Johan Botha has said he is enjoying having time to build an innings in his role as a top-order batsman for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL

Tariq Engineer04-May-2011Johan Botha was offered a rare gift two days before Rajasthan Royals’ opening game in the 2011 IPL – the gift of time. With Shane Watson in Bangladesh on international duty with Australia, there was a vacant spot in the top order and captain Shane Warne and coach Jeremy Snape thought Botha could be the man to fill the gap.The South Africa offspinner typically bats down the order for his country, where the need of the hour tends to be quick runs. But he has a reputation for being a resourceful and intelligent limited-overs cricketer, and some of his performances have hinted at more potential with the bat. It was this potential that Snape and Warne sought to unlock.”They both approached me at the same time and we had a general chat and they said ‘are you keen to do it?'” Botha told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously, I was keen. I always watch guys bat. It is not great coming in with just a few balls to go.”Botha was confident he could handle the responsibility of coming in at No. 3, given his experience of doing it in four-day cricket in South Africa early in his career. That he would be doing it in Twenty20 in the subcontinent, which is always a good place to bat, only made the offer more tempting. But the biggest draw was the time to build an innings.”You have a few balls to have a look,” he said. “The field is up at the start too, so you can get off to a bit of a flier and have 10, 15, or 20 runs before the field is spread out, so that makes quite a difference. Normally, when you come in at the end, it is a few balls to go and one or two of the best bowlers on again, so that is not easy.”The move surprised many but so far Botha has looked like he has been batting up the order all his life. In Rajasthan’s opening game against Deccan Chargers, he made a fluent, unbeaten 67 from 47 balls to lead his team to a comfortable eight-wicket win. He backed that up with 39 from 32 balls, also unbeaten, against Delhi Daredevils as Rajasthan chased down 151.”I’ve really enjoyed it. Most of the time we have chased when I have batted at three and then the game dictates how you must play. It’s pretty simple.”He was also quick to praise his team-mates for making his job easier. “The guys I’ve batted with have been great also. Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson a few times, Ross Taylor … they can hit the ball out of the ground if they want to and that’s taken a little pressure of me.”Botha played in Rajasthan’s first loss to Kolkata Knight Riders but missed the next few games with a finger injury and Rajasthan went into a bit of a tailspin in his absence, despite the arrival of Watson. They lost two of three games in that spell, with the game against Bangalore rained out. Since Botha returned for the seventh game against Kochi, the team has promptly embarked on a three-game winning streak that has taken them into the top four.The streak includes a crucial win over then table-toppers Mumbai Indians on April 29. Botha masterminded his team’s chase of Mumbai’s total of 94, a target made tougher by a two-paced pitch, and his 45 was the highest score on either side by miles. More importantly, he blunted the threat posed by Mumbai’s human-yorker-machine, Lasith Malinga. Following the game against Pune, Botha’s average stands at a lofty 94.50 and his strike-rate is 121.93. Not too shabby for a makeshift top-order batsman.Botha’s unexpected success with the bat has overshadowed his day job, but he has been no mug with the ball either, as the confidence he has gained with the willow has trickled down to his bowling as well.”It has taken a bit of pressure off me. It does make me relax a little bit. To do something for the team is always good. It might not always be bowling. It is nice to contribute in a way. Hopefully, now I can keep doing both.”Warne has used him in every conceivable situation – to open the bowling, control the middle overs and bowl at the end of the innings. His best performance came against Mumbai, when he was introduced in the 16th over, a gamble which paid off spectacularly as Botha took the wickets of Mumbai’s twin towers, Kieron Pollard and Andrew Symonds, on his way to figures of 3 for 6. He has taken five wickets in all to this point in the tournament, and has an economy rate of 6.40, forming a potent spin combination with Warne that can take wickets while simultaneously keeping the run-rate down.Botha said he is happy to bowl whenever he is asked, though it is obviously easier to bowl once the field is spread out. “If you are bowling in the first six, you want to bowl early, in the first or second over because after that the batsmen get in and you are off for a hiding to nothing.”The key to opening the bowling, according to him, is to make sure you practise with the new ball, which is quite slippery when the shine is still on it, and to remember that there are only two guys outside the 30-yard circle in the first six overs. At the same time you want to be aggressive and try to take wickets “because that stops the other team from scoring”.”You are bowling to quality players so you might go for the odd boundary in the first few overs, but I think as long as you stay aggressive and want to take wickets, things will go your way more often than not.” Botha said he relies on changes of pace to keep the batsman guessing and while he may not be the biggest turner of the ball, he is very accurate, which makes it tougher for batsmen to get after him.His recent good run with bat and ball has him thinking perhaps there is an allrounder lurking somewhere inside that is ready to step out on the world stage, though it is still early days. “In the IPL, you can say that. In international cricket, I haven’t performed that well with the bat, or that consistently. I’ve had a good last few months. Yes, I would like to be [an allrounder].”There were many raised eyebrows when Rajasthan spent $950,000 on Botha in the January player auction, but it has already proved to be money well spent.

Just as Kate Middleton would have been conspicuous by her absence had she not been at the Royal Wedding, Adrian Shankar was conspicuous by his absence at New Road

George Dobell at New Road29-May-2011
ScorecardJust as Kate Middleton would have been conspicuous by her absence had she not been at the Royal Wedding, Adrian Shankar was conspicuous by his absence at New Road.
It’s not that he was expected – he certainly was not – but the repercussions of Shankar-gate continue to be felt here. And throughout English cricket.In the latest development, the England and Wales Cricket Board will launch an internal investigation into the background and implications of the case. While it seems that Worcestershire will escape censure – no-one is claiming they have been anything other than naive – there is concern over how easy it was for a man to doctor a photocopy of his passport and talk his way into a two-year county contract. Worcestershire, at least, feel that the ECB failed to carry out all the usual checks with due diligence.Whether the club are completely beyond reproach is debatable. Shankar actually represented the county’s second XI in 2003 and, at the time, gave his date of birth as May 1982. When he reappeared this season, however, it had changed to May 1985. It seems no-one at New Road bothered to cross-check the information.Worcestershire might also reflect upon how they came to sign a player with such a modest record in second XI cricket. Yes, they were duped by records purporting to show Shankar’s success in Sri Lanka – similar fictitious records exist suggesting a prolific season in the Central Lancashire League – but he must have also impressed in the nets.That’s a bit of a surprise. As Mike Green, the President of Bedfordshire County Cricket Club, put it: “Frankly we were amazed when we found out he was signing for Worcestershire because he would have struggled to get into our side. He hasn’t been good enough to get into our first XI for a good six or seven years.”Either way, Worcestershire have confirmed that they have released Shankar without paying him a penny and that they would not have signed him had they known he was over 26. Quite what the ECB intend to do about the young player incentive payment due to the club for fielding Shankar in the Championship match against Durham remains unclear.Lancashire’s role is also unclear. Shankar first lied about his age during his time at Old Trafford, but exactly when the club became aware of that – and why they decided to remain silent – is something of a mystery.In an unlikely twist, Shankar has now claimed that he fears for his safety. Declining to speak on the phone after claiming his line might have been bugged – quite who by is hard to say – he sent a series of texts stating: “I have a family with young nephews and nieces and our safety is at risk here… I have already notified the police… I need to secure the safety of my family.”With the talented Mr Shankar, however, it’s sometimes hard to tell where the lies end and the truth starts.Meanwhile, 12 wickets fell on the first day of Worcestershire’s Championship match against Nottinghamshire. On a pitch offering substantial assistance and some variable bounce, ball dominated bat throughout and Nottinghamshire’s first innings score of 223 may not prove to be too far below par.Only two men rose above the surface to make batting look a pleasurable business. For Nottinghamshire, Rikki Wessels, the 25-year-old former Northants player who is making his Championship debut for the champions, made a pleasing 67 containing 10 crisply-hit fours and a short-arm pull for six off Alan Richardson.Generally, however, Worcestershire experienced seamers – Richardson, Damien Wright and, to a lesser extent, Gareth Andrew, exploited the conditions expertly. Maintaining a probing line on off stump, they lured Akhil Patel into a loose drive before Mark Wagh, Samit Patel and Adam Voges were also lured into edges off fine balls that left them sharply.Wessels and Paul Franks played across straight balls and when Chris Read’s spirited defiance was ended by another fine catch by the excellent Ben Scott – his fifth of the innings – Nottinghamshire’s tail fell away quickly.Vikram Solanki led Worcestershire reply with a sparkling half-century. Timing the ball superbly off front and back foot, Solanki produced some delightful drives as well as one powerful pull for six. In partnership with the stubborn Matt Pardoe (93 minutes for his 13 runs so far), Solanki added 65 for Worcestershire’s second wicket and was only undone by a horrid delivery that kept impossibly low. That it was easily the highest stand of the day speaks volumes: this pitch is decidedly lively and batting is likely to remain tricky.

India have come out as major beneficiaries of the new Future Tours Programme, which was ratified by the ICC board at its annual conference in Hong Kong

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2011India have come out as major beneficiaries of the new Future Tours Programme, which was ratified by the ICC board at its annual conference in Hong Kong. As reported first by
ESPNcricinfo on June 25, India, England and Australia will feature in most Tests among the Full Members, and India will play the top teams more frequently than they have in recent years. Also, the Champions League Twenty20 has an official annual window in September, while the IPL seems to have an unofficial one, with few international series scheduled in April and May, allowing most players to participate in it.India, currently No. 1 in the ICC Tests rankings, will play 102 Tests between now and April 2020, including the current Test in Bridgetown. One-fifth of those matches (21) will be against England. In fact, India will travel to England twice to play a five-match series in 2014 and 2018. Apart from the Ashes, no other Test series involves five matches. In the next eight years, India will play Australia twice at home and twice away – all four-match Test series – and South Africa in four three-Test series.Another significant detail in the FTP is that Pakistan are scheduled to tour India for three Tests and five ODIs in March-April 2012. If the tour goes ahead, it will be the first Test series between the two countries since 2007, after which political relations between the two countries were strained in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.The FTP has accounted for the Test championship play-offs to be played in England summers in 2013 and then in 2017.In what is likely to come as respite for some, there are far fewer match-ups between India and Sri Lanka. The two subcontinent neighbours played each other in nine Tests, 30 ODIs and four Twenty20s between July 2008 and the 2011 World Cup final, which was deemed monotonous by critics. India will play just 12 Tests against Sri Lanka in the next nine years, and there will be only two bilateral ODI series between the two teams. As reported earlier, India will not host both Bangladesh and Zimbabwe for either Test or ODIs, though they will tour Bangladesh twice, in 2014 and again in 2015, and Zimbabwe twice, in 2013 and 2016.England and Australia will play 109 and 107 Tests respectively between now and April 2020, with five Ashes series planned – three in England and two in Australia. South Africa will play just 82 Tests and have long winter-breaks. New Zealand will contest in 80, Sri Lanka 88 and West Indies 84. Pakistan, who have had to play their home series at neutral venues in recent times due to security concerns in their own country, will host Bangladesh and Australia in 2012, and South Africa in 2013. They will play 88 Tests in total till April 2020.

A round up of the sixth day of matches of the European Championship Division One Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-2011Denmark won the European Division One Twenty20 final after beating Italy by six wickets in St Clement. Italy chose to bat and were left in tatters by the Danish bowlers, who skittled their opposition out for 83.Andy Northcote’s 38 (off 37 balls) was the only score over 20 in the Italy innings, and he was bowled while attempted a heave against legspinner Bobby Chawla, who took 3 for 26. Chawla was responsible for tearing through the top order and left-arm spinner Bashir Shah (3 for 14) crippled the middle order. Northcote had added 43 for the second wicket with Damian Crowley, who also perished while attempting a big shot, holing out to long-off. Italy were in a sound position at 67 for 2 in the 12th over, but in a dramatic collapse, lost the next eight wickets for 16 runs.Denmark stuttered in their chase and slipped to 16 for 3 in the fifth over. But Rizwan Mahmood’s patient 31 (off 47 balls) and Aftab Ahmed’s 24 (off 18 balls) saw them to victory with 11 balls to spare. Mahmood’s innings under pressure won him the Man-of-the-Match award. Both Denmark and Italy will participate in the World T20 qualifiers in the UAE next year.Jersey finished third in the tournament with a convincing eight-wicket win over Guernsey, also at St Clement. Guernsey’s innings began unsteadily when they were reduced to 20 for 2 but Ross Kneller’s 37 (off 32 balls) was the glue that held their innings together. With no sizeable partnerships and 19-year old left-arm spinner Ben Stevens (4 for 14) on fire, Guernsey made 158 for 8. Jersey had little trouble reaching the target. Edward Farley’s 90 (off 48 balls) was the mainstay of their innings; it also played a role in winning him the tournament’s Most-Valuable-Player Award. Jersey won in 17.2 overs.Norway took fifth place after a six-wicket demolition of France in St Martin. Norway chose to field and blasted France out for just 70. Forty-one year old Pakistan-born medium pacer Zaheer Ashiq’s 4 for 2 in 1.3 overs proved too much for France. Norway lost both their openers for ducks, No. 3 batsman Ashiq for 6 but Zeeshan Ali’s 33 not out (off 40 balls) took them to victory with 19 balls remaining.Gibraltar won the ninth place play-off, beating Germany by 23 runs in St Helier. Gibraltar recovered from 13 for 2 to 157 for 7. A third-wicket partnership of 65 between Mark Bacerese and Kieron Ferrary, which was the highest of the match, helped Gibraltar to a defendable total. Germany’s innings was punctuated by wickets and they were bowled out for 134. Iain Latin took 3 for 34.Croatia finished the tournament in last place, losing by 86 runs to Israel in St Brelade. Herschel Gutman scored 51 (off 37 balls) and small contributions from the rest of the batting line-up took Israel to 172 for 7, a target that was too stiff for Croatia. Eliezar Samson took 4 for 7 and nine of the Croat batsmen failed to get into double-figures. They were bowled out for 86.

Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry set a new Hampshire record with a
second-wicket stand of 373 on the second day of the Championship
match with Somerset at Taunton

01-Sep-2011
ScorecardJimmy Adams and Michael Carberry set a new Hampshire record with a
second-wicket stand of 373 on the second day of the Championship
match with Somerset at Taunton.The partnership was already worth 123 at the start of the day and the pair
batted through the morning and afternoon sessions before Carberry fell to the
fourth ball after tea for 182. Adams went on to be undefeated on 204 at the close – the second double century of his career – and at 480 for 4 Hampshire had established a commanding
first-innings lead of 276.It was a day of toil for the Somerset bowlers in hot sunshine as their hopes of
a first ever championship title were ground remorselessly into the dust. Adams and Carberry needed luck on their side in the morning session as the ball beat the bat on numerous occasions, Steve Kirby and Alfonso Thomas being particularly unfortunate.But both batsmen reached their centuries before lunch, Carberry off 189 balls,
with 20 fours, and Adams in the final over before the interval off 212
deliveries, with 16 boundaries. They needed no good fortune in an afternoon session, which saw Somerset take the second new ball with no positive effect. The frustrated home side wilted as
Carberry and Adams scored at will and by tea the stand was worth 372.That meant it had already comfortably passed Hampshire’s previous best
second-wicket partnership, the 321 put together by George Brown and Edward
Barrett against Gloucestershire at Southampton in 1920.Carberry finally fell to Kirby in the first over after tea, for 182, caught
behind by Jos Buttler, back in Somerset’s team after missing the opening day
through England Twenty20 duty. The batsman had faced 313 balls and hit 33 fours
and a six. Buttler’s superb diving catch to dismiss Neil McKenzie soon afterwards was all
the more praiseworthy for the fact that the young Somerset keeper had only
arrived back from Old Trafford in the early hours of the morning.James Vince soon followed and Hampshire missed out on a fifth batting point,
reaching 395 for 4 at the end of the 110th over. Adams reached his double hundred with a top-edged six off Craig Meschede, having faced 388 balls and hit 29 fours.Hampshire’s acting-captain had good cause to feel weary after batting right
through the day with immense application. Sean Ervine’s rapid half-century off 60 balls rubbed salt into Somerset wounds.

South African players, through the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), have distanced themselves from the ongoing spat between CSA chief executive Gerald Majola and the body’s president Mtutzeli Nyoka

Firdose Moonda10-Sep-2011South African players, through the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), have distanced themselves from the ongoing spat between CSA chief executive Gerald Majola and the body’s president Mtutzeli Nyoka. This comes after CSA said on Friday, at the conclusion of its annual conference, that the national team said Nyoka was a “poor example” because he allegedly breached CSA’s media protocol.”The players are not involved in this issue and have expressed no views in favour of, or against, one side or the other,” Tony Irish, SACA chief executive said. “There have been no letters or statements by the players or by SACA as suggested in some reports.”A letter, written by national team manager, Mohammad Moosajee was presented to the board at their special general meeting on September 8, about his concerns. Moosajee said that he was worried about enforcing protocols and holding the players accountable for their actions in the media if the most senior office bearer of the body is not doing the same.While not stating it explicitly, Moosajee was referring to incidents that have taken place over the past year in the national media. This includes an interview that Nyoka gave to Johannesburg’s biggest talk-radio station, 702, in January in which he called Majola a “liar” and accused him of being dishonest about the IPL bonuses that were paid to Majola and 40 CSA staff. Nyoka has also made various references to corruption in cricket and South African society.The latest development in the CSA saga is a second motion of no confidence in Nyoka, which was tabled at the same meeting. The first attempt to oust the president took place on the eve of the World Cup in February and was said to be a distraction to the players as they entered an important tournament.The national players have not commented on the issue but Moosajee, as manager of the team, has penned the letter to express his concern about the potential for setting a poor media example. He confirmed that the players have “nothing to do with the letter.”Irish said that although the players are not involving themselves in the saga, they would like to see it reach a speedy conclusion. “SACA and the players do however appeal to the leaders within CSA to do whatever they can to resolve the current differences within the organisation in order to prevent further damage to the game.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI between Bangladesh and West Indies in Chittagong

The Preview by Dustin Silgardo17-Oct-2011

Match facts

Bangladesh v West Indies, October 18, Chittagong
Start time 1330 (0730 GMT)How many more chances will Mohammad Ashraful get?•Associated Press

Big Picture

There is no doubt that the expectations of the Bangladesh cricket fan have grown disproportionately to the achievements of their team. Some of the cricket Bangladesh have played in this series has been deserving of the fans’ wrath; it has not been a case of a still-developing team doing their best but coming up short against a much better side, but rather of a team playing well below their potential and not even challenging the opposition.In the first ODI, Bangladesh appeared to give up the ghost before the second innings even began. Tamim Iqbal, a man who scored two run-a-ball centuries in Tests in England last year, could only strike at 55.26 in a home ODI, and even though Bangladesh got to 122 for 1 in their chase of West Indies’ 298 they were never in the game.The second game in Mirpur included a batting performance that even captain Mushfiqur Rahim could not explain. If you looked at the scorecard, you’d think Bangladesh’s top order had been bullied by tall, quick West Indies fast bowlers. In truth, out of the four wickets that fell for 18 runs at the top, three were to slashes at wide deliveries and one was so perfectly guided to second slip by Mohammad Ashraful it appeared he was giving the fielder catching practice.In these performances, the Bangladesh fans can hardly find the valour in defeat that is often the saving grace of those who support underdogs. As the action shifts to Chittagong, where Bangladesh have lost only one of their last six completed games, nothing less than a win will appease the home fans. Unfortunately the home team may not have a shot at redemption with thunderstorms forecast for Tuesday.West Indies, meanwhile, are enjoying the luxury of having won a series before it has finished for the first time since March 2010, and can now eye a move up the rankings. The difference between a win and loss for them tomorrow is four rating-points on the ICC’s one-day rankings, something Darren Sammy is aware of. Sammy has had a chance to study his team during the series without the pressure of defeats, and is looking for improvement in the fielding department and continued successes from the top-order batsmen.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LLWWL
West Indies: WWWWL

In the spotlight

With scores of 122 and 80 in the first two games, this is easily the best series of Lendl Simmons‘ career. He will want to keep the momentum going into the Test series, a format in which he has struggled.Just how long can Bangladesh wait for Mohammad Ashraful to develop into the player he was supposed to be. They drop him, bring him back, drop him again … the net result is a shockingly poor record in recent times: his last ODI half-century was in January 2010, since then he has averaged 10.11 in 18 one-day innings with a highest score of 31. Surely, he has to run out of second-chances at some stage.

Pitch and conditions

Nasir Hossain said at the pre-match press conference that the Bangladesh players were expecting the pitch in Chittagong to turn much more than the one in Mirpur did. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for Chittagong tomorrow is not good, and there is a high chance of rain. The ground is infamous for having very poor drainage and even a single shower could wash out the whole game.

Team news

With rating points to play for, West Indies may not make too many changes to their side. With Adrian Barath struggling with a hamstring injury, the experiment to open with Danza Hyatt was moderately successful in the last match, but Kieran Powell is also around as a specialist opener. The track in Chittagong is expected to turn, but West Indies have been averse to going in with two spinners, and their quicks have been successful enough so far.West Indies (probable) 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Danza Hyatt/Kieran Powell, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Ravi Rampaul, 10 Devendra Bishoo, 11 Kemar Roach.Shuvagata Hom and Shahriar Nafees are the options available for Bangladesh to strengthen their misfiring batting. Nafees got two half-centuries during the home series against Australia in April and has been dropped after just two failures in Zimbabwe. Hom has only played one ODI since his impressive 35 not out that helped Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. Abdur Razzak has been expensive in the first two games and may make way for Suhrawadi Shuvo.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mohammad Ashraful/Shahriar Nafees, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 6 Alok Kapali, 7 Naeem Islam, 8 Nasir Hossain, 9 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain.

Stats & Trivia

• If West Indies win this match, it will be the first time they have won five consecutive ODIs against Test playing nations since 1998.
• Out of the 11 completed ODIs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, only four have been won by the team that won the toss.

Quotes

“Everyone enjoys playing in Chittagong, so everyone is confident. The ball didn’t turn in Dhaka like we had expected but since I’ve played here, I know it will turn here.”
“We’ve still got a job to do. We win the series 3-0 and we get four ranking points so it’s a very important match.”

A round-up of the action from the third day of the sixth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division Two

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2011Multan were on course for another defeat, losing three second-innings wickets after following on against Karachi Whites at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, Karachi. Faraz Ahmed and Tabish Khan picked up nine wickets between them as Multan managed 210 in reply to Karachi’s 440. Jahanzeb Khan was the lone half-centurion while three other batsmen got starts but none managed more than 41. Ali Mudassar struck twice early in the second innings to leave Multan on 47 for 3, needing 183 more to avoid an innings loss.Quetta snuck past United Bank Limited‘s first-innings score by four runs despite a late collapse in which they lost their last six wickets for 45 runs at the National Ground in Islamabad. United Bank reached 107 for 4 by stumps leaving a draw the likely result. Quetta started the day well placed, on 136 for 1 in response to United Bank’s 273 but two early strikes by seamer Shabbir Ahmed and a run-out left them 150 for 4. Captain Taimur Ali and Ata-ur-Rehman got Quetta’s innings back on track with an 82-run partnership but things began to unravel once they were dismissed. Shabbir stepped in to wipe out the tail and finish with 6 for 47, but a last-wicket stand of six runs took Quetta just past United Bank’s first innings score.Lahore Ravi were in trouble against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, ending the day on 25 for 2 after being made to follow on at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Mohammad Zohaib (59) and captain Usman Salahuddin (76) were the only ones to resist for Lahore in the first innings but the rest of the line-up caved in as Lahore were dismissed for 242, leaving a deficit of 249. Asad Ali ended with 5 for 52 and was supported by Bilawal Bhatti’s three wickets. Lahore lost their openers early in the second innings, and need another 224 to make SNGPL bat again.Twenty-one wickets fell in a chaotic day’s play between Lahore Shalimar and Hyderabad at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Mir Ali took 5 for 15 in nine overs as Lahore were shot out for 79 in their second innings after having taken a lead of 82. Lahore were 19 for 6 at one stage and only an unbeaten 33 from No. 9 Ali Manzoor enabled them to set a target of 162. Asif Raza grabbed four wickets in Hyderabad’s chase to leave them tottering at 74 for 6, needing another 88 to win. Hyderabad will derive hope from the effort of their last pair of Imran Chandio and Nasir Awais who added 47 in the first innings to take them to 266.Peshawar‘s openers laid the platform for their chase of 302, adding 102 upfront after Khan Research Laboratories had extended their second innings to 261 at the Arbaz Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. Mohammad Fayyaz and Israrullah went briskly at the start of the chase, with Fayyaz’s 55 coming off 51 balls. Though he was caught behind soon, Israrullah ended the day on an unbeaten 78 and Peshawar were 154 for 1. Yasir Arafat’s unbeaten 99 had earlier taken KRL to 261 from their overnight 124 for 4. Batting with the lower order throughout, Arafat’s effort gave KRL a healthy target to defend, but Peshawar’s top three had knocked off more than half of the required runs by stumps.

Cape Cobras chased down 243 with five wickets to spare, to win the Franchise 1-Day Cup final against Warriors in Cape Town

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2011
Scorecard
Cape Cobras chased down 243 with five wickets to spare to win the Franchise 1-Day Cup final against Warriors in Cape Town.Cobras chose to bowl and went ahead early in the match when Charl Langeveldt knocked over Arno Jacobs and Colin Ingram in the same over – the seventh of the innings. Langeveldt went on to take a five-for, as none of the Warriors batsmen managed to build on starts. Ashwell Prince was the topscorer with 63; no one else got a half-century, though seven others got into double-digit scores. Warriors finished with 242 for 9.The chase was steered by solid knocks from Richard Levi and Owais Shah. Opening the innings, Levi made 84 off 111, while Shah hit 83 from 109. After the pair was dismissed, quick cameos from Justin Ontong and Mark Boucher took the side home in the 49th over. Langeveldt was named Man of the Match.