All posts by h716a5.icu

Leicestershire’s season has begun at Canterbury, in front of one of county cricket’s more charitable crowds, and after three days they would all agreeably concede that they have begun rather well

David Hopps in Canterbury22-Apr-2014
ScorecardFile photo: Darren Stevens was the only Kent batsman to display a sense of urgency•Getty ImagesLeicestershire’s season has begun at Canterbury, in front of one of county cricket’s more charitable crowds, and after three days they would all agreeably concede that they have begun rather well. But they know what the cricket world will be thinking: small squad, financially stretched, bottom of Division Two last season, consigned to a similar fate this time around.They were the last of the 18 counties to take to the field – for those not aware of the circumstances, it was almost as if they had been forgotten about – and they have had to make do without their captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and promising young buck Shiv Thakor.But they have begun in spritely fashion. The first day was washed out, the second day they batted zealously, after which Leicestershire’s Twitter feed proclaimed there was “great spirit in the camp” and that spirit quotient remained high as they followed that up by forcing Kent to declare 64 behind.The running fox on Leicestershire’s club badge could hardly be more appropriate because there are some who would harry them to extinction, overly sensitive towards their small spectator base, and seemingly oblivious to their constant success in producing young players of excellent quality. That such a small squad will be stretched seems certain, but they have so far had slightly the better of the game.That Kent declaration was a blessing. Conversation – the conversation this correspondent was having anyway – had just turned to how counties no longer know how to play three-day cricket when they pulled the plug.In the eight overs remaining, Doug Bollinger removed Matthew Boyce and Anthony Ireland in successive balls while Leicestershire stretched their lead to 103. Poor old Ireland: a maiden Championship fifty at No. 10 followed by a first-baller as a nightwatchman, lbw propping forward, perspective returned.”It could be a little bit tingly tomorrow,” said the PA announcer at the close. That is quite a promise. There are some spectators at Canterbury who have forgotten what tingly feels like.Kent’s declaration was welcome but a county more versed in three-day cricket (as this essentially game is after the first day was washed out) might have reached, say, 250 an hour or so earlier, still close enough to win from behind but maximising the time available for Leicestershire to set a longer chase if needs be.Three-day cricket demands risk and emergency reassessments if things go wrong. Instead, Kent only got above three runs an over in the latter part of the day and overall scored at 3.25 runs per over, slower than Leicestershire’s 3.43.Much of that time was utilised by Daniel Bell-Drummond, whose 58 took 134 balls – useful perhaps to get a promising player into early season form. Brendon Nash was not much quicker in a third-wicket stand of 94 but the fact is that were it not for Darren Stevens’ ebullient 48 against his former county this match might have headed off into the sidings.Stevens’ buccaneering style is eminently watchable. He struck eight fours and a six in his 48 until he hit the offspin of Jigar Naik flat to long-on. Naik can anticipate a heavier workload after the retirement of Claude Henderson and he kept Kent in check for much of the day. It is to be hoped his efforts result in a keen contest on the final day. There is no purpose in Leicestershire playing safe. Nobody will afford them any more respect if they do. They might as well give it a go.

PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has summoned Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for a review of the team’s performances in Sri Lanka

Umar Farooq01-Sep-2014PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has summoned Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq and the head coach Waqar Younis to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday for a review of the team’s performances in Sri Lanka. Shaharyar will meet the team manager Moin Khan in Karachi on Wednesday. Pakistan lost the Test series 2-0 and the ODIs 2-1 to Sri Lanka, prompting concern from the board ahead of the 2015 World Cup.ESPNcricinfo understands the meetings will be on a one-on-one basis. Misbah has Shaharyar’s backing for the captaincy ahead of series in the UAE against Australia and New Zealand, but the PCB could reduce the 10-man coaching staff. Moin’s dual role as manager and chief selector is also under scrutiny.The pool of players that traveled to Sri Lanka remains the nucleus of the World Cup probables but the PCB is concerned about team unity, which according to one official, had deteriorated. With less than six months to go to the tournament, the PCB is reluctant to make major changes, and Moin had said Misbah would stay captain until the World Cup. However, ESPNcricinfo understands some players are not in favour of such a view.The PCB persisted with Misbah as captain despite Pakistan being whitewashed 3-0 in South Africa in 2012-13, and performing poorly in the 2013 Champions Trophy in England. This was largely because of his prolific form in 2013, when he was the top-scorer in ODIs. However, he is 40 now, and his form has not been as good in 2014.There has been speculation in the media that a lobby is trying to bring about a change in captain, with Shahid Afridi being proposed as the favourite. Afridi’s form, however, has been poor. He has been wicketless in his last six ODIs and his batting is unpredictable.Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf was one of the voices advocating Afridi as captain. “If the captaincy remains with Misbah you can’t expect improvement in results,” Yousuf said. “He has been the captain for four years and has not been able to find a proper combination. I think it is imperative we have Afridi, who is aggressive and can lead in a better way.”

Goal takes a look at the best classic World Cup matches of yesteryear in anticipation for this summer's tournament in Russia

GettyBelgium 3-2 Japan | 2018

It took until the 93rd minute for Belgium to claim a 3-2 victory over Japan in their last 16 fixture, staging an incredible comeback after finding themselves 2-0 down just after the break.

Belgium missed a host of chances throughout the game with Romelu Lukaku able to have a hat-trick but spurning every opportunity. Japan – outsiders to win the tie – scored twice in the span of four minutes in the second half to visibly shake Belgium, and were the superior team for large amounts of the game.

Roberto Martinez's side, however, were able to dig deep and score three goals after Japan's opening brace. Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini (the unlikely hero) netted to make it 2-2 before Nacer Chadli scored in the final minute of stoppage time to cap off a brilliant counter-attacking move by Belgium.

AdvertisementFrance 4-3 Argentina | 2018

It was the Kylian Mbappe show as the young forward slotted home twice and played an instrumental role in the build-up to the first goal to send Argentina and Lionel Messi home at the last 16 stage.

France opened the scoring through an Antoine Griezmann spot-kick but Argentina levelled through Angel Di Maria. Benjamin Pavard netted again to put Les Bleus in the lead before Gabriel Mercardo struck home to equalise – but Mbappe scored twice in the span of four minutes to put his side 4-2 up.

Sergio Aguero scored in stoppage time to make it 4-3 but it wasn't enough to force the game into extra time.

It was a thrilling encounter on all sides that fully allowed France to finally showcase their quality in Russia following underwhelming opening group stage performances.

The victory for France means that Argentina crash out disappointingly, and Les Bleus will face either Portugal or Uruguay in the quarter-final.

GettySpain 3-3 Portugal | 2018

Spain vs Portugal was always the match that would have the most build-up ahead of the 2018 World Cup, and it lived up to the hype and more. Enthralling from start to finish, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty to put Portugal up under four minutes before Diego Costa netted shortly afterwards to equalise. Spain led eventually through a fine Isco screamer and another Costa goal, but it wasn't enough to keep Ronaldo quiet.

The Real Madrid star scored an incredible free-kick just before the end of regular time, bagging a hat-trick in the process and putting his name in the history books as he has now scored in four consecutive World Cups. David de Gea's goalkeeping blunder wasn't even the talk of the match as Ronaldo proved that he remains his country's talisman and could very well lead his team far in Russia. The group game between the rival nations has already earned classic status.

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GettySpain 1-5 Netherlands | 2014

Spain had all their hopes of defending their 2010 glory by being hammered 5-1 by the Netherlands in the group stages that sent shockwaves across football. Xabi Alonso opened the scoring through a penalty won by Diego Costa, but the Netherlands retaliated thick and fast through Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Stefan de Vrij to break the hearts of the three-time, back-to-back world and European champions.

After a year of unremittingly negative headlines, the opening game of the season can’t come soon enough for the IPL’s organisers

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran15-Apr-2014Match factsWednesday, April 16, 2014
Start time 1830 (1430 GMT, 2000 IST)Mumbai will hope they have more to celebrate this season as well•BCCIBig PictureJust over a month ago, the IPL was still looking for a venue, thanks to the Indian federal elections. Three weeks ago, there were question marks over whether the tournament will take place at all, thanks to the IPL corruption case being heard by the Supreme Court.Wednesday will be a big day for the IPL, not just because the first match of the season gets underway in the evening in Abu Dhabi, but also because the next court hearing is in the morning in Delhi.The vast majority of IPL fans are likely to be interested only in the on-field action, when defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Kolkata Knight Riders. Attendance numbers hardly took a hit even when three Rajasthan Royals players were arrested midway through the previous season. The news has been relentlessly bad since the previous season, but that doesn’t seem to have affected ticket sales in the UAE. The tournament also provides fans in the region a rare chance to watch Indian stars in action, after an eight-year absence.The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi has not traditionally been a high-scoring venue – there have been nine Twenty20 internationals held so far, and only once has a team scored more than 168. That trend of low scores looks set to continue as Mumbai and Knight Riders have two of the better attacks in the tournament.Mumbai retained five of their key players, and snapped up the reliable Michael Hussey – last season’s highest run-getter – and flavour-of-the-season Corey Anderson, but their squad seems to lack the depth it had in 2013. Knight Riders have four core members of the squad from 2013 – Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis and Yusuf Pathan. They have invested in Robin Uthappa and Australia’s Chris Lynn, but the batting still looks a touch light.Watch out for…Both sides have a pair of spinners who have excelled at the IPL. Neither Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha may not find a regular place in the national team, but for Mumbai, they have been vital cogs for several years. Similarly, Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla have flourished in the league, and should again prove difficult to contend with.Both teams will look to 38-year-olds who have retired from Tests to provide the stability in the top order. Hussey was outstanding last season, but will age start to catch up with him? Jacques Kallis had a less than stellar season in 2013, but can he turn things around given his workload in international cricket has vastly reduced?Stats and trivia Knight Riders have beaten Mumbai only twice in 12 IPL matches. Knight Riders are the franchise with the least number of centuries in the IPL – 1, the blockbuster 158 Brendon McCullum hit on the opening day of the inaugural season.

Mumbai Indians sunk to their fourth straight loss to remain rooted to the bottom of the table

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran27-Apr-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
6:42

Butcher: Mumbai have too many old players for T20

Mumbai Indians have John Wright as their head coach, Anil Kumble as their team mentor, Jonty Rhodes as fielding coach, Sachin Tendulkar as an ‘icon’ and Robin Singh as assistant coach. Ricky Ponting was added to that list of illustrious names today, joining as an advisor. The expansion of the brains trust didn’t result in a change in fortunes, as Mumbai went down for their fourth defeat in a row after their batting misfired yet again.Delhi Daredevils may not have any superstar in their bowling ranks, but they combined to stifle Mumbai on a slow surface in Sharjah. Mumbai scores so far in this tournament have been 122 for 7, 115 for 9 and 141 for 7. To that sorry list, they added 125 for 6 today, again giving their bowlers too little to work with.Things didn’t go according to plan right from the start for Mumbai. The plan to push Rohit Sharma to the top of the order in place of the struggling Michael Hussey didn’t work as Rohit was run-out by a Mohammed Shami direct hit in the second over. The ploy to have allrounder Corey Anderson at No. 3 seemed to be working a touch better as he hit two muscular boundaries, before finding man in the deep. Aditya Tare had already done the same.M Vijay’s 40 guided the chase•BCCIAmbati Rayudu, an influential member for Mumbai in recent seasons, couldn’t make an impact this time, poking around for a 21-ball 14. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Mumbai batting has been the absent form of the ultra-consistent Michael Hussey, who had another forgettable outing before being undone by a slower yorker from Jaydev Unadkat. Perhaps the time has come to drop Hussey.CM Gautam played sweeps and reverse-sweeps to make an enterprising 18-ball 22 and Kieron Pollard overcame a slow start to unleash a couple of monster sixes and lift Mumbai’s run-rate above six.Daredevils’ spinners have been one of their weaknesses this season, but Shahbaz Nadeem and JP Duminy proved hard to get away on the sluggish pitch where the ball didn’t come on to the bat. The lack of pace worked for medium-pacer Laxmi Shukla as well, and he troubled Pollard in particular.Daredevils have a formidable top five, and the target of 126 was never going to be a problem unless there were plenty of early wickets. The openers, Quinton de Kock and M Vijay, provided a steady start with Vijay going on to top score with 40. Hussey took a stunner at point to dismiss de Kock, Lasith Malinga got rid of the in-form JP Duminy, and though there were a few anxious moments for Daredevils, Mumbai never really looked like posing a serious challenge. It gave Daredevils their second win in five matches so far.

Mahesh Rawat and Arindam Ghosh’s unbroken 191-run stand for the sixth wicket helped Railways recover from a slow start, and make 233 for 5 heading into the third day

The Report by Rachna Shetty in Kolkata09-Jan-2014
ScorecardFile photo: Mahesh Rawat’s unbeaten 105 helped Railways recover from a poor start•FotocorpMahesh Rawat and Arindam Ghosh shared an unbroken 191 for the sixth wicket to help Railways make a strong comeback after the side were reeling at 42 for 5 on the second day of their quarter-final clash against Bengal at Eden Gardens. Rawat finished unbeaten on 105, while Arindam Ghosh was batting on 78 not out, as Railways reached 233 for 5 at the close of play.After dismissing Bengal for 317 in the morning session, the Railways innings moved in fits and starts, with a wicket usually following close on the heels of a productive over. It happened to Railways’ opener Amit Paunikar, who struck three fours off Bengal pacer Sourav Sarkar, before a ball from Ashok Dinda sneaked past his defenses to knock over the off stump. It happened once again when Nitin Bhille smacked two fours off Sarkar before Shivakant Shukla, his partner at the other end, was trapped leg before in Shib Paul’s first over of the innings.But the manner in which the first five overs after lunch progressed would have made Bengal and the raucous fans at Eden Gardens confident of a win. Jonathan Rongsen was out for a 15-ball duck when Abhimanyu Easwaran held on to an edge at third slip off Paul. In the next over, Dinda induced an edge from Bhille, and followed that up with the wicket of Karn Sharma. Suddenly, Railways were tottering at 42 for 5.However Rawat counterattacked by hitting Dinda for six successive fours in two overs before settling down to play an innings of consummate ease. In spite of his aggression, Rawat’s innings was chanceless and the ease with which he struck boundaries negated any feelings of dominance that Bengal had.At the other end, Ghosh’s tight technique and calm approach was the perfect foil for Rawat’s attack. While Rawat found batting against Paul a tad tougher than against Dinda, Ghosh played the seamers and spinners with equanimity and an ease that comes with the familiarity of having playing alongside his opponents for many seasons.Ghosh and Rawat have been involved in two hundred-plus stands this season, and they continued in the same vein on Thursday, frustrating Bengal with their version of the good cop, bad cop routine. Rawat reached his sixth fifty of the season with a six over midwicket off Lahiri from 48 balls, and in the third session, Ghosh opened up to execute a few copybook drives around the ground. Ghosh then made the most of a dropped chance by Abhimanyu Easwaran at second slip to bring up his fifty, his glee evident with a joyful leap in the air.Rawat’s century, his third of this season and the ninth of his first-class career, followed soon after as the batsman swept through the 90s with a brace of fours. He reached the landmark with a hard-run single to mid-on, from 117 balls with 17 fours and a six.Bengal captain Laxmi Shukla was effusive in his praise for the two batsmen, but also outlined his focus for the third morning.”Rawat and Arindam batted very well,” Shukla said. “Our attack, Dinda, Sarkar and Maco bowled very well, but the batsmen didn’t give us chance. I think we can make a strong comeback. The wicket is still slow. It is a good pitch but the early morning moisture on the wicket will be important for us.”On the second morning, the moisture in the pitch also brought an early reward for Railways as Ranjitkumar Mali bowled Dinda for 17. The Railways pacers found help early on but Wriddhiman Saha’s stoic innings, and a useful 14 from Paul helped the side reach 317. Saha was bowled by Upadhyay for 87 off 165 balls, with 11 fours and a six.Still, it was a total Bengal would have taken given they were 233 for 8 on the first evening, and if the hosts strike early on, the 84 runs added by the last two wickets may yet prove to be crucial.

Australia raced their way to a straightforward victory over England in the second T20, as captain Meg Lanning’s speedy 42 off 28 balls set them up

The Report by Raf Nicholson at the MCG31-Jan-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMeg Lanning made 42 in 28 balls•Getty ImagesAustralia raced their way to a straightforward victory over England in the second T20, as captain Meg Lanning’s speedy 42 off 28 balls set them up. An England bowling attack weakened by injuries, with Jenny Gunn, Anya Shrubsole and Tash Farrant all ruled out for the rest of the series, was punished by the Australia top order as England struggled to defend their total of 98 runs.Australia lost their first wicket on 25, as Danielle Hazell clean bowled Ellyse Villani, attempting a cut shot to a ball that spun back in to her. Lanning, though, showed clear intent from the beginning, hitting the third ball she faced for four through midwicket, and continuing to dominate with the bat. Her innings, which included five fours, was epitomised by the six she hit driving Natalie Sciver’s first ball of the day straight over the top.Australia’s 50 came up in 48 balls and Lanning and Alyssa Healy continued from there to accumulate runs at a rate of almost eight an over. England, searching for a way to control the batsmen, badly missed the medium pace of Gunn, with spinner Hazell the only bowler to consistently restrict the Australians, conceding only 11 runs off her 4 overs. The effectiveness of Arran Brindle, brought into the attack in the 13th over, whose 2 overs went for just 9 runs, only served to underline England’s dilemma.There was a brief stutter from Australia with victory in sight. In the 14th over, with just five runs needed, Georgia Elwiss finally removed Lanning, having her caught by Greenway at deep midwicket. Brindle was also rewarded with a wicket, as Jess Cameron played a slower ball on to her stumps for a duck. But the breakthroughs came far too late. Healy, promoted to open in this game and finishing on 37 off 43 balls, clipped the winning single to deep square leg in the first ball of the 16th over. The win was Australia’s best, in terms of balls remaining, against England.Such a margin was down to England’s distinctly below-par score after Australia won the toss and chose to bowl. Holly Ferling, back in the side after her omission from the first T20, struck in her first over to remove Danielle Wyatt, who was bowled for a two-ball duck, chopping the ball on to her stumps. Ferling followed that up with another wicket in her third over, bowling Sarah Taylor with a quicker ball, leaving her with figures of 2 for 14 off her 3 overs and the Player of the Match award.England staged a limited recovery, as Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway remained together for a partnership of 23 runs off 25 balls, until Ellyse Perry removed Greenway in the 9th over, having her caught chipping it up to mid-on. From there, it was an uphill battle for England, as they struggled to score runs and were further restricted by the loss of wickets throughout. Sciver faced nine balls for her 4 before being trapped lbw by Jess Jonassen, attempting to sweep. Osborne then had Edwards, the key wicket, caught and bowled for 28.There was unlikely to be a way back from 5 for 62 and so it proved, with just one boundary coming off the final 10 overs of the England innings, as spinners Jonassen (1-17) and Osborne (1-19) bowled in conjunction to contain the batsmen. Frustratingly, Brindle and Amy Jones looked content to run easy singles in the last seven overs, as the two of them remained at the crease but managed a partnership of only 35 off 41 balls.Jones was finally out for 14, trying to hit out against Rene Farrell as the ball swung back in to take her off stump, leaving Lauren Winfield, playing in her first Ashes encounter, to face the last ball of the innings. It was a distinctly lacklustre performance from England with the bat, the fight seemingly gone out of them in the wake of their series victory in Hobart. But credit must also be given to Australia’s bowlers, whose efforts to restrict England to below 100 were superb. If Australia were playing for nothing but pride, they can certainly take pride in this performance.

A round-up of all the games played in Group C on the second day of the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy season

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2013
ScorecardFile photo – Paras Dogra batted through the second day•K SivaramanHimachal Pradesh were hell bent on recovering the time lost – two sessions, due to a government intervention – on the first day, as Paras Dogra’s double century powered them to 543 for 5 by close of play – 407 of those scored on the second day in Dharamsala.Dogra’s form from the last season – five centuries, joint highest with Andhra’s Amol Muzumdar in 2012 – went a long way in pummelling the life out of Goa’s attack. He batted through the day, to claim his third double century in first-class cricket, which included 26 fours and a six and led two century stands today alone.Abhinav Bali was playing his first match after serving out a one-year ban for bringing the game into disrepute through “loose talk and unsubstantiated bragging” after a Television sting operation revealed his involvement in alleged corruption in domestic cricket.He announced his return with a confident half-century but was the first to fall, on 73 to left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati. But it was only a momentary stumble. Rishi Dhawan, the Himachal Pradesh captain, had begun his Ranji campaign last year with a typically aggressive century, but though he kept up the pace, the landmark eluded him as he was dismissed for 89 of 92 balls. However, he was bettered by new import, Bipul Sharma, who was unbeaten on a 74-ball 86, which included eight fours and four sixes as three of Goa’s bowlers leaked over 100 runs.
ScorecardMaharashtra-born Yogesh Takawale could not replicate his stubbornness of yesterday as Tripura were dismissed for 304. Tripura’s bowlers, though, mimicked the ineffective start by their batsmen as Maharashtra ended the day at a comfortable 133 for 1.Seamer Sachin Chaudhari ended Takawale’s resistance on 125, and made short work of the tail to finish with 4 for 44. Shrikant Mundhe was next best, though he only added one wicket to his overnight tally.Opener Harshad Khadiwale steered Maharashtra to their position of solidity with a well-compiled half-century. Vijay Zol, playing his first Ranji Trophy match, was just as collected. With Zol, 18, having scored a century on his first-class debut against New Zealand A in August, Tripura must look to break through early on the third day.
ScorecardSeamers Syed Sahabuddin and D Shivkumar knocked off seven of Hyderabad’s batsmen as they were bundled out for 221 in their first innings against Andhra at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Hanuma Vihari was responsible for one-third of Hyderabad’s total and Amol Shinde contributed with a half-century as well.Shivkumar broke through both the set batsmen, as Shinde nicked off to the keeper and Vihari holed out to C Stephen. With the lower order exposed, offspinner Shaik Basha claimed two wickets in the same over to wind up Hyderabad’s innings.Openers Srikar Bharat and Prasanth Kumar gave Andhra a good start, but Ashish Reddy broke through for Hyderabad in the 12th over. Andhra trail by 136, but have nine wickets in hand and the sedate Prasanth still at the crease.
ScorecardKerala lost a couple of wickets late on the second day after a solid start to their innings against Assam, but with Sanju Samson holding one end together, the match in Guwahati was still in the balance. Samson added 64 runs for the second wicket with Nikhilesh Surendran, and was unbeaten on 46, with Kerala still trailing by 204 runs.Assam, five wickets down overnight, stretched their innings for almost 50 overs on the second morning. Syed Mohammad scored a useful 40 in a century stand for the sixth wicket with Niraj Patel, who scored 82. Kerala would have thought of dismissing the team for below 300, but a half-century stand for the last wicket between Arlen Konwar and Arup Das thwarted the bowling. Vinoop Manoharan and Chovvakkaran Shahid shared three wickets each.

A round-up of the Quaid-e-Azam Gold League 2014-15 matches that ended on November 27

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2014Islamabad Leopards’ strong batting performance led by a century from Faizan Riaz and and fifties from Ali Sarfraz and Mohammad Irfan set the foundation for their comprehensive nine-wicket win over Peshawar Panthers.Leopards built on Riaz’s 114 to score 402, before their bowlers restricted Panthers to 251. Following on, left-arm spinner Imad Wasim’s 6 for 47 ensured Panthers were kept to 201. That left Leopards with a target of 51 for a win and they achieved it in 7.5 overs.The batting-dominated match between National Bank of Pakistan and United Bank Limited, which had 10 fifty-plus scores, including two centuries, ended in a draw in Islamabad.National Bank amassed 451 in their first innings, building on Umar Waheed’s 120 and fifties from Mohammad Nawaz (98), Usman Qadir (52) and Raza Hasan (57) respectively.In reply, Ali Asad’s 176 led United Bank to a position of strength but a late collapse saw them lose their last eight wickets for 48 runs to fold for 310.National Bank’s brief second innings was fired by Kamran Akmal’s 88 and their declaration of 168 for 4 set United Bank a target of 310. Although United Bank lost a couple of early wickets, fifties from Umair Khan and Riaz Kail helped them seal a draw.Strong batting performances and a six-for from pacer Abdur Rauf helped Port Qasim Authority dominate in their drawn game against Water and Power Development Authority.Daniyal Ahsan’s maiden first-class hundred lifted Port Qasim to 379 after they had crumbled to 93 for 6 in the first innings. He had support from Mohammad Sami (75) and Azam Hussain (49).Rauf’s 6 for 52 then helped Port Qasim restrict WAPDA to 278, despite a century from Aamer Sajjad. Port Qasim’s second innings saw fifties from Khalid Latif (95) and Umar Amin (50) as they were dismissed for 303.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited held on to their top position in the table despite a draw against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited.Khurram Shehzad’s 109 had led SNGPL to 306 before their bowlers skittled ZTBL out for 138, setting up a 168-run lead. Another strong effort with the bat, led by fifties from Adnan Akmal (75), Ali Waqas (50*) and Shehzad (52*) helped them extend their lead to 422 runs.ZTBL then batted out the entire fourth day to secure a draw, finishing at 296 for 6, with half-centuries from Shoaib Malik (69) and Shahid Yousuf (77).

Tim Bresnan struck an unbeaten half-century for the England Performance Programme on the first day of their match against Queensland 2nd XI in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Tim Bresnan could return to contention for England in Adelaide•Getty ImagesTim Bresnan struck an unbeaten half-century for the England Performance Programme on the first day of their match against Queensland 2nd XI in Brisbane. Bresnan could be in line to return for the second Ashes Test in Adelaide if he can prove his fitness after a stress fracture in his back.England will hope Bresnan has further success with the ball, after he scored 57 not out batting at No. 9. The three-day match is his first competitive appearance since the fourth Test against Australia in August, after which Bresnan missed the rest of the season through injury.The Test squad have headed to Alice Springs for their match against a CA Chairman’s XI on Friday and Saturday but Bresnan remained in Brisbane with the EPP for the game at Allan Border Field.The EPP posted 376 for 9, after being put in to bat, with Middlesex batsman Sam Robson scoring a century in the country of his birth. Robson, whose future had been subject of much conjecture until he committed himself to a prospective England career by joining this tour, retired out for 102.Moeen Ali made 83 in the middle order and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler 54. The EPP have fielded 13 players in the match but only batted with 11.