Rain ends successive evening games

 

Persistent rain has now washed out successive evening games in the Champions League Twenty20. Both involved Indian sides. The first, in Durban on Wednesday, sent IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders out of the tournament. The second, in Cape Town today, did not end Mumbai Indians' chances of making the semi-finals but it did force a no-result with the IPL side having worked itself into a strong position despite all their batsmen, barring the unbeaten Kieron Pollard, gifting their wickets away.

Despite injuries to two of their quick bowlers, Ryan Sidebottom and Moin Ashraf, and despite their spinners, particularly Adil Rashid, dishing out hit-me stuff, Yorkshire were able to limit the might of the Mumbai Indians line-up to 109 for 5 in the 15th over. Pollard and Harbhajan Singh combined to finally give the Yorkshire spinners the treatment they deserved, in a sequence of 6, 6, 4, 6, 4. To complete the chaos, Pollard was also dropped off the third ball of that sequenc.

With two overs to go, Mumbai Indians would have eyed a total in excess of 180, and would feel hard done by the downpour, though the drizzle would have affected the Yorkshire bowlers adversely as well.

When Dwayne Smith walloped the second and third deliveries of Joe Root's opening over of innocuous offspin over the leg side boundary for sixes, Yorkshire looked headed for some serious punishment. But Mumbai Indians would soon begin to even the stakes by self-destructing. Sachin Tendulkar took the lead by running himself out in the third over.

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Sixers all but through to semis after convincing win

 

Lions scored 56 runs off their last 57 deliveries, losing seven wickets, to completely undo a quick start provided by Gulam Bodi, who scored 61 off 44. Although Jean Symes provided quick 23 in the end, Lions ended with an underwhelming 137, which Sydney Sixers chased with ease despite a middle-overs stumble of three wickets for 14 runs. With their third win out of three and superior net run rate, Sixers are now all but through to the semi-finals*.

Bodi and Symes continued in the same form that had helped Lions win their previous match, against Chennai Super Kings, but Sixers wove a comeback around the two. They scored 84 in 10 overs between them, the rest managed just 53. Not only were the others guilty of going slow, they also got out after eating up those deliveries.

It was not the two leading Sixers pace bowlers that slowed down Lions, but the medium-pace of Shane Watson and Josh Hazlewood that took the wickets to keep pegging Lions back. Bodi, on the other hand, kept hitting the ball over midwicket and extra cover. Pat Cummins' first over went for 14, and Mitchell Starc went for a huge six in his first.

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Pietersen in squad for India Tests

 

Kevin Pietersen has been added to England's squad for the forthcoming Test series in India, so bringing to an end one of the most extraordinary stand-offs in the history of the game between a star player and those appointed to rule.

It has taken 73 days for England and Pietersen to patch up their differences since he followed up what should have been one of the most triumphant moments of his career - a stirring century in the Headingley Test against South Africa - by talking of deep and perhaps irreparable divisions with the ECB and some members of the England dressing room.

Once the parties began to talk, the "reintegration process" of Pietersen into the England side took only a couple of days. It just took them an extremely long time to talk.

Pietersen flew back to England from the Champions League in South Africa this week for a series of meetings in Oxford and London with Andy Flower, England's director of cricket, the captain Alastair Cook and key England players with whom his relationship had become increasingly fractious. Even a delayed flight could not prevent the speedy patching up of their differences.

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International XI arrives Pakistan for Twenty20

 

A team led by former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya and managed by former West Indian batsman Alvin Kallicharan has arrived in Karachi on Thursday afternoon. The international XI team will play two exhibition Twenty20 matches against a Pakistan Stars XI at National Stadium in Karachi this weekend, ending a near four-year drought of international cricket in the country.

Several other players including batsman Ricardo Powell, fast bowlers Jermaine Lawson and Adam Sanford from West Indies, and Andre Nel and Nantie Hayward from South Africa landed earlier in the morning. South Africa allrounder Justin Kemp has withdrawn due to his domestic cricket commitments while two Afghanistan players - Shapoor Zadran and Mohammad Shahzad - will reach Karachi tomorrow from Kabul.

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PCB to appoint batting coach

 

The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to appoint a full-time batting coach and has advertised for the post on its website. The role of batting coach is currently being handled by the head coach, Dav Whatmore, with the coaching staff also including Julien Fountain (fielding) and Mohammad Akram (bowling).

The advertisement calls for candidates with at least Level III coaching accreditation, and at least five years' experience working with top cricketers. The deadline for applying is November 4.

Pakistan cricket teams have generally had plenty of quality bowling options to depend on, and the batting has been seen as the weaker department. The idea of having a batting coach has been circulating for last three years, but it didn't get the PCB's approval till now.

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KKR crash out of Champions League after washout

 

Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL champions, became the first side to be knocked out of the Champions League Twenty20 when their third game, against Perth Scorchers, was washed out in Durban with only 14 overs having been bowled in the first innings. Knight Riders, who had lost their first two games in the tournament, needed a win to remain in contention for a place in the knockouts.

The skies had gone overcast before the toss happened, and Gautam Gambhir, with one eye on the expected rain, chose to bowl on what his counterpart Marcus North called a "bat-first wicket". Knight Riders' bowlers stuck to their goal of restricting Perth Scorchers to a reasonable total till the rains came down.

Brett Lee had Herschelle Gibbs caught at cover-point off the fifth ball of the game. Yusuf Pathan, bowling for the first time in the tournament, used the turn and bounce available on a brown Kingsmead surface to get through three tight overs of offspin.

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Titans Beat Aucland Aces

 

The underdogs Auckland Aces' three wins out of three in the Champions League T20 was one of the developing feel-good stories of a tournament which is widely seen as being overrun by the cash-rich teams from the IPL. Auckland's run of victories ended in a dismal manner as their batting collapsed to 113 against an efficient Titans side in Durban.

Auckland's top order had prospered with such regularity in the tournament that their middle order hadn't been tested in any of their three matches so far. Against the Titans, though, the star names at the top finally floundered exposing the Auckland batting's lesser lights, who failed the test after a series of unwise slogs.

It was Titans' top order which flourished this time, as their openers Jacques Rudolph and Henry Davids put on their second substantial partnership in a row. They lashed 74 at nearly nine an over, with a boundary coming in all but two of the first ten overs as Davids again showed off his power-hitting, while Rudolph once more showed he can thrive in T20s, mixing a series of off-drives with some reverse-sweeps.

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Lions beat Chennai super kings

 

The asking rate for Lions hit 10 an aver at the end of the seventh over, they had no momentum and they looked rather like cubs in the headlights, but over the next 13 overs they kept up with the rate without a hint of panic.

Gulam Bodi, who seemed to possess just one shot - the pick-up over midwicket - now began to drive through extra cover to end with 64 off 46. Neil McKenzie stayed cool as he had done in chasing a similar total against Mumbai Indians, but needed Jean Symes' equally cool 39 off 23 finish the chase with three balls to spare.

While Lions were tigerish in the field to keep sending back well-set Chennai Super Kings batsmen before they could cause irreparable damage, their opponents bowled two crucial no-balls and were guilty of bowling length balls during the tense chase. The first no-ball arrived just after Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus had bowled the first six overs for just 24 for 2. Bodi had been struggling for 15 off 23 just before the over with the no-ball began.

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Sydney Sixers baet Yorkshire

 

Newlands witnessed its second consecutive one-sided game as Sydney Sixers needed just 8.5 overs to breeze past Yorkshire's 96 and give the county side the rudest of welcomes to the main draw. The Sixers showed why they are among the better bowling units in this competition, keeping Yorkshire to a score below 100 under sunny skies. The seamers shared all nine wickets to fall, striking with such regularity that the innings failed to gather any momentum.

It was as if the teams were batting on different pitches. It was a collective struggle for Yorkshire as several across-the-line swipes failed to find the middle of the bat; punches and lofts hit the toe end of the blade and didn't have enough to clear the fielders. That only two batsmen went past the 20s - the highest score was Joe Root's 25 - was indicative of how tough it was. When Brad Haddin and Michael Lumb swung and swished, the ball hit the sweet spot more often than not and found the boundary 16 times during their association. Yorkshire managed only 11 boundaries in all.

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World XI to play two Twenty20s in Pakistan

 

In a bid to revive international cricket in Pakistan, a World XI will play two exhibition Twenty20 matches against a Pakistan Star XI, the Sindh sports minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah has announced.

The 'World XI' team is comprised of former and active professional players from Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and Afghanistan. The two matches will be played on October 20 and 21 at the National Stadium Karachi with former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya slated to lead the World XI against a Shahid Afridi-led Pakistan XI.

"World XI team will be arriving in Karachi on October 18 to play a series of two twenty20 matches," Shah said. "There are some notable player touring and this is a big breakthrough.

"I have been working from last one year to make this event possible. We have finalised all the arrangements to hold these matches in a befitting manner under tight security. Both matches will be played under floodlights. The event will give a soft image of Pakistan around the world and would encourage the teams to visit Pakistan."

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All-round Mahmood crushes KKR

 

A high impact all-round performance from Azhar Mahmood, his second of this Champions League Twenty20, gave qualifiers Auckland Aces their third comprehensive victory in South Africa, and severely damaged Kolkata Knight Riders' prospects of progress in the tournament. Mahmood's timely wickets and composed innings during the chase, which was supported by several top-order cameos, led Auckland to the target with 14 balls to spare, a considerable boost to their net run rate.

While this was Auckland's first match of the Champions League proper, it was Kolkata's second, and a second defeat left the IPL champions needing to win both their remaining games, while keeping an eye on run rate, in order to make the semi-finals from Group A.

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McKenzie, de Kock fire Lions home

A calm and collected Neil McKenzie, and a young and fearless Quinton de Kock added 123 for the third wicket to take Lions to a comprehensive win, their second over the superstar-filled Mumbai Indians.

It was a scrappy ungainly match until McKenzie and de Kock came together. Sachin Tendulkar (16 off 24) and Rohit Sharma struggled for momentum, Champions League debutant Mitchell Johnson was promoted to No. 4 for a 29-ball 30 that frustrated the others into playing low-percentage shots, extras and edges helped Mumbai Indians to a fighting total, and then the Lions openers matched the Mumbai batsmen in the go-slow.

Lions had seen three teams before them win the toss and choose to chase because South African grounds are difficult to defend. All three had failed. Alviro Petersen, though, showed no signs of second thoughts before asking Mumbai to bat. Perhaps he knew something about Mumbai batsmen. Six of them reached double figures, but only three of them went at more than 103.44 per 100 balls

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Fifa world cup 2014 qualifying Matches

Date	Venue			Matches
12/10/12 15:30	Barranquilla		Colombia		Paraguay
12/10/12 16:00	Quito		Ecuador		Chile
12/10/12 16:00	La Paz		Bolivia		Peru
12/10/12 17:00	Torshavn		Faroe Islands		Sweden
12/10/12 18:00	Plzen		Czech Republic		Malta
12/10/12 18:30	Helsinki		Finland		Georgia
12/10/12 19:00	St. John's		Antigua and Barbuda		USA
12/10/12 19:00	Tirana		Albania		Iceland
12/10/12 19:00	Moscow		Russia		Portugal
12/10/12 19:30	San Salvador		El Salvador		Costa Rica
12/10/12 19:30	Vaduz		Liechtenstein		Lithuania
12/10/12 19:45	Cardiff		Wales		Scotland
12/10/12 19:45	Dublin		Republic of Ireland		Germany
12/10/12 19:45	Toronto		Canada		Cuba
12/10/12 20:00	Papeete		Tahiti		New Zealand
12/10/12 20:00	Guatemala City		Guatemala		Jamaica
12/10/12 20:00	Houston		Guyana		Mexico
12/10/12 20:00	London		England		San Marino
12/10/12 20:15	Bratislava		Slovakia		Latvia
12/10/12 20:30	Skopje		FYR Macedonia		Croatia
12/10/12 20:30	Belgrade		Serbia		Belgium
12/10/12 20:30	Rotterdam		Netherlands		Andorra
12/10/12 20:30	Istanbul		Turkey		Romania
12/10/12 20:30	Berne		Switzerland		Norway
12/10/12 20:45	Maribor		Slovenia		Cyprus
12/10/12 21:00	Mendoza		Argentina		Uruguay
12/10/12 21:00	Yerevan		Armenia		Italy
12/10/12 21:00	Sofia		Bulgaria		Denmark
12/10/12 21:00	Luxembourg		Luxembourg		Israel
12/10/12 21:00	Chisinau		Moldova		Ukraine
12/10/12 21:00	Minsk		Belarus		Spain
12/10/12 21:05	Panama City		Panama		Honduras
12/10/12 21:30	Tallinn		Estonia		Hungary
12/10/12 21:45	Piraeus		Greece		Bosnia-Herzegovina
12/10/12 22:00	Astana		Kazakhstan		Austria
16/10/12 14:00	San Pedro Sula		Honduras		Canada
16/10/12 15:25	Doha		Qatar		Uzbekistan
16/10/12 16:00	La Paz		Bolivia		Uruguay
16/10/12 16:00	Havana		Cuba		Panama
16/10/12 17:00	Muscat		Oman		Jordan
16/10/12 17:15	Doha		Iraq		Australia
16/10/12 17:30	Puerto La Cruz		Venezuela		Ecuador
16/10/12 18:00	Tel Aviv		Israel		Luxembourg
16/10/12 18:15	Kansas City		USA		Guatemala
16/10/12 18:15	Kingston		Jamaica		Antigua and Barbuda
16/10/12 18:30	Reykjavik		Iceland		Switzerland
16/10/12 19:00	Asuncion		Paraguay		Peru
16/10/12 19:00	San Jose		Costa Rica		Guyana
16/10/12 19:00	Torshavn		Faroe Islands		Republic of Ireland
16/10/12 19:00	Andorra La Vella		Andorra		Estonia
16/10/12 19:00	Moscow		Russia		Azerbaijan
16/10/12 19:00	Minsk		Belarus		Georgia
16/10/12 19:30	Noumea		New Caledonia		Solomon Islands
16/10/12 19:35	Christchurch		New Zealand		Tahiti
16/10/12 20:00	Tehran		Iran		Korea Republic
16/10/12 20:00	Osijek		Croatia		Wales
16/10/12 20:00	Torreon		Mexico		El Salvador
16/10/12 20:00	Prague		Czech Republic		Bulgaria
16/10/12 20:00	Larnaca		Cyprus		Norway
16/10/12 20:00	Zenica		Bosnia-Herzegovina		Lithuania
16/10/12 20:00	Riga		Latvia		Liechtenstein
16/10/12 20:30	Skopje		FYR Macedonia		Serbia
16/10/12 20:30	Budapest		Hungary		Turkey
16/10/12 20:30	Bratislava		Slovakia		Greece
16/10/12 20:30	Serravalle		San Marino		Moldova
16/10/12 20:35	Vienna		Austria		Kazakhstan
16/10/12 20:45	Brussels		Belgium		Scotland
16/10/12 20:45	Milan		Italy		Denmark
16/10/12 20:45	Berlin		Germany		Sweden
16/10/12 20:45	Tirana		Albania		Slovenia
16/10/12 20:45	Porto		Portugal		Northern Ireland
16/10/12 21:00	Bucharest		Romania		Netherlands
16/10/12 21:00	Warsaw		Poland		England
16/10/12 21:00	Kyiv		Ukraine		Montenegro
16/10/12 21:00	Madrid		Spain		France
16/10/12 21:05	Santiago De Chile		Chile		Argentina

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Complete fixture of CLT20 2012

Sat Oct 13 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group A - Titans v Perth Scorchers SuperSport Park, Centurion	13 - 24° C
Sat Oct 13           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group A - Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils SuperSport Park, Centurion	13 - 24° C
Sun Oct 14 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group B - Chennai Super Kings v Sydney Sixers New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	12 - 22° C
Sun Oct 14           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group B - Lions v Mumbai Indians New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	12 - 22° C
Mon Oct 15           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group A - Auckland v Kolkata Knight Riders Newlands, Cape Town	13 - 18° C
Tue Oct 16 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group B - Sydney Sixers v Yorkshire Newlands, Cape Town	13 - 20° C
Tue Oct 16           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group B - Chennai Super Kings v Lions Newlands, Cape Town	13 - 20° C
Wed Oct 17 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group A - Auckland v Titans Kingsmead, Durban	N/A
Wed Oct 17           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group A - Kolkata Knight Riders v Perth Scorchers Kingsmead, Durban	N/A
Thu Oct 18 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group B - Lions v Sydney Sixers Newlands, Cape Town	N/A
Thu Oct 18           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group B - Mumbai Indians v Yorkshire Newlands, Cape Town	N/A
Fri Oct 19           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group A - Auckland v Delhi Daredevils Kingsmead, Durban	N/A
Sat Oct 20 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group B - Lions v Yorkshire New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	N/A
Sat Oct 20           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group B - Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	N/A
Sun Oct 21 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group A - Perth Scorchers v Delhi Daredevils Newlands, Cape Town	N/A
Sun Oct 21           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group A - Kolkata Knight Riders v Titans Newlands, Cape Town	N/A
Mon Oct 22 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group B - Chennai Super Kings v Yorkshire Kingsmead, Durban	N/A
Mon Oct 22           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group B - Sydney Sixers v Mumbai Indians Kingsmead, Durban	N/A
Tue Oct 23 11:30 GMT | 13:30 local 16:30 PKT	Group A - Auckland v Perth Scorchers SuperSport Park, Centurion	N/A
Tue Oct 23           15:30 GMT | 17:30 local 20:30 PKT	Group A - Delhi Daredevils v Titans SuperSport Park, Centurion	N/A

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Sohail fifty leads Sialkot home

It was a match of no consequence for either team, but Sialkot Stallions will leave South African shores with greater confidence, having put in an all-round performance against the English domestic champions. Two individual performances from youngsters on either side stood out - Haris Sohail's unbeaten 63 the highlight, as it was a match-winning knock. Glenn Maxwell scored a counter-attacking 42 when his team, Hampshire, needed runs, but a score of 143 wasn't imposing enough for Sialkot.

A combined bowling effort by Sialkot kept Hampshire to that score, well short of what Trinidad and Tobago had managed earlier in the day, with only 31 runs scored in the last five overs. Hampshire lost early wickets in search of quick runs, scratched around for the first ten overs, surged in the middle overs thanks to an entertaining cameo from Maxwell but lost their way after his dismissal. It was a pitch that offered something for the spinners and seamers. Sarfraz Ahmed, the tall left-arm seamer with an unusual action, got a few to bounce off a good length to pose questions for the openers. Shoaib Malik got turn and bounce and those that skidded through weren't easy to put away either.

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CLT20: Yorkshire and Auckland qualify for the Main Round

Azhar Mahmood produced a remarkable all-round performance to send Auckland through to the main draw of the Champions League. His unbeaten 55 blazed Auckland's trail to a target his 5 for 24 had ensured was paltry. Their second victory wrapped up Pool 1, with Hampshire and Sialkot now unable to qualify.

Despite their schedule in the qualifying tournament lasting two days, Auckland had spent two weeks in South Africa and their preparations proved worthwhile as they became the first New Zealand team to make the main draw of the Champions League. 

Gary Ballance and Adil Rashid made astute use of T&T's limitations, adding 103 for the fifth wicket. Between them, Rampaul and Badree went for 44 in eight overs, but Yorkshire plundered 110 of the remaining 10.5. By chasing successfully, Yorkshire progressed to the main competition, leaving T&T and Uva Next to play an inconsequential game. 

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England tour of India, 2012/13

Thu Nov 15 - Mon Nov 19 04:00 GMT | 09:30 local 09:00 PKT	1st Test - India v England Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Fri Nov 23 - Tue Nov 27 04:00 GMT | 09:30 local 09:00 PKT	2nd Test - India v England Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Wed Dec 5 - Sun Dec 9 03:30 GMT | 09:00 local 08:30 PKT	3rd Test - India v England Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Thu Dec 13 - Mon Dec 17 04:00 GMT | 09:30 local 09:00 PKT	4th Test - India v England Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur
Thu Dec 20           14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 19:30 PKT	1st T20I - India v England Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, Pune
Sat Dec 22           14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 19:30 PKT	2nd T20I - India v England Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Fri Jan 11           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	1st ODI - India v England Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
Tue Jan 15           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	2nd ODI - India v England Nehru Stadium, Kochi
Sat Jan 19           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	3rd ODI - India v England HEC International Cricket Stadium Complex, Ranchi
Wed Jan 23           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	4th ODI - India v England Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
Sun Jan 27           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	5th ODI - India v England Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

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New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka

                                      

Tue Oct 30 13:30 GMT | 19:00 local 18:30 PKT	Only T20I - Sri Lanka v New Zealand Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Thu Nov 1           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	1st ODI - Sri Lanka v New Zealand Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Sun Nov 4           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	2nd ODI - Sri Lanka v New Zealand R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Tue Nov 6           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	3rd ODI - Sri Lanka v New Zealand R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sat Nov 10           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	4th ODI - Sri Lanka v New Zealand Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota
Mon Nov 12           09:00 GMT | 14:30 local 14:00 PKT	5th ODI - Sri Lanka v New Zealand Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota
Sat Nov 17 - Wed Nov 21 04:30 GMT | 10:00 local 09:30 PKT	1st Test - Sri Lanka v New Zealand Galle International Stadium
Sun Nov 25 - Thu Nov 29 04:30 GMT | 10:00 local 09:30 PKT	2nd Test - Sri Lanka v New Zealand Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo

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South Africa in Australia Series

If the South African Test touring party to Australia arrived more or less as expected, it also confirmed a battle of contrasts among the fast bowlers: South African dependability versus Australian depth.

Among South Africa's travelling 15, there are only four pacemen. The uncapped bowling allrounder Rory Kleinveldt will back-up the outstanding trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, while Jacques Kallis provides his familiar versatility. The captain Graeme Smith and the coach Gary Kirsten are in no doubt what their best XI is, and far from fearful that one of their top three quicks will break down.

Australia's pace planning for the series is far more preoccupied with depth, likely to include the presence of five quicks, plus Shane Watson, in training before each match. The seasoned duo of Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus can be expected to play in all three Tests, but there will be rotation beyond them, as James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins all appear likely to get at least one match against the South Africans to spread the load among their younger bodies

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Razzaq in trouble over Hafeez criticism

Pakistan Cricket Board has issued a showcause notice to the allrounder Abdul Razzaq and asked him to explain his outburst against Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez after the World Twenty20.

On his return from Sri Lanka, Razzaq criticised Hafeez for selecting him in only one game of the tournament. "It was Hafeez's decision not to pick me for the semi-final, not anyone else's," Razzaq told reporters in Lahore. "I know the team management didn't drop me, it was Hafeez alone who didn't want me to play."

PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar confirmed that Razzaq was bound to follow the code of conduct though he wasn't a centrally contracted player. By speaking to the media without the PCB's consent, he had breached the player's code of conduct, which forbids them from speaking to the media without prior permission from the board.

"He [Razzaq] has been served a showcause notice for breaching the code of conduct," Sarwar told ESPNcricinfo. "He has been given seven days to respond, starting from October 10."

After being selected in the Pakistan squad, for the World Twenty20, after a gap of nine months, Razzaq played just one game in the tournament, scoring 22 off 17 balls in the Super Eights win over Australia. "I was very sad and disappointed to not get a chance to play in the semi-final. I was mentally prepared for the big match and it came as a huge letdown to know I was not playing," Razzaq said, adding that Pakistan had the perfect opportunity to win the tournament.

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Auckland Aces beat Sailkot Stallions by 6 wickets

Sialkot Stallions entered their maiden Champions League T20 with an awe-inspiring domestic record. They had won Pakistan's Twenty20 competition seven out of nine times and possess a world-record winning streak of 25 matches. However, on a Wanderers pitch that bounced and seamed, they were undone by Auckland Aces' pace attack and their own desire to swing with abandon.

The predominant features of Sialkot's innings were batsmen playing and missing and an abundance of dot balls; their attempts at counter-attacking were short lived. Their batsmen cleared the Wanderers' boundaries ten times but managed to score only 130. It was the third-lowest total for an innings that contained ten sixes; the first two were chases in which the target was easily achieved.

The target was well below par and Auckland's openers, Martin Guptill and Lou Vincent, handled the bounce better than their counterparts did. The opening stand of 32 put the chase on course and the second-wicket stand of 51 between Guptill and Azhar Mahmood gave them an opportunity to win with a high net run-rate. They lost a couple of wickets in quick succession but New Zealand's domestic champions managed to get home with 17 balls to spare.

Gareth Hopkins, the Auckland captain, got what he wanted despite losing the toss, and Kyle Mills and Michael Bates made excellent use of the conditions. On a green-tinged pitch, the right and left-arm combination harried the Sialkot openers with short-of-a-length deliveries. After Imran Nazir was smacked painfully on the glove, Shakeel Ansar attempted a big hit in Bates' first over and holed out to mid-on. The No. 3 batsman Haris Sohail took 12 deliveries to get off the mark, before Nazir ended two consecutive maiden overs by pulling Bates over the fine-leg boundary.

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Sialkot Stallions finally get stage to strut their stuff

Two of the teams at this year's Champions League would have made their first appearance in at the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008.

The Titans have had the opportunity to qualify every year since then but only got it right in 2012. The other, the Sialkot Stallions, did not have that same chance. Relations between India and Pakistan soured after the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008 and Pakistan players and teams found themselves shut out of the competition.

If a representative from Pakistan had been let into the tournament in the previous three editions, that team would have been Sialkot in two of them. They were Pakistan's domestic winners in 2009 and 2011, and 2012 - Lahore Lions took the crown in 2010. And if the Champions League existed before that, Sialkot would have participated in most of those editions too.

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Samuels, Sammy give WI first world title since 1979

Flair. Calypso. Frontrunners. Millionaires. Gold chains. Chris Gayle. No, no, no, no, no and no. West Indies' first World Twenty20 win was more digging in, refusing to give up, running and fielding like their life depended on this match, stunning the home crowd, and pulling off one of the most amazing turnarounds in Twenty20 history, especially given the stage. The due share of flair came from one of the most eye-pleasing batsmen going around. There's no need to add "one of the" here, because Marlon Samuels played simply the best Twenty20 international innings ever seen when West Indies were down and the count had reached about eight. A feedbacker to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball commentary asked if Samuels' 78 was the 281 of Twenty20 cricket.

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