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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out – West Indies

Needing to take eight wickets in a day, Pakistan’s bowlers put in a sustained bowling performance to finally end West Indies’ resistance and seal the series 2-0. Shivnarine Chanderpaul battled hard with a spirited 69, but West Indies, hampered by the fact that several batsmen failed to carry on after getting starts, folded to 244 for 9, and with Ramnaresh Sarwan not being fit to bat after taking a blow to the foot, the match finished more than an hour before the scheduled close.West Indies seemed to have done enough to save when they progressed to 226 for 5 at tea. The injury to Sarwan – he was hit on the toe by a vicious inswinging yorker and has been ruled out of the ODI series with a hairline fracture – meant that West Indies were, for all practical purposes, six down, but Chanderpaul was playing flawlessly. Moreover, the light was getting murky too – the last 20 minutes before tea was played under floodlights – which suggested play would be called off significantly before the scheduled close.The second over after tea changed that equation completely. Danish Kaneria, who bowled with unflagging enthusiasm on a slow pitch, slipped in a quicker one which straightened and trapped Chanderpaul in front. Next ball, Daren Powell prodded one straight to silly point, and suddenly West Indies had slumped to 227 for 7. It would have been even better for Pakistan had Kamran Akmal snaffled an outside edge from Ramdin in the previous over – the ball just evaded his outstretched right hand, and Ramdin lived on. Abdul Razzaq, the unlucky bowler, soon got some reward for a superb spell of reverse-swing bowling when he trapped Jerome Taylor in front, and with the light improving, there was little chance of the rest of the West Indian batsmen lasting the distance.In the end, a pitch which had been castigated all around produced a match which went into the final session, and the credit for stretching the game that far on the final day was largely due to Chanderpaul. His ability to play late was especially beneficial, and he waited for the swing and seldom committed to a stroke. Against Kaneria, he used his pad to good effect, stretching forward to negate the rough, and frustrating Kaneria into either overpitching or dropping it short. Either way, it allowed Chanderpaul to ease him away for runs. Till he was finally done in by a superb quicker one by Kaneria, Chanderpaul showed exceptional nous in tackling both pace and spin in testing conditions.Ultimately Pakistan won with some time to spare, but that didn’t look likely through the first hour in the morning, when Brian Lara and Sarwan started proceedings. In St Lucia earlier this year Lara had saved the Test against India with a last-day century, and he threatened to repeat the feat, batting with utmost assurance whether in defence or attack. With the pitch still encouraging low bounce, Lara batted well outside the crease against the seamers, defending solidly to keep the good balls at bay, but also punishing the loose ones. Nazir swung the ball and beat his outside edge a couple of times, but he also felt the heat of Lara’s strokes, being clipped off his legs and square-driven for two glorious fours. Lara was just one short of another fifty, when, clearly distracted by a five-minute delay due to sightscreen problems, he drove too early off the back foot and spooned a catch to cover.Till that breakthrough, West Indies were moving along smoothly, with Sarwan getting into his stride as well. He was too eager to attack at the start, mistiming a couple of drives early in the day, but gradually settled in with some excellent strokes of his own – a cover-drive off Gul was a classic, but Gul got his own back soon after. Buoyed after Lara’s dismissal, he bowled a scorching yorker, similar to the one that had comprehensively bowled Sarwan in the first innings. Sarwan got his foot in the way this time, but that only meant a painful blow which required him to be helped off the field, and eventually ruled him out of the rest of the tour.Those two blows swung the game Pakistan’s way, and it got even better for them when Runako Morton gifted his wicket away after a brief blitz. He creamed Kaneria for 16 in an over, including two lofted shots down the ground which fetched a four and a six, and a square-cut for four. However, in the first ball of Kaneria’s next over Morton threw it away, slapping one off the back foot straight back to the bowler.West Indies struggled to 144 for 4 at lunch, and though Dwayne Bravo and Chanderpaul added a promising 57 for the fifth wicket, Nazir put the game back in Pakistan’s favour when Bravo guided one to slip. That opened the door somewhat, and when Kaneria struck twice immediately after tea, there was no coming back for West Indies.

Former international umpire Ram Babu Gupta has died in London, aged 72. He officiated in 11 Tests and 24 ODIs from 1985 to 1990.Conveying his condolences, BCCI president Sharad Pawar said, “He was one of our best umpires ever. It is an irreplaceable loss.” Gupta remains the only Indian to have umpired a World Cup final; he stood in the 1987 final in Kolkata along with Pakistan’s Mahboob Shah.Rajan Mehra, a Test umpire during the mid-eighties, told the , “Gupta made remarkable progress as an umpire. I was his senior but always admired his officiating. He was very popular and quite a competent umpire. He was known to make fewer mistakes.”Gupta also officiated in the famous Chepauk Test in 1988 when legspinner Narendra Hirwani took 16 wickets against West Indies on his debut. Gupta’s last international appearance was in a one-dayer in Sharjah in May 1990.He was also president of the Delhi District Cricket Association for one year and served as its treasurer for eight years.

Bermuda batsman Lionel Cann has been sent home from the tour of Africa and the Middle East after the Bermuda Cricket Board chose to increase his suspension for showing dissent when he was given out lbw against Kenya on Saturday.Cann took his time leaving the crease after being given out for a golden duck then hit a trash can with his bat as he left the field. The ICC has already dealt with the offence – handing him a two-match suspension from one-day-internationals after finding him guilty of showing “serious dissent at an umpire’s decision”. That ruling had meant Cann would have been eligible for the two four-day Intercontinental Cup games against Kenya and the UAE.But the BCB announced that they had upped his suspension. In a short statement the executive voard announced its decision that Cann should play no further part in the tour and revealed it was making arrangements for him to fly home as soon as possible.BCB president, Reginald Pearman said: “I am particularly disappointed with Lionel’s reaction to his being given out as he is an experienced and senior player. Lionel has a vast amount of international experience, including the recent World Cup, and he understands exactly what is expected of a player at this level. This tour has already had some very positive performances from a number of our younger players as we continue our preparation for the World Cup Qualifier in Dubai in 2009. We expect that our senior players will lead by example, particularly in professionalism and behavioral matters.”The board considered reports from ICC relating to the two-match suspension imposed by match referee Mike Procter. It also reviewed reports obtained from tour management during their deliberations.Cann, who had been in good form so far on the tour and had targeted a century in one of the four-day games, said in his Bermuda Sun column this week – before the BCB ban was handed down – “I admit I was wrong, I went up for it, I got banned and now I have to put it behind me. Basically I got a bad decision and I exploded. As I was walking off the field I hit the trash can with my bat. It was just out of frustration. I hit my kit-bag, too, when I got back in the dressing room, but it was the trash can that got me in trouble because everybody could see.”My big fear was that I would be banned for the rest of the tour, but my ban is for ODIs so I am eligible to play in the four-day games. I have to put it behind me and try and do a good job against Kenya this weekend.”Now, it seems, he will not get the opportunity to do that. And with Stephen Outerbridge also winging his way back to England after suffering a knee injury Bermuda are down to the bare bones in the batting department.This article first appeared in the Bermuda Sun

New Zealand have announced their 15-player squad for the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia next month. There are five players with experience in first-class and provincial cricket, while several impressed at the recent national Under-19 championship.The captain is yet to be decided, although it was Kane Williamson in the recent match in Hamilton. There are two wicketkeepers in the squad – Michael Guptill-Bunce and Michael Bracewell.”The competition gives our emerging players the opportunity to test their skills in a tournament environment against world’s best,” said coach Dipak Patel, one of four selectors alongside Lance Cairns, John Wright and Kaushik Patel. “It is a stepping stone for potential future Blackcaps, giving players a chance early in their careers to experience a high level of tournament play.The squad assembles on Thursday 31 January before attending a camp in Queensland, moving on to Malaysia on Sunday 10 February. New Zealand will play Malaysia, Zimbabwe and Pakistan in the first round.Squad Corey Anderson, Nicholas Beard, Harry Boam, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Tamati Clarke, Fraser Colson, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Greg Morgan, Jeet Raval, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Anurag Verma, Kane Williamson, George Worker.

South Africa’s build-up to their two-Test series against Bangladesh has hardly been ideal. Firstly there was the selection row before the team left home, then the bowlers took a hammering during their warm-up match against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI.The Test attack was taken for 412 in a little more than 100 overs with only Johan Botha coming out with anything like complimentary figures. However, coach Mickey Arthur believes his side are shaping up nicely ahead of the first Test on Friday despite Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel returning combined figures of 5 for 219 from 57 overs.”We had a long chat soon after we arrived from Fatullah Stadium. We opened up to speak about all aspects of our game and that included the plans for the two Tests that we are heading into from Friday,” Arthur told the . “We have come to the realisation that Bangladesh will not roll over and die in their conditions. They will be a difficult batting side to dislodge if we approach the Tests in the manner we played their Board XI.”Arthur said the team’s fast bowlers will have to adapt and can’t expect to run in and blast sides out as they might do on the surfaces back in South Africa. “We spoke about our bowling and have decided that we have to be a little more defensive in our approach to field placings. The bowlers will have to be a lot more circumspect about their lines and lengths and the channels they bowl to gain success.”Although there wasn’t time for South Africa to gain much of a second innings, Arthur was pleased with the warm-up match. “I believe we got a lot out of the game, but there’s still a lot to do. We’ll be working hard over the two remaining days before the Test to get to where we want to be.”Andre Nel, recovering from a hamstring injury, was restricted to eight overs against the BCB XI as he recovers from a hamstring injury and Arthur said he will be assessed closer to the start of the Test.

Neil McKenzie, ignored by the national selectors for the first three games againstNew Zealand, waved his bat under the noses of Rushdie Magiet and colleagueswith a stylish century to help Northerns Titans beat North West Dragons by29 runs at Supersport Park on Wednesday night.Not one of the national selectors in the Gauteng region turned up to watchMcKenzie in a Standard Bank Cup game where he put together the sort ofperformance which revived a struggling innings, his 103 coming off 109balls and including 12 fours.McKenzie learned only hours before the side left Nairobi on Sunday that hehad been left out of the national squad for the opening matches of thelimited overs international season against the competitive New Zealanders.This after the selectors had earlier indicated they were grooming the Titansbatsman for a middle-order place.McKenzie and the Northerns Titans captain, Gerald Dros, posteda national domestic record of 181 runs for the fourth wicket as Northerns puttogether a total of 239 for seven in their 45 overs.Dros scored an impressive 86 off 99 balls and, with his threewickets for 52 earned man of the match award.Greg Smith’s left-arm pace (3-24) ripped through the North West top-order asthe Dragons ran out of steam, scoring 210 for seven. Mark Lavine made 63 off 56 balls with three fours and six sixes, two of them among the biggestseen at the venue in a long time.

Andy Moles has been rewarded for helping Northern Districts win the State Championship in his first season as coach, earning a one-year extension that will mean he leads the side until the end of 2008-09. Moles, the former Warwickshire batsman who has also coached Kenya and Scotland, guided Northern Districts to their first title since 1999-2000.”I’m very pleased with how this year has gone and more importantly with the way the players have interacted with me,” Moles told the . “I guess this is the reward for what they see as someone who can mould the team into a consistent outfit.”Despite the team’s success – before 2006-07 it had only won the title four times in the competition’s history – Moles knows the first-class improvement needs to flow through to the limited-overs game. In the State Shield, Northern Districts finished fourth with only four wins from ten matches.”Our one-day form was very poor,” Moles said. “The way we played the game was a bit naive. We’ll be looking to implement a different game plan next year where we’re a lot more proactive and positive.”David Cooper, the side’s chief executive, said Moles had been outstanding in the first season of his initial two-year contract. “It was a decision that was a pretty easy one for us to sign him for another year,” Cooper said. “The signs are good for the team and where they’re heading and what he has done with the group. We’re looking forward to the seasons ahead.”

New Zealand have suffered the most number the sixes from Gilchrist’s bat , with 21 hits clearing the boundary. India have been fairly successful in keeping the left-hander quiet, with only 10 sixes in 24 innings.

New Zealand’s suffering is not surprising considering Daniel Vettori has been whacked for 17 sixes. Three left-arm spinners – Vettori, Enamul Haque and Nicky Boje – top the list. That Gilchrist favours them is indicated by the fact that 42 of his 100 have come against them.

Gilchrist’s maximum of eight sixes falls well short of Wasim Akram’s record of 12 in an innings.

Apart from Chris Cairns, Gilchrist has the best percentage of sixes every innings compared to the rest of the batsmen in the top six six-hitters in Tests.

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Boosted by the absence of Graeme Smith, West Indies will approach the first Twenty20 international against South Africa in Port Elizabeth with confidence.Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has made optimistic noises since landing in the country and, despite falling behind the Duckworth-Lewis target in the warm-up match against Makhaya Ntini XI, West Indies can be expected to put up a stiff fight.With three straight wins against Zimbabwe, after suffering a loss in the opening ODI, West Indies have some momentum on their side. Gayle will also take confidence from the opening match of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, where he lashed a 57-ball 117. It didn’t prevent a defeat but definitely provided a big early scare.”We respect the South Africans,” Gayle said, “but we don’t fear them. They are a good team and are playing good cricket at the moment, so we know the challenge at hand. But we are confident and we believe in our ability. We played well in Zimbabwe and we are here in South Africa to continue the good work. They will be in for a fight.”Chasing 177 in the practice match on Friday, West Indies started off shakily, losing their top three batsmen for 34, but were to be steadied by Shivnarine Chanderpaul. His rollicking 44 set the platform but the onset of rain, at 101 for 5, did West Indies in, falling short of the D/L target by five runs.South Africa, though, will be hard to beat. Smith, who has been advised three week’s rest after contracting an infection during the tour of Pakistan, will be replaced by Shaun Pollock as captain. Morne van Wyk will fill Smith’s absence at the top of the order. They are currently the second-best ODI side, according to the ICC rankings, and are usually buoyed by their local support.The first Twenty20 match will be followed by the three Test matches (Port Elizabeth from 26 December, Cape Town from 2 January and Durban from 10 January). The second Twenty20 is scheduled for January 18 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

South Australia will offer four New South Wales players contracts before the end of the week in a bid to boost the struggling state’s batting stocks. Greg Mail, Aaron O’Brien, Tom Cooper and Grant Lambert could all be heading to Adelaide if the Redbacks coach Mark Sorell, who flew to Sydney on Monday for talks, has his way.South Australia deliberately targeted players on the fringe of the Pura Cup-winning New South Wales squad that includes ten Cricket Australia-contracted players. “We’re feeling pretty confident,” Sorell said. “They’re at a very strong state where lack of opportunity has been an issue and we think they will fit in very nicely here.”Mail, 29, played only four Pura Cup matches for the Blues last season despite making nearly 300 runs. Lambert, a useful 30-year-old allrounder, was used six times for 163 runs at 27.16 and nine wickets at 30.77. O’Brien did not feature at all, following semi-regular appearances over the previous six seasons, and Cooper is an uncapped rookie. Sorell said Cooper, 21, would be an investment for the future.South Australia must also find a captain for next summer after Nathan Adcock lost his Pura Cup position mid-season. However, none of the New South Wales players have been offered the job. “We have some good internal candidates at the moment,” Sorell said, “and we’ll address leadership when they sign.”The Redbacks have already picked up Michael Klinger from Victoria and are not chasing any other players. However, Sorell was disappointed to have lost out to the Bushrangers on Chris Rogers.Sorell also wants to keep the spin duo of Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey even though squeezing both of them into the side in 2007-08 was almost impossible. “I’m confident that that will happen,” Sorell said. “It’s a priority, there’s no doubt about that.”He is also hoping to retain Ryan Harris, the allrounder, but questions over his status have been raised after he used his British passport to sign as a local player with Sussex. South Australia want to speak to Harris over his intentions for the next Australian season.