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Despite half-centuries by Yousuf Youhana, Sohail Jaffar and AsifMujtaba, PIA made a modest 267 in their first innings on the openingday of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-I fixture against National Bank atSheikhupura Stadium Thursday.National Bank openers Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal safely an over eachby Wasim Akram and Azhar Mahmood to close the day on three for nowicket, according to details available here.Generally, it was a disappointing day for PIA. They were on course formassive score after National Bank skipper Mushtaq Ahmed had elected tofirst. But once the 99-run fourth wicket partnership between AsifMujtaba and Yousuf Youhana was broken, PIA lost their last sevenwickets for 67 runs.Opener Sohail Jaffer made 65 off 77 deliveries in 106 minutes and theleft-handed Mujtaba contributed a sedate 50 off 161 balls in 217minutes.Youhana, the ever reliable Test right-hander, went past the 50-runmark for the fourth consecutive time in as many innings. He made 54and 52 in the opening match against Allied Bank at Sialkot last week,preceded by that unbeaten century against Bangladesh in the Asian TestChampionship clash at Multan last month.Wasim Akram, in his first match for a month, scored just seven off 15balls before falling to leg-spinner Mushtaq. PIA captain Moin Khanmade 20 off 49 balls until he too was dismissed by the discarded Testspinner.Pakistan captain Waqar Younis terminated PIA’s innings by taking thescalps of Azhar Mahmood and Shoaib Malik to finish with three for 38.Mushtaq also claimed three wickets but conceded 86 runs in 25 overswhile lanky speedster Shabbir Ahmed captured two for 44.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, died on Sunday night at the BM Birla hospital in Kolkata, where he had been admitted after suffering a heart attack on Thursday. He was 75 and had faced concerns around his health since starting his second term as president in March.Dalmiya had been admitted to hospital after complaining of chest pain on Thursday and had to have an angiography. He was reported to be stable but remained in critical care for the next two days. The hospital statement said his condition had become unstable on Sunday morning and he died at 8.45 pm. Dalmiya’s body will be taken to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) headquarters at Eden Gardens on Monday afternoon for the public to pay their respects.A long-serving cricket administrator, Dalmiya had since 1979 worked his way from the CAB to president of the ICC and twice headed the BCCI. He is widely credited with being one of two BCCI officials responsible for India’s emergence as world cricket’s financial powerhouse and the tributes pouring in from across the globe bore witness to the breadth of his relationships.”As a visionary and a father figure of Indian cricket, Mr. Dalmiya worked towards the development of the game of cricket in India. The cricketing fraternity will miss him dearly,” said BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur. “Mr. Dalmiya played a significant part in positioning Indian cricket at the global level and the astute administrator in him, guided Indian cricket to greater heights. His untiring efforts will be remembered for generations to come and his contribution to Indian cricket will remain unparalleled.”He had initially made a name in the construction business, which he took over from his father at the age of 19, and joined the BCCI in 1979. Along with the then BCCI president NKP Salve and IS Bindra, Dalmiya was the force behind bringing the World Cup to India and Pakistan in 1987, the first time the tournament was staged outside England. It was during Dalmiya and Bindra’s tenures in the BCCI that the television rights for matches played in India were first sold to private television channels.After the successful conduct of the 1996 World Cup, Dalmiya was elected ICC president in 1997 and served in the role until 2000, after which he was elected BCCI president for the first time in 2001. In an acrimonious BCCI election in 2004, Dalmiya’s casting vote helped his candidate Ranbir Singh Mahendra get elected as president; but a year later, Dalmiya was beaten in a BCCI election for the first time in over two decades, by Sharad Pawar. His opponents at the time went after him – Dalmiya was banned from BCCI meetings, and an FIR was filed against him – but Dalmiya bounced back to win the CAB presidential elections in July 2006.Five months later the BCCI expelled him on charges of embezzling funds from the 1996 World Cup and he was forced to step down as CAB chief. After a long legal battle, he was allowed to contest the CAB elections again and he won the presidency in 2008. For the next five years, Dalmiya stayed in charge at the CAB but his influence was diminished at the BCCI level. In 2013, however, when N Srinivasan stepped aside temporarily from discharging his duties as BCCI president, the board turned to Dalmiya to run its affairs in the interim.With the influence of Srinivasan waning because of the corruption and spot-fixing scandals in the IPL under his watch and the board mired in legal trouble, Dalmiya was unanimously elected the BCCI president for a second term in March 2015. His health was already a concern by that time, though, and he had to be assisted at several board meetings. The last BCCI meeting Dalmiya attended was a working committee meeting in Kolkata on August 28, which he adjourned sine die because of confusion over whether Srinivasan was eligible to attend.

Australia’s captain Steven Smith has admitted the Adelaide Oval pitch explicitly prepared for the day-night Test and the pink ball has more grass on it than he expected, leading the selectors to dispense with the services of the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe and settle on a three-man pace attack for Friday.Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson would appear to be duelling for the final spot in the XI, with Peter Siddle set to resume his Test career in search of the two wickets he needs to notch 200 for Australia. Smith was positive in his feedback to the oval’s curator Damian Hough after the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and South Australia some weeks ago, but he said the ground’s thick grass coverage this week had surprised him.”It was considered obviously, as he was here to train with us,” Smith said of O’Keefe. “He’s done incredibly well with the pink ball and we thought he might have played a part, but it’s not going to end up that way. We’re going to go in with three quicks and an allrounder.”There’s probably a little bit more grass than I anticipated to be on it. That added bit of grass probably swayed our decision. I think it is going to be a good Test match for us. I think the facilities here are outstanding, I think the wicket is going to be a little bit more difficult perhaps than the Shield match, but I don’t think the conditions will be too dissimilar, so hopefully we can see a good five days of Test cricket.”The pioneering nature of the contest has been underlined by a noticeably bigger build-up than the first two Tests of the series, while the players are to be playing for a one-off cash inducement of $1 million to be split 60/40 between the victors and the vanquished. Smith played down the money, and resorted to his usual approach of terming the concept “exciting” rather than anything to be cynical about.”We are not really worrying about prize money, our main focus is to win the series against New Zealand, they are our cross-town rivals in a way,” Smith said. “I think it is a really exciting concept. I can’t wait to get out and give it a crack, so I think the ball has had a lot of work, it is at a position now where it is going to hold up, particularly in these conditions out here at Adelaide Oval.”So, I think it is a great concept, I think the crowds have rolled in. Obviously the first two Tests were a little bit disappointing with the crowds, and there is some big numbers expected for at least the first three days here, so I think it is really exciting for us moving forward.”We’ve all batted under lights at different times of our careers whether it is white ball, red ball or pink ball, I don’t think there is a huge difference, it is just a matter of going out there and adjusting and adapting to the conditions and playing what we are faced with. They have some quality bowlers who can swing the ball around and we are going to have to be aware of them.”Changes in tactics have been widely forecast for this match, given the vagaries created by the transition from day into night and the prospect of facing a brand new ball and spells of short bowling under lights. However Smith revealed that his much-commented upon decision to declare before stumps against South Australia in the Shield game had been motivated by a rather more traditional circumstance – giving his spearhead Mitchell Starc a few overs when he was angry. It is Starc who shapes as the most destructive force for Australia, particularly after the retirement of Mitchell Johnson in Perth.”That Shield game, I think Starcy was pretty fired up and angry after being bounced for a few overs there,” Smith said. “That was purely my decision, to declare that evening and have a crack. It worked out well in the end. But I don’t think the tactics and so much has to change as much as people believe.”Losing someone of the quality of Mitchell Johnson is always tough for a team, but I think Mitchell Starc is going to step up and fill that role. We saw that last week. It was extremely impressive to bowl 37 overs above 145kph consistently. Hopefully we can see a lot more of that.”

Division One

Yorkshire‘s frustrations with Midlands fixtures and bad weather continued. Following their anger over the Worcestershire-Kent rescheduling, this week rain prevented the start of their own match against Warwickshire. No county was to blame, of course, as thoughts of play were abandoned midway through the afternoon. Yorkshire, the leaders, will hope to keep their title campaign in good order if play is possible tomorrow.But they will not have been soothed by the start fourth-placed Sussex made at Horsham. Just half a point separates them and Durham, who are in third, so a win for either side could see them leaping to the top, if Yorkshire fail to win. Mushtaq Ahmed bowled Sussex into a strong position with 5 for 91 as Durham slipped from 131 for 3 to 209, with Scott Styris topscoring thanks to his 57. Phil Mustard again showed his combative skills with an aggressive 35, but when he fell to Mushtaq, the last four wickets fell for 9 runs. Chris Nash then led Sussex with a half-century, as they lost just three wickets before the close including his for 63, with the deficit now 75.

Division Two

Speaking of possible top-table reshuffles, Andrew Caddick continued to roll back the years for Somerset leading the attack with three Northamptonshire wickets to reduce them to 221 at Taunton. Northants were in real trouble at 153 for 7, but Steven Crook’s crafty 60 lifted them at least past the 200-mark. Somerset made a good start to their response, the openers Marcus Trescothick and Neil Edwards going well before rain brought an early close, at 77 without loss.In Division Two’s other match, there was no play possible between Nottinghamshire and Gloucestershire. At Trent Bridge, the leaders Nottinghamshire could only watch the rain fall – and keep tabs on Somerset’s progress.

Perth’s cricket pitch, once regarded as the fastest in Australia, will not be at its fearsome best for Australia’s Ashes series against England in December, the ground curator said.The Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) pitch has been criticised in recent seasons for losing its trademark bounce and pace. Cameron Sutherland, the curator, said Ricky Ponting had spoken to him and his colleagues last February about the likely state of pitches for this year’s Ashes Test series.”[The Australians] want to know what each characteristic is so they can pick a squad and arrive at the ground and it [the pitch] is basically what they expect it to be,” Sutherland told .Dennis Lillee, the legendary fast bowler, had criticised the WACA pitch last season for not having its renowned liveliness and Sutherland said the matter was being addressed, but the pitch would not be at its best for the Ashes series.”The clay percentage has dropped probably 20 percent from its heyday,” Sutherland said.”That has been replaced with sand and makes for a wicket more like the eastern states. It is still going to be a pretty good wicket in terms of pace and bounce, but it is still not going to be like it was 20 years ago when Lillee and [Jeff] Thomson were steaming in.”Kevin Mitchell, the curator of the Gabba, said his Brisbane pitch, which will be used for the first Test on November 23, was vying with Perth as being the fastest in Australia. “We are up there for pace for sure,” Mitchell told the newspaper. “We have a pacy deck, but bounce is hard to compare.”Mitchell said there had been no requests from Ponting for an unfair pitch advantage against England. “We are lucky in Australia to have the support of Cricket Australia and all the teams,” Mitchell said. “We are so lucky we don’t have the pressures other countries do.”

New Zealand become the first team to undertake four Test tours of Zimbabwe and Stephen Fleming, the captain, Nathan Astle and Daniel Vettori have been on three of them. They will be only too aware of the country’s decline as well as the similar progression, or regression, of its cricket.At least this Zimbabwe team will be stronger than the one playing for the last 18 months as a few rebel players have returned to the side after pressure on Zimbabwe cricket from the international cricket community. Still missing are three players of genuine Test quality in Grant Flower, Sean Ervine and Raymond Price, not to mention all those who retired prematurely in despair.The Zimbabwe selection has also been handicapped by the absence of Andy Blignaut, Douglas Hondo, Tinashe Panyangara and Ed Rainsford, all still suffering from stress fractures. But at least the presence of Heath Streak will ensure that the New Zealand batsmen do not have it all their way.The batting is strengthened by the return of Stuart Carlisle and Craig Wishart, who supply much-needed experience in addition to skill. But with the ill-concealed hostility between many of the players and the administrators still very strong, can one expect morale to be high and the team to match their opponents?Zimbabwe are taking a gamble by playing only four bowlers, three of who still have everything to prove. The promising but disappointing allrounder, Elton Chigumbura, has been dropped, while Trevor Gripper was omitted due to poor form. Neil Ferreira, a gritty player with a great heart but rather limited ability, will open the batting in his first Test with Brendan Taylor, whose six-month suspension has been mysteriously cut short.For New Zealand, the main interest will be in the performance of paceman Shane Bond, who has looked most impressive and very quick in practice. He will probably not get too much help from the flat Zimbabwean pitches in the dry spring weather, but Zimbabwe’s batsmen will do well to reach 300 in an innings. With last season’s team it would have been 200 and the match would probably have been over in three days. This season it should last four.New Zealand, sound rather than spectacular in both batting and bowling, will expect to win both Tests handsomely, with fine weather almost assured at this time of year. Zimbabwe should improve on the disasters of the last season, but will have to do very well to convince the world that they still deserve to play Test cricket. Until or unless cricket in the country is restored to the hands of those who genuinely know and love the game, this is unlikely to change.Probable teams:
Zimbabwe Brendan Taylor, Neil Ferreira, Dion Ebrahim, Stuart Carlisle, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Wishart, Tatenda Taibu (capt, wk), Heath Streak, Blessing Mahwire, Graeme Cremer, Chris Mpofu.New Zealand Stephen Fleming (capt), James Marshall, Hamish Marshall, Lou Vincent, Nathan Astle, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum (wk), Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Shane Bond, Chris Martin.

Ray Mali, the president of the South African cricket board, has indicated that Herschelle Gibbs and Nicky Boje will be available to tour India later this year. It had been speculated earlier that Gibbs and Boje would give the tour a miss following the worry that they could be questioned by the Indian police with regard to the match-fixing scandal that had erupted on South Africa’s last tour to India.Mali, speaking to the Pakistani newspaper, The News, said: “Both will certainly make the tour to India. We can not disclose at this juncture what we are negotiating with the Indian cricket board but I can guarantee you that both will be available for the tour.”It has reportedly been suggested that the two cricketers are sent a day prior to the Test accompanied by a high commissioner’s official, which would presumable bestow some kind of diplomatic immunity upon them. There are also likely to be private discussions between the South African and Indian boards, and between the Indian board and their sports ministry, aimed at sorting the matter out. It is, thus, fairly likely that Graeme Smith will not have to search for a new opening partner for this important series, which South Africa will be defending.

Rain restricted play at Taunton to just 1½ hours on Friday during which time Somerset scored some quick runs before declaring 276 ahead of Glamorgan.The Cidermen then captured a quick wicket to leave the visitors needing 247 to make the hosts bat again.When play eventually got underway at 2.15pm, Somerset quickly brought up the 400 to gain their fifth batting point. Aaron Laraman then launched himself at the Glamorgan attack to bring up his first half century for his new county with some lusty blows, until at three o’ clock skipper Mike Burns declared on 476 for 6, by which time the all rounder had taken his score onto 61.The former Middlesex man had faced just 38 balls and hit two sixes and seven fours much to the delight of the many faithful supporters who remained at the County Ground, whilst at the other end Rob Turner was 32 not out at the declaration.Facing a deficit of 276, Richard Johnson made an early breakthrough for the Cidermen when in his first over opener Ian Thomas edged a simple catch to wicket-keeper Turner.David Hemp came into join Adrian Dale and the pair had taken their side onto 29 without further loss before bad light and then rain caused the players to leave the field for an early tea from which they never returned.Somerset will be watching the weather forecast closely on Saturday and hoping that the rain holds off long enough for them to take the remaining nine Glamorgan wickets and notch up their second championship victory to boost their bid for promotion.

Paula Flannery, CLEAR White Fern, could be excused for taking a little time to come back to Earth.She’s just returned from a winter coaching position 1700m up in the Swiss mountains at an exclusive Swiss boarding and finishing school, Lyceum Alpinum, near St Moritz in the Engandine Valley, for children from afar afield as Brazil and Russia.It’s three weeks since she returned to her Christchurch base and only now is she starting to unwind from an opportunity she never expected to get.A member of the CricInfo Women’s World Cup-winning White Ferns, Flannery, 27, was asked in February if she would be available to go to the school by White Ferns coach Mike Shrimpton.The job came about because the head of sport at the exclusive co-educational school is former Central Districts player Greg Hart, who used to be coached by Shrimpton.But cricket in a Swiss school catering for the children of Europe’s wealthy?Apparently, cricket has been a tradition at the school for 50 years and Flannery was one of three coaches. With a background in teaching children with disabilities, she found her previous experiences were a great help in getting children who had never been exposed to cricket to handle the intricacies of batting and bowling.The accent was on studies at the school and the only time available for sport was from 4.30-6pm so the only children involved in her coaching were the boarders.Flannery played the odd game with a boys’ team, including a tournament in Italy. But the big event on her programme was a Cricketfest organised by her school which involved several teams in 32-over matches.The school’s top team also has an annual match against the Old Boys’ side which is traditionally very competitive. And this year the school side won the match.”It was a very enjoyable experience and I got to met a few people I would never have met otherwise,” Flannery said of her northern hemisphere summer.”Some of the kids I was coaching have their own companies. It was a lot different to anything I have experienced before.”Forty-five different countries were represented on the school roll.As for her own cricket, Flannery did a lot of work on her physical training.”I also had a lot of time to sit down and think about everything, and I’ve never really had that time before.”It also gave me a chance to charge my batteries for the next season,” she said.Her first date to watch out for is October 1 when the New Zealand team to tour India in November will be named.But the ultimate measure of how she enjoyed her Swiss experience came when asked if she would do it again, and the affirmative answer said it all.

Sri Lanka have picked five uncapped players – fast bowler Binura Fernando, legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay and batsmen Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, and Dhananjaya de Silva – in their Twenty20 squad for the forthcoming two-match series against Pakistan.Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne have not been included while fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara, who was left out for the ongoing ODI series, has been picked. Chamara Kapugedera, who last played a T20 international in June 2012, has also been included in the squad.”We need to get the younger brigade in the stream, so we have a gradual transition leading up to the next World T20 and the 50-over World Cup beyond that,” chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardene said. “We need to put them on the ground and see how they perform.”Fernando, 20, has been a leading cricketer for DS Senanayake College. Though he has played only seven first-class matches, he has been touted as a promising fast bowler, thanks largely to the pace he generates from his six-and-a-half foot frame. Vandersay also has limited domestic experience, but most recently took 8 wickets for 167 in a three-day warm-up match against the Pakistanis, in June.De Silva and Jayasuriya, both 23, are aggressive opening batsmen who also deliver off spin. Jayasuriya played the the three-match unofficial ODI series against Pakistan A in May, with mixed results. He has, however, been a top performer for Colts Cricket Club. De Silva played in the four-day leg of that tour, and took three wickets and hit 154 runs across five innings. He plays for Ports Authority Cricket Club. Shanaka is not so well-known in the domestic circuit, but Wijegunawardene said the 23-year-old had been picked for his “ability to clear the ropes at will, which is a skill displayed at recent practice matches.”Kapugedara was also recalled thanks to his boundary-hitting capability, but also to lend a touch of experience to the side, Wijegunawardene said. “With all these youngsters coming into the team we also need to balance the team with experience. Kapugedara has not been in the team for a while, but we know he can do that, and we’ve picked him on that basis.” Kapugedara, 28, has played in 21 T20 internationals and 92 ODIs for Sri Lanka.Wijegunawardene also said the omissions of Chandimal and Thirimanne does not put them out of the running to play in next year’s World T20. “Chandimal and Thirimanne needed to prepare for the upcoming India Test series which is a very important one. Offspinner Tharindu Kaushal we are also saving for the Tests. We’re trying to manage all their workloads because we have a very busy calendar till July next year.” Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera remains unavailable through injury.Both T20 matches will be played at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, on July 30 and August 1. Sri Lanka remain the top-ranked T20 side in the world – a ranking they have more-or-less held consistently since September 2012.Sri Lanka squad: Lasith Malinga (Capt), TM Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kithruwan Vithanage, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Thisara Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Kulasekara, Binura Fernando, Chaturanga de Silva, Milinda Siriwardene