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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