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Imran Tahir and Colin Ingram have both been added to the list of contracted South Africa players, while Albie Morkel was also given a one-year contract till May 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2011A day after he produced the best bowling performance by a South Africa player on debut in a World Cup, Imran Tahir has been awarded a national contract by Cricket South Africa. Also joining the list of contracted players was Colin Ingram, the left-hand batsman who is part of South Africa’s World Cup squad but did not feature in Thursday’s game against West IndiesThe two players are part of a list of 20 who have been given one-year contracts starting from May 1. Only two players in South Africa’s current World Cup fifteen have not been given contracts: allrounder Faf du Plessis and wicketkeeper-batsman Morne van Wyk. Loots Bosman, Albie Morkel, Rusty Theron and Ryan McLaren were given contracts despite not having made the cut for the fifteen.The CSA can contract up to 22 players so there is the possibility of another couple of players being offered contracts at any point during the twelve-month period.du Plessis has played just one ODI for South Africa, while van Wyk has only played two in the last three years. The Pakistani-born legspinner Tahir was only granted South African citizenship in January, and giving him a contract underlines South Africa’s aim to make him an important part of their squad in all formats.Ingram is a highly-rated hard-hitting 25-year-old batsman, and though his one-day career so far has been up and down – some of which may be due to the fact that he has not batted in a settled position – a contract should give him some assurance of his place in South Africa’s setup. Overlooked for a contract was David Miller, another left-hand batsman who was given an ODI cap before Ingram, and made an impressive start to his international career only to fade away in the last few months, leading to his exclusion from the World Cup squad.In another announcement, the CSA chief Gerald Majola said the board was in well-advanced negotiations with the BCCI to grant icon status to future Test series between South Africa and India with the likelihood of either four or five Tests being played when the sides next meet.The India tour of South Africa in 2010-11, which included three Tests, a one-off Twenty20 international and five one-dayers, brought in record gate takings for the country. There are also plans, according to CSA, to stage an annual Twenty20 match between the two countries with a mix of cricket and entertainment. The venue for this match will alternate between South Africa and India.CSA’s contracted players from May 2011 to May 2012: Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Robbie Peterson, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Ball-by-ball commentary of Ashton Agar’s hat-trick and five-wicket haul in Johannesburg

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-20207.4 – Agar to du Plessis, OUT, goes inside out, slugged over the off side… straight to the boundary rider! Du Plessis won’t be making any more of a statement today! Agar with a loopy, wide delivery and he couldn’t get the timing, plinked off the toe and it almost didn’t carry to Richardson on the rope
F du Plessis c Richardson b Agar 24 (34m 22b 3×4 0x6) SR: 109.09Andile Phehlukwayo out, with SA looking to save some face7.5 – Agar to Phehlukwayo, OUT, given lbw first ball! May have been a touch leg side and Phehlukwayo reviews, but the replays quickly show that the ball pitched in line and was straightening bang on leg stump! This innings is quickly going belly up for South Africa!
AL Phehlukwayo lbw b Agar 0 (3m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00Agar is on a hat-trick, Dale Steyn the man to face up7.6 – Agar to Steyn, OUT, GOTTIM!! Edged to slip! Tossed one up and Steyn, in no mood for backing down, had a big old yahoo, squirting a thick edge to Finch, who held it well! Agar goes bombing off, what a moment for him, and South Africa are on their knees in the Bullring!
DW Steyn c Finch b Agar 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00Becomes just the second Australian on this list11.6 – Agar to van Biljon, OUT, pegs back leg stump! That’s a bingo for Agar, who has career-best figures! Dirty ole slog across the line from van Biljon, the ball gripping just enough as it skidded on underneath the bat. South Africa eight down and hurting
PJ van Biljon b Agar 16 (26m 15b 2×4 0x6) SR: 106.66Still another 20-odd needed for SA to avoid their lowest T20I score… Lungi Ngidi is out at No.1013.1 – Agar to Ngidi, OUT, that’s five! Plopped into the hands of long-on! Agar can barely believe it, he’s king of the ‘ring tonight. Misbegotten shot from Ngidi, straight to the man set back
L Ngidi c Warner b Agar 1 (5m 5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 20.00…and he’s on a hat-trick again! Tabraiz Shamsi to face13.2 – Agar to Shamsi, no run, so close to hitting off stump! Spinning through as Shamsi tried to cut and missed, nearly Agar’s second ‘trick of the game!

Fast bowler has had a “massive impact” after just one Test, says England captain

Andrew Miller at Lord's18-Aug-2019Joe Root, the England captain, believes that Jofra Archer’s addition to the bowling attack has “potentially” changed the course of the Ashes, after another sustained and dramatic display of hostile fast bowling almost inspired England to a remarkable final-day Test victory at Lord’s.Less than 24 hours after unleashing a shattering bouncer to Steven Smith in Australia’s first innings, Archer almost repeated the dose with his second delivery to Smith’s concussion replacement, Marnus Labuschagne, which struck the newly included batsman flush on the visor at more than 91mph.And Root, who had been one of the many England batsman in the firing line when Mitchell Johnson ignited the 2013-14 Ashes with his haul of 37 wickets in the 5-0 whitewash, feels that Archer’s pace and fear factor could have a similar effect, especially with the third Test at Headingley set to begin in just four days’ time.ALSO READ: Miller: Archer evokes Lomu on ‘frightening’ debut“He’s come in and made a massive impact,” Root said. “He’s added a different dynamic to our bowling group and given Australia something different to think about. It’s pleasing to see someone come in on Test debut, shake up things and live up to the hype – even some of the hype he put on himself. It makes for a very interesting last three games.”He makes things happen with such a unique action and natural pace, which is always in the game on any surface. That with the skill of the others, makes for a tasty combo. One thing it will do is make them think about how they’re going to have to come back. He is going to come at them, and it’s always nice when you’re stood at slip and not batting against him.”He’s very different to other options that we’ve had previously in this team, and on a different surface, which might nibble and swing a little bit more to add that into a quartet, it’s a really big bonus for the team. You always feel like you’ve got something different to turn to.”Jofra Archer struck in his second over•Getty Images

Though England remain 1-0 down in the series, Archer’s impact wasn’t the only positive to emerge from the Lord’s Test. Ben Stokes managed to translate his serene batting in the World Cup into his seventh Test century, but first since the Bristol incident in September 2017, and even Jos Buttler, without going on to make a significant score, looked more at ease against the red ball in making 31 in a key stand of 90 that set up England’s victory push.”Things can change very quickly in sport. At the start of the week we wanted a big response and we have definitely done that,” Root said. “It felt like we put them under huge pressure. It shows how much we’re in this series.”Stokes, who was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten 115, added of Archer: “I am not sure there will be a better debut in terms of announcing yourself.”The spell [to Smith on day four] was incredible to watch,” he told Test Match Special. “We were laughing he was going to be top of the rankings after one Test. We are very lucky he is in our team. He gives you an extra dimension.”However, Australia’s captain, Tim Paine, attempted to play down Archer’s impact, pointing out that, despite being on Test debut, he was hardly an unknown quantity on the international and franchise circuit.”We’ve seen him for a few years now [in T20 cricket] and we know the package he brings with his pace,” Paine said. “That’s something every team wants to have. It’s up to us to make some plans and get better [against him]. It’s not all doom and gloom.”

White in stand of 190 with Peter Handscomb to lift Victoria to match-winning 327

Daniel Brettig23-Sep-2018Getty Images

Cameron White and Peter Handscomb set up an ample tally for Victoria at North Sydney Oval before New South Wales slid from a promising platform to their third consecutive defeat in the domestic limited-overs tournament – though under this year’s competition rules all teams are guaranteed a finals berth.The stand of 190 between White and the captain Handscomb allowed the visitors to shrug off the loss of Seb Gotch from the very first ball of the match, chipping Sean Abbott to mid-on, and pushed Victoria well past 300. White’s century was his third at North Sydney and seventh for Victoria in limited-overs matches, while Handscomb’s innings was a welcome sign of progress after he had made a series of technical tweaks in the winter. Abbott finished with five wickets, albeit at a cost of 70 runs.Left with 328 for victory, the Blues were unable to find a partnership to match that of White and Handscomb, maintaining a pattern where the NSW top order has been unable to summon truly match-shaping scores. The Blues captain Kurtis Patterson made an attractive 48 but again fell after making a start, before Moises Henriques was also dismissed when he appeared to be in control of the game.The uncontracted allrounder Daniel Sams made his second half-century of the tournament and appears to be batting too low at No. 7, meaning he was left with too much to do without top-order help. Jackson Coleman, the Victorian left-armer, persisted well and deserved his five wickets, while the legspinner Tom O’Connell was unafraid to toss the ball up on the small North Sydney Oval, being rewarded with a trio of his own victims despite having a pair of very strong lbw shouts turned down and also suffering from a dropped catch.Limited-overs teams tend to be happy to bowl first in day games at North Sydney, particularly if the pitch has some live grass on top. This was certainly the case when Patterson sent Victoria in, and the early dismissals of Gotch and then Marcus Harris, who failed to ride the bounce of a lifting delivery from Ben Dwarshuis, seemed to vindicate the decision.However White had established himself with a handful of solid blows, and proceeded to rotate the strike intelligently alongside Handscomb, who showed evidence of his off-season work to get more of his weight moving forward to meet balls pitched up to the stumps in a more positive, decisive and consistent manner.Between them, the Victorian tally mounted smoothly with a particular toll taken on Steve O’Keefe and Henriques. Offspinner Chris Green seemed more able to stem the flow, before he too began to leak boundaries. Once White had passed his century and both he and Handscomb fell in the pursuit of quick runs, Glenn Maxwell and the NSW discard Nic Maddinson were able to hammer a handful of boundaries to take the total beyond 326 – the recent par for winning totals at the ground.Grass on the surface was still catchy enough for Will Sutherland to move the ball off the seam, which he did to coax an early edge from Daniel Hughes that was well held by White in the slips. Jack Edwards batted in Patterson’s slipstream for a time before picking out third man when slashing at Coleman, and the captain made it to the cusp of a half-century before edging behind.Henriques was soon striking the ball cleanly, and his duel with O’Connell was beguiling. Bullied sixes were traded with false shots and lbw appeals, before Sutherland dropped a chance on the cover boundary when coming forward. It was to be Coleman who finally dismissed Henriques, at a time when he and Sams seemed well on course to reel in the target.Victoria’s notably deeper batting line-up than NSW was now to come into effect, as the latter’s last five wickets went down for 42 runs in six overs. A cheery Sunday afternoon crowd, having anticipated a tight finish, found themselves making for the exits at least half an hour earlier than expected.

The 35-year-old left-arm spinner hoped that his comeback after four years would inspire domestic players to not give up and keep performing consistently

Mohammad Isam29-Jan-2018Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak’s surprise recall to the Bangladesh Test side takes the mind back to the comebacks of Brian Close, Darren Pattinson, and RP Singh. On Sunday evening, the BCB called Razzak and told him that his air ticket to Chittagong was ready, but he felt like someone was playing a prank on him.A little while later, the selectors announced that Razzak had been picked in the Bangladesh squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka. Despite his prolific domestic form over the last four years, Razzak was overlooked several times by two selection committees, which had regularly suggested that recalling him would be a step back. But he has now forced his way back into the national reckoning on current form: he leads this season’s wicket-takers’ list with 40 scalps in nine matches, combined in BCL and NCL. In addition, Razzak recently became the first Bangladeshi bowler to take 500 first-class wickets.”Sajib [Kawsar Azam], who called to tell me my ticket is confirmed, first congratulated me,” Razzak said. “I asked him if it is for the 500 wickets. He said that it was because of my Bangladesh team call-up. I got a call from Nannu [Minhajul Abedin] who confirmed to me. Sometimes you hope for something and it happens; this was not anything like that.”Things in Mirpur started to unravel from Saturday evening when Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out of the first Test due to a finger injury. The selectors first called up left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam and allrounder Tanbir Hayder. On Sunday evening, rumours swirled of a possible recall for Razzak although Minhajul Abedin had only said that the veteran’s case was part of a discussion with the team management in Chittagong. With Taijul suffering a slump in form and Sunzamul being uncapped in Test cricket, Minhajul eventually turned to the experience of Razzak.”It wasn’t a sudden call-up,” Minhajul said. “It was part of a process. We depend on spinners in home Test matches. We called up Razzak because he is experienced and we have lost the experience of Shakib. We have Sunzamul in our ODI and T20 setup while Taijul has been around for a while too. Razzak has been doing well in domestic cricket so we thought we could keep him in the squad.”Sunzamul is very inexperienced, hasn’t played a Test. We have to take into account Taijul’s form, he didn’t do well in South Africa. This is why we took the extra spinner. Whoever will be in a better position tomorrow, he will play.”Razzak said that while he never gave up hope of playing for Bangladesh again, he did not expect the call-up now.”It is hard to play domestic cricket if you don’t have a larger goal so I never really gave up hope,” he said. “But I didn’t expect it now, not like this.”He also hoped that his return would pave the way for many such domestic performers to make the national side. “I think this should set an example for everyone to never give up,” Razzak said. “Even young players think that they will not get selected, but one should always keep in mind that if you are performing consistently, you will be needed at some stage.”Waiting for the opportunity is tough. I think 95 percent of the people thought that I would never make it back. But in the back of my mind, I always thought that I would get the call.”

The presence of players like Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Samuel Badree and Kieron Pollard makes the one-off T20I potentially the most evenly matched game of India’s tour of the West Indies

The Preview by Sidharth Monga08-Jul-2017

Match Facts

Sunday, July 9, 2017
Start time 1030 local (1530 GMT)1:38

Will India field Rishabh Pant?

Big Picture

Chris Gayle. Sunil Narine. Kieron Pollard. Samuel Badree. With all due respect to the players who managed to win one ODI and also the circumstances of West Indies cricket, now we are talking. With all due respect to the earnestness of Jason Holder and his boys in the longer formats, this is West Indies’ best format. There’s only of these games, and that too at 10.30am on a Sunday for the obvious reasons of meeting India’s television prime time, but this promises to be the most evenly matched contest of India’s tour of the West Indies.Anything close to what these sides dished out the last time they met – 245 v 244 – in Florida last year will be blockbuster. West Indies will be missing Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell from that line-up, but will welcome back Gayle, in his hometown. For India, it’s as if nothing changes. West Indies retain only four members of their ODI squad for this T20I; India usually don’t name a different squad. The look of their T20 side is pretty much the same since the last year.The look of the contest will be similar too: West Indies’ power, with one hitter following another, against India’s touch batsmen and an attack that will rely on spin to take wickets in the middle.

Form guide

West Indies WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWLLW

In the spotlight

The last time Evin Lewis played a T20 against India he smacked a 49-ball 100. In the whole ODI series, he has scored 67 runs, at a strike rate of 54.91. The difference of 60 points between his T20I and ODI strike rates – 137 and 77 – has to be one of the biggest. Back in his preferred format, he will look for some redemption.The ODI batsmen found Kuldeep Yadav hard to pick, scoring only four an over against him. India will look to control the game in the middle through him or perhaps pull the shutters down if West Indies get off to a quick start.

Team news

Now that Gayle is back, he has to open. That pushes down Chadwick Walton to the slot vacated by Lendl Simmons.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Jason Mohammed, 5 Chadwick Walton (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard/ Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt.), 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Samuel Bardee, 11 Kesrick WilliamsIf Virat Kohli keeps opening for India, that might mean an exit for Ajinkya Rahane, but if Yuvraj Singh is not fit, India might stick with Rahane. This could be the time Rishabh Pant finally gets a game too. R Ashwin has been in better bowling form than Ravindra Jadeja, but the latter’s fielding will make the second spinner’s slot an interesting debate.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Virat Kohli (capt.), 3 Yuvraj Singh, 4 Rishabh Pant, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav/Dinesh Karthik, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Ravindra Jadeja/R Ashwin, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammed Shami, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

Unlike in the earlier ODIs, the ball came on to the bat in the last match, played at the same venue. This could be a high-scorer.

Stats and trivia

• Sunil Narine is two short of becoming the third West Indies bowler – behind Dwayne Bravo and Samuel Badree – with 50 T20I wickets. He has bowled only seven T20I overs against India, for 70 runs and no wickets.
• Among those who have sent down a minimum of 25 overs inside the Powerplay, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Samuel Badree are the sixth- and eighth-most economical bowlers with rates of 5.68 and 5.75. Newcomer Kesrick Williams has now bowled 10 overs in the Powerplay for just three runs an over.
• Head to head, West Indies lead India 4-2 after seven matches.

David Warner’s thumb is still broken, leaving Australia’s vice-captain to fight an increasingly fraught battle to be fit in time for the first Test of the sumer against New Zealand in Brisbane

Daniel Brettig13-Oct-20151:41

David Warner hopes to play one Sheffield Shield match before the first Test of the summer

David Warner’s thumb is still broken, leaving Australia’s vice-captain to fight an increasingly fraught battle to be fit in time for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand in Brisbane.While Warner is going in for another round of x-rays at the end of this week and is hoping to have his first bat in the nets on Monday, he has admitted it will take some time after that before he regains confidence in the digit when catching and fielding. He will not be taking part in the remainder of the Matador Cup and will thus have only one match – a day/night Sheffield Shield encounter with South Australia in Adelaide – before the Gabba.”My goal is to play that Shield game, I want to play that Shield game to have a hit, because I don’t think I’ll be able to get out here and play the last couple of games of the Matador,” Warner said of an injury sustained during the ODIs against England after the loss of the Ashes.”Eight years on the road playing a lot of cricket, you don’t lose that overnight. This four- to six-week break has mentally freshened me up and I think it’s going to put me in good stead for the summer. You’re only ever one or two hits in the nets, probably an hour off what you can be. But batting against bowlers is going to be the key.”I think when it comes down to having to catch a ball I’ll be a little bit hesitant, but I’ve broken this before and I know exactly what I have to do, that’s about getting it right with the bat first and then fielding and catching after.”The state of Warner’s thumb is an unwanted complication for the national selectors as they deliberate over who will be his next long-term opening partner following the retirement of Chris Rogers. Joe Burns, Shaun Marsh, Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja are all in the mix as top-order players, and Warner said he would need time to familiarise himself with his new offsider.”Any new person who comes into the team you’ve got to form a partnership, whether it’s my opening partner or a new guy in the team, you’ve got to try and work out how to go about things,” Warner said. “If it’s a batsman you’ve got to try and identify their game plan and what they’re trying to achieve.”Whoever it is I’ve got to look at some of their footage and how they play as well, because I like to know my partner. We talk about first session of a game, where he can get off strike and how I can help him in any way. I’ve got to look at that and identify the partner I’m with to try to get the best out to them and for my own peace of mind.”In contrast to earlier summers where the Test team was announced too early for some, the selectors are set to name their squad for the Gabba during the one round of Shield games that precedes the Test, only a handful of days before Steven Smith tosses the coin with Brendon McCullum in Brisbane. Warner said he did not expect the “privilege” of knowing who his partner would be ahead of that time.An array of new faces had time to get to know one another as rain curtailed the first session of Australia’s two-day training camp at Hurstville Oval, and Warner said he was confident there would be enough older heads among the tyros to ensure good decisions were made on and off the field when the New Zealand Tests began.”There’s going to be a lack of experience there, but the guys we’ve got there who’ve been through the Ashes, there’s a lot of experience there,” Warner said. “You’ve got Adam Voges who was selected for the Bangladesh tour that didn’t go ahead. He’s played a lot of first-class games, might not have played many Test matches but a lot of experience there.”Guys like Mitchell Starc, myself, Steve Smith there, Peter Nevill is an experienced man in Shield cricket. A lot of the guys who are going to be picked aren’t too experienced, but there’s a lot of guys there to help them along the way.”My job away from game day is to help Steve out as much as possible, I can go around and help all the guys, I know Steve likes to go around and check on each individual, see where they’re at with their game, and I’m just going to try to make Steve’s job as easy as possible.”

Angus Fraser described himself as “chuffed to bits” after Chris Rogers was included in Australia’s Ashes squad

Alan Gardner24-Apr-2013Angus Fraser could have been forgiven the sort of intemperate outburst usually reserved by fast bowlers for fielders who drop catches but Middlesex’s director of cricket, and a man who knows what it is like to contest an Ashes series, was not going to spoil Chris Rogers’ day. Fraser described himself as “chuffed to bits” after Rogers was included in Australia’s Ashes squad and said plans were in place for the county to sign a replacement overseas player.Rogers is Middlesex’s Championship captain and opener, as well as their most prolific run-scorer for the past two seasons, but his involvement in the Ashes means he will be unavailable for at least four games – against Warwickshire, Sussex, Durham and Derbyshire – between July 10 and August 25. Middlesex have won both their opening fixtures to make them the subject of early title chatter and Fraser was confident they can cope without Rogers during a crucial period of the season.”We were prepared for it,” Fraser said. “I know Chris said he thought his international days had been over but we had given it some thought and realised over the winter, watching Australia’s results, that he could well come into contention. So we have been speaking to other people and had other things in place and we’re now following those up so hopefully we’ll be able to cater for Chris being away.”The Ashes is quite short and sharp so, looking at the County Championship, Chris would probably only miss four games, which means he would then come back for our last four fixtures, hopefully. We’ve got contingency plans in place but we’re delighted for him. Some Middlesex members might feel ‘We’ve lost our captain, someone who’s been integral over the last two years’ but we want everyone at the club to achieve what they want to achieve on a cricket field. We’re chuffed to bits for Chris and want to see him do well.”Rogers has played one previous Test for Australia, against India in 2008, but his form in England, where he has scored more than 9,000 runs for four counties, prompted Australia to turn to the 35-year-old again; two weeks ago, he made a half-century in each innings as Middlesex won at Trent Bridge, venue for the first Ashes Test. Should he be involved for the whole series, he could conceivably return for Middlesex’s Championship fixture against Somerset, which begins three days after the conclusion of the fifth Test at The Oval.While Middlesex would not be drawn on who his replacement would be. Adam Voges, who was also an outside bet for Ashes inclusion, has been signed for the FLt20 and extending that deal is a possibility. Voges bats in the middle-order, as does Eoin Morgan, who will return from the IPL towards the end of May, but Joe Denly is capable of opening, while Paul Stirling, Adam Rossington and Adam London provide options from within the second XI.”We’ve obviously had a very good start to the season and Chris has played an important role in that,” Fraser said. “We’ve got another six games before he departs, I believe, and that takes us to halfway through the season. We want to do well in those six games and the person that comes in to replace Chris while he’s away, we’ll hope he can fill the void. You can lose players through injury – we’ve got a squad and expect some of our younger players to come in and perform, should any openings appear. We’re hopeful that we’re not going to be short of a class batsman for any part of the season.”

A round-up of the third day of the ninth round of Division One of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2010Aizaz Cheema, the fast bowler, bettered his first-innings bowling heroics, taking six wickets for 20 runs as Pakistan International Airlines crushed table-toppers Habib Bank by an innings in Faisalabad. Trailing by 141 runs, Habib Bank began poorly, losing Imran Farhat and Saleem Elahi cheaply to Anwar Ali. Cheema scythed through Habib Bank’s middle order after that, as he had done in the first innings. Habib Bank were shot out for 111 as only opener Shan Masood resisted with a patient 41. Cheema finished with match figures of 12 for 89, his third first-class ten-wicket haul.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited‘s Sohail Tanvir was the other bowler to take six wickets in their thrashing of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited by an innings at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Once Tanvir and his new-ball partner Mohammad Khalil had reduced SNGPL to 32 for 5 in their follow-on effort, there was no hope for them. Yasir Arafat (53) and Adil Raza (47) delayed the inevitable with an 84-run seventh-wicket partnership, but Tanvir was around. He bowled Arafat, Iftikhar Anjum did the same to Raza, and SNGPL soon caved in for 147. Raza Ali Dar (81) had stuck around in the morning but the trio of Tanvir, Anjum and Khalil were too much for SNGPL, who fell 20 short of avoiding the follow-on.A fighting, unbeaten half-century from Kashif Naved was not enough for Multan as they went down to Rawalpindi by 52 runs at the Bahawal Stadium in Bahawalpur. Starting the day on 93 for 6 in pursuit of 193, Multan lost Abdur Rauf early when he was caught behind off Rizwan Akbar for 5. Waqas Khan and Ahmed Raza soon followed, both falling to Akbar, but last man Tahir Maqsood defended doggedly for 50 minutes as Naved kept scoring runs at the other end. The pair added 29 to delay the inevitable before left-arm fast bowler Sadaf Hussain managed to get one through Maqsood’s defence to trap him lbw for a 23-ball duck, leaving Naved stranded on 62.Islamabad inched ahead of Karachi Blues at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad, bowling them out for 258, which left the home side needing 210 for a win. Several Karachi batsmen got starts, and all but one of the Islamabad bowlers got among the wickets. Asad Baig (37) and Murtaza Majeed (46) took Karachi to 76 for 1 but both fell to Fakhar Hussain’s seamers. Atif Ali made his second half-century of the match but wickets fell regularly at the other end. Hussain and Imad Wasim took three wickets apiece as Karachi subsided for 258. Islamabad reached eight for no loss at stumps.National Bank of Pakistan took charge against Water and Power Development Authority in Sialkot, taking a lead of 161 and then leaving WAPDA struggling on 93 for 4. Hammad Azam, the 19-year old Pakistan A batsman, remained unbeaten after reaching his maiden first-class hundred. Azam took NBP from 264 for 5 to 432, batting with the tail after Qaiser Abbas had fallen for 63. Mohammad Talha carried on from the first-innings, taking the first three WAPDA wickets to leave them reeling on 37 for 3. Aamer Sajjad (38) fought back briefly but fell late in the day as NBP finished on a high.

Zimbabwe international Elton Chigumbura took four wickets on his County Championship debut as Northamptonshire continued to dominate against Division Two leaders Glamorgan at Wantage Road

06-Jul-2010
ScorecardZimbabwe international Elton Chigumbura took four wickets on his County Championship debut as Northamptonshire continued to dominate against Division Two leaders Glamorgan at Wantage Road.Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple took 4 for 71 as Northamptonshire were bowled out for 494 after lunch, losing their last five wickets for 42 runs, with their skipper Andrew Hall finishing unbeaten on 84. Chigumbura then claimed figures of 4 for 67 as the hosts’ attack reduced the visitors to 207 all out, with David Lucas taking three wickets of his own.Northamptonshire began the day on 355 for 5, with Chigumbura and Hall resuming on 5 and 6 respectively. Glamorgan’s attack continued to toil, as they had on the first day, as the sixth-wicket pair dug their heels in, with Hall reaching a deserved half-century from 87 balls with a four through cover.Dalrymple gave the visitors the breakthrough they desperately needed with the second ball after lunch when he forced Chigumbura (44) to play on to his own stumps to end a partnership of 108.
The captain struck again in his next over, when wicketkeeper Mark Wallace caught an edge from his opposite number David Murphy, who faced ten balls without scoring.Dean Cosker then trapped James Middlebrook (11) lbw before Lucas (8) sliced Dalrymple to Jim Allenby at slip. Dalrymple then claimed his fourth victim when he forced Jack Brooks, who failed to score off five balls, to edge to Wallace to leave Hall stranded on 84 not out.Glamorgan’s reply started disastrously when, in the first over, Mark Cosgrove went for a golden duck by edging Lucas to Murphy. It soon got worse when Tom Maynard (6) launched Brooks high in the air to Murphy, who took the catch at square leg, before Ben Wright (5) edged Lucas to the same man.In the second over after tea, Dalrymple (8) drove at Lucas but Stephen Peters took a fantastic one-handed catch diving to his right at third slip. With the first ball of the next over Brooks pinned Gareth Rees lbw for 29 to leave Glamorgan floundering on 55 for 5.Wallace made 21 before throwing his wicket away by lofting Chigumbura straight to Nicky Boje at midwicket. Chigumbura then took two wickets in consecutive balls in the 35th over when he caught Harris leg before then emphatically bowled Cosker, taking out his middle and off stumps.He then struck again by bowling David Harrison (18) before Will Owen, who smashed 38 off 41 balls, sliced Boje to Murphy with the final ball of the day to leave Allenby on 59 not out.