All posts by n8rngtd.top

It’s more than 100 years since two brothers played Test cricket for different countries. If James Pattinson progresses as the Australian selectors hope, he and his brother Darren might one day rewrite that record

Brydon Coverdale16-Jun-2010It’s more than 100 years since two brothers played Test cricket for different countries. If James Pattinson progresses as the Australian selectors hope, he and his brother Darren might one day join the Trotts of Australia and England and the Hearnes of England and South Africa, who achieved the feat in the 1800s.Darren was born in the UK and despite being raised in Australia, was famously plucked from county cricket for a Test against South Africa in 2008. When Darren was a boy, the family moved to Melbourne, where James was born.The younger sibling has only an Australian passport, and will this month represent Australia A against Sri Lanka A in Queensland. James is 11 years younger than Darren and has always looked up to his big brother, but will let him know about it if he ever gets the call-up for Australia.”He always gives me crap about playing Test cricket, so hopefully I can play Tests and get more than one Test in so I can give it back to him,” James told Cricinfo. “But I think it’s better to play for Australia than England, so I’ll give him that one as well.”James turned 20 last month and is still a relative newcomer to state cricket, having played only 11 matches for Victoria across all formats. A fast bowler who can swing the ball at pace, he announced himself last December with 6 for 48 in a one-day game against New South Wales.His selection for Australia A was originally for the one-day games only, but he was added to the four-day squad when Josh Hazlewood was called in to the ODI group to tour England. It will be another milestone in the promising career of James Pattinson, whose skills were honed in a backyard in Melbourne against a much older brother.”He was pretty tough,” James said of Darren. “He never used to take a backward step. He used to tape the tennis ball right up and try to hit me in the head, which he did a couple of times. It probably wasn’t funny for me, but it was for him.”He always used to smack me around a bit. I remember when he got a bit older and he had a girlfriend, I didn’t really like that much. She was taking away from him playing cricket with me. We got out there most days when he’d get home from a hard day at work, I used to be on his back – ‘let’s play cricket’. I always used to get my way.”A decade later, the siblings found themselves in a Victorian team together. Having taken the now traditional path through under-age representative teams, it was no surprise that James eventually found his way into state cricket.Things panned out quite differently for Darren, who worked as a roof tiler before an unexpected call-up for Victoria four years ago. Their father John was also a roof tiler, as was his dad before him, and James might well have followed in the family business had cricket not intervened.”I used to be on the roof since I was about 14, trying to help Dad out,” he said. “I probably would have ended up going in that direction if it wasn’t for cricket. I probably would have continued the family tradition.”Instead, James will be doing all he can to impress the selectors when the Australia A series begins in Brisbane on Friday. He had his wisdom teeth out last week but will be fine to play. After all those years of copping a taped tennis ball to the head, what’s a little bit more pain.

It took a bit of struggle and a lot of waiting but West Indies finally succeeded in matching South Africa’s total of 543 in what was largely an excruciatingly slow day of Test cricket

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran 21-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outShivnarine Chanderpaul went on the defensive and added only 15 to his overnight score•Associated Press

It took a bit of struggle and a lot of waiting but West Indies finally succeeded in matching South Africa’s total of 543 in what was largely an excruciatingly slow day of Test cricket. The hosts were well-set at the end of the third day to press forward and possibly gain a lead of 100-150 to set up a sporting declaration. But the overnight pair of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo instead settled for negative and defensive tactics, the kind which would give Test-cricket bashers a field day.The result was a slender three-run first innings lead which gave West Indies a moral victory. But such is the state of West Indies cricket right now that even a draw is considered as good as a win. Clearly, they were not willing to throw anything away and instead focussed on tiring out the South Africans. The play-safe approach, combined with the unhelpful pitch, made this game a poor advertisement for Test cricket. The 90-minute rain delay after tea was more a welcome break than an interruption.West Indies’ tactics in the morning were mysterious. Trailing by 119 runs, the well-set Bravo and Chanderpaul batted like they were injected with tranquilisers. They played out the session without being separated but added just 39 runs – one less than their output after two hours of play yesterday. The attritional cricket spilled over to the afternoon session before Paul Harris, who did his bit in contributing to the dullness with negative tactics, got rid of the pair.The stodgy resistance by Chanderpaul and Bravo drew parallels with the only other Test at this venue, four years ago. Coincidentally, Chanderpaul was at the forefront then and viewers, commentators and the opposition, India, were all equally baffled at the tactics. West Indies had set themselves up for an unassailable first-innings score, but Chanderpaul and his partner Marlon Samuels batted for almost an entire session like they had resigned themselves to a draw. Not surprisingly, the game had no result.While Chanderpaul has been known to switch off and play the waiting game, it was unusual seeing Bravo so subdued. Like Samuels did four years ago, Bravo was singing from the same hymn sheet as Chanderpaul, refusing to indulge in any kind of risk.The bowlers kept it simple, maintained a consistent line outside the off stump, and at times threw the bait with fuller deliveries, inviting the drive. Harris didn’t make scoring any easier with his negative line from over the wicket, hoping to get some turn from the rough outside leg stump, but Bravo was happy to pad them away.In one over, Harris bowled three wides down the leg side, unheard of in Test cricket. There were four men close to the bat – a slip, forward short leg, silly mid-off and short fine leg – but they were made redundant. At one point, Chanderpaul had three fielders deep on the on side, but he too regularly went forward to smother the spin or defend with soft hands. The pace of the game prompted Jeff Dujon to joke on commentary: “Oh boy, two runs off the over. They’re hammering it.”Though there were boundary balls on offer, only two boundaries were scored in the morning session, both by Bravo off Dale Steyn. He spanked Lonwabo Tsotsobe past point after lunch to bring up one of his slower half-centuries, off 176 balls. Chanderpaul added only 15 to his overnight score, off 93 balls, when he spooned a catch back to Harris. The muted reception was in contrast to the previous evening when he reached three figures.Bravo’s marathon ended with a thin edge to the wicketkeeper off Harris. A sudden spurt of wickets enlivened the proceedings, and the smattering of spectators who showed up were treated to some entertainment from Ravi Rampaul and Sulieman Benn, who carted the third new ball around with some spanking shots through the off side. They weren’t afraid to make room and punch the ball through the covers and carve it over the slips. Morne Morkel, who suffered the most in that brief surge, claimed both with rising deliveries. Mark Boucher in the process added to his illustrious tally by claiming his 500th dismissal.The South African openers came out in fading light to put on 23 without incident. With the pitch good enough to last another five days, the only thing left to gain on the final day is batting practice. Unless something dramatic happens, a draw seems certain.

Sussex have submitted a revised application to the Brighton and Hove City Council Planning Department to modify the plans for the new South West Stand which is due for construction over the winter.

Cricinfo staff28-Jul-2010Sussex have submitted a revised application to the Brighton and Hove City Council Planning Department to modify the plans for the new South West Stand which is due for construction over the winter.The revised plan reduces the stand from 2,400 seats to 1,700 and includes a new reception and club shop, improved toilet facilities, and additional food and beverage outlets. The new plan will also see the current Wilbury office block remain rather than be incorporated in to the larger version of the Stand.With £2.5 million invested in the winter of 2009-10, the second phase of the county’s redevelopments will see a further £5 million expenditure plan put into place. Sussex expect the pitch-facing stands, along with the pavilion refurbishment and indoor school extension, to be completed in time for the next year’s season in April 2011.”Over the summer, we have been continuing to challenge our master plan to ensure it remains the most appropriate development of the County Ground and very best value for money,” said Dave Brooks, Sussex’s chief executive. “During those discussions, it became apparent that integrating the offices into the footprint of the South West stand did not meet those expectations and a better solution could be delivered by modifying the planning application granted in late 2009.”This is a very exciting time for the Club as this winter’s activity will complete the ground development project which has been around for nearly twenty years now. We are most definitely on the right track and once the building works are completed Sussex CCC will have a genuine claim to having the best county cricket ground in the country, and one which will enable the club to continue to invest in all levels of cricket within the county to offer the very best opportunity for continued on-field success.”Sussex is just one of several counties with ambitious redevelopment projects on the go as they vie to secure the right to host international cricket from the ECB, who have laid down strict criteria that grounds have to fulfill in order to be considered.

Neil McKenzie used all his experience gleaned over a long career in international cricket with South Africa to guide Hampshire to a two-wicket win

Cricinfo staff18-Aug-2010
ScorecardNeil McKenzie continued his fine form as Hampshire secured victory•Getty Images

Neil McKenzie used all his experience gleaned over a long career in international cricket with South Africa to guide Hampshire to a two-wicket win over Leicestershire in their Clydesdale Bank 40 at the Rose Bowl. As wickets tumbled around him, McKenzie held firm with an unbeaten 51 to help his side get home with 13 balls to spare in a rain-affected match.Leicestershire, choosing to bat first, made 176 for 8 from their allotment of 35 overs, rain having knocked five from their total available. With McKenzie in control, Hampshire reached their target in 32.5 overs, keeping alive their hopes of qualifying for the latter stages of the CB40 competition.Leicestershire struggled to get going with Hampshire captain Dominic Cork taking two wickets before rain came and on the resumption Jacques du Toit and Matt Boyce contrived the best partnership of the innings, 71, for the fourth wicket. Du Toit was caught at mid-wicket for a valiant 45 and Boyce made 37 before he became a victim for Benny Howell, a 21-year-old allrounder making his Hampshire debut.Hampshire’s young side contained eight players who had come through their academy system and one of those, left arm pace bowler Chris Wood, ripped through the middle order, dismissing Wayne White, Tom New and Jigar Naik in rapid succession to finish with figures of three for 39.Leicestershire’s total never looked likely to be enough although Nathan Buck got rid of Jimmy Adams and Howell to leave Hampshire 45 for 3 in the 12th over. But then came two substantial partnerships involving the durable McKenzie, 52 for the fourth wicket with Michael Carberry and 55 for the fifth with Liam Dawson.Nadeem Malik kept alive Leicestershire’s outside hopes of snatching an unlikely win when he had Dawson caught at square leg for 30 and then dismissed Wood next ball to leave Hampshire 153 for 6 at the end of the 29th over.Malik knocked back the off stump of Michael Bates when the scores were level but McKenzie kept calm to see Hampshire complete their fifth win. McKenzie’s unbeaten innings came off 62 balls and including five fours while the persevering Malik took 4 for 40, the best bowling of the match but it was not enough to earn his team victory.Buck also caused Hampshire plenty of problems with a sharp opening spell and concluded with 2 for 16 from seven overs but in the end Leicestershire did not have enough runs to play with.

Round-up of the opening day’s action in the Karnataka Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2010Bijapur Bulls overcame a few nervous moments and overhauled the revised target of 75, with three balls to spare, after Bangalore Provident (Rural) posted 123 for 4 off 17 overs in Bangalore. Opener Maniunath Manjunath set the platform for BP with 47 off 42 balls, and Rahul Bhatkal increased the pace towards the end with two sixes and three fours in his 28-ball 39. Bulls had to score 75 in nine overs and their reply was kick-started by a 41-run opening stand between Gaurav Dhiman and Mithun Beerala. Devraj Patil who came in at one-drop hustled 23 off 10 balls to put the Bulls in charge before four wickets fell in four balls to set up a tight finish. NC Aiyappa removed Dhiman, Patil and Sudhindra Shinde off successive balls, and Nithin Mulky was run-out off the next, leaving Bulls needing seven off the last over. Stuart Binny, however, held his nerve and sealed the deal in their favour.Suraj Sampath struck an unbeaten 60 off 55 balls as Belagavi Panthers overcame Malnad Gladiators’ modest total of 110 in Bangalore. Malnad’s bowlers set up the win, with seamer Ronit More standing out with a spell of 2 for 23 in four overs. Belgavi’s chase was off to a poor start, with Jagadeesh Arunkumar perishing in the first over. Shyam Ponnappa struggled to force the pace and when he fell, at 57 for 2 in the 13th over, Gladiators scented an opening. Sampath, however, shut the door on them and finished things in Suresh Vinod’s company, with eight balls to spare.

A round-up of the fourth round of games in South Africa’s domestic SuperSport Series, with wins for the Titans and the Lions, and a washed-out draw in East London

Firdose Moonda25-Oct-2010Many will argue with this, but Johannesburg can be one of the most picturesque cities in the world. It was around 3pm on Sunday afternoon that the match between the Lions and the Dolphins at the Wanderers was interrupted for the umpteenth time, but this delay was a little different. Rain turned into hail, hammering the Bullring’s outfield and behind the players change-rooms golden sunshine teased the wet weather. Everything about the city was captured in that collision of the elements: thunderous, dangerous, booming, stormy, but ultimately beautiful.Against that backdrop, it was only fitting that the Lions won their first SuperSport Series match of the season, beating the Dolphins by four wickets. The Lions would have wanted to bat only once after they amassed 462 in their first innings. Vaughn van Jaarsveld (126), who had been threatening to score a century from the first match, finally did. He shared in a 217-run fourth wicket stand with Neil McKenzie (164). The pair have now jumped to third and sixth respectively on the overall batting standings.Imran Tahir (5 for 131) removed McKenzie and then tore into the tail. He took four wickets for 25 runs on the second morning, to turn his expensive figures into respectable ones. But no sooner had that restored some pride for the Dolphins, did their batting basically undo it all. They were bowled out for 201, with only Devon Conway (47) making it past 40. The Lions bowlers, who still lack a genuine, wicket-taking seamer, did an unexpectedly sterling job. There were three wickets apiece for Pumi Matshikwe (3 for 52), Zander de Bruyn (3 for 43) and debutant Dale Deeb (3 for 23).Alviro Petersen enforced the follow-on, with the Dolphins trailing by 261 runs. Divan van Wyk (77) and Imraan Khan (82) put on 163 for the opening partnership, as the Dolphins made clear their intent not to slump to an innings defeat. England’s Ravi Bopara contributed just 33 to the second innings effort but Conway (86) helped his side build a lead. De Bruyn (4 for 68) and Deeb (4 for 89) were among the wickets again as the Dolphins were bowled out for 406, setting the Lions a target of 146.Despite rain interruptions and two wickets apiece for Tahir (2 for 59), who opened the bowling, Kyle Abbott (2 for 42) and Quinton Friend (2 for 44), the Lions got there. De Bruyn (12*) and Jonathan Vandiar (5*) were at the crease at the end. The win moves the Lions to second on the table, 11.62 points behind the Titans.The Titans stormed to the top of the table after beating the Knights by 21 runs in Kimberley. The visitors chose to bat first on what is traditionally a flat track but things didn’t go well for them at first. Three early wickets saw them reeling on 79 for 3 in the 25th over. Farhaan Behardien (142) and Henry Davids (81) formed a rearguard and helped the line-up survive a Ryan McLaren (4 for 72) onslaught and the Titans were bowled out for 337.They carried that fight into the field, Mario Olivier (2 for 51) removing both openers with the score on just 11. Ethy Mbhalati (5 for 35) did the bulk of the damage to the Knights thereafter and only Morne van Wyk’s unbeaten 44 helped save face. They were bowled out for an embarrassing 113, a deficit of 224 runs.The Titans second innings was also dotted with wickets. The opening pair of Pieter Malan (7) and Jacques Rudolph (28) failed for the second time in the match. Behardien (57) and Blake Snijman (53) were the mainstays in helping them build the lead. Another player on the fringes of the South African side in the Knights XI, Dillon du Preez, was the highest second innings wicket-taker, grabbing 4 for 32. The Titans declared on 187 for 7, setting the Knights a massive 412 to win.The Free Staters were more fluent with the bat the second time around, with all of their batsman bar No. 11 reaching double figures. Van Wyk’s 67, Rilee Roussouw’s 65 and Boeta Dippenaar’s 53 were the three half-centuries in the chase. Mbhalati claimed his second five-for of the match (5 for 125), including the last wicket of Victor Mpitsang (0) as the Titans won the thrilling encounter by 21 runs.In East London, the weather ultimately ruined proceedings in the match between the Warriors and the Cobras. There were only five completed sessions of play in the match, with the last two days washed out completely. The Cobras were opted to bat and were on an imposing 400 for 3 when no more play was possible.Andrew Puttick scored an impressive 193 in almost nine hours at the crease. Alistair Gray kept him company for most of the match, scoring scored 126. Stiaan van Zyl chipped in with 73,and the match was drawn.
Batsman of the week: For his marathon stay at the crease, his second hundred in the competition and surging to the top of the batting rankings with 440 runs at an average of 62.85, Andrew Puttick gets this week’s award.Bowler of the week: It’s a shared one this week. Ethy Mbhalati bowled the Titans to victory with ten wickets in their match against the Knights. It was also the veteran bowlers third and fourth five-wicket haul in the competition so far. He is second on the bowling charts, with 25 scalps. Mbhalati shares the award with Dale Deeb. The 20-year old Lions’ bowler had an impressive debut, claiming seven wickets.

The Supreme Court of India has asked the BCCI and Lalit Modi to reach a compromise over the impasse regarding the composition of the disciplinary committee

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2010India’s Supreme Court has asked the BCCI and Lalit Modi to reach a compromise over the composition of the disciplinary committee investigating charges levied against the former IPL chairman. In a surprising turn of events, which was sparked by a plea from Modi’s lawyer, the court said it would resume hearing the case if the parties could reach no agreement by October 27.The court also offered two suggestions for the compromise: to increase the size of the existing committee or have its three members stay away from the league’s governing council, which is authorised to look into the disciplinary committee’s report on Modi. The disciplinary committee currently comprises IPL chairman Chirayu Amin, BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia, the president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association.”I am hoping good sense will prevail on the BCCI and they will accept this suggestion,” Modi’s lawyer, Mehmood Abdi, told CNN-IBN.Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, however said the board had neither been asked nor ordered to reach any settlement in the matter within a deadline. He said, “At about 10.30 in the morning Mr Ram Jethmalani (Modi’s lawyer) stood up and asked to use his ‘good offices’ to settle the issue.” The BCCI’s lawyers, Manohar said, responded by saying they had no such instructions on this. The court then asked Jethmalani to use those good offices and come to an agreement by October 27. Asked whether the BCCI would enter into a discussion with Jethmalani, Manohar said, “We are always ready to listen to anyone.”Modi had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the removal of Amin and Jaitley from the disciplinary committee. Modi’s plea for the recusal of these two members, on grounds of bias against him, had been rejected by the Bombay high court in September.The BCCI’s lawyer CA Sundaram told the court that it was not feasible to reconstitute the committee. “It is not possible,” he said. “The inquiry is at an advanced stage. Many witnesses from abroad have already been examined.”The BCCI had suspended Modi immediately following the conclusion of IPL 3 in April and charged him with financial irregularities relating to the bidding process for IPL franchises, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights. He was also charged with colluding to set up a rebel league in England. Modi has denied all the charges and repeatedly accused BCCI president Shashank Manohar and the president-elect N Srinivasan of harbouring personal grudges against him.

South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl has admitted bowling Pakistan out twice will be “hard work” but hopes the pitch will deteriorate over the next two days to give his team a good shot at a series win

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2010South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl has admitted bowling Pakistan out twice will be “hard work” but hopes the pitch will deteriorate over the next two days to give his team a good shot at a series win. In reply to South Africa’s 584, Pakistan’s middle order resisted well, reaching 317 for 6 at stumps at the end of the third day but still 68 adrift of the follow-on.”I would like to see this pitch deteriorate a little bit more,” van Zyl said. “It looks fairly placid at the moment and I haven’t really seen it break up.South Africa would have been hoping for some assistance off the pitch in the morning, but Pakistan’s batsmen managed to defy the seamers. Half-centuries from Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq steadied Pakistan but left-arm spinner Paul Harris struck with two wickets late in the day to give South Africa hope of wrapping the innings early on the fourth day. But van Zyl doubted if the track had enough in it.”I think it did move a lot on day one and a little bit less on day two and today it was less again,” he said. “But we have to give credit to the Pakistan batsmen, they really played well. They have been patient.”The quicker we can get the last four wickets, then we can have a second
go. The moisture is not there any more and it is going to be hard work.”South Africa, despite the conditions not entirely in their favour on the third day, did try to ruffle the Pakistan batsmen up with the short ball. When asked if they overdid it, van Zyl said: “At times we could have changed our tactics. I don’t want to sit here and criticise the tactics used in the field. Ma be they felt at times there wasn’t enough movement and at times I thought we were little short.”The third day was an important one for Shafiq, making his Test debut and he impressed, making 61 and adding 107 for the fifth wicket with Misbah. “I was a bit nervous at the start. But after three or four overs I felt comfortable,” he said.”That is how you have to play Tests. You have to play hard. The pitch was very good to bat on. A little difficult with the new ball, but later it is good for batting.”

A round-up of the first day of the seventh round of Division One of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2010After a breathtaking 19 wickets fell on the first day, Faisalabad emerged from the wreckage with the edge over Multan in the battle between the bottom two teams at the Bahawal Stadium in Bahawalpur. Multan were asked to bat first, and were in trouble straight away, losing both openers with no runs on the board. The Faisalabad bowlers, led by Rauf Nazir, were then able to keep the pressure on all through the innings. Nazir knocked over the hosts’ middle order, taking 4 for 23, and was well supported by Zeeshan Butt, with 3 for 14, and Ahmad Hayat, with 2 for 27, as Multan crumpled to 81 all out. The visitors’ innings began in equally dramatic fashion, as Abdur Rauf ripped out three of the top four batsmen to leave them in tatters at 6 for 3. Unlike Multan, however, the middle and lower orders offered some resistance, and Hayat’s unbeaten 45 helped Faisalabad push on to 163 for 9. Rauf kept taking wickets, seven in total, but was also expensive, going for 3.80 runs an over, and the rest of the bowlers lacked penetration, allowing Faisalabad to take a lead that could turn out to be crucial in what is shaping up to be a low-scoring game.Table toppers Water and Power Development Authority wasted no time in asserting their authority over Pakistan International Airlines at the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad. WAPDA won the toss and opted to field, and Naved-ul-Hasan and Sarfraz Ahmed removed both openers for just 26. Asad Shafiq then steadied the PIA innings somewhat, as they reached 84 for 3, before Azhar Attari and Umaid Asif each struck twice to make it 85 for 7. However, No. 9 Tahir Khan led a recovery alongside Anop Santosh, the pair adding 90 before Santosh was bowled by Sohaib Masqood for 39. Khan continued to battle, taking PIA past the 200-mark, and remaining unbeaten on 69 as the innings folded for 214. Attari was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 21 in 10 overs. In reply, WAPDA were 30 for 1, having lost Jahangir Mirza for 12.Fast bowler Rashid Latif picked up a five-for to help Rawalpindi dismiss Islamabad for 218 at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Ameer Khan topscored with 79, and Imad Wasim made 46 down the order, but the hosts failed to get contributions from their top and middle orders. Opener Nauman Masood was the only other batsman to go past 20, making 37 before becoming Latif’s second victim. Latif prised out five of the top six batsmen, including Khan, to finish with 5 for 77 from 23 overs. Naved Malik and Shoaib Nasir got the visitors off to a blazing start, adding 52 at better than a run-a-ball, before Malik fell to Shehzad Azam for 30, having faced just 17 balls and struck 5 fours.Fourteen wickets fell on the first day at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium as Habib Bank Limited finished with the advantage against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited. HBL took just 35.5 overs to bowl ZTBL out for 118 after putting them into bat. Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder, took 5 for 41 to run through ZTBL’s top order and then Younis Khan, who is in the Pakistan Test squad for their upcoming tour of New Zealand, polished off the tail, taking three wickets with his part-time seamers. ZTBL got off to an inauspicious start when opener Yasir Hameed, who has played 25 Tests for Pakistan, was out for a duck with the score still on zero. There were two more ducks in ZTBL’s innings, as none of their batsmen past the 30-run mark. HBL then had problems of their own early on with the bat. They were 20 for 2 after opener Imran Farhat and Saleem Elahi were out for single digit scores. Younis got the day’s highest score with his 32 and captain Hasan Raza was not out on 27 as HBL finished the day at 130 for 4. ZTBL seamer Mohammad Khalil took 3 for 44. HBL and ZTBL are both tied in second position in the tablewith 39 points each.Centuries from Mohammad Ayub and Mansoor Amjad took Sialkot to a strong position against Karachi Blues after a shaky start at the National Stadium in Karachi. After being into bat, Sialkot found themselves at 48 for 4 before Ayub and Amjad led a tremendous fightback. Both batsmen were unbeaten on 109 at stumps, having added 245 to take Sialkot to 273 for 4. Fast bowler Babar Rehman had done the early damage for Karachi, taking three early wickets. Both teams desperately need points, having picked up only three each so far this season.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines put National Bank of Pakistan in and then bowled them out for 155 on the first dayat the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Seamer Asad Ali, who is the second highest wicket-taker this season, gave SNGPL an early breakthrough, bowling opener Rashi Riaz. Riaz’s opening partner Nasir Jamshed battled hard for his 40, but wickets kept falling at the other end. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who was left out of Pakistan’s Test and Twenty20 squad for their tour of New Zealand, was NBP’s second-highest scorer with 31. Asad finished with 3 for 46 and then SNGPL reached 73 for 2 by the close of play. They are six points behind NBP in the table.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but one Finch made Australia’s day at the MCG, where the hosts ended England’s eight-match winning streak in Twenty20 games

Andrew McGlashan at the MCG14-Jan-2011Melbourne loves a hometown hero. When Dean Jones and Bill Lawry were paraded around the ground during the fourth Test they were cheered to the rafters and all Shane Warne has to do is step foot on the turf to be hailed by the locals. Aaron Finch has a long way to go to match any of them, and may never play Test cricket, but for one night he gave the suffering Australia supporters something to cheer in front of his fellow Victorians.Finch’s 53 off 33 balls, which guided Australia to a competitive 7 for 147 after they’d stalled against England’s spinners, will be his last international innings of the summer. He isn’t part of the one-day plans, or even in the World Cup 30 which will be trimmed next week, so he’ll have to content himself with a return to state cricket where he can slot straight back into the Big Bash. “One thing Melbourne is great at is supporting cricket and they came out after the ordinary weather,” he said. “It was a real buzz in front of the home crowd.”In a sense it’s not surprising Finch isn’t around the 50-over set up yet with a career one-day average of 33.95 and no hundreds in 27 matches. His domestic Twenty20 record is superior with a strike-rate in excess of 130. He is a modern cricketer in many ways. His Twenty20 skills had been recognised by others before his country. He was part of the Rajasthan Royals squad at the 2010 IPL and this year has been bought for US$300,000 by Delhi Daredevils.Like many young sportsmen he’s also on Twitter, but an hour after the match finished he hadn’t got round to reflecting on his effort. His most recent message read: “New shoes must be complimented with new socks! Haha.” But there is a serious, mature, side to his cricket and he showed it by the way he rebuilt Australia’s innings. When Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy reduced them 5 for 80 a sixth consecutive Twenty20 defeat was on the cards.Then Finch and Steve Smith, another of Australia’s hopes for a better future, produced a sensible stand of 61 in seven overs. Finch dominated with his partner contributing just 13 from his 18 deliveries. “We just tried to take the innings as deep as we could and leave our run late,” he said. “We were losing wickets consistently up the top so we couldn’t afford to be seven or eight down with four or five overs to go. We thought we’d knock it around and aimed for 155, we came up a bit short but it was enough.”A key factor in the final outcome was Australia’s sixes tally which stood at five compared to England’s one and that came in the final over when Chris Woakes, another fearless youngster, launched Brett Lee into the Great Southern Stand. Finch used his local knowledge and didn’t try to clear the large square boundaries, instead aiming straight or towards midwicket.”This ground is suited to orthodox cricket shots, you’ve got short straight boundaries and wider square so it encourages you to play with good technique and hit through the line with good cricket shots,” he said. “You get value for shots here when you play that way.”Paul Collingwood said he still backed his team to chase down the total after their eight-match unbeaten run, but admitted Finch’s innings had given Australia a vital lift. “He struck it very well tonight. He hits a long ball and he hits it in good areas, he’s a dangerous player. It was a good innings. It kind of shifted the momentum a little bit.””We were quite happy at half-time with chasing down a score like that but we were 10 percent or 20 per cent off our batting,” he added. “There were quite a lot of dot balls from over six to 16 and then obviously we couldn’t get the boundaries and started holing out after that.”Given the way Australia – both the team and the country – has clung to every morsel of success this season, such as Usman Khawaja’s ‘double’ of 37 and 21 on Test debut, it was slightly surprising this wasn’t hailed a glorious rebirth, but Cameron White knew it was just a small, albeit welcome, step in the right direction ahead of the one-day series.”It’s important, it beats losing for sure,” he said. “It’s a different format to the Tests and it’s different to the one-dayers. You might be able to take something forward, but it’s a new competition starting Sunday.”Collingwood, though, was confident the result wouldn’t mean much come the opening ODI at the same ground on Monday when he hands back the captaincy to Andrew Strauss. “I don’t think it’s hurt our momentum too much,” he said. “It’s obviously disappointing to lose a game but we still did some good stuff tonight.”