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Pakistan 143 for 1 (Khalid 84*) beat Zimbabwe 141 (Tariq 4-33) by nine wickets
Scorecard

Pakistan’s captain Khalid Latif made 84 not out, and added an unbeaten 142 for the second wicket with Abid Ali, as Zimbabwe were over-run in their Super League fixture at Savar. Pakistan needed just 30 overs to complete a nine-wicket victory, and are already looking strong bets for a place in the semi-finals.Zimbabwe earned their place at the U19 high table by routing Australia in the Group stages, but they never looked likely to cause another upset today. They lost the toss and were asked to bat first, whereupon Ali Imran trapped Brendan Taylor lbw with his first ball of the match (1 for 1). He was one of nine batsmen who failed to reach double figures, and the only man to look at all comfortable was the opener James Cameron, who top-scored with a fluent 68.Cameron added 68 for the third wicket with his captain Tinotenda Mawoyo, but both men fell in quick succession and the innings subsided. Tariq Mahmood and Mansoor Amjad shared seven wickets between them as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 141 with 14 balls to spare. Still, it was almost twice as many as Australia (73) had managed last week.Tinashe Panyangara, the man who did the damage on that occasion, grabbed an early wicket to lift Zimbabwe’s prospects. But Pakistan were too strong and eased to victory with 20 overs to spare.

The England selectors sprung a major surprise as they unveiled their squads for the forthcoming ODI and Test series in New Zealand. Though Andrew Strauss has been recalled to the Test squad as anticipated, the shock omission is that of the wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who has paid the price for one dropped catch too many in the Sri Lanka series.The uncapped Warwickshire wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose wins a place in both squads at the expense of Prior, while Kent’s offspinner James Tredwell has also been called up to the one-day squad for the first time. Strauss, who was dropped in October for the first time in his 43-Test career, will join up with the tour party in New Zealand after playing for Northern Knights in the State Shield and Twenty20 competitions.”Tim Ambrose fully deserves an opportunity at this level following impressive performances for the England Performance Squad in India before Christmas and for Warwickshire last season,” David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said. “Matt Prior performed well with the bat in Sri Lanka and it has been a difficult decision to leave him out of this tour. But the selectors feel that he needs to further improve his wicket-keeping in order to realise his full potential in international cricket.”Andrew Strauss needed a break from international cricket in our view and he will now be keen to re-establish himself in the Test side. His experience will be of benefit to the squad as a whole and his inclusion will also provide us with alternative options if required at the top of the batting order.”James Tredwell has performed well for Kent in the domestic one-day game and continued to impress in India with the Performance Squad. This is an excellent opportunity for him to show that he can step up to the next level.”Meanwhile, the Sussex batsman Michael Yardy has been named as captain of a 13-man England Lions squad which will compete in the Duleep Trophy in India later this month. Monty Panesar will tour India with the Lions prior to joining up with England’s Test squad in New Zealand.England Test squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Phil Mustard, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann.England ODI squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Phil Mustard, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.England Lions squad Michael Yardy (capt), Kabir Ali, Michael Carberry, Steven Davies, Joe Denly, James Hildreth, Ed Joyce, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Alan Richardson, Jonathan Trott.

Daren Ganga, the former West Indies captain, and Pedro Collins, the left-arm medium-pacer, have been added to the West Indies squad for next month’s tour of South Africa. The tour, which includes three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 matches, begins on December 16, after a five-ODI series against Zimbabwe.Ganga and Collins will replace Narsingh Deonarine and Ravi Rampaul, who will fly back from Zimbabwe. While Collins has not represented West Indies since the home series against India in July 2006, Ganga captained the side for two Test matches during the tour of England in 2007 following Ramnaresh Sarwan’s injury in the second Test. He was, however, omitted for the Natwest Series that followed as well as the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 and failed to find a place in the ODI squad against Zimbabwe even after being named as Trinidad & Tobago’s cricketer of the year. He also lost the vice-captaincy spot to Dwayne Bravo for the tour of Africa.Collins’ last ODI appearance for West Indies dates back to May 2005 but he was part of the squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in September. He then signed for Surrey as a Kolpak player, a decision that seemed to put his international career in doubt.Squad Chris Gayle (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards, Daren Ganga, Rawl Lewis, Runako Morton, Brenton Parchment, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor

The Indian selectors have sprung a major surprise by recalling Virender Sehwag to the Indian team for the four-Test series against Australia. Although he was not in the list of 24 probables Sehwag has got a recall after Gautam Gambhir was advised three weeks rest with a sore shoulder.There was also place in the 16-man squad for Pankaj Singh, the young Rajasthan fast bowler. Munaf Patel, who was thought to be a front-runner for a spot has been advised to play more domestic cricket before he will be considered for selection in the future.All season Pankaj has impressed with his performances for Rajasthan. Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, has spoken highly of Pankaj on more than one occasion. A string of good bowling for Rajasthan Under-19 pitchforked Pankaj into the the first-class team in 2003. But it was in late 2006 that he really showed signs of maturing by leading the Rajasthan attack and taking them to the plate league final. In 2007 he broke into the India A team and was successful in the tour of Kenya and Zimbabwe and then played in the home series against South Africa A.Sehwag makes his return to the Test team after being ignored after India’s tour to South Africa in 2006-07. His last Test was in Cape Town, and since then he has played only ODIs and Twenty20 internationals. Sehwag hasn’t been in great touch in the Ranji Trophy, with 66 runs in five innings for Delhi.Dinesh Karthik held onto his place in the squad, after scoring a half-century on the final day of the drawn third Test against Pakistan. Also included in the squad are Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan, who were included in India’s squad for the final Test against Pakistan after a spate of injuries to fast bowlers.Ishant, who took five wickets in Pakistan’s first innings, said he was happy on being selected though he hadn’t been mulling over it during the Test in Bangalore. “I didn’t think my performance in Bangalore would have played such a part in my selection,” Ishant told Cricinfo. “My aim was to bowl properly and I didn’t stress myself by thinking ”will I be picked or not. The Australian wickets will surely be an advantage to my style of bowling, with the bounce and pace, and my job now will be to hit the right areas.”From the current squad there was no place for Murali Kartik, the left-arm spinner, but this was expected given the fact that India were only going to take two spinners on a tour of Australia.With Sreesanth unfit the pace attack is led by Zaheer Khan and backed up by RP Singh, Ishant, Pathan and Pankaj.Commenting on the selection, Ricky Ponting told Cricinfo in Adelaide that he didn’t think were too many surprises. “I must admit I didn’t think Sehwag would make the final touring party but he’s here and he had some successes against us last time,” he said. “A terrific 195 or something. He can be a dangerous player but we will worry about that once we’ve got this Chappell-Hadlee Series out of the way.”India’s Test squad for Australia
Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Anil Kumble (capt), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Pankaj Singh.

It was a moment the crowd had been waiting for. Sachin Tendulkar, six runs short of a milestone no man has ever achieved, a 35th Test century, drove at a ball from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and got a thick outside-edge that was caught by Asim Kamal at gully. It was a measured innings, but Tendulkar had been losing that measure as he approached his century. At 86 he complained about a disturbance above the sightscreen. At 90 he tried a wild slog-sweep off Danish Kaneria and survived an lbw shout. At 94 it was over.Sunil Gavaskar was also out short of a 35th hundred once. Gavaskar made 96 then, and never played again. Tendulkar will be back.Making bad luck“Good players make their own luck,” the old cliche goes, and Pakistanhave relentlessly made their own bad luck in this Test. There theywere, having got Sehwag out and restricted India to 55 runs in 28overs after lunch. Sourav Ganguly decided to hit out. He flayed at anawaygoing ball from Mohammad Sami, edged it, and Younis Khan at sliptook a good catch. Then the umpire’s arm made its move. No-ball.The very next ball, Ganguly guided Sami to Taufeeq Umar at gully. Thiswas not a no-ball, but Umar spilt the catch. Sami looked as if hemight start crying.Reading KaneriaDanish Kaneria was the only one of Pakistan’s bowlers to get any respect from the Indians yesterday, but Virender Sehwag had figured him out today, and was reading him well. At one point, he twice made early decisions to let balls pitched just outside off stump go by, as he’d spotted that they were legbreaks. Then Kaneria bowled a googly, hoping Sehwag would let that go as well. But Sehwag read it perfectly, got into position early, and slog-swept it for four to midwicket. The batsman had set the bowler up.One, two, three, fourIt is rare that with Sachin Tendulkar at the crease, Indian crowds chant someone else’s name. That is the impact Virender Sehwag has had on Indian cricket. As Rana Naved-ul-Hasan ran in to bowl to Sehwag, the crowd chanted “Sehwag, Sehwag”. Short ball outside off, Sehwag slashed it past point for four.The crowd now began to chant:

Ek Chawkka aur maar
Ek do teen chaar(Hit one more four
One, two, three, four)

Naved ran in again, pitched short again, and Sehwag slashed him past point again. Four more.As an enraptured crowd continued chanting, Naved shifted to bowling round the wicket, and Sehwag edged him between the wicketkeeper and slip for four more. In that over, it was “Ee do teen”. Now, had it been an eight-ball over …

SYDNEY, Jan 5 AAP – Matthew Hayden was tonight fined and severely reprimanded after an ugly incident in which a glass panel in his team’s dressing room door was smashed.Meanwhile, Australian vice-captain and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist was also reprimanded for swearing as the pressure mounted on the home side to effect a 5-0 clean sweep of the Ashes series.International Cricket Council match referee Wasim Raja fined Hayden 20 per cent of his match fee, estimated to be about $2,200, after the Australian opener was found guilty of breaching the ICC’s code of conduct.He was charged after breaking the glass as he returned to the dressing room following his lbw dismissal for just two in the third over of the home side’s tense fifth Test run chase at the SCG.Raja said the penalty was decided in light of Hayden’s previously clean record.”At the hearing Matthew Hayden admitted the offence and apologised for his action,” Raja said in a statement.Hayden faced a maximum penalty of being fined half his match fee.Speaking about the Hayden incident after play, Australian coach John Buchanan said: “It’s something that’s unfortunate, you don’t want to see that.”The doors were closed and he just tried to get through the door, which he did, but the glass broke in the ensuing entree. But there was no bat throwing or anything like that.”Meanwhile, Gilchrist was charged with showing dissent at an umpire’s decision by action or verbal abuse after he swore when his appeal for caught behind off batsman Steve Harmison from Brett Lee’s bowling was turned down in England’s second innings.Raja said he warned Gilchrist about his future conduct.”At the hearing Adam Gilchrist admitted swearing and expressed regret at doing so,” Raja said.Gilchrist also faced a maximum penalty of being fined 50 per cent of his match fee.The incidents exemplified the pressure on the Australian team as it attempted to chase down a mammoth target of 452 for victory.Hayden’s dismissal came just two balls after batting partner Justin Langer was dismissed lbw by Andrew Caddick for three when replays clearly showed the ball was going down the leg side.Another sore point in a disastrous day for Australia was an elbow injury to spearhead Jason Gillespie.With the Australian bowling attack already severely undermanned in the absence of Glenn McGrath (side strain) and Shane Warne (dislocated shoulder), Gillespie slipped on some repaired foot marks on the pitch during his follow through while bowling in the second session today.In a bid to break his fall with his left hand, he jarred his left elbow and bowled one more delivery before leaving the field for treatment, unable to finish his 19th over or return to play at all today.X-rays revealed there was no fracture but Buchanan said it appeared Gillespie may have suffered some ligament damage.”He’s getting a final assessment tomorrow and will be available to bat if required,” Buchanan said.Gillespie’s misfortune was likely to mean the injury-prone paceman would sit out some of Australia’s upcoming one-day matches.But Buchanan said he probably would have been sidelined anyway as he was high on the waiting list for a rest.”We’re going to look at that format a little bit, looking at our quick bowlers and who is in need of possibly some rest,” Buchanan said.

West Indies all-rounder Vasbert Drakes isn’t about to jump the gun. But he believes the regional side will be cocked and ready to fire at next year’s World Cup in South Africa."It’s all about maintaining our consistency, and living up to our true potential. Once we do those two things, we should be in there with a chance," Drakes told the SUNDAY SUN yesterday.For Drakes, once selected, playing in the World Cup puts him at an instant advantage, and summits him to a position of leadership. After all, he’s played professionally in South Africa, which is his home away from home.Fresh off playing in his belated first Test against Bangladesh a fortnight ago, and showing he can make an impact with bat and ball, Drakes expects the World Cup to be extremely challenging for West Indies."The World Cup could be the highlight of my career, so I’m really looking forward to playing, and proving myself. It’s a tournament that’s the equivalent to the World Cup in football, so every team will be coming in at full strength, and it’s a chance to excel at the highest level."Drakes said One-Day cricket had become extremely competitive over the last few years, but West Indies, though considered underdogs, could spring some upsets."The youngsters in the team have shown what they can do in recent times. Once we get our concentration together, I know we have the talent to do well. I don’t want to jump the gun, but I know we’ve come a long way over the past year, and once we play well, reaching the semifinals of the World Cup is a reality.""We have to be very conscious about what we need to do, and how we need to play against each opponent. If we can do that, we’ll be okay.According to Drakes, a level of maturity, mental toughness and teamwork was shown on their two recent tours."It’s not easy to tour the sub-continent and do well like we did. There’s the culture change, the different wickets, and the big crowds screaming at you, and it’s not easy to perform, but the guys stood up to be counted. That was very pleasing to see, from such young players."

Michael Vaughan
“Throughout my short career to date this is my best Test victory. [South Africa] were 362 for 4 after the first day on a good batting pitch, and to show the character we did and come back was a fantastic team effort. Steve Harmison was fantastic and Martin Bicknell on his home ground was exceptional.”Marcus Trescothick
“It’s just been a great gig and a great game of cricket for all of us. I’ve worked hard throughout the whole series. There have been some tough wickets and things had not gone my way but I worked hard for this and will enjoy the moment. I still had to fight hard, I did not play all that well for the first hour. I needed a bit of luck but that’s the way it goes.”Graeme Smith
“I’d like to have had 700 in the first innings. The run-outs didn’t help, and one or two little things go against you, but that’s Test cricket. I don’t think we’re chokers. England played good cricket in this match. But at Headingley [where South Africa won the fourth Test by 191 runs after being 21 for 4 and 142 for 7] we fought back well. England are allowed to play good cricket but it’s obviously disappointing not pushing on from 2-1. Test cricket is about pressure and we didn’t cope with it in this match."England batted superbly on what was a good Test wicket – one big partnership up front really set the tone of the innings and then Freddie [Flintoff] came in and took the game away from us."It’s been a hard-fought series, neither side has wanted to give an inch and hasn’t given an inch. You’ve had to fight for everything you’ve gained. I thought my boys had a fantastic series. Three months away from home, they really fought hard for the whole series and put up a fantastic performance."We have to learn to be a bit more ruthless. But apart from this match, when we’ve got into trouble, someone’s got us out of it and that’s given me a lot of satisfaction.”The retiring Alec Stewart
“I said before the Test it was not all about Alec Stewart. It was the perfect sendoff and I wish the team all the best for the future. There was some good batting, some good bowling and it was an excellent wicket here.”Obviously that debut [a win over West Indies in 1989-90] is still clear in my mind. To start and end with a win is perfect. I won’t forget Barbados, the Headingley win to beat South Africa last time they were here, and the series wins in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.”I’m going to enjoy the next few weeks and finish the season with Surrey. Then I’ll put the cricket kit away and get out the golf clubs and the Chelsea shirt. I’ve had some good offers, a good one from here at The Oval. I’ve got some things in the pipeline."

Time appears to be running out for Khaled Mahmud, Bangladesh’s increasingly isolated captain. One of the weakest links in the side as a player – and that is saying something in a far from accomplished squad – Mahmud is now under fire from Bangladesh supporters after two heavy defeats in the ODIs against England.”It’s really difficult to explain such a situation, but again that can not be an excuse for another poor show,” a weary Mahmud told reporters. “I’m upset. We need to sit again and discuss what’s wrong with us.”Mahmud was the target of the Dhaka crowd’s anger, ridiculed when he was dismissed for 4 – an innings described by one commentator as “utterly clueless” – and booed during the post-match awards ceremony. He cast a sorry and lonely figure, and it can only be a matter of time before the calls from the stands for him to be replaced are heeded. “There will always be pressure when you play at home,” he shrugged. “The crowd was shouting even when I was going out for the toss. That kind of reaction from the supporters is very painful. It hurts a lot.”This streak of bad form won’t last if we can perform to our potential,” he added. “That’s the main target. We’ve got to put some runs on the board.”Dav Whatmore was another bemused by Bangladesh’s capitulation, although his job is safe given the improvements to the side’s performances against Australia and Pakistan. But he looked a sorry figure as he watched Bangladesh’s top order disintegrate for the second time in four days, and admitted that he was at a loss to explain yet another abject batting performance.Whatmore smiled when asked what the difference was between the two matches. “In Chittagong we lost five wickets in between 10 to 20 overs,” he said. “In Dhaka, we lost the wickets in the first ten overs. May be it was the only difference.” But he emphasised that he had tried to instill the need for patience and thought about shot selection, a message seemingly lost on the batsmen. “Maybe some people didn’t really understand what I meant,” he shrugged.One controversial decision was the omission of Habibul Bashar, considered by many to be Bangladesh’s best batsman, from the second ODI. Mahmud tried to diffuse criticism, explaining that Bashar was “not performing in the one-day game. That’s why we thought of introducing Moniruzzaman while giving him a rest.” Like so many of Mahmud’s gambles, it didn’t pay off. Moniruzzaman made a duck and then put down Man of the Match Andrew Flintoff.Soon it could be Mahmud who is the one being dropped.

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A superb unbeaten 115 off 135 balls from Salman Butt guided the Pakistanis to a 43-run win in their opening tour match against the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI at Lilac Hill in Perth. In reply to the Pakistanis’ total of 9 for 256 in 50 overs, the CA Chairman’s XI were bowled out for 213.Butt smacked 11 fours and a six to enhance his chances of a call-up to the Test team, while Michael Hussey’s part-time bowling accounted for three of the wickets to fall.Geoff Lawson and Tony Dodemaide, Australian stalwarts of the past, gave the crowd something to cheer, picking up a wicket apiece as Pakistan made a spluttering start. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana both failed, making 16 and 15, while the big-hitting Shahid Afridi was out for 21.The Chairman’s XI were always off the pace, although West Australian keeper Luke Ronchi smashed five sixes in his 44-ball 51 and Chris Rogers made 61 from 59 deliveries. But they lacked support, with Justin Langer (1) and WA regulars Murray Goodwin (8) and Mike Hussey (8) all failing to trouble the Pakistan attack. Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan was the pick of the visitor’s bowlers, finishing with 3 for 36.Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, admitted that Salman was in the running for a Test berth. "His knock definitely puts him into the mix, with a hundred against India as well at Kolkata on a much bigger occasion,” Woolmer said. “It showed what temperament he had then and he showed a bit of skill today, so I think if you’re in form you’re always pushing, aren’t you?”Dodemaide, now 41, said he had trouble sleeping as he contemplated facing the Pakistan top-order. His last game was a social outing for Surrey Cryptics in leafy Surrey, England some 14 months ago, when he made a hundred. He admitted his post-match routine might be at odds with his younger colleagues. “I came from the era where most of the ice in the rooms was keeping the beer cold,” he laughed. “I reckon that’ll be the best pain-killer.”Pakistan will play a four-day match against Western Australia before the first Test against Australia starts at the WACA on December 16.