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Tahir Khan and Rajesh Ramesh shared eight wickets between them to bowl Karachi Urban to a victory of an innings and 111 runs over Lahore Shalimar, on the third day Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship Gold League match, at the National Stadium in Karachi.Tahir, a right-arm offbreak bowler, took 5 for 52 and ended with eight wickets for the match. Ramesh, Karachi’s fast-medium bowler, grabbed 3 for 35 runs in ten overs as Lahore Shalimar were bowled out for 196.Karachi Urban resumed on 376 for 6 but Hasan Raza added only eight more to his overnight score before he was caught behind off Junaid Zia’s right-arm medium-fast bowling. Zia ended with 4 for 85 from 21 overs. Before Tahir got his fifth first-class five-wicket haul, he made an unbeaten 44 and along with Ramesh who made 41 got Karachi Urban to 483.With a lead of 307 Karachi Urban bowlers then set themselves to bowl out Lahore Shalimar in 51 overs. Humayun Farhat blasted 74 off just 53 balls that included 12 fours and two sixes. Mohammad Khalil was the next highest scorer with 23.Lahore Shalimar will now play Karachi Harbour at Lahore from January 24 in a fourth round match. Karachi Urban, meanwhile, have a rest until the fifth round.After gaining a first-innings lead of 78 Karachi Harbour went on to restrict Peshawar to 170 for 6 in their second innings at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar.Uzair-ul-Haq got 4 for 26 and Anwar Ali got 2 for 43. Ali also performed with the bat in the Karachi Harbour innings making an unbeaten 31 after they had fallen to 168 for 8. Batting with Faraz Ahmed (12), his ninth-wicket stand was worth 38 runs and took Karachi Harbour beyond the 200 mark. Fazl-e-Akbar, Peshawar’s right-arm fast-medium bowler, triggered a middle-order collapse and got 4 for 57 while Riaz Afridi ended with 5 for 67 for the innings.Peshawar are now 92 runs ahead with only four wickets left.Yasir Arafat, the Pakistan allrounder, snapped up six wickets to steer Rawalpindi to a first-innings lead of 100 over defending champions Sialkot, in their third round match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.Arafat got 6 for 53 and led the charge along with Akhtar Ayub, 3 for 33, to bowl out Sialkot for 224.Shahzad Malik, 60, and Abdur Rehman, 42, added 60 for the fifth wicket for Sialkot after the first four wickets fell for 60. Imran Nazir, 24, and Asim Butt, 35, chipped in but the lead was nowhere in sight. By the close of play yesterday, Rawalpindi were 26 for no loss.Silver League
Multan extended their lead to 223 over Hyderabad after they bowled Hyderabad out for 339 and then made 140 for 5 in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship Silver League match at the Multan Cricket Stadium.Hanif Malik and Nauman Ali added 92 runs to Hyderabad’s overnight score of 201 for 5 before Malik was trapped leg-before by Mohammad Azharullah for 26. Ali meanwhile got his maiden first-class half-century, making 67 off 127 balls with ten fours and added 52 for the seventh wicket with Nasir Awais. Abdul Rauf got the wicket of Farhan Ayub for two and ended with 5 for 90 for the innings.Usman Tariq, the Multan opener, hit a 65-ball 54 with nine fours in Multan’s second innings. Kashif Naved, who had compiled a monumental 199 in the first innings, was not out at 31 when stumps were drawn.A century by Ashar Zaidi, Islamabad’s No.4 batsman, and half-centuries by Azhar Mahmood and Mohammad Fayyaz helped the side gain a massive first-innings lead of 280 over Lahore Ravi who were trailing by 191 runs at stumps on day three.Zaidi and Mahmood added 87 for the third wicket after which Zaidi and Fayyaz added 121 more. Wahab Riaz dismissed all three and returned figures of 3 for 90 from his 21 overs.Iftikhar Anjum took two wickets and Kashif Naved and Adnan Raza were batting at close as Lahore Ravi were at 89 for 3 struggling to avoid an innings defeat.Abbottabad amassed a first innings score of 413 for nine and then shot out Quetta for 228 to take a 185 runs lead at the Khan Research Laboratory Cricket Ground at Rawalpindi.Quetta were forced to follow-on and had faced a single ball before the day’s play ended.Wajid Ali finished on 100 not out, his first-class career’s maiden century, as Abbottabad declared at 413 for nine after resuming their first innings at the overnight 363 for 6. He added 127 with Riaz Kail for the seventh wicket.Sabir Hussain was the top-scorer for Quetta with 92 off 144 balls while Shoaib Khan made 37 as Abbottabad legspinner Dilawar Khan got 5 for 42. Nasir Jalil got 2 for 59 and and Sajid Shah got 2 for 52 runs.

As a dramatic Test series ended, the drama shifted off the field to preparations for the hearing of Harbhajan Singh’s appeal against his ban for making racist remarks. A day before Justice John Hansen began the hearing a controversy was brewing over his decision to admit new evidence, including transcripts from stump cameras, even as the Indian team gathered in Adelaide in a show of unity instead of proceeding to Melbourne for the next leg of the series.Harbhajan’s counsel, VR Manohar, said he would not oppose the use of additional evidence like the transcript of the stump microphone but would object to any embellished improvised material, which he said was “fishy” evidence.However, the BCCI has said that introducing new evidence at this stage was not a normal court practice. “Our lawyer has said that whatever comes to the fore in the lower court is discussed or heard by the appellate commissioner, bringing new evidence is against the rule,” BCCI president Sharad Pawar told reporters in New Delhi.Members of the Indian team were wondering why the additional evidence had come so late, three weeks after the conclusion of the Sydney Test at which the incident occurred. In a show of solidarity the team decided to stay back in Adelaide. The additional members of the one-day squad will also join them from Melbourne.Justice Hansen said on Monday the appeal would be a re-hearing, with evidence being given by all of the witnesses who gave evidence to Mike Procter in the original hearing; he also spoke of “additional evidence, such as the transcript available from the stump microphone,” being made available.”I have nothing against the stump microphone evidence being used as long as it is not tampered with,” Manohar told Cricinfo from Mumbai. “What I will object to is a scenario where a player who said he didn’t hear Harbhajan use the monkey word during the first hearing turns around and says he did hear that word. That would be termed as “fishy”. If the players decide to add to what they have stated in the tribunal, and if that contradicts their initial stance, that would be objectionable.””If there have been any suspicious changes to the material recorded during Procter investigation, I would term it as fishy or embellished improvised material. That said, I am not against using stump microphone transcripts or some thing new like that.”Manohar, whose son Shashank is the Indian board’s president-elect, will participate in the hearing via a video link from Mumbai. He has not travelled to Australia, citing his age – he is 74 – and his confidence that the present “innocuous” evidence was enough to prove Harbhajan’s innocence.Cricinfo, meanwhile, has learnt that the evidence provided by the stump transcripts is inconclusive – what Harbhajan says is indecipherable – and is expected to neither jeopardise nor help his case.The original hearing was played out under the shadow of India’s threat to pull out of the tour unless the racism charge was withdrawn. There was some speculation that the threat still held, and Lalit Modi, the board’s vice-president, said as much on Monday. “If the racism charge against Harbhajan is not taken back, then the Indian board has taken a decision that the team will come back to India,” Modi was quoted by PTI.

The England & Wales Cricket Board could be asked to help revive cricket in the Caribbean after moving ever closer to a lucrative tie-in with the Texan billionaire, Allen Stanford, following a further round of talks at Lord’s on Monday.Stanford, whose multimillion-dollar Twenty20 tournament has reinvigorated interest in cricket in the West Indies, has reportedly offered up to $100 million for a series of five 20-over matches between England and a West Indies All-star XI, the first of which could be played as early as November this year.In a press release, the ECB said that the latest meeting between Stanford and David Collier, the CEO, “further developed the constructive and positive discussions” of the previous week. “I would be happy to make a five-year commitment,” Stanford told The Times on Saturday. “I said it could be an annual event, maybe we could come to Lord’s in 2009 and then alternate. The money is real and I think we will get a game.”Also present at Lord’s were the president and chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, Dr Julian Hunte and Donald Peters, as proposals were discussed to help provide a legacy to the development and infrastructure of cricket in the Caribbean, in addition to a series of international matches.It was the second meeting in the space of three days between representatives of the English and West Indian boards. On Friday, Hunte, Peters and Collier all met with the chairman of the ECB, Giles Clarke, in Bangalore during the opening match of the IPL.During his trip to Lord’s, Stanford also attended the pre-season lunch of the Lord’s Taverners, which provides support for community cricket – in particular for children with disabilities. During the luncheon Stanford made a donation of £50,000 to the work of the charity which was received by the President of the Lord’s Taverners, Mr Bill Tidy.

It’s ironic that a year that began with India celebrating a new openingcombination has ended with them grappling over the choice of their top two. Anage-old problem appeared to be sorting itself out but now it’s exploded into theirfaces.The New Year Test in Cape Town sawDinesh Karthik open for the first time and, with six 50-plus scores in six Tests,took up the role like a duck would to water. Karthik was India’s highestrun-getter in the series in England and, along with Wasim Jaffer, went aboutsetting the base for tall totals. Often it wasn’t just a platform, it was aterminus.Karthik’s poor form during the Pakistan series caused a few ripples before YuvrajSingh’s magnificent 169 in Bangalore caused what Anil Kumble termed a”happy headache”. After precisely one more Test that’s looking more like amigraine right now.A lot has happened over the last month or so: Karthik fell cheaply in his fourinnings as opener against Pakistan, Yuvraj cracked hundred, Virender Sehwag, in poor domestic form, was picked in the squad toAustralia on a hunch, Rahul Dravid, going through a lean phase, was asked to open,Dravid endured an agonising first innings at Melbourne, didn’t score much in thesecond dig, and, India lost heavily. To add to their worries Wasim Jaffer, whokept scoring through all the early turbulence, also fell early in both his chancesin Melbourne.”If you look at our batting order then all seven of them are batting well,”Kumble said of the line-up picked for the first Test, “and the other two openers, whocould have possibly taken someone else’s place, weren’t really getting runs. It isa difficult position for me. If Viru and Dinesh Karthik were in great form thenthe choice would have been easier.”It’s a hard choice for a captain but it’s a strange statement too. Karthik hasbeen off-colour since the Pakistan series and Sehwag has made more headlines forhis failures rather than successes on the domestic circuit. Both were picked, it’sbeen suggested, thanks largely to Kumble’s backing. As a captain he would haveexpected this situation.Neither were played in the tour match – probably because the first XI was decidedby then anyway – and were largely left to face the bowling machine. India wereleft with no choice but to push Dravid up to open. Kumble said as much. “WhenYuvraj is playing so well and we don’t pick him, you say why not? Then when we putRahul up the order and then make way for Yuvraj, you say ‘no you shouldn’t havedone that’. There are always ifs and buts, but for me personally I need to lookat the team dynamics and who is batting well.”Back-to-back Tests mean the team has little time to brainstorm. The SCG pitchappears to hold the key to their opening plans. Mitchell Johnson spoke about a”slow” pitch he had played on “not too long ago” but also added that he doesn’texpect a similar pitch for the Test. There has been talk of the surface being abit bouncier than normal, allowing the Australian pace bowlers an advantage.If India see some good pace and carry on the surface, there would be a temptationto play Sehwag. It won’t be a decision based on any logic but an outrightshoot-in-the-dark gamble. It might be a spectacular flop but could, with chunks ofluck, turn into a masterstroke. Kumble, who is normally known to be one to coverall bases, isn’t someone who has relied on a gambler’s instinct. He might still wantto play it safe, hoping for the same seven to fire, but he would surely be temptedto attempt the punt. You wouldn’t bet on it but a new year is supposed to beabout surprises.

Former England and Middlesex batsman Clive Radley, who has been the head coach at Lord’s since 1991, received his MBE today for his services to the game.”My first professional contract was in 1962 and I never imagined I’d still be involved 46 years later,” said Radley, who played eight Tests and scored 26,441 runs in first first-class career.”Clive is an invaluable part of the club set-up and, under him the MCC Young Cricketers programme has gone from strength to strength,” MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw said.”In an age of county cricket academies, Clive has proved that the programme is still relevant and plays a vital role in developing professional cricketers and giving opportunities to unsigned talent from all over the world.”

Karachi, Nov 13: Karachi Whites overwhelmed Sheikhupura by an inningsand 13 runs to record their fifth victory in the Quaid-i-Azam TrophyNational Grade-I Cricket Championship at the UBL Sports Complex hereon Monday.Sheikhupura, who needed to bat throughout the fourth and final day,were bowled out for 218 in their second innings in the 11th mandatoryover.Earlier, Karachi Whites had declared their first innings at theirovernight score of 543 for four. The highlight being the mammothunfinished record fifth-wicket partnership of 361 between skipper AsifMujtaba (202) and Mohammad Masroor (171).Mujtaba’s timely declaration proved decisive in the end as the KarachiWhites bowlers stuck to their task to condemn Sheikhupura to theirfifth defeat in six matches.The only resistance offered was a stubborn stand of 78 in 103 minutesby the third-wicket pair of Mohammad Javed and Usman Akram.The left-handed Javed made exactly 50 off 129 balls in 134 minuteswith the help of 10 boundaries. His partner, Usman contributed 38 in103 minutes off 104 deliveries with four hits to the fence.At one stage, Sheikhupura looked like saving the match when they were137 for four in mid-afternoon. However, fine bowling by pace bowlerAthar Laeeq and the young spin duo of Tahir Khan and Adnan Malik putpaid to that notion.Athar drew the first blood when he clean bowled Majid Majeed, who made88 in the first innings, for a duck in the third over of the innings.Later he claimed two more wickets at crucial moments.Off-spinner Tahir Khan got rid of the other opener, Tahir Usman, withthe very first ball of his opening over.Adnan Malik, the slow left-armer, then dismissed Javed and Usman Akramin quick successions after lunch. The latter was out to a magnificentreturn catch.The last four wickets crashed in the final session after tea was takenwith Sheikhupura on 156 for six. Tahir was was responsible for abrilliant direct hit at the bowler’s end from square leg to run outMohammad Islam.In between, Tahir removed Asif Raza for 35, caught at backward shortleg by Athar Laeeq.The final wicket fell to Adnan Malik who had Sheikhupura captainJaffer Nazir caught behind for the innings’ third duck.Athar Laeeq finished with impressive analysis of three for 28 in 16overs while Tahir claimed three for 67 in 32 overs for a match haul ofseven for 160 in 69 overs.Adnan was at last rewarded for some excellent bowling with figures ofthree for 63 in 26.4 overs.The unbeaten Karachi Whites move out of the city for two matchesbefore the six-week Ramazan and Eid-ul-Fitr break with a tally of 63points. They face Lahore Blues in Lahore from Thursday (Nov 16) andthen take on Sargodha from Nov 22.

Simon Helmot has been named the Victorian Cricket Academy coach, a newly-created position as part of the state’s revamped high-performance structure. Helmot, a former club cricketer in Melbourne and coach of the ACT Comets, will be in charge of Victoria’s male and female elite pathway squads and will coach the men’s Under-19 team.Helmot’s coaching career began when he led two Melbourne grade sides, Hawthorn-Waverley and Fitzroy Doncaster, to premierships before moving to Canberra. He was handed the reins of the Prime Minister’s XI, which crushed England by 166 runs in the lead-up to the Ashes last November.Tony Dodemaide, Cricket Victoria’s chief executive, said Helmot was the ideal candidate for the new role despite not having first-class playing experience. “Simon has an excellent record as a coach and leader,” Dodemaide said. “He has proved to be extremely talented, innovative and enthusiastic.”Helmot said he was indebted to ACT Cricket for giving him the chance to develop his coaching skills but was keen to return to Victoria.

Geoff Boycott has called Duncan Fletcher “a hypocrite” for his comments about Andrew Flintoff’s drinking habits on tour. Flintoff’s father has also complained about Fletcher’s new book and says his son is “not a happy man” after the revelations surrounding his behaviour in Australia and the Caribbean over the past year.Fletcher wrote Flintoff attended a fielding session while drunk and the former coach also had doubts before naming him as captain for the Ashes. Boycott, who was also targeted in Behind the Shades, was unimpressed with Fletcher.”After the stuff he has come out with in the last couple of days, I find it ironic that he spent his eight years with England spouting on about loyalty and keeping everything within the team,” Boycott told the . “There he was, taking the moral high ground at every opportunity. And as soon as he finishes, what does he do? He gets stuck into Flintoff.”I have no problem with cricket people writing books, telling the truth, and making some money. I have done it myself. Fine. But it seems a bit rich coming from someone who has made such a big deal about not “talking out of school”. Fletcher is a hypocrite and he should be ashamed of himself.”Colin Flintoff said his son felt betrayed and was upset with Fletcher for speaking out. “The golden rule is that what goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room,” he told the Guardian. “Fletcher has betrayed Andrew’s confidence. I am upset that he has done this for the sake of his book.”There is no bigger team player than Andrew. These comments have really upset him. I have spoken to Andrew about this and he is not a happy man.”Paul Nixon, who was part of Flintoff’s one-day squad in Australia and at the World Cup, supported his former captain by saying he did not have a drinking problem. “Freddie’s such a competitive guy and a passionate guy, he wants to win every game ferociously for England,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I think that the hiding they got in the Ashes really affected him more than people realise.”Alastair Cook also added his support for Flintoff. “All I know is when I was playing under Freddie for England, he was my leader,” he told . “He gave everything for England and I just wish him successful rehab on that ankle.”It’s his third time, which must be tough, but we hope he gets back as soon as possible because a fully-fit, firing Freddie Flintoff is what we need for English cricket.”He said he had not read the book. “It is just a book isn’t it? We are not bothered about what people are writing. We have moved on. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but personally I am not bothered what he has written now because we are under Peter Moores.”It doesn’t affect the squad as a whole and we are more worried about how we are going to play against Sri Lanka in two weeks’ time.”

Having brought Marlon Samuels’ cricket career to a halt for two years, at least, effective from Friday, May 9, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is now offering the player support. WICB chief executive Dr Donald Peters said: “I have written to Mr Samuels and offered him all the help needed to get his life in order.”On Monday, the WICB announced that Samuels, the 27-year-old Jamaica and West Indies middle order batsman, had been found guilty of violating the ICC Rules of Conduct 4 ix, which involves receiving money, benefit or other reward which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute. The charge does not refer to match-fixing, which carries a lifetime ban.The judgement by the WICB’s disciplinary committee, headed by Justice Adrian Saunders and including Dr Lloyd Barnett, Prof Aubrey Bishop and former West Indies captain Richie Richardson, came out of an incident on the West Indies tour of India in January 2007, when there were allegations Samuels had passed on match information ahead of the ODI in Nagpur on January 21 and then received payment for a hotel stay in Mumbai at the end of the tour.In handing down their judgement, the disciplinary committee stated that “given the circumstances that attended Mr. Samuels’ commission of the offence and in light of the unchallenged evidence we received as to Mr. Samuels’ character, if we had the power so to recommend, we would have recommended that Mr. Samuels be bound over to be of good behaviour for a period not exceeding two years.”Responding to those comments yesterday, Dr Peters told the Express: “The players know what the penalties are. We are part of the ICC and we gave our word to uphold the code of ethics. Our hands were basically tied.”However, asked whether he felt Samuels had been naive in his actions, Peters replied: “Yes … we in the West Indies have no experience of match-fixing. Players are not exposed to that kind of behaviour. It’s unfortunate that when they travel overseas, they are confronted with the spectre of match-fixing and one out of 15 will most likely get in trouble unless they are trained and counselled.”Peters indicated that he was going to speak last night to the players assembling in Antigua for a training camp ahead of the three-Test series against Australia starting next Thursday, “to remind them of how dangerous it is to be out there”.Commenting further on the banning of one of the region’s most talented batsmen, who was the leading player on last year’s tour of South Africa, Peters was empathetic. “I personally am very moved by it. He is a very young player. He came face to face with very bad people in the match fixing industry, so it’s unfortunate.”In a radio interview with Irie FM in Jamaica, Samuels reportedly said he would still be proceeding to the West Indies training camp. But Peters denied that would be happening. “I have no idea why he would say that,” he said.The ICC also confirmed that Samuels had been banned for two years from May 9. Acting CEO Dave Richardson said: “We are yet to see the whole judgement to put the matter of the punishment into its proper context but we note the WICB disciplinary committee found the player guilty and has imposed an immediate ban. In terms of the punishment handed down, minimum penalties were agreed by the ICC board, including all Full Members, and they reflect the seriousness of the issues at hand.”The ICC also made clear that Samuels’ ban would encompass all forms of cricket, saying it would include official Cricket (Tests, ODIs, T20Is, first-class matches and List A matches organised by or under the auspices of the ICC or its Members) and unofficial cricket (cricket within ICC members not falling into the above categories that is granted approval by either the ICC or the relevant board).The ICC will now take up the matter through an official enquiry by their Code of Conduct Commission headed by Michael Beloff QC and two other ICC Code of Conduct Commissioners. They will review the WICB disciplinary committee findings to ascertain whether the punishment is sufficient and make any recommendation necessary to the ICC board’s July meeting in Dubai.

Scorecard

When the platteland dust cleared in Bloemfontein on Friday night, the Lions and the Eagles had tied their Standard Bank Pro20 match. And that despite a masterful blast from opener Alviro Petersen, who faced 48 balls for his 64 and spiked his innings with seven fours and a six.Petersen’s valiant effort was enough to nudge the Lions past the Eagles, who were bowled out for 152 in 19.4 overs. In reply, the Lions mustered 152 for 7.The Eagles, who won the toss and chose to bat, soared to 130 for 2 in the 15th over before sacrificing their last eight wickets for 22.Loots Bosman and Jacques Rudolph launched the innings in style with their 66-run stand for the first wicket. Bosman blitzed his 47 off 22 balls, while Rudolph clipped his 46 off 40 balls. Morne van Wyk (23) helped Rudolph add another 53 runs for the second wicket after Heinrich le Roux bowled Bosman in the seventh over.The Lions’ fightback began when Werner Coetsee dismissed Rudolph in the 15th over. Three overs later, Garnett Kruger grabbed the wickets – Ryan McLaren (4), Boeta Dippenaar (0) and Roger Telemachus (0) – in the space of six balls. Add the run-outs of Dillon du Preez (9) and Ryan Bailey (0), and it wasn’t difficult to see why the Eagles’ beaks drooped dramatically. Kruger finished with 3 for 22.The Lions started their reply solidly, with Petersen and Jean Symes adding 47 for the first wicket. But Telemachus bowled Symes for 19 in the sixth over, and six overs later the visitors slumped to 88 for 5.That was when Petersen and Heinrich le Roux stepped in with a 53-run stand that took the Lions all the way to the 18th over, and left them to score a run a ball off the last two overs. However, Petersen’s dismissal was followed by that of Coetsee (0), and that snapped the Lions’ momentum and saw them fall that single, crucial run short.
Scorecard
Charl Langeveldt was at it again as he steered the Western Cape Cobras to a five-run victory over the Eastern Cape Warriors in a Standard Bank Pro20 thriller at Buffalo Park in East London.The Warriors, chasing 146 for victory, were cruising on 110 for 4 after 16 overs when Langeveldt (3 for 13) staged a dramatic turnaround in the Cobras’ fortunes, taking three wickets in the 17th over as the home side ultimately closed on 140 for 8.There were other telling bowling performances from Tyron Henderson (2 for 28), spinner Con de Lange, who went for just 18 runs in his four overs and took the key wicket of Davey Jacobs, and Rory Kleinveldt, who finished with 2 for 32 and conceded just six runs in the final over.There were a few worried faces in the Cobras’ dugout as Jacobs and Zander de Bruyn added 58 for the fourth wicket in 7.3 overs, but Jacobs was caught and bowled by de Lange for a 24-ball 36, and de Bruyn was one of the three batsmen to fall in Langeveldt’s wonder over, for a run-a-ball 35.Offspinner Johan Botha had starred in the Cobras’ innings of 145 for 7, taking 3 for 19 and he was well-supported by 18-year-old left-armer Wayne Parnell (2 for 24). Young Richard Levi top-scored for the Cobras with 39 off 37 balls, but the visitors needed a few lusty blows in the closing overs from Vernon Philander (36 not out off 29 balls) and Rory Kleinveldt (22 off 9) for their matchwinning total.