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Honours were even on the first day of the second-round Patrons Trophy Cricket Championship Quadrangular Stage match between Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Saturday.With Hasan Raza, the captain, having to retire hurt early in the innings, Habib Bank were lifted by useful partnerships along the way before their last wicket fell at 261. In nine balls, the National Bank openers had scored two runs at stumps.Abdur Rehman, the left-handed allrounder from Sialkot, hit 96 off 140 balls in just over three hours with 10 fours and a six. Rafatullah Mohmand, the opener, scored 41 while Farhan Adil scored 38. Humayun Farhat chipped in with a quick 34 off 46 deliveries that included six fours.The National Bank bowlers, on the other hand, also did themselves proud. Wasim Khan took 4 for 44 while Mansoor Amjad, the legspinner, picked up 3 for 63. Two wickets were taken by Imran Javed, the allrounder who is playing in his first match of the season.Asif Mujtaba and Faisal Iqbal, the captain, came to the rescue of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), on the opening dayof their second-round match against Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), at the Khan Research Laboratories Stadium on Saturday.After being two wickets down with only nine on the board PIA, having been put in to bat, reached a comfortable score of 243 for 4 at stumps. Faisal was still at the crease with an unbeaten 80,made off 145 balls in just over three hours, with 10 boundaries.Kamran Sajid and Bazid Khan, the openers, were dismissed by PTCL’s in-form pace bowler Tahir Mughal. PIA were then lifted by the 82-run third-wicket partnership between Ghulam Ali and Asif Mujtaba, who contributed 44 and 65 respectively. Faisal and Mujtaba then added an invaluable 102 runs for the fourth wicket. After Mujtaba’s dismissal, Faisal found an able partner in Mahmood Hamid, as the unbroken fifth-wicket stand realised 50 runs.

Scorecard

Canterbury secured their first State Championship title in a decade after Todd Astle’s four wickets helped fend off a charging Wellington at the Basin Reserve. Wellington were 154 for 5 chasing 249 when Astle collected three wickets in an over to reduce them to 154 for 8 and all but end any chances of a home-town triumph.Wellington started the day in big trouble at 14 for 4, however a 65-run stand from Chris Nevin (25) and Neal Parlane brought them back into the game. When Brandon Hiini had Nevin lbw, Parlane batted on with Luke Woodcock and their 83-run partnership caused some nervous moments for Cantebury, who had declared late on the fourth afternoon.But Astle’s heroics changed the match – he began with Parlane caught by Michael Papps for 74. Three balls later Dewayne Bowden was caught without scoring before Jeetan Patel was caught behind from his first delivery.Woodcock tried his best to rescue the situation, however he was the last man out, finishing with 65 and giving Astle the figures of 4 for 26 as Canterbury prevailed. It was their first State Championship title since 1997-98.”It was a magnificent effort from us in a game that’s gone up and down,” Canterbury coach Dave Nosworthy told the . “But Wellington are a quality side and I feel for them at the moment, I know what they’re going through.”

Tino Mawoyo has been stripped of the Zimbabwe A captaincy following misbehaviour by him and other players in camp in Bulawayo early last month.A Bulawayo-based newspaper reported how players broke camp rules by bringing women into their hotel rooms during their matches against South African National Academy played at Queens Sports Club. The same publication also reported that Mawoyo was arrested outside a sports club for public drinking but was not taken to the police station after the police were paid off.The publication of the story sent shockwaves through Zimbabwe Cricket leadingto a disciplinary inquiry. National selector Vumi Moyo, who was the teammanager at the time, was asked to submit a report and he did not deny the that that the players had brought women into their rooms.Sources said if the police had charged Mawoyo, he would have been suspended.Pace bowler Blessing Mahwire has replaced Mawoyo for the South AfricanAirways Challenge pool B match against Gauteng at Bulawayo and ZC boardmember Cyprian Mandenge has taken over as team manager.Mawoyo, who captained Zimbabwe at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004, remains a vital member of the Zimbabwe A squad at the top of the batting order. He was promoted to the senior team against India A and South Africa A but struggled and was demoted back to the A team.

Marcus Trescothick suffered a breakdown during day two of the match against New South Wales and had to be cared for by the team doctor for two hours before asking for a release from the Ashes tour. Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, had already considered sending Trescothick home when the incident occurred on Monday.”We decided well maybe the best way to deal with it was bring his wife [Hayley] out,” Fletcher told . “And then I was a little bit uncomfortable about that, because was that going to help the problem?”Fletcher was planning to talk to Trescothick, who scored 8 before being bowled by Brett Lee, after the game about whether he should end the tour before the first Test. “I was pretty uncomfortable about it [sending him home],” Fletcher said. “It was taken out of my hands when Marcus came off the field in the afternoon [on Monday] and there was a reoccurrence of the problem he had in India.”Trescothick flew back to England in the lead-up to the first Test against India in February and he also missed the Champions Trophy in the same country last month before declaring his fitness for the Ashes. “He was feeling pretty upset,” Fletcher said of the SCG episode. “He wanted to go back.” Trescothick boarded a plane for England on Tuesday and a replacement will come from the team of “shadow” players that is due in Perth this week.”It was unpleasant in the change room with him,” Fletcher said. “The doctor just had to sit and console him for about two hours or so. After a while the doctor spoke to him and said to him it’s best if he does go home. I only told the chaps last night after the game.”Fletcher hoped the illness would not force the end of Trescothick’s 76-Test career. “I can’t say at this stage,” he said. “It would be foolish of me to turn around and say anyone’s Test career is over.”

Tipped over the bar
When the usually accurate Ian Bradshaw strayed a little down the leg side, Sanath Jayasuriya teed off in trademark fashion. As the ball dipped down towards deep square leg, there was a buzz of anticipation in the crowd. Shivnarine Chanderpaul threw himself off the ground and palmed the ball over the rope. Had it been a game of football, it was a save that Gordon Banks would have been proud of. As it was, it was six more.The air leaves the World Cup balloon
Kumar Sangakkara not only had the eagle eye and presence of mind to spot Brian Lara’s back foot outside the crease, but also fast-twitch fibres akin to a White City greyhound in whipping off the bails. The entire stadium, and perhaps the World Cup organising committee as well, held its breath through a couple of minutes of replays before the stadium scoreboard flashed what no one wanted to see. As Lara trudged off, head bowed, you sensed that West Indian World Cup hopes were leaving the field with him.All-round woe
As Sri Lanka were wrapping up a facile victory, Michael Holding walked down from the commentary box. A World Cup winner in 1979, he has often been a strident critic of this West Indian team. When asked what he’d thought of West Indies’ terrible display in the field, Holding smiled ruefully and said: “It wasn’t just the fielding. The batting and bowling were terrible as well, give or take a couple of names.” We could only think of Daren Powell, Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan.Boo girl
As we walked across the stadium perimeter on our way to the press conference, Jayasuriya was being presented with the Man-of-the-Match award. As he walked up to accept it, a little girl in the stand above me started booing. She carried on, even while those around her looked around awkwardly. Too young to have experienced Caribbean cricket’s halcyon years, she might have to get used to many more days of disappointment. Booing the wrong colour shirt won’t help either.Save the best for last
On a day of stunning hits from Jayasuriya, the pick of the bunch was perhaps the last ball of the Sri Lankan innings. Dwayne Bravo dropped one in the slot, and Tillakaratne Dilshan’s bat cleaved through the air to send the ball soaring deep into the stands at midwicket.Fast man goes slow
Victory had been clinched and the sun had gone down but even at half past six, Lasith Malinga was in front of the stand adjacent to the pavilion signing autographs. Two West Indian fans waited patiently, and thanked him politely after he’d slowly scrawled out a signature. Next in line was a policewoman, paper and pen in hand. No doubt she found something arresting about Malinga’s hair.

Australia 9 for 602 dec and 181 for 1 (Ponting 51*, Langer 88*) lead England 157 (Bell 50, McGrath 6-50) by 626 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out – England
How they were out – Australia

Glenn McGrath announced his return to Test cricket with the superb figures of 6 for 50, and Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer added an unbeaten stand of 113, as England’s cricketers were stripped of their dignity on an extraordinary day’s cricket that verged on the sadistic. Having been bundled out for a woeful 157, a deficit of 445, England’s morale was so bleak that, with a full 45 overs of the day’s play remaining, a three-day finish was a very real possibility. But Ponting was having none of it, and in a decision that echoed Mark Taylor’s move on this same ground in 1994-95, he opted instead to send England’s frazzled players back out into the field for another dose of chastisement.The tactic had been amply justified by the close, as Australia ground their way to 1 for 181, a massive lead of 626. Ponting himself was still there on 51, having passed 9000 runs in Test cricket, and all England had to show for another 40 overs of hard labour was the run-out of Matthew Hayden. As they trooped off the field after their third humiliation in a row, it was hard to believe that this was the same body of men who had retrieved the Ashes in such memorable fashion in 2005. As many as nine of the players on each team were present in that match at The Oval, but the gulf between mindsets could not have been more acute.Since their arrival Down Under, England have been bewildered by the ferocity of Australia’s resolve, and today no-one typified that determination better than McGrath. All year long he has been claiming that, at the age of 36, he is in the best shape of his life, but a ten-month absence to care for his sick wife Jane, and an unconvincing performance on the flat tracks of India last month, had the naysayers believing otherwise. Today, McGrath did as champions do, and let his bowling do the talking.Flushed with confidence after two cheap scalps last night, McGrath tore through England’s bewildered batting, teasing and tormenting England’s outside edges in precisely the manner that England themselves had failed to do at any stage of the match. He grabbed his first of the day when Kevin Pietersen shouldered arms unwisely to one that jagged back and rapped the pads, and after watching Brett Lee dismiss Andrew Flintoff for a third-ball duck, McGrath returned to mop up the tail.Flintoff’s dismissal was an especially dismal moment for England. All through the first two day’s play, he had been a lone pillar of strength, but suddenly, with his side in disarray at 4 for 78, he was on an absolute hiding to nothing. After surviving two deliveries, he nibbled at a third from Lee, and Gilchrist completed the catch that sent the crowd at the Gabba delirious.

England rallied insofar as a team in such dire straits can rally, with Ian Bell confirming that he is a cricketer reborn since his harrowing experience in the 2005 Ashes. He had to ride his luck and back his judgment during Lee’s opening salvo, which included an edge through third man off an angled bat, but he had enough chutzpah to see off both his nemeses, McGrath and Shane Warne, whom he greeted with quick feet and an focussed mind. He brought up his third fifty against the Aussies with a tickled single to leg, but unfortunately for England he was unable to push on, as Clark located one of the cracks on a widening pitch, and Ponting at second slip took a fine catch diving to his right.Geraint Jones had by this stage perished, trapped on the crease by a full-length inswinger from McGrath, and England’s innings folded in an embarrassing heap, with only Ashley Giles provided any token resistance in a defiantly chancy 24. Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison both fell for ducks, caught behind off Clark and McGrath respectively, and it was McGrath who wrapped up proceedings when Giles retreated to leg and top-edged a short ball to point. As he led his side off the pitch, McGrath clutched at his back in a mock display of old age. So far in this Test, Dad’s Army has been doing okay.It got no better for England as Ponting opted to give them another stint in the field. In theory it could have been a blessing in disguise for an attack that is woefully short of match fitness, but Hayden reverted to his best bullying mode to ensure there were no plus-points to be gained from the new ball. James Anderson, who has arguably endured an even worse match than the hapless Harmison, was beasted for three fours in a row, and though he gained his revenge with a pin-point run-out it was scant consolation. By the close even their direct hits were ricocheting for overthrows, as Australia marched on and on and on. It is more than just a beating that England are taking in this match, it is an evisceration.

ScorecardAnother seesawing day between Lancashire and Sussex left proceedings intriguingly poised at Liverpool. The first session was fairly even, as Stuart Law played defiantly with reasonable but not dominating support at the other end. First Sussex and then Lancashire surged ahead in turn during the afternoon session, only for Sussex to redress the balance during the final two hours.Law has often been the scourge of Sussex bowling, and he looked like adding another century to his tally of five against them. It was a grafting innings, with few memorable strokes, but was of immense value. Without him, Lancashire would probably have been out of this game by now.More memorable during the morning was the return of Andrew Flintoff to the crease after missing half a season. He quickly played a superb cover drive for four and ran up 34 off 36 balls, with six boundaries, before he tried to turn a straight ball from Naved-ul-Hasan to midwicket and was trapped lbw.After lunch, Law showed more aggression, taking 14 off an over from Jason Lewry, but soon after he was caught for 95, slashing the same bowler to third man, Lancashire were nine wickets down with a deficit of 23. Then came their best hour of the match to date.Their last pair, Glen Chapple (30 not out) and Muttiah Muralitharan (28), produced a highly entertaining stand of 50 in quick time, the latter in particular playing some exotic strokes that were enjoyed by the crowd as much as himself. By the time he backed awayfrom a low full toss from Naved to be bowled, Lancashire had gained a lead of 27.The home side’s golden hour was not yet finished, as the opener Chris Nash, the topscorer of the first innings, was caught at the wicket off the first ball of the Sussex second innings, and his partner Richard Montgomerie scored only a single before being caught at slip. Then came the Sussex fightback. Mike Yardy and Murray Goodwin got their heads down and blunted the Lancashire attack with a sound partnership. Lancashire, searching for a breakthrough, decided Flintoff was ready to rise to the challenge.He began with a harmless bouncer to Yardy, and bowled two spells of two overs each at reasonable pace without either falling over or taking a wicket and conceded just a single. Even Murali failed to trouble the two batsmen.Goodwin was especially impressive through the covers, and by the close had 68 to Yardy’s 52, with their team now in the ascendancy. Even though the sun shone little this time, there was still a crowd of more than 2000 to enjoy another fine day’s play on a prominent outground. Most had left, though, by the time the match finished more than 30 minutes late due to another pathetic over-rate.

The MPCA stadium in Indore is doing its best to get dressed for the final match of this India-England ODI series. Rahul Dravid is back in the mix after a two-game break, and England have just tasted their maiden success in the shorter version of the game. While it would be untrue to suggest that there is everything to play for, considering India won the series with a convincing 4-0 scoreline some eight days ago at Kochi, many individuals still have to enough reasons to push themselves, if merely wearing national colours was not motivation enough.Ton-up FlintoffHe may have been the most dangerous batsman in the Tests, and even batted for some period on every single day of a Test (Mohali) but Andrew Flintoff is yet to register a three-figure score in the series – not even having conceded 100 runs in any bowling effort. When he takes the field, on Saturday, Flintoff will be playing his 100th ODI for England. When asked about the milestone, Dravid, who made his debut just three years before Flintoff (in 1996) and has played 184 ODIs more, allowed himself a chuckle, “It’s a terrific achievement. He’s been around for a long time, it just shows England don’t play as much one-day cricket as some other teams. It will be a big day for him.” Dhoni, who made his debut as late as December 2004 has already played 40 ODIs while Yuvraj Singh, whose first knock in ODIs was in 2000 is already a veteran of 147 ODIs.Lower-order powerOne of the keys to India’s success in limited overs cricket in recent times has been the flexibility in the team thanks to the presence of Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the lower order. What the team lacked, was seriously on the lookout for, was a spin-bowling allrounder. While it is too early to say they have found one in Ramesh Powar, he is certainly well ahead of the remaining contenders. Powar’s fitness goes against him, but then again he has always been heavy, and as Dravid pointed out, is neither as slow across the ground or unfit as his bulk makes him out to be. He has bowled with tremendous skill and guile, changing pace and loop at will, and his fighting half-century in extreme heat in Jamshedpur has gone a long way in putting him the scheme of things.End as you beginWhile every member of both teams will deny that the lead-up to the sixth game was any less intense, a drop in focus is inevitable when there is so little at stake. It’s not quite the same with the last match, though. For England it is the end of long, gruelling tour and in India, the public only seems to remember the last two matches played, so the team could cop some criticism for losing two on the trot despite having sealed the series long ago. In that sense, and with Dravid returning to the helm, the Indians will be pushing hard to end on a high note.Will he? Won’t he?Inevitably the lead-up to a match is full of speculation on who will play and who will not. Dravid has kept his cards close to his chest ever since taking over as captain and today, the final ODI was no different. Speculation is rife on whether Virender Sehwag and/or Mohammad Kaif will rest. Sehwag hinted that he would not be averse to the idea, and with two back-to-back ODIs against Pakistan scheduled for April 18 and 19, the team may well decide to bench one or both and give Robin Uthappa a much-awaited debut. One person likely to play, though is Dinesh Karthik, who has been summoned up specially for this game to give Dhoni a break. If he does not make the cut then India will have to hand either Dravid or Uthappa, who kept wickets a few years back before giving it up to concentrate on his batting, the big gloves, and both options seem unlikely.

Chandigarh’s Sector 16 stadium is likely to host its first one-day international in 14 years when Australia tour India later this year. The venue has been slotted for the fourth ODI on October 8 instead of the initially-scheduled game at Guwahati, but following the change the Assam Cricket Association will stage a match there against Pakistan on November 6.The Indian board (BCCI) and the Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) agreed to host the game there after some deliberation as the HCA was first allotted the opening ODI of the series against Pakistan.Confirming this, the BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove told Chandigarh’s , “The BCCI has okayed the HCA’s proposal to shift international matches allotted to them from Faridabad to Chandigarh. A team from the International Cricket Council (ICC) would be visiting the city in July to inspect whether the stadium could host an international match.”The last ODI hosted by the city was an India-England match in January 1993.”The stadium [at Chandigarh] has good facilities and experience of hosting international cricket before,” said Ranbir Mahendra, the HCA secretary. “I would be coordinating with the administration soon for making the facilities at the stadium match the international standards. If this match is organised well, many international matches could be in line for Chandigarh.”SK Sandhu, the finance and sports secretary, said the immediate plans for the stadium were “on track”. “The stadium is almost ready; an electronic scoreboard would come up soon. The press box also needs furnishing, as both national as well as international media would be there to cover the game. We have sufficient funds, you will find an international-class stadium ready when the match would be played here.”Australia will now play at Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Baroda, Nagpur and Mumbai and Pakistan will play at Guwahati, Mohali, Kanpur, Gwalior and Jaipur.

Former England batsman Ian Ward has announced his retirement to pursue a career as a full-time cricket presenter and commentator.Ward, 33, was a key member of Surrey’s Championship-winning side between 1999 and 2002. He was rewarded with an England call-up in 2001, against Pakistan and Australia, but was quickly found out by Glenn McGrath, and failed to make an impression. He moved to Sussex in 2003 and was half-way through his contract. He hit 8575 first-class runs in a 14-year career.”I have really enjoyed my time at Sussex and the club have been very good to me,” he said. “I am disappointed I wasn’t able to make more of a contribution this year. I’d never missed a match through injury before so to miss so many games in the second half of the season was very frustrating.”Sussex are a great county to play for and I know I’ll miss it when the new season starts, especially the camaraderie in the dressing-room and the adrenaline rush you get as an opening batsman facing quick bowlers.”Ward has spent the last two winters as a presenter and commentator on Sky Sports. “Television provides its own challenges,” he said, “and I am really looking forward to developing my career in a different direction.”Ward’s departure follows that of Tim Ambrose, the wicketkeeper-batsman who joined Warwickshire last week. But Sussex, for their part, have no plans to replace either man with a big-name winter signing. “The cricket management [at Sussex] are highly confident of being able to fill the void with one of our own young players,” said Mark Robinson, the county’s professional cricket manager. “I have every faith and confidence in their ability to take up the challenge to prove themselves at this level.”