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Scorecard
PIA captain Shoaib Malik struck ten boundaries during his 81-ball 96•AFP

Brilliant nineties from captain Shoaib Malik and Yasir Hameed coupled with a five-for from Aizaz Cheema helped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) beat National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to lift the 2008-09 Royal Bank of Scotland Cup.Put in by NBP, PIA’s opening pair of Khurram Manzoor and Sarfraz Ahmed put on 29, before Mohammed Aamer struck, removing Manzoor for 10. Wicketkeeper Sarfraz continued aggressively and went on to link up with Hameed, adding 66 for the second wicket, before being caught behind by Kamran Akmal off Wahab Riaz. It was a quickfire innings from Sarfraz, who fell for 56, having stroked eight boundaries and two sixes during his 44-ball stay. Hameed though, continued patiently and struck up another fifty-partnership with Kamran Sajid.But it was the fourth-wicket stand with Malik which put PIA firmly in control. Confident strokeplay from both batsmen resulted in little joy for the NBP bowlers as the partnership inched towards hundred. Wahab however struck with the score on 219, dismissing Hameed short of his hundred. Hameed ended on 91 off 100 balls, hitting ten boundaries en route.Malik then upped the momentum as he tore into the bowling. He was unlucky not to reach his century, after he was caught by Riaz off Mohammad Talha for 96. Ten boundaries during his 81-ball innings however had ensured PIA had crossed 300.PIA started off well during NBP’s reply as Fazl-e-Akbar and Najaf Shah accounted for the openers quickly. Edgy at 65 for 3, it was up to Umar Amin and Fawad Alam to resurrect the innings. Alam played a rushed innings while Amin looked to play the holding role. Their fourth-wicket partnership yielded 132 runs and looked to have handed the advantage back to NBP. Fawad stroked seven fours during his 70-ball 74 before he was caught behind by Sarfraz off Tahir Khan. And Amin followed later, run out by Malik for 68, having hit an equal number of boundaries.NBP never recovered from the two wickets as Cheema cranked up the heat. Captain Akmal and semi-final hero Qaiser Abbas fell in quick succession as the tail surrendered without a fight. Having removed Wahab Riaz, Cheema fittingly picked up the last wicket of Uzair-ul-Haq to complete his five-wicket haul.

Gautam Gambhir’s match-saving 137 in the second Test against New Zealand in Napier has impressed Kris Srikkanth, India’s chairman of selectors. Srikkanth said Gambhir showed tremendous patience and maturity in playing according to the situation after India were asked to follow on.A naturally aggressive player, Gambhir focused on occupying the crease and his innings spanned 643 minutes and 436 deliveries. Srikkanth reflected on the progress Gambhir made since establishing his place in the side.”Gautam has come of age. He has now become a complete batsman,” Srikkanth told the . “For the last couple of years he has been pretty consistent. But this Test saw him raise his game several notches.”I don’t think he has made any technical adjustments. But now he watches the ball more closely and till the end. He has tightened his off-side game, especially leaving deliveries outside the off stump. His judgement as far as the corridor of uncertainty goes is a lot better.”Gambhir was the world’s leading ODI run-scorer in 2008 with 1119 at 46.62. His form in Tests was just as good, finishing fifth in the run charts with 1134 runs at 70.87. He was also the second-highest run-getter in the IPL with 534 runs at 41.07, rounding off an exemplary year in all three formats.Srikkanth felt that Gambhir had developed into a fine opener and his association with Virender Sehwag is currently the best in the world. “You don’t grow into a job overnight. Everybody matures with time. He was always a very capable strokeplayer, but now he has proved that he can bury his head into the ground and guide the team to safety. He is a great player in the making.”He [Sehwag] might not have had a very good Test in Napier, but make no mistake, over the years he has contributed immensely to help Gautam develop his game. Together, they are the best opening combination in world cricket at the moment.”

Fast bowler Ian Butler has been left out of New Zealand’s squad for the 4th ODI against India in Hamilton on March 11 because of an injury. Butler suffered a thigh strain during the third match in Christchurch and was able to bowl only five overs. However, he will be considered for the final match of the series in Auckland on March 14.Ewen Thompson, the Central Districts allrounder who was part of New Zealand’s Twenty20 squad, has been included instead of Butler. Tim Southee, who went for 105 runs off his ten overs in Christchurch, has also been left out.Daniel Vettori will return to the team after missing the third ODI to be with his wife who was expecting their child. Peter McGlashan has also been retained as wicketkeeper and Brendon McCullum will continue to play as a batsman.New Zealand trail 0-2 in the five-match series with two games to play.Squad: Daniel Vettori (capt), Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Peter McGlashan (wk), Kyle Mills, Iain O’Brien, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Ewen Thompson.

Julian Hunte, the WICB president, has unlike his England counterpart Giles Clarke, refused to admit any “error of judgement” in forming an association with Allen Stanford, who has been charged with “fraud of shocking magnitude” by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the USA. However, the WICB and ECB have issued a joint statement where they confirmed the suspension of negotiations with Stanford and his corporate group. “I don’t want to pass any judgement,” Hunte told the . “I don’t like to kick a man when he’s down. What we know is that as we speak, his license has been suspended.”As a result of the crisis, the Stanford 20/20 regional series, which was expected to go ahead despite the disbanding of the board of Legends, is now unlikely to be held. Asked about the future of the tournament Hunte said: “We anticipate that it will not continue (in the immediate future).”That is not a difficult matter for us to deal with. Either the West Indies Cricket Board on its own or with the assistance of other entrepreneurs, we’ll be able to get a tournament going in a way that will make it financially viable for us.”Hunte admitted the Stanford debacle was a setback for West Indies cricket but said it didn’t threaten its existence or functioning. “To all intents and purposes, the West Indies Cricket Board is not dependent on Stanford for its financial viability,” he said.”Stanford did, in the midst of all of this, make contributions to the territorial boards to assist them with the development of their cricket. And that has been very useful in terms of having an impact on how our cricket develops. In this regard you’re not going to get a Stanford coming around very soon, but we have to make the adjustment to proceed.”However Forbes Persaud, the chief executive of the Trinidad & Tobago board, said the cancellation of the Stanford 20/20 tournament could cost his board up to US$195,000. “Now that this has happened, it would mean that we cannot really look forward to that [money] coming to us again,” Persaud told the . “I know our boys were eagerly looking forward to playing in the tournament and the fact that they have frozen all his assets, it would mean that that would be the end of the tournament.”

In 1998, a young Zaheer Khan travelled with the Mumbai Ranji team without playing a single game. He could not even find a seat in the dressing room – the space was taken by Mumbai’s stalwarts – and would park himself in the adjoining room. He left Mumbai the next year, helped Baroda win the Ranji Trophy in 2000-01, returned to Mumbai in 2006-07 for one game, the final, and won another Ranji Trophy title. Today, he propelled Mumbai to the verge of its 38th Ranji Trophy.Zaheer plucked four wickets in eight balls in the afternoon to knock the wind out of Uttar Pradesh. In the morning, he walked out with just rubber soles and not his bowling shoes, telling some of his team-mates not to worry, “. (I will finish them after lunch.)”Zaheer’s words came true, and he did not let the batsmen have it easy in the morning. He got the old ball to reverse, and was denied a wicket only because Parvinder Singh managed to handle what many Test batsmen wouldn’t. Three overs first-up with the second new ball didn’t bring a breakthrough, but a few overs later Zaheer breathed fire with a devastating spell that read 4.2-1-20-5. The ball swung in the air before leaving the batsmen late, a few bounced nastily and in general he created hell. His 7 for 54 was his best in the Ranji Trophy .It was a breeze. “I was definitely tired and I wanted to get away quickly and am glad that I could get the wickets in that spell.” That cool temperament led to the obvious question: “Is it almost unfair on the domestic batsmen to be playing against you in such conditions?” Zaheer responded with the right thing. “You can’t say that. Shivakant Shukla played really well and offered a contest.”Shukla later said it was a battle that he immensely enjoyed. “He reversed the ball, got it to swing normally and bowled really well.” Zaheer returned the compliment. “He deserved a century but it obviously felt good to get him on 99”. It was one that nipped in which caught Shukla in front of the stumps.

Till then Shukla had made sure he wasn’t exposed by Zaheer. At the start of the season, he wasn’t sure whether he would be in the squad but stunned many with a marathon hundred in the semi-final. The turnaround in his batting happened under interesting circumstances in September 2008. An irregular bowler, he was identified with a suspect action and asked to report to the NCA. There he bumped into Dav Whatmore and a batting coach from Sri Lanka, Mattau Owen, who had worked with the likes of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and under whom Indian batsman such as Shikhar Dhawan have benefited.”I corrected my action under the supervision of Sivaramakrishnan sir [L Sivaramkrishnan] and worked on my batting with the Sri Lankan coach,” said Shukla. “It was a great experience. We worked hard on my batting technique and that has really helped in improving my batting.”A struggling batsman went to correct his bowling action and returned as a more confident batsman. His family too helped him overcome the insecurity that arose out of playing for his spot in the side. ” (Even if your cricket doesn’t click, you are just going to come back to your home, so why worry?)” Shukla relaxed as a result and decided he would enjoy his cricket.The new year has dawned brightly for him. Mohammad Kaif believes the innings in the semi-final is the turning point in Shukla’s career. “He is going to be more self-aware of his batting now and I think you will see a different Shukla from now on. It’s great that we have some one apart from Tanmay [Srivastava], [Suresh] Raina and [Mohammad] Kaif in the UP team.”And that is exactly what is really giving Shukla the biggest kick. “I hear murmurs from the coach and the team in the dressing room. “. (Shukla is still batting, we still have a chance.) I feel important in the team and I feel really nice about it.”Sometimes, self-esteem rises from what others that matter think of you. And for Shukla, this season will be the time in which he has earned his team’s respect.

Two of Bermuda’s youngsters, Malachi Jones and OJ Pitcher, have been forced to pull out of the World Cup qualifiers because of school commitments.Both played in the 2007 World Cup but are now studying abroad and cannot take enough time off to make the trip to South Africa in April. The top four teams from the event will qualify for the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent.”As it stands right now, Malachi and OJ have been ruled out of our World Cup qualifying plans,” Arnold Manders, the Bermuda Cricket Board director, told the . “It’s unfortunate but at this time school has to take precedence over cricket.”They are both in school and the board are going to leave it as it is because they have obligations to fulfil in school. Once they achieve that, we will welcome them back in the programme.”Jones made his mark at the 2007 World Cup when he removed India opener Robin Uthappa with his first ball in the tournament. He also played in last year’s Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia.”They are two exceptionally talented players and I am sure they will be missed,” Manders said. “The board want to ensure they get their education first and they still have a long future in cricket ahead of them. We just have to go on with what we have.”Although the loss of the two players is a blow to Bermuda, they recently completed the significant step of introducing professional contracts for the next three months to cover the team’s World Cup preparations.Squad Irving Romaine (capt), Lionel Cann, Dwayne Leverock, RodneyTrott, Chris Douglas, Glenn Blakeney, Tamauri Tucker, Justin Pitcher,Stephen Outerbridge, Stefan Kelly, Jekon Edness, Oronde Bascome, KevinHurdle, Kyle Hodsoll, Delyone Borden, Janeiro Tucker, Fiqre Crockwell, DavidHemp and George O’Brien.

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, has called for the formation of a professional cricketers’ association to look after the welfare and well-being of players, if the cricketing situation does not improve in the country.”There is a need to have a players’ association,” he said. “If nothing else, it will improve coordination and relations between the board and cricketers. Every country has a players’ association, so why not Pakistan.”India and Pakistan are the only nations currently without an active players’ association, though Pakistan vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq had submitted a formal suggestion for the formation of an association with the constitution committee of the sports ministry. However, the PCB has so far not responded enthusiastically to the suggestion.The board is also expected to have a meeting of its governing council this month to finalise the terms and conditions of the new central contracts to be given out to shortlisted players for 2009. Malik indicated that when the PCB invited him to discuss the contracts, he would take the opportunity to table the proposal for the players’ association with the board’s permission.”I support this move and would like the board to encourage us,” he said. “I don’t think having such an association would lead to player power or any such thing.”Pakistan has never had a recognised professional cricketers’ association because of the failure of senior players to reach a consensus, and Malik said the players were interested in having an association of their own to look after their interests.Malik’s performance as captain will also be up for review by the governing council, who will then decide if his contract should be extended for another year.

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, has reiterated his desire to force his way back into the national side. He was speaking from India, where he will play a couple of matches with the England Performance Programme squad as part of a bid to win back his Test place.”We have games in Bangalore and Mumbai so hopefully I’ll get a few runs and push for a place on the Caribbean tour (starting next January),” he told the . “I believe I’ve got a great opportunity of getting back in.”Vaughan stepped down from the captaincy in the summer and had said he wanted a break from the game. “I’ve been away, I’ve played golf and it was about two weeks into my holiday that I thought, ‘crikey I’ve got to get that bat back out’,” he said. “So I went straight back home and the day after my holiday I went to Loughborough [England’s National Cricket Performance Centre] and started hitting cricket balls again.”He played three games for Yorkshire towards the end of the season but managed only 60 runs in five innings. He was awarded a central contract in September but was left out of the England squad for the Indian tour.”Over the last two or three months I’ve tried to clear my mind of all the issues I felt were disturbing my game and I feel in a great position to go out there, play cricket and enjoy the challenges which being an international player bring.”Vaughan, 34, had led England to a historic victory in the 2005 Ashes and was looking forward to taking the Australians on when they visit next year. “At the minute I’ve got a lot of energy and enjoyment to play again,” he said. “I’m really excited about the next year or so.”We’ve got Australia next summer and I’d love to be able to play against them. I need to get my form right and I feel that with the state of mind I’m in I will do that.”

Gary Kirsten, the former South Africa opener and now India coach, has said his former team has a great opportunity to win a series in Australia for the first time when the two countries meet next month. Kirsten played a key behind-the-scenes role in India’s 2-0 success over Australia, and was able to watch at close quarters how the opposition had been affected by losing a batch of world-class players.”Australia are in a natural life cycle… they have had a good dose of time with a very experienced, highly skilled team,” Kirsten told the . “Players have retired, with places filled by inexperienced players and Australia have come back into the pack a little bit.”South Africa have a real chance of doing something special against Australia this summer. It is one of their better chances, with Australia without players like Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist. It is up to South Africa to make the most of the opportunity.”Kirsten believes that Graeme Smith’s side has the resources to win in Australia. He said South Africa had an especially strong batting line-up and fast-bowling attack, which he rated as the best in the world.”Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince are starting to score quite regularly. The champion Jacques Kallis will come back to form, I have no doubt, and you have the world-class Graeme Smith.”South Africa have probably the best seam bowling attack in the world at the moment, with Makhaya Ntini or Andre Nel to back up Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. Paul Harris doesn’t appear to be a strike bowler – I presume Australia will look to try to target him, although that may play into his hands a little bit.”The one area Kirsten feels South Africa could fall down is their preparation, echoing comments from his former captain Kepler Wessels. They have one two-day match against Western Australia before three back-to-back Tests, beginning in Perth on December 17.”It’s a tough ask, playing three in a row like that,” he said. “I would recommend two warm-up games if India went there. It’s a different place, it’s very competitive cricket and you need to get the feel of Australia way before you walk into those big stadiums to play.”

Ijaz Butt, the newly appointed chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has hinted that Pakistan may have to play home games at neutral venues if the security situation doesn’t improve. Pakistan have been starved of international cricket this year, since Australia’s Test tour and the Champions Trophy were postponed due to growing security fears.”The holding of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan depends on the security condition of the country and if the current indefinite situation prevails further we may consider the option to play on alternate venues,” Butt said shortly after the Federal Sports Ministry confirmed his appointment. “Security is something which is not in our control. The government is dealing with that and I am confident that we will overcome this problem and bring international cricket back to Pakistan.”The idea of playing matches at neutral venues has evoked mixed reactions from former Test players. Abdul Qadir, the former legspinner, suggested that the PCB organise matches in Sharjah as it wasn’t easy to guarantee security to foreign players, but former captains Ramiz Raja and Intikhab Alam disagreed. Raja said Pakistan will lose the home advantage while Alam said neutral venues will set a wrong precedent as even teams like India and Sri Lanka – who have toured Pakistan in the recent past – will opt not to tour Pakistan.Butt said he will attend an ICC meeting next month and address the security issues. The West Indies women’s team had earlier pulled out of the Pakistan leg of their Asian tour because of concerns over player safety and the men’s team too opted out of a proposed tour next month.Butt added that his other priorities as chairman include rectifying Pakistan cricket’s tainted image following the various doping controversies and indiscipline issues.”Discipline is paramount and I will push everyone hard to overcome this problem and will not allow anyone to tarnish Pakistan’s cricket image,” he said.Mohammad Asif, the fast bowler, is scheduled to attend a hearing before the IPL drugs tribunal on October 11 after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone during the tournament.