onslaught was a cut above everything else that occurred on the first day. A cut, and a drive, and a mow through midwicket for that matter. He needed a touch of luck to get going as two of his first three fours were edges, but once he’d decided that today was his day, there was nothing that England could do to dissuade him. In particular, he treated England’s new world No. 2 bowler, Graeme Swann, with utter contempt, beasting him for three fours and a six from consecutive deliveries to hurtle along to a 34-ball fifty. And his innings was still purring at 74 not out from 48 when the mid-session drinks break arrived to disrupt his focus. Sadly for Bangladesh, he never quite regained the upper hand again.Punchbag of the day
Sometimes the ball just follows you around the field, and when you are a Test captain with an awful lot on your mind – as Alastair Cook was during Tamim’s fireworks – you tend to wish it would just go away. Instead, Cook was pursued as if by an angry hornet from the moment, in the ninth over, when he got both hands to Tamim’s regulation clip to mid-on, but flapped the chance to the turf. Three overs before lunch, Mahmudullah poked a catch through his hands at silly point, soon after the resumption, he wore a drive on the toe that, to judge by his agonised reaction, deserved to be given out as a rebound catch to Prior. Another chance burst through his hands before he could react, and another drive cracked him painfully on the calf. Still, only four more days in the firing line, then Andrew Strauss can take over once again.Debut of the day
James Tredwell was unlucky to miss out in the first Test, but this time England accepted that a second spinner was essential. And so it proved as he chimed in with two vital breakthroughs in a torrid first-day’s work. It was he who extracted Tamim for 85 – conceivably a touch unluckily as the ball looped off his forearm with no obvious deflection via bat – and he later returned to nail Shakib Al Hasan on the sweep, as the captain’s eagerness to reach his half-century lured him into a less-than-ideal stroke. Bowling with flight and patience, and extracting a hint of turn as well, he more than justified his inclusion in a 29-over effort.Debut of the day Mk 2
Jahurul Islam would not have been playing in this Test had it not been for Raqibul Hasan’s much-publicised fit of pique in the build-up to the Chittagong match, and though Jamie Siddons said that he would have welcomed Raqibul straight back into the team, the BCB’s chose instead to impose a three-month ban for the disruption his “retirement” had caused. So Jahurul was given his chance, after an impressive season which culminated in a century and a fifty for Rajshahi in the recent National League final. Alas, he wasn’t able to replicate that form. After seeing off five dot-balls from Tredwell, he was pushed back into his stumps by Swann, and pinned lbw for a duck.Bowling change of the day
England’s decision to play five bowlers was justified from the moment Tamim started laying into their collective resources. Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn bowled five overs between them out of the first 50 of the innings, having conceded 45 runs in their new-ball burst, but when Finn returned with tea in the offing, his height and pace paid instant dividends. Mahmudullah had played with great composure for his 59 from 106 balls, but he couldn’t help but skew a loose drive to Paul Collingwood at backward point from the very first delivery of the new spell.Coaching session of the day
Shortly after lunch, Collingwood underwent some running repairs on the dislocated finger that has been giving him problems ever since the Durban Test in December, and which he seemed to have aggravated while spilling a sharp slip catch in the opening exchanges of the match. However, the discussion that took place by the boundary’s edge – between the vice-captain, the physio, and an extremely animated England coach, Andy Flower – seemed to have far less to do with fingers, and far more to do with finger-pointing. It wasn’t quite like watching Fergie prowling in the technical area, but the overall impression was clear enough. England needed to sharpen up their act, and the suggestions from the dressing-room were soon relayed to young captain Cook.Recovery of the day
Swann was introduced to the attack with unseemly haste this morning, rushed in Red Adair-style as early as the eighth over after Tamim had left their best-laid plans in tatters. However, after five chastising overs, he had figures of 0 for 43, and was looking a bit singed for arguably the first time in a Test match since his nervy Ashes debut at Cardiff back in July. But slowly but surely he regained his poise – aided in no small part by Tamim’s departure – and by the end of the day he was back where he belongs at the top of England’s wickets tally. With figures of 30-4-94-3, you’d hardly have noticed the punishment he took early on.

Angelo Mathews starred with the ball before the fireworks from Kolkata Knight Riders openers eased them to two wins in two games

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran14-Mar-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Angelo Mathews starred for Kolkata for the second successive time•Getty Images

It wasn’t as resounding a thrashing as that delivered by Brendon McCullum’s ruthless innings against the same opponents in the tournament opener two years ago but it was still a massive win for Kolkata Knight Riders in front of a heaving Eden Gardens crowd. Angelo Mathews followed up his fire-fighting with the bat on Friday by starring with the ball to pin down Royal Challengers Bangalore, before fireworks from Kolkata’s openers ensured their team began their campaign with victories over both of last year’s finalists.Kolkata were in control right from the start when Bangalore’s young batting talent failed, and the visitors were left to thank the experienced Jacques Kallis, who made a mad dash from South Africa after playing the Pro20 final on Friday evening, for holding the innings together. However, even his battling, an unbeaten 65 on a slowish track, couldn’t spare Bangalore the eventual hammering.Their troubles began when the surprise move to open with Sreevats Goswami didn’t work out. The pint-sized Goswami was hemmed in by a series of Charl Langeveldt bouncers, and his ploy of backing away to heave the ball to the leg side didn’t come off. Nor could Manish Pandey replicate the wonderful form of his domestic season, looking tentative in his short stay before his attempt to flat-bat Mathews down the ground ended in a bottom-edge on to the stumps.Next in Bangalore’s youth brigade was Virat Kolhi, talked up by coach Ray Jennings as a future Indian captain, who lasted four deliveries before striking a dipping delivery from Murali Kartik to deep midwicket. With two deliveries left in the Powerplay, Bangalore were down to 20 for 3.Kolkata’s new-ball bowlers had done their job, and they were backed up by some intelligent bowling from Mathews and Kartik to put Bangalore on the mat. Mathews sent down several slower bouncers which the batsmen struggled to pick, and Kartik varied his pace and effectively used the assistance provided by the track.It was Kartik who provided the fervent crowd their next chance to scream. Bangalore’s new signing, Eoin Morgan, had started his IPL career confidently with a sensationally-timed off-drive for six off the second delivery he faced, but he was bowled by a short, slow ball, through with his reverse-sweep before the ball arrived.All the while Kallis was starved of the strike, though he had shown glimpses of form, including a ferocious lofted cover drive. He set about rebuilding with the help of another veteran, Rahul Dravid, putting on 38 with some old-school textbook batting. Dravid was looking in fine touch before he contrived to drag a full, wide ball from Mathews on to the stumps.There was more sedate run-gathering with Robin Uthappa after that, and it wasn’t until the 15th over that Kallis opened up, clouting Rohan Gavaskar to the extra-cover boundary. Uthappa got his first boundary in the same region, before Mathews struck twice in four balls. Kallis then started to get innovative, walking across the stumps to paddle-sweep a ball for four to bring up his fifty, and repeating the stroke in the final over. There was a sweet, straight hit for six as well, and the 14 runs in the 20th over lifted Bangalore to 135.It was an underwhelming total on a benign track, but not as tiny a target as the Kolkata batsmen made it seem. Manoj Tiwary may not have much of a reputation as a Twenty20 player, but it was his early onslaught that made the match such a one-sided encounter.After three steady overs, Tiwary blasted Kallis for 14 in the space of four balls in the fourth, including a powerful swipe over midwicket for six. Much of Bangalore’s chances now depended on how effective their spearhead Dale Steyn was, but Tiwary crashed his second delivery over long-off for six more, before a couple of driven boundaries from Brad Hodge made it 17 off the over.The last major threat was Anil Kumble, who also failed to make an impact, with Tiwary picking him for two fours in his first three balls to take Kolkata 60 for 0 after 5.3 overs, effectively ending the contest.Things were less frenetic after that, and though both openers fell the delivery after they reached their half-centuries, Kolkata eased to a victory that will reinforce the belief in the side and among their fans after the abysmal shows of last season.

Mahela Jayawardene, who boosted Kings XI Punjab to an eight-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders with an unbeaten 110, has said he prefers the role of an opener in the shorter format

Cricinfo staff04-Apr-2010Mahela Jayawardene, whose unbeaten 110 boosted Kings XI Punjab to an eight-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders, has said he prefers the role of an opener in the shorter formats. Jayawardene, who averages 62.50 in the four ODIs he’s opened in, was a last-minute inclusion in the Punjab side today, after an injury ruled out Shaun Marsh.”When I got the call, it was a surprise. I told Sanga [Kumar Sangakkara] and Tom [Punjab coach Tom Moody] that I’d like to open the batting, I’ve been opening for my province and I felt really good opening the batting in this format,” Jayawardene said after helping Punjab end their losing streak. “Given any opportunity, you would like to bat up the order. It’s much easier to get your innings going and probably get big runs. It doesn’t matter who gets it as long as we get it and win matches. We’ve played some good cricket but we haven’t finished games. Hopefully now we can finish a good season.”Jayawardene kept Punjab ahead of the required rate in their chase of 200 by sticking to conventional shots, rarely attempting a slog, and finding the boundaries with ease. Sangakkara, his captain, said having such players in the Twenty20 format was an asset. The highest run-getters in this competition are those with sound techniques.”There is [a place for classical batsman in this format],” Sangakkara said. Look at the people who’ve scored a lot of runs; [Jacques] Kallis, Sachin [Tendulkar] – they play beautiful shots and look to hit the ball along the ground as much as possible unless necessary, and today you saw another innings like that.”Mahela just showed us again he can bat anywhere and bat really well. He didn’t play a single ugly shot, just stroked the ball over the fence with ease, and Yuvraj Singh finished the game really well.”Punjab need to win all of their next five games and hope other results to go their way to gain an unlikely berth in the semi-finals, and Sangakkara admitted his side will be playing for pride. “We are a good side and better than the situation we put ourselves in,” he said. “But we’ve got to be responsible for that, there’s no one to blame other than us as a collective unit. The guys’ attitude lifted when they realised that we’ve got to play for each other, and we came out and showed exactly what we could do.”Sourav Ganguly, the Kolkata captain, acknowledged their bowling let them down. “We didn’t bowl well enough. At no stage was there any pressure on Punjab, because boundaries were coming at will, and that took the pressure away from them,” he said.Kolkata are now fifth on the points table, and face stiffer opposition in their last five games as they aim to win a place in the knockout stage. “It’s not the question of tougher teams, it’s a question of how we play,” Ganguly said. “We’ve beaten the two top teams of last year, everybody is beatable.”

A low-scoring encounter see-sawed for close to 95 overs but it was Baluchistan Bears who prevailed by four runs against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Panthers at the National Stadium

Cricinfo staff27-Apr-2010
ScorecardA low-scoring encounter see-sawed for close to 95 overs but it was Baluchistan Bears who prevailed by four runs against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Panthers at the National Stadium. Rameez Alam played a captain’s knock of 86 to take Bears to 187 before a five-wicket burst by Rizwan Haider left the Panthers reeling. An eighth-wicket stand of 52 took Panthers close to the target but they eventually fell short by a narrow margin.Imran Khan made early inroads for Panthers, reducing Bears to 67 for 5. Rameez and Rizwan joined hands for a stand of 57 for the seventh wicket before Yasir Shah struck. Khalid Usman, the left-arm spinner, bowled an economical spell and took 3 for 38 off his ten overs. Rameez was the only player to get on top of the bowlers and he was the last man out in the 48th over, dismissed for 86 by Imran, who finished with 3 for 25.Yasir Hameed gave the Panthers a rousing start with an attacking 31. At 56 for 2, Panthers had the edge but all that changed when Rizwan nipped out four wickets in quick succession to leave Panthers struggling at 86 for 7. It came down to a fighting half-century stand for the eighth wicket between Zohaib Khan and Usman. When Usman fell in the 45th over, Panthers still needed 25. Abdur Rauf, the wicket-taker, then trapped Zohaib lbw and the last-wicket pair fought for close to two overs but Zulfiqar Babar had the final say, getting Imran caught. With three losses in as many games, Panthers are the only team yet to open their account.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes England need to play five bowlers if they are to win an Ashes series in Australia for the first time since Mike Gatting’s side did it over 20 years ago

Cricinfo staff25-May-2010Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes England need to play five bowlers if they are to win an Ashes series in Australia for the first time since Mike Gatting’s side did it over 20 years ago. However, Vaughan feels the current England set-up, led by coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss, will choose to play an extra-batsman instead.”The debate all summer will be about England’s formation,” Vaughan told AFP. “Will it be six batters and four bowlers, or five and five? I firmly believe they are going to need five bowlers in Australia but I think this management group and Strauss will go with six and four.”They will say they win as many games with four (bowlers) as they do with five. I guess the question I will say is ‘well how many real top teams do we beat with four?'”Vaughan opted for a five-man attack during England’s thrilling home win over Australia in 2005. That line-up was led by a rampant Steve Harmison, and included Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard and Ashley Giles. He also pointed out that England used five bowlers in their two Ashes Test victories in 2009.”We beat Australia last year with Freddie (Flintoff) in the team twice, at Lord’s and the Oval, and with five bowlers. I think we need five bowlers. I think Tim Bresnan is a good enough batter to bat at seven, with Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad at eight and nine. But I think they will go in with six (batsmen).”Vaughan, while praising Swann, expressed concern that Australia could target England’s player of the year if he was part of a four-man attack. “He’s had a wonderful year but I just worry that if Swanny doesn’t get it right and the opposition do attack him a little bit more, three seamers on days one and two looks very, very light,” he said. “Maybe they’ll get some overs out of Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood but they are not going to do much damage. We’ll wait and see. But from what I’ve seen of Andy Flower, I think they’ll go with six batters.”Vaughan went on to applaud England’s victory in the World Twenty20 final, the team’s first win in an ICC tournament, calling it an “amazing achievement”. But he insisted it still didn’t compare to the Ashes. “It’s not as important as the Ashes, don’t get me wrong. The Ashes is the pinnacle but, as an achievement, it’s right up there.”