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Borthwick keeps Tremlett at bay

If anyone in the England camp takes a look at the scorecard from this game, it will be noted that Chris Tremlett, who missed out on selection for the fifth Test at The Oval

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street22-Aug-2013
ScorecardScott Borthwick is Durham’s leading run-scorer in first-class cricket this season after making his third hundred•Getty ImagesIf anyone in the England camp takes a look at the scorecard from this game, it will be noted that Chris Tremlett, who missed out on selection for the fifth Test at The Oval, was the only name to feature in the Surrey wickets column. A five-for kept his team in touch against Durham and will provide further grist for those questioning England’s decision-making.That the home side were not too inconvenienced by Tremlett was largely down to the efforts of Scott Borthwick, a local lad who made his third first-class century of the season. England may well be interested in that, too.Durham is a proudly local county cricket club. Every time an outsider visits Chester-le-Street the sense of community and the bond between supporters and players is tangible.The man who leads them in their cricket, Geoff Cook, Durham’s first captain in first-class cricket and now their coach, is a Middlesbrough native. Cook is recovering from a heart attack but the spirit he brought to the club after a career with Northamptonshire and England pervades the place. His captain, Paul Collingwood, born in Shotley Bridge, has been playing for them long enough now to be termed a stalwart, and nobody in Durham will hear a word said against him.Borthwick and Will Smith, another who warrants acceptance as an adopted son, provided the runs that gave Durham cause for satisfaction at the end of a day which started with Surrey winning the toss and putting the opposition in. Whether Collingwood would have made the same decision as Gareth Batty had the coin landed the other way up is debatable, as his side entered the fixture with a depleted seam attack.Borthwick, who has been capped three times in limited-overs cricket, is a Sunderland boy and Smith, while born in Bedfordshire, was educated at Durham University. Between them they contributed 222 runs to Durham’s effort. Borthwick came to the wicket in the second over of the match after Tremlett had castled Mark Stoneman. Five hours later he had a hundred and until he was dismissed for 135 he never looked remotely vulnerable. He was tidy, compact, and seized on the loose ball to register 21 boundaries.Smith joined Borthwick after a tumbling slip catch by Zander de Bruyn saw off a promising innings by Keaton Jennings, who added 69 with Borthwick. Then the pair dug in and built a partnership of 183 in a little over 50 overs. Smith fell 13 runs short of a century and Borthwick followed him just before the close of play.Borthwick’s innings leaps off the scorecard but look further down it and you find the other outstanding contribution. Tremlett might not have been expecting to play in this game, but he was released by England and made his way up the A1. His presence in the side might well have influenced Batty’s decision to bowl first but, while the outcome at the end of the day might have disappointed, his faith in his bowler was justified.Tremlett took all five wickets to fall, bowling off 17 precisely calibrated steps before leaping into a colossal delivery stride. His accuracy rarely wavered, as evidenced by an economy rate of 2.31 and the modes of dismissal: one bowled, two lbw, and two caught behind the wicket. It was a joy to watch and he will be a potent asset for England in Australia in the winter – though some will wonder if he could have been as effective in south London this week.

Parnell appears in court, gets bail

Wayne Parnell has surrendered in a Mumbai court and been subsequently granted bail after allegedly testing positive for recreational drugs last year

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2013Wayne Parnell, the South Africa and Pune Warriors bowler, has been granted bail by a Mumbai court after surrendering before it on charges of testing positive for recreational drugs, following a police raid on a party in the city last year. Legspinner Rahul Sharma, who also tested positive in that case, played for Warriors on Sunday against Kings XI Punjab.A Warriors spokesman said Parnell went to the authorities with his lawyer. “He still hasn’t joined the squad,” the spokesman said. “He cannot do so until he gets bail and BCCI clearance.” However, it is understood that securing bail will make it much easier for him to secure the BCCI clearance – Sharma has already obtained it.Tony Irish, CEO of the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), said the issue was being dealt with as an individual matter with Parnell and his agent. “He [Parnell] knew this was going to happen and he appointed Indian lawyers to deal with it,” Irish said to ESPNcricinfo. “He is going through the process and we don’t believe there is any substance to the charges. The next step is for the prosecution to see if there is sufficient evidence to have a trial or if they will dismiss the charges.”Speaking to ESPNcricinfo last month, Parnell had confirmed he would play in the IPL and claimed innocence on the drug charge. “As far as I am concerned, everything is fine,” he said. “I’ve received a mail from Pune saying I have to come. I’ve got nothing to hide. The full story will come out once I get over there. They tested everyone that was at the party. I need to find my sample, because if they tested me they must have my sample and we need to match that up.”I’ve been subjected to drug testing in my last five years as a professional cricketer, and I haven’t tested positive once. So I’ve got nothing to worry about. As far as I am aware, they didn’t give any specific samples and put them to names. They just said that a certain number of people tested positive. The individual samples need to be shown now.”Parnell and Sharma were among 90 people detained following the party at a hotel in the Juhu suburb of Mumbai on May 20 last year, a day after Pune Warriors’ IPL 2012 campaign ended. According to reports, drugs including cocaine, MDMA and cannabis were consumed at the party.Of the 90 people, 86 apparently tested positive – including 35 foreign nationals, who have been “shown as wanted” according to a police official. These 86 people had a 1200-page charge sheet drawn up against them last month, according to .

Borren to lead against South Africa

Peter Borren has been named captain of Netherlands’ 14-man squad for the ODI against South Africa in Amstelveen on May 31

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2013Peter Borren has been named captain of Netherlands’ 14-man squad for the ODI against South Africa in Amstelveen on May 31.On May 28, Netherlands’ YB40 squad will travel to Amsterdam for the Canal Bike Race against the South Africans. They will then practice for two days in Amstelveen before the ODI.Squad: Peter Borren (capt), Wesley Barresi, Tom Cooper, Daan van Bunge, Mudassar Bukhari, Tom de Grooth, Tim Gruijters, James Gruijters, Tom Heggelman, Ahsan Malik, Paul van Meekeren, Stephan Myburgh, Pieter Seelaar, Michael Swart.

Derbyshire announce 2012 profit

Derbyshire have announced a profit of £23,310 for 2012, a further sign that the club is in good health ahead of their return to Division One of the Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2013Derbyshire have announced a profit of £23,310 for 2012, a further sign that the club is in good health ahead of their return to Division One of the Championship. The club have generated a surplus for the second year running – and the sixth in seven – despite a wet summer that caused financial headaches for several counties.Derbyshire recently revealed plans to redevelop their Derby ground, with a view to hosting games at the 2019 World Cup, as part of a six-point blueprint to develop and promote cricket in the county.”After a very challenging summer for English cricket, in which we were competing with both the weather and sporting spectacles such as the London Olympics and Euro 2012, our financial results for the year are very pleasing indeed,” the chief executive, Simon Storey, said. “The profit is testament to the hard work of everyone involved and it caps a special year for the county both on and off the field.”Derbyshire chairman, Chris Grant, added: “It has been a momentous year for Derbyshire County Cricket Club and – given the economic climate – posting a profit for the second successive year is an excellent achievement. Even more importantly we are embarking upon an exciting period both on and off the field with no debt and on a sound financial footing.”

Gayle completes another demolition job

Chris Gayle consigned a quiet start to a chase of 155 a distant memory with another calm demolition job of an opposition team

The Report by Siddhartha Talya11-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
An all too familiar sight in the IPL•BCCIChris Gayle took centre stage once again for Royal Challengers Bangalore, after a rare-slip up in their previous game. He consigned a quiet start to a chase of 155 to a distant memory with another calm demolition job of an opposition team, backed up by his captain Virat Kohli, as Kolkata Knight Riders suffered their second defeat in a row following a promising start to their new season as defending champions.Gautam Gambhir guided the Knight Riders batting, happy at being asked to bat during the toss, but the total his side managed proved below-par on an excellent track for batting. The Royal Challengers seamers bowled impressively to restrict partnerships after they had begun encouragingly, and struck in the late overs to stifle an attempted surge. It kept Knight Riders down to a chaseable score, and Gayle made it look worse than it was.Gambhir was at ease piercing the gaps through the in-field, dispatching Moises Henriques, who opened the bowling, through the leg side and RP Singh past point and extra cover. Muttiah Muralitharan was driven through off, smacked over mid-on, and slog-swept, all this during a half-century stand with Jacques Kallis that promised to take Knight Riders beyond what they eventually got. Kallis sliced Vinay Kumar to deep point, but the promotion of Yusuf Pathan to No.4 triggered an acceleration.Yusuf struck his first three balls, all from Vinay, for boundaries to different parts of the ground, before whipping Jaidev Unadkat for six over midwicket. But Royal Challengers pulled things back, breaking the stand when Yusuf holed out to long-on off a slower delivery from Henriques. Gambhir and Tiwary put together a spirited partnership of their own, but the pair, together with Eoin Morgan, fell in a space of two overs at the death. RP leaked a few fours, but picked up three wickets and ran out Ryan McLaren in his final spell. The last four overs, which began with seven wickets in hand, yielded just 31 runs.Knight Riders would have expected a closer contest, having limited the hosts to 21 for 1 in the first five overs of the chase. But both Gayle and Kohli compensated for their early restraint. They targeted McLaren – who was replacing Brett Lee – first, Kohli whipping him for two fours through the leg side and Gayle swinging him for two massive sixes near cow corner. Kohli cashed in on anything bowled too straight, dismissing Pradeep Sangwan for two consecutive sixes.The occasional relief for Knight Riders came through Sunil Narine’s miserly spell and when Sangwan managed to york Gayle, though not well enough to beat his defense, but there was a generous supply of length balls against a batsman well set and in the groove to finish things off quickly. Gayle picked out the deep midwicket area, sending Sangwan again, and L Balaji, over the ropes before reserving the same treatment for Kallis twice in an over.Changes of pace, cutters, and variations in length were all futile against Gayle, who was the architect of another dominating Royal Challengers performance. Just how will bowling attacks find a way through that formidable trio of Gayle, Kohli, and AB de Villiers?

Taylor keeps his focus after England call

James Taylor moved to an unbeaten 163 after his England Test call, but Sussex have given themselves a chance of saving the match against Notts

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge29-Jul-2012
ScorecardJames Taylor ended unbeaten on 163 after being given a Test call up•Getty ImagesIt is not the same kind of mental strength he will need if he is asked to face Dale Steyn and company at Headingley but James Taylor passed one test of temperament at the first time of asking after trotting down the pavilion steps on Sunday morning.In between walking off at 106 not out on Saturday and attempting to pick up where he had left off he had a lot to be excited about: a first Championship century as a Nottinghamshire batsman, then a phone call telling him he was the man nominated to replace Ravi Bopara in the 13 for the second Test. He would not have slept especially well. Yet there was not a hint of distraction in his approach to the job in hand, which was specifically to bat Sussex out of the game.And inasmuch as he was still batting when Chris Read decided a lead of 349 was enough for his bowlers to be let loose on Sussex for a second time he fulfilled the task. He was 163 not out, having added 57 off 63 balls to his overnight score with no chances offered.How many more chances he will have to score centuries in his Nottinghamshire shirt remains to be seen. Stuart Broad, the county’s last major recruit from Leicestershire, has played in only 11 Championship matches in five seasons since arriving at Trent Bridge, never more than three in one season. If Taylor is as successful as Broad has been since England called on him for the first time he will become a similarly occasional participant. At least Taylor has played 10 times already and, furthermore, as a batsman, he should need fewer rests.Taylor and Voges added 77 to the overnight total in little more than an hour, leaving their partnership unbroken at 148 and heralding a day in which, rarely this summer – apart from when there has been no play at all – no wickets fell. It was not a day without interruption as a band of showers swept through during the afternoon but 70 overs were bowled, at the end of which Nottinghamshire were left to contemplate how they might bowl Sussex out in three sessions, rather than five and a half.Sussex might not be the threat to Nottinghamshire’s title aspirations that Warwickshire clearly are but they have a strong record at Trent Bridge, winning three of their last four first-class matches here, and in Chris Nash and Ed Joyce, who have become a solid opening partnership, two batsmen who have prospered against them individually.Nash finished on 79 from 160 balls. He had scored 57 or higher in seven of his last 10 Championship innings against Nottinghamshire and twice gone on to score a century, including 128 at Hove earlier this season. Joyce, meanwhile, might draw encouragement from recalling that the two highest scores of his career have been against Nottinghamshire – 192 for Middlesex in 2005, 183 for Sussex in 2009.On a pitch that behaved as benignly as it has for Taylor and Michael Lumb on day two, and with no spinner to give the ball a particular rip, they had things largely their own way. Samit Patel is a decent slow left-arm bowler who gives little away but he does not turn the ball hugely.Even Andre Adams, the leading wicket-taker in the country with 52, could not interrupt their progress and Harry Gurney, in particular, took some punishment at the hands of Nash, whose drives were timed superbly and went for seven of Nash’s 14 boundaries.Intriguingly, Nottinghamshire finished the day level on points with Warwickshire, both needing to take 10 wickets on the final day.

Scott Styris joins Hobart Hurricanes

The New Zealand batsman Scott Styris will play in the Big Bash League this season as the second international player for the Hobart Hurricanes

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2012The New Zealand batsman Scott Styris will play in the Big Bash League this season as the second international player for the Hobart Hurricanes. Styris, 37, retired from international cricket last year but has remained a useful Twenty20 player in domestic competitions around the world, having played for two IPL franchises, the Sylhet Royals in Bangladesh and this year for Sussex in England’s county competition.The Hurricanes were impressed by his form for Sussex, which included a 37-ball century last month, equalling the third-fastest hundred in T20 history. Styris said he was looking forward to joining the Hurricanes, having not played in Australia’s T20 competition before.”I’m enjoying my involvement in franchise T20 cricket around the world and have always enjoyed the challenge of playing in Australia against Australians,” Styris said. “The prospect of competing in this major Aussie domestic competition excites me greatly.”The England batsman Owais Shah is the other international player on the Hurricanes’ list for this season, and they have now signed 16 men. All teams must finalise their squads of 18 by the end of November, and the Sydney Thunder have added two more to their list with the signings of Usman Khawaja and Chris Rogers.Khawaja was part of the Thunder group last summer but this will be the first exposure to the BBL for Rogers, who was last year overlooked for a deal. Rogers, 34, continues to pile up the runs in county cricket and for Victoria, and the Thunder hope that in addition to his scoring he will be a valuable mentor for the younger players.”Chris is an exceptional batsman with an outstanding first-class record,” Shane Duff, the Thunder coach, said. “He is the type of proven player we lacked last season and he will play an important role in our line-up.”

Trescothick setback casts cloud over Somerset

On a shortened day in which Somerset took five Lancashire wickets, they also discovered that Marcus Trescothick will be out for longer than first thought

George Dobell at Taunton27-Apr-2012Vernon Philander was one of the Somerset bowlers to find his length on day two•Getty ImagesOn the face of things, this was a decent – if brief – day for Somerset. Showing they had learned the lessons of a disappointing first day, their seamers maintained a much tighter line and length and reaped immediate rewards. In the 21 overs possible before rain arrived, Lancashire lost five wickets for the addition of just 32 runs. Somerset, therefore, claimed full bowling bonus points, while Lancashire may yet be denied their fifth batting point.Scratch beneath the surface, however, and this was a grim day for Somerset. Most seriously, it has become apparent that Marcus Trescothick’s injury is worse than feared. Trescothick underwent surgery on the tendon in his right ankle on Thursday but, during the procedure, the surgeon discovered the tendon was not torn but ruptured. As a consequence, he is now expected to miss at least two months of the season. The mouth watering prospect of Trescothick and Chris Gayle opening together in T20 cricket at Taunton may well never come to fruition.Indeed it is becoming increasingly likely that neither man will be available. Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, spoke to Gayle on Friday with the pair agreeing to talk again after the West Indies announced their squad to tour England. As things stand, Gayle remains unclear of his inclusion in the touring squad and will speak to Rose again within the next few days. Bearing in mind the fragility of the West Indies’ batting, it would be odd if they felt they could do without Gayle.There are, at least, some intriguing names that could be available for Somerset to bring in on loan. Durham’s Liam Plunkett, struggling for form and languishing in second-XI cricket, is one experienced bowler who might benefit from a change of scenery, while his team-mate Steve Harmison is a less likely possibility. Naqaash Tahir, now with Lancashire, and Oliver Hannon-Dalby, of Yorkshire, are potential targets, too, while Kabir Ali of Hampshire is another. Whether Division One sides are persuaded to help Somerset is one issue; whether Somerset are interested in bowlers unable to win a place in Division Two sides is another. Either way, Somerset will not make a decision until assessing the fitness of all their bowlers in the days following this match.Somerset’s better bowling display on the second day here could be interpreted in different ways. While the bonus points were welcome, they may also reflect that Lancashire’s struggles provided a better indication of the true nature of this pitch. Had the hosts bowled better on the first day, Lancashire may have struggled to reach 300. Instead, the damage is done and Lancashire have already established a match-defining total. Somerset may yet be grateful for Sunday’s anticipated deluge.Amid the storms – literal and metaphorical – Craig Kieswetter enjoyed an accomplished performance in front of England selector, James Whitiker. Kieswetter remains very much a work in progress with the gloves, but he does inconsistently show an ability to cling on to very difficult chances. Here he claimed three in ten deliveries – two of them low, diving efforts in front of his slips – that would have made any keeper proud. Perhaps, for some, that will make his run of the mill blemishes – and there are still too many for a professional keeper – all the more infuriating, but it does suggest great potential.Vernon Philander, in particular, hit a perfect length and, with some balls nipping away and others going straight, soon spread confusion amid the Lancashire batting. Gareth Cross was the first to prod at one leaving him, before Luke Procter and Steven Croft followed suit. Glen Chapple’s counterattack was ended when George Dockrell found the edge of his bat with some turn and James Hildreth, at slip, pulled off another sharp catch.Such wickets must have inspired mixed feelings. While Somerset would celebrate the successful bowling, the fear remains that Lancashire, with the likes of Chapple and Simon Kerrigan in their line-up, have an attack that will not require a second invite to exploit these conditions.

Sri Lanka take charge after wicket frenzy

Thirteen wickets went down on the second day, but that didn’t change the overall match situation as Sri Lanka continued to dominate

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran23-Jun-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kumar Sangakkara became only the second batsman in Test history to be stranded on 199•AFPAfter the first day in Galle, the score was 300 for 2; on the second day, 13 wickets went down for 219 runs. Those contrasting statistics, however, did nothing to change the overall status of the match: Sri Lanka continue to boss the game, first piling on 472 (their highest total against Pakistan in Sri Lanka), and then raising more questions about the fragile Pakistan batting by taking out five early wickets.Despite Sri Lanka being in charge, it was a bittersweet day for Kumar Sangakkara. He became the quickest batsman to reach 2000 Test runs against a single team, but he also became only the second player in Test history to be stranded on 199. That too, after signalling his double-century in the penultimate over of the innings, only to be told it was a scorecard error.In the morning, Saeed Ajmal had underlined why he’s the top-ranked Test spinner in the world by taking three big wickets to raise hopes of a Pakistan fightback. Prasanna Jayawardene, though, again showed his value as a lower-order scrapper, supporting Sangakkara for a couple of hours to keep Sri Lanka firmly ahead in the Galle Test.That advantage was multiplied in the final hour and a half as Pakistan’s batting floundered in the fading light. Nuwan Kulasekara repaid his recall to the Test side after more than a year on the sidelines by taking two wickets in his third over. His trademark inswinger made only an infrequent appearance but that didn’t affect him as he had Taufeeq Umar lbw shouldering arms to a delivery on the stumps, and then handed Azhar Ali a golden duck as the batsman flirted with a ball outside off, only to feather it to the keeper.Then the spinners took over. Mohammad Hafeez was a prime candidate for the lbw as he adopted the dangerous tactic of playing flighted length deliveries off the back foot. He escaped a few times against Rangana Herath, but not against Suraj Randiv, who then dismissed the nightwatchman Ajmal first ball. Herath had reward for his sustained interrogation of the batsman’s technique by getting Asad Shafiq to edge to the keeper. The umpires had a tough time as there were innumerable vociferous appeals, as the spinners regularly operated with five fielders round the bat. Younis Khan survived, but at 48 for 5, a long tail and the follow-on 224 runs away, Pakistan are left needing a miracle.Batting wasn’t easy in the morning either as only 11 runs had come off the first seven overs. Like on Friday, Mahela Jayawardene decided to ease the pressure with an enterprising stroke, this time a reverse-sweep for four. Two balls later, he went for the slog-sweep against Ajmal, but missed and was bowled.Smart stats

Kumar Sangakkara’s unbeaten 199 is only the second such score in Test cricket.The only other batsman to remain not out on 199 was Andy Flower, against South Africa in 2001.

Sri Lanka’s total of 472 is their sixth-highest Test score against Pakistan, but their highest against them in Sri Lanka.

Four Sri Lanka batsmen fell without scoring, which makes it the second-highest innings total in Tests to have four or more ducks. The highest is West Indies’ 501 against India in 2002.

This was Sangakkara’s 15th score of 150 or more in Tests, which is fourth in the all-time list. Had he scored another run, it would have been Sangakkara’s ninth double-hundred in Tests, which would’ve put him in second place, next only to Don Bradman’s 12 and level with Brian Lara’s nine.

Sangakkara needs only 61 to become the highest run-scorer in Tests against Pakistan. His tally of 2029 is also the second-highest by a Sri Lanka batsman against any opposition.

Saeed Ajmal’s 5 for 146 is his sixth five-wicket haul in Tests, but the most expensive of the lot. It’s also his first five-for in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan lost their fifth wicket at 44, which is their second-lowest score at five down in Tests against Sri Lanka.

Sangakkara has been Sri Lanka’s most assured batsman in the match, but even he had his problems against Ajmal. He used the slog-sweep effectively, picking up a couple of boundaries in an Ajmal over, but in between he was beaten by the extra bounce Ajmal generated. Once, as he looked to defend outside off, he couldn’t get anywhere near the ball as it spun away sharply.He survived, but Thilan Samaraweera didn’t last long. The Ajmal doosra, possibly the most feared delivery in Test cricket today, confounded Samaraweera, dragging him out of the crease, before Adnan Akmal completed a smart stumping. The very next ball, Angelo Mathews perished, though it wasn’t due to any Ajmal magic. It was a full and wide delivery that Mathews limply drove at to hand the bowler a simple caught-and-bowled. In two deliveries, Ajmal had taken as many wickets as Pakistan had on all of the first day.Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman didn’t have the same success as Ajmal, though he too posed plenty of questions for the batsman. Early in Prasanna Jayawardene’s innings, Rehman got a delivery to drift in before spinning just past the outside edge, and bouncing just over the middle stump. A wicket there and Sri Lanka would have been 346 for 6, and Pakistan could have eyed a quick close to the innings.Instead, once again a Sangakkara-Jayawardene partnership frustrated them. The batsmen found it a little easier after lunch, with Prasanna flicking several boundaries off his pads. Sangakkara was circumspect after those early slog-swept boundaries, dealing almost entirely in singles and zeroes, perhaps a silent tribute to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the great logician Alan Turing. The pair added 80 to lift Sri Lanka past 400, and though Prasanna was caught behind on 48, the damage had already been done.Sangakkara moved to 170 by tea, but with Pakistan striking twice more before tea, he showed more urgency after the break. He did decline several singles to keep Rangana Herath away from the strike, but he also launched a six over long-on, attempted a scoop – a shot he hadn’t tried all match – and pushed Herath to return for a tight second that resulted in a run-out. When on 192, there was an impatient swing that lobbed to mid-off but the bowler Mohammad Hafeez couldn’t latch on to a tough chance.Soon after, he swiped a six over midwicket and celebrated as the scorecard showed his 200, but the dressing room soon pointed out that he was still on 199. He defended the next ball, the final delivery of the over, to give strike to the last man Nuwan Pradeep, who was bowled off the second delivery, leaving the Galle crowd disappointed despite Sri Lanka’s strong position.

Was not aiming for double-century – Younis

Younis Khan has said he was not aiming for a double-century on the third day of the Chittagong Test and only started thinking about it when his captain and coach told him to go for it

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2011Younis Khan, the Pakistan batsman, has said he was not aiming for a double-century on the third day of the Chittagong Test and only started thinking about it when his captain Misbah-ul-Haq and coach Mohsin Khan told him to go for it. Younis started the third day on 96, completed his century with a boundary off the third ball, and then switched gears to reach 200 and give Pakistan a 459-run first-innings leads.”This morning my focus was on getting four runs to complete my hundred,” Younis said. “I was lucky to get them off the third ball. Then suddenly the captain and coach changed the plan and told me to go for the double-century.”I missed two double-hundreds against India in Pakistan in 2006, once when I scored 199 [in Lahore] and once when I made 194 [in Faisalabad]. But this time I was sure that I will get my double-hundred.”During his innings Younis went past 6000 Test runs, and notched up his 19th Test century and third Test double-century. Younis, 34, said he was not focused on breaking any Pakistan batting records but just wanted to play 100 Tests. “It’s my dream to play 100 Test matches. If I am lucky enough to play 100 Test matches maybe I will be close to [some records].”Younis dedicated his double-hundred to his family and the Pakistan coaching staff and team management. He also reserved special praise for his captain Misbah, who he said was respected by the rest of the team.”I will give Misbah 100% marks on his captaincy because he is an educated person and he has the respect of the team. Everybody listens to him and if you want to give him advice he takes it with an open heart.”

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