Sohail Tanvir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has joined Worcestershire for this season’s Friends Life t20, taking the place of offspinner Saeed Ajmal

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2012Sohail Tanvir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has joined Worcestershire for this season’s Friends Life t20, taking the place of offspinner Saeed Ajmal who had pulled out due to international commitments.Earlier this week Tanvir, 27, was recalled to the Pakistan Twenty20 side for next month’s series against Sri Lanka. He had been part of Pakistan’s run to the final in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, and their title win in England two years later.This year he helped Lions reach the final of South Africa’s domestic T20 competition, and captained his home side Rawalpindi Rams in the Faysal Bank Super Eight T-20 Cup. Tanvir has taken 83 wickets in his Twenty20 career, and his 6 for 14 against Chennai Super Kings in the first season of the IPL are the second-best figures in the format.Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire director of cricket, was happy with the signing. “Sohail is an ideal replacement for Saeed Ajmal because Saeed was a tremendous bowler at the death and this is the type of role we want Sohail to play,” Rhodes said. “Added to his bowling skills, he also has the ability to hit the ball hard which is an obvious asset at the end of our innings.”Edited by Siddarth Ravindran

John Wright has declined a contract extension and will step down as coach of New Zealand after this year’s tour of the West Indies

Brydon Coverdale01-May-2012John Wright has cited differences with New Zealand’s director of cricket, John Buchanan, as a key factor in his decision not to extend his contract as the head coach. Wright has been in the position for only 16 months but has turned down a proposal to stay on beyond August, when his contract expires, meaning the upcoming tour of the West Indies will be his last engagement as coach of New Zealand.During Wright’s time in charge, New Zealand have played nine Tests for three wins, three losses and three draws, and they reached the semi-finals of the World Cup last year. The highlight was the team’s first victory in a Test in Australia for a quarter of a century, and that was followed by a respectable performance against South Africa, who won 1-0 in New Zealand.But despite such encouraging results, Wright said he was ready to move on and that it was best to make way for a coach who could steer the side through to the 2015 World Cup, which he could not envisage himself doing. He also said differences between himself and Buchanan, who was appointed director of cricket several months after Wright took over as coach, had played a part.”During the review process with the current cricket director, we both agreed the planning systems that he wants to implement don’t complement the style and the way I coach, so that was another factor,” Wright told reporters in New Zealand on Tuesday. “It’s part of sport. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to coach the New Zealand cricket team.”I’ve looked at it from my point of view, the way I coach and the values and beliefs that I bring to the job. It’s very important that I’m true to myself … We see things a little differently. It would be fair to say we’re probably more comfortable coaching against each other, which we did for four and a half years. But it’s part of sport.”Wright became coach in December 2010, replacing Mark Greatbatch on a contract of less than two years. In April 2011, Buchanan was brought in to the newly-created role of director of cricket and was handed a four-year contract and a wide-ranging brief to oversee the high-performance programme and introduce consistent coaching strategies.Asked to outline the differences in approach between himself and Buchanan, Wright said: “I think he’s probably in a better position to do that. We’re probably not that different, we just see things a little differently. As I explained earlier, the planning systems that John wants to implement are probably suited to another head coach. I think it’s just a difference of style. We see things very differently. I wish him and everyone else success.”Wright, 57, has the chance to finish on a high with the July-August two-Test tour of the Caribbean, which will give New Zealand an opportunity to finish his tenure by jumping ahead of West Indies on the ICC Test rankings. David White, the NZC chief executive, said it was disappointing Wright had decided to end his time as head coach and the challenge would now be to find a mentor who could guide the side to the 2015 World Cup.”John has been an outstanding servant for cricket in New Zealand over a long time and it is disappointing to lose someone of his calibre,” White said. “We were keen to see him continue his head coach role, however we understand and respect his decision to look for another challenge.”The fighting performance of the Black Caps at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and again in the Test victory over Australia spoke volumes about John as a coach and he can be proud of the way he has advanced the current team. I would like to congratulate John on the contribution he has made and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

Even with Chris Gayle back in the side, and in the runs, England cantered to victory by eight wickets at The Oval to seal the series

The Report by Andrew McGlashan19-Jun-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook continued the prolific form of England’s openers in one-day cricket•Getty Images

So much for West Indies providing tougher opposition in the one-day format. Even with Chris Gayle back in the side, and in the runs, England cantered to victory by eight wickets at The Oval to seal the series. Alastair Cook struck his third ODI hundred in six matches, adding 122 for the first wicket with Ian Bell, after another collective bowling effort kept the lid on West Indies after a brief onslaught by Gayle.On a day overshadowed by the death of Surrey batsman Tom Maynard on Monday it was a largely subdued affair. The match was preceded by a minute’s silence and the players wore black armbands while a book of condolence was opened in the pavilion. England had wanted to secure victory in memory of Maynard – a player tipped to graduate to the top level – and once they had ended Gayle’s innings the home side never lost control despite a hundred stand between Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard.Cook’s hundred – his fourth as captain – was a superbly controlled innings and came off 114 balls to continue the prolific run of England openers in the one-day game. This innings takes it to six on the trot which is new record for any team in ODIs. Cook’s full range of shots were on display and not just the cut, drive and pull that prove so prolific in Tests. He brought out the slog-sweep against Sunil Narine, upper-cut Darren Sammy down to third man and, with the target closing in, pulled a six over long-on off the front foot before top edging a slower ball next delivery.The West Indies bowling attack offered barely any concerns for them. The recalled Tino Best was quick but erratic as he conceded 31 in his opening four overs while Narine still could not trouble England as he has other opposition.Bell drove elegantly off the back foot through the off side while Cook picked off his favourite cut shot while also driving through cover and past mid-off – a sign that his game is in good work working order. Narine was introduced straight after the first set of fielding restrictions but England were already well ahead of the rate and only needed to milk him. Not that they spurned boundary opportunities, though, with Cook collecting consecutive fours.

Smart stats

• This is only the third time that England have beaten West Indies by a margin of eight or more wickets. The last time they did so was in Barbados in 2009.

• The number of deliveries remaining after England’s win (30) is the second-highest for a successful chase by England against West Indies (200-plus score).

• England have now won their last six home series. Their last home series defeat came against Australia in 2009 when they lost 6-1.

• Alastair Cook’s century is his fifth in ODIs and his first against West Indies. Three of his centuries have come in his last six innings.

• The 122-run stand between Cook and Ian Bell is the sixth-highest opening stand for England against West Indies and the fourth-highest for England at The Oval.

• The number of sixes hit by Chris Gayle during his 53 (5) is level second on the list of most sixes hit in an innings by a West Indian batsman against England. Gayle is on top with eight sixes in Barbados in 2009.

Bell’s fifty came off 60 deliveries as he continued his resurgent return to the one-day team following the hundred he made in the opening match of the series. However, he could not close in on back-to-back hundreds (to follow the feats of Cook and Kevin Pietersen against Pakistan) as he pushed firmly at a Sammy delivery which he indicated stopped in the surface.West Indies had threatened a more daunting target when Gayle peppered the stands during a 41-ball fifty with five sixes in 11 deliveries including three in a row in Tim Bresnan’s first over after the innings had made a sedate start. An emerging trait of this England one-day team, though, is that they do not panic under pressure and Cook was rewarded for some smart captaincy when he introduced Graeme Swann ahead of Stuart Broad.Swann’s first over cost three, then, with the third ball of his second, he won an lbw decision from Tony Hill who ruled the ball had struck pad fractionally before the inside edge. Gayle reviewed the decision immediately and third umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, had a long look before ruling that there was not sufficient evidence to overturn the decision, much to Gayle’s frustration as he lingered at the crease.Despite Gayle’s innings the scoring rate had not escaped from England, largely because they had kept Lendl Simmons very quiet at the other end. It was a painful innings from Simmons who struggled for timing as he laboured for 50 deliveries before chancing a single to mid-off where he was beaten by a direct hit from Cook.Either side of that West Indies had lost two of their in-form batsmen. Dwayne Smith, who opened in the first match in Gayle’s absence and this time was at No. 3 in place of the injured Darren Bravo, flashed at a wide delivery in Broad’s first over. It was crucial Marlon Samuels steadied the innings but four balls after Simmons’ run out he lazily picked out deep midwicket with a top-edged pull.The visitors were threatening to completely lose their way but Bravo, with a display of class strokeplay, and Pollard, with a little more brute strength, played sensibly to at least ensure the total passed 200, as West Indies faded again at the end. A rare mistake from England came when Pollard was given a life on 28 with Craig Kieswetter missing a stumping chance the ball before the batting Powerplay was taken, and the fielding restrictions brought 47 runs – only for the final five overs of the innings to bring just 19. The momentum was England’s and it never left them.

Kevin Pietersen, with a double-century of the highest class for Surrey at Guildford, did not so much nudge the England selectors as grab them by the throat and roar ‘pick me’ in their faces.

George Dobell13-Jul-2012
ScorecardKevin Pietersen raises his bat after reaching his hundred against Lancashire but there was more to come on a remarkable day at Guildford•PA Photos

Kevin Pietersen, with a double-century of the highest class, did not so much nudge the England selectors as grab them by the throat and roar ‘pick me’ in their faces.The selectors meet this weekend to pick the 30-man preliminary England squad for September’s World T20. This squad must be submitted to the ICC on July 18 and, while Pietersen had previously announced his retirement from limited-overs international cricket, all the evidence of recent days suggest he is having second thoughtsWhile Pietersen and Co. may hope to persuade the ECB to rethink their policy of insisting that players must be available for both forms of limited-overs cricket to be considered for either, there seems little chance of that happening. Andy Flower refused to back down when confronted by Robert Mugabe; he is most unlikely to back down now.It is hard to see a middle course, a course where Pietersen is rested for more ODIs than his colleagues, but perhaps it may be found. His Test career and his IPL future seemingly remain assured.There may be other doubts. There may be doubts over whether his teammates want him back; whether his request for a somewhat easier schedule should be heeded and whether it is fair for the likes of Alex Hales, Ravi Bopara and Ian Bell – the men who have flourished in his place – to potentially make way for his return. There may be doubts, too, over whether England need such a distraction just as they begin an important Test series against South Africa.But there should be no doubting Pietersen’s class. He was, after all, man of the tournament when England won the World T20 in 2010 and, since returning to form in the ODI series against Pakistan, has produced some of the finest performances of his life.This, by any standards, was an extraordinary innings. It was not just that Pietersen hit the fastest first-class century of the season – 93 balls with 13 fours and three sixes – or that he went on to hit the fastest double-century of the season – 170 balls, 25 fours and seven sixes – but that he bullied the bowling – the bowling of the county champions, no less – with a dominance rarely witnessed in the professional game. It was an innings that would have made Sri Viv Richards proud. And there really isn’t higher praise than that.Indeed, in years to come, those lucky enough to have been at Guildford for the third day of this game may reflect that they were blessed to witness greatness in action. Pietersen, in compiling the seventh double-century of his first-class career, a chanceless affair, provided a medley of his greatest hits: the ferocious cut shot; the impudent scoop; the outrageous switch-hit; the murderous pull; the dismissive slog-sweep and the gentle sweep; the magical flick through mid-wicket and, most of all, the thundering drive over the bowlers’ heads that brought majority of his sixes.And, it was interspersed throughout with quick singles and deft touches that spoke volumes for his fitness and his hunger for runs. Some of us are fortunate to watch many fine innings and many worthy centuries. This one, for its range of stroke and its complete mastery over decent opposition, stood out. It really does not get any better.Poor Simon Kerrigan bore the brunt of Pietersen’s assault. Kerrigan, a left-arm spinner of unusual skill and promise, was the victim of seven of Pietersen’s eight sixes and conceded 152 in his 23 overs. Only late in the day did Kerrigan allow the assault to affect him. For the most part he bowled well, but was unfortunate enough to come up against a great batsmen in murderous mood. Even Pietersen admitted that this innings was “right up there” among his best”Simon has bowled at a very good international cricketer on a tough pitch with short boundaries,” Lancashire coach Peter Moores said. “It won’t be the first time KP’s attacked a spinner. Simon’s had his days. He got his nine-for against Hampshire, but you’ve got to take both sides as a cricketer.”Some perspective is probably required. The pitch was flat, the bowling decent, though far from exceptional and the outfield is both short and fast. But Surrey were actually under some pressure when Pietersen walked to the crease and, bearing in mind the traumatic events of recent weeks, this was an important innings. Bearing in mind he remains unbeaten, Pietersen may even be able to build a match-winning lead on the final day.”It’s been a very traumatic time for the management and everyone at the club,” Pietersen said afterwards as he reflected on the death of Tom Maynard. “Today was a day that the boys needed. I said that I wanted to come back and put smiles on the guys’ faces. The boys have gelled real tight in the dressing room, some of them will be lifelong friends after all the stuff that they’ve been through and this was just a good day for Surrey.”It was, oddly enough, only Pietersen’s second championship century since his Test debut in 2005. He has made 20 Test centuries in that time, but his last in the championship came on May 7, 2008 at Taunton. It is his 43rd first-class century, but his first for Surrey.Pietersen’s brilliance utterly overshadowed several other worthy performances on an enjoyable day’s cricket. Not only did Zander de Bruyn make a splendid 94 in helping Pietersen add 181 in 35 overs, but Steven Croft extended his overnight total to the highest score of career in the morning session. Croft added 50 in 35 balls with six fours and a six as Lancashire scored 60 in 37 minutes to set up their declaration.It left Surrey requiring 336 just to avoid the follow-on. And, after Rory Burns, having fielded for two-and-half days, was bowled first ball, leaving one that turned out to be very straight, that looked some way distant. But, on a wonderful day of almost 500 runs, everything else seemed trivial compared to the excellence of Pietersen.

South Africa A took a 2-0 lead in their limited overs series against Ireland A with a rain-affected six-wicket victory over the hosts in Belfast

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-2012
ScorecardSouth Africa A took a 2-0 lead in their limited overs series against Ireland A with a rain-affected six-wicket victory over the hosts in Belfast.Ireland A’s innings spluttered to 143 for 8 before rain ended it in the 41st over, Duckworth Lewis calculations setting South Africa A the target of 135 in 35 overs.James Shannon went closest to making a substantial score for the Irish, reaching 32 before he became one of three victims for the slow left-arm spin of Aaron Phangiso. No. 6 Andrew Poynter made 28, butr lack of substantial partnerships meant Ireland would always struggle to get a competitive score on the board.The South Africans reached 19 for 1 from 4.3 overs in their pursuit before further rain culled a further 15 overs from the match, revising the target to 96 from 20 overs.The visiting captain Colin Ingram (36) and the wicketkeeper Dane Vilas (30) produced speedy cameos to reel in the target, which was reached despite an economical and incisive spell by Max Sorensen.The next fixture of the seven-match series is in Belfast on Thursday.

AB de Villiers gave the big crowd at Hambantota as much entertainment as he could as South Africa won a seven-over-a-side shootout against the hosts

The Preview by Firdose Moonda22-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details AB de Villiers made the most of his limited opportunities in Hambantota•Associated Press

AB de Villiers gave the big crowd at Hambantota as much entertainment as he could as South Africa won a seven-over-a-side shootout against the hosts. The fixture was the most anticipated in Group C but a two-hour 45-minute rain delay meant the contest was curtailed and the result, another one-sided mis-match in a tournament crying out for proper competition.De Villiers’ 30 off 13 balls and baseball style run out of Tillakaratne Dilshan set the tone for a match dominated by South Africa. Together with Dale Steyn’s controlled use of pace and movement, he ensured Sri Lanka were never able to get into the match, despite the two early wickets they claimed.With a licence to go boom or bust, Richard Levi ended up doing the latter when he was deceived by a Nuwan Kulasekera’s slower ball. Levi chipped an attempted swipe through the leg-side to mid-on where Dilshan Munaweera had run backwards and made ground to take what will be one of the catches of the tournament.Hashim Amla showed early intent and sent two of Lasith Malinga’s full deliveries over extra cover for boundaries. But a rush of blood to the end ended his time at the crease. He swung wildly at a ball angled in to him from Rangana Herath and was stumped by quick work from Kumar Sangakkara down the leg-side.Faf du Plessis was promoted up the order to No. 3 to find form but he did not discover much. Instead, de Villiers stole the show. He reverse-swept Herath and heaved him down the ground for six before smashing a Malinga’s short ball over midwicket. JP Duminy ended the South African innings strongly, with 10 runs off the last two balls.Sri Lanka were pegged back in the first over when Dilshan was run out without facing a ball. Mahela Jayawardene called Dilshan through for a run after hitting the ball to extra cover but Dilshan was too slow. Albie Morkel’s throw was flat and de Villiers took it on the run and dived into the stumps. The South Africa captain took a whack to the left arm and received some treatment but far greater damage was done to Sri Lanka’s chances of winning the match.Jayawardene fell trying to force runs off Dale Steyn and was caught at deep-square leg and Sri Lanka had all but lost the match in two overs. South Africa dropped three catches but were still offered chances. Kumar Sangakkara, Thisara Perera and Munaweera were all dismissed attempting big shots, something that could not be avoided in the context of the match.Given the playing conditions – a two-over Powerplay and two bowlers allowed a maximum of two overs each – neither side will read too much into the result. Both teams have qualified for the Super Eights and this result has no bearing on their groupings in the next round.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, has said he changed a winning line-up for Monday’s match to play to the team’s strengths

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Sep-2012Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, has said he changed a winning line-up for Monday’s match to play to the team’s strengths. Pakistan had won the second game but, after replacing fast bowler Sohail Tanvir with Shahid Afridi in a four-spinner attack, lost the final match in Sharjah and also a chance to record their first ODI-series victory over Australia in ten years.”Spinners are our strength. Moreover, everyone knows that the Sharjah track is slow and so opposition players struggle against spin, so we went in with only one pacer,” Misbah said after the final ODI. Afridi had missed the second ODI due to a back injury but the decision to recall him backfired, with Afridi failing to contribute much with both bat and ball – he was out for 7 off 6 balls after being promoted to No. 3 in wake of Pakistan’s solid opening stand, and then conceded 62 in his ten overs without picking up a wicket.Misbah said: “I’ve already said that [bringing in Afridi] was because we wanted to strengthen our spin department, and he bowled okay in the first game. So that is why we just brought him in and went in with one fast bowler. [When batting] we promoted him up the order so that he could get some time to settle in, but unfortunately he could not get runs.”Offspinner Saeed Ajmal was the most potent of the Pakistan bowlers, at one point his bowling figures reading 5-1-11-3. He could have had Michael Hussey, Australia’s top-scorer, out without scoring when the batsman got caught in front of middle and leg deep in the crease to one that skidded in. But umpire Billy Bowden turned down the appeal and Pakistan didn’t call for a referral. That, Misbah said, was an error in judgement. “That was a big mistake,” he said. “We couldn’t agree on a decision to take the review, and in the end it proved very costly.”Pakistan’s fielding, once again let them down. In the ninth over, Afridi put down David Hussey at mid-on – he leapt well enough to get both hands to the ball, but could not hold on – on 22, and the batsman doubled his score. In the 45th, Azhar Ali dropped a simple chance at deep midwicket to give Glenn Maxwell, who eventually took Australia home, a life.However, Misbah said, it was not just their fielding that needed improving. “I think we have to improve in every department of the game, especially [with regards to] finding the right combination of fast bowlers – an area in which we are really struggling.”Also, we have to improve our batting. At important stages of the game we collapse while batting. We have to improve [our batting in the Powerplays] because if you keep losing wickets in Powerplays, that is only going in favour of the other team. We have to understand that Powerplay are only for the set batsman out there; they can play the Powerplay just like Nasir [Jamshed] and [Mohammad] Hafeez did – they took full advantage of the bowling Powerplay, that is the way we have to play the batting Powerplay also.In Monday’s game, though, given the conditions Pakistan’s batsmen did decently, Misbah said. “The bigger difference [than the dew] was the behaviour of the pitch and also the outfield. Edges off even spinners went for boundaries [in Australia’s innings], but when we batted the ball wasn’t traveling. Even if we played the fast bowler to fine leg and third man, it was not going to the boundary.”I think, also, the wicket was slow in the first innings; it was not easy because ball would stop and come. So whenever a new batsman went in, it was tough for him: the ball was reversing and also stopping, and Australia also used variations effectively. I feel our score, according to the conditions, was good. If we played a bit more well [in the field], I think it was a good total and we held the match if we got a few more early wickets.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the Champions League Twenty20 qualifying match between Trinidad and Tobago and Yorkshire

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria09-Oct-2012

Match facts

October 10, 2012
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)Can Trinidad and Tobago prolong the Caribbean party?•Randy Brooks/West Indies Cricket Board

How they qualified

Trinidad and Tobago bulldozed Jamaica in the final of the Caribbean T20 by 63 runs in Barbados.Yorkshire finished runners-up in the Friends Life t20 in August, losing the final to Hampshire by ten runs in Cardiff.

Big Picture

Yorkshire’s victory over Uva has taken them one win away to qualifying for the CLT20 but they will need to beat the Caribbean T20 winners Trinidad and Tobago to drive into the next stage. A loss would leave them waiting another day for their fate to be decided. T&T, arguably the strongest team in the qualifying group, have their work cut out. A defeat will send them home after just one match and their stay in the tournament would end up being shorter than their flights.T&T have made a lot of the news in the build-up to the tournament. First, they expressed dissatisfaction after being put into a qualifying group even though they finished as the winners of the Caribbean T20 twice in two years. The second issue, that of losing their players to IPL teams, kept the team on tenterhooks for sometime till after a few rounds of wrangling, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine opted for their IPL teams. But can the performance of the national team inspire the weakened regional champions?Pollard and Bravo topped batting and bowling charts for T&T in this year’s Caribbean T20, but the squad still has four players from the World T20 winning West Indies team. They are led by Denesh Ramdin, and have Darren Bravo, Samuel Badree and Ravi Rampaul, with the latter two having played key roles in West Indies’ successful campaign. Another player whose performance will be under the scanner for the team’s and his own good is Kevon Cooper, who has played in T20 leagues around the world on the promise of his potential, but is yet to prove his talent.Yorkshire failed to settle at the start of their match against Uva, who had a strong Powerplay against some wayward bowling that included seven wides. They got better with the ball as the innings went on and will hope to have settled and able to get off to a better side. With the bat, they are without David Miller, their match-winning against Uva, so one or more of the rest of the order needs to play the big innings, preferably one of the top order – captain Andrew Gale, Phil Jaques or Joe Root.

Players to watch

Ravi Rampaul produced the ball of the tournament in the World Twent20 final against Sri Lanka on a pitch which didn’t have much in it for fast bowlers. In South Africa, however, he will pose considerable threat on fresher, faster pitches against lesser batsmen. Rampaul was the most economical bowler for T&T in the Caribbean T20, with an economy of 4.23 runs-per-over, and his seven wickets came at an average of 14.42.Right-arm fast-medium bowler Moin Ashraf played his first season of Twenty20 cricket for Yorkshire this summer and was their second-most successful bowler with 15 wickets, behind Mitchell Starc. In Starc’s absence, the 20-year old Ashraf will be key to Yorkshire’s chances. He was the pick of the seamers against Uva with 2-29 in his four overs.

Quotes

“The most pleasing thing about today is that we weren’t at our best so there is room for improvement. We were probably at about 70 or 80 percent.”

A crucial half-century by No. 8 Qaiser Abbas took National Bank of Pakistan to a close two-wicket win against Port Qasim Authority at the Gaddafi Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2012A crucial half-century by No. 8 Qaiser Abbas took National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to a two-wicket win against Port Qasim Authority (PQA) at the Gaddafi Stadium.Chasing 211, NBP were in trouble at 122 for 6 when seamer Tanvir Ahmed, who took 12 wickets in the match, ran through the top order. But a defiant seventh wicket partnership of 84, led by Abbas, revived the chase and helped them secure victory.Neither team dominated the low-scoring game but NBP were at a slight disadvantage after the first innings, when a seven-wicket haul by Ahmed bowled them out for 117, leaving them 33 behind. The last six wickets fell for 16 runs.As PQA looked to consolidate on the lead and set their opponents a stiff target, fast bowler Umaid Asif took 5 for 55 to peg them back in their second innings. Umar Amin and No. 7 Daniyal Ahsan scored 42 and 45 respectively to help them reach 177 before being bowled out. Yet, a target of 211 meant NBP has to score the highest total in the match to win it.After the early loss of opener Nasir Jamshed, NBP were given a platform by Sami Aslam and Umair Khan, and later Wahab Riaz. But three wickets for two runs changed the complexion of the game, with 129 runs still needed. Abbas sealed the chase with his 52 off 66 deliveries.Despite the game being dominated by bowlers, fast bowler Riaz went wicketless in the game, and Mohammad Sami, who had taken seven wickets against Pakistan International Airlines a fortnight ago, took two wickets. Opener Jamshed managed only 11 runs across both innings.

Ryan ten Doeschate, the Netherlands allrounder, handed Northern Districts their first loss of the tournament as his half-century set up a comfortable win for Otago in Hamilton

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2012
ScorecardRyan ten Doeschate, the Netherlands allrounder, handed Northern Districts their first loss of the tournament as his half-century set up a comfortable win for Otago in Hamilton. Otago were in trouble after choosing to bat when they were reduced to 15 for 3 in the fourth over. But ten Doeschate revived the innings briskly, hitting seven boundaries in making 65 off 45 deliveries. There was support for ten Doeschate from Michael Bracewell, who made 31 off 20. Sixty-six came off the final five overs as James Fuller struck three sixes in his 27 off 11 to boost Otago to 173.Fuller dismissed Kane Williamson with his fourth delivery in the chase and Northern Districts could never build any momentum. Nick Beard’s three strikes had them struggling at 94 for 6 in the 15th over before some late hitting from Tim Southee and BJ Watling brought down the margin of defeat to 11 runs. This was Otago’s first win in their second game of the tournament.