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Harbhajan Singh has said that he is looking to make a fresh start and is not depending on his past laurels

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2012Harbhajan Singh, who is back in the India Twenty20 squad for the upcoming New Zealand series and the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka after spending more than a year out of the team, has said that he is looking to make a fresh start and is not depending on his past laurels.”It’s always tough when you are out,” Harbhajan told . “Making a comeback is tougher than earning your maiden international call. It involves a lot of things. When you’re out, you get injured and then again out. It’s always been challenging.”You cannot live in the past glory. For anyone, it does not depend what you’ve done in the past but what you do in the present and future.”Harbhajan’s last international appearance was in the Trent Bridge Test during India’s tour of England in August 2011. A spate of injuries and a dip in form thereafter left him out of reckoning from the national squad. After below par returns during the IPL, Harbhajan set out for a stint playing county cricket for Essex, which helped him get his confidence back. After the news of his selection, he starred in a pro-40 match for Essex with a five-wicket haul.”I won’t say it was frustrating but at times it’s difficult not being part of the side for so long. But you’re used to the set up. Not only me, it can happen to anyone. You are always going to have ups and downs. But when you get the opportunity, you have to stand up and take it in your stride.”Harbhajan said that the upcoming Twenty20s are going to herald a new chapter in his career. “I had the willpower and the desire to wear the India jersey again – it’s the biggest thing for me. It makes me proud,” he said. “It’s not that I was dropped for the first time last year. But it has been for the longest period of time. It makes you feel as if you are doing it for the first time.””I was ready to work hard and take challenge. You get your family and friends’ support, but at the end of the day you’re all alone fighting it out there in the middle. With Almighty’s help, I’m here again and now I’m looking forward towards doing well.”

South Australia enter the Ryobi Cup final hoping to break a 25-year drought, while Tasmania are playing their fourth final in five years

Brydon Coverdale24-Feb-2012South Australia have not won the Ryobi Cup. They never won the Ford Ranger Ranger Cup. Nor the ING Cup, the Mercantile Mutual Cup or the FAI Cup. It’s so long since their last triumph in the state one-day competition that it was called the McDonald’s Cup at the time. That’s five name-changes ago. The season was 1986-87. David Hookes was the state’s captain. Glenn Bishop made a century in the final.And Darren Berry was a 17-year-old, still two years away from making his state debut. Now he is South Australia’s coach, the man responsible for steering the Redbacks to what could be a drought-breaking achievement when they take on Tasmania in the decider on Saturday. Last summer, Berry helped deliver the state their first silverware in 15 years with a win in the Big Bash final.Two titles in two years would be a real sign of improvement for the Redbacks, although they remain winless in the Sheffield Shield this season. They enter the match with three of the top five Ryobi Cup run scorers this summer – Michael Klinger, Tom Cooper and Callum Ferguson – and in the knowledge that they are hosting the match at a ground where they have been undefeated in this campaign.”Not being arrogant about it, but we’re expecting to win,” Berry told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve been the top team all year, we’ve won four games at the Adelaide Oval, our expectation is to win. Anything short of that would be a disappointment.”It’s been too long between drinks. It has been a long, long time. Then again, last year when I came across with the Twenty20 it had been a long time since they’d had some silverware and we got 28,000 people here last year to the final. Adelaide sporting people normally turn out for a big occasion. I hope they do Saturday night.”The Redbacks are certainly hoping for a big, partisan crowd. The SACA has decided to open the gates and allow free entry, and the prospect of seeing their state win a title might not be the only reason fans will turn out. There is also the chance to see Ricky Ponting play his first state final since the 1993-94 Sheffield Shield decider.The availability of Ponting is about as big an inclusion as a domestic side could hope for. One of the major challenges for Berry and the South Australia bowling coach Joe Dawes is to make an inexperienced bowling attack believe that Ponting is just another batsman, and is vulnerable like all others. To that end, his poor run in the ODI side over the past fortnight will be mentioned.”We would probably prefer that Ricky was still in the Australian side,” Berry said. “But he’s here and he’s a right-hand batsman that we just have to dismiss and at the moment, he’s showing some frailties in his game and in his technique so he’s as gettable as anybody.”But we have enormous respect for him and last time he batted on the Adelaide Oval he got a few. We just need to factor in that in his last five one-day innings he hasn’t got past 10. We always say that we need to play the game, not the name. Nathan Lyon is champing at the bit. He’s got a good relationship with Punter and I know he’s desperately keen, he’d love to get him out.”Tasmania will be a difficult opponent, and Berry conceded he would have preferred to face another team in the final. This will be the fourth one-day decider in five years for the Tigers, who won in 2007-08 and in 2009-10. Unlike the Redbacks, they have few men who have dominated with either bat or ball this season, but instead have a consistent group in which every player has pulled his weight.”I’ve got enormous respect for Tasmania, for [coach] Tim Coyle and what he’s done with this group over the last four years,” Berry said. “What they are is they’re well-drilled, they know one another really well, they’ve got a really good team camaraderie – the things we are trying to instil here in Adelaide with this group.”Tasmania have only two players who have scored more than 200 runs in the campaign, Ed Cowan and the captain George Bailey, and likewise there has been no standout in their attack. But a solid bowling group consisting of Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Luke Butterworth, Ben Laughlin and Jason Krejza won’t be daunted by South Australia.”They’ve got a very good batting line-up, they’re very solid at the top of the order and have some very solid players through the middle and lower order where they can score quickly,” Coyle said. “They’ve always had a pretty heavy reliance on spin bowling and they’ve got quality spinners. Nathan Lyon is an outstanding one-day bowler and Aaron O’Brien the same. It’s a very good team and they’re highly respected by us.”But we go to Adelaide knowing that we’ve got nothing to lose. We’ve played in a lot of finals lately and we’re pretty used to it. There’s definitely a home-ground advantage. There’ll be a big crowd there, the gates are open free of charge. There’s a bit of pressure there with a big crowd to play in front of. We’ll go in with a free spirit and with the big inclusion of Ricky Ponting.”The match begins at 1.45pm in Adelaide on Saturday.South Australia Michael Klinger (capt), Daniel Harris, Callum Ferguson, Tom Cooper, Theo Doropoulos, James Smith, Cameron Borgas, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Aaron O’Brien, Joe Mennie, Nathan Lyon, Jake Haberfield, Gary Putland.Tasmania Ed Cowan, Jon Wells, Ricky Ponting, Mark Cosgrove, George Bailey (capt), Matt Johnston, Luke Butterworth, James Faulkner, Ashton May, Brady Jones (wk), Jason Krejza, Ben Laughlin, Jackson Bird.

The question of scheduling a Twenty20 domestic tournament directly at odds with Australia’s Test preparations for the Australia-India Tests had Michael Hussey stumped

Alex Malcolm15-Dec-2011Michael Hussey has always been a diplomat. In school-yard terms you would describe him as the teacher’s pet, always sitting at the front of class, answering every question as perfectly as he can, eager to please, keen to say and do the right things. But the question of scheduling a Twenty20 domestic tournament directly at odds with Australia’s Test preparations for the Australia-India Tests had him stumped.”It’s a difficult one. I think . . . I think it’s err . . . I think, I don’t know what I think really.” Hussey said in a confused tone. He knew what he wanted to say. He just had to word it as carefully as he could.”I really want to be a part of the Test team,” Hussey said with clarity. “I love the traditional Test matches like the Boxing Day Test and the New Year’s Test. Obviously playing in my home Test match is really special as well. So, for me, that’s the No.1 priority.”With the amount of injuries that have been around the team in the last few months it does make you a little bit nervous that if you do have injuries to the Australian Test team, that we might be picking players that have only been playing Twenty20 cricket.”It is maybe a small concern. But from a Twenty20 point of view it is the ideal time to be playing the game with school holidays on and trying to get as many new kids down to the ground. And it’s important for us players to really engage with the young kids out there as well. It’s probably not ideal. But we’ve just got to live with it.”That was as controversial a comment as you could get from Hussey. You could tell in his own mind he was wrestling with the concept of promoting the game to a wider audience, whilst protecting the integrity of its traditional form.His Perth Scorcher team-mate Shaun Marsh is an example of an injured player possibly returning to the Test side through Twenty20 cricket.Marsh, still battling a bulging disc in his back, was hopeful he could play in a Big Bash League fixture for Perth, in Melbourne on December 22, in order to prove his fitness for the Boxing Day Test. Whether such an audition will be enough was another question.”I’m not too sure,” Marsh said. “I guess it would give me the confidence if I got through that game, that I could play in a Test match. Obviously Twenty20 is pretty quick and it would be nice to spend a bit of time out in the middle, but like I said, I’m not a selector, I’m not too sure what they’re thinking.”Switching from the shortest format to the longest version without any lead-in is not a new concept for Hussey. His sole preparation for Australia’s two-test Tour of India in 2010 was to participate for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League in South Africa. Chennai’s success in that tournament forced Hussey into a more awkward situation than the present, which is a one-off outing for the Scorchers, against the Hobart Hurricanes at the WACA on Sunday, followed by the Boxing Day Test on December 26.”For me personally it’s only one game. We’ve had Test matches in Sri Lanka, South Africa, two Test matches against New Zealand so I think we’re still, pretty much, in Test mode. I don’t think one Twenty20 game will affect the preparation too much,” Hussey said.But he admitted it was not an easy task given his previous experiences.”I found it tough playing Test match cricket, a few years ago, and then going straight to a Twenty20 tournament. It took me a good couple of weeks to fully adapt to Twenty20 mode from Test match mode. So I guess I’m not expecting any miracles out here on Sunday. As I said, I’ll just go out there and enjoy it. If things go well, great, if not, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”

A more established cricket structure has helped Namibia reach the World Twenty20 qualifiers after finishing in the top two of the Africa Division One Twenty20 tournament

Firdose Moonda26-Jul-2011A more established cricket structure has helped Namibia reach the World Twenty20 qualifiers after finishing in the top two of the Africa Division One Twenty20 tournament. They last made international headlines when they qualified for the 2003 World Cup but are ready to get back on the biggest stage, with better organisation backing them this time.”The national team have a more professional approach towards the game,” Johan Rudolph, the Namibia coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “We have also been able to contract some players on a full-time basis.”Unlike many African Associates, Namibia have been able to invest money in the game. As part of the ICC’s High Performance Programme (HPP), they receive funding from world cricket’s governing body, but there is also a small contribution from the government, a larger sponsorship from cellular telephone company MTC and small donations from others.”We started in a garage which we used as an office and put into place a development program, financial budgets and administrative policies and procedures,” Laurie Pieters, chief executive of Cricket Namibia, said. “This has now grown so that we have a dedicated office with a chief executive, development manager, national cricket coach and 12 staff, including development co-ordinators and officers as well as a full-time ground curator with ground staff.”While the infrastructure has steadily got better, the cricket has yo-yoed between successful and disappointing. Namibia all but disappeared off the scene after the 2003 World Cup, where they failed to win a single match. Since then, they’ve taken small steps, first by qualifying for the Intercontinental Cup at the end of 2006, the HPP in 2007 and eventually playing in the final of the Intercontinental Cup against Ireland in the 2007-08 season.However, they have since dropped down to the World Cricket League Division Two and suffered a disappointing 2009 World Cup qualifier campaign, where they scraped through to the Super Eights and then finished last. Now, having been selected to play in the Intercontinental Cup again this year and with their success in the twenty-over version of the game, Namibia are aiming for a more steady progression, especially since their rebuilding phase is just about complete.”After the 2003 World Cup many of our players retired,” Pieters said. “However, we had a core group from which we could build another squad. Further to that there were promising Under-17 and Under-19 players who have graduated. We now have a settled squad, eight of whom have full-time contracts.” The likes of batsman Jan Berrie-Burger and allrounders Bjorn Kotze and Gerrie Snyman, who were in their early 20s during the 2003 World Cup, are now the senior players of the side. Youngsters such as Louis van der Westhuizen have come up the ranks from the Under-19s and are establishing themselves in the side.Together, that youth and experience combined almost flawlessly in the Twenty20 tournament in Kampala, where Namibia won eight matches before losing to Uganda in the final. Twenty-over cricket has been earmarked as the format in which smaller nations will be blooded in cricket. Despite that, only two slots have been made available for next year’s World Twent20 in Sri Lanka, and Rudolph thinks that all teams will “need to be on top of their game and be very lucky to qualify for this one.”He also does not want the country to focus on the shortest format only. “I don’t believe this is the only format for the Associates to be involved in. The longer version is where you learn the game and playing only T20 cricket can send the wrong message to the Associates,” Rudolph said.While matters off the field have improved, on the park Namibia still have a battle to fight when it comes to playing enough four-day cricket against quality opposition. “You can only practise so much and only play so much club cricket,” Rudolph said. “You need to create opportunities for teams to play against stronger opposition.” Namibia compete in South Africa’s amateur competition, which will become a semi-professional league from this season, exposing them to first-class cricket. They finished in last place in the competition in the 2010-11 season.

Shaun Marsh will bat at No. 3 for Australia in place of the absent Ricky Ponting in the second Test in Pallekele

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele06-Sep-2011Shaun Marsh will bat at No. 3 for Australia in place of the absent Ricky Ponting in the second Test in Pallekele, after Michael Clarke confirmed an otherwise unchanged XI to face Sri Lanka.Ponting is at home for the birth of his second child, handing Marsh his chance to wear a baggy green cap. The decision to bat Marsh at No. 3 is a surprise, as it was thought that Usman Khawaja, who made his debut in Ponting’s place at the SCG in January and batted at No. 6 in the first Test in Galle, would be promoted. However, Marsh has played much of his international cricket for Australia at the top of the order, and may be more comfortable starting against the newer ball.The Australians had few other selection questions to answer following a 125-run victory in the first Test, and their level of certainty was increased by the first glimpse of a Pallekele pitch, which looks far more conventional in its preparation and grass coverage than the Galle dustbowl.Brad Haddin, Australia’s wicketkeeper, said Marsh was ready for Test cricket after being on the Australian first-class circuit for nearly a decade. Haddin was behind the stumps for NSW in Newcastle when a 19-year-old Marsh clattered 119. He did not fulfill that promise immediately, but Haddin said he had seen plenty of development from Marsh.”It will be disappointing to lose Ricky, but it’s a good opportunity to give Shaun Marsh a crack at Test cricket,” Haddin said. “He’s going to be a wonderful player I think, Shaun, and I think he’s ready now for Test cricket.”He’s done a lot of growing up, from a cricket point of view, in the last 24 months and we’re really looking forward to him having a crack at Test cricket. I think he can be something pretty special.”Shaun, as a person, he feels a lot more comfortable around the group now, he’s been here the whole tour and I think he’s really starting to understand his game. I think he’s pretty close to doing some special things for Australia.”We’ve seen some glimpses of it in one-day cricket for us. He’s got some pretty important runs and tough runs at times, which has been good, so I’m just looking forward to him having a crack at this because he’s had a long tour here, and he deserves a go.”The single change to the Australian team reflected the quality of its performance in Galle, where the bowling attack excelled in its tightness and planning, and the batsmen showed plenty of fight on a difficult pitch.”I’m very proud of it. I think it also shows small steps forward, we’re trying to move forward as a cricket team and be better cricketers,” Haddin said. “To do that you’ve got to play in different conditions. Whether it’s here, England, South Africa, wherever. You’ve got to make sure you’re trying to get better and better so you can present yourself well on all services.”I think it’s a little tick in the box, the way we did handle ourselves throughout the whole game, and the result came out in the end. From a team point of view I think it was a very good result to get the win, especially on something so foreign to us.”Having played in numerous recent Australian teams that fell back after making a strong start to a series, Haddin was mindful of the need to keep pushing hard in Pallekele.”It does [help our confidence], but the one thing we’ve got to remember too is that on a number of occasions we have started a series well and fallen away,” Haddin said. “I think it is important now for this group that yes, we’ve taken a small step in the first Test, but we’ve got to make sure we keep getting better, not fall back into old habits.”Australia: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Phil Hughes, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Usman Khawaja, 7 Brad Haddin, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Trent Copeland, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Sussex Sharks moved to the top of the South Group after recovering from a terrible start to convincingly beat Middlesex Panthers by 49 runs

16-Jun-2011Sussex 165 for 8 beat Middlesex 116 by 49 runs
Scorecard
Murray Goodwin top-scored with 48 in Sussex’s victory•Getty ImagesSussex Sharks moved to the top of the South Group after recovering from a terrible start to convincingly beat Middlesex Panthers by 49 runs in the Friends Life t20 fixture at Lord’s.The Sharks were 2 for 2 in the second over after Chris Nash and Joe Gatting, who have both struggled for runs in the competition so far, were dismissed for ducks. But solid contributions from their three internationals, Luke Wright, Lou Vincent and Murray Goodwin, allowed them to recover to 165 for 8.When the Panthers were reduced to 61 for 4 halfway through their reply Sussex were on their way to avenging their only defeat so far at Hove last week.A well-grassed pitch played better than it looked but Sussex made a dreadful start with Nash bowled by Steven Crook’s yorker and Gatting pulling tamely to square leg to give Steve Finn the first of two wickets. But Wright and Vincent revived their side with a stand of 69 from 39 balls.Wright, Sussex’s leading scorer in the competition this season, twice cleared the ropes in his 34 off 18 balls before former team-mate Tom Smith turned one past his defences. Vincent made 44 from 32 and also hit two sixes only to be caught off a top-edged sweep and it was left to skipper Goodwin to make sure Sussex maintained their recovery.Goodwin scored 48 off 33 deliveries with four boundaries and a six and it was a surprise when he was foxed by Ryan McLaren’s slower ball, especially as McLaren’s four expensive overs had gone for 43.The Panthers used seven bowlers but a cameo from Rana Naved ul-Hasan, who made 24 from 14 balls, lifted Sussex to a total which they always looked capable of defending given the quality of their bowling attack.Middlesex were hampered by the absence of Chris Rogers, who hurt his hand when he dropped Vincent and was unable to bat, and were struggling on 41 for 4 after 6.1 overs.Paul Stirling cut to point and John Simpson, promoted to open, missed a full toss. Crook carelessly drove at a widish delivery and Dexter gave Monty Panesar a return catch immediately he came into the attack.A fifth-wicket stand of 64 between Scott Newman and Dalrymple kept their hopes alive but the asking rate was climbing all the time. When left-armer Chris Liddle returned to the attack in the 19th over he finished off Middlesex with three wickets in five balls.Liddle cleaned up Newman (44) and claimed Anthony Ireland next ball and although Finn averted the hat-trick he soon gave a tame catch to gully. Liddle finished with 4 for 20 and Middlesex had lost for the fifth time in six games.

In a low-scoring final, the new-ball pair of Sandeep Sharma and Rush Kalaria bowled India Under-19 to a thrilling five-run win over Sri Lanka Under-19 in Visakhapatnam

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2011In a low-scoring final, the new-ball pair of Sandeep Sharma and Rush Kalaria bowled India Under-19s to a thrilling five-run win over Sri Lanka Under-19s in Visakhapatnam. Sandeep and Kalaria took seven wickets for 57 runs between them as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 163 chasing India’s 168 despite Lahiru Madushanka following up his 4 for 17 with the ball with 63, the highest score of the game.Sandeep and Kalaria had run through the Sri Lanka top order, reducing the visitors to 27 for 5 in the ninth over. Madushanka came in at No. 7 and revived the chase with a 75-run partnership with Duleeka Thissakuttige. When Thissakuttige fell to the series’ leading wicket-taker B Aparajith for a slow 29, Madushanka found enough support from the lower order to take Sri Lanka within 19 runs of victory with three wickets in hand. Kalaria, however, brought India back, catching Madushanka off his own bowling in the 44th over. Amila Aponso was not giving up though and his patient 21 put Sri Lanka on the verge of a win. Sandeep had Aponso caught before bowling last man Dilshan Dhanushka first ball to end the Sri Lanka innings in the 47th over.India had earlier recovered from a top-order slump as well after being put in, with a 67-run sixth-wicket stand between Akshdeep Nath (55) and wicketkeeper Smit Patel (31) lifting them from 37 for 5. Nath was the eighth wicket to fall – like Madushanka – with the score on 146. What helped India in the end was that they managed to bat out their 50 overs while Sri Lanka were dismissed with 19 balls to spare. India won all their seven games in the tournament.In the third-place play-off, West Indies Under-19s hammered 365 before keeping Australia Under-19s 16 runs short. West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite set up the highest total of the tournament with his second century in seven matches. Brathwaite added 162 for the second wicket with Anthony Alleyne after John Campbell fell for a duck. Alleyne was more aggressive, hitting 12 fours and three sixes in his 90 off 77 deliveries. Brathwaite continued to anchor the innings after Alleyne fell in the 26th over and put on another 87 with Kavem Hodge. Hodge and wicketkeeper Sunil Ambris ensured West Indies would go well past 350 with frenetic fifties. Hodge’s 62 came off 37 balls while Ambris’ 50 took just 24. Though Alex Pyecroft and Shane Cassell took four wickets apiece, no Australia bowler went for less than a run a ball.Derone Davis struck with his first two deliveries in the second over to have Australia in trouble at 11 for 2. Australia were steadied by Cameron Bancroft (63) and Sam Truloff (39). William Bosisto joined Bancroft in the 12th over with the score on 87 and settled in to put Australia on course. Though wickets continued to fall at the other end, No. 9 Cassell joined Bosisto in an 88-run stand off 61 deliveries. Bosisto finally fell for 107 with the score on 297 in the 44th over but Cassell hustled his way to a fifty in 29 balls, keeping Australia in with a chance. His run-out in the 47th over effectively ended Australia’s chances. In a game where no bowler went for less than six an over, Davies finished with 3 for 30.

Bangladesh have reduced their preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup to 23

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jan-2011Bangladesh have reduced their preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup to 23. Nazimuddin, Shamsur Rahman, Sahagir Hossain, Mithun Ali, Nasir Hossain, Shuvogoto Chowdhury and Enamul Haque Jr are the players who have been left out. The remaining 23 players will be of a preparatory camp that begins on January 9 at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur.All 14 teams participating in the tournament have to announce their final fifteen before January 19.Preliminary Squad: Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Roqibul Hassan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Nazmul Hossain, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Shahriar Nafees, Jahirul Islam, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Dolar Mahmud, Shabbir Rahman, Alok Kapali.

A round-up of the matches from the third day of the Faysal Bank T20, 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2011Rameez Aziz and Hasan Raza pulled off a heist as Karachi Zebras beat Abbottabad Falcons off the last ball of the game and claim a six-wicket victory. Karachi had slumped to 28 for 4 in the fifth over and looked unlikely to threaten Abbottabad’s total of 158 that was built around Yasir Hameed’s 73. But Aziz and Raza first steadied the innings and then launched a counter-attack over the closing overs to stun their opponents. Raza was the more aggressive of the two; his 74 came from 50 balls and included 11 fours. Aziz ended the day on 67 from 53 balls, with 10 fours. Their 132-run partnership was memorably capped by Raza as he struck left-arm spinner Khalid Usman for the winning runs.Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar powered Lahore Eagles to their third win in a row at the National Stadium in Karachi. Farhat and Umar both made half-centuries as Lahore cruised past Quetta Bears by nine wickets with 23 balls to spare. Quetta struggled after choosing to bat, as Lahore’s bowlers proved difficult to get away. Umar was in the thick of the action in the field, running out Bismillah Khan and Abid Ali, the latter’s wicket setting off a Quetta collapse. It took a quickfire 26 from Saeed Khan just to push his side to 125. Lahore’s openers made short work of their target. Farhat was the dominant partner, striking six fours and a six in his 50, which came from 33 balls. Umar was a little more circumspect, his 50 taking 49 balls and containing five fours. The win consolidated Lahore’s position at the top of Group A.A collective bowling effort helped Sialkot Stallions win by five balls to spare against Lahore Lions at the National Stadium in Karachi. Seamer Naved-ul-Hasan bagged three wickets and was supported by Sarfraz Ahmed, Raza Hasan and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, each of whom took three. Lahore captain Abdul Razzaq made a quickfire 42 but the lower order crumbled and folded for 121. Sialkot lost their openers in quick time in the chase but wicketkeeper Shakeel Ansar (42) and Shahid Yousuf (47) got their team back on track. The pair added 72 and captain Shoaib Malik stayed through to the end with an unbeaten 15.

North Zone crushed West Zone to lift the Deodhar trophy at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe two Sharmas, Joginder and Ishant, combined to wreck West Zone and hand the North Zone batsmen the easiest of roads to the Deodhar title, a journey they swiftly completed, albeit with a few speed bumps along the way.On a track with considerable assistance for the bowlers, something neither captain expected, Joginder struck in his first two overs to herald the carnage that was to come. He had Parthiv Patel trapped in front with one that swung sharply from outside off with his fourth ball, before Kedar Devdhar managed to slap a short and wide delivery straight to backward point in his next over.Rohit Sharma looked like he might play West out of the hole they found themselves in when he struck Joginder for two consecutive boundaries on the offside, but it was to prove a false dawn as Ishant got into the act, removing Wasim Jaffer with an outswinger that kissed the edge and then beating Rohit all ends up with one that angled in. Rohit went for the drive but played down the wrong line to lose his off stump. Ravindra Jadeja only lasted three deliveries before getting an inside edge to a back-of-a-length delivery from Ishant that crashed into his stumps.With half the side gone for 46, West were in serious trouble and it looked like the match might be over before lunch when they slumped further to 57 for 7. However, Iqbal Abdulla provided a modicum of resistance to make 28 and help West reach three figures. Joginder and Ishant shared nine wickets between them, with the former picking up 6 for 40 and the latter 3 for 22. A target of 101 was never going to trouble North, and though they lost early wickets, Ravi Inder Singh’s patient 43 ensured there was never really any doubt about who the winner was going to be on the day.