Following Pakistan’s narrow five-run defeat to India in the ICC World Twenty20 final at the Wanderers, former Pakistan captains criticised the team for not overcoming its jinx against India in major tournaments and blamed the batting for the loss. Wasim Akram and Intikhab Alam praised both teams for making the final a memorable one while Javed Miandad lashed out at the lack of planning when Pakistan were set to chase 158.This was Pakistan’s second consecutive defeat to India in the tournament after the first was settled in a bowl-out after the scores were tied. Pakistan lost to India in all their World Cup encounters and their solitary win in a major tournament came during the Champions Trophy in England in 2004.”It’s a repeat and it will hurt the fans and players alike for some time. But apart from that jinx both teams played superbly and cricket was the winner,” Wasim Akram told . “It was a close game and the better team won. No regrets. It was only a game and people have to take it as a game and must appreciate the quality of cricket.”Akram however wasn’t pleased with the shot selection of a few senior batsmen. Both Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi fell to lofted strokes while Misbah-ul-Haq, who nearly took Pakistan home in the final over, perished trying to scoop Joginder Sharma to fine leg, a risky stroke given the circumstances.”I would blame Pakistani batsmen Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi for their reckless strokes,” he said. “In the end Misbah-ul-Haq should have played a straight bat shot.”Commenting on the positives to emerge from Pakistan’s campaign, Akram singled out Shoaib Malik for his leadership and added that Pakistan had the potential to lift the next World Cup.”Shoaib Malik has emerged as a great captain and the way he led the team from the front, I see Pakistan winning the World Cup in 2011.”Miandad came down hard on the decision to promote Kamran Akmal at No. 3, ahead of Malik who was in good form. RP Singh dismissed Akmal for a third-ball duck, bowled after swinging across the line.”We have maintained our losing streak to India in World Cup matches and I would blame poor planning for that,” Miandad said. “Why did Malik not come in at No. 3 instead of Kamran Akmal?”Alam acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts in reaching the final after a difficult few months following their shocking exit from the World Cup in the West Indies earlier this year.”The World Cup jinx continues and India seems to have an edge over us in all World Cup matches,” Alam said. “But I am grateful to the Pakistan team for making the final a fitting one.”

Scorecard1st day

Although Bradman had revealed dazzling form in an inter-state match, his six innings against English bowling had been 3, 10, 36, 13, 18 and 23. It was obvious that, against the fast leg-side attack, he lacked his normal confidence. Bradman seemed jaded mentally – a condition to which a contributing factor was the stress of efforts to have his press contract sanctioned by the Board of Control. The result was that two doctors, who examined him on the eve of the Test, pronounced him not in a fit condition to play, although organically sound. Neither of the slow right-hand bowlers, Brown nor Mitchell, was included in the English XI, and the other four omitted were Tate, Duckworth, Bowes and Paynter. Magnificent bowling by Larwood, who dominated the attack, put England on top early. Several Australian batsmen wore chest-pads as well as thigh-pads, and there was an outcry about leg tactics, although Worrall, the former international, who is probably the soundest critic in Australia, wrote: “Larwood opened with an orthodox field and although later this was changed and he bowled outside the leg stump, it was legitimate fast bowling as far as he was concerned. Voce’s half-pitched slingers on the body-line provided about the poorest attempt at what should be Test bowling it is possible to conceive. Even Larwood bowled ten on the leg to one on the wicket, and Voce did not bowl half a dozen balls on the wicket in 24 overs.” Woodfull won the toss and although Ponsford made a determined stand until after lunch, Australia’s first four wickets fell for 87. Attempting an on stroke against one of Larwood’s straight balls, Ponsford moved too far across and left his leg stump open. In the next two hours, Richardson and McCabe carried on to 216. As the sting of the attack lessened, McCabe began to score freely with strong on strokes, cuts behind point, and good drives.Richardson was rather unluckily out at 216, for he hit a ball beautifully to square leg where Hammond brought off a fine catch. Oldfield never settled down, but Grimmett managed to stay, and when stumps were drawn the total was 290 for six, McCabe not out 127 and Grimmett not out 17.2nd day
When the game was resumed the English bowlers quickly met with success, but with Wall as his partner, McCabe by “death or glory ” methods scored with delightful freedom and hit up 60 in less than an hour before the innings closed. Wall’s share of the last wicket stand of 55 was only 4. McCabe batted four hours and hit 25 boundaries. The best batting he had shown on a good wicket was produced by Sutcliffe in an excellent opening partnership of 112 with Wyatt, who was confident with all the bowlers but Grimmett. When 43 Sutcliffe had a very narrow escape as he played a ball from O’Reilly onto his stumps without disturbing the bails, but at the drawing of stumps he was 116 not out, Hammond 87 not out, and the total 252 for one. Hammond was in his best form, his footwork against Grimmett being perfect and his driving most powerful. He reached his 50 in 57 minutes.3rd day
The wicket was still good when Sutcliffe and Hammond continued their partnership, which was not broken until 300 had been reached.Their stand of 188 for England’s second wicket surpassed the previous record of 152 by W. Gunn and Shrewsbury in 1893 at Lord’s. There were 15 boundary strokes in Hammond’s 112, and 13 in Sutcliffe’s 194, which occupied 7 hours and was the Yorkshireman’s individual record against Australia. The way for a colossal total was paved when the board showed 423 for 2, but Wall summoned up a great effort and when stumps were drawn the score was 479 for 6, Pataudi not out 80.4th day
Emulating Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji, Pataudi gained the distinction of scoring a century in his first Test against Australia. Neat in his footwork, he was extremely cautious, and scored most of his runs behind the wicket. Australia’s hopes of making a fight were dashed by a disastrous opening in their second innings. McCabe and Richardson fell to successive balls from Hammond, and a stubborn 40 by Fingleton was to score. An innings defeat seemed likely, but Wall helped Nagel in a tail-end stand and 164 for 9 was reached at the close of play. Ames missed stumping Nagel and thus caused the game to last until the fifth day.5th day
After Allen had bowled a maiden to Nagel, Voce dismissed O’Reilly with his third ball with no addition to the score. Larwood was the outstanding figure of the England attack. His 49 overs for 10 wickets was a herculean effort. He stuck to his heavy duty with great heart, although troubled by a strained left side in the second innings. At one stage he had only two fieldsmen on the off side, and his control was as impressive as his pace. It was clear that the Notts fast bowler would be a match-winning factor for as long as he continued in this form. Australia’s steady and persistent bowling was better equipped with spin types, but contained nothing approaching the dynamic influence of a Larwood. To ensure that his energy would he conserved, he was not called on to bowl again until the second Test. In one spell Larwood bowled 10 overs for 17 runs and four wickets.

Group A

Having been left with the rather difficult task of chasing a steep victory target of 352 runs, Sialkot were threatened with a big defeat as they lost three wickets with only nine runs scored in their second innings against Karachi Whites at the United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex Ground No.1 on Friday. Sialkot, overnight at 144 for 8, were dismissed for 166 runs yesterday morning, conceding a first-innings lead of 106. Karachi Whites rode on a brisk century by the opening batsman Khalid Latif as they made 245 for 8 in their second innings.Mohammad Sami struck two lethal blows as three Sialkot wickets fell cheaply. Tanvir Ahmed took the third wicket from the other end. Earlier, Tanvir finished the Sialkot first innings with impeccable figures of 6 for 43, in the process also crossing the 250-wicket mark in 67 first-class matches. The 28-year old Tanvir’s career had started in 1999-00.Khalid Latif, 22, a former Pakistan Under-19s captain under whom the team won the Under-19s World Cup staged in Bangladesh in 2004, reached his fourth first-class hundred, as he made 104 off only 155 balls in just short of four hours with 16 fours and a six. The other Karachi batsmen didn’t do much, in the face of some hostile Sialkot bowling especially from fast-medium Imran Malik (3 for 36), but Atif Ali Zaidi (30) stayed long enough to help Khalid in a 97-run stand for the third wicket. Later, the in-form and prolific Afsar Nawaz hit 38 runs off just 42 balls with the help of five boundaries. Champions of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship title in 2005-06 and runners-up last season, Sialkot have lost two of their three matches this time and have gained no points. Defending champions Karachi Whites — it was in fact Karachi Urban who won in 2006-07 — have 12 points from three matches.Water and Power Development Authority’s (WAPDA) captain Aamer Sajjad, unbeaten at 99 overnight, fell without adding to his score yesterday morning but his team took its first-innings lead over Faisalabad to 179 runs at the Iqbal stadium in Faisalabad. WAPDA scored 447 in response to Faisalabad’s 268. The home team was 75 for two in its second innings by the close of play yesterday. WAPDA’s Tariq Aziz raised his score to 167 runs, made off 239 balls with 18 fours in five hours 23 minutes and shared a 286-run third-wicket stand with Aamer Sajjad. Bilal Khilji scored an unbeaten 84 off 153 balls with seven boundaries.Lahore Ravi made short work of the Pakistan Customs, and won by a convincing nine-wicket margin, within three days of their fourth-round match at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground in Lahore on Friday. Tottering at 28 for 4 in their second innings on Thursday afternoon, still 72 runs in deficit, Customs were bowled out for 133 in their second innings. Needing a mere 34 runs to win, the Lahore team made 36 for one and got through. The lone fight in the Customs second innings was put up by the captain Zahoor Elahi, a former Pakistan representative, who remained unbeaten at 59 after having come in at number six. He batted for just short of two and quarter hours, faced 74 balls and hit eight fours. The Lahore Ravi pace trio bowled splendidly, with Waqas Ahmed finishing with figures of 4 for 51 in 16.3 overs. Salman Rahat got 3 for 28 and captain Junaid Zia followed his first innings figures of 6 for 34 with 2 for 46 runs the second time.Customs are having a really terrible time this season. They were already at the bottom of the 11-team Group A table and have now fallen to their fourth successive defeat. Lahore Ravi have risen to be among the top four, with 18 points from their four matches.At the Gymkhana Ground in Okara, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) had Multan forced to follow on. Facing NBP’s big first innings score of 514, Multan were bowled out for 246, thus conceding a lead of 268 runs. They were 113 for 2 in their second innings, still needing another 155 runs just to make NBP bat again. Hammad Tariq earlier completed a hundred, his 101 coming off 158 balls with 13 fours and a six.

Group B

Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) lifted themselves from the bottom of the 11-team ranking, as they defeated table leaders Islamabad by six wickets at the Diamond Club ground in Islamabad on Friday, with over a day to spare. Islamabad, after having been dismissed for 95 runs in their first innings, totalled 257 in the second. And ZTBL polished off the required 136 without breaking into a sweat. For ZTBL, former Pakistan left-arm fast-medium bowler Mohammad Khalil bagged 10 wickets in the match. Following his first innings 6 for 45, yesterday he completed 4 for 81 in 22.5 overs. For ZTBL, yesterday’s victory was their first in four matches following two losses and now they have climbed up to number seven with nine points. Islamabad suffered their first defeat after three successive wins.Powered by three individual centuries, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) scored 491 for 6 declared after Lahore Shalimar had managed only 227 runs in their first innings at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. Facing a massive deficit of 264, the Lahore team were 73 for 3 in their second outing. The century-makers in the KRL innings were Mohammad Wasim (125), Azhar Ali (110) and Saeed Anwar (106). After Wasim and Azhar had added 179 runs for the second wicket, Azhar joined hands with Saeed for a 177-run partnership for the fourth wicket.Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) stretched their first-innings lead to 189 runs over Hyderabad after making 416 at the Niaz stadium in Hyderabad. Saeed Bin Nasir extended his overnight 140 to 163 that came off 231 balls in a little over five and a half hours with 23 fours and a six. The allrounder Rizwan Ahmed hit a century, 103 not out off 196 balls with eight fours, in Hyderabad’s second innings of 214-4. The hosts are only 25 runs ahead though at the moment. SSGC’s in-form pace bowler Sohail Khan captured all Hyderabad second innings wickets to fall, for 55 runs. He has already taken eight wickets here, to add to his 16 in his team’s previous two matches.Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) beat Peshawar by the big margin of 262 runs at the Arbab Niaz stadium in Peshawar, also within three days of their four-day Group B encounter. Faisal Iqbal closed the second innings at 283 for 8 that left Peshawar with an improbable target of 402 runs. The home team crashed to 139 all out. Earlier, PIA opener Khurram Manzoor took his score to 143 runs, made off only 164 balls with 21 fours and a four. With another nine points, PIA have taken their tally to 27 in four matches, the same as Islamabad’s. Peshawar remain stuck at three points in three appearances.Quetta forced Abbottabad to follow on at the Bugti stadium in Quetta. Abbottabad conceded a first-innings lead of 179 runs, although opener Wajid Ali made 114 in their total of 282 runs. In their second innings, Abbottabad were 78 for 2, still 101 runs behind.

Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan batsman who recently pulled out of the Indian Cricket League (ICL), is set to face an arbitration hearing in Mumbai on December 15. Yousuf had signed with the ICL in the wake of his omission from Pakistan’s squad for the ICC World Twenty20 before cancelling his contract after talks with the Pakistan board.Yousuf then signed a national contract as well as signing up to play in the India Premier League (IPL), a recognised league that is run by four different national boards and is approved by the ICC.The organisers of the ICL insist he can’t join the rival league (IPL). “It’s an open and shut case as far as we’re concerned,” said Ashish Kaul, the executive vice-president of the Essel Group who are organisng the tournament, told Cricinfo. “The contract clearly says he can’t play in any other professional league.”Meanwhile the Pakistan board, who convinced Yousuf to cancel his contract, have assured their full support. “We will fully defend Yousuf, if he is taken to court using all legal means,” said Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB.Besides Yousuf, all of the ICL’s other Pakistani recruits have decided to honour their commitments with the league. The most prominent among them is the now retired Inzamam-ul-Haq, who despite having signed on with the ICL, was given an opportunity to make his exit from international cricket in the second Test against South Africa. The others in the ICL mix are Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, and Shabbir Ahmed.

Scorecard

Matthew Elliott just missed out on his second one-day hundred in a week, but his 94 against Queensland in Adelaide helped South Australia make it two wins in five days following their midweek success in Perth. Their seven-wicket win means they are now in second after beginning the week in fifth; an excellent Christmas bonus – and it was Queensland they leapfrogged.Elliott continued in a rich vein of form, his innings making him the leading runscorer in this year’s competition, and he was in super touch with some typical clean hitting. He also paced his innings well and picked the gaps with ease.He was particularly impressive through the on-side, both straight and square, until he holed out at deep midwicket by Clinton Perren off Aaron Nye going for a swept six trying to bring up his hundred and win the match. It wasn’t to be but he left his team-mates with little work to do.Daniel Harris provided an excellent support act in an opening stand of 94, and he made a solid 34 until edging through off stand-in skipper James Hopes. Daniel Christian followed soon after, a soft catch off Michael Kasprowicz to Aaron Nye at short midwicket, but the platform had been set, and Mark Cosgrove’s pacy, unbeaten 27 duly saw them home.The batsmen had been given room to swing following an excellent bowling and fielding display which tied Queensland in knots after Hopes, deputising for the injured Jimmy Maher, chose to bat on a good batting pitch. They slumped to 5 for 67, without Shane Watson, who had a virus, and under pressure from Paul Rofe and Ryan Harris, who each bagged two wickets, and Jason Gillespie, who grabbed one.Their 170 represented a mini-recovery: Ashley Noffke and Nye both helped out with 45, but the total was always going to be well short.Nathan Adcock’s bowling again proved useful and he was on a hat-trick after bowling Carseldine and taking a screaming return catch off Grant Sullivan. His third ball, to Kasprowicz, only just missed off stump. Dan Cullen also found good turn, and a wicket, as all the bowlers impressed.South Australia, then, will take great seasonal cheer from their fielding, too, with Cosgrove taking two lightning catches in the slips and Gillespie’s direct hit removing the unlucky Hopes who had made a good start with 39 until he ran in to Rofe. Noffke, who had begun to lead the recovery, was then also run out, another important wicket.It was unseasonally cold in Adelaide, but the home side’s performance was a heartwarming Christmas present for the Redbacks who have now won five of their last six games. It was Queensland who provided the only blip in among those wins, but that was in a rain-affected encounter at the WACA. On Sunday, however, nothing could stop them and they can already look forward to the new year.

Paul Reiffel has thrown his support behind a possible challenge rule, which would allow players to request a review of an umpire’s decision with the assistance of television replays. The ICC is considering trialing such a system, in which the teams would be able to ask for a limited number of referrals.Reiffel, who has regularly stood in first-class matches in Australia after retiring as a player, said the idea had merit. “You want the right decision to be made,” Reiffel told the . “It doesn’t bother me how you get it. If it’s there and available straight away, you [should] look at it.”The ICC trial will probably take place at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in September. The reviewed decisions will be based solely on replays, not technological tools such as Hawkeye and the Snickometer, which Channel says are not 100% accurate and take too long to configure. However, Reiffel said technology should not be written off altogether.”You don’t want everyone to be waiting and waiting all the time,” Reiffel said. “It’d slow down the game too much. But let’s look to improve the situation and embrace the technology if it means less controversy and contention. The trouble in the past is that the technology hasn’t quite been in place and the players have said they don’t want it.”Umpiring has been in the news after several controversial decisions in the Sydney Test between Australia and India, and Reiffel’s former captain Steve Waugh said abolishing the neutral-umpire rule might be the answer. But Reiffel said the current system was safer. “I know having had 15 years’ experience [playing] with Victoria,” Reiffel said, “that I’m more comfortable standing in games interstate involving teams other than Victoria.”

Mark Dobson has resigned as England women’s head coach midway through the tour of Australia and New Zealand. Citing personal reasons, the ECB level-three coach apologised to the England team and returned home.Surrey’s Mark Lane, drafted in after assistant coach Vince Wells opted out of the tour for personal reasons as well, will take over on a temporary basis for the remainder of the tour.Dobson, 40, was appointed coach in June 2007 and his first assignment was New Zealand’s visit last August. He had a brief first-class career at Kent and Glamorgan and has been in the game as a coach ever since.

New Zealand (Browne 52, Martin 41, Satterthwaite 36) beat England 138 (Edwards 70*, McNeill 6-32) by 123 runs
ScorecardBeth McNeill’s career-best six wickets got New Zealand’s one-day summer off to a flyer with a thumping 123-run win to bring the Ashes winners England crashing back down to earth. Solid contributions with the bat from a depleted New Zealand, shorn of Suzie Bates and the injured Louise Milliken, lifted the home side to 261.Nicola Browne was the only batsman to reach fifty, but received useful support from her colleagues despite openers Aimee Mason and Ros Kember falling cheaply to Isa Guha. Haidee Tiffen became Guha’s third victim and when Jenny Gunn, back from a shoulder injury which forced her to miss the Ashes, removed Sara McGlashan they were in trouble at 56 for 4.Amy Satterthwaite’s 36 inspired the turnaround and then in came Browne who posted only her fourth fifty in 69 ODIs, then again she is primarily a pace bowler. Katey Martin added 41 on her return to international cricket.England’s reply was largely a shambles: apart from Charlotte Edwards’ unbeaten 70 and Claire Taylor’s 27, nobody reached double figures. Sarah Burke removed the openers Beth Morgan and Sarah Taylor quickly and from then on it was the McNeill show, with her first five-wicket haul in ODIs.She removed a big gun in Claire Taylor to spark the slide, picking up Lydia Greenway for a duck, Jenny Gunn for a 19-ball 1, Nicky Shaw for 5 and was on a hat-trick removing Rosalie Birch next ball. She finished with Katherine Brunt, who hasn’t played any outdoor cricket for months.Brunt opened the bowling, her ten overs going for a respectable 37 so that is one positive England can take from the opener.

“This is a greater victory than the World Twenty20,” was captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s reaction after India won their first tri-series in Australia, succeeding at the formidable task of beating the top-ranked side in their own den twice.Dhoni, who has now led India to victory in two prestigious events in the last seven months, attributed the results to a team effort. “The role of the captain was not the only one. The captain is one guy who gathers the pressure and then channels it to the individual player and then it depends on how that individual reacts,” he said. “We didn’t start that well but we improved as the tournament went on and the credit should go to every player.”India’s batting, which has been their biggest weakness throughout the tournament, came into its own during the finals with Sachin Tendulkar hitting top form. Tendulkar followed up his stellar performance at the SCG on Sunday with a vital 91 in Brisbane. Despite ordinary performances early in the tournament, Dhoni never doubted his senior-most batsman. “Performance is one thing, but performing back-to-back is something else. He is the best.”Dhoni was relieved India had wrapped up the series at the Gabba thereby avoiding the trip to Adelaide. Was he desperate that they complete the job in Brisbane? “Yes, because I have not ridden my motorbike for quite a long time,” Dhoni joked but added that a third game would have been taxing for his players, some of whom have been away from home for about three months.After a resounding victory in the first final, India’s decision to bat first in Brisbane paid off with Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa giving them a solid opening stand of 94. While India have shuffled their batting order during the series, Dhoni said Uthappa’s promotion to the opening slot had given the batting a settled look. “Robin changed his game a little bit and reacted to the situation and curbed his aggressive instincts.”Throughout the tournament, like in the ICC World Twenty20, Dhoni surprised many with his team selections and his on-field strategies. For the crucial final over in the World Twenty20 final, he threw the ball to the inexperienced Joginder Sharma, in the first final here he asked Praveen Kumar, another rookie, to take the new ball. That move paid off; Praveen got crucial top-order scalps and did an encore at the Gabba.The other surprise was to play the legspinner Piyush Chawla, who was overlooked during the league phase, in the finals. “We wanted to play Piyush, and wanted him to use as a surprise. He mixed it up really well was consistent in his line and length.”When the squad was picked Dhoni had strongly recommended the presence of youngsters. While that gamble has now proved successful, he said he never doubted that it was the only way ahead. “Even if we had lost this tournament, we should have stuck with the young boys. This will be the team’s core.”

Dimitri Mascarenhas is the only English representative to have signed up for the Indian Premier League (IPL) but he feels other centrally contracted players will “definitely” feature in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament in the future. The IPL has announced that its second edition will run from April 10 to May 29 of 2009 and Mascarenhas felt the ECB could rest certain players to allow them participate if it conflicts with the English season.”A clash with the English season would make it harder for them,” he told the . “The ECB can tell them to rest or play for their counties. For the others, it is up to the counties and they may help their players because it is such a good opportunity. I know that the IPL want more English players. I think non-contracted players will go, like Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara. Luke Wright is a good hitter and, perhaps, Chris Tremlett.”The IPL has divided opinions – the likes of Kevin Pietersen have snubbed it for pride of country – and Mascarenhas, who was bought for US$100,000 by the Rajasthan Royals, was a bit overwhelmed. “I do not know what to expect,” he said. “But if you look at the players and the companies involved, I do not see how it can fail.”Really, it is the experience of being there that grabs me. If I do well, there is the opportunity to earn more next year. Being in New Zealand around the first auction was funny because we heard that their players were listening as things happened. Brendon McCullum went for $700,000, Jacob Oram for $675,000, Dan Vettori for $625,000 and then Scott Styris for only $175,000.”Mascarenhas will spend May 12 to 26 in Jaipur this year, but will play throughout the 2009 and 2010 tournaments. His three-year deal with Jaipur came about after Shane Warne, who he replaced as Hampshire captain, made contact with Mascarenhas following the first round of auctions.Though he didn’t make his international debut till he was 29, Mascarenhas said he was raring to go. “I think I was ready two or three years ago. I was as good then as I am now. My bowling has been consistent pretty much through my career, but my batting really took shape around 2005. Warney told me I had to give myself a chance, not just go out and hit every ball. I know exactly what I am doing now and that is half the battle in one-day cricket.”