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New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram, who missed the final one-dayer against Pakistan after injuring his ankle while warming up for the game, has been cleared for the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2011New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram, who missed the final one-dayer against Pakistan after injuring his ankle while warming up for the game, has been cleared for the World Cup. Oram was relieved to get the go-ahead following an MRI scan, x-ray and independent medical assessment.”I developed ankle pain and although it didn’t feel serious I wasn’t able to bowl without discomfort,” Oram said. “The medical staff got the necessary assessment done and I was sweating on the results but pleased when the doctor let me know that I was fit to travel with the team to the World Cup. I have inflammation around the joint so not a significant tear or break.”I’ve worked hard over the last six months to get fully fit so it is extremely disappointing to pick up another niggle. However I am confident it isn’t too serious and am determined to do everything I can to be fully fit for the first match.”New Zealand Cricket medical staff will continually assess and treat the ankle while Oram is in India. He is expected to be available for selection for the warm-up match against Ireland on February 12. New Zealand play another practice game, against India on the 16th, before kicking off their tournament against Kenya on the 20th.

A round-up of matches from the fourth match-day of the One Day National Cup Division Two 2010-11

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2011

Group B

Mohammad Yousuf, who was not included in Pakistan’s World Cup squad, scored 73 in a losing cause for Lahore Lions•Getty Images

Khan Research Laboratories have sealed a semi-finals berth with a 45-run win against Lahore Eagles at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. The win takes KRL to the top of the Group B table with 10 points. Lahore Eagles have played all their games and now have to hope the other sides in their group don’t overtake them in the last round of games, to be played on January 22.KRL were put in to bat and reached a competitive total of 269 thanks to a combined effort by their batsmen. As many as seven batsmen got scores of more than 20, with Mohammad Idrees the only half-centurion. Aamer Hayat was the pick of Lahore Eagles’ bowlers, taking 3 for 38. Saad Nasim waged a lone war for Lahore Eagles in their chase, scoring 113 as the rest crumbled around him. Lahore Eagles ended up being bowled out for 224 in 49.2 overs, Nasim having scored more than half their runs.

Pakistan Television picked up their first victory of the competition in dramatic fashion, when their match against Peshawar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar was stopped due to bad light with them just one run ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis system, with one wicket in hand. Pakistan TV’s chase of 223 looked on course after Umair Khan and Ammar Mahmood’s 118-run partnership had helped them recover from 50 for 5. But Mahmood was out for 58, and three more quick wickets meant Pakistan TV were still nine short of the target with one wicket in hand when play was called off after 46.5 overs. Pakistan TV were adjudged winners by one run on the D/L method.Umair finished unbeaten with 94, and he was the only one of Pakistan TV’s top-order batsmen to score more than 10, as seamers Taj Wali, who finished with five wickets, and Riaz Afridi did the early damage for Peshawar. The hosts had got off to a shaky start to their own innings after electing to bat, but an 81-ball 73 by their captain Akbar Badshah, and useful contributions from Shahid Iqbal and Mohammad Rizwan ensured they got to a competitive total. But it wasn’t enough in the end, as Umair’s outstanding effort proved just enough to get Pakistan TV over the line.

Group A

A tight bowling performance by their spinners means State Bank of Pakistan have one foot in the semi-finals, as they beat Quetta by 46 runs at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex in Karachi. The win takes SBP to 12 points, and the top of the Group A table. Legspinner Kashif Siddiq was the most economical of SBP’s bowlers, going for just 20 runs in his 10 overs, and picking up two wickets, as Quetta fell well short of the target of 239. Left-arm spinner Jalat Khan was also frugal, giving away 38 in his 10, and he and SBP’s other left-armer Nayyer Abbas took a wicket apiece.Nasim Khan had given Quetta’s chase some momentum with his 56 off 64 balls, and his 66-run partnership with Sabir Hussain put them in a strong position at 126 for 3. Once Nasim was run out, SBP’s spinners dominated, drying up the runs and chipping away at the wickets as Najeebullah, who made 42 not out, had to watch from one end while his team were bowled out in 48.2 overs.SBP managed to reach 238 courtesy of Rameez Alam’s 44 and Naved Yasin’s 36, and also some wayward bowling from Quetta. The Quetta bowlers gave away 24 runs in wides, as extras, with 30, was the third highest scorer for SBP.

Half-centuries by Asif Zakir and captain Mohammad Sami led a fightback by Karachi Zebras, and they kept their chances of a semi-final spot alive with a two-wicket win over Lahore Lions at the National Stadium in Karachi. Chasing 236, Karachi were in deep trouble at 130 for 7, after their top order had been rattled by seamers Shabbir Ahmed and Asif Ashfaq, who took three wickets each. But Zakir and Sami put together 97 for the eighth wicket to get them back in it. Zakir was out caught behind off Shabbir, but Sami held his nerve to take Karachi home. The win means both teams are on eight points, with Lahore Lions slightly ahead on net run-rate.Lahore Lions made a solid start to their innings after being put in to bat, with opener Abid Ali getting 47 and captain Mohammad Yousuf scoring 74, but, in a remarkable collapse, they lost their last six wickets for just eight runs and ended up being bowled out in 47.4 overs. The collapse was sparked by seamer Sohail Khan, who finished with six wickets.

Kane Richardson and Joe Burns had impressive debuts to ensure matters are level after the first day of the Sheffield Shield match in Adelaide.

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2011 by 340 runs
ScorecardKane Richardson and Joe Burns put on sterling performances on debut to ensure their sides were on equal footing after the first day. Richardson, who was Man of the Match in the Ryobi One Day Cup against Queensland last week, took a wicket in each of his first three overs to carve up the Queenland top order.Burns’ maiden innings came sooner than he may have expected with the score on 3 for 11 in the eighth over. He combined with the experienced James Hopes to post a fourth-wicket partnership of 149. Hopes clipped a ball back onto his stumps after lunch to depart eight runs short of a century but Burns was unmoved and batted through the rest of the innings. He enjoyed a 52-run stand with another debutant, Jason Floros, and shared an eighth-wicket stand of 51 with Chris Swan, whose run-a-ball 37 took Queensland past the 300 mark.Richardson removed Swan to claim his fourth wicket of the innings, with Christian taking the catch at second slip. Christian then added a run-out to his two wickets to end the Queensland innings.South Australia will resume on 7 without loss on day two.

Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s stand-in captain, has said that if technology cannot be conclusive it should just not be used, in reference to the case of low catches

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Wankhede Stadium18-Mar-2011Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s stand-in captain, has said that if technology cannot be conclusive it should just not be used. Taylor’s remarks came in the wake of the controversial return catch of Mahela Jayawardene during the Sri Lanka innings, which was pouched spectacularly by Nathan McCullum who threw himself to his right to hold the catch inches above the ground. But the third umpire ruled the decision against New Zealand.Jayawardene went for a premeditated push towards the leg side, but was surprised by a slower delivery from McCullum which arrived late. Having rushed into the shot, Jayawardene could only watch the ball loop towards the unmanned space at silly mid-on. But McCullum leaped from the spot where he had finished his follow-through as if he was standing on a diving board. Amazingly he managed to get the tips of the fingers of his outstretched right hand under the ball.Viewed from the press box, which is behind the bowler’s arm, the first reaction was that the catch was taken on the first bounce. But numerous close replays indicated McCullum had actually held one of the catches of the tournament. His reaction was nothing short of ecstatic: he picked himself up and stamped the ground with one foot and pirouetted delightedly. But Jayawardene had his doubts and asked Asad Rauf, one of the on-field umpires, to refer the decision to the TV umpire. Moments later, third umpire Amiesh Saheba gave Jayawardene the benefit of the doubt, much to the chagrin of McCullum. Along with his captain Ross Taylor, both men argued with the on-field umpire Rauf briefly before leaving with their heads shaking. Simon Doull, the former New Zealand fast bowler, was livid in the commentary box and was adamant about the authenticity of the catch.It was a critical moment in the match when Sri Lanka were struggling at 87 for 2 after 23.1 overs with Jayawardene on 26. “I haven’t seen the catch, I have seen it only live. I thought it was carried, but the third umpire obviously had other things,” Taylor said after the match. “When you generally think that you have taken the catch, it’s your natural instinct. It is disappointing.”Asked if he would prefer the batsman taking a fielder’s words in such a situation, Taylor said he would not rule that out. “It depends upon the person. You look at Jacques Kallis; he asks the fielders if they caught it cleanly and he trusts the words of the fielders. You put it up to the batsman to make the decision and at the end of the day you just hope the technology is right and if the technology is not right, well then don’t use it.”Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain and Jayawardene’s batting partner at the time of the incident, differed. According to Sangakkara, his team-mate had the right to ask for a referral. “I was completely blocked from behind. Mahela was very honest and he said he was not sure he caught it cleanly,” Sangakkara said. “Mahela is someone who walks when he nicks it and if he saw Nathan had taken a clean catch he wouldn’t have come around. He wasn’t very sure and the umpires weren’t sure because they were unsighted, so they checked with the technology and they went in favour of Mahela.”Sangakkara pointed out that during the New Zealand innings, Brendon McCullum had also waited for the third umpire’s ruling on a low catch held at slip by Jayawardene, though it is not certain whether that was simply done in retaliation. “That’s the way the game is played,” he said. “We had Brendon McCullum stand his ground when Mahela took that catch and they went upstairs and it was proved that it was a clean catch. So it can go either way.”

After a glut of one-sided snooze-fests, the IPL produced the kind of upset the Twenty20 format is made for, with the tenth-placed Kings XI Punjab producing a strong performance to trounce the table-toppers, Mumbai Indians

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar10-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSachin Tendulkar’s dismissal was the beginning of a spectacular collapse•Associated Press

After a glut of predictable snooze-fests, the IPL produced the kind of upset the Twenty20 format is made for, with Kings XI Punjab, placed tenth at the start of the game, producing a strong performance to trounce the table-toppers, Mumbai Indians. Punjab came out determined against Mumbai’s gun bowlers – Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh – and scrapped their way towards a solid base, before Munaf Patel’s five-for kept them to 163. In reply, Mumbai combusted in a rash of ridiculous shots to concede two points on a platter, keeping Punjab’s campaign alive.It was the kind of score Punjab would have taken at the toss, given how badly out of form their batting had been in recent games. It gave them the rare luxury of something to bowl at, and they responded with purpose and vigour. Aiden Blizzard produced three edgy boundaries in the first over from Praveen Kumar, but things went rapidly downhill from there for Mumbai’s batsmen. Sachin Tendulkar guided an innocuous delivery from Praveen straight to backward point in the third over, before Adam Gilchrist pulled off an alert stumping to send Rohit Sharma on his way. When Blizzard was adjudged out nicking a leg-side ball from Praveen in the fifth over, Mumbai had slumped to 27 for 3, and there was no middle-order counter-attack to put them back on track.Even a couple of dropped chances and a missed run-out did not spark a revival, and the exit of Andrew Symonds, Ambati Rayudu and T Suman in successive overs set up a happy evening for the Mohali faithfuls.Punjab’s defiance was captured earlier in the day, in the way Gilchrist fronted up to Lasith Malinga. The bowler of the tournament screamed in for the second over of Punjab’s innings, and delivered it full and wide of off stump. The out-of-form Gilchrist rolled back the years by moving across and slicing it through point. The next ball was hit even more fiercely, but it found the fielder. Buoyed by the confidence of having middled two balls, Gilchrist took guard outside the crease for the next delivery. It was a yorker, followed by a bouncer that clattered Gilchrist on the back of his helmet. He was stunned for a moment and floored for a minute, but he got a new helmet and carried on. Punjab were not going to flinch today.Paul Valthaty did his bit to kick-start the innings before perishing in Munaf’s first over, pulling him straight to deep midwicket. Gilchrist carried on though he was clearly not at his best, struggling to pick Harbhajan’s straighter ones, and to adapt to the drop in pace once Malinga exited the attack. Symonds let him off on one of those indiscretions, when Gilchrist drove Dhawal Kulkarni uppishly into the covers. Gilchrist celebrated by launching Rohit Sharma for a straight six, while Shaun Marsh checked in by creaming Kulkarni twice through the off side.Malinga returned and produced the breakthrough, hurling down another pacy bouncer which Gilchrist feathered behind. Marsh had found his range by then, and seamlessly took charge of the innings along with Dinesh Karthik. Blizzard made things easier for Punjab, dropping Karthik when he top-edged Kieron Pollard. Karthik capitalised by sweeping and reverse-sweeping Suman for successive fours in the 14th over, as Punjab coiled for the final assault. It was the cue for the Munaf show to begin.Marsh welcomed Munaf to the crease by crashing the first ball of his second spell through the covers, before imparting a violent thump to another half-tracker, to send it sailing along towards the deep midwicket fence. Pollard had his own ideas, though, running at full tilt, diving to his right and intercepting the ball with both hands, to pull off one of the best catches of the tournament. That sparked Mumbai’s best phase in the game, as Munaf used clever changes in length and pace to cut through the lower order. He dismissed David Hussey for a duck, before foxing Karthik and Ryan Harris into scooping catches into the outfield. Munaf’s efforts had restricted Punjab to just 39 off the last five overs, but Mumbai’s spectacular batting collapse meant it counted for nothing.

Sri Lanka will step up their preparations for the first Test against England when they face a strong Lions side at Derby

Andrew McGlashan18-May-2011Sri Lanka will step up their preparations for the first Test against England when they face a strong Lions side at Derby. It’s a sign of the depth in English cricket that a formidable second team can be drawn up and they should give the tourists a good idea of their readiness for Cardiff.Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, along with the other three players who spent an extra week at the IPL, have arrived so the visitors are now at full strength. Facing the likes of Steven Finn, Ajmal Shahzad and Graham Onions, who has made an impressive return to action after a career-threatening back injury, will be a good test of adjustment for them on a Derby pitch that often offers help to the pace bowlers.Regardless of their form, however, Jayawardene and Sangakkara will line up in the Test side alongside Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera. This match will help Stuart Law, Sri Lanka’s interim coach, and the selectors decide who will be the final specialist batsman – presuming that is the balance they opt for.Against Middlesex, at Uxbridge, they went for two spinners on a flat surface but the Test attack may only include one slow bowler. Suraj Randiv, the tall offspinner, will be given a chance to press his claim after Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis did the job in the opening match. Herath’s useful batting could edge the stakes in his favour.That leaves the quick bowling. Dilhara Fernando is pencilled in with the new ball and Chandaka Welegedara took five wickets in the match against Middlesex. The one to watch, after a hint from Law, is Nuwan Pradeep who has been called a slightly less slingy Lasith Malinga. England’s analysts, one of who was at Uxbridge, will no doubt be compiling a library of footage ahead of the Test series.The England selectors will also be watching closely. There is a long season ahead and a pool of reserve talent will come in handy. At least one of the Lions will be appearing in Cardiff with a replacement needed for Paul Collingwood at No. 6, while there is also a pace-bowling vacancy due to Tim Bresnan’s torn calf.The contest between Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan has been billed as a shootout for the batting slot, ahead of the squad announcement on Sunday morning, but this England set-up doesn’t operate in that way. They’ll know who they want in the Test team. The smart money is on Bopara and plenty of things favour him. He has overcome a tricky start to the season to score 408 Championship runs with two hundreds and chip in with nine wickets for Essex, while twice turning down IPL advances.Morgan has spent the last six weeks in India with limited success for Kolkata Knight Riders, hitting one fifty in 12 innings. He returned to the UK on Saturday and was at Uxbridge the following day netting against his Middlesex team-mates (and Angus Fraser). He’ll cling to the knowledge that he was England’s most recent stand-by batsman in Australia, but it’s more than four months since their last Test match in Sydney and things change.Meanwhile, a replacement for Bresnan is tough to call, but the selectors are likely to want a like-for-like option who can swing the ball so Shahzad, who played one Test against Bangladesh last year, is a strong candidate. Finn played three Ashes games but with Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett there are already two tall quicks available.Beyond the immediate battles there is further interest from the Lions line up. James Taylor, the Leicestershire batsman, has another chance to impress, as does James Hildreth who will captain the side. One of those is likely to be in contention when England’s one-day squad is selected in late June. That might also apply to Samit Patel, who has been given another chance after some harsh reminders about his fitness requirements during the winter.

Mohammad Amir, the banned Pakistan fast bowler, has confirmed that he played for Addington in a Surrey Cricket League Division One match on June 4

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2011Mohammad Amir, the banned Pakistan fast bowler, has confirmed that he played for Addington in a Surrey Cricket League Division One match on June 4 but said that he took part only because he was told playing would not violate his ICC ban. His comments come in the wake of revelations in the that the ICC is investigating whether he violated his five-year ban for spot-fixing by turning out for Addington.”I was informed by club representatives before the game that it was a friendly match, being played on a privately owned cricket ground,” Amir told . “I asked the club representatives if the match fell under the jurisdiction of the ECB and they informed me that the match did not. I spoke to several club representatives about the issue and they all told me that it was a friendly match and therefore would not contravene my ban from the ICC. I was informed that I was fine to play.”Amir also denied that he had signed any registration documents with the club and insisted that he would never have taken the risk of playing had he known it was an official match.”I would not be stupid enough to knowingly play in a match that I knew would contravene my ban. Wherever I am going to play cricket, the world will know about it. I would not be stupid enough to play in a match where I knew that I would be taking a risk”.Amir was central to Addington’s 81-run victory in the game, against St Luke’s CC. He surprisingly opened the innings and scored 60 before returning figures of 4 for 9 in seven overs.This is not the first time Amir has appeared in a game which has had to be investigated by cricket authorities. Earlier this year in January, when he was under provisional suspension and still awaiting punishment for the Lord’s scandal, he turned out for a Rawalpindi club to play a friendly game. That prompted the ICC and PCB to investigate the nature of the game before the former eventually concluded that it was an unofficial game and the club wasn’t registered with the Rawalpindi cricket association; Amir was thus found to have not broken the ICC’s anti-corruption code of conduct.

Zimbabwe have named their squads for the limited-overs tri-series against Australian and South African A sides, and for a two-day warm-up match preceding their four-day games against Australia A

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2011Zimbabwe have named their squads for the limited-overs tri-series against Australian and South African A sides, and for a two-day warm-up match preceding their four-day games against Australia A which will set a benchmark ahead of their Test return.Brendan Taylor, who has just been unveiled as the new national captain, will lead in the one-day games while batsman Vusi Sibanda has been put in charge of a second-string side to play the warm-up at Kwekwe Sports Club, starting on July 11.A 32-man squad had been in camp since early June, and despite a spate of injuries the team’s backroom staff were upbeat ahead of the start of a season in which Zimbabwe’s Test readiness will be tested.”I am pleased with the way the players have responded to the training programme,” said national coach Alan Butcher. “Of course, there was some grumbling here and there at first but with the passage of time they all got used to it. The mood in the camp right now is very good. There has been a very great improvement in their physical fitness and technical awareness.”With a few exceptions, the players are all looking physically fit and strong and are playing lots of cricket among themselves. We have been working hard on both the bowling and batting departments for the last six weeks and it looks good. The guys are bowling a bit quicker in the nets.”But we cannot be able to judge the progress made so far unless we play other opposition. The proof will be in the pudding when we start playing more against other sides. South Africa and Australia have named strong sides and it’s going to be some tough cricket. “But it’s good for us ahead of our first Test match in six years,” said Butcher.Assistant coach Stephen Mangongo echoed Butcher’s sentiments. “The intensity has been excellent and I am happy some of our key players like Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor are getting it right,” he said.”It’s good that our core players are showing this form and are able to stay at the crease for long periods. We need that form and hopefully our confidence levels will improve too,” added Mangongo. “These guys have been pushing hard and the more they feel the pressure from the new players the higher they feel the need to raise their game.”Everyone knows that you have to be on top of your game to be selected. It’s not about the names and this is the challenge that most of the players have been facing in the last six weeks. Each player has to prove himself.”One player who appears to have done enough to further his case for selection is 21-year-old left-arm seamer Brian Vitori, who has been included in the limited-overs squad. “He has shown great promise and is doing quite well with the new ball,” said Mangongo.Zimbabwe had also been sweating on Keegan Meth’s fitness after he pulled out of a two-day practice game last week after bowling only two overs. His injury was apparently not as serious as previously thought and he has also been included in the squad of 15. Another unexpected name on the team lists is that of allrounder Malcolm Waller. Waller was not part of the original 32-man training squad and was said to have been playing club cricket overseas.Zimbabwe XI limited-overs squad Brendan Taylor (capt), Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Elton Chigumbura, Craig Ervine, Hamilton Masakadza, Keegan Meth, Christopher Mpofu, Forster Mutizwa, Raymond Price, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller.Zimbabwe XI two-day warm-up squad Vusimuzi Sibanda (capt), Regis Chakabva, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Kyle Jarvis, Gregory Lamb, Shingirai Masakadza, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Natsai Mushangwe, Forster Mutizwa, Njabulo Ncube, Tinashe Panyangara, Malcolm Waller.

A round-up of the first day’s matches in the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2011In a thrilling finish, Joshua Hall hit the penultimate ball of Ireland Under-19s’ innings for four to give them a one-wicket victory against United States of America Under-19 on the opening day of the ICC Under-19 World Cup qualifying tournament in Dublin. After stuttering early in their chase of 178, Ireland had recovered through a couple of solid lower-order partnerships and had brought the equation down to six runs required off 21 balls with three wickets in hand. But a wicket fell in the 47th over and then Adam Coughlan, who had led Ireland’s recovery, was trapped lbw by seamer Mital Patel to bring USA back into the game. Ireland needed just three runs off 15 balls then but then next 13 deliveries yielded just one run before Hall’s boundary.USA had managed their total of 177 thanks to some lower order contributions after they were 82 for 5 at one stage. Jodhbir Singh was their top-scorer with 36. In the chase, Ireland collapsed to 86 for 6 before Coughlan and Graeme McCarter began the comeback.Nepal Under-19s spinners Rahul Vishwakarma and Prithu Baskota ran through Afghanistan Under-19s batting line-up to deliver their team a win. Nepal had been bowled out for 154 in 44.3 overs but left-armer Vishwakarma’s 4 for 23 and offspinner Baskota’s 3 for 19 helped them skittle Afghanistan for 112. Afghanistan had made a decent beginning to their chase with Hashmatullah Shaidi and Shir Shirzai putting together a 53-run stand for the second wicket. After that though, wickets fell in clusters, and in the end the victory margin was 42 runs. Nepal had reached their total thanks mainly to opener Subash Khakurel’s steady 54, the only half-century in the match.Canada Under-19 prevailed in a closely-fought encounter against Scotland Under-19 in Dublin. They were boosted by a century from opener Nitish Kumar, who smashed 11 fours and two sixes in his 93-ball knock. Nitish’s partnership of 78 with Kyle Edghill and a quickfire 44 from Rayyan Pathan, off just 24 balls, took Canada to a challenging 212 in 35 overs.Seamer Jobanjot Singh’s early strikes hurt Scotland in their response but the middle order stepped up. Freddie Coleman made a quick 36, Mathew Cross made scored 21 at better than a run a ball, Peter Ross contributed 43 and Aman Bailwal gave Scotland hope by top-scoring with 63. With Bailwal at the crease, Scotland were very much in it but when he fell with the score on 201 in the penultimate over, the lower order didn’t last long and the innings folded for 206 with two balls to spare. Jobanjot finished with four wickets.Namibia Under-19 eased to an 89-run win over Papua New Guinea Under-19 at the Hills Cricket Club Ground. There was no standout performer in Namibia innings but the team was helped by a series of valuable contributions: a quick 49 from opener Justin Baard, a steady 44 from captain Stephen Baard, 44 from Zhivago Groenewald who smashed four sixes and an unbeaten 33 from Christopher Coombe. The effort propelled Namibia to 232, a score their bowlers comfortably defended. Coombe and Groenewald shared six wickets in the chase and an unbeaten 41 from Toua Tom at No.9 was the only significant resistance from a PNG batsman. PNG were bowled out for 143.Kenya Under-19 thrashed Vanuatu Under-19 at the Merrion Cricket Club Ground. Opener Kennedy Ochieng made 85 and was assisted by Duncan Allan, who made 47 in 38 balls, and a half-century from wicketkeeper Irfan Karim. Their contributions took Kenya to 238 for 4 in 38 overs, and proved too much for Vanuatu. Allan struck two early blows in the chase and though the middle order attempted a recovery, the target proved well beyond the batsmen. Nalin Nipiko top-scored with 25, but the batting could not withstand the offspin of Rahul Vishram, who took 4 for 9. Vanuatu were skittled out for just 102.

Two bowlers who have been injured for most of the last two seasons helped Hampshire to their first Championship win of the season and inflicted a serious blow to Durham’s title hopes

13-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Two bowlers who have been injured for most of the last two seasons helped Hampshire to their first County Championship win of the season and inflicted a serious blow to Durham’s title hopes.With two innings forfeited in the rain-ruined match at Chester-le-Street, Durham were set what looked a generous target of 276 in 82 overs. However, the title hopefuls were all out for 225 with Dimitri Mascarenhas taking six wickets for 62 runs and Kabir Ali 3 for 69.Although he was playing only his third championship game in two years following his Achilles injury, Hampshire must have sensed conditions were tailor-made for Mascarenhas when they declared on 275 for 7. The former England one-day allrounder’s medium pace always proves very effective in the north-east whenever there is any moisture around and in his first eight overs he took 3 for 11.Although Michael Di Venuto had less than his share of the strike, he had faced 23 balls when he tried to cut a ball which was moving into him and edged to second slip to depart for 1. In the last over before lunch Mark Stoneman padded up to a swinging delivery from Mascarenhas and was leg before wicket.Then, straight after the break, Gordon Muchall played back to a ball which skidded on to him and lost his off stump. Will Smith made 31 before edging Ali to first slip and Durham were rocking on
79 for 5 before Dale Benkenstein and Phil Mustard revived them with a stand of 45.Both batsmen were on 28 when Benkenstein drove at left-arm seamer Chris Wood and Hampshire’s acting captain Jimmy Adams took a fine catch high to his left at wide mid-off.With Callum Thorp coming to the crease there were still 45 overs left and survival was not really an option. He took 10 off Wood’s next over, prompting the introduction of legspinner Imran Tahir.
Thorp hit him for two fours in each of his second and third overs to move to 29 off 22 balls at tea and with Mustard on 36 Durham were 163 for 6, still needing 113 off 37 overs.The target was down to 88 when Thorp departed for 43, replicating Ian Blackwell’s dismissal by trying to pull a short ball wide of leg stump from Ali, only to glove it to wicketkeeper Michael Bates.
In the next over Mitch Claydon drove at Mascarenhas and also edged to Bates, who completed his maiden first-class half-century in the morning.It was as good as over for Durham when Mustard fell for 56, cutting low to Michael Carberry at backward point. Finally Rushworth hooked Mascarenhas to long leg and Durham had taken only two points from the match. They lead by eight points from Lancashire, but their three title rivals can all overtake them next week, when Durham are not in action.Hampshire took 18 points but are still 32 adrift of safety and faced an unwelcome coach trip to Aberdeen after the match for a Clydesdale Bank 40 League match against Scotland, knowing the ground had been far too wet to stage today’s game against Leicestershire.