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Group A

Chris Whelan took 4 for 27 as Worcestershire breezed past Hampshire by 108 runs at New Road. Worcestershire’s 246 for 8 was a fragmented innings made up of three knocks of 31, by Moeen Ali, Gareth Batty and, at No.9, Ian Fisher. Yet in reply, Hampshire suffered an early collapse, sinking to 57 for 5. When Chris Benham was seventh-man out for 42, Whelan mopped up the tail as Worcestershire romped home with more than 11 overs to spare.Heavy Dublin rain prevented any play between Ireland and Leicestershire, the match abandoned without a ball bowled.

Group B

Scotland made it five losses out of five with another comprehensive defeat, this time by Middlesex whose captain, Shaun Udal, turned in a fine allround performance in Edinburgh. Phillip Hughes, for once, failed to make a sizeable contribution in making just 11, and when Dawid Malan departed for just 7, Middlesex were beginning to wobble on 128 for 3. However, Eoin Morgan’s sublime one-day form continued unabated with another half-century and he was well supported by Udal who smacked a career-best 79, from just 46 balls, with five fours and a six. Chasing 281, Scotland lost their captain, Gavin Hamilton, for a sixth-ball duck and despite Ryan Watson’s 47, there was little else to worry Middlesex. Udal picked up 3 for 32 while Malan’s very part-time legspinners earned him 2 for 4 in a 138-run trouncing.Somerset reached 135 for 2 from 22 overs in their match against Warwickshire at Taunton, before rain ended any possibility of forcing a result. Marcus Trescothick continued his fine form with a 69-ball 84 while James Hildreth made 33.

Junior Kwebiha, the Uganda captain, has singled out earning ODI status as his team’s main objective going into the World Cup Qualifiers set to begin on April 1 in South Africa. Uganda qualified for the tournament after finishing second in division three of the World Cricket League after table-toppers Afghanistan. The top six teams in the World Cup Qualifiers secure ODI status till 2013 and earn an immediate qualification for the ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2009-10.”One of the things that is very important to us is to get ODI status and if we get in the top six we will achieve that,” Kwebiha said. “I am not saying we won’t be trying to get into the top four and qualify for the World Cup – we fully intend to do that – but to get into the top six would be a very big achievement for us and that is where we are putting our focus.”Uganda’s World Cricket League campaign included four wins – including those against Afghanistan and Hong Kong – and their only defeat came against Papua New Guinea, who, as a result of a lower net run-rate, failed to qualify.”We have taken a good look at what happened in Buenos Aires,” Kwebiha said. Despite coming second there are quite a lot of things from that tournament that we have to work on… We know that a lot of the future development of cricket in Uganda is going to depend on our performance in South Africa so it is very important to us.”Coming through the divisions, Afghanistan and ourselves are going to have to work harder because we haven’t been exposed to this level of cricket as often as the others in the tournament. We know it’s not going to be a walk in the park as some of the teams have professional players in the teams.”Kwebiha was upbeat about Uganda’s chances but said he wary of the fact that his team would have to encounter stiffer opposition, including those who it hasn’t played before.”We just have to take it a step at a time and see how it goes from there. There is an element of surprise I suppose in that the other teams will not know too much about us but then we haven’t played against them either so we are going to be just as surprised as they are. It only takes one good ball to get a batsman out and as bowlers we know we just have to put the ball in the right areas.We don’t see ourselves as underdogs really. We don’t approach events in that way. We know what our abilities are, we know what our strengths are and we will just go out there and play our own game. We are trying to get into the culture of going out there and taking control of games and playing to our strengths.”

The war of words between John Buchanan and Sourav Ganguly escalated further with Buchanan, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ coach, saying that he had already discussed with Sourav Ganguly the controversial theory of multiple captains for the team before making the announcement in a press conference on Wednesday. Ganguly had earlier denied any knowledge of this development, but Buchanan insisted that the two had had discussions on the issue during the IPL’s first season.”I had detailed discussions with Sourav during last season’s IPL about his future role,” Buchanan told , a Kolkata-based daily. “The developments were not at all new to him. We had spoken about the importance of having alternative captains.” Buchanan’s remarks contradict the statements of Ganguly, who had said he had no idea about this strategy. “All I can say is that I was not consulted on this. Frankly, it’s a new concept. It may work, it may not.”The decision has evoked strong reactions in Kolkata, with Ganguly fans burning effigies of Buchanan, whose security has been strengthened in the wake of these protests. But the coach explained that this format of the game required a completely new approach, and adapting to this would be difficult for most of the old-timers.”Not just Sourav. Ponting, Gilchrist, Sachin, Laxman, Dravid – for them the onset of Twenty20 has perhaps come at the wrong time. They still can manage because of their sheer talent. But I’m quite clear in my thinking. Like Sourav, they are also nearing the end of their playing careers. The game needs a ‘new dawn’. And the light will be provided by the numerous unnamed, uncapped players waiting for their chances.”When he was reminded that India had won the World Twenty20 under one captain, Buchanan responded by saying the game had undergone much change over the last one-and-a-half years.”At the time there wasn’t much research done about the Twenty20 format. I don’t want to undermine India’s achievement. But it’s true that most of the renowned international players were missing then. The state-level players showed more efficiency and sharpness during the tournament. Gone are those days. The world of franchises has completely changed the face of Twenty20 cricket, The game is progressing. This is what I had explained to Sourav.”Buchanan didn’t clarify as to who would lead the team during various stages of the match, saying that any of three or four senior players – including Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum – could take charge.He did say, though, that he understood Ganguly’s reluctance to accept the new idea, admitting that Steve Waugh would have reacted similarly had he been in Ganguly’s place. “Steve would have been worried the same way. He is also been brought up the traditional atmosphere. I had spoken to him before I left Australia and told him about my new plans. ‘Again a new idea?’ Steve said.”

Chris Martin, the New Zealand seamer, believes his performance on the second day has helped put his doubters at bay. Martin, in his first international game in four months, said he was glad to be back in the team again and lauded his captain Daniel Vettori for showing faith in him.”Test cricket is pretty big for me. It is good to be back,” said Martin. “Once you are in the team and are hanging out with guys you have played with, the confidence it gives you is huge. I think Dan [Vettori] has given me the ball at good times in the match to let me have a good crack at it. To have actually given that payback today at few stages was good.”Martin was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with 2 for 53. His breakthroughs were timely: he dismissed Gautam Gambhir, who had added 105 with Rahul Dravid, and then broke a threatening 61-run stand for the fourth wicket by getting rid of VVS Laxman.Asked if he was affected by the criticism surrounding his selection for the first Test, Martin felt he managed to deal with it easily. “I might get the odd word from friends and families, but my main focus was to not let the talk in the media leading to the Test. It has helped me relax and get into a groove.”With that old man time catching up on you, you struggle a little bit sometimes. But in this Test I think I have managed to regain the perception of what people thought I had lost. To prove a few doubters wrong is always on my list, and also to prove it to myself as well.”Martin said New Zealand could have ended on a better note for his team had Daniel Flynn held on to a difficult chance from Sachin Tendulkar off Daniel Vettori while on 13. New Zealand did keep India’s run-scoring in check but India hold the advantage with six wickets in hand and just one run shy of the home team’s score.”If you bowl a good line and a good length, batsmen respect it. To go at three an over on that wicket was a good achievement,” said Martin. “Had we held held our catches, perhaps the day would have been more even.”Though India are still ahead, Martin was hopeful of a fightback as he believed the conditions in the morning would be conducive to fast bowling. “Each morning you turn up, there is always a bit of moisture,” he said. “There is a little bit of something in the air. If we can at least pull back a couple of wickets, we can get ourselves right back in the game again.”

Group A

Sohail Tanvir’s 7 for 91 boosted Khan Research Laboratories‘ chances of making the final as they took a first-innings lead against the bottom-placed Pakistan Customs at Mirpur Cricket Stadium. Resuming on 67 for 3, Pakistan Customs lost Rameez Raja early, caught by Mohammad Wasim off Tanvir. The bowler followed it up with the wicket of Yasir Hussain, before captain Zahoor Elahi and wicketkeeper Zeeshan Ali strung together a 50-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Zahoor finally fell on 64 off 100 balls, stroking eight boundaries, as Tanvir and Saeed Ajmal shot out Pakistan Customs for 179, 29 short of KRL’s first-innings total. Mohammad Wasim’s unbeaten 53 was the highlight of KRL’s second innings as they finished the day on 134 for 3.Table-toppers National Bank of Pakistan(NBP) let slip a dominant position, floundering against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited‘s bowlers at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Resuming on 248 for 4, captain Qaiser Abbas was the first to go after adding only four to his overnight score of 27. Samiullah Khan, who had Abbas caught by Umar Akmal, got his fourth wicket when he bowled wicketkeeper Amin-ur-Rehman for a duck soon after. That paved the way for Mohammad Hafeez, who picked up three lower-order wickets to shoot out NBP for 326. Hafeez could not repeat the feat with the bat during SNGPL’s reply, but it was an emphatic unbeaten 120 from Akmal which saw them ending the day on a 214 for 4.A patient half-century from captain Aamer Sajjad gave Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) first-innings points against Habib Bank Limited (HBL) at the Shiekhupura Stadium. Resuming on 29 for 1, Ahmed Said and Jahangir Mirza continued solidly. But it was Sajjad who starred for WAPDA. He was involved in two fifty-plus partnerships – 51 for the fourth wicket with Bilal Khilji and adding 75 for the fifth with Nawaz Sardar. And by the time he was dismissed for 61, WAPDA had drawn level with HBL’s first-innings total of 202. Sajjad hit seven boundaries and a six in his 183-ball effort. Nawaz continued strongly and remained unbeaten on 41 as WAPDA took stumps at 239 for 7. Abdur Rehman was the most successful bowler for HBL, picking up 3 for 58, while Mohammad Aslam finished with 2 for 47.Captain Zulqarnain Haider led from the front with a half-century as Lahore Shalimar powered their way to 456 against Sui Southern Gas Corporation(SSGC) at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. In reply, SSGC lost Ali Hussain early on to end the day at 68 for 1. Both overnight batsmen, Zulqarnain and Shahram Ali (45), continued strongly putting on 103 for the fifth wicket. Zulqarnain hit seven fours in his 176-ball 72 and was trapped leg before by Adnan Malik, who finished with four wickets. Mohammad Saeed, whose 44 late in the innings helped Lahore go past 450, dealt SSGC the lone blow.A fine double-century from Fahad Iqbal, well supported by Ali Imran’s 69, lifted Pakistan International Airlines(PIA) from their overnight score of 291 for 7 to 459 for 9 against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited(ZTBL) at the Iqbal Stadium. Fahad remained unbeaten on 200 off 327, hitting 27 boundaries and three sixes, as the two added 170 for the eighth wicket. Imran’s effort came off 128 balls, which included nine fours. The reply from ZTBL was strong, as both openers, Afaq Raheem and Inam-ul-Haq, hit unbeaten fifties to take them to 142 for no loss at the end of play.

Group B

A five-wicket haul by Rizwan Akbar and a breezy half-century from opener Hamid Riaz helped Rawalpindi clinch victory against Peshawar by six wickets inside two days at the Arbab Niaz Stadium. Rizwan, with 5 for 61, was the wrecker-in-chief during Peshwar’s second innings as he accounted for five of the top seven Peshawar batsmen. He ended with nine wickets in the match, with Mohammad Rameez and Babar Naeem sharing the remaining five wickets in the second innings. Riaz Afridi’s brave 49-ball 50, which comprised five fours and three sixes, was not enough as the hosts were shot out for 145 in the 44th over. Hamid Riaz’s 73 off 75 balls then helped Rawalpindi make easy weather of the target of 145. He hit 13 boundaries and a six and put on 92 for the second wicket with Awais Zia, to hand Rawalpindi nine points. They can only hope now the result between Sialkot and Faislabad goes their way in order the final.Stellar performances from Bilal Azmat and Haris Sohail made Sialkot firm favourites to make the final as they took a commanding 257-run lead against Faisalabad at the Jinnah Stadium. The overnight batsmen picked up from where they left off on the first day, as Azmat brought up his fifty. Even though Sohail fell after a well-constructed 86, that included four boundaries, Azmat continued undeterred. He was one of Qaiser Iqbal’s four victims but had stroked a handsome 100 off 158 balls, hitting 16 fours en route. Faisalabad replied impressively, with Imran Ali and Qaiser putting on a 72-run opening stand. Imran looked confident and hit 18 fours during his unbeaten 114 as Faisalabad ended the day on 174 for 1.It was an opportunity missed for Abbottabad as the batsmen put up a disappointing show against Multan in Okara. Ansar Javed’s pace proved too be too much as Abbottabad were bowled out for 333 after beginning the day on 299 for 5. Once Abdur Rauf had Rehan Afridi caught behind, without adding to his overnight score, Javed started the demolition job as he ran through the lower order in quick time. Javed finished with 5 for 50 as Abbottabad crumbled inside 17 overs. Twin fifties from Mohammad Yasir (71) and Kashif Naved (83 not out) strengthened Multan during their reply and their century partnership for the third wicket was instrumental in them sitting pretty at 252 for 3 at stumps.A five-wicket blitz by Lal Kumar put bottom-placed Hyderabad on course for first-innings points against Karachi Blues at the Nawabshah Cricket Stadium. Finishing on 278, after a late effort by Shoaib Laghari (33 not out), Kumar ripped through the Karachi batting. After opener Mohammad Faheem was run out with the score on 35, Lal removed Shadab Kabir and Shehryar Ghani in quick succession. Wickets fell at regular intervals, with wicketkeeper Owais Rahmani offering a lone resistance with 43, before being trapped leg-before by Kumar. The bowler picked up two more scalps of Mohammad Farrukh and Adnan Kaleem to leave Karachi tottering at 205 for 9.Saad Altaf finished with a five-for for Islamabad as Lahore Ravi added 103 runs to their overnight score to finish on 387 at the Diamond Club Ground. In reply, the hosts, who are desperate for a win to ensure a spot in the final, went in search of quick runs and were anchored by Ali Sarfraz’s unbeaten 62. More runs were expected from Lahore when they took the field on the second day, but once overnight centurion Ashraf Ali exited on 113, the Islamabad bowlers struck regularly. Altaf added the wickets of Waqas Ahmed and Usman Malik to his three victims the previous day to finish with 5 for 93. Islamabad ended up scoring at over four-an-over and it was the 92-run partnership for the third wicket between Sarfraz and Ameer Khan (42) which kept their hopes alive as they took stumps at 194 for 3.

The ECB is scaling down plans to launch an Twenty20 English Premier League to try to rival India’s IPL, according to a report in the Times.Last summer, the board announced a 20-team EPL, featuring the 18 first-class counties and two overseas sides, one formed by Allen Stanford. But logistical issues, the credit crunch and the cooling of Stanford’s interest has led to the scheme being rethought and renamed.The competition, provisionally called the P20, with the P standing for Premier, will revert to the tried and trusted two leagues of nine with two up, two down promotion and relegation. The one concession that remains is that counties will be able to field up to four overseas players.The ECB’s Nigel Hilliard admitted to the newspaper that expectations had been raised to unrealistic levels and the fact the existing Twenty20 competition was a great success needed to be taken into account.”The proposal for 20 teams has been dropped for the moment,” Hilliard said. “We may look at it again if somebody puts up a lot of money, but they are not about to.”This news represents a complete climbdown for the ECB which last July announced its new 20-team competition, based, it claimed, on detailed market research. “This is about giving the spectator what they want,” ECB chairman Giles Clarke said. It appears that what the spectators want and what the ECB can deliver has changed markedly in the last few months.

RP Singh, Uttar Pradesh’s left-arm fast bowler, will miss the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu due to a shoulder injury. RP had missed the quarter-final against Gujarat as well due to a pulled muscle, and this is a further setback to his opportunities of impressing the national selectors.RP has played three games in the tournament so far, taking ten wickets at an average of 37.10. His absence will be a blow to UP against a strong Tamil Nadu batting line-up, but coach Gyanendra Pandey was confident of his team’s bowling resources even without RP.”We are confident of putting up a good show,” he told the . “It’s not that we lack in bowling in RP’s absence; we still have a good bowling attack and we won the last match without RP.”With RP not around, the team will depend heavily on Praveen Kumar, who took five wickets in the first innings against Gujarat, and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who has been UP’s leading bowler with 23 wickets at an average of 22.21.The semi-final, which will be played in Nagpur, starts on Saturday.

Eagles moved back to the top of the table with a six-wicket win over Dolphins in Kimberley thanks to a fine 126 from Morne van Wyk in Kimberley. Eagles were set a challenging 268 from their 45 overs,and although they lost Dean Elgar and Rilee Rossouw in quick succession, Boeta Dippenaar (48 from 64) and Ryan Bailey (60 from just 43 balls) took them through to a comfortable win with one over to spare. Imraan Khan was the standout batsman for Dolphins, continuinghis fine form with an unbeaten 110 – his maiden ton – while Jon Kent smacked a stylish 50 from 45. It wasn’t quite enough, however.Lions’ miserable form in this competition continued at the hands of Cape Cobras who romped to an emphatic 48-run win in Potchefstroom. Cape Cobras compiled a daunting 295 for 8 as Henry Davids top-scored with 97 while Stiaan van Zyl made 81. The real injection in momentum came from Justin Ontong who lifted three sixes in addition to four powerful fours, cracking 54 from 31 as Lions’ bowlers began to suffer. And to ice their cake, 20-year-old Richard Levi heaved 29 from 16. Lions’ chase began promisingly when Alviro Petersen stroked 50 and Vaughn van Jaarsveld a powerful 84, but Rory Kleinveldt took 3 for 26 while Claude Henderson also picked up three wickets and the Lions’ tail failed to wag.Dolphins fought back from their defeat against Eagles earlier in the week, recording a nine-win over Warriors inDurban. Khan’s prolific form continued, and he appeared set for another hundred before he was bowled by Wayne Parnell – the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 56 – for 86. Ahmed Amla’s 64 ensured a competitive total of 250. Warriors’ chase began promisingly – Michael Smith got the innings off to a flyer with 54 from 59 – but despite a number of starts, wickets continued to fall. Davey Jacobs gave them hope with a slick 73 from 71 but was bowled by Jayasuriya who finished with 3 for 39 as Warriors fell 9 runs short.Dillon du Preez and Thandi Tshabalala took six wickets between them in Eagles’ second comprehensive win of the week, beating Titans by 12 runs at Centurion. A run-a-ball 93 from Ryan Bailey anchored Eagles’ competitive, if below-par, 244 for 6 and shared in a fifth-wicketstand worth 158 with Boeta Dippenaar (73 from 89). Titans’ Blake Snijman gave his side hope with 73, but du Preez and Tshabalala maintained their lines to leave the tail with too much to do.Titans responded to their defeat with an impressive five-wicket win over Cape Cobras, however, as Albie Morkel smashed 55 to guide them to their target of 246 at Newlands. Cape Cobras were indebted to Stiaan van Zyl’s second slick knock of the week; his 108 was comfortably the highestscore, though Levi assisted with 47 while Ryan Canning cracked some lofty late-order blows. Titans’ chase began poorly, slipping to 92 for 3, but Morkel and Farhaan Behardien – who made 67 from 63 – took Titans to a cantering win with 25 balls to spare as Cobras suffered from the absence of Charl Langeveldt.Dolphins moved to fourth in the table after beating bottom-placed Lions by five wickets in Pietermaritzburg. Fifties from Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Petersen lifted Lions to 229 but that man Khan, yet again, stabled Dolphins’ response with another fifty. He cracked 74 from 82 withseveral scorching drives through the infield, and was dropped on 6, while Amla made 58 from 59. Both fell within four balls of each other but HD Ackerman stroked 44 while Pierre de Bruyn struck 21 from 26 as Dolphins crept home with four balls remaining.Player of the week – Imraan KhanDolphins might be languishing in fourth place, but without Imraan Khan’s prolific scoring they might easily have slipped further down the table. Khan cracked 110, 86 and 74 – all innings of high class, though he isn’t quite as dashing or extravagant as his opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya. Nevertheless, his method is working and he now has 400 runs from seven matches, averaging 66.66.

Yuvraj Singh is the top contender to replace Sourav Ganguly, who retired last month, in the Indian squad for the two-Test series against England, which will be picked in Chennai on Thursday afternoon. Gautam Gambhir, handed a one-Test ban by match referee Chris Broad for elbowing Australia’s Shane Watson during the Delhi Test, will return for the series, scheduled to start in Chennai on December 11.Yuvraj, who last played a Test against South Africa in Kanpur in April, has virtually sealed his berth after his imperious display in the ODI series against England. He ended as the top run-maker with two spectacular centuries, reversing a lean start at the beginning of the season. In the three Challenger Trophy games he had single-digit scores and failed in the solitary Ranji match he played before the England series. But the selectors, including chairman Kris Srikkanth, recently indicated that Yuvraj would be the best man to fill Ganguly’s middle-order slot.It’s not unclear whether the selectors will retain M Vijay, who was plucked out of a Ranji game to fill in for Gambhir in the Nagpur Test against Australia. They face a hard choice between Vijay and S Badrinath, who was part of the squad against Australia. Though Badrinath has been seen as the frontrunner in the past to play in the middle order, Vijay was impressive against the new ball and as a close-in fielder.The chance of any fresh face(s) being picked in the middle order remains slim, but the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma cannot be ruled out. Rohit was part of the Test squad in Sri Lanka while Pujara has scored three triple centuries for Saurashtra – one in the Ranji Trophy and two in an Under-22 tournament — this season. Their cause would have been helped had England’s lone practice game gone ahead.The bowling unit is likely to be retained, with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma sharing the new ball and Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra the two specialist spinners. Munaf Patel will continue to be the third seamer but the fate of his partner, RP Singh, is unclear. There were reported differences between Dhoni and the selection panel over RP’s selection ahead of the ODI series against England and it boiled over into a controversy after a selector leaked it to a member of the press.Current indications are that the selectors will pick a 14-man squad but if they opt for 15, it could include a third spinner. Piyush Chawla is the leading candidate, especially given Pragyan Ojha’s shoulder injury, picked up while fielding in the Cuttack ODI against England.Probable squad
Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, M Vijay/S Badrinath, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, RP Singh.

Scorecard