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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWhen Misbah-ul-Haq chose to bat, the skies were overcast and the pitch had been under covers following overnight rain. The ball moved around for a while, and Pakistan lost their openers inside six overs. Then came in Younis Khan and fought his way through to lunch. By stumps, Younis was batting on 133, had equalled Mohammad Yousuf for 24 Test centuries, the second-most by a Pakistani, and had gone past the latter’s 7530 Test runs.Younis and Azhar Ali started the resistance from 19 for 2. Younis then added 100 with his captain Misbah and piled on an unbroken 105 with Asad Shafiq. Rangana Herath persevered for 26 overs, and took out Azhar Ali and Misbah with rippers, but even he could not dislodge Younis, who just got better and better as the day progressed.There was swing as well as seam in the morning, and the hustling pace of Dhammika Prasad made the combination hard to tackle. He moved the ball in consistently and took the odd one away, leaving Azhar, in particular, groping. Before that, Ahmed Shehzad failed to cover enough for an inswinger, and chopped on his third ball on to the middle stump. His opening partner, Khurram Manzoor, kept falling over in his stance and was caught in front with another incoming delivery.Azhar, aside from his struggles, also played some lovely cover drives for fours. Those boundaries were a fitting reply to the pressure Prasad created, but after the burst from the fast bowler, Pakistan had to contend with relentless examination from Herath. Finding turn and occasional bounce early in the match, Herath pitched one on middle stump, drew Azhar forward, and spun it past the outside edge to strike the top of off.Younis took his time as usual, gradually playing himself in. He hung back when he could, and also used the sweep regularly to counter the spinners. The frequency of the stroke only increased after lunch, and Younis swept and reverse-swept Dilruwan Perera off successive deliveries. It was Misbah’s turn to try a paddle off the very next ball, and Perera switched to round the wicket thereafter.It only allowed Younis to bat even more positively against the offspinner; the batsman collected 48 off the 43 balls he faced from Perera. Just before drinks in the second session, Younis swept, lofted and drove Perera for three consecutive fours. Younis also stepped out to hit Perera for six. Two balls later, he hit a reverse-sweep in the air, and Mahela Jayawardene, moving to his right from slip, got both hands to it but could not hold on. Younis was on 68.He had already reviewed twice successfully, once on 20 after being given caught behind off Prasad, and on 59 after he was adjudged leg-before to Perera. On the first occasion, replays showed there was no bat involved, and on the second, the ball-tracker showed the delivery would have bounced just over the stumps.Misbah had a review against him turned down when he was yet to get off the mark, with replays signalling umpire’s call on the point of impact off Angelo Mathews. Misbah took his first run off his 17th delivery, and his second scoring shot was a hook off Prasad off his 40th. He was happy to stay right back or lunge right forward and defend initially as Younis went about the scoring business. Sweeps and nudges brought him the odd run. Misbah battled till his 100th delivery proved to be a Herath stunner that pitched middle and leg and jagged past the push to take a nick through to the keeper.Shafiq joined Younis and was quite eager to punish the bad deliveries. He was particularly severe on the cut and the pull and even charged at Herath to hit him for a straight six. Pakistan rotated strike faster now and quickened up the scoring before the second new ball approached. Younis launched a series of powerful drives through the off side, the standout stroke being when he moved inside the line of a Herath ball to lift it over extra cover. With the surface having eased out considerably, the second new ball was much easier to handle than the first, and Pakistan closed the day having taken the last two sessions.

In the face of the criticism that has been levelled at domestic English cricket in the aftermath of the Ashes defeat Somerset chief executive Peter Anderson has once again spoken out in it’s defence.At the County Ground in Taunton he told me: "It is not exactly a good time to be an English cricket supporter and the only solace I personally get is to remember that in the last two years England have performed much better and had good series both at home and away."Mr Anderson continued: "If you set that against what Australia have done to both Pakistan and South Africa it tends to prove that rather than us being poor Australia are very good."The Somerset boss went on: "The usual suspects are saying that the cause of England’s demise is the standard of county cricket and that too much cricket is played. This ignores the fact that with the central contracts system it is actually the England coach Duncan Fletcher who controls the amount of championship cricket played by centrally contracted players."The chief executive concluded: "The question that Duncan Fletcher has to answer is why is it that English batsmen and bowlers do not perform with the same technique as the Australians. That is his job, but the evidence out on the pitch is that either he can’t coach or that our players can’t adapt to his methods. It is certainly not the fault of the English county game."

A three-run win over Easton & Martyr Worthy has given Bashley (Rydal) a place in tomorrow evening’s (TUE) Southern Electric Contracting Cup semi-final.They play BAT Sports at Southern Gardens, 6pm.But it was a close run thing for Bashley, who recovered from losing Luke Ronchi for a duck by reaching 94 all out (Andy Sexton 24).Shaun Green hit 37 not out for Easton, who suffered three run outs before needing eight runs off the last two balls of the game.They hit the penultimate ball for a boundary, but managed only one run off the last ball to finish at 91-7.Burridge visit Rowledge in a twice-postponed quarter-final, also tomorrow evening.The winners are away to South Wilts in the semi-finals.

The chances of Sri Lanka’s spin wizard, Muttiah Muralitharan, being fit for the second Test against England at Edgbaston appear to be diminishing by the day.Although Murali turned his right arm on the outfield at Cardiff, where SriLanka are playingtheir tour match against Glamorgan, his action is still restricted by the injury to his left shoulder.Team manager Chandra Schaafter does not expect Muralitharan to be ready forEdgbaston, but still hopes he might be fit for the third Test at Old Trafford.”It seems very unlikely he will play in the second Test and we are only hoping he can play in the third,” he said.”There is nothing yet to indicate he will and nothing to indicate he won’t. It is just a matter of how quickly he gets back into shape.”Sri Lanka are also awaiting video evidence from the ICC of the suspect bowling action of their left-arm paceman Ruchira Perera, who was reported by the umpires after the drawn first Test at Lord’s.Perera, 25, is not playing in the current match. “We are waiting for the video tapes to arrive,” Schaafter said.”I have been promised them tomorrow or the day after by the ICC and after weget them we will start to work on what we see.”This problem never came up before. He has played seven Test matches and there has never been a hint of anything like this. It came as a big surprise toeveryone.”

Simon Jones’ injury was bad luck for England. Not only did England losetheir quickest bowler, they have been left a bowler short for the rest ofthe Test match.Cricket is one of the only team sports which does not allow for replacementof players. Soccer does, rugby does, basketball does. However, these are notsports which last up to five days.But is there merit in cricket sides being able to replace an injured player?Cricket is the most traditional of games and you might be hard-pressed toconvince the purists that the change is worthwhile.It has also been the inability to replace injured players which have brought thegame some of its most heroic moments. Such as the time Eddie Paynter cameout of hospital to hit the winning runs for England in the fourth Test ofthe Bodyline Series.How could anyone ever forget Rick McCosker coming out to bat in theCentenary Test with a broken jaw. Coming in at the fall of the eighth wicket,his 25 runs, and his partnership with Rodney Marsh, proved the difference.That’s batsmen and there is no doubt that cricket is a batsman’s game becauseif you are a bowler and are injured, it’s doubtful that you would be able tobowl. And it’s not like you have to. That tenth wicket may prove thedifference but if you can’t bowl, the ball is simply thrown to anotherbowler.Maybe one solution is to allow the 12th man to bowl. Who knows?Cricket has embraced the technologies which are available and updated thegame to complement the modern age. The whole concept of the twelfth man,substitutes and replacements is something which the ICC should look atmodernising next.

Wide-brim sunhat wearer of the dayThere were plenty of Shreks, Green Giants and lifeguards paradingunselfconsciously around Trent Bridge today, but one of the fewsunhats was found on Michael Vaughan’s head. In fact, curiously, evenwith all the rain and gloomy conditions to have blighted this series,Vaughan has worn a hat throughout while his team-mates don thestandard England caps. It was easy, therefore, to spot him lurking atthe unlikely position of deep backward point towards the end of play,his fielding orders falling on deaf ears.Bowling change of the day
Ten overs into a day which was delayed by gloom, the spotlight waswell and truly on James Anderson. With six wickets to his name, therewas the enticing prospect that he might become only the third bowlerin history to take all ten in an innings. Unfortunately, his radar wasfor the most part lacking, as was Ryan Sidebottom’s at the other end.Into the attack strode Stuart Broad and, with his third ball, sent onea little wider of the off stump to lure Kyle Mills into slapping himstraight to Kevin Pietersen at backward point. Two balls later, Broadfound one to move off the seam to Iain O’Brien, knocking over his offstump – a delivery that would have accounted for far more accomplishedbatsmen – to complete a superb double-wicket maiden and, soon after,New Zealand were dismissed for 123 and forced to follow on.Tough chance of the dayBroad’s first ball in New Zealand’s second innings was wide yetspooned by How off a thick outside edge. Paul Collingwood leaptspectacularly high at second slip, somehow getting a hand on it, butnot enough of a hand. It was reminiscent of his gravity-defying leapat backward point to pluck a scorching Matthew Hayden drive, duringthe one-day series prior to the 2005 Ashes. Collingwood had anotherhalf-chance at second slip towards the end of New Zealand’s firstinnings when Gareth Hopkins edged Anderson just short.Snorter of the dayWhile Anderson and Sidebottom both struggled with theirlines, Broad rarely strayed from a probing off-stump line, anda length which had batsman unsure whether to lunge forward or creepbackwards. He saved his best for Brendon McCullum, though, the ball rearing upoff a length and leaving the batsman’s fishy waft outside the offstump. All of England begged Darrell Hair to raise his finger but theAustralian refused to oblige. In fact, Hair has been very much anot-outer since his return to top-flight umpiring in the second Testat Old Trafford, and has again officiated withShowmanship of the dayAt 33 for 2, out strode Ross Taylor to join McCullum – NewZealand’s two star batsmen. After stepping over the boundary rope, hemarched to the crease by shadowing a lofted drive, playing a savagepull and flashing several apparently wide balls through the covers.New Zealand were in dire straits, still trailing England by 208, butTaylor is no shrinking violet, even before reaching the crease. It wasa brief but entertaining insight into the mind of New Zealand’s youngdazzler who soon departed for an undazzling 14.Lucky misjudgement of the dayNew Zealand had slipped to 58 for 3. Only McCullum stood in England’sway, but a near-fatal misjudgement almost cost him his wicket on 20.Facing Anderson and expecting an outswinger, the bowler produced a bigindipper to which McCullum shouldered arms. The slips barely botheredappealing, racing forward in anticipatory expectation of Steve Bucknorraising his finger. Famously slow to lift his right arm, the playersand crowd waited and waited, while McCullum shuffled nervously withhis bat under his arm. But Bucknor remained unmoved, and New Zealandcontinued to defy England’s attack.

Following on from the success of the previous two years the 2002 End of Season Presentation Dinner and Players Awards is on Thursday 26 September at the Holiday Inn, Hambrook. Whilst enjoying a meal with the Players, Staff and Committee Members, there will be a review of the season by John Bracewell and Mark Alleyne among other events.There are opportunities to sponsor and present an award of your choice, takea table of 10 to bring along friends and valued clients, or make a donationtowards the raffle prizes.Tickets are priced at £27 per person or £250 for a table of 10.To book tickets and for further information please contact Anne Pope on 01179108025 or [email protected]

Test reject Saeed Anwar struck a whirlwind 87 off just 55 deliveries to help Tapal CC score a crushing nine-wicket victory over UBL Academy in the opening tie of the 8th Tapal Trophy Ramazan Cricket Festival here Thursday.Guest player Saeed is in the city these days, tending to his critically ill father-in-law, who is suffering from renal failure.Man-of-the-Match Saeed set the UBL Sports Complex alight with a series of blazing strokes, striking 10 fours and five sixes after a cautious start.Hanif-ur-Rehman also batted well to make 41 off 21 balls in the opening stand of 84 as Tapal CC made light work of their target of 141.Earlier, UBL Academy, led by former Test batsman Mansoor Akhtar, were restricted to 140 for six in 25 overs with opener Usman Farhat hitting four fours and three sixes in a well-made 63.Summarised scores:UBL ACADEMY 140-6 in 25 overs (Usman Farhat 63; Kamran Umar 2-24);TAPAL CC 144-1 in 15.3 overs (Saeed Anwar 87 not out, Hanif-ur-Rehman 41)

Brig Munawar Ahmed Rana was neither a cricketer nor a sports or cricket management guru. He was not even a commentator. But in his own quiet manner, this PCB Director (another title for CEO) over the past year and a half – a period not without interest for a variety of reasons – did make a difference.Chishty Mujahid, veteran radio and television commentator with three decades plus of interest in the game, especially Pakistan cricket, replaced Brig Munawar the other day.

Unlike his boss, Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, Munawar was not flamboyant. His self-effacing manners were a decent camouflage for the steel behind, and those who tested his patience beyond its extended threshold would vouch for the sting. He was a really good administrator, overseeing the systematization of the PCB with diligence and efficiency.More than anything, it was his uncanny knack of cutting though the maze and getting to the core of an issue which endeared him to his peers in the ICC and ACC boardrooms. The rapport he quickly developed with officials of other Boards was of critical importance in sorting out some otherwise messy affairs without rancour or controversy.Without the least belligerence or righteous chest-thumping, without ever uttering the ‘R’ word, he was successful in gaining the sympathy of the ICC on the Shoaib Akhtar issue. And the problem seems to have disappeared. The Black Caps tour of Pakistan, which eventually had to be aborted after the May 8 bomb blast, had as much to do with his powers of persuasion as the ACC threat that all Asian nations would boycott countries which refuse to honour commitments with its members.Now he is gone, moving to that most beleaguered of Pakistani organisations these days, the National Reconstruction Bureau. He was called over to NRB, and being an officer and a gentleman, it was not his lot to reason why. Whether his clear-headed, rational thinking would help NRB as much as it did cricket is anybody’s guess, but it is surely cricket’s loss. Enter the dapper commentator.Chishty Mujahid, the dapper cricket commentator with a good humour, who has loads of corporate experience at the top to boot, has replaced Rana. Commentating on the game is one thing, managing it quite another, especially when it involves dealing with an overdose of mavericks. In a way, Chishty has crossed to the other side of the fence. There is much difference between merely talking and actually doing. This is not a reflection on Chishty’s ability, but an acknowledgment of his courage. It takes guts to do something new, more so when your reputation is at stake and you are no spring chicken.But Chishty has some advantages. He has been involved with the game for well-nigh three decades behind the microphone, and his interest dates back well beyond that. He knows his cricket, and the PCB headquarters, the Gaddafi Stadium. He will need all his resourcefulness to lead Pakistan cricket in these difficult times when no top-flight outfit wants to visit Pakistan. Good luck to him – he is sure to need it.

The playing return of XXXX Queensland Bulls pace bowler Adam Dale hasbeen postponed until next month.Dale has withdrawn from the Queensland Academy of Sport squad that willcontest the Australian Institutes Challenge in Darwin next week,electing to delay his comeback until the first round of Brisbane one-dayclub cricket in September.XXXX Queensland Bulls coach Terry Oliver said the decision was purelyprecautionary.”When we had a good look at his overall rehabilitation schedule andwhere he was at the moment, we felt it was better to be safe rather thansorry, even though the coaching staff has been very pleased with hisprogress,” Oliver said.Dale underwent major surgery to his right shoulder in November last yearafter playing the first Pura Cup match for Queensland.Rookie Sandgate-Redcliffe pace bowler Nathan Rimmington has replacedDale for the Darwin tournament, one of three changes to the originalsquad selected.Sunshine Coast batsman Aaron Maynard has replaced spinner Scott O’Leary(hamstring) while Bulls rookie-contracted paceman Steve Magoffin (backsoreness) has also withdrawn.The QAS squad will have 13 players rather than the 14 originallyselected.Queensland Academy of Sport team: Chris Simpson (c), Duncan Betts, LukeDavis, Ben Edmondson, Cameron Glass, Chris Hartley, Nick Kruger, AaronMaynard, Daniel Payne, Matthew Petrie, Craig Philipson, Peter Reimers,Nathan Rimmington. Coach: Richard Done.