Jonathan Batty’s unbeaten 102, his fourth century of the season, guided Surrey to a comfortable draw on the last day against Durham at Chester-le-Street. Surrey had been set an improbable target of 447 after a remarkable late onslaught from Liam Plunkett, who belted five sixes in his unbeaten 59 from 44 balls. Plunkett then took the first wicket to fall, that of Scott Newman for 34, before Ottis Gibson extracted Mark Ramprakash’s off stump to give his side a massive lift. But without the injured Steve Harmison, Durham’s attack lacked the penetration and the game meandered to the close.Ryan McLaren was the star at Edgbaston for the second time in a fortnight, as Kent exploited seaming conditions to dismiss Warwickshire for 213. McLaren took a hat-trick earlier in the month as Kent secured the Twenty20 Cup, and he was on target again with 4 for 42. Martin Saggers jagged the ball around for figures of 3 for 53, and Warwickshire’s best resistance came from Luke Parker, who made 49. Martin van Jaarsveld, who took the final wicket, chipped in with five catches. In reply, Rob Key compiled a bullish half-century, as Kent reached the close on 108 for 1.Adil Rashid took one step closer to securing a winter tour berth with England as he rescued Yorkshire’s innings with his maiden first-class century against Worcestershire at Kidderminster. It was a crucial innings too – Yorkshire had at one stage slipped to 125 for 5 in seamer-friendly conditions – but Rashid’s effort, from 152 balls with 17 fours, ensured a healthy total of 319. Click here for John Ward’s report.

Owais Shah made a spectacular and timely unbeaten 177 to show the selectors he’s in form ahead of England’s seven ODIs against India against Northamptonshire. Shah added 196 for Middlesex’s third wicket with Ed Joyce, who made 106, before exploding into action with 17 fours and three sixes as wickets fell away around him. There is little chance of a result after just 9.2 overs over the first two days at Northampton, but Middlesex were in some trouble at 36 for 2 when Shah and Joyce came together. And after Joyce had been dismissed by David Wigley, they stumbled again; Eion Morgan made a second-ball duck, and Jamie Dalrymple and Ben Scott both went cheaply too. Shah, however, found useful support in Chaminda Vaas, who was run out for 28, as Middlesex reached 380 for 7 at the close.Andy Caddick burst into action after two days of inactivity at Cardiff, grabbing two early wickets with the new ball and returning to dismiss Mark Wallace for 16, to give Somerset control against the Championship stragglers, Glamorgan. At 92 for 6, Glamorgan were deep in the mire, but Alex Wharf and Robert Croft pulled them round with a vital half-century stand for the seventh wicket.

Australia A 109 for 0 (Jaques 56*, Rogers 50) trail Pakistan A 199 (Abdur Rauf 73, Bollinger 3-34) by 90 runs
Scorecard

An unbroken century stand from their openers helped Australia A finish on 109, trailing Pakistan A by just 90, at the end of the first day’s play of the first Test.Phil Jaques, the more aggressive of the openers, carried on his fine form from the recently-concluded one-day series. He scored 56 with seven fours while Chris Rogers was more circumspect, striking two boundaries in his 50. Rogers came into this match on the back of a century in the last of the ODIs. Neither batsman did their cause any harm as they compete to become Matthew Hayden’s new opening partner in Australia’s Test team.Faisal Iqbal, Pakistan’s captain, tried six bowlers but to no avail as Jaques and Rogers safely played out the tricky passage of play comprising of 34 overs after Pakistan’s dismal performance with the bat.The home side started poorly after electing to bat, losing three wickets, including that of Yasir Hameed with only 18 on the board. Hameed’s wicket was crucial as he had been among the runs, scoring two centuries in the limited-overs matches. Doug Bollinger, the left-arm fast man, cleaned up Taufeeq Umar for a duck and had Hameed (11) and Hasan Raza (0) caught.Khalid Latif and Iqbal briefly stabilised the innings before Latif was dismissed by James Hopes. Mansoor Amjad, who had an encouraging stint with the bat at Leicestershire this season, hung around for 90 balls, scoring 25, as Iqbal’s aggressive knock of 33 was brought to an end by Hopes.Abdur Rauf, better known for his bowling even though he has scored five first-class half-centuries, then played a lone hand in ensuring the Pakistan total earned respectability. Rauf smashed seven fours and three sixes in his 84-ball 73, adding 71 with the tail to take Pakistan to what seemed a decent 199.Dan Cullen and Cameron White grabbed two wickets each as Stuart MacGill, playing his first match of the tour, ended the innings wicketless.

The former West Indies offspinner Omari Banks has joined Somerset as a Kolpak player for the 2008 season.Banks, 25, played 10 Tests and five ODIs for West Indies between May 2003 and August 2005, but has since failed to break into the international set-up.His finest hour came at Antigua in 2003, in only his second Test, when he scored 47 not out from No. 8 as West Indies chased a world-record 418 to beat Australia.”Omari is a great signing and will give us strength in depth in key positions in our squad,” said Somerset’s director of cricket, Brian Rose. “He will be a huge asset to us and will be very dangerous in one-day cricket and the Twenty20 Cup.”Banks does not count as an overseas player as he was born in Anguilla, a British protectorate. He spent two months in the Leicestershire second team, with a solitary senior appearance against Pakistan.

Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara has been talked about as special ever since he scored an unbeaten 306 against Baroda Under-14 a week shy of his 14th birthday. A right-hand opener for Saurashtra with all the right signs – orthodox technique, tall stance and fluency on both sides of the wicket – Pujara has enjoyed success with India Under-19, noticeably his 211 against England. He also had a fine run in the 2006 World Cup in Sri Lanka, finishing as the highest scorer with 349 runs at an average of 116.It was only natural that Pujara chose to play cricket: his grandfather Shivlal represented the erstwhile state of Dhrangadhra, while his father Arvind and uncle Bipin played first-class cricket for Saurashtra. Though he initially showed skill bowling legspin, there are many who are glad he stuck to batting, as his numbers at practically every level indicate. He recently toured Zimbabwe and Kenya with India A, scoring a century and two fifties.Last season, List A
Runs: 156, Ave: 31.20Last season, Twenty20
Runs: 110, S/R: 171.87

Abhishek Nayar

The first full season Nayar had with Mumbai was an enthralling one – from facing relegation to being 0 for 5 in the semi-final to winning the Ranji Trophy, he saw it all and kept making vital contributions during the campaign. Nayar is a right-arm medium-pacer who bowls first or second change for Mumbai. He is also a handy, albeit not the most elegant, left-hand batsman in the lower middle order, capable of occupying the crease and also hefty hitting. He recently struck back-to-back first-class hundreds – against Karachi Urban and Rest of India.Last season, List A
Runs: 121, Ave: 17.80
Wickets: 14, Ave: 22.14, Econ: 4.94Last season, Twenty20
2-0-18-1

Satyajit Satbhai

Satbhai’s name was confused for Satyajit Parab’s when the teams for the Challengers were announced, a mistake the BCCI soon corrected. Satbhai, the Maharashtra wicketkeeper, has made the transition from a lower-order batsman to an opener over five-and-a-half years of first-class cricket, in which Maharashtra were demoted to the Plate League and then promoted to the Elite League again.Last season he played only two List A matches for Maharashtra where he scored ducks, and was replaced with younger keepers for the remaining one-dayers and Twenty20 matches. Playing in a team led by Parthiv Patel, it is unlikely Satbhai will get a chance to keep wicket in the Challengers.Last season, List A
Runs: 0

Iqbal Abdulla

A regular performer at the Mumbai club scene, Abdulla, a left-arm orthodox spinner, came into the limelight when he ran through Haryana’s batting line-up with a five-for in a Twenty20 game. He was soon drafted into the Indian Under-19 side for a tri-series in Sri Lanka, where he was the third-highest wicket-taker with eight wickets for 69 runs in 31.1 overs. Abdulla is a smart batsman lower down the order and has the promise to develop into a consistent contributor.Last season, Twenty20
24.1-0-153-11

Pankaj Singh

Pankaj, a tall and strapping right-arm medium-fast bowler from Rajasthan, has progressed from the Under-19 level to the A side with consistent performances since he made his first-class debut in August 2003. By 2006 he started showing signs of having matured, taking Rajasthan to the final of the Ranji Plate league, with 21 wickets at 20.95. In June 2007, Pankaj was asked to join the five-day bowlers’ camp in Mysore. Following that he was also called up to bowl at the conditioning camp in Kolkata just before the Indian team left for Bangladesh. A twin tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya with India A followed: a total of 18 wickets in unofficial Tests and ODIs in Kenya earned him a spot for the home series against South Africa A.Pankaj runs in upright and close to the stumps, and with his open-chested action is capable of generating good pace.Last season, List A
Wickets: 9, Ave: 45.66, Econ: 5.20Last season, Twenty20
3-0-17-1

Srikkanth Anirudha

Following in the footsteps of his father, the explosive Kris, Anirudha is an opening batsman who doesn’t believe in half measures. A compulsive slasher and puller, he made an impact with a string of rapid scores for Tamil Nadu in the 50 and 30-over arena. He has been around since 2004, but it was only late last season that he showed the potential to cut it at this level. He was the fourth-highest run-getter in the domestic Twenty20 last year, carrying himself into the list of 30 probables for the ICC World Twenty20.Last season, List A
Runs: 111, Ave: 27.75Last season, Twenty20
Runs: 285, S/R: 137.68

Niranjan Behera

Another one to have made it to the probables for the ICC World Twenty20, Behera is one of the most consistent performers for Orissa. His batting average of 32.25 and bowling average of 18.50 are reasonable for an allrounder, despite the fact that he has played most of his cricket in the Plate League. His 509 runs at 50.90, the sixth-highest aggregate in the Plate League, were instrumental in Orissa’s ascent to the Super League. With the big boys in the Twenty20 matches, he sneaked into the top-10 in both the batting and bowling charts.Behera bats at No. 3 and is a handy right-arm offbreak bowler.Last season, List A
Runs: 109, Ave: 36.33
Wickets: 5, Ave: 34.20, Econ.: 5.02Last season, Twenty20
Runs: 225, S/R: 117.18
29-0-184-12

Quinton Friend and Johann Louw bowled the Dolphins to a seven-wicket win against the Titans at Durban as they bounced back from their opening-week defeat against the Eagles. Friends’ 5 for 30 set the ball rolling as the Titans fell away for 147 after the opening day had been washed out. Imran Khan (80) and Hashim Amla (59), fresh from his tour of Pakistan, added 108 for the second wicket as the Dolphins moved into the lead just one down. Then the innings fell away with the last nine wickets falling for 117 as Imran Tahir, the legspinner who had a short stint with Yorkshire this year, worked his way through the middle order. But a 130-run lead was significant in the conditions and Louw kept the pressure on the Titans throughout their second innings. The top score was Brendon Reddy’s 38 as wickets fell steadily, Louw revelling in bowler-friendly conditions with 6 for 88. Chasing 111, the Dolphins had few problems as Khan completed a fine match with an unbeaten 45.The Eagles continued their flying start to the season with their second consecutive victory, a 113-run win against the Lions at Kimberley, and were spearheaded by the prolific form of seamer Dillon du Preez. He claimed match figures of 10 for 112, his most dramatic intervention coming as the Lions crashed to 48 for 7 in their first innings after the Eagles had struggled to 199 with Craig Alexander, the former South Africa Under-19 fast bowler, taking his first five-wicket haul. Neither first innings produced a half-century, but the defining knock of the match then came from Boeta Dippenaar who ground out a 289-ball 153. He added 102 with Ryan McLaren to set the Lions a huge target of 441. Although they battled hard for more than 130 overs it was a futile effort as du Preez led the attack with 33 overs. The key wicket, though, came from a stunning piece of fielding from McLaren as his direct hit accounted for Neil McKenzie, on 54 at the time, moments before lunch on the final day and with him the Lions’ last real hope.Bowlers dominated at Port Elizabeth where the Warriors came out on top against the Cape Cobras by six wickets. The visitors were on the back foot from the start as they fell in a heap for 110 with Nantie Hayward and Lonwabo Tsotsobe sharing seven wickets. For Tsotsobe it was another eye-catching display after his career-best 7 for 39 in the opening round of matches and he has a chance to impress the national selectors after being named to face New Zealand in a tour match this week. Success for the batsmen was limited, but Arno Jacobs hammered an aggressive 93 to build an imposing lead of 173. Andrew Puttick replied with a marathon 92 off 212 balls and at 134 for 1, with Gerhard Strydom on 65, the match wasn’t gone from the Cobras. However, the combination of Hayward’s pace and Robin Peterson’s left-arm spin proved too much for the middle order. Still, chasing down 95 didn’t come without a scare for the Warriors as Monde Zondeki ripped into the top order to leave them 26 for 4. It took a counter-attacking stand of 72 between the two Jacobs – Arno and Davey – to seal the result.Player of the week – Dillon du Preez
The Eagles have flown into an early lead at the top of the SuperSport table after victories in their opening two matches. Dillon du Preez, the 26-year-old quick bowler, has played a major role in their early success with 17 wickets, and his impressive form brought a maiden 10-wicket match haul against the Lions. The key spell came at the start of the Lions’ first innings, with the Eagles needing early wickets after struggling to 199. du Preez, swinging the ball at pace, quickly put that total into perspective as he removed Stephen Cook and Alviro Petersen in his second over and soon added Blake Snijman. His 6 for 40 were career-best figures and there was more to come in the second innings.

For results and scorecards click here

For results and scorecards click here

The ICC will officially launch the Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur this Wednesday.The tournament takes place in Malaysia between February 17 and March 2 and will spread over three cities – Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor. Besides the ICC’s 10 Full Members and hosts Malaysia, five qualifiers – Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Ireland and Bermuda – will take part.The 16 teams have been divided into four groups with the top two teams progressing to the Super League quarter-finals while the two bottom teams from each group will play in the Plate Championship quarter-finals.The winners of the Super League quarter-finals will qualify for the semi-finals whereas the losing quarter-finalists will play in the Super League play-offs. The winners of the Plate Championship quarter-finals will play in the Plate Championship semi-finals while the beaten quarter-finalists will participate in the Plate Championship play-offs.

Group A

Karachi’s new pace-bowling sensation Sohail Khan created a Pakistan first-class record, ending with a match-haul of 16 wickets on the third day of Sui Southern Gas Company‘s tenth round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship encounter against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium in Karachi.Already the highest wicket-taker in the ongoing competition, the 23-year-old Malakand-born Sohail captured a career-best 9 for 109. Added to his equally splendid figures of 7 for 80 in WAPDA’s first innings, Sohail completed 16 for 189 in the match. It beat the earlier record set by Fazal Mahmood (15 for 76) for Punjab against Pakistan Combined Services in Lahore during the 1956-57 season.In what must rank as one of the most sensational entries into first-class cricket, Sohail, who made his debut as recently as October, has now captured 65 wickets at just 18.43 runs apiece. He has taken five in an innings on eight occasions and 10 in a match twice.In spite of Sohail’s heroics, WAPDA compiled 353 runs yesterday, leaving SSGC to make 328 runs to achieve an outright victory. There were several resolute batting displays in the WAPDA innings: Nawaz Sardar, who struck 18 fours and a six, missed a maiden first-class hundred by two runs. Along with skipper Aamer Sajjad (40), Nawaz helped add 80 runs for the fourth wicket. Bilal Khilji (80) and Sunny Irshad (75) then joined together for fine 146-run association for the sixth wicket. However, the last five WAPDA wickets added only a further 19.Neither team might have done enough for a final slot though one thing is clear: third-placed WAPDA will not make it to the top of the 11-team Group A ranking.Leaders Habib Bank Limited (HBL) took another step towards qualifying for the tournament final on the third day of their tenth round, Group A Quaid-e-Azam Trophy against National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). They took a crucial 44-run first innings lead in the match against NBP Sports Complex Stadium in Karachi.Thanks to a fine 137-run fourth-wicket partnership between Aftab Khan and Khaqan Arsal, Habib Bank responded with 341 against National Bank’s 297 all out. The 23-year-old Khaqan, who brought up his third first-class century, remained unbeaten till the end with 109, a knock involving 16 fours.Aftab cracked a 210-ball 80 in a little over four-and-a-half hours. Skipper Hasan Raza perished for a rare duck as did Salman Qadir, but a 42-run seventh-wicket partnership between wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat and Khaqan allowed Habib Bank to gain the lead. By the close of play, with opener Nasir Jamshed having made an unbeaten 58, National Bank gained a slender edge of 42 runs with nine wickets in hand.Habib Bank are in a must-win situation here. A draw will take their points tally to 66 after nine matches. National Bank will then still have two more games to go and the full points from two wins will keep them in contention for the final.After having dominated Sialkot for much of the first two days, Lahore Ravi were in some trouble, on the third day of their tenth round match, at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground in Lahore.Sialkot, who had restricted Lahore’s lead to 77 after being shot out for a pathetic 88, recovered to score 288 runs in their second innings. Needing 212 to win, Lahore Ravi were 177 for 7 by the close of play, needing 35 more to wrap up the win.For Sialkot, skipper Ayub Dogar hit a splendid century, a 240-ball 124 that included 15 fours and two sixes. Lahore pace bowler Waqas Ahmed, meanwhile, continued with his excellent display in the match taking 6 for 70, ending with 10 for 118 in the match. Medium-pacer Mohammad Ali Bhutta continued his devastating form, ending with 4 for 54 in the second innings, adding to his 5 for 38 in the first.Multan scored 446 runs in their first innings, taking a 111-run lead over Hyderabad in the Multan Cricket Stadium. A double-hundred by their left-handed opener Usman Tariq, who’s knock contained 20 fours and five sixes, formed the bedrock of the Multan innings.Centuries by Asif Iqbal and Zahoor Elahi allowed Pakistan Customs to compile 338 runs against Karachi Whites at the National Stadium. In reply, Karachi managed to reach 154 for 4 at close, still 184 runs in deficit. Iqbal scored his second first-class century and his highest individual score after batting for over five hours and hitting 13 fours. With Elahi, he added 159 runs for the fourth wicket. For Karachi, Khalid Latif continued his impressive form with the bat and scored 42 while Asim Kamal is still unbeaten on 47.

Group B

Making their debut in the competition this season, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) became the first team to qualify for the tournament final when, on the third day of their tenth round, they easily defeated Lahore Shalimar by ten wickets in the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.After having gained a first innings lead of 135, SNGPL bowled out the opposition for a modest 206. This left them just 72 runs to win, which they attained without loss in a matter of 7.1 overs.With 63 points from nine matches, and a game in hand, SNGPL have raced ahead of second-placed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in the Group B table. PIA have their last match coming up and, with only 48 points in their kitty, don’t have a chance of making the final.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited rattled up a big first-innings lead of 327 over Karachi Blues, on the third day of their tenth round, Group B Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex Ground No.1 in Karachi.Opening batsman Afaq Rahim’s unbeaten 205, his second double-hundred of the tournament following his career-best 275 against Quetta last month, was a record-breaking milestone. It was the 100th double century achieved by any batsman in the 50 editions of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.The 22-year-old Afaq, from Mirpur in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, had already reached his career’s seventh hundred with his 107 on Friday afternoon. He batted just a minute over 10 hours in an innings that comprised 450 balls with the help of 24 fours. Afaq added 232 vital runs with Wajahatulla Wasti, who cracked his 15th first-class hundred with the help of 13 fours and three sixes.Having bowled the Blues out for 188 on the opening day, ZTBL reached a massive 515 for five yesterday before skipper Wasti declared. By the close of play, Karachi Blues had lost two wickets — both to medium-fast Kashif Dawood, the five-wicket hero in the first innings – while adding 51. They still need another 277 to avoid an innings defeat.This match is really of no importance in the context of the teams getting to the final. ZTBL are placed fifth in the 11-team Group B ranking with 27 points from nine matches. They are making their last appearance in the pool round. The Blues are down at No.9, just above Abbottabad and Quetta, with just 12 points from eight matches.At the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad, the hosts, took the first innings lead against Quetta. Ameer Khan missed a century, managing a 170-ball 92, but had done well to help his team to the lead. Quetta responded with 237 for 4 in their second innings, mainly through an unbroken 96-run fifth-wicket stand between opener Shoaib Khan (95) and Jalat Khan (46), and are now 199 ahead with six wickets intact.Rawalpindi took a 60-run lead over Peshawar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar, after compiling 316 in reply to the hosts’ 256. Youngster Usman Saeed (94) missed his hundred by six runs. Peshawar erased 45 runs off the lead while losing one wicket in their second innings by the end of the day.The left-handed Saeed Anwar attained the 12th century of his first-class career, as he made 107 runs in the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) score of 356 for 7 against Abbottabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. The two teams had earlier forfeited their respective first innings after the opening day on Thursday had been completely washed out. The highlight of the innings was Saaed’s 151-runs stand with Bazid Khan (78).

1995-96
Pollock, 22, makes his debut against England, at Centurion Park, claiming Graham Thorpe as his first Test wicket and ending as the pick of South Africa’s attack in the rain-ruined game. Pollock plays a key role as South Africa clinched the series against England 1-0. He takes 5 for 32 in the second innings in Cape Town, setting up a 10-wicket victory. He also wins the Man-of-the-Match award in his first ODI against England after scoring 66 not out and taking four wickets. In his debut season for Warwickshire, he takes four wickets in four balls against Leicestershire, ending with 6 for 21.1996-97
Pollock plays all season, and scores his first Test half-century against India, in Johannesburg.1997-98
Pollock finds golden form with the ball with 5 for 37 bowling South Africa to a 53-run, series-levelling win, against Pakistan in Faisalabad then takes 7 for 87 against Australia in Adelaide, completing his first 10-wicket haul in Tests.1998
Is part of the South Africa side that wins gold at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Pollock is the not-out batsman as South Africa lose the Test series against England 2-1. He misses the third Test of that series to be at the birth of his daughter.1998-99
He plays a leading role in the 5-0 demolition of West Indies with 29 wickets at just 16 runs apiece. Then takes a career-best 6 for 35 in an ODI in East London.
1999
Takes 5 for 36 in the World Cup semi-final against Australia at Edgbaston, but still finishes on the losing side as Allan Donald is famously run out with the scores level sending Australia into the final.2000
Claims 5 for 20 against England in Johannesburg to guide South Africa to the Standard Bank ODI series as they defended just 149. Is then thrust into the captaincy after the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal and draws his first series, against Sri Lanka, thanks to a seven-run win in Kandy.

2000-01
Pollock hits his first Test century – 111 against Sri Lanka in Centurion. He doesn’t have to wait long for his second and scores 106 at Bridgetown, on the tour of West Indies.2001-02
Scores a century in the Test-that-never-was against India, at Centurion, after the third match of the series was stripped of its official status. Pollock had taken 10 wickets in the first match in Bloemfontein.
2003
Losses the captaincy to Graeme Smith following a poor World Cup, where South Africa misread the Duckworth-Lewis chart. Takes 6 for 39 in a losing cause at Trent Bridge.
2003-04
Becomes South Africa’s leading wicket-taker when he dismisses Michael Papps in Auckland, overtaking Donald’s tally of 330.2004-05
Wickets start to dry up but he takes 4 for 65 in the second innings against England in Cape Town – South Africa’s only win of the series.2005-06
Selected for the Super Series in Australia but named twelfth man for the Test in Sydney2006-07
Claims his 400th Test wicket when he removes Rahul Dravid in the first Test against India in Johannesburg.2007
Scores his first ODI century, hitting 130 for the African XI against the Asian XI in the Afro-Asia Cup.2008
He is recalled to the Test side for the final match against West Indies, on his home ground at Kingsmead, and picks up 4 for 35.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

It was a rematch between last year’s World Cup finalists that turned into a mismatch. Nathan Bracken earned career-best figures as he bowled Australia to a comfortable 128-run win, exploiting the slow SCG pitch to perfection after Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist set up an imposing target of 6 for 253.Kumar Sangakkara looked like carrying on from his last international innings in Australia – he made 192 in the Hobart Test in November – as he cracked 16 off a Brett Lee over. However, when Bracken trapped him lbw with a delivery that angled in towards middle stump and kept low, Sri Lanka’s hopes quickly slipped away.Bracken finished with 5 for 47 when he collected the final wicket as Muttiah Muralitharan skied a catch to the outfield and the CB Series had its first result following a pair of wash-outs in Brisbane. The rot began with Sangakkara’s dismissal, which sparked a disastrous spell in which they lost 7 for 51.As if to prove it simply wasn’t Sri Lanka’s night, Lasith Malinga was run out in unlucky circumstances when he took a single and grounded his bat past the crease, but in the process it knocked out of his hands moments before Andrew Symonds’ throw hit the stumps. His feet were in the air and Sri Lanka were on the ground.At that point it had not seemed long since Sangakkara brightened Sri Lanka’s prospects with a series of vicious strokes off Lee. He top edged an attempted pull to third man for four but instead of putting the shot away, Sangakkara simply decided that practice makes perfect. Two further pulls from on and outside off stump raced to the boundary before he finished the over with a cracking cover drive that just evaded the diving Symonds.But one over of joy does not make a 50-over victory. Bracken led a strong bowling effort, having Chamara Kapugedera caught sharply by Matthew Hayden at first slip before Tillakaratne Dilshan thrashed a chance to long-off. Sri Lanka had needed almost the highest successful ODI chase at the SCG – the record is Australia’s 260 set in 1998-99 – but they never got close.The slow-and-low pitch was not easy to bat on but the visitors made much harder work of it than Australia. There was also the matter of the different mindsets; Sri Lanka took a defensive approach that allowed Clarke to to finish unbeaten on 77 after Gilchrist set up the total with 61.Clarke poked, prodded and sprinted his way to a half-century as he batted to fields that seemed designed just to stop boundaries. That part of Sri Lanka’s plan worked as Clarke struck only two fours and one six, but he was content to bat himself in with hurried singles and twos.Apart from a six lofted over long-on against Muralitharan early in his innings, Clarke was not forced to take many risks. His first four was an unconvincing bottom edge that flew to third man and took him to 45 but his second – and last – was a more orthodox drive through cover that brought him his fifty from 63 balls.Jayawardene’s tactics had been defensive from the start and there was no cordon in the third over when Hayden edged Chaminda Vaas to the vacant first-slip position. That allowed the 65-run opening stand that Australia used as a platform for their solid effort.The Sydney crowd was denied a Gilchrist century and settled for a sensible knock from the hometown hero Clarke. Gilchrist’s record playing Sri Lanka – five of his 15 ODI centuries came against them – suggested a big innings but there was no repeat of the last time the two sides met, when he made 149 in the World Cup final.Although he was more guarded than usual on the unhelpful pitch, Gilchrist gave the fans a couple of flashbacks to his powerful prime. He rocked back to pull Malinga viciously over midwicket for six and sent Ishara Amerasinghe through and over cover for boundaries.His half-century took more than half the innings, which is almost unheard of for Gilchrist, and his 81-ball effort ended on when Tony Hill ruled him lbw trying to slog-sweep Kapugedera. Gilchrist departed to a standing ovation and it will become a familiar feeling for him over the next month as he completes his farewell. Triple-figures or not, his final series is beginning on a high note.

Zimbabwe were always likely to be up against it, no matter what side Pakistan turned out, but to win the toss and field on a pancake-flat Karachi track was surely not going to help their cause. Still, Prosper Utseya, the quiet, young captain, had his reasons for doing so.”We don’t have enough experience of playing in such conditions,” he explained after his side lost the opening ODI of the series by 104 runs. “We thought we could do well chasing. 347 was obviously too much of a target but if we had kept them to under 300, it was doable.”There is logic there, for Zimbabwe are not a poor batting side. In their last eight ODIs they have only failed to go past 200 twice and have scored over 240 four times. Indeed, their batting wasn’t the problem here either. Vusi Sibanda and Chamu Chibhabha might even have entertained vague notions of a chase until the 20th over: both scoring confident, contrasting fifties. Sean Williams added a battling, if ultimately futile one at the end, but as Utseya noted, there is something there.”Three of our guys got fifties and that is definitely a positive for us. We can take that confidence in to our next match,” he said. “We also fielded well and took our catches, so I don’t think fielding first was a mistake.”What he didn’t linger on, and what is likely to be a factor as the series progresses, is their bowling, which appears desperately weak on today’s evidence. Shoaib Malik, who capped a fine match with three wickets to add to a fifty, was probably stretching the bounds of Pakistani hospitality when he said Zimbabwe bowled well.Perhaps it was the effort they put in he was lauding, but at no stage in Pakistan’s innings did the batsmen appear under any pressure. Nasir Jamshed, with the honesty of a debutant, seemed to get it about right when asked which bowler troubled him most during a commanding 48-ball 61: “None of them.”Jamshed was one of five batsmen to score fifty for Pakistan – a record – and one of eight in the match – also a record. But if Pakistan will be perturbed about anything – and it is nitpicking really – it would be the stick Samiullah Khan and Rao Iftikhar Anjum received.”It was a very, very flat wicket,” Malik said. “Every bowler gets hit around occasionally, but when he does, you have to see what he is trying to do when he is being hit. Is he bowling restrictively, is he trying to take wickets?”Pakistan’s combination might also need tinkering and it might be the case in Hyderabad as Malik later hinted; they played with only five bowling options, two of whom are allrounders. They ended the game bowling Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. “We had only five bowlers today so I wanted to give some confidence to our non-regular bowlers,” was Malik’s response, which may or may not have been said with tongue fully in cheek.The imbalance was the result, it is learnt, of a selectorial disagreement a few days before the match. Malik was keen – as he said publicly – on using Kamran Akmal as an opener, thus letting him try out another specialist bowler. The selectors wanted, however, to try out Jamshed, as a possible solution to the eternal opening conundrum. Nobody will be too unhappy with the results, but Pakistan will be keen to try out an extra bowler somewhere along the line, especially as they couldn’t bowl Zimbabwe out here.”Zimbabwe are a good side. There was a lot of effort on their part today,” Malik recognised. That is undeniable, but it probably won’t be enough over the next four matches.