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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Ashraful took three wickets and scored 118 not out in an all-round performance•Getty Images

Mohammad Ashraful shone with both ball and bat to lead his Bangladesh A side to a six-wicket victory against South Africa A at Buffalo Park in East London, in the first of five unofficial ODIs. Only 10 days ago South Africa had been battering Bangladesh in a four-day match, and in their home conditions were firm favourites to dominate the 50-over matches as well. However, the experienced Ashraful, who has alone played more one-day internationals than the entire South Africa A side combined, took 3 for 27 with his part-time spin to restrict South Africa to 226, and then scored an unbeaten century to help his side chase the target in 43.3 overs.Ashraful put South Africa in to bat, and after his frontline bowlers couldn’t get an early wicket, it fell to him to come on in the 10th over and dismiss his opposing captain Jacques Rudolph. Ashraful struck twice more in a seven-over spell, leaving South Africa reeling at 52 for 3. Things got worse for the hosts as Farhaan Behardien was bowled by left-arm spinner Elias Sunny, Vaughn van Jaarsveld was run out, and Heino Kuhn was caught trying to drive 19-year-old offspinner Nasir Hossain. At 73 for 6, South Africa looked like they would struggle to get 150.There was a recovery though; Dean Elgar, fresh from his 169 not out in the rain-affected second four-day game between the two sides, put together a 121-run partnership with allrounder Vernon Philander. The two batted until the 49th over, when Elgar fell for 76. Philander then hit three consecutive sixes off Farhad Reza in the same over, and South Africa took another 11 runs off the 50th to finish with a fighting total of 226 for 8. Philander finished 79 not out.The target started looking steep for Bangladesh when they found themselves 40 for 3 in the 12th over. Ashraful, coming in at No 5, was watchful early on, taking 28 balls before striking his first boundary. He had reached 21 off 44 before he suddenly exploded with Bangladesh at 84 for 3 in the 23rd over. Ashraful hit the next six balls he faced for boundaries, and Bangladesh seized control of the chase. Ashraful continued to attack in bursts, with Junaid Siddique rotating the strike at the other end.The two put together 149 before Siddique fell for 60, but by then the game was Bangladesh’s to lose. Ashraful reached his century soon after Siddique’s dismissal, and then ended the game with two consecutive boundaries in the 44th over, finishing 118 not out off 99 balls. It was a significant performance from a man who was once considered the future of Bangladesh cricket, but has now found himself relegated to the A team.

New Zealand have, in consultation with the Bangladesh Cricket Board, postponed their two-Test tour of Bangladesh scheduled for May-June this year to 2012, citing extremely hot and humid weather.The Test series had initially been planned for late 2010 and was meant to be part of a tour also comprising three ODIs. But, in preparation for the World Cup, the teams agreed to play five ODIs (which New Zealand lost 0-4) and push the Tests to May-June this year. Now, those Tests have again been rescheduled.”We welcome the decision and believe it is a sensible outcome,” Justin Vaughan, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, said after the BCB had accept the request for postponement. “Bangladesh is extremely hot and humid in May and June with cricket rarely played during that time of year.”The option to postpone until 2012, where the cricket calendar is less cluttered, also gives our top players the option to freshen up after a long and intensive period of cricket.”

The IPL auction, though scheduled to be held over two days, will see the biggest names – the 27 “marquee” players – going under the hammer first, a process that could end within an hour. These players, picked according to a combination of their valuation and star power, will be put up for auction.The players are: Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Tillkaratne Dilshan, Gautam Gambhir, Mahela Jayawardene, Zaheer Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Kevin Pietersen, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Taylor, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Adam Gilchrist, Kumar Sangakkara, Rohit Sharma, Graeme Smith, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White, Johan Botha, Chris Gayle, VVS Laxman, Brendon McCullum, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa and Daniel Vettori.That makes great television viewing but the random order in which the players will be presented for auction will leave the franchises scrambling for a workable plan. In the absence of a known sequence of players, franchises will have to work out an alternative approach to make the best buy. Say, for example, Franchise A wants players X, Y and Z, but those players come in last in the auction list; by the time they come up for auction the franchise runs the risk of losing out on other good players who may be going cheap. “Most of the strategies that teams have worked out might not work and they will need to take a quick decision on a buy,” one franchise official explained.

The 2011 IPL auction

WHEN
The auction will take place on January 8 and 9 in Bengaluru, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. It’s a proper two-day game, with 90-minute lunch breaks from 1 p.m. and half-hour tea breaks at 4 p.m. And the occasional “strategy break”, aka the time out.

WHY
The player auction is the only opportunity for the franchises to sign up overseas and capped Indian players for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, barring those who have already been retained. Uncapped Indian players will be signed up through a different process.

HOW MUCH
Each franchise has an auction purse of $9 million, less what they have already spent on retaining players.

HOW MANY
Each franchise can have on its books a maximum of 30 players including no more than ten overseas players.

The players on the auction list – around 350 at last count, grouped into several price bands from $20,000-400,000 – range from the biggest current stars, the best young talent and a few big names from the past, and represent 11 countries. However, no more than about 130 players are expected to be bought, with each team picking around 13 and then beefing up the squad by signing uncapped Indian players who can be bought relatively cheap.Each player will be individually presented at the open auction – handled by veteran auctioneer Richard Madley, the Englishman who normally deals in antiques and occasionally keeps wicket – where the highest bidder will be the buyer at that price. Bidding will start at the player’s reserve price and, unlike last year, there is no limit to what can be bid for a single player. Franchises will not be able to make a bid for a player that would take them beyond their balance remaining on the salary cap. The players will be arranged into “sets”; initial sets will comprise the marquee players, and then players with the same core skills (batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders, wicket-keepers).The order of these subsequent sets, and the order that players will be presented for auction within each set, will be determined by random draw. The bidding increments will be $5,000 for bids up to $100,000; $10,000 for bids from $10 0,000 to $300,000; and at the auctioneer’s discretion for larger bids. Players for whom no bids are received when they are initially presented for auction may be re-presented for auction once all of the initial sets have been concluded. The auction is over when each franchise has either (a) no balance left on its salary cap or (b) no further available slots for overseas players or (c) filled its maximum squad of 30 players or (d) indicates that it will not be bidding for any further players.

Daniel Vettori was pleased with New Zealand’s position at stumps on day two at the Basin Reserve after guiding his side to a competitive 356 with a composed century. He put on a 138-run partnership with Reece Young to rescue New Zealand from 180 for 6 and took advantage of a flat Pakistan attack, who were a bowler short after Wahab Riaz had been stricken by flu overnight. Vettori struck on the last ball of the day to remove Taufeeq Umar, leaving Pakistan on 134 for 2.”[My century] was pleasing considering the situation we were in,” Vettori said. “We were 170 for 6 when we came in and Reece and myself were able to put on that partnership. We thought 350 was a par score after winning the toss and putting ourselves in, so pretty happy to be in that position. Another couple of wickets tonight would have made it really nice, but it’s pretty comfortable to be where we are at.”Vettori had failed to cross fifty in his last four Tests, and today’s century – his sixth, was his first since December 2009. “People correlate form and runs. If you aren’t scoring runs then you’re out of form, but I’ve felt relatively good the whole way through, but it just hasn’t worked for me in the last four Tests. It was disappointing because I set pretty high standards [for myself], so it’s nice to get it back today.”Three of Vettori’s centuries have come against Pakistan, who also happen to be his favourite opposition, averaging 47.15 against them. “I also have a 99 against Pakistan” Vettori said, laughing, “which Younis Khan actually reminded me of. We’ve played them when I happen to be in good form with the bat and we’ve played Pakistan a lot lately so it’s just worked out that way.”4000 runs was my big goal. I’m thinking about 400 wickets now, I’ve sort of put the runs to the side. But people always remember Test match hundreds, so hopefully the more I can get, the higher I can go up in the echelons of New Zealand cricket.”Vettori and Young came together late on day one when New Zealand looked set to capitulate once more, but the pair arrested the slide and put on a gutsy display of Test match batting replete with canny placement and smart running to take the hosts past 300. “Reece and I have known each other for a long time,” Vettori said. “We played age-group cricket against each other, so we had a good understanding.”Vettori was quick to praise Young, who is in his first Test series, hinting that Young’s temperament and range of strokes could well see him filling the role of wicketkeeper-batsman in the long term for New Zealand.”It’s quite nerve-wracking being in your second Test and being under a bit of pressure, but I thought he played really well. He never really looked nervous, and it showed in the way [the Pakistan bowlers] got a little flat to him because he actually played some really good shots. That’s important for a guy coming in at seven because you need a guy who can play his shots and can be aggressive when he needs to be.”Vettori also claimed he wasn’t nervous when Brent Arnel was dismissed with him on 96 not out, leaving Chris Martin with three Umar Gul deliveries to face before Vettori could regain strike. “That’s Tommy’s onion – that situation. He never let’s anyone down so I was pretty confident.”Martin Guptill took a terrific catch in close to dismiss Taufeeq, after the batsman had played intelligently for 70. Taufeeq had been caught behind off Vettori on 34, but not for the first time in the series, the umpires failed to detect an edge and Taufeeq was reprieved.”[Taufeeq’s wicket] made the day little bit easier,” said Vettori. “It was a great catch and to be able to walk off the park [with the opposition] two down and a new batsman in just made things easier. We’ve got a big first session tomorrow that’s probably going to set up the game if we’ve got a chance of winning it.”Vettori said he’d be satisfied with restricting Pakistan to 350, with his side set to bowl in the fourth innings on a pitch that is already beginning to show signs of deterioration. “If we can keep them to around our score then that would be great. We’ve obviously got to step up in the third innings and make sure we perform a lot better than we have and it will be trickier for them as the game goes on.”It’s a fantastic wicket. Guys love coming in and playing here on this sort of wicket. It’s good for everyone. If you apply yourself you can score a lot of runs and there’s a little bit in it for the bowlers. A couple of balls turned for me, so if we can put ourselves in a position where we can come out [to bowl] on the last day then hopefully I’ll have a big say, weather permitting.”Rain is forecast for Wellington on the last two days of the Test.

The ECB have added Steve Gale and Steve O’Shaughnessy to the list of first-class umpires for 2011 following the retirements of Barry Dudleston and Vanburn Holder last season.Steve O’Shaughnessy played first-class cricket for Lancashire and Worcestershire between 1980 and 1989, and has been umpiring since 2007. He is delighted to now get the chance to umpire first-class games. “I am thrilled to be given this promotion and am looking forward to having the chance to further my career as an ECB official,” he said.Steve Gale, meanwhile, is promoted after spending three seasons on the Reserve List following a playing career representing Shropshire in Minor Counties cricket between 1975 and 1987. ECB umpires’ manager, Chris Kelly said: “We are pleased to welcome both Steve Gale and Steve O’Shaughnessy onto the Full List for 2011. Their commitment and attitude on the Reserve List has been outstanding and their promotion is the result of some exceptional performances in County Championship matches.”In addition, three new umpires have been added to the Reserve List for 2011: Alex Wharf, who played 13 ODIs for England between 2004 and 2005, Billy Taylor and Russell Evans. Wharf and Taylor retired from first-class cricket at the end of the 2009 season and Evans was contracted by Nottinghamshire between 1985 and 1990.”We are pleased to welcome Billy, Alex and Russell onto the Reserve List for 2011 which maintains the number of umpires available at this level,” said Kelly. “There is now plenty of competition for places on the Reserve List and these three have shown that they are in an excellent position to take their officiating forward.”ECB Full List 2011: Rob Bailey, Neil Bainton, Mark Benson, Martin Bodenham, Nick Cook, Nigel Cowley, Jeff Evans, Steve Gale, Steve Garratt, Michael Gough, Ian Gould, Peter Hartley, Richard Illingworth, Trevor Jesty, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Jeremy Lloyds, Neil Mallender, David Millns, Steve O’Shaughnessy, Tim Robinson, George Sharp, John Steele, Peter Willey.ECB Reserve List 2011: Paul Baldwin, Ismail Dawood, Mark Eggleston, Russell Evans, Andy Hicks, Graham Lloyd, Steve Malone, Martin Saggers, Billy Taylor, Alex Wharf.

Nick Compton’s powerful form continued with an unbeaten 90 to set up a 36-run victory for Mashonaland Eagles against Southern Rocks. He hit seven fours and two sixes in his 80-ball innings, adding 93 for the third wicket with Forster Mutizwa who clubbed 62. Their stand formed the backbone for a strong total of 257 for 6 and they made the perfect start in the field when Chad Keegan trapped Steve Marillier lbw first ball. Keegan added two more wickets and Rocks slid to 53 for 5 in the 13th over to leave them a mountain to climb. Steve Tikolo threatened to turn the innings around with 68 off 55 balls, but Rocks were well behind the D/L target when rain ended the contest in the 30th over.Mountaineers put in an impressive bowling display to earn a 78-run victory against Matabeleland Tuskers which was enough to gain a bonus point and move them ahead of their opponents on run rate. Donald Tiripano was the star with 4 for 16 to remove Tuskers middle order after Tinashe Panyangara had claimed two important wickets despite being expensive. The Mountaineers top order also struggled, but the difference was Timycen Maruma who hit a brisk 67 off 48 balls to lift them to 205 for 9 which proved more than enough.

Brendon McCullum is likely to feature in the top order during the upcoming three-Test series against India starting in Ahmedabad, New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch has said. McCullum gave up his wicketkeeping duties in Tests to concentrate on his batting and prolong his career, and could bat as high as No.3 during the Test series.McCullum has had a successful year in Tests thus far, averaging 77.60 with two centuries, at No.7. He averages 34.90 in 52 Tests overall and New Zealand, reeling from a 0-4 defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in the recently-concluded ODI series, would want him to replicate his form this year at the top of the order.”We’ve had a discussion with Brendon about where he’d like to bat and he wants to bat high,” Greatbatch was quoted as saying in the . “He averaged nearly 50 in Test cricket last season batting six or seven but, obviously, he’s changing tack in the longer version as a batsman only and he wants to make an impact. I think you’ll see him near the top.”McCullum has opened just once in Tests and averages a healthy 40 when batting at No.3, which he’s done in five innings with two half-centuries to his name. “Some bowlers don’t like bowling to Brendon, he puts them under pressure when he plays well, so that’s a positive,” Greatbatch said.New Zealand announced a 15-man squad for the Test series against India on Sunday, with call-ups for middle-order batsman Kane Williamson and fast bowler Hamish Bennett, who played two ODIs against Bangladesh and grabbed 3 for 44 on debut. “Hamish showed some pretty good signs in the past two ODIs,” Greatbatch said. “He’s got raw pace and we’re trying to build some depth in that area.”Greatbatch added the Test series against India gives New Zealand an opportunity to rectify the lapses experienced during the debacle in Bangladesh, particularly with the team’s batting. “It’s a positive we’re going to India for a Test series. The longer version means batsmen aren’t in a rush and they’ve got an opportunity to bat for a long time; they get their mind right and get in on good surfaces,” he said. “The team has got to show some good fight and courage and skill.”

Tamil Nadu‘s bowlers successfully defended a modest total, dismissing Goa for 108 after their batsmen had earlier managed 127 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.Swapnil Asnodkar had given Goa a good start, and at 57 for 1 in the tenth over, they were in control. However, S Vidyut was stumped by Dinesh Karthik, and Abhinav Mukund then took two wickets with the first two deliveries of his only over to reduce Goa to 57 for 4. Fast bowler Yo Mahesh ran through the lower order, taking 4 for 23 as Goa collapsed to lose by 19 runs.Tamil Nadu had earlier suffered a similar mid-innings stutter, stumbling to 69 for 4 from 59 for 1, left-arm spinner Sher Yadav taking 3 for 15. However, S Badrinath took his side to a reasonable score, which ultimately proved beyond Goa.Mayank Agarwal and Ganesh Satish took Karnataka to a six-wicket victory against Andhra at the Gymkhana Ground after their bowlers had kept Andhra down to 143.Venugopal Rao made 58 off 41 deliveries after Andhra had lost their openers cheaply to B Akhil. However, Rao’s run out in the late stages of the innings hurt Andhra.Manish Pandey fell in the first over of the Karnataka innings, but Agarwal – who was the top run-scorer in the recent Karnataka Premier League – and Satish added 95 runs in 66 deliveries to set up the chase. Agarwal was the more aggressive of the two, smashing four sixes and as many fours in his 57 off 31 balls. Satish anchored the innings with his 52 off 48.An unbeaten half-century from captain Raiphi Gomez led Kerala to an emphatic eight-wicket win against Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, as they made short work of the target of 149.Coming in after Abhishek Hegde had fallen early, Gomez added an unbeaten 94 runs in 78 deliveries for the third wicket with Robert Fernandez. Hyderabad used seven bowlers but to no avail, as Kerala cantered to victory with eight balls to spare.Left-arm spinner P Prasanth’s 2 for 17 had earlier restricted Hyderabad to 148 for 5. The first three Hyderabad batsmen scored thirties but none went on to play a big knock.

New Zealand have been honoured with the Spirit of Cricket prize at the ICC Awards in Bangalore. It’s the third time they’ve won this award and the second year in a row. The award is handed out to the team with the best on-field conduct, and is decided by the ICC elite panel of umpires and match referees, and the captains of the ten full members of the world’s governing body. The voting period for the awards ran from August 24, 2009 to August 10, 2010, and the other nominees were India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, was unable to collect the award in Bangalore due to playing commitments in Bangladesh, but was delighted at the recognition: “The team I have led over the past year has without a doubt shown great sportsmanship and played the game of cricket in the right way by always respecting our opponents and those who officiate and look after us in the sport. I would be thrilled if to go alongside our award and Brendon McCullum’s [Twenty20 Innings of the Year] that we win the series that we are playing here in Bangladesh.”The award has previously been won twice by Sri Lanka (2007 and 2008). England won it in 2005 and 2006 while New Zealand took the honour at the inaugural ICC awards in 2004 and again last year in Johannesburg.

Kabir Khan, the former Pakistan fast bowler whose tenure as Afghanistan coach recently came to an abrupt end, has said a dispute with the officials of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) forced him to leave the team.Kabir told Cricinfo his departure came after the ACB chairman, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, announced Kabir’s resignation two days after he sent a text message threatening to quit due to interference in his role.”I texted our chairman of ACB regarding some issues which I was not very happy with, and stated that if they don’t let me work freely without interfering I will rather leave the job with honour and dignity,” Kabir said. “It was not an official resignation but two days later I got a letter from our CEO Aimal Shenwari saying that my resignation has been accepted and I replied ‘Ok’ – nothing else I could say.”Kabir said he was unhappy with interference from ACB officials in the recently completed series against Scotland. “During the Intercontinental Cup they at the office were not happy that we did not enforce the follow-on against the Scottish team when Rashid Latif [the batting coach], the captain and I decided to bat for a bit of time and we won the game.”The tension apparently increased following the second ODI, which Afghanistan lost. “In the last ODI the issue of why we batted first [was challenged]. If they in the office know so much about cricket then there is no point in us doing a job and getting paid. I cannot call Kabul after every toss and ask my CEO what to do,” Kabir said.These incidents came on the back of disagreements over the selection process. “When I wanted to add young boys and make a future team, the selection committee was giving me boys in their thirties. I was not involved in the selection meetings which I should [and] boys were dropped for no reasons.”Kabir said he did not see the possibility of reversing his decision. “First of all I will rather find another job as things will not be the same, but if I do then it will totally on my terms and simple ones – I will need full authority of decisions and say in selections. The board can ask me questions or sack me after the tournament but during the tour no interference in cricket matters.”Kabir said he did felt Zakhilwal should have sought the reason for his disappointment before acting. “The chairman should have at least asked me why I wrote the text, before discussing and deciding with the person who I was not feeling comfortable with. He just had a meeting with CEO and listened to his side of story.”Kabir maintained that his priority was building the Afghanistan team. “It’s not about me – it is about the Afghan team and I will never want them to suffer – I cannot see people ruining the hard work we have done for the last few years just for their personal reasons. I enjoyed every single moment of my job and the respect that I got through coaching the Afghan team,” he said.