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Former West Indies batsman and selector Joey Carew has died at his home in Port of Spain at the age of 73.An attractive left-hand opener, Carew scored one hundred in his 19 Tests, his 1127 runs coming at an average of 34.15. He also took eight wickets with his part-time legspin, and captained Trinidad & Tobago, becoming the first person to lead them to back-to-back Shell Shield titles.He had only played 13 first-class matches in eight years when picked to tour England in 1963, and despite a moderate start to the summer, a century against Glamorgan was enough for him to be picked for the first and third Test of the series.He did not manage a hundred between the end of that tour and the next trip to England three years later, but still made the squad and another timely hundred earned him a call-up for the second Test, but after making 0 and 2 he was immediately dropped.Ten fifties and a hundred on the tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1968-69 helped him secure a regular place in the side, and it was against New Zealand he made his only Test hundred – 109 at Auckland.A third tour of England followed but it was no more successful than the others. He made three hundreds, including a career-best 172 against Leicestershire in a second-wicket stand of 324 with Roy Fredericks, but his form otherwise was indifferent. Generally he struggled in English conditions and in four Tests over the three summers he made only 104 runs.He was in and out of the side thereafter – in seven Tests between 1969 and 1972 he failed to pass fifty – and his final appearance came against New Zealand in Barbados.Carew went on to become a selector for West Indies cricket for 20 years, on and off, retiring from the post in 2006. He was the West Indies’ longest-serving selector.Christopher Martin-Jenkins once wrote of Carew: “Perhaps his greatest legacy to West Indies cricket, however, lies in the advice and encouragement he gave to a young left-hander from Santa Cruz in Trinidad. Brian Lara rewarded Joey Carew richly for the interest he showed in him.” Ironically, it was over a public dispute with Lara, when Lara was captain, over team selection that Carew stepped down from his post as selector.President of the West Indies Cricket Board Julian Hunte paid tribute to Carew, saying he had remained passionate about the game at all levels until the end of his life. “He reached the very top as a cricketer and remained astute and feisty in his assessment of the game and cricketers for the decades he served as West Indies selector,” Hunte said. “He was responsible for selecting some of the greats of West Indies cricket.”Carew’s old opening partner Stephen Camacho, who is now secretary to the board of directors for the WICB, said his contribution as a selector was his most notable one to West Indies cricket. “He was a particularly fine captain and an astute tactician. Joey was a great friend of mine and his passing is an immense loss to West Indies cricket.”

Shane Watson’s brilliant match-winning century at the MCG suggested a mind focused firmly on the job, but his thoughts have been far from the cricket world over the past few days. While Watson plundered an unbeaten 161 against England, the fifth-best individual score in Australia’s ODI history, the residents of his hometown, Ipswich, were starting the clean-up after devastating floods, and by Monday, he’ll be there too.Shortly after Watson brought up victory with a six in the 50th over, he was already casting his mind to Queensland and a two-day trip back home before Australia’s next ODI, which is in Hobart on Friday. Watson has organised a sausage sizzle at a Bunning’s hardware store in the Ipswich suburb of Booval, and he’ll be doing what he can to raise funds and lift spirits.”I haven’t really been thinking about cricket too much,” Watson said. “It has been all about what’s been going on back home and also trying to organise things that I can do after this game to be able to help out in any way I can. It’s going to be great to be able to get up to Ipswich tomorrow morning and to be able to help out. My mind has been there.”I’m really looking forward to being able to get up there and feeling like I can have some input in some way. My family was lucky enough not to be affected, but I know some of my friends who live close to the river, and also my primary school, the grounds close to it were all flooded. It’s going to be heart-wrenching to see the devastation that’s there.”It will be a far cry from the MCG, where Watson thrilled the crowd with a fluent and powerful innings that featured four sixes. Right from the start, the ball fizzed off his bat with impeccable timing, and in pursuit of 295, he and his opening partner Brad Haddin ensured that Australia got to 110 in the 20th over before they lost a wicket.By the closing stages, things became a little tighter but Cameron White helped to close things out with an unbeaten 25, which included a couple of important boundaries to long-on when Watson was tiring. But Watson had enough left in his tank to bring the fans to their feet with the first ball of the last over, when four runs were needed and he lifted Ajmal Shahzad over long-on for six.”Cameron White was great to keep me thinking about exactly what was required and how we were going to do it,” Watson said. “I was a little bit tired at that stage so for him to process it well with me, it worked out nicely in the end. To be able to get through and get a hundred, it’s going to continue to build my confidence if I get close to there in Test matches.”Watson has a habit of failing to capitalise on his starts in Test cricket, where he has made 15 scores from 50 to 99, but only two centuries. However, in ODIs, he has now managed five hundreds. And none of it means as much to him as the trip he’ll make to Ipswich this week.

Khan Research Laboratories moved to the top of the table after they beat Quetta by an innings and 171 runs in less than two days at the Khan Research Laboratory Ground in Rawalpindi. Quetta’s miserable season continued, as they followed up their total of 45 in the first innings with 106 in the second. KRL seamers Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Irfan once again did the early damage as Quetta tried to recover from a 277-run first innings deficit. Arafat finished with 5 for 37 in the second innings and nine wickets in the match. Captain Mohammad Wasim had built on the advantage KRL had from the first day, getting to 152 on Monday and helping his team reach a total of 322 for 7 declared. With a game in hand, KRL are almost sure to make the finals. Abbottabad can only equal them on points if they beat Karachi Whites.Double-centuries by Khalid Latif and Asif Zakir put Karachi Whites in control of their match against Abbottabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Karachi scored 583 for 3 declared in their first innings and had already reduced the hosts to 60 for 4 by the end of the second day thanks to two strikes from Mohammad Sami, the fast bowler who has played 35 Tests for Pakistan. Khalid had retired hurt when on nought on the first day, and only returned towards the end of the day. On Monday, he hit 26 fours and four sixes to reach 200 not out in just 150 balls. Zakir, who was 106 not out overnight, carried on to score 219. Karachi are still in with a chance of claiming the second slot in the finals.After leading the pack for much of the season, State Bank of Pakistan could see their berth in the finals slip away after they were reduced to 199 for 5 by Pakistan Television at the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad. Wicketkeeper Gulraiz Sadaf was SBP’s only half-centurion as Pakistan Television seamers Saad Altaf and Mohammad Ali took two wickets each. Pakistan Television weren’t able to add much to their overnight score of 372 for 6 and were all out for 426, which means SBP still need another 78 runs to avoid the follow-on. With Karachi Whites closing in on their points tally, a loss may cost SBP a place in the finals.Peshawar have been set 175 to win by Lahore Ravi in a low-scoring match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The hosts got themselves back in to the match by bowling Peshawar out for 168, after they had been knocked over for 193 on the first day. But they could only manage 149 in their second innings after collapsing from 119 for 2. Openers Junaid Jan and Abid Ali gave Lahore Ravi a solid start with their contributions of 55 and 43 respectively, but the middle-order could not deal with Riaz Afridi’s seamers and Akbar Badshah’s offspinners. Riaz took a five-for, which gave him nine wickets for the match and took him to the top of the season’s wicket-takers chart. Seamers Abdul Ghaffar and Asif Raza took four wickets each for Lahore Ravi as none of Peshawar’s batsmen got a half-century in their innings.A century by Usman Salahuddin and a half-century by legspinner Saad Nasim at No.8 helped Lahore Shalimar recover and then move into a position of strength against Hyderabad at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. The hosts were at 190 for 6 at the start of the second day, but Salahuddin’s 134 and Nasim’s 75 took them to 355 in their first innings. Salahuddin is now the leading run-getter in Division Two, this season. Lahore Shalimar reduced Hyderabad to 100 for 4 by the end of the second day, with seamers Emmad Ali and Hasan Dar taking two wickets apiece.

A Pakistani TV channel has broadcast previously unseen video footage of Mazhar Majeed, the player agent allegedly at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal, in which he takes the names of four more Pakistani players who, he claims, work with him.The video footage, obtained and shown by the news channel, is part of the hidden camera recordings that formed the original sting operation in August. In those, an undercover reporter pretending to be a member of a betting syndicate was seen meeting with Majeed a number of times to allegedly orchestrate spot-fixing scams involving members of the Pakistan team.At the time the tabloid revealed the names of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir and claimed that there were four others involved but didn’t name them. Butt, Asif and Amir were provisionally suspended by the ICC; the tabloid claimed to have exposed their plan, with Majeed, to bowl deliberate, pre-arranged no-balls during the fourth Test between Pakistan and England at Lord’s.The footage, well-placed sources confirmed to ESPNcricinfo, was shown as an exhibit in the ICC’s provisional suspension hearings of Butt and Amir, held in October in Dubai, and was part of the evidence submitted by ICC against the three.The freshly aired footage takes place in Majeed’s house, where he is talking to a reporter with a hidden camera who asks him about the players who work with him: “What’s the latest situation?” Majeed replies: “I’ll tell you who we’ve got then. We’ve got Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt, Wahab Riaz … that’s six, yeah? Imran Farhat … that’s seven out of 11 players.”Majeed goes on to explain how certain players are good for certain acts and how he targets younger players in particular. “It’s long-term thinking. These boys are going to be around years and I’ve got the best boys.” Senior players such as Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Saeed Ajmal, he says, do not interest him because they only have a few years left. Ajmal, he says, is “too religious.”Of the four players named in the claims aired on Tuesday, Umar and Riaz continue to very much be a part of the Pakistan side; both were selected today in Pakistan’s Twenty20 and Test squads for a tour to New Zealand. Riaz was questioned by Scotland Yard during the England tour, though he was released without any charge laid on him.The eldest Akmal, Kamran, has been frozen out, however, and has not been picked since the England tour. He was the subject of a notice sent by the ACSU after the World Twenty20 in May, but was recently told by the ICC that he is cleared to play for Pakistan.According to the PCB’s chief selector Mohsin Khan, Kamran wasn’t picked for the New Zealand series because the PCB didn’t clear him. Though his Test form has been poor, he would generally be considered an essential part of the limited-overs side given the balance his hard-hitting batting brings.Farhat was part of Pakistan’s squad in the series against South Africa but has also been dropped. His axing is likelier to be the result of poor performances, however, and the relative success of a new opening pair in Taufeeq Umar and Mohammad Hafeez.The emergence of this footage is likely to increase concerns in the ICC – which has not commented publicly on any of the other four players – about the legal representation the suspended trio is getting. Earlier this month, the same channel broadcast text messages allegedly exchanged between Butt and Majeed. That led to the ICC asking the players’ lawyers to return the evidence given to them during the hearings, unhappy that it was being leaked to the media.Observers familiar with and, in some instances, involved in the case have repeatedly expressed concerns over the attitude of some of the lawyers and how it might affect the workings of the final hearings into the case, due to be held in January in Doha, Qatar. Sources who witnessed the provisional suspension hearings claim that the players’ lawyers signed a document agreeing not to discuss the hearing and the case publicly, something that has not happened.

The wicketkeeper Brad Haddin is not worried about his international place despite the impressive claims made by Tim Paine during the incumbent’s absence. Haddin has returned to state action following a long-standing elbow problem that forced him to miss the Test series against Pakistan and India.The time out gave Paine four games in the baggy green and he excelled with his glovework and batting, including registering two composed half-centuries. However, Haddin remains the selectors’ first choice for the Ashes and he said he hadn’t been thinking about his rival.”All I’ve worried about is I’m available to play,” he told AAP. “I’ve spent that long out of the game, no one has really crossed my thought process, it’s just been about making sure I can get back and play cricket. Everyone has an opinion and that’s never going to change and I’m not worried about anything else.”Rod Marsh, the former world record-holding gloveman, felt Paine had moved ahead of Haddin, but it would be a shock if Andrew Hilditch’s panel went for the younger man against England. “I’m not one of those people who sit awake at night hoping someone nicks it or doesn’t get runs,” Haddin said. “I spent all my career behind [Adam Gilchrist] so those sorts of things haven’t crossed my thoughts. I’m not worried about who’s going well or who’s not.”Haddin’s comments came as Greg Chappell, Australia’s newest selector, said it would soon be time to look to the future. “It is no secret that we have an ageing batting order and that is something we need to address,” Chappell said. “And if you look at the batting, that’s an area we have fallen down a couple of times over the last few years.”Teams have always needed balance, genuine pace bowling works well in any era, aggressive spin bowling and aggressive batting also, but you’ve still got the need for the workmanlike players to hold things together, so it’s getting that right balance. I think we’ve got enough flair players in the batting, Ricky Ponting scores his runs quickly, Michael Clarke makes his runs at a good pace when he’s going, so we need to get the balance and the combinations right.”

The England & Wales Cricket Board has announced that it will be taking legal action against Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the PCB, after describing his allegations that England’s players accepted a bribe to lose the third ODI at The Oval as “wholly irresponsible and completely without foundation”.However, in a strongly-worded statement on behalf of the ECB and the England team, it was announced that the final two matches of Pakistan’s tour would go ahead as planned. “It remains in the best interests of world cricket, the players and in particular of cricket supporters that the tour should continue, and it would set a dangerous precedent to call off a tour based on the misguided and inaccurate remarks made by one individual.”Butt’s allegations were of such extraordinary gravity that the ECB waited almost 24 hours before formulating its official response, and their statement was only issued after a lengthy meeting between the ECB and Team England, which stretched late into Sunday night. Present at the discussions were the ECB’s chairman Giles Clarke, the CEO David Collier, the managing director of England Cricket, Hugh Morris, and the England Captain and Coach, Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flower, who went on to have a subsequent meeting with all of the England team.”The team deplores and rejects unreservedly the suggestion that any England cricketer was involved in manipulating the outcome, or any individual element, of the third NatWest Series ODI at the Brit Insurance Oval between England and Pakistan last week,” read a statement issued on behalf of the England team. “The players fully understand their responsibilities as representatives of their country, and would not countenance giving less than 100% in any match they play.”In the circumstances, England’s players were, by the admission of their captain, Andrew Strauss, extremely reluctant to complete the series, and the rawness of the emotions between the two sides was demonstrated by an altercation in the Nursery Ground nets shortly before the start of the the Lord’s ODI, between Jonathan Trott and Wahab Riaz. There had been some speculation that the toss would be delayed as a result, but the game eventually got underway as scheduled.”We would like to express our surprise, dismay and outrage at the comments made by Mr Butt yesterday,” said Strauss. “We are deeply concerned and disappointed that our integrity as cricketers has been brought into question. We refute these allegations completely and will be working closely with the ECB to explore all legal options open to us.”Under the circumstances, we have strong misgivings about continuing to play the last two games of the current series and urge the Pakistani team and management to distance themselves from Mr Butt’s allegations. We do, however, recognise our responsibilities to the game of cricket, and in particular to the cricket-loving public in this country, and will therefore endeavour to fulfil these fixtures to the best of our ability.”Angus Porter, Chief Executive of the PCA, added: “The players appreciate the difficult position the ECB finds itself in, and is fully supportive of the actions taken by the Board, along with the ICC, to ensure all allegations of wrong-doing are properly investigated and acted upon. We will continue to cooperate closely with the ECB, with the aim of ensuring that the work to root out corruption is not derailed by mischievous attempts to detract attention from the real issues.”The ECB reiterated its faith in the integrity of its players by expressing its gratitude for the “outstanding conduct” of the players since the first allegations surfaced against the Pakistan team during the fourth Test at Lord’s, and added that it would be taking “all legal and disciplinary action which may result from Mr Butt’s comments”.”The ECB will continue to offer ICC its full support in taking the strongest possible action against all areas of corruption and is pledged to offering the ACSU its full support at all times,” continued the statement. “Given the current sensitivities surrounding this issue, ECB believes it is imperative that any serious allegations made against another team or player should be presented through the proper channels to the ACSU. Both ECB and Team England view the comments made by Mr Butt as defamatory and not based in fact.Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: “I welcome the decision by England to play the last two games of this tour. It is a pragmatic decision that is in the best interests of world cricket.”

Match Facts

Saturday, October 9, Bangalore
Start time 9:30 am (0400 GMT)Sreesanth is likely to replace Ishant Sharma in the Indian team•AFP

The Big Picture

Can India and Australia produce an encore? Is it even possible to match the high of that first Test? Both teams will miss key men involved in the drama at high noon in Mohali: Ishant Sharma has already been ruled out, Doug Bollinger is extremely unlikely to play and VVS Laxman is in a race for fitness. India have other worries too: Gautam Gambhir was injured in the first Test and isn’t available for selection. But both teams have always found a way to stretch themselves and produce exciting contests – and Bangalore, weather permitting, should be no different.There are a few concerns, though, and a few questions. Without Bollinger, do Australia have the resources to take 20 wickets? Without him, can they hustle the Indians? Will a replacement bowler release the pressure and will that affect how the others operate? There is also a question mark over Marcus North, who seems to be given endless chances, and enjoys the confidence of his captain and selectors, while the rest of the world wonders why. Thankfully, for North, the rest of the world’s opinion doesn’t matter – though it might soon if he continues producing inconsistent performances.India, too, have tough questions to ponder. Harbhajan Singh wasn’t completely fit for the previous two series and that affected his bowling. Have his ailments healed and will we see a fully-fit Harbhajan bowl? The spinners on the bench don’t seem to have convinced the management that they can be better than a half-fit Harbhajan. The rise of Pragyan Ojha has been because of Amit Mishra’s slide. And is Sreesanth match-fit to replace Ishant? Can Suresh Raina manage to develop a way to tackle the bouncers, or will he slip away like Vinod Kambli?All of this, though, could be redundant if the weather in Bangalore intervenes. It has been raining in the evenings during the lead-up to the Test and that might have affected pitch preparation too.

Form guide

India WWDLW
Australia LLWWW

Watch out for…

Simon Katich has made rapid strides in the last couple of years. Like Michael Hussey, he is extremely aware about his own game and its limitations. Katich has re-assembled his batting bit by bit and knows exactly what he is doing. In the first Test, he struggled a little against Harbhajan in the second innings. The off-stump line with the occasional delivery coming in with the arm had him groping forward. Has he worked things out since then?Zaheer Khan is just back from an injury and produced a stellar performance in the first Test. When he started out playing for India, the new ball was his strength. Now, he’s almost better with the old ball, especially when it’s an SG or Duke. His task in the second Test will be to take out the in-form Shane Watson. Can he?

Team news

Laxman came out for a light training session on Friday evening, where he had both batting and catching practice. MS Dhoni said he was likely to play, in which case Cheteshwar Pujara will have to wait a while for his debut. “He [Laxman] is feeling much better and we would love it if he plays, but the team will take a final call on his fitness before the toss,” Dhoni said. M Vijay, though, will get another opportunity in Gambhir’s absence and Sreesanth is poised to replace Ishant.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 M Vijay, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh , 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Pragyan Ojha.With Bollinger nursing an abdominal injury, Australia are likely to give Peter George, the two-meter tall South Australia fast bowler, a debut. George was part of Australia’s attack in the warm-up game against Board President’s XI in Chandigarh, where he took a couple of first-innings wickets.Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Marcus North, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Doug Bollinger/Peter George.

Pitch and conditions

“The pitch will be sporting, but it will help the batsmen more,” the curator Narayan Raju said, before adding that the rainy weather might play a part. “Owing to recent rains, there is a lot of moisture in the pitch, and because of the overcast conditions, the moisture hasn’t dried out. If the conditions remain the same, it could help the bowlers on the first day.”

Stats and trivia

• Sachin Tendulkar needs 27 runs to take his world-record tally to 14,000.
• India last won a Test in Bangalore in 1995, when they beat New Zealand. They have played seven Tests since and lost four. Overall, India have won only four of the 18 Tests at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, while Australia have won two out of four at this venue.
• In the last year Rahul Dravid has been dismissed by left-arm seamers five times. Chanaka Welegedera took him out thrice and Bollinger got his wicket twice.
  

  Quotes

  “Australia will come back strongly in the second Test. That is their culture and also they do not give up easily. We are equally prepared and ready to face the task.”
  
  “The quicks will do a little bit of bowling today but we’ll make sure their recovery is as good as it can be going into the game tomorrow.”

Three weeks ago the chances of a thrilling conclusion to the County Championship looked highly unlikely. Nottinghamshire were perched comfortably ahead of their nearest rivals, but their form has disintegrated over the last two matches to such an extent that, even though they still have a two-point lead over Somerset and a seven-point cushion to Yorkshire, to many they are now the outsiders.The final round of matches pits Nottinghamshire against Lancashire at Old Trafford, Somerset travel to Durham and Yorkshire host Kent at Headingley. It’s a northern finale, which means the weather could well play its part, while the ECB would do well to have the trophy in a high-speed car. That just adds to the potential drama. It’s a finish to match 2008 when Durham surged to their first title – something Somerset are looking to match this year – after Nottinghamshire bottled their chance. Chris Read’s team are clearly susceptible to vertigo.Even victory for Nottinghamshire may not be enough. Anything less than 22 points from their match brings Somerset and Yorkshire into the equation if they gain a maximum 24 points. Given the batting form of Nottinghamshire, passing 300 at Old Trafford to gain three bonus points may be too much, especially if the surface aids spin which is a strength of Lancashire’s and not of the visitors. Nottinghamshire, though, have been boosted by the release of Ryan Sidebottom from England duty.”The standings mean that every point counts and it’s very important that we take as many bonus points as we can,” Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire coach, said. “We can’t influence what happens elsewhere but we have control of our own performance.”Both the challengers enter the last set of games on the high of impressive victories last week; Yorkshire beat Nottinghamshire after bowling them out for 59 in the first innings at Trent Bridge and Somerset crushed Lancashire by nine wickets on home soil. Somerset will have to win away to secure their first Championship title, but Chester-le-Street is usually a result wicket and Durham only have the bare bones of a bowling attack.Marcus Trescothick has had another prolific season and Somerset’s batting is overflowing with talent. Craig Kieswetter isn’t wanted by England, James Hildreth is pushing for higher honours and Jos Buttler already looks like an international cricketer of the near future. The pace bowling is workmanlike, led by Charl Willoughby, but even though it’s September the trump card could be Murali Kartik.Yorkshire, with their young team, were many people’s tips for relegation this year but have defied the odds with impressive style. In Andrew Gale they have a strong captain, Adam Lyth is a future England batsman and Jonathan Bairstow a high-quality keeper. Meanwhile, Oliver Hannon-Dalby’s emergence has helped cover for the absence of Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad with England and Tino Best’s disappearance.An advantage for Yorkshire in pursuit of a positive result is that Kent are equally desperate to win to maintain any chance of staying in Division One unless, or until, Hampshire secure the required points against Warwickshire to condemn Kent to the drop. So long as there is a chance of staying up Robert Key, Kent’s captain, will have to chase victory at all costs, which will keep Yorkshire in the match.One of the teams coming up to the top division is already known after Sussex’s expected return, but the second promotion slot is up for grabs with Worcestershire having a chance of overtaking Glamorgan, which would be a remarkable story given Steve Rhodes’ meagre resources. Leicestershire, with problems of their own, retain an outside chance but need huge favours from the other two sides. While that race will be interesting, it’s the sides vying for the £500,000 main prize that will take top billing.

ScorecardTravis Dowlin top-scored with 59 for Guyana•Anthony Harris/West Indies Cricket Board

It was heartbreak for the expectant crowd at the Queen’s Park Oval as tournament favourites Trinidad and Tobago lost out on a thriller by four runs against Guyana. It shouldn’t have got this close. At the end of the 16th over, with the required rate at 19, the game was Guyana’s to lose. But Dwayne Bravo threatened to pull off the impossible for T&T with a psychedelic cameo of 55 off 20 balls and it was the Guyanese who were praying for luck in those tense final moments. Royston Crandon eventually got on top of the hosts, bagging the final few wickets to seal a game which was in Guyana’s hands for most part.Trinidad suffered because their batsmen couldn’t hunt in pairs. Adrian Barath made a half-century but support from the top order wasn’t forthcoming. When he was dismissed, in the 15th over, Bravo had faced just one ball and the asking rate was close to 15. One over from Christopher Barnwell, however, added a twist to the script. Bravo, who had earlier got his rhythm going with a six off Davendra Bishoo, bashed Barnwell for three huge sixes and edged one for four past third man in the 18th over. Only a toe-crushing yorker could have stopped Bravo’s blitz as he picked the lengths and connected handsomely.Twenty seven off the over still left a difficult 30 to get off the last two. The offspinner Lennox Cush was in for a scare as he too was taken apart for sixes, two of them down the ground. Bravo had raced to his fifty, collected 16 off the penultimate over before finding Jonathan Foo at long-off, and the relief was palpable in the Guyana camp. Crandon bowled the last over, picked up two wickets but it was still anybody’s game with five needed off two balls. It was left to the captain Daren Ganga to try and emulate Bravo in the dying moments of the game but he eventually fell lbw trying to muscle the ball to the on side.Guyana were the deserved winners because of the imaginative tactic by their captain Ramnaresh Sarwan in reshuffling the batting order, which helped them score 175 in a match reduced to 19 overs due to rain. That performance inspired them to put in a sharp display in the field, which was in contrast to their opponents, who were sloppy.Guyana, interestingly, held back their experienced hands in Sarwan and Narsingh Deonarine and instead promoted their sloggers. Sarwan and Deonarine could have made their way to the crease a lot sooner had Trinidad held their catches.Not to take any credit away from the way Guyana played though. They exhibited a lot of exuberance in their strokes, even if some weren’t very attractive. The experienced Sewnarine Chattergoon got them off to a racy start, using the crease well to carve the seamers over extra cover and launching a couple of sixes down the ground. Travis Dowlin took time to settle, but picked up the pace after Chattergoon’s fall. He chipped down the track to the left-arm spin of Dave Mohammed, dumping him over wide long-off, but nearly perished the next ball. Navin Stewart back-pedalled at long-off but his heel touched the rope as he took the catch, thereby giving Dowlin a fortuitous six. Dowlin appeared a little too eager to push the scoring, often mistiming full tosses he should have put away.One such full toss should have landed down Simmons’ throat at long leg, but the fielder messed it up. It was the shot that brought up his fifty. He tried to scoop Bravo over deep cover but found Sherwin Ganga at the boundary’s edge. Esuan Crandon, promoted to No.3, slogged and swished at many in his run-a-ball 30. He was the first of Kieron Pollard’s victims, caught at short third man off a miscued slog. Foo and Barnwell served up a few lusty blows to get Guyana closer to a competitive score as Trinidad were let down by their out-cricket.Bravo, one of the safest catchers in the side, dropped a sitter off Foo at long-on, and then Pollard missed an easy run-out on his follow through, giving Foo another life. A pumped up Pollard got two wickets in an over when he bowled Foo and dismissed Barnwell, caught in the deep following a collision between Bravo and Lendl Simmons. Another drop, by Barath at midwicket, added to Trinidad’s embarrassment, and those let-offs were to cost them in the end.Guyana ensured they stayed on top of the hosts when the chase began. Sarwan opened with a spinner, Cush, and kept rotating his bowlers to not allow the batsmen to settle into any rhythm. William Perkins and Darren Bravo both perished to mis-hits, trying to push the scoring. Barath regularly made room, cutting and chopping the ball into the gaps on the off side. He needed a supporting hand from the other end and with the required rate increasing, Pollard seemed the right person to try and accelerate.But a stunning effort by Foo at wide long-off, diving to his left, ended Pollard’s brief stint. Four balls later, Barath miscued to cover and it seemed all but over for Trinidad. Bravo’s fireworks entertained, but it came too late for Trinidad who failed to make the finals and give themselves another shot at the Champions League, which will now have a new representative from West Indies.

ScorecardImrul Kayes added 143 for the third wicket with Jahurul Islam•PA Photos

Bangladesh secured a confidence-boosting victory in their final warm-up match before the one-day series against England as they beat Middlesex by 141 runs at Lord’s. The success was set up by a 143-run stand between Jahurul Islam (88) and Imrul Kayes (77) which laid the platform for an imposing 301 for 7. The home side only briefly threatened while Owais Shah was making 61.In their opening practice match against Sussex the tourists had embarrassingly collapsed to 104 all out against a second-string attack. Middlesex also fielded a weak line-up and this time the batsmen managed to cash in to give themselves a valuable confidence boost before the first ODI, at Trent Bridge, on Thursday. The bowlers, led by Mashrafe Mortaza’s tight opening spell, then produced a solid performance as the spinners made inroads.However Jahurul, who made his Test debut against England in March, was the stand-out performer with an elegant innings and looked set for a hundred before lofting into the deep. But it was also an important performance from Kayes who had produced some turgid displays in the recent Asia Cup. Here he showed that he could find another gear as he struck three sixes in his 92-ball stay, albeit against friendly bowling.At the start of the innings all eyes were on Tamim Iqbal to see if he could reproduce the sort of display that lit up the Test match here in May when he wrote his name into the history books as the first Bangladesh century-marker at headquarters. He started brightly with a series of clumping drives as he raced to 28 off 20 balls, but then missed a wild swing across the line at Robbie Williams.Junaid Siddique, who had also impressed during that Test, fell three overs later when he clubbed a drive to mid-on to leave Bangladesh 50 for 2, but this time the innings didn’t descend into freefall. Kayes bedded in to provide the anchor, while Jahurul produced some attractive strokeplay, especially through the off side, to keep the scoreboard moving at a healthy rate.The bowling was unthreatening, but the pair maintained their concentration with Jahurul first to his fifty from a sprightly 42 deliveries then Kayes followed shortly afterwards from a more sedate 67 balls. Kayes departed when he tried to loft Toby Roland-Jones down the ground and skied a thick outside edge to backward point and Jahurul couldn’t clear the boundary either off Tom Smith’s left-arm spin.Shakib Al Hasan, replaced for this leg of tour as captain by Mortaza, made 38 and Mushfiqur Rahim hit the ball cleanly during the batting Powerplay before picking out deep square-leg as he tried to clear the Tavern boundary.Mortaza then made a breakthrough in his opening over when John Simpson dragged into his stumps and his new-ball partner, Shafiul Islam, picked up Jackson Thompson in the fourth over when the opener pulled to mid-on. Shah and Dawid Malan provided a platform for the chase as they added 87 in 14 overs, but not for the first time Shah was involved in a run out when he set off for a single then declined with Malan already committed.Shah was dropped by Mushfiqur Rahim on 57 as he charged Shakib, but two balls later the left-arm spinner had his revenge as Shah missed a sweep and was lbw. Tom Scollay’s first innings for Middlesex was an undistinguished affair which ended with a horrid swing to leg as the chase subsided with 10 overs to spare.