Australia Women leveled the two-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand with a close, five-wicket win in Melbourne on Tuesday

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013
ScorecardMeg Lanning steered Australia’s chase, scoring 64•Getty Images

Australia Women leveled the Twenty20 series against New Zealand with a close, five-wicket win in Melbourne on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, New Zealand Women had beaten Australia by six wickets.Chasing a target of 132, Australia’s innings revolved largely around opener Meg Lanning – who was their batting mainstay in the first T20 too – whose knock of 64 included seven fours. Although the New Zealand bowlers picked up wickets regularly, the target was too small for them to defend and Australia knocked off the runs with a ball to spare.Having chosen to bat, the New Zealand batsmen got off to a solid start and looked set to rattle up a big total. However, the Australia bowling unit managed to peg them back, as New Zealand went from being 2 for 121 to 6 for 130. Medium-pacer Megan Schutt and offspinner Erin Osborne were the most effective bowlers for Australia.

Afghanistan will attend a four-week conditioning camp in Pakistan ahead of their international fixtures against Scotland in March

Umar Farooq21-Jan-2013Afghanistan will attend a four-week conditioning camp in Pakistan ahead of their international fixtures against Scotland in March. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is also contemplating a long-term plan to make Pakistan the national team’s base for the next five years.During their camp at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, Afghanistan will train under the supervision of the PCB’s coaches besides their own head coach Kabir Khan. Their preparations include a series of 12 matches against various regional teams and Pakistan A.Afghanistan have ODI status till 2015 and have been using Sharjah Cricket Stadium as their home ground since 2010 due to a lack of cricketing infrastructure in the country. They are now looking to shift base to Pakistan.”The idea is play and train with the quality cricketing structure in Pakistan,” Kabir Khan, the Afghanistan coach, told a press conference at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. “Sharjah gave us basic facilities but unfortunately we didn’t find quality cricket to develop with. We need quality programmes and Pakistan, with a rich cricketing background, can help us. Apart from the cricketing aspect, the cost of being in Sharjah is a lot more than here in Pakistan.”We are in process of building our infrastructure (in Afghanistan) and have two stadiums as well. But we don’t have academies, if we have academies then we don’t have specialised coaches. In Pakistan we can find the quality coaches and quality teams to play with. We are here with the top 22 cricketers from Afghanistan including the budding talent from the Under-19 circuit. Only three of our top cricketers – Shapoor Zadran, Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari – (are not here) have gone to play in Bangladesh Premier League.”Afghanistan will be making their third trip to Pakistan in the last two years, having lost a one-day series 3-0 to a second-string Pakistan side in May 2011 followed by their participation in a domestic Twenty20 competition in Karachi.The talks between the PCB and the ACB about a comprehensive development programme for Afghanistan cricketers in Pakistan are currently at a preliminary stage but both boards have ‘verbally’ agreed to a long-term deal.”We are working out a deal that will help Afghanistan’s cricketers in their development,” said Intikhab Alam, the PCB director for game development. “Another idea in the pipeline is to induct their team in our domestic one-day and Twenty20 tournaments, as that would be a good opportunity for their development process.”Afghanistan last competed in the Asian Cricket Council Elite Trophy in October, finishing in third place. Their next international fixture is against Scotland, a two-ODI series at Sharjah Stadium, before taking them on in the ICC World Cricket League Championship.

South Africa squared their Test series against England with a 67-run victory in Paarl on another hard-fought day

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2013
ScorecardSouth Africa squared their Test series against England with a 67-run victory in Paarl on another hard-fought day. The home side’s spinners played a key role on a wearing surface after England had set a platform for at least a draw on 143 for 1.Victory came deep into the final session after the last four wickets fell for 10 runs. Kagiso Rababa, the quick bowler, wrapped up the innings with two wickets.England had started the day on 31 without loss needing another 287 to take the series and made strong early progress as Jonathan Tattersall and Dominic Sibley took their opening stand to 63. After Sibley fell to Vincent Moore another productive stand of 90 followed between Tattersall and Harry Finch (46).However, when Finch fell to the legspinner Diego Rosier, who bowled 25 overs in the day, the innings began to subside as England slipped to 191 for 6 before tea. Ed Barnard and Miles Hammond slowed South Africa’s momentum by adding 49, but when Michael Fasson had Barnard lbw the final collapse decided the match.David Bedingham, whose hundred set up South Africa’s matchwinning lead, was named Man of the Match and Oli Stone, the England captain, took the Man of the Series award for taking 17 wickets at 9.88.Stone’s match figures of 11 for 79 were the best by an England bowler in a Youth Test surpassing the record of 11 for 213 held Richard Pearson, the former Northamptonshire, Surrey and Essex spinner, set against Australia’s Young Cricketers in 1991.

Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s opening batsman, has fiercely denied being the team’s weak link despite sub-standard performances with the bat

Firdose Moonda in Centurion23-Feb-2013Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s opening batsman, has fiercely denied being the team’s weak link despite sub-standard performances with the bat. Hafeez registered his fourth single-digit score of the series to open Pakistan up for the second time in the match and leave them staring at a whitewash.Despite posting his highest score of the series in the first innings – 18, Hafeez has had a disappointing time overall with just 43 runs from six innings. His record outside the subcontinent and Zimbabwe is similarly dismal with his average sitting at 15.59.Still, he believes he is fit to continue as an opener at Test level. “I am really working hard in the nets, it’s just that I got some good balls in the series,” a defensive Hafeez said at the end of day two. “There is nothing wrong with my technique, it’s just that the runs aren’t coming and I am not performing for the team.”After surviving for more than an hour in Pakistan’s first innings, Hafeez looked set to turn his fortunes around. He was driving well and looked more comfortable at the crease than he has thus far. But he succumbed to a familiar problem that ran through the entire line-up today.As he tried to fend off extra bounce from Kyle Abbott, he popped a chance up to Dean Elgar at gully to spark Pakistan’s collapse. In the second innings, it was the other problem Pakistan’s openers have had that affected Hafeez – the struggle against the new ball with its pace and movement. Dale Steyn was keen to finish the job and steamed in, Hafeez was stuck in his crease and played on.Deliveries like that, not his own inability to deal with them or the conditions, are what Hafeez thinks has hampered him this series. “The bowler did the basics right, especially by pitching the ball in the right areas,” he explained. “And credit must go to them, especially to the debutant Abbott, who bowled really well. There is not too much in the pitch, there is some bounce which we expected.”Hafeez has also been under-utilised with the ball, except at the Wanderers where he made a major impact, but feels the captain “knows how to handle the players,” and does not see that as a way in which he could have contributed more. Instead, he remains symbolic of Pakistan’s malaise, although he also insists their troubles are not as serious as they look.”In Cape Town we had some good moments. We couldn’t put pressure on them but we are trying to fight it out. If we have one good partnership here, we can fight it out. We are very capable of scoring runs on any track. We need things to change. The series will go on and the boys will come out with some good performances,” he said.For that, Pakistan will need a Herculean partnership, even better than the one Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq put on at Newlands, which was the highest by visiting batsmen in South Africa in seven years. Younis is at the crease and Shafiq is yet to come. They also have Imran Farhat, who didn’t come out to bat in the second innings. He was struck on the hand and has since had an x-ray taken, but will be fine to bat on the third day. Pakistan’s chances still appear thin.The South African attack, even without Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis, remains potent and aggressive. Perhaps more importantly, they are uber-confident, something that was evident in Graeme Smith enforcing the follow-on. “We all thought of not having to bat last but it was a very positive move,” AB de Villiers explained. “Graeme showed confidence in the bowlers. Hopefully in the morning session, it will move around a lot like it did today. I found it played quite well after lunch on day one but it does a bit in the morning.”Pakistan have had to contend with many early bursts in the series and those words will not give them any comfort. In this situation, only small goals are worthwhile, such as getting through the first over, then the first hour and then the first session. If they can achieve some of those, Hafeez may be proved right in some ways. “We lost the series but this game was a little bit different and we have to come up with some good performances,” he said.

After posting 158, Faisalabad Wolves had one major aim in the chase – dismissing Shoaib Malik. They got him in time to restrict Sialkot Stallions in the chase and take the title

The Report by Umar Farooq01-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Faisalabad Wolves celebrate their title win•Pakistan Cricket Board

After posting 158, Faisalabad Wolves had one major aim in the chase – dismissing Shoaib Malik. They got him in time to restrict Sialkot Stallions in the chase and take the title in front of a full house at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The Wolves won their previous national T20 title in 2005.Wolves, by winning the title, have also qualified for the Champions League Twenty20 this year, though that remains subject invitation by the tournament organisers. Teams from Pakistan were ignored for the first three editions of that competition, though the Stallions were invited last year. They failed to qualify for the main round.Wolves were off to a poor start after winning the toss, the openers back in the hut in the space of eight balls. However, they recovered, and recovered well.The defining feature of Wolves’ innings was the swift pace at which runs were scored. The first 50 runs came off 50 balls, second in 49 and the final 50 were knocked off in just 17 balls. Asif Ali was key, smashing 70 off 49 balls with nine boundaries, including three sixes. He first put together a 63-run third wicket stand with Khurram Shehzad (30) after the loss of two early wickets and then added an unbeaten 79 with captain Misbah-ul-Haq.Ali won six awards for his 70: most stylish player, most fours, most sixes, best scorer, and the Player of the Match while Ehsan Adil was named best bowler of the tournament. Misbah, who is currently enjoying the best run in his career, finished being a tournament top-scorer with 206 at a strike-rate of 140.13 and an average of 103, He’s also hit the most sixes this competition, 12. He played another assured hand in Wolves’ innings, smacking three sixes for his brisk 38 off 25 balls.The Stallions were reeling at 10 for 3 in the chase. Shakeel Ansar (4) was the first to go, top-edging a catch wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman.Stallions once again had to rely on Malik. Along with Ayaz Tasawwar (28 off 26), Malik added a steady 63 runs for the fifth wicket but the asking-rate was climbing with each over. The pair resisted Wolves for a while but Adil returned for his final spell to end the fightback. He first dismissed Tasawwar – who was caught at extra cover by Asif – and followed with a double-strike, getting rid of the brothers (Shoaib and Adeel) in quick succession.Malik finished the tournament as second-highest run-getter. His 40 off 39 balls included four fours and a six. After his departure, the rest of the batting couldn’t hold together. Malik failed to turn the tables this time and his side was bowled out for 122 in 19.1 overs.

Jon Culley at Derby27-Apr-2013
ScorecardStuart Broad took four of Derbyshire’s final five wickets to hurry the visitors to victory•Getty Images

Early season matches can be one thing or another for an England fast bowler in need of a pipe-opener ahead of the summer international programme and with Stuart Broad you never know quite what to expect at this time of year. In some ways, it is safer to take an open-minded view.He can blow hot and cold at the best of times. But if it was a chill wind that blew across the County Ground as Derbyshire sought to avoid an innings defeat, they found to their cost that Broad was in the mood and rhythm to leave scorch marks, figuratively speaking. Showing every indication that he will begin the New Zealand series in fine fettle, Broad ended almost single-handedly any prospect of an honourable draw for the home side, his burst with the second new ball bringing four wickets in the space of 17 deliveries.It set up a comfortable win for Nottinghamshire that, in reality, only a run of heavy showers was ever likely to deny them.Just as importantly, there was no sign of rust from Broad, whose eight wickets in the match maintained his impressive record for Nottinghamshire.He bowled at a decent pace and with good control of both the short ball, which he used sparingly but effectively, and the yorker, which in the conditions was a much more useful weapon. There was no hint, either, of the heel injury that affected him in India during the first half of England’s winter itinerary, and which he accepts he must manage carefully now. He was smooth and rhythmical and if there was any discomfort he hid it well.His performance was some consolation for Mick Newell after the loss of his leading wicket-taker, Andre Adams, to an injury that will keep him out at least until late May.”Stuart took a bit of time to get going when he came back to us last season but he has not been too long without playing since the last Test in New Zealand and I think that’s important for him,” Newell said.”He has hit the ground running this time and he has another chance to bowl against Durham next week, after which you’d like to think he will go back to England in some nice form before the first Test.”He bowled with pace, too. I know that spell with the new ball today was against lower order batsmen but it was still quick, and it was well controlled and well directed.”Centrally contracted England players inevitably see little action for their counties but Broad seldom gives Nottinghamshire less than full value. Saturday’s wickets took his tally to 65 in 12 Championship matches, with winning contributions in five of them.He ended Derbyshire’s hopes of avoiding a second defeat after their capitulation at Lord’s last week. Behind by 187 on first innings after James Taylor’s measured century, they managed to dig in for a while on the final morning, at least against the old ball. A half-century from Dan Redfern in a stand of 79 with David Wainwright gave them respectability after resuming five down for 143, although they always seemed unlikely to survive unless rain intervened.There was not much in the pitch for the quicker bowlers at that stage and it was left largely to Samit Patel to probe away with his left-arm spin in search of a breakthrough.It all changed after a sharp shower forced the players off the field for 15 minutes, during which time Nottinghamshire decided they would take the new ball. When play restarted, Broad bowled a full first delivery that beat Redfern for pace and pinned him leg before. In his next over, he had Wainwright caught behind off a brutish short ball he could only play in self-protection, before hitting Tom Poynton on the foot, again plumb in front, with the next ball.Some more sustained rain followed, causing a 90-minute stoppage following lunch. But Broad continued as before, striking again with another toe cruncher that sent Tony Palladino limping back to the pavilion, quite literally. Harry Gurney finished things off by bowling Jon Clare, which left Nottinghamshire needing only 43 to win.There was a minor disappointment when Alex Hales, who had batted with such discipline in the first innings, surrendered early but Michael Lumb and Ed Cowan completed the job in short order. Derbyshire lick their wounds and head next for Yorkshire, who dispatched Durham, the next opponents of Nottinghamshire, when they will have Broad and Graeme Swann at their disposal.