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ScorecardBangladesh completed a hat-trick of victories in Group Two of the Plate Championship with an eight-wicket demolition of Ireland at Chittagong.Both sides were already through to the semi-finals before today’s match, but the incentive for the winners was a match against Scotland, while the losers knew they would have the stiffer task of facing Australia.Ireland chose to bat first, knowing that Bangladesh have stuttered when chasing small totals in the tournament so far, against Canada and Uganda. But Ireland were unable to set any sort of challenging target, crashing to 141 all out in the 47th over with Nadif Chowdhury, the left-arm seamer, the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 14.This time Bangladesh’s batsmen made few mistakes in their reply. Opener Nafis Iqbal at last found form with the bat, hitting 86 not out to guide his side to victory for the loss of only two wickets in 30 overs.Iqbal was named Man of the Match and said he was pleased to have made some runs for his team. He said, "It is not about scoring centuries, it is all about winning the match for the team. It was just important today that we won the match."Adrian Birrell, Ireland’s coach, singled out Iqbal for his batting performance. "All credit to Nafis for a very good innings, he batted very well against us," he said."I’m not too disappointed with our performance, we just came up against a better team on the day. We will now turn our efforts towards beating Australia and hopefully we may even meet Bangladesh in the final."

The immediate fate of Zimbabwe’s tour to Pakistan hangs in delicate balance following the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, an incident that has sparked violence throughout the country.Zimbabwe are due to arrive in Pakistan on January 12 and are scheduled to play two warm-up matches as well as a series of five ODIs, beginning January 26. But that schedule was thrown into doubt following yesterday’s suicide attack which killed Bhutto shortly after an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi. Since then, the main urban centres of Pakistan – including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad – have witnessed heavy rioting and violence.Understandably, given the proximity of the incident, no decision has been taken yet. The nation is in official mourning for three days, a stance echoed by Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “This is a huge national tragedy and a time of mourning for the whole country. I feel it is not appropriate to talk about cricket just now. We will look at the situation in 2-3 days,” Ashraf told Cricinfo.Another senior board official said the Zimbabwe board had not been in touch yet. “Nobody from the Zimbabwe board has yet got in touch with us about the situation,” the official told Cricinfo. When asked specifically whether the tour would go ahead, he said, “As of this immediate moment, it is on. But ultimately your guess is as good as mine.”Zimbabwe play their first ODI in Hyderabad, another city particularly badly hit by a night of rioting; they are also scheduled to spend considerable time in Karachi, before playing in Multan, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura.Clouding the matter further is the fate of the general elections, which were scheduled to be held on January 8, days before the tourists arrive. In the aftermath of the assassination, there are suggestions they may be postponed. In either case, however, reports are warning that further violence in coming days may be inevitable, extending a year of already tremendous political tumult in the country.Australia, who are due to tour Pakistan in March, have adopted a wait-and-see policy. They are due to send a security delegation to the country in February, after which they will decide on the tour.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene expressed disappointment after his team lost both matches of the two-Test series against Australia.”We had a bit more to offer than this as a team. We had a lot of talented guys in the group and unfortunately we couldn’t get all that talent together in a couple of games. That was the most disappointing factor for us,” Jayawardene said at the end of the second Test, which his team lost by 96 runs.”I felt that we had a very good bowling attack but the way we played wasn’t very consistent. We could not penetrate through the Australian top order which was very disappointing. The way we batted in the first innings of the two Test matches was also disappointing. That alone gave us a lot of problems in the whole series because we put ourselves under pressure.”Especially against a side like Australia, you want to challenge yourself and see how far you’ve come and need to improve. But looking back at the series there are a lot of areas where we definitely need to improve. We have to sit down and talk about where we need to improve and show a lot of character to get back as a group.”What we have to realise is that we played against the best team in the world right now and they were in form – all their top-order batsmen. We came across a very good side. We challenged ourselves and we tried a lot of things but the way we lost was the most disappointing factor. We just need to refocus and get ready for the three Tests against England.”Questioned whether there would be major changes in the team for the series against England, Jayawardene said: “You just can’t chop and change players because they fail in a couple of games. That won’t help us in the long run. We just have to make some sensible decisions when we go back home.”We tried a few guys and extended their periods in our line-up but no one’s actually been very consistent. We have to be a bit more patient and wait for the right people to come in. We are heading into a transitional period and we just need to make it smooth and make sure the guys who are coming are comfortable and not under pressure to perform.”Our domestic structure underneath is not that strong for them to step into international cricket straight away. You have to be with them for quite some time and give them that encouragement to come up to the standard because they are not being challenged underneath. For them to step into international cricket straight away is a huge leap. It’s a big bridge for them to leap. You have to be patient.”Sri Lanka’s next Test series is at home against England starting on December 1.

When Yuvraj Singh cracked a sensational 358 in the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy – an under-19 tournament – in 1999-2000, his father is supposed to have admonished him for not going on to make a quadruple century. He expected another call today, talking about a double-hundred, but one which came with heartfelt congratulations as well.”One hundred and sixty-nine is a lot of runs,” said Yuvraj, talking about his third Test hundred, all of which have come against Pakistan. “I should have got 200, and I am disappointed from a personal point of view that I did not. But I am delighted that Sourav and I hauled the team out of a tough situation, from 61 for 4. What is most important for me is that the team is in a good position.”It’s been nearly 18 months since Yuvraj last played in a Test and he admitted to the frustrations during the intervening period. He was also aware that he could miss out when India walk out to the park in Melbourne to take on Australia on Boxing Day. “It feels bad to sit out, but you must see how many great players we have in the middle order,” he said. “Rahul, Sachin, Laxman and Sourav all have very good Test records. Going out to bat today, I wasn’t worried about the Australia tour and whether I can secure my place in the XI. I wanted to play for the team, to help the team win the Test.”Was he hurt at being left out for so long, despite staking his claim so emphatically in the one-day arena? “I had a very bad Test series in the West Indies, and after that, the rest of the batsmen all played well,” he said. “I have myself to blame. I stayed motivated, worked hard on my game, and was determined to take my chance when it came my way again. I always knew that I could do well in Test cricket. You have time to settle down and play yourself in. To me, Test cricket is the main thing.”

Yuvraj walked in with India in a pickle. Yasir Arafat, the debutant medium-pacer, had made a mess of the top order by surprising a few with zip off the pitch. The pitch assisted him, as Arafat himself admitted, but it still required a good spell to remove three prized scalps. Hailing from Rawalpindi, he doesn’t possess the furious pace of his city-mate Shoaib Akhtar but makes up with accuracy. In fact one Pakistan newspaper recently referred to him as the [in contrast with the more speedy ].Arafat had to first come to terms with making his debut. By the first session, he was enjoying a fairytale start. “I was playing domestic cricket in Pakistan and I didn’t think I will be called up,” he said. “People consider me as an allrounder suited to one-dayers. I was surprised I got a call up. I didn’t think much about Tests. But I got a chance because of injuries. And now I’ve made a debut. The pitch was supporting the fast bowlers early on. I wanted to bowl on and outside off and got wickets because of that. But I didn’t think I’ll get such important wickets so early.”The rest of the day wasn’t as rosy. “After lunch it became a good wicket. It was playing very easy, like a good batting track. It was very frustrating for me and the team. But again, they played well. But credit to the batsmen. Yuvraj is a very talented cricketer and his innings was tremendous today.” Yuvraj might have hogged the headlines today but Arafat’s chance will come. With a name like that, headline writers will struggle to control the urge.

Zimbabweans 206 and 138 for 6 (Matsikenyeri 45, Maregwede 44, Morkel 4-26) lead Combined Easterns/Northerns XI 275 (Seymore 82, Harris 46) by 69 runs
Scorecard

A collapse late in the day left the Zimbabweans in danger of losing their tour match against the Easterns/Northerns XI at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. By the close of the second day the Zimbabweans, who trailed by 69 on first innings, had turned that round into a lead of 69 – but only had four wickets remaining.There was an early wobble when Barney Rogers and Hamilton Masakadza both fell to Morne Morkel for ducks, but then Stuart Matiskenyeri and Alester Maregwede combined in a stand of 76 that took Zimbabwe into the lead. However, then disaster struck: first Matsikenyeri fell to the slow left-armer Paul Harris for 45 after hitting eight fours, and then next ball Brendan Taylor was also bowled (86 for 4).Maregwede ploughed on to 44, but then Morkel returned to have him caught behind by Heino Kuhn for 44. Elton Chigumbura also fell to Morkel for 3, and although Tatenda Taibu and Sean Williams survived until the close they will have a lot to do if what is scheduled to be a four-day match is not to end early on the third day.Earlier the combined XI took their score from 132 for 2 to 275. Andre Seymore, the captain, added only five to his overnight 77, and was the first to go as his team slipped to 209 for 8. But a handy 46 from Harris, who hit five fours and a six and put on 63 for the ninth wicket with Reeze Telling (28) gave their side what could be a crucial advantage.

Mathew Dowman and Dominic Cork at last gave Derbyshire supporters a dayto savour when they transformed the match at the County Ground with arecord breaking partnership.The unbroken seventh wicket stand of 225 was the highest for Derbyshireagainst Durham and at the close, Dowman and Cork had taken their sideinto a lead of 369.It was a totally different story shortly after lunch when Durham had thehome side on the ropes at 121-6, only 143 runs in front, and there wasevery chance the game would finish inside two days.But the pitch had by now flattened out, the ball did not swing andDowman and Cork plundered bowling which became increasingly ragged on ahot afternoon.This was Dowman’s best innings for Derbyshire and, after spending 18balls on 99, he reached his eighth first-class century which wasapplauded by all the Durham team.Cork scored his fourth hundred and his unbeaten 105 was his highestscore while Dowman’s 129 not out was his best for Derbyshire.The stand was the highest against Durham this season and has seriouslydamaged their chances of avoiding relegation to the Second Divisionwhile Derbyshire now have an excellent chance of winning their firstgame since late June although they already look doomed to lose theirDivision One status.

Sourav Ganguly has said that while he was encouraged by India’s performances last season, the players needed to guard against complacency and ensure that they improved on their display this year. Looking ahead to the 2004-05 season, which kicks off with the Asia Cup on July 16, Ganguly told Press Trust of India: “It is an important season for us. Last year was good and successful. We have to follow it with another good season – that is how you become a strong and good side.”Ganguly, who turned 32 today, admitted that his players could be rusty after a three-month layoff, but said that the challenge was to get into groove early. “The important thing is that we have to settle down quickly because just like any other team we are coming out of a two-and-half-month layoff. Getting the rhythm straightaway is never possible; so it is a challenge for us to get into rhythm and optimum level of confidence as quickly as possible.”India go into the Asia Cup as favourites, but Ganguly refused to underestimate their opponents. “It is always going to be tough since Sri Lanka will be playing at home and Pakistan is a good side. It is going to be tough for all three sides when they compete against each other.”India had played through most of last season without a couple of frontline bowlers, but the three-month rest has allowed both Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh to recover, a fact which delighted Ganguly. “I think after a long time we are back in full strength. Considering this we hope to do well in the Asia Cup.”Harbhajan back in the team is a huge bonus for us. If he can raise his standards on par with Kumble along with Zaheer, Irfan Pathan and [Lakshmipathy] Balaji, I am sure we will have an edge over the other teams.”

Have Otago finally got themselves in a position where they can ram home the advantage and set up the winning position that has been denied them in games so far in the State Championship?Central Districts could only manage 185 after being asked to bat first by Otago captain Craig Cumming when the four-day domestic competition resumed today.It had been 30 degrees Celsius in Alexandra overnight but the temperature plummeted dramatically before play started in cool conditions at Molyneux Park.Central Districts started out on a greenish wicket, unlike the usual Molyneux Park one and things worked Otago’s way, almost from the outset. Peter Ingram and David Kelly were both out when the score was 22 and Ben Smith followed at 49.Mathew Sinclair worked his way to 28 off 38 balls, hitting five fours, but was trapped leg before wicket by Craig Pryor. At that stage each of the Otago bowlers used had claimed a wicket.Some overdue defiance came from captain Glen Sulzberger, who battled hard for 137 minutes, to score his 36 runs. He and wicket-keeper Bevan Griggs added 55 for the sixth wicket, before Griggs was out for 24 after 72 minutes, the first victim of fast bowler Kerry Walmsley returning to the action.Theirs was easily the best partnership in the innings and apart from a later contribution by Andrew Schwass, batting at No 8 for 39 not out, there was little else to enthuse over in the batting. Central Districts were all out for 185.Walmsley with four for 42 from 20 overs impressed and deserved a five-wicket bag.James McMillan, who took three for 53 from 15.4 overs, bowled well in patches. But like David Sewell, who had one for 44 from 14 overs, he tended to bowl too many short balls. Sewell continued his penchant for leg side theory.Pryor performed a very economical spell of 12 overs and finished with two for 32.Otago did not make the best of starts when losing Robbie Lawson for five with the score on 11 when he was caught off Michael Mason’s bowling. While on 32, Cumming was caught off Schwass for nine.However, Simon Beare was 16 not out and Chris Gaffaney was 12 not out when bad light stopped play 55 minutes early with Otago 48/2.Otago’s response will determine just how much of a factor the pitch was in the Central Districts innings. But if the conditions allow the batsmen to get in tomorrow, Otago must look to build a big total to put the pressure on CD on days three and four.

Sui Gas fast bowler Wasim Khan claimed a match haul of 14-97 to guide his unfancied team to an innings and 59 run victory over Habib Bank in the second round of the Inter-Department Qualifying Tournament at Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot on Sunday.
Wasim, who took 8-41 in HBL’s first innings score of 97, captured 6-56 in the second innings as Habib Bank, resuming at 145-4, were bundled out for 193. Sui Gas, in their only innings, had scored 349-5 from 83 overs.Pakistan pacer Umar Gul was also in devastating form with a match haul of 10-111 to inspire PIA to an innings and 17 run victory over Pak PWD at the Quaid-e-Azam Park in Karachi. Umar, who took 5-51 in the first innings, snapped up 5-60 in the second as Pak PWD, starting the day at 49-5, were dismissed for 166.Naved-ul-Hasan (6-25) and Aqeel Ahmed (4-7) routed Pakistan Army for a modest 68 to earn Wapda victory by an innings and 127 runs at the Pindi Stadium.Azam Hussain picked up 7-38 runs to bowl DHA to a 10-wicket victory over KESC at the UBL Sports Complex.Scores in brief (day 3 of 3):Pool A:
At Quaid-e-Azam Park, Pak PWD 144 in 52 overs (Zeeshan Pervaiz 33, Umar Gul 5-51, Fazle Akbar 3-32, Nadeem Khan 2-31) and 166 (Ahmer Saeed 57, Umar Gul 5-60, Nadeem Khan 3-39) vs PIA 327-5 in 83 overs (Kamran Sajid 124, Yasir Hameed 127, Bazid Khan 31). PIA won by an innings and 17 runs.
At PCB Academy, Pakistan Navy 86 in 37.4 overs (Junaid Zia 6-19, Imran Ali 3-29) and 279 (Mohammad Ali 50, Kamran Ahmed 47, Rashid Ali 82*, Shahid Mahmood 5-49, Imran Ali 4-47) vs Customs 312 (Kashif Siddique 76, Azhar Shafiq 65, Junaid Zia 47, Bilal Khilji 33, Farman Shah 3-88) and 54-0. Customs won by 10 wickets.
At UBL Sports Complex, KESC 156 in 58 overs (Javed Mansoor [3×4, 108b, Kamran B. Mansoor 42 [5×4, 106b], Azam Hussain 7-38) and 127 (Daniyal Ehsan 30, Azam Hussain 6-38) vs DHA 196-9 in 83 overs (Aamir Iqbal 97 [4×6, 78b], Wajid Ali 36, Saeed Khan 3-61) and 88-2 (Asif Zakir 59 not out). DHA won by eight wickets.Pool B:
At KRL Stadium, KRL 213 in 80.5 overs (Saeed bin Nasir 89 [13×4, 181b], Yasir Arafat 41 [6×4, 2×6, 38b], Mohammad Khalil 4-51, Mohammad Hussain 4-85) and 154 (Saeed Anwar Jnr 54, Ali Naqvi 42, Mohammad Hussain 6-35) vs PTCL 112 in 50.5 overs (Yasir Arafat 3-22, Ali Naqvi 3-23, Mohammad Asif 3-25) and 156-6 (Shahzad Malik 59 not out, Mohammad Idrees 36 not out). Match drawn.
At Army Cricket Ground, Pakistan Army 160 (Zubair Watoo 44, Farooq Iqbal 3-7) and 68 (Naved-ul-Hasan 6-25, Aqeel Ahmed 4-7) vs Wapda 355 in 71.5 overs (Mohammad Zaman 76, Tariq Aziz 62, Atiq-ur-Rehman 47, Hasan Adnan 47, Nabeel 3-36, Zubair Watoo 3-74). Wapda won by an innings and 127 runs.
At Shalimar Ground, POF 260-8 in 83 overs (Ahsan Masood 90, Mohammad Usman Tahir 62, Imran Ali 41, Naseer Ahmed 4-83) and 57-0 vs PTV 185 (Khalid Latif 46, Fayyaz Ahmed 35, Suleman Khan 31, Rashid Latif 3-29, Jamil Ahmed 3-40). Match drawn.Pool C:
At Railway Stadium, Railway 295 in 83 overs (Afzal Shah 75 [9×4, 146b], Asif Butt 50 [5×6, 30b], Khalid Bashir 40, Fahad-ul-Haq 40 [4×4, 68b], Mohammad Shoaib 3-33, Atif Ijaz 2-50, Shoaib Maqsood 2-78) and 288 (Javed Iqbal 106*, Shakeel Ahmed 70, Fahad-ul-Haq 37, Shoaib Maqsood 4-88) vs HEC 265 in 83 overs (Amjad Ali 61, Atif Ijaz 43, Khalid Bashir 6-54). Match drawn.
At Country Club Muridke, ZTBL 282 in 77.1 overs (Zeeshan Mohsin 46, Zahoor Elahi 42, Javed Hayat 40, Faisal Naveed 37, Imran Abbas 30, Aleem Moosa 3-85, Mohammad Javed 3-56) and 279-4 (Naved Qureshi 188, Imran Abbas 108*) vs NBP 325-3 in 83 overs (Salman Butt 190, Naumanullah 76, Akhtar Sarfraz 39 not out). Match drawn.
At Gymkhana Ground Okara, PAF 302-9 in 83 overs (Shakeel Sharif 118, Naseer-ud-Din 45, Nadeem Farooqi 33, Rizwan Ahmed 4-67) and 251-4 (Rashid Butt 105, Tufail Ahmed 56) vs Service Industries 300 in 83 overs (Asif Iqbal 137, Kashif Nizami 46, Tahir Masood 33, Mohammad Asif 32, Naseer-ud-din 4-107, Asif Khan 3-89). Match drawn.Pool D:
At Jinnah Stadium Sialkot, HBL 97 in 22.3 overs (Wasim Khan 8-41) and 193 (Saleem Elahi 65, extras 43, Wasim Khan 6-56) vs Sui Gas 349-5 in 83 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 152, Misbah-ul-Haq 79, Ali Hussain 40, Sohail Idrees 32, Abdul Rehman 3-100). Sui Gas won by an innings and 59 runs.
At Saga Ground, PEB 52 in 16.3 overs (Abdul Rauf 5-36, Tanvir Ahmed 4-15) and 128 (Shahid Pervez Abbasi 67, Tahir Mughal 3-20, Abdul Rauf 2-40, Tanvir Ahmed 2-20) vs ABL 252-2 in 42 overs declared (Wajahatullah Wasti 107*, Farhan Adil 65, Ijaz Ahmed Jnr 35 not out). Allied Bank won by an innings and 72 runs.
At Jinnah Stadium Gujranwala, Saga 292 in 74.5 overs (Ashraf Ali 107, Kamran Younis 42, Shaiman Butt 39, Mustafa Bashir 4-83, Usman Nabi 3-69) and 31-1 vs LEO International 111 in 32 overs (Umair Khan 4-19, Tauqeer Hussain 4-44) and 190 (Safdar Niazi 50, Hasnain Abbas 37, Fahad Liaquat 31, Tauqeer Hussain 6-61). Saga won by nine wickets.

England’s tour of Zimbabwe has been plunged into further controversy after the journalist Derek Pringle refused to restrict his coverage to cricket only.Pringle, a correspondent with , now faces deportation after his editor ordered him not to sign a declaration that would commit him to covering nothing but cricket. The was one of 13 media organisations whose representatives were banned last week by the Zimbabwean government, which prompted the England team to stay in South Africa until the ban was lifted.”My editor told me on no account to sign any such guarantee,” the former Test player Pringle was quoted as saying on the BBC’s website. “If they want to deport me for that, then so be it.”And Pringle suggested that he may not be the only British journalist to refuse to sign the document, depending on what their editors advise. “A lot of them haven’t discussed it yet at length with their editors. “Mike Walters, the Daily Mirror’s correspondent, has been told not to travel at all by his paper and he is travelling home. I’ve been told one or two others have been told not to sign any such declaration.”It is not the first time the has taken a firm stance in Zimbabwe. Described at various times by the regime as an agent for MI5, the paper has repeatedly highlighted political abuses inside Zimbabwe. In April, another of its correspondents, Mihir Bose, was deported from the country for what he claimed were fabricated accreditation reasons.England will play the second of their one-day series against Zimbabwe on December 1. The series was reduced from five to four matches following England’s delayed arrival after the debacle over media accreditation last week.