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Scotland’s 47-run win over Ireland today in the ICC Trophy final in Ireland confirms the groupings for the first stage of the 2007 World Cup. The fixtures schedule for 2007 can now be finalised and, along with the tournament dates, will be announced on July 19 in Trinidad.Scotland’s reward for winning the ICC Trophy is a place alongside Australia, Holland and South Africa in Pool 1 in St Kitts. Ireland will be in Pool 4 with the host West Indies, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.In Pool 2 Bermuda will take on Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh in Trinidad and Tobago while Canada will be in Pool 3 in St Lucia with New Zealand, England and Kenya.Confirmed World Cup PoolsPool 1 – St Kitts Australia, South Africa, Holland, Scotland
Pool 2 – Trinidad Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Bermuda
Pool 3 – St Lucia New Zealand, England, Kenya, Canada
Pool 4 – Jamaica West Indies, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland

ScorecardNew Zealand A swept to an innings victory on the fourth day against their Sri Lankan counterparts at Village Green in Christchurch, to wrap up a 2-0 series win. Sri Lanka had been up against it ever since a remarkable ninth-wicket stand of 209 between Paul Wiseman and Bruce Martin, but the end when it came was quick and to the point.Ian Daniel and Bathiya Perera could add just three runs between them to their overnight totals, before James Franklin and Kyle Milles tore through the middle order, with all five of the next batsmen recording ducks. Dinusha Fernando and Tharanga Lakshitha salvaged a modicum of pride from 94 for 9, adding 31 for the last wicket, but by then the game was well and truly up.

PAARL, Feb 25: Wasim Akram achieved another milestone in his distinguished career when he became the first bowler in one-day history to take 500 wickets in helping Pakistan earn four precious points against Holland on Tuesday.The victory keeps Pakistan’s faint hopes alive of advancing through to the Super Six stage in the World Cup.On a hot and humid day at Boland Park, Holland never threatened Pakistan’s 253 for nine and inevitably lost this Group ‘A’ fixture by 97 runs. The Dutch still remain without a point after four straight defeats.No one expected Holland to emulate Kenya’s stunning victory over Sri Lanka on Monday despite the fact that there is always a certain amount of expectancy of an upset when Pakistan play, regardless of the opposition’s strength.Pakistan’s four-pronged pace attack, backed up by off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, found Holland’s amateur batsmen easy prey. Holland crumbled for 156 in 39.3 overs.One surprise element was Pakistan’s attitude. They took things easy and never went for the kill against the ICC Trophy champions. Perhaps the heat got to them.Holland made a shaky start with Wasim, who had 499 wickets in 353 previous matches, dispatched opener Nick Statham for a duck with the first ball of his second over.Shoaib Akhtar, bowling within himself, skipper Waqar Younis, Saqlain and Abdul Razzaq proved a handful thereafter as only Daan van Bunge (31) showed some defiance to emerge as the top scorer for Holland.Shoaib (3-26) and Wasim (3-24) shared the bulk of wickets. Wasim now has claimed 12 wickets in the competition, second behind Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas who tops with 13 victims.Earlier, Pakistan once again wasted a golden chance of some useful batting practice. A total of 253 for nine was not convincing enough, especially just before the key clash against India at the Centurion Park on Saturday.Once again, none disappointed more so than Pakistan’s premier batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, this time going for a second-ball duck when Indian umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan adjudged him lbw. It was a harsh decision as the TV replays suggested that the tall right-hander may have got a thin inside edge.Not for the first time, Pakistan continued to play musical chairs with their batting order as, for the fourth innings on the trot, a new opening pair was sent, followed by a different No 3.Due to injury to Younis Khan, who needed three stitches on a gash on his leg sustained during the nets, Pakistan were forced to make two changes. Saleem Elahi and Taufiq Umar replaced Younis and Shahid Afridi.Apart from Inzamam, all the top order batsmen scored but none played a big innings. Yousuf Youhana was the top scorer with a 59-ball 58 – only the second Pakistani to cross the fifty mark in the competition – with four boundaries. He was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match by match referee Clive Lloyd.After Saeed Anwar fell in the 20s for the third time in a row, Taufiq (48 off 71 balls, six fours) and Abdul Razzaq (47 off 63 balls, four fours) were out when well set. Taufiq was unluckily run out after a misunderstanding with Razzaq while the latter threw his wicket away to a lazy stroke.There were other useful contributions from Rashid Latif (24) and Shoaib Akhtar, who justified his promotion with an unbeaten 26 off 27 deliveries.Pakistan were on course for a score of around 280 had Youhana not ran out Wasim Akram.

He caught the attention of Bangladesh as a little batsman smashing the ball all around the ground, with batsmen like Akram Khan on the other side. The one-day match was against Commonwealth Bank Academy of Cricket (CBCA) and Ashraful ended up with an unbeaten century.Bangladesh already has good openers, and Ashraful faces tough competition. His international career initially showed a lot of promise. In Asian U-17, he won loud applause for his display. Though Bangladesh had to be content with the runners-up trophy, Ashraful’s 69 against India in the final was action-packed.Surprisingly, he began his career as a specialist leg-spinner who could bat a bit, focussing on his batting later on. His leg-spin does not look hostile at a glance but it is effective nevertheless. So this prodigy is now labelled as an all-rounder who will lead from the front in the future.In Zimbabwe, Ashraful played a single ODI, dispatching the fearsome Andy Flower with his leg-breaks. With the bat he showed courage after a shaky start. He smashed Bryan Strang twice over the fences but got out for nine attempting the third. He had to handle the hostile Zimbabwean pacemen at number four after two wickets had fallen early.His innate quality to go for his shots brings him quick runs, but at times costs his wicket too. In the nets Ashraful looks a bit impatient when he tends to play lofty shots at almost every ball.Javed Omar’s position is consolidated after his stunning performance in Zimbabwe. Mehrab Hossain bats well enough at the other end. So the openers for the Tests are almost certain. If one of them plays poorly or suffers an injury, Al-Sahariar is ready to replace him. Ashraful will only get the option to bat at number 1 or 2 when these are out of the team, which is improbable. So he has little chance of appearing in the Tests. As he is branded a one-day specialist, he will be considered for the ODI and he has to prove himself there.

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.

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.

India have agreed to tour Bangladesh for a tri-series in 2008 or 2009 with Pakistan as the third side, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced in Chittagong today.”We have agreed to play the tri-series in Bangladesh. I think it can be played in 2008 or 2009,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, told PTI. “We have to make some adjustments to the ICC calendar. The BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) has readily agreed to all the conditions put before them.”Shah is among six BCCI officials currently in Bangladesh for the tour on invitation of the BCB and the officials held a meeting last night to discuss prospects of further tours between the two countries in the near future. Curiously, Bangladesh are yet to play a Test in India since gaining Test status in 2000, while India are already into their second Test tour. Shah said that a reciprocal tour of India is in the pipeline.”We are very willing to call them,” he added. “We want to help them. That’s the reason we have agreed to play the tri-series. Bangladesh is welcome to India.”

Standing in the centre of the picturesque Beausejour Stadium at St Lucia, one’s confronted with numerous shades of green. High up in the surrounding mountain range are okra-tinged tree growth; further down is some dense foliage that’s predominantly bottle-green; and the field is more like a giant circular velveteen emerald green carpet. Yet, what the players will concentrate on is the generous sprinkling of green on the 22-yard strip in the middle, one which Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid have examined closely several times in the last two days.Kent Crafton, the chief curator, has had his share of criticism. The slow nature of pitch resulted in largely attritional contests, reducing the two previous Tests here into high-scoring draws. The fact that three Bangladesh batsmen manage hundreds in the same match must tell you something. “We didn’t leave live grass on the pitch on previous occasions,” said Crafton, “it used to be completely rolled. With better equipment and more training, the grass now stays firm for the entire game. So we leave it on the pitch.”Lara understood Crafton’s predicament: “It’s a situation where maybe the groundsman is looking for a result – he’s never produced one.” In a survey conducted by a newspaper a few months back, where players ranked Test pitches in the Caribbean, the surface at St Lucia was apparently right at the bottom. Local observers are quite baffled by the luxuriant greenery and Lara echoed the sentiment: “It’s certainly different to wickets of the past in St Lucia.”The curious part of the pitch is the bare patches alternating the tufts of grass. Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, said it looks like the SCG pitch of old. “If it’s anything like that it will help both the seamers and the spinners” Sreesanth’s injury has pretty much paved the way for Irfan Pathan’s return to the side. Unless the pitch changes composition overnight, it’s tough to imagine him sitting out.A stiff groin kept Harbhajan Singh out of practice but Chappell hoped that he would be ready for selection tomorrow morning. If not, India might hand Ramesh Powar a Test debut. Powar’s offspin will come in handy in the second innings, with Anil Kumble applying pressure at one end. Also, Powar can chip in with the bat, a factor that could be vital if the top order crumbles.Going purely by the second innings at Antigua, India’s batting looks in fine health. But it’s a poorly kept secret that it takes just the minimum amount of movement to unsettle them. Chappell said that picking five bowlers was an option. Pathan’s imminent return would bolster the batting but whether they will take the risk remains to be seen.Lara has a problem in the bowling department. Edwards is gone, Collymore is a doubt and Dave Mohammed got pasted in the first Test; Pedro Collins and Ian Bradshaw are both left-arm seamers of similar style; Jerome Taylor has speed but is just four Tests old. With the squad reduced to 13, there is nobody else. Lara may want his bowlers wrapped in cotton wool, just in case one of them wakes up with a stiff neck. In the worst-case scenario, there’s 38-year old Ian Bishop, in the commentary box, and 53-year old Colin Croft, in the press box. India beware.At a micro level, the toss will be vital. At the macro level, it may not even matter. Lara, who was wearing a Soca Warriors T-shirt when he addressed the press on the eve of the game, said that he wouldn’t mind losing the toss if he could trade it for a Trinidad & Tobago victory in their first match of the football World Cup. The kick off, in the game against Sweden, is around noon here. The showpiece event of the day will begin when umpires call lunch on the first day. Sadly, only the flies on the dressing-room walls can watch it unfold.TeamsWest Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Daren Ganga, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Ian Bradshaw, 9 Dave Mohammed, 10 Pedro Collins, 11 Corey Collymore.India (probable) 1 Wasim Jaffer, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Ramesh Powar, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 VRV Singh

Australia 254 for 4 (Clarke 80*, Ponting 66, Symonds 42*) beat Bangladesh 250 for 8 (Shahriar 75, Mashud 71*) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In their final match of the NatWest Series, Bangladesh demonstrated all the lessons they have accumulated on an arduous tour, as Australia were forced to fight for every scrap in an unconvincing six-wicket victory at Canterbury. After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Bangladesh recovered from a dreadful start to post an impressive total of 250 for 8, and it wasn’t until Andrew Symonds entered the fray in the final 15 overs of Australia’s run-chase that the gulf between the sides was finally exposed.In the end the margin of victory was comfortable enough, but for the departing Bangladeshis, it was very much their day. Their heroes were the young left-handed opener, Shahriar Nafees, who kept his head while the top-order crumbled to reach a career-best 75, and their veteran wicketkeeper-batsman and crisis-manager, Khaled Mashud, who consolidated at first, and then spanked 24 runs from the final two overs, bowled by Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, to post his seventh and highest one-day half-century.In their previous encounters with Australia this summer, Bangladesh had won gloriously at Cardiff and lost emphatically at Old Trafford, and when they slumped to 19 for 3 in the seventh over, it seemed apparent which direction this particular match was headed. Javed Omar and Tushar Imran both fell for ducks in a hostile start from Lee and Gillespie, and Mohammad Ashraful was yorked by Lee one delivery after hoisting him, Gordon Greenidge-style, into the midwicket stands for six.Ashraful’s example suggested that Bangladesh were demob-happy, although with Shahriar entrenched and guarding his wicket for all he was worth, there was a solidity to their performance that had been absent during the Test series. Habibul, whose form has flickered only briefly on this tour, strode out with a purpose and clobbered 30 from 24 balls, including three fours in a row off Lee, and when he eventually fell to a leaping delivery from Shane Watson, Mashud was on hand to add 94 in 20 overs for the sixth wicket.Shahriar’s fifty came from 82 balls and was celebrated with a twirl of the bat to all corners of the ground. His vigil was finally ended by a fine offcutter from Watson, but Mashud had set himself up for an explosive finish, as Bangladesh helped themselves to 72 runs from the final ten overs. It was a shock to Australia’s system, but a tonic to a huge contingent of Bangladesh’s flag-waving fans, as their team equalled the total that they had successfully chased at Cardiff.

Bangladesh were aided by another ragged fielding display from the Aussies, which included 23 extras and a bad miss at slip from Matthew Hayden, whose day ended as badly as the rest of his week when he was caught behind for 1 in the run-chase. His dismissal brought Ricky Ponting to the crease, whose habit of falling across his front pad made him a candidate for lbw at every available opportunity, as Mashrafe Mortaza proved a particular handful.In the absence of any fluency from Ponting, it was left to Gilchrist to keep the score ticking over. He clobbered his first delivery, from Mortaza, for four, followed up with a six over long leg and had rattled along to 45 when his innings ended in bizarre fashion. Gilchrist aimed a full-blooded stroke through the covers off Tapash Baisya, only for the ball to lob into the hands of Khaled Mahmud at first slip. He walked off in bemusement, assuming that he had hit it, but replays showed that the ball had exploded out of a foothole at the same time as he had struck the ground with his bat.Bangladesh’s mood improved even further when Mahmud himself entered the attack. His previous outing in the series had not been auspicious – a first-ball duck and three overs for 39 against England – but with his 11th delivery he found the perfect length to draw Damien Martyn into his stroke and Mashud claimed his second catch of the innings. Australia went into the drinks break at 83 for 3, and with one or two troubling thoughts in their minds.But while Ponting was off-colour, Michael Clarke was merely keeping his head down, and together they added 85 vital runs for the fourth wicket. There was time for one more alarm, when Ponting holed out to Tushar Imran at deep midwicket off the persevering Mortaza, but Symonds’ arrival added a long-overdue sense of certainty to the proceedings. His unbeaten 42 included a massive six off the final ball of Mahmud’s spell, as he and Clarke sealed the win with 11 balls to spare.

Australia 340 for 5 (Harrison 91) beat Ireland 291 (Morgan 65) by 49 runs
ScorecardThe favourites, Australia, have reached the final of the Under-19 Plate Championship, after dispatching a brave but outclassed Irish team in their semi-final at Chittagong.Australia batted first and the result was never in doubt once they had rattled along to 340 for 5 from their 50 overs. But Ireland took their leave of the competition with their heads held high, as they compiled a fine total of 291 in reply. The openers William Porterfield and Gary Wilson made 48 and 44 respectively, while Eion Morgan capped a fine tournament with 65.The damage had already been done by that stage, however. Australia are a team on a mission after the humiliation of missing out on the Super League, and once they had won the toss their batsmen went on the rampage. The captain Tim Paine and Theo Doropoulos opened up with a first-wicket stand of 131 in 21 overs, before Matt Harrison took over with a hard-hitting 91 from No. 3.Ireland’s bowlers came in for some punishment, particularly Morgan and Kevin O’Brien, who both conceded more than 70 runs in their 10 overs. But they stuck to their task as well, and Greg Thompson deservedly picked up a couple of wickets.Australia’s total was daunting, but nobody told Wilson. His 48 came from just 36 balls, and with Will Porterfield keeping pace nicely, Ireland were at one stage 117 for 1 in the 20th over. But a mid-innings stutter ensued as Gary Putland bounced back from an early pasting to tear out a pair of quick wickets, including the important scalp of Morgan.Ireland slipped from 176 for 4 to 230 for 9, and a heavy beating was on the cards. But, in a appropriately resolute final act, Andrew Riddles and Allan Coulter hammered an unbeaten 61 for the tenth wicket in just under eight overs. Riddles made 29 from 33 balls and Coulter 38 from 30, as Ireland remained defiant to the last.”I am very satisfied with our performances,” said Ireland’s coach Adrian Birrell. “We did our best to chase the target and started off on course to comeclose, but we lost our way in the middle order. We hoped to beat at least one full-member country in the tournament but it wasn’t to be. It has been a good experience for our players.”Australia’s coach Bennett King praised Ireland for their batting. “Ireland played well to reach almost 300 but our bowling wasn’t goodenough,” said King. “I think we will play Bangladesh in the final and I expect that to be a competitive game.”Australia will now play the winner of tomorrow’s second semi-finalbetween Scotland and Bangladesh. The Plate Championship final will beheld at the Fatullah District Stadium on March 4.