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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.

– Mark Gillespie on bowling at the death.I had never seen him bowl before, and pre-match office talk had revolved around two interesting facets of Gillespie. One, his run-up was supposedly a mix of Bob Willis and Dennis Lillee and the other was his ability to bowl at the death. I saw neither Lillee nor Willis in him but the other claim was spot on.He bounded in with short aggressive steps, a white handkerchief protruding from behind, before hurling himself fluently into a nice cocked-up wrist position and more often that not, hit the right areas. In his first spell he threaded the good-length and moved it off the seam to tease the outside edge. He would go close to the stump to either move the ball away or straighten it and suddenly would move wide of the crease to dart it in. And it’s not that he had to create an angle to get the ball in, but whenever he did that it nipped back in sharply. He got his first wicket in the 19th over with one that straightened from the length to dismiss a well-set Connar Williams, a former India batsman. He even slipped in a slower one, that almost got him a wicket, but the image of the death specialist was still yet to fully form in the mind’s eye.That crystallised when he came back at the slog. Admittedly, Baroda were already waging a lost cause when he reappeared but then none of his colleagues could finish the innings off. Not even Shane Bond. Gillespie hit a different length now. Much fuller and regularly pinging the blockhole, he delivered from slightly wide of the crease, and bent the ball in repeatedly. The yorkers appeared, one of them crashing into the base of the middle stump, so did the surprise bouncer that took out Yusuf Pathan. There was no need for the slower ball now, for Baroda were almost down and out and even the attempt to hit had evaporated.As evident by that quote, it’s a mature head that is sitting on young shoulders. Vaughn Johnson, who has been working with him over the past eight seasons, is the man who will know more. “He’s starting to become quite an intelligent bowler,” he told reporters last week. “In a cricket sense, he’s got quite a good brain. He’s a bit loose at times but he’s a good kid. He’s had a fair few bollockings over the years and hopefully that’s done him some good.” But he hinted at a troubled character. “He can be a bit different. He’s one reason I’ve got no hair.” And now, it’s up to John Bracewell and Stephen Fleming to handle their new option with care.Scott Styris clearly looked chuffed that New Zealand have found a fast bowling prospect. “He is bit quicker than you think, he bowls a lots of bouncers as well and he is very good at the death,” Styris said at the end of the match. “He will be handful on wickets which have more pace than this. He has it in him to play very well in the international cricket. He is very aggressive and likes to go after the batsmen and doesn’t like to take a backward step which is very important in international cricket. He has taken his chances, in the A tour to Australia three months back where he knocked out some very useful batsmen and again here he has grabbed his opportunity. It’s exciting for us that we have another fast bowler coming through in New Zealand cricket who isn’t in the 120-130 kmph category.”Gillespie has grabbed his chance with both hands. Surely, the selectors would have noticed it. Come Monday, we shall know.

India 500 for 5 dec and 209 for 6 dec drew with New Zealand 340 and 209 for 6 (McMillan 83*, Astle 51*, Kumble 4-95)
Scorecard

Victory was in sight for India in the first Test, never more so than when they had New Zealand six wickets down for 169 just before tea, but in the end the portents of the last two days and of history proved to be sound. Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle both made their second fifty-plus scores of the match, and batted for over 40 overs to make the game safe for New Zealand. The Test match, which was at its crackling best on the second evening when Zaheer Khan shot out the New Zealand top order, meandered to a draw, as India could not recreate that intensity and found the task of labouring for every New Zealand wicket too difficult after a point.The best moments of the day came in the first two sessions, which saw some fascinating tussles between the Indian spinners and the two best New Zealand batsmen on the day, Lou Vincent and McMillan. Anil Kumble, lost from view over nine months of nothing but one-day cricket, was seen again in his best form.Kumble bowled 33 overs in the day, as did his fellow spinner Harbhajan Singh, and it was only when he tired late in the afternoon that New Zealand began to play him with assurance. Sourav Ganguly only turned to him in the 13th over of the day, but when he came on he immediately made an impact, hurrying a ball through the defences of Daryl Tuffey and hitting his middle stump (68 for 2). India scented victory when Stephen Fleming fell shortly after to the wiles of Harbhajan, and then Kumble struck again, hitting Scott Styris flush on the front foot with a quicker delivery and ending his brief three-ball visit to the wicket (86 for 4).But New Zealand put together two crucial partnerships after this, as first Vincent and McMillan and then McMillan and Astle put paid to India’s chances. Vincent and McMillan produced a spurt of runs for New Zealand in the hour after lunch, taking full advantage of some adventurous field placements by Ganguly, and taking New Zealand past 150. It was Kumble again who brought India back into the game, in an over that exemplified the battle of wits fought between the New Zealand batsmen and him.

Kumble, who bowled over the wicket for most of the day,came round the wicket at the beginning of the over with two close-in fielders on the leg side, and just a mid-on and a deep square leg behind them. Vincent knocked the first ball for four through the yawning gap at midwicket, and then, emboldened by the stroke, rushed down the pitch to the next ball to take it on the half-volley and hit it away through the same gap for another boundary.Kumble came back over the wicket, and plugged away again at an off-stump line, but the rush of runs seemed to have had some effect on Vincent. Having hardly made a run on the offside all day, he shaped to cut a Kumble legbreak, was defeated by its lack of pace off the pitch, and bottom-edged it onto his stumps, spinning away in agony as he surveyed the damage behind him (150 for 5). Vincent batted with exemplary discipline for his 67, from 184 balls. He put on 64 for the fifth wicket with McMillan.

India might reflect that they got as far into the New Zealand batting as they did because of Nathan Astle’s indisposition. Astle suffered a stomach upset, and only came into bat at No.8, after Jacob Oram was out (169 for 6). In the first innings he had led the way for New Zealand with good support from McMillan, but this time the roles were reversed.McMillan’s 83 not out, off 191 balls, was the effort that put the game beyond India, for he batted with assurance, and the determination of one who has just returned to form after a long spell in the doldrums – his highest score in his eight Test innings before this game was 18, and he was dropped from the side for the tour of Sri Lanka. As in the first innings, he did much of his batting down on his front knee, sweeping or lapping the spinners.Often there was an element of risk in these strokes, as they flew off the top edge into the leg side. But even if these shots were not strictly necessary, he seemed to feel that playing them prevented the building up of the tension that comes from being scoreless for long periods of time. His methods were sometimes unconventional, but they worked, and New Zealand will proceed to the second Test at Mohali still level in the series.Now if only they could so something to their bowling, they could begin to think of winning it.Chandrahas Choudhury is a staff writer with Wisden Asia Cricket.

Colombo woke up to another soggy morning and no play was possible in the second one-dayer between India and Sri Lanka.Wet conditions, owing to heavy overnight rains, delayed the start before a bout of showers, close to 1pm, ruined the chances of play altogether. With large sections of the outfield still muddy, the umpires decided to conduct a final inspection at 3pm but the fresh rain meant they could call off the day’s play much earlier.The umpires called off play at 1:30pm and, with a similar forecast for tomorrow, the second game could end up being a washout as well. Only 3.4 overs of play was possible in the first game and even the reserve day was washed out. With South Africa already pulling out of the tournament and the weather gods refusing to relent, India’s season couldn’t have got off to a more inauspicious start.

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.”

An interesting final day’s play is on the cards in the Buchi Babu allIndia invitation tournament between ONGC and TNCA President’s XI atthe AC Tech college ground in Chennai on Tuesday. At stumps on thesecond day on Monday, ONGC were 95 for two in their first innings inreply to the home team’s score of 383. A total of 289 runs in a daywith eight wickets in hand is a tough, but not impossible task. On theother hand, it is also possible for TNCA President’s XI to take eightwickets without conceding that many. All in all, it can be said thatthe match is nicely poised for a keen battle for the all importantfirst innings lead.Having resumed at 296 for five, TNCA President’s XI could not havebeen happy at getting only 87 runs on Monday morning. The overnightsixth wicket pair of Badri Attavar and D Dhandapani took theirpartnership to 151 before the latter was out for 62. Attavar wascomparatively subdued but got to 155 before he was leg before to Saif.He batted 426 minutes, faced 306 balls and hit 18 boundaries. Therewas some resistance from the tail but the home team’s total fell belowexpectations. Rahul Sanghvi finished the most successful bowler withthree for 90.ONGC were off a good start with openers Manoj Mudgal and Gagan Khodaputting on 52 runs off 12 overs before the former was out for 25.Skipper G Vadhera (3) did not last long but Khoda continued to go forhis shots. Shortly before close, he reached his half century witheight fours and a six. By close he had faced 67 balls and a lot willobviously depend on him as ONGC continue their run chase on Tuesday.Keeping him company is another run getter with the proper credentials,Virendra Shewag who has started off well, getting 13 runs off tendeliveries with two hits to the fence.

The Indian team will undergo two training camps, spread over five days each, before leaving for Sri Lanka in August for the triangular series.”The team would have a general conditioning camp and, after a break during which they can be back home with their families, would undergo a cricket specific camp. Each camp would last for five days each,” Niranjan Shah, the Indian Board secretary said.Shah added that the squad would be chosen after July 15 and the camps would be held either in Chennai or Bangalore as the other parts of the country would be experiencing monsoon.India is slated to take part in a tri-series, featuring hosts Sri Lanka and South Africa, from August 14 to 29. The team will reach Sri Lanka on August 10 and take on Sri Lanka in their opening encounter on August 16 at Dambulla.