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Imran Farhat, Pakistan’s discarded opener, might be called up for the first Test against India after a splendid 107 runs against the Indians on Sunday in the tour match at the Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground in Lahore.Wasim Bari, the chief selector didn’t rule out the possibility of Farhat being considered for the Test team, when asked if he was under consideration for selection after his century despite his not being in the preliminary 18-member squad. Bari said, “The 18 players were only announced for the conditioning camp. But this is a home series and we can call up any player we want. Every player who is doing well at the domestic level is a candidate for selection.”Farhat’s sudden change of luck has also been helped by the fact that Yasir Hameed, who was named in the probables and was seen as a front-runner to open with Salman Butt, has been ruled out with typhoid. Yasir confirmed he had been ill for the last few days and had undergone a course of some 14 injections. He stated, “The doctors say I am okay now and I was thinking of joining the camp but yes it is true I am still feeling weak.”Farhat who last played a Test for Pakistan in December 2004 against Australia had good fortune smiling on him as he chose the perfect time to score a hundred despite playing some streaky shots. Just as he was going out to bat after lunch, Bari was immersed in discussions with Inzamam-ul-Haq and Bob Woolmer, the coach, on how to resolve the opening pair problem created due to the illness of Yasir.It was obvious after the discussions that three batsmen were competing for the one opening slot and when Woolmer and later on Bari with Iqbal Qasim and Ehteshamuddin, fellow selectors, came to the Bagh-e-Jinnah to watch Farhat play it became clear he had a chance of making the Test squad. Bazid Khan, another candidate for the opening slot, was also sent into open with Farhat and got out early.Inzamam admitted that it was yet to be decided who would open for Pakistan in the first Test. He said, “We have some options available to us notably Shoaib Malik who did a decent job against England. We also have Rafatullah Mohmand and Shahid Afridi.” But Inzamam dropped a hint on his mindset when he said that Mohmand was still raw and it would be a risk asking him to make his debut against India in a high-pressure game and that Afridi had done better low down the order.The word on Sunday evening was that Mohmand, Asim Kamal, Yasir and Umar Gul had been released from the Pakistan conditioning camp. But as far as Asim Kamal is concerned he could still upset the applecart as he is still batting in the tour match. And if he goes on to get some good runs before the team is announced sometime on Monday it would put the selectors and team management in an uncertain position whether to drop him or retain him given he has a good Test record.And the rumours are also strong that Farhat has been called up for the first Test, but it would still not guarantee him an opening slot against India as it is no secret that the captain is still wary of again trying out players he has tried out before and they have failed to respond with consistent performances despite good performances at the domestic level.

Mashrafe Mortaza has conceded that Bangladesh’s effort was scratchy, but said that his side will draw confidence from sealing their second-highest chase in T20s. Despite some hiccups, Bangladesh reached the target of 164 in 18.4 overs, after having overhauled West Indies’ 164 in the World T20 in 2007.”We were not up to the mark,” Mashrafe said. “We had that early run-out [of Soumya Sarkar] and if Mushfiqur [Rahim] or Sabbir [Rahman] didn’t get out at those points, we could have finished it in 17-18 overs. But good thing was that we didn’t panic at any stage, which we used to do in the past.”It is helpful to play in such wickets though I thought it was a scratchy performance. I think chasing this big total will give us more confidence. It is one of our biggest successful chases in T20s so the win is quite a relief. It wasn’t easy chasing 165 so I hope we can hold on to this effort.”Mashrafe was also pleased with the performances of Al-Amin Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman. They shared four wickets and gave away only 10 runs in the last two overs of the first innings. Zimbabwe were given a strong platform for a final push by a 101-run opening partnership between Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda, but Al-Amin and Mustafizur pegged the visitors back.”Al-Amin was our best T20 bowler before his action was reported,” Mashrafe said. He is one of our best death bowlers. I have been saying that Mustafizur is unplayable. I think we have good balance at the death with Shakib and myself also there.”Mashrafe also said that he made a mistake by not using debutant Shuvagata Hom in the middle overs. Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman bowled four overs during that period while conceding 36 runs. Shuvagata was then sent into bat at No.4, ahead of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, but managed only six runs.”He is playing as a bowling allrounder. I could have brought him on instead of Mahmudullah or Sabbir. I sent him to bat at No 4 because I wanted to see him bat in these situations,” Mashrafe said.

The final ODI between Pakistan and South Africa has been shifted to Lahore from Karachi following security concerns raised by the tourists.”The fifth ODI will now be played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on 29th October,” read a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “The venue was changed on the request of the South African team management.”On the request of the PCB, the South African team management sent one of their security officers to Karachi yesterday who held meetings with various offices of the government of Sindh. Despite all assurances given to the security officer, he felt that playing in Karachi was not feasible for the moment.”South Africa avoided playing in Karachi on their previous tour in 2003, but played a warm-up game and a Test this time, staying in the city for over ten days. But the twin suicide bombs targeted at Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, that killed 140 people and injured hundreds more last Thursday made the situation uncomfortable for South Africa.Logan Naidoo, the South African manager, said, “We deeply regret this decision especially for the people of Karachi for having deprived them of this opportunity but unfortunately the members of the South African contingent are not comfortable traveling to Karachi. After consulting with Cricket South Africa back home, we would like the venue to be shifted to some other city.”Naidoo added that this does not rule Karachi out as a venue for future tours. “We have already played two matches in Karachi during the current tour and hope to play there on our next tour as well.”The decision is a significant one for the status of Karachi as a venue with Australia due to tour the country in March next year for the first time in a decade. The city has only recently started hosting international matches again; following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, a number of tours to Pakistan were cancelled. When cricket eventually returned, visiting teams avoided Karachi in particular.But India’s decision to play an ODI at the venue on their ground-breaking 2004 tour gradually signaled a return to the international fold. Since then India and the West Indies have played Tests there, while England played an ODI in 2005.The PCB expressed its disappointment at the decision and reiterated that Karachi was safe to hold any international event.

Paul Collingwood is determined that England put their Ashes nightmare behind them as they prepare for another packed summer of internationals against India and, in a week-and-a-half, West Indies.”Our Test form in the last four or five years has been good,” Collingwood told BBC Five Live’s Sportsweek on Sunday. “Obviously the 5-0 defeat to the Aussies was a huge disappointment but in general the form has been good and we want to get back to those winning ways.”England haven’t won a Test since last summer when they beat Pakistan 3-0. Then, as now, Michael Vaughan was injured with Andrew Strauss replacing him at the helm.”It’s bad timing again,” Collingwood said. “I feel so sorry for Michael after so much hard work getting fit with his knee, then he gets a bit of bad luck.”It would have been ideal for Peter Moores to start with Vaughany but that sort of thing happens in sport. Straussy is the favourite [to deputise]; he’s done it before last year against Pakistan in place of Andrew Flintoff.”And for the first time in eight years, England has a new coach in Peter Moores. “I haven’t come across him too much.” Collingwood said, “but we met up at Loughborough last Monday. I thought he spoke very well, is well prepared, very confident and very ambitious which is important.”England face the West Indies for the first Test of the summer at Lord’s on May 17.

Ireland coach Adrian Birrell has admitted his side is “desperate” to beat United Arab Emirates in the final group match of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, the first-class tournament for the top Associate sides, which starts at Abu Dhabi on Saturday.Reflecting on Ireland’s performance in winning just one match in five in the recent World Cricket League tournament in Kenya, Birrell said: “This match is a good opportunity for us to get back on track after a difficult couple of weeks. We lost some very close matches in the World Cricket League and I don’t think we deserved to finish fifth overall.”We played better than that but sometimes your performance is not always reflected in the results. We are desperate to get something from this tour and if we beat the UAE it will be a big boost for us. Not only will it put us in the final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup but it will help us psychologically as we make our final preparations for the West Indies.”Ireland are the defending champions after beating Kenya in a thrilling final in Namibia in late 2005 and they must win at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in order to pip European rivals Scotland to a place in the final against Canada.But that will be easier said than done. Trent Johnston’s side are understandably low after their losses in Kenya, especially as the failure to reach the final of the tournament for the top six Associates has cost them the chance to play in the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa later this year.Qualification would have earned the Irish Cricket Union US$250,000, boosted the side’s profile at home and abroad, and left everyone on a high ahead of the side’s first ever appearance in the World Cup in the West Indies next month. But now the players need to pick themselves up and perform against a UAE side that has already shown they can be a tough side to beat on their own turf.Last month, they came close to beating the Scots in Sharjah, and although their failure to do just that means they are playing for pride rather than a spot in the final after a previous defeat to Namibia, Emirates Cricket Board Administrator Mazhar Khan said the players would try to make full use of the Ireland game.”I know we are out of the final race but we want to carry over our good performance against Scotland into this game, although it will be difficult against a side that has recently played some tough cricket,” he said. “We would not only try to win the game (against Ireland) but would like to take it as our preparations for the next season which will be a long and tough one.”The next ICC Intercontinental Cup is likely to start for us in June and after two matches in the tournament we will head to Pakistan to take part in the Asia Cup.Ireland is the better team and we are keen to learn from anyone who is better than us. The Ireland game certainly provides us an excellent chance to develop into a more competitive team.”There are plenty of positives for Ireland to take into this must-win game, despite the recent setbacks. The batting was the main plus in Kenya as the side notched up five of the ten hundreds that were compiled in the tournament. William Porterfield led the way with two of those three-figure scores and his tally of 332 runs was bettered by just one man, player of the tournament Ashish Bagai of Canada, who made 345 runs.Ireland could boast two other players with more than 250 runs in Nairobi, Kevin O’Brien (264) and Eoin Morgan (261), and both of those also notched up hundreds, as did Jeremy Bray. So runs should not be a problem, even allowing for the absence of wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien, who is missing through suspension after an ICC Code of Conduct violation during Ireland’s match against Scotland last year.But the real issue is whether Ireland can take the 20 wickets they will almost certainly need if they are to give themselves the best chance of victory. The Ireland bowlers struggled to achieve control and penetration at vital times in Kenya and those failings may prompt some shuffling of the pack in Abu Dhabi.Tall seam bowler Boyd Rankin, also on the books of English county Derbyshire, may get the chance to show his worth while Kevin O’Brien’s left-arm wrist-spin, something he worked on during the recent ICC Winter Training Camp in South Africa, may also get an airing.One advantage some of the Ireland players have is that the venue for this match will be familiar. Five of the squad – Kenny Carroll, Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, John Mooney and Rankin – played there last year in a tournament that also included sides from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, the Netherlands and the UAE.The home side has made two changes to the squad that played Scotland with right-arm medium-pacer Ali Asad, one of their leading bowlers, replaced by Wasim Bari, while offspinning allrounder Rameez Shahzad makes way for Fahad Usman. Asad is absent with a groin injury while Shahzad has been dropped after scores of 0, 10, 6 and 2 in the previous two games against Namibia and Scotland.One certainty is that under Johnston’s positive leadership, Ireland will be at full throttle to make amends for the disappointments of Kenya as the players look to put the smile back on the face of coach Birrell, who is quitting his post at the end of the World Cup. However, whether the players’ efforts will be enough against a determined UAE outfit only time will tell.Apart from Ireland and UAE, the other sides in Group A are Namibia and 2004 champions Scotland. Group B is made up of Bermuda, Canada, Kenya and the Netherlands with all matches now having been played. Canada won the group having beaten Bermuda and Kenya and although it lost to the Netherlands, it had done enough to qualify for the final.The new format of the ICC Intercontinental Cup means sides will play a minimum of three four-day matches in this tournament, increasing to seven four-day matches in 2007 and 2008 when it is hoped the event will be a full round-robin format. That compares to a minimum of just two three-day matches per year under the previous structure which, until the semi-finals, was regionally based rather than global.The ICC Intercontinental Cup began in 2004 to give the leading players from Associate sides the chance to improve by exposing them to a longer form of the game.UAE (from): Mohammad Iqbal, Arshad Ali (captain), Gayan Silva, Saqib Ali, Khurram Khan, Kashif Khan, Fahad Usman, Ahmed Nadeem, Wasim Bari, Qasim Zubair, Ahmed Raza, Naeemuddin Aslam, Ausaf Ali, Shadeep Silva.Ireland (from): Trent Johnston (captain), Kyle McCallan, Andre Botha, Peter Gillespie, Kenny Carroll, Jeremy Bray, William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, John Mooney, Paul Mooney, David Langford-Smith, Eoin Morgan, Andrew White, Boyd Rankin.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Bangladesh squandered a brilliant start by Junaid Siddique, the19-year-old debutant who smashed 71 from just 49 balls, and Pakistan wereindebted to a blazing innings from Shahid Afridi and a late cameo fromImran Nazir as they went into the semi-finals with a perfect record in theSuper Eights. Set 141 for victory, Pakistan eased home with four wicketsand six balls to spare, after Bangladesh’s slow bowlers induced amid-innings wobble.Nazir’s unbeaten 27 at the end made all the difference after a sloppyPakistani display, and would have been especially satisfying after he hadhad to retire hurt three balls into the innings, struck flush on theunmentionables by a delivery from Mashrafe Mortaza. Having swungMahmudullah for a six over square leg earlier, Nazir struck two fours offMortaza to hasten the end.Afridi, restored to the top of the order, had blazed away from the outset,with a straight lash off Mortaza forcing the bowler to hit the deck whiletaking evasive action. There was a mighty heave for six over midwicket aswell, and even the hitherto economical Syed Rasel was not spared, withheaves through midwicket and a big six over long-on.Mohammad Hafeez played his part with a brisk 23, but it was his exit,caught at long-off, that triggered a slide. Afridi went soon after, edgingAbdur Razzak behind, after careening to 39 from just 15 balls. With SalmanButt once again becalmed, the innings lost momentum as the spinnerswheeled away accurately and so quickly that the batsmen barely had time toformulate a plan.It was left to the ever-reliable Shoaib Malik to snap everyone out ofslumber, with a gorgeous flick though midwicket and a sweep that went tothe fine-leg rope. But when he was caught at deep square leg offMahmudullah, Bangladesh scented an opportunity, and Mortaza reinforcedthat feeling by trapping Misbah-ul-Haq, hero of the victory againstAustralia, in front of the stumps. Butt, who looked half asleep, was runout dawdling late on, but Nazir ensured that there would be no repeat ofBangladesh’s famous World Cup victory of 1999.The Bangladesh innings was a one-man show, but Siddique should have gonewhen he had made just 2, only for a miscued pull off Mohammad Asif to befumbled over his head by Misbah. In general though, it was a listlessopening from Pakistan, with plenty of wides and no-balls and Asif bowlingat close to Arjuna Ranatunga’s pace.Tamim Iqbal was superbly run out by Hafeez running in from point, butSiddique was quickly into his stride, playing beautiful strokes down theground off both new-ball bowlers. There was one more lucky escape, as ahoick off Tanvir evaded Nazir’s hands at deep midwicket, and Siddiquecelebrated the reprieve with an imperious hit over the rope in the samedirection.

Even the entrance of Afridi, one of the most effective bowlers in thecompetition, didn’t faze him, with two fours struck down the ground, thesecond of them palmed on to the rope by Umar Gul at long-on. It took himjust 35 balls to reach 50, and with Aftab Ahmed picking off the singles atthe other end, Bangladesh appeared well set for an imposing total.It all changed with a headless-chicken charge from Aftab, and acomfortable stumping for Kamran Akmal off Hafeez. By the time Shakib AlHasan popped one back off the leading edge in Hafeez’s next over, theinnings was in disarray, with Mohammad Ashraful having already departed,trapped in front by Afridi.Siddique heaved Hafeez for two sixes over midwicket in a bid to redressthe balance, but Malik’s decision to bowl only his second over of thecompetition killed off any hopes of a big score. Siddique went for one bighit too many, and with Nadif Chowdhury nicking one behind, it was left tothe tail.Gul, entrusted with bowling the final overs once again, ran outMahmudullah, and then struck Mortaza flush on the visor with awell-directed short ball. Asif added insult to injury by bowling himbehind his legs, as Bangladesh yet again lost the thread after thebrightest of starts. For Pakistan, it was a sloppy day out. Sterner testsawait.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has given the players an April 21 deadline to settle the retainer contracts or face being axed from the squad.The WICB cricket committee – comprising the chairman Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Desmond Haynes, Deryck Murray and Ian Bishop – issued a statement regarding the retainer contracts issue which said, “The WICB made a proposal to the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) on January 12 on the issue of retainer contracts for West Indies players. It was a good offer, fully competitive with other full member countries of the world. After some three months, we have been unable to conclude an agreement in spite of an increase on our original proposal of five percent.”We have been at a loss to understand the reasons for this matter being dragged out as long as it has, until today. Information has now reached us that discussions are taking place between certain players and interests in direct competition with our major sponsor.”We continue to hope that this information is incorrect. Nonetheless, time has run out on us and we can no longer permit this situation to be dragged out interminably. We shall therefore recommend to the WICB board of directors that a firm cut-off point be established on Friday April 21 for the retainer contracts to be settled. Thereafter the team shall be selected based on those players who make themselves available.”Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA president, had said that the WICB was slowing down the process of trying to conclude an agreement over long-standing issues. He said that Lloyd had called on WIPA to try and reach an agreement over retainer contracts by mid-April but maintained that the WIPA would not rush to sign a contract for the sake of signing”The gist of it and the question we have to ask ourselves is if we sign the retainer contracts, are the players going to be better off,” Ramnarine told the . “We are not going to be pressured by anybody into signing a retainer contract because we are the only team that does not have a retainer contract. We will sign the retainer contract once we believe that it is a fair and reasonable contract and it is in the best interest of the player. We are not going to be put under pressure by anybody. I don’t have any pressure from my members. They are well aware of what is taking place and are very supportive.”

Rory Hamilton-Brown has been stripped of the England Under-19 captaincy after what is described as a disciplinary breach on the eve of the first Test against Pakistan at Scarborough.The ECB suspended him for the game which started on Saturday, and although he will be allowed back into the frame for the second and final Test at Derby, it will be as a player only.The ECB told Cricinfo: “Rory Hamilton-Brown has served a match ban and will be considered for selection for the match starting this Friday, 10 August. He will not be considered for the captaincy.”This is the second time Hamilton-Brown, Surrey’s batting allrounder, has been unable to lead the side – albeit for a different reason. He was supposed to captain them in Malaysia during the winter, but shoulder surgery prevented him from doing so.Now it’s possible he won’t fulfill his dream after he watched his replacement Ben Wright make a century as England racked up 530 in their first innings. The side has a five-match ODI series following the Tests, which could be his last chance to captain, if at all.The news comes in a week when speculation over his Surrey career was raised. But while he has been unhappy with dwindling appearances for the second team, he will see out his contract, which runs till the end of 2008.A Surrey spokesperson told Cricinfo: “He’s contracted to the club and as far as we are concerned he will be playing next year. He’s annoyed he’s not getting opportunities but his one-day stats aren’t very good. He’s a good youth prospect and we want to play him. He’s a part of our future plans.”Whatever happens, this will be Hamilton-Brown’s last summer for England Under-19s – he will be too old to represent them in the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in February.

Brad Hodge has been ruled out of Sunday’s Ford Ranger Cup match between Victoria and New South Wales at Canberra after failing to recover from a quadriceps strain. Hodge missed the Bushrangers’ FR Cup loss to Queensland on Friday but is expected to be fully fit for Victoria’s Pura Cup clash with New South Wales starting next Friday.Hodge, whose injury has come at a most inopportune time given the retirement of Damien Martyn, hoped he still had a chance to play international cricket this summer. “In terms of where [Martyn’s decision] leaves me, well, I guess you would say the door’s ajar a little more and players on the fringe have a fresh opportunity,” Hodge said in a Cricket Victoria statement. “Ultimately that’s one for the selectors to decide so all I can do is keep performing.”Ed Cowan has been recalled to the New South Wales line-up, replacing Aaron O’Brien in the 12-man squad. With Simon Katich struggling at the top of the order – he has just 18 runs from three one-day innings since returning from the Champions Trophy – the Blues have given themselves an extra opening option by including Cowan, who made 74 in his only FR Cup innings this season.O’Brien could consider himself unlucky to miss the game after scoring two half-centuries in four matches in 2006-07. He is the only player to be dropped after the side’s disappointing 24-run loss to Queensland on Wednesday.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Simon Katich (capt), Ed Cowan, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Dominic Thornely, David Warner, Nathan Hauritz, Jason Krejza, Nathan Bracken, Aaron Bird, Scott Coyte.Victoria squad Jon Moss, Michael Klinger, Cameron White (capt), Aiden Blizzard, David Hussey, Robert Quiney, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Clinton McKay, Darren Pattinson, Grant Lindsay.

Ashley Giles will fly home to undergo hip surgery after England’s third Test against Pakistan. This means that he will miss the five one-dayers, but he hopes to be fit for the tour of India in March, the start of an intensive 19 months’ cricket for the England side.Football physiotherapists have advised that Giles may need three months to recover after the operation which will take place in Cambridge two days after he returns to England. He will spend Christmas on crutches.Giles has been carrying the injury since April, when he damaged his right hip playing for Warwickshire against Sussex in April. He missed the two-Test series against Bangladesh but physiotherapy and cortisone injections allowed him to play in the Ashes and the current Pakistan tour. But now the effects of the injections are wearing off.”It’s got worse between the first and second Test,” he admitted to reporters on the eve of the third Test. “I’ve tried to manage it but I’m fed up with it being in front of my mind. You feel old once you start to carry injuries and I feel I need a bit of closure on this now by getting it sorted.”The surgery will be performed by Richard Villar who has operated on many sportsmen. “Surgery will involve going in to either repair or whip out a piece of cartilage,” Giles explained. “There is also a little bit of a bone spur on the ball of my hip and he [Villar] may have to shave that down because that may be the thing that is catching on the cartilage.”I have worries because there can always be complications when you go into a major joint. But it comes hand in hand with the job. You are always going to pick up injuries but if you want to perform at your best you have to get them done.”