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

A flamboyant half-century from Shahriar Nafees plus a more sedate contribution from Mehrab Hossain jr guided Bangladesh to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Zimbabwe, in the second one-day international at Bogra, and a 2-0 series lead. Their opening stand of 104 broke the back of the run chase after a disciplined bowling performance had restricted Zimbabwe to an under-par 217, despite Sean Williams’s 61.Nafees, who struck an 105 in the first match, cut loose against the new ball and any thoughts Zimbabwe had of clawing themselves back into the series disappeared as rapidly as the ball off Nafees’s bat. He struck 10 boundaries with his half-century arriving off 45 balls. Mehrab took more than twice as long for his landmark, but it was an equally important contribution which ensured there was no back into the match for Zimbabwe.Saqibul Hasan added some blows of his own in a 28-ball 36 and Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, had the satisfaction of being in the middle when the winning runs arrived with more than seven overs to spare. This result, coupled with Bangladesh’s nine-wicket win in the opening match, continues to suggest there is even a noticeable gulf appearing between these two teams – especially in sub-continental conditions.The Bangladesh spinners again played a key role in holding the Zimbabwean batting as Saqibul, Mohammad Rafique and Abdur Razzaq conceded 117 off their combined 30 overs. Stuart Matsikenyeri and Chamu Chibhabha added 49 for the second wicket before Mashrafe Mortaza forced Matsikenyeri to nick one to Khaled Mashud.Chibhabha and Hamilton Masakadza buckled down, but the introduction of spin in the ninth over put pressure on both batsmen. Saqibul trapped Chibhabha leg before for 31, and Masakadza and Williams added 76 for the fourth wicket. Mazakadza began slowly, and just as he opened up with a fine slogged six off Saqibul, he was stumped off the same bowler.Williams too was sluggish to start off with – he was troubled by Rafique and Razzak on occasions – but still collected fours by employing the sweep and cut with his first ODI fifty came off 61 balls. However, when he was trapped lbw by Rafique Zimbabwe’s hopes of exploiting the final overs went with him.Zimbabwe must now win the third match, in Bogra on Tuesday, if they want to keep the series alive.

Day 1
ScorecardFast bowlers Siddharth Trivedi and Zaheer Khan shared eight wickets between them as West Zone bowled out Sri Lanka A for 325 in the opening day of their Duleep Trophy match in Cuttack. Trivedi wrapped up the lower order to finish with 5 for 79 while Zaheer finished with 3 for 76, against a strong Sri Lankan side consisting of eight international players.Choosing to bat first, Sri Lanka A were led by half centuries by opener Mahela Udawatte and Chamara Silva (61), the middle order batsman who has played ten ODIs for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka A suffered an early blow as Zaheer bowled Michael Vandort in just the second ball of the match. Udawatte and Malinda Warnapura then added 89 at a healthy rate, before Rajesh Pawar dismissed Warnapura, ten short of his fifty.Udawatte was impressive during his knock of 68, scoring ten fours and a six and looked set for three figures, before offering a return catch to Zaheer. Trivedi struck twice in quick succession, sending back Samaraweera and Jehan Mubarak to leave Sri Lanka A in a bit of trouble at 149 for 5. Silva and Upul Chandana consolidated, adding 88. When both were dismissed with the score at 253, Kaushal Silva resisted with an unbeaten 47 to take the score past 300, supported by Rangana Herath’s useful 30. Trivedi returned for his final spell and accounted for the last three wickets to finish with his eighth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.Day 1
ScorecardNorth Zone ended the first day of their Duleep Trophy match against Central Zone in Jamshedpur in a strong position at 310 for 5, with as many as five batsmen scoring half centuries. Gautam Gambhir and Yashpal Singh made 70 and 74 respectively to lay the foundation for a big score, after opener Akash Chopra fell in the third over, leg before to Praveen Kumar.Gambhir was involved in two fifty partnerships, with Ravneet Ricky and Singh, before falling to Jai Prakash Yadav. Singh scored nine fours and two sixes in his knock, but got out clumsily, hit wicket to Yadav. After his dismissal at 211, Mahesh Rawat and allrounder Joginder Sharma helped themselves to half centuries, remaining unbeaten till stumps.

Sri Lanka are hoping to give their former skipper, Sanath Jayasuriya, a grand farewell by winning the second and final Test against Pakistan, which starts at Kandy on Monday. Jayasuriya, 36, Sri Lanka’s highest run-scorer in both Test cricket and one-day internationals, announced his retirement from Tests on Friday.Trevor Penney, Sri Lanka’s assistant coach, said: “We haven’t beaten Pakistan for 20 years at home. It is going to be the last Test for Sanath and he deserves a grand send-off for what he has been for cricket.”Penney, who took charge after Tom Moody, the senior coach, flew to England to attend the funeral of his father-in-law, said the team would miss Jayasuriya, who will continue to play one-dayers. “We won’t be doing anything drastically different but just stick to the basics and try to come up with a good show.”Jayasuriya, meanwhile, has confirmed that he will retire from all cricket following the World Cup. “Not playing test cricket will help me keep fit and allow me to play on until next year’s World Cup. I will definitely retire from all cricket after that tournament.”The opening Test ended in a draw in Colombo after Sri Lanka set an improbable 458-run target for Pakistan, who played out over four sessions to save the match. The home side will not be risking Chaminda Vaas, who is recovering from a side strain and have named an unchanged squad.Penney added: “He has sort of recovered but we don’t want to risk him in a match situation. The idea is to give him plenty of rest and recovery period and have him fit for the upcoming England tour.”Nuwan Kulasekara, the young seamer, is expected to come in for Dilhara Fernando, who failed to take a wicket in the first match. Sri Lanka were also likely to field the uncapped left-arm spinner, Sajeeva Weerakoon, in place of Malinga Bandara.For Pakistan Mohammad Yousuf, who missed the first Test with a hamstring injury, has recovered although Abdul Razzaq is battling to be fit after suffering a knee injury. Pakistan have a selection dilemma as they will have to leave out Faisal Iqbal, who put up a match-saving partnership with Shoaib Malik in the first Test.Inzamam-ul-Haq said: “I was impressed with the way the youngsters performed. I am always happy when there is a problem in selection because it means there is competition.”Sri Lanka (from) Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara, Sajeewa Weerakoon.Pakistan (from) Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wk), Salman Butt, Danish Kaneria, Rao Iftikhar, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Arshad Khan.

Sourav Ganguly’s arrival is barely noticed amid the commotion. A scrum of 20 journalists are crowded around a certain Sachin Tendulkar – hanging on his every word as they have hung for the best part of two decades, willing him to wax lyrical about the Lord’s Test century that he has never yet compiled. Meanwhile the Prince of Calcutta, Tendulkar’s former captain and fellow Galactico, slips serenely past the throng and takes his place at a nearby table. He is away from the limelight, back among the ranks. And the impression he would like to give is that he has never been happier.It has been a crazy year for Ganguly encompassing exile and acrimony, recalls and redemption. Eight months ago, when his feud with his ex-coach Greg Chappell was at its height, the notion of a third Test tour to England was so absurd it was not even a consideration. But now he is back at Lord’s, where his whole journey began, 11 years ago. In the corresponding Test of 1996, Ganguly announced his arrival with a sublime debut century and then followed up one innings and two weeks later with a second hundred – 136 at Nottingham. He has scarcely escaped from the headlines since.”The past is the past. There are phases in life that you just have to fight through,” says Ganguly. Nine days into his 36th year, and with more than 5500 runs from his 93 Test matches – including an Indian record of 21 wins in 49 as captain – he’s fought and won more battles than most men would seek in ten lifetimes. But he insists the fires within have not yet been dimmed, they’ve merely been brought under control. It is a quieter, more contemplative character who is embarking on the autumn of his illustrious career.”For those eight months [out of the side], I had all sorts of thoughts, but I never thought of giving up. It made me a tougher player to be honest. When I came back in South Africa [in December 2006], I felt I was tougher even than when I was playing my best cricket. I never thought so far as this tour. Even if I hadn’t been recalled, I would have carried on playing until the World Cup, expecting an opportunity and ready to cash in on it.”Ganguly has cashed in alright. The first innings of his rebirth was an indomitable 51 not out on a Johannesburg greentop, out of a total of 249, that ultimately set up an improbable 123-run victory. Another 110 runs in defeat at Cape Town meant he finished a tough tour as the series top-scorer, and a 13 th Test century followed four months later in Chittagong, as Bangladesh were made to pay for their insolence at the World Cup. Even during that tumultuous Group B defeat in Trinidad, Ganguly was the one Indian who would not be bowed – defiantly anchoring a disastrous batting performance with 66 from 129 balls.Those efforts were sufficient to re-establish his credentials. Now, at last, Ganguly is able to take pleasure in his cricket once again – something, you suspect, he has missed for many a long year. Certainly, he does not seem to miss the pressures of captaincy one little bit. “Oh yeah, completely,” he says when asked if he’s over his axing. “I’ve got so much more free time. Captaincy is never easy but in India it is harder because the demands are more. Now that I’m away from the job, I’ve been able to concentrate on myself and my [own] game again. I’ve got a lot of time to relax.”England suits his demeanour as well, despite the fact that the British press is scarcely any more forgiving than their Indian counterparts. In 2000 he endured an unsuccessful stint for Lancashire, scoring 671 runs in 14 matches with no centuries, and attracting the opprobrium of none other than the people’s Prince himself, Andrew Flintoff. He was even less successful in a brief foray for Northamptonshire last summer, averaging 4.80 in six innings, although in mitigation, a four-week midsummer stint was never going to suit him. “When you come from the subcontinent,” he says, “you need some time to get used to the conditions.”I had no problems at Lancashire, to be honest. The only thing is, I never used to drink, and if you’re a non-drinker in England it’s tough. I used to have my coke, pack my bags and go home to see my wife. My performance was not what they wanted of an overseas professional, and that may have been a reason for some disappointment, but we still managed second in the championship.”Whenever Ganguly has turned up here in India’s colours, however, the story has been significantly different. “Whether it’s the World Cup, Tests or one-day cricket, by God’s grace, I’ve done exceedingly well [here],” he says without exaggeration. His 379 runs in the 1999 World Cup included a career-best 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton, while his six Tests to date in England have earned him the beastly tally of 666 runs, with three hundreds and three fifties. Only once has he failed, making 0 and 5 in the last Lord’s Test in 2002 – the only occasion on which he has been beaten.”I like coming to this part of the world, and I’m sure most of the players enjoy coming here too,” he says. “The facilities, the travel, the comfort. You’re not getting on flights every five days, you’re not packing suitcases every day. You’re just on the coach for a maximum of a couple of hours. It takes a lot of the tiredness out of you. The weather’s good, and it’s a country where everything’s accessible.”

Even so, Ganguly is too long in the tooth to allow complacency to seep into his assessment of the challenge. “I’ve done well here, but that doesn’t guarantee success – it’s a one-ball game for batsmen. It’s been raining a lot here, so there’ll be some movement, but if we put runs up on the board, that’s the key.” With the old firm of Ganguly, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid reunited for a third and final assault, that side of the bargain is likely to be fulfilled, especially against an attack lacking the twin services of Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff. But what of India’s own bowling?”This is the best bowling team we’ve had in England,” says Ganguly. “In terms of the number of games they’ve played, they are inexperienced, but in terms of performances they have delivered. We won in West Indies and we won the first Test in South Africa in difficult conditions. Zaheer Khan had a great summer for Worcester [in 2006], but Sreesanth is my dark horse for the series – he runs in all the time, and bowls with pace and swing in the right areas.”One man who is missing, however, is Ganguly’s staunchest sidekick, Harbhajan Singh, and it is not hard to imagine what the senior man makes of his omission. “He’s not just a great ally, he’s a world-class bowler,” says Ganguly. “He and Anil Kumble are India’s biggest match winners, and he’s got nearly 250 Test wickets. Series after series he’s been on his own. He was our only bowler in 2001 when we beat Australia, because everyone else was injured. Anil was having a shoulder operation, while Srinath was injured after the first match. We kept on losing bowlers, but he just stood up at one end and picked off wickets.”Ganguly’s tussles with Australia remain the zenith of his career. When asked where India’s famous innings victory at Headingley in 2002 ranks in his all-time moments, it trails in a distant third, way behind the Adelaide triumph in 2003-04, and just about on a par with the away win in Pakistan that same season. But in terms of personal batting highlights, few occasions match Ganguly’s opening gambit, right here in North-West London.”The frame of mind I had in that Test [in 1996] I could never have it again,” says Ganguly. “It’s probably the best frame of mind I’ve had in my career. It’s an age factor. I was more carefree back then, because when you’re young you don’t worry about a lot of things. In last 11 years I’ve scored runs all around the world, but back then I had no nervousness, no fear of failure.”I wish I could get back to that mindset for this Test match,” he admits, a touch wistfully. Given all the battles he has fought and won in the intervening years, perhaps it is not entirely out of the question. He has proved his point and clawed his way back from the brink. Now all he has to do is enjoy the few moments that remain.

Younis Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, believes the team are stronger in the wake of the fourth Test forfeiture which rocked international cricket.Pakistan have bounced back from the Oval controversy, where they were embroiled in a ball-tampering row, to win the Twenty20 international against England and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match one-day series.”After losing the Test series 3-0 we were very down and we saw the one-day series as a good chance for us to return to Pakistan with a victory,” Younis told bigstarcricket.com. “It’s never much fun going back to Pakistan having lost a Test series and a one-day series – so we are definitely not relaxing at the moment.”There is no shortage of motivation anyway for a team generally thought to be among the leading contenders to win the World Cup in the Caribbean next spring. But the ball-tampering furore – board chairman Shaharyar Khan described the ruling as a “slur” on team and country – has brought even more focus. “One thing that helped bring us even closer together was the controversy at The Oval,” said Younis.The Oval drama led to umpire Darrell Hair, who penalised Pakistan five runs in that ill-fated Test, offering to resign in exchange for 500,000 dollars. The whole thing got revealed after a bizarre exchange of e-mails between the Australian official and the ICC was made public by the latter.”Ultimately that kind of thing is not good for cricket, and we regret the fact the match was unable to be finished,” said Younis. “We were in a good position, and also the crowd wanted to see two good teams complete the match. The whole thing is no good for cricket, no good for Darrell Hair, no good for the Pakistan team, no good for Inzy (skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq) and no good to the England team. But it’s happened now – and nobody knows what will come next.”Younis has been struck, however, by the positive effect on Pakistan’s morale. “Inside the team, we became even closer after that incident,” he said. “Team spirit was good anyway, but the unity was there even more after that match. We are very united. After that we really backed our captain.”Younis now wants Pakistan to demonstrate their ability by sweeping the remainder of the three day one-dayers starting at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday. “We are keen to give our passionate fans something to cheer about,” he said.”That is our main goal – we must win it. We are in the world’s top three in both Test and one-day cricket, so we are in good shape. Another win in this series would see us getting closer to Australia.”

MCC has announced that its next president will be Robin Marlar. He will take up the year-long position in October and will succeedTom Graveney.Marlar, 74, first played for Sussex in 1951, and captained them from 1955 to 1959. He played little after that, although he did appear occasionally until 1968. In 1955 he took 139 wickets with his offspin, including a career-best 9 for 46 against Lancashire. He took 970 first-class wickets at an average of 25, and grabbed ten wickets in a match on ten occasions. Later a trenchant cricket writer and a member of MCC’s influential cricket committee, Marlar is also a former chairman of Sussex.

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

Stuart Matsikenyeri marked his return to international cricket since March2005 with the innings of his career and Elton Chigumbura defied the oddsto help Zimbabwe overhaul Bangladesh’s 247 and clinch a thriller at Hararein stunning style. Matsikenyeri’s 89 in a record sixth-wicket stand of 114with Chigumbura, whose reenactment of was a classact, systematically broke down the Bangladeshis and resurrected the hostsfrom 50 for 4 to a two-wicket victory.When Chigumbura pinched a single to keep strike for the final over, andthen effortlessly heaved Shahadat Hossain over midwicket for four to sendthe devoted fans at the Harare Sports Club into rapturous applause,Zimbabwe had taken the first step towards redeeming themselves from aturbulent past season.The sight of Chigumbura, draped in the national flag and engulfed by a seaof school children, was heartening. Given that this was an inexperiencedZimbabwean side, with an average age of a classroom lot out of the , the win would have been a shot of adrenalin, valium,and Prozac all in one.Instead of inviting self destruct, like Zimbabwe have so often,Matsikenyeri and Chighumbura grabbed the innings by the reins in what willbe remembered as a great win. To highlight the magnitude of the duo’scontributions, we must rewind to the fact that the innings had started offrather pedestrian-like. Having been rocked by four strikes from MashrafeMortaza and Hossain, Bangladesh’s new ball pairing, Zimbabwelooked down and out. A 51-run stand for the fifth wicket between BrendanTaylor and Matsikenyeri, in good time, was undone by Taylor’s misjudgment.The introduction of Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Rafique, both left-armspinners, encouraged the batsmen to use their feet and try to score downthe ground. When Rafique gave it some air, the aggressive Taylorheaved him down to cow corner but was bowled in a repeat attempt. Deeptrouble, you would think…Not a chance. At least not yet. With the pressure clearly rising,Matsikenyeri and Chigumbura seemed to have realised and reassessed thesituation. Singles come at a good clip and bothbatsmen refrained from indiscretion. Rafique and Razzak were watchedcarefully, while Alok Kapali’s legspin was taken for runs. Once theyfigured out Rafique, Matsikenyeri and Chigumbura steadily brought the runrate down. Their running between the wickets, it must be said, waselectric and belied the frailty of this inexperienced side. Matsikenyerireached his fifty with a fine lofted shot down the ground and followedthat up with a crashing extra cover drive for four more. To rub it in,Chigumbura ran Rafique cheekily down to third man and then got anotherboundary when he slashed Kapali to the same region.More than the amount of runs the two put on, it was the manner in whichthey did so. The Matsikenyeri-Chigumbura association, worth its weight ingrain, had Bangladesh sweating and later fatigued. Matsikenyeri, whoseprevious best was 73, took the leading role, and pushed by Chigumbura,unleashed some fine strokes all round the pitch. Shoulders drooped, Razzakbegan to vent his frustration, and Matsikenyeri was given the easiest oflet-offs on 61 when his lofted shot to wide long-off was dropped by JavedOmar. He reacted with a neat paddle sweep for four off Razzak and to showthat he was definitely to be taken seriousy, heaved the next ball over themidwicket rope.However, a cruel twist was thrown in with victory,and Matsikenyeri’s hundred, in sight. A sharp blow to the toe from aMortaza yorker had Matsikenyeri on his back and receiving treatment, andcramped by the pain, he could only loft Shahadat to Mortaza at long-off inthe next over. But Chigumbara, who stroked Mortaza for a stunning loftedsix and straight four in the 47th over, kept his cool to see Zimbabwethrough with five deliveries to spare. Prosper Utseya, in his first matchas captain, proved his fallibility by missing a heave at Mortaza andlosing his stumps in the penultimate over, and Ryan Higgings fell lbw thenext ball to leave all at the ground reaching for their respirators. ButChigumbura was not about to let matters slip away.Bangladesh’s own innings had been a fidgety one. Tawanda Mupariwa’s twinstrikes first up had Bangladesh in all kinds of bother, but ShahriarNafees’s patient 78 and a quickfire 39 from Rafique at the death gave thema healthy total to defend. Nafees was a steady force in two fifty-plusstands with Mohammad Ashraful (25) and Habibul Bashar (40), and hiseffort, though sluggish, ensured Bangladesh did not succumb to the earlypressure from Mupariwa. Following a middle order hash, Bangladesh wereindebted to Rafique’s effective use of the long handle. He picked up sixesover deep fine leg and long-off and pierced the gaps repeatedly tofrustrate the fielders and take the gloss off a clinical bowling effort.Zimbabwe’s bowling was tidy, if unspectacular, and suggested early on that thisside will push Bangladesh in the series. On a pitch which had a hint ofmoisture, Zimbabwe’s new-ball pairing of Ed Rainsford and Mupariwa turnedin a fine initial display. There was enough pace to check the flashydrives that we have become accustomed to from Bangladesh, and the rightamount of late movement to keep the slip fielders licking their lips. Thetennis-ball bounce also proved suitable to the swing that Mupariwaachieved, while the lift that Rainsford got had the batsmen in two minds.Mupariwa’s celebratory fist pumping, dreadlocks and all, after nabbingJaved and Aftab Ahmed up the order, summed up the feisty attitude of theZimbabweans.His two further strikes at crucial times in the inningsensured Bangladesh did not run away to a high total. Rainsford, whoimpressed in the West Indies earlier this year, returned to bowl Nafeesneck and crop at the death and was far more impressive at the end. Utseyasent down his ten overs on the trot for an economical 35 runs, while thesupport staff – Rinke, whose slow medium pace was quite harmless, RyanHiggins, Masakadza and Matsikenyeri – did well to not haemorrhage runs.Ultimately, it made all the difference.How they were outBangladesh
Javed Omar c Taylor b Mupariwa 8 (15 for 1)
Aftab Ahmed c Taylor b Mupariwa 0 (16 for 2)
Mohammad Ashraful c Higgins b Masakadza 25 (75 for 3)
Habibul Bashar c Chibhabha b Mupariwa 40 (146 for 4)
Alok Kapali st Taylor b Masakadza 23 (185 for 5)
Shahriar Nafees b Rainsford 78 (188 for 6)
Mohammad Rafique b Mupariwa (238 for 7)
Zimbabwe
Chamu Chibhabha c Javed b Mashrafe 1 (7 for 1)
Piet Rinke c Mashud b Mortaza 10 (38 for 2)
Hamilton Masakadza c Ashraful b Shahadat 7 (50 for 3)
Vusi Sibanda b Shahadat 22 (50 for 4)
Brendan Taylor b Rafique 25 (101 for 5)
Stuart Matsikenyeri c Mortaza b Shahadat 88 (214 for 5)
Prosper Utseya b Mortaza 8 (242 for 7)
Ryan Higgins lbw b Mortaza 0 (242 for 8)

Twin bomb blasts in Lahore on Thursday posed no threat to Australia A’s on-going tour, according to a senior Pakistan cricket official. “We have met Australia officials and assured them of a safe tour,” the board’s general manager, Zakir Khan, told .The two explosions killed six people and injured more than 30 others. Australia A, who earlier lost the two-match series 1-0, were due to play the first of three one-day matches in Lahore on Friday and the remaining two on September 25 and 27.”We have shifted Friday’s match from Bagh-e-Jinnah to Gaddafi Stadium because of rain and it has nothing to do with security,” said Khan. Australia A’s manager Bernard Robertson agreed the tour would continue. “Cricket will go on and we have a match on Friday,” Robertson told . “I don’t have any further comment to make.”Pakistan host England for three Tests and five ODIs from October 26 and the ECB has already refused to play a Test in the port city of Karachi. The ECB has said it would monitor security in Pakistan before the tour begins.

Simon Katich, Damien Martyn and Jamie Cox have all continued to hit the headlines at the Bellerive Oval but their teams have departed the venue without outright points after a thrilling finish to the Tasmania-Western Australia Pura Cup match in Hobart today. Set a victory target of 387 from a minimum seventy-one overs, the Warriors finished at 9/373 – a score which respectively left the teams an agonising fourteen runs and one wicket adrift away from claiming maximum points.After Cox had established the parameters for the exciting pursuit by declaring the Tigers’ second innings closed at 9/238 thirty minutes before lunch, Katich (152) and Martyn (90) joined to set the Western Australians firmly on course for success. Undeterred by the early departures of openers Mike Hussey (5) and Ryan Campbell (19), the two Test aspirants added 193 runs in a rollicking exhibition of strokeplay that spanned less than two hours.Promoted up the order to maintain the momentum, Brendon Julian (39) capitalised effectively on the Katich-Martyn alliance by launching himself into the production of several towering hits. But his dismissal to a fast, straight delivery from David Saker (5/98) and the earlier departure of Martyn – to a loose shot outside off stump that gave thirty-two year old debutant Mark Colegrave (1/76) his maiden first-class wicket – prompted a near-reversal of the situation. Upon Julian’s dismissal, the Warriors suffered a collapse that saw six wickets tumble for the addition of just seventy runs.After receiving a hammering, like most of his teammates, at the hands of Katich and Martyn, Saker was the man who led the Tasmanian fightback. All-rounder Scott Kremerskothen (3/64) also played his part well, a part made more difficult by both the placid nature of the pitch and the loss of key bowlers Gerard Denton and Shaun Young to injury.In a major setback for the Tigers, Denton did not even take the field during the afternoon as a legacy of experiencing pain in his back – an ailment, worryingly, that has also troubled him in seasons past. Young did manage to deliver three overs, but was belted for thirty-three runs and strained his groin in the process.Their presence might well have made the difference in the concluding stages. But Saker and Kremerskothen did not appear to need all that much assistance, removing Murray Goodwin (12) quickly, engineering the vital dismissal of Katich, and then opening the way for Andrew Dykes to make a brilliant contribution of his own by taking a superb running catch at deep cover to send Mark Walsh (13) back to the pavilion as well. Matthew Nicholson (9) and Brad Oldroyd (3) did not last long and, by the time that number eleven Gavin Swan (0*) came in, he and captain Tom Moody (22*) were faced with the task of scoring eighteen runs from fourteen balls if the Warriors were to win. Swan somehow survived three raucous lbw appeals and played and missed once and, suitably discouraged from handing his partner back the strike, Moody opted that the only prudent course available to him was the act of denying the Tasmanians victory instead.Earlier, Cox (87) fell on the so-called devil’s number for the second time in the match on the Tigers’ route to their closure. Young (48) then held the lower order together as it underwent the ordeal of surviving some accurate medium pace and spin bowling from the pairing of Moody (3/23) and Oldroyd (3/87).In the end, though, all that was left to show for the teams’ imagination and enterprise was a first innings result that fell in favour of the Tasmanians.

Afghanistan’s cricketers made it two wins out of two on their historic maiden tour of England, as they eased to a seven-wicket victory over the Officer Cadets of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.This was a match-up that few could have envisaged. The future leaders of the British Army, many of whom could soon be serving in Afghanistan itself as the military operation in Helmand is stepped up, versus the pioneers of a sport learned in exile in Pakistan and carried back home with enthusiasm after the fall of the Taliban regime.It was never a close contest, but in the spirit of past tussles between the two nations, neither side gave an inch until the final run had been scored, whereupon the Last Post was sounded and the Academy’s standard was lowered from the flag-pole outside the pavilion.The cadets took their defeat with dignity. For many it was the first match of a season that has been decimated both by rain and the inevitable demands of an arduous 42-week training course, and the ring-rustiness was at times evident against an opposition as good as anything that most of the players had ever before encountered.

Particular praise was lavished on Shahpur Zadran, a 19-year-old left-arm seamer who conceded just two runs from his first six overs as he buzzed his deliveries across the bows of a succession of becalmed batsmen, and Mohammad Nabi, who hit the headlines in March when he clubbed a matchwinning century against MCC in Mumbai. This time it was his offspin that earned the plaudits, as he ripped out four middle-order wickets for 22 in eight overs.The intrusions of Sandhurst’s hectic schedule were in evidence throughout the day. A third of their available players were whisked away to South Wales on the morning of the match to undertake a 70km hike through the Black Mountains, while their star performer, Officer Cadet Michael Sheeran, who made a gritty 64, had just returned from ten days of sleep deprivation in Thetford Forest.And for the cadets in their final term, there was little time to wait in the pavilion and chew their bat-handles. Having recently settled on the regiments they intend to join at the end of their course, they took turns to disappear off to the army tailors, to have their mess and service kits measured up.And there was little time for practice before the match. Several of the team had spent the previous week learning the ropes of counter-insurgency, which involved donning riot shields and deflecting potatoes and petrol-bombs flung by their colleagues from close quarters. At least their reactions against the fast bowlers had been fine-tuned, if not their footwork against the spinners.For the Afghans, this was just the latest phase of an eye-opening two-week tour. Under Taliban rule, cricket had been limited to just four of the 22 provinces and was viewed with great suspicion by the Vice and Virtue Police, who once arrested several players for forgetting to attend to their prayers during a match.Now, however, the game has spread throughout the country, and in turn beyond its own borders, with the national side gaining more recognition with every new achievement. On this tour, they are scheduled to play seven matches against a variety of opponents, with the next match taking place against a Glamorgan 2nd XI at Swansea today.