Worcestershire registered their first Friends Life t20 win of the season following another batting failure by Northamptonshire at New Road

10-Jun-2011
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Moeen Ali’s 54 set the base for Worcestershire’s victory•Getty Images

Worcestershire registered their first Friends Life t20 win of the season following another batting failure by Northamptonshire at New Road. For the third time in four matches the Steelbacks failed to reach 150, and after their latest struggle to 134 for 9, they inevitably paid the price as the Royals strolled home by seven wickets.After Vikram Solanki’s departure in Jack Brooks’ second over, Moeen Ali and Alexei Kervezee put on 85 in 11 overs for the hosts despite batting through bad light and rain. Moeen picked up six boundaries in a 45-ball half-century and when Kervezee smashed a six and a four in James Middlebrook’s final over, the target was down to 41 from 36 deliveries.There was only a minor a blip when Johan Botha took wickets in successive balls. David Murphy stumped Moeen for 53 off a leg-side wide and Shakib Al Hasan was given out lbw before Gareth Andrew managed to survive the South African’s hat-trick attempt.In the end the Royals had two overs to spare as Kervezee reached an unbeaten 44 from 34 balls and Andrew smashed a couple of sixes in making 21 from 15 balls.A slow pitch served Worcestershire’s game plan as their trio of spinners tied down Northamptonshire with the exception of Alex Wakely. The whole innings included only 15 fours – seven of these to Wakely in a competition-best 62 from 45 balls. The former England Under-19 batsman steadied the side after a sticky start in which Jack Shantry knocked over openers Andrew Hall and Chaminda Vaas in a tidy spell of 2 for 12 from three overs.To make matters worse for Northamptonshire, David Sales had to retire with a hamstring injury after facing only seven balls, but Wakely and former Worcestershire batsman Stephen Peters (22) made some progress by adding 49 together.It was then the spinners took control with two wickets for Shaaiq Choudhry and one for Moeen before Shakib finished off with three in the space of five balls in the closing over. The Bangladesh left armer withstood an attempted bombardment with the help of two catches on the boundary by Moeen and another by Solanki at deep midwicket as Wakely fell to the last ball of the innings.

Leaders Durham reduced Yorkshire to 170 for 9 in the 53 overs which were bowled in the Division One match at Chester-le-Street after the first day was washed out

19-Jun-2011
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Leaders Durham reduced Yorkshire to 170 for 9 in the 53 overs which were bowled in the Division One match at Chester-le-Street after the first day was washed out. Three wickets for the impressive Graham Onions and two for Steve Harmison, playing together for the first time since August 2009, had Yorkshire rocking on 90 for 6 after being put in.Adil Rashid, with 47, then dominated a stand of 58 with Richard Pyrah before three wickets went down for four runs. Two of those went to Paul Collingwood, making his first Championship appearance since his solitary game last season.Although Onions came back with a hostile spell, Ajmal Shahzad and Steve Patterson held out for the last 10 overs. Rashid was the top scorer but he made most of his runs against the back-up bowlers and the best innings was played by Jonny Bairstow.Going in at 28 for 3 he looked in a different class from his team-mates, reaching 24 before bad light, followed by rain, halted play at 12.18pm. Opener Joe Root had survived comfortably enough but failed to add to his 27 when play resumed at 4.30pm.Harmison, returning after a three-week absence with a back injury, took his wickets straight after the break. Steep bounce persuaded Root to edge the third ball, which was brilliantly
caught low to his left by Scott Borthwick at third slip. Left-hander Gary Ballance lasted only five balls before Harmison forced him to play on.But Bairstow continued to look untroubled and after hitting eight fours it was a surprise when he departed for 38, driving wide of off stump and edging Onions to Collingwood at first slip. Yorkshire left out Joe Sayers and recalled Adam Lyth, who edged the sixth ball of the day from Onions to Michael Di Venuto at second slip without a run on the board.Anthony McGrath’s struggle for form continued as he made three before falling lbw to Callum Thorp when half forward. Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale made nine before shaping to play Onions on the leg side, only for extra bounce and movement to find the edge on the way to
Borthwick at third slip.Rashid hit eight fours before gloving a leg-side catch to Phil Mustard off Collingwood and the same combination accounted for Ryan Sidebottom. Pyrah was run out by Borthwick in a mix-up with Shahzad, who was unbeaten on nine at the close.

A round-up of the action from the second day of the first round of three-day matches in the Emerging Players Tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2011An attacking century from Neil Broom gave New Zealand A the lead against Australian Institute of Sport at the Peter Burge Oval in Brisbane. Broom smashed 197 off 187 balls, including 22 fours and 10 sixes, to help his side recover from the loss of two early wickets. He added 81 with opener Brad Wilson before witnessing a wobble as three wickets fell at the other end – Mitchell Starc took two of them – for 13 runs. Doug Bracewell, however, gave him solid company in a 136-run stand. Broom guided his team into the lead before being dismissed by Starc just three short of his double-century. After New Zealand A declared with a lead of 36, AIS scored quickly to reach 180 for 3 at stumps in 40 overs. Glenn Maxwell was unbeaten on 74, off just 60 balls.Shikhar Dhawan was the star for India Emerging Players on the second day against South Africa Emerging Players at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane. He smashed 146 out of a team score of 269 for 8 declared, handing India a slender lead 10-run lead. India had lost their first two wickets cheaply overnight, but opener Dhawan built important partnerships with Manoj Tiwary, Sourabh Tiwary and wicketkeeper CM Gautam to steady the innings. The trio didn’t score too many but hung around as Dhawan dominated the bowling, smacking 27 fours his 177-ball knock. South Africa Emerging Players finished the day at 122 for 1, with their captain and first-innings hero Stiaan van Zyl unbeaten on 64.

Former Sri Lanka seamer Chaminda Vaas took four wickets for County
Championship Division Two leaders Northamptonshire on the first day of their
match against Surrey at Wantage Road

31-Aug-2011
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Former Sri Lanka seamer Chaminda Vaas took four wickets for County
Championship Division Two leaders Northamptonshire on the first day of their
match against Surrey at Wantage Road.Surrey wicketkeeper Steven Davies made 81 off 157 balls, including 12 fours, as
Surrey were bowled out for 269, with Zander de Bruyn also plundering 58 off 132
deliveries.Wickets fell at regular intervals as Vaas took figures of four for 57 for the
hosts, who then closed on 4-0 after surviving the remaining five overs
unscathed. Surrey won the toss and chose to bat but lost captain Rory Hamilton-Brown
cheaply for just 13 when he smashed Vaas to Stephen Peters, who took a head-high
catch at cover.Davies and veteran Mark Ramprakash then survived the rest of a relatively quiet
morning session to reach lunch on 86 for 1. Davies completed a patient half-century off 128 balls in the fifth over of the afternoon as he and Ramprakash added 65 between them for the second wicket.This stand was ended when Ramprakash, after making 30, had his leg stump
uprooted by David Burton, who is playing in the County Championship for the
first time this season. Davies eventually perished when he edged Northamptonshire captain Andrew Hall’s delivery and Alex Wakely took a low catch in front of him at first slip.Tom Maynard made only seven before playing loosely at Hall and was caught
behind by Northamptonshire and Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien. Jason Roy was then given a huge let-off on 12 when Rob Newton dropped a simple chance, which was drilled straight to him at mid-off off the bowling of Hall.The visitors reached tea on 200 for 4 but Roy departed in the fourth over of
the evening for 31 when he was given what looked a harsh lbw off Burton. James Middlebrook picked up his first wicket when he trapped his fellow spinner, former England international Gareth Batty, lbw for nine.South African De Bruyn hung around to go past 50 off 117 balls but he fell when
he edged Vaas to O’Brien. Stuart Meaker made just a single before nudging Middlebrook to Hall at slip in the next over, and Vaas then ended the Surrey innings by pinning both Chris
Jordan (three) and Tim Linley (16) lbw.Northamptonshire openers Newton and Kyle Coetzer survived until the close with
both of them resuming on one tomorrow.

ESPNcricinfo’s preview to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Umar Farooq05-Oct-2011

Format

Younis Khan’s presence will be key for Habib Bank Limited•AFP

The format remains the same as last season’s, with 22 first-class teams – both regional and departmental outfits – competing in a two-league structure. Teams will be promoted and relegated each season on the basis of performance. The two bottom teams of Division I – one departmental and one regional will be demoted to Division II for the next season. Likewise, the leading regional and departmental sides from Division II will make the grade to Division I. The departmental side finishing lowest in Division II will be relegated to Grade II for the upcoming season.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Multan have been relegated to Division II on the basis of last year’s standings, while State Bank of Pakistan and Abbottabad earned promotions to Division I.

Habib Bank Limited (HBL)

Captain: Younis Khan
Possessing with a side filled with players who have represented Pakistan, HBL claimed the championship last year, capping their dominant run with victory against Pakistan International Airlines in the final. They scored more than 500 runs in an innings twice, and won a couple of their games with a margin of over 100 runs. The decider was a day-and-night affair that featured coloured balls.Players to watchHBL is set to lose several of their most influential players as Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Umar Gul and Abdul Rehman are likely to be away on national duty at some stages of the tournament. They are fortunate, however, to have the services of Ahmed Shehzad who is currently out of the national side, and Shahid Afridi, who has ‘conditionally’ retired from international cricket. The bowling will be led by Danish Kaneria, who will want to make an impression even as he fights the PCB integrity committee in court.

Karachi Blues

Captain: Mohammad Sami
The unpredictable champions of 2009-10 season are back in contention, with many of their top players returning to represent the region. Last season, the Blues finished a lowly eighth, with only three wins and 27 points from their 11 matches. They often lose players to the national side or to department teams, but they have ample talent to plug the gaps.Players to watch
Will Mohammad Sami put smiles on the faces of the Karachi Blues’ fans•AFP

The team is brimming with talent, especially in the fast-bowling department. Seamers Sami, Tanvir Ahmed and Sohail Khan will form the backbone of the attack, while Khalid Latif and Shahzaib Hassan should provide the batting ballast.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)

Captain: Kashif Siddiq
SBP toiled their way to the top of Division II, where they won four of their nine games and lost only one. The promotion came on the back of an efficient performance from a unit that overcame its lack of star power. It was a difficult trajectory, though, as they defeated Pakistan Television in three days and later beat Khan Research Laboratories in the Division II final.Domestic veteran Saddiq will be their talisman this year as they once again enter the fray with a bunch of low-profile but consistent domestic performers.Players to watch
SBP will be bolstered by the arrival of Rameez Raja junior, who was moved from Karachi Blues after topping the run-charts last year. Another international presence is Shoaib Khan, who was the highest run-scorer in the 2008 season. He will look to hit the ground running after having spent much of his off-season playing league cricket in England.

Rawalpindi

Captain: Babar Naeem
Rawalpindi have improved immensely in recent years, and finished third last season with 54 points. They were one of only three sides in Division I to win six matches. If they had won their final league fixture, against Sialkot, they could have made it to the final.Players to watchSadaf Hussain, a fast bowler who is expected to break into the big league soon, will be Rawalpindi’s man to watch. He finished as the top wicket-taker last year with 64 scalps in only his second season. Awais Zia, who spent considerable time in the wilderness despite averaging nearly 45 in 27 games, finally made the headlines in the Twenty20 format. He will be keen to impress the selectors further in the first-class format. Wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar, another player with the potential to enter the national side, had 41 dismissals in 10 matches last year.Misbah-ul-Haq might not be around to lead SNGPL through the entire season•Associated Press

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited

Captain: Misbah-ul-Haq
SNGPL, the 2009-10 champions, have been pinned down in Division II after a disappointing season in which they managed only two wins. The department had to release some of their top players – Miabah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez included – for national duty through the season.Players to watchUmar Akmal was dropped from the Pakistan Test squad and advised to display the ability to bat for long periods of time. He will seek to do just that when the first-class season begins. Another prospect, the legspinner Yasir Shah, will look to make giant strides. The side will, however, find it tough to ascend through the Division I table in the absence of two of their major batsmen.

United Bank Limited

Captain: Shabbir Ahmed
UBL were among the most popular sides in the 1990s, but have been out of the event after being privatised in 2002. The team was in the top division last in 1997, when they played a final against Habib Bank Limited and won by 306 runs. They have now re-emerged in the domestic circuit by qualifying for Division II.Players to watch
The team is largely made up of low-profile domestic players. Misbah Khan, the offspinner, was missing in action last season, but he is back in the mix this year. The squad also includes allrounder Tahir Mughal, a veteran of 103 first-class matches, from Sialkot region. Given the near experimental look to their line-up, avoiding relegation will be a challenge.

Tim Nielsen will switch his focus to developing young cricketers in his home state of South Australia after quitting as coach of the national team

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2011Tim Nielsen will switch his focus to developing young cricketers in his home state of South Australia after quitting as coach of the national team. Nielsen will head up the newly-created Emerging Redbacks Program, which will allow him to return home to Adelaide nearly a decade after he left to become an assistant to John Buchanan with the Australia side.Nielsen, 43, spent four years as Australia’s head coach before he stepped down this week, following the successful Test tour of Sri Lanka. The South Australia coach Darren Berry said Nielsen would provide invaluable experience in his new role, in which he will lead a high-level academy-style program aimed at preparing players for state cricket.”Tim has clearly travelled the world and coached at the highest level, so to have him involved is going to be another string to our coaching bow,” Berry said. “With Jeff Vaughan, Joe Dawes, myself and now Tim Nielsen we believe we have got the best coaching panel in first-class cricket in the country. I can’t emphasise enough, how delighted I am that Tim has decided that this is the role that he’d like to take up.”The new program is the brain-child of Jamie Cox, the South Australian Cricket Association director of cricket, who as a national selector has worked closely with Nielsen over the past four years. Cox said he was thrilled that Nielsen had decided to rejoin the SACA.”I have had a close association with Tim during his time in charge of the Australian team and I have always greatly admired his energy and passion for coaching,” Cox said. “We are clearly delighted that the timing of our search for a head coach for the Emerging Redbacks Program has enabled such a high quality candidate to be attracted to the role.”A former wicketkeeper-batsman who played for South Australia for ten years, Nielsen moved into coaching after retirement and began as an assistant with the Redbacks. He was head coach at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane from 2005 to 2007, when he replaced Buchanan at the helm of Australia’s side.

The United Arab Emirates cantered to a 69-run win over Afghanistan in the second one-day game

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2011 by 69 runs
Scorecard
Khurram Khan was at the heart of another UAE win over Afghanistan, this one by 69 runs in the second one-day game. UAE chose to bat first and their openers gave them a steady start, adding 47 before Faizan Asif was caught and bowled by Mohammad Nabi. Afghanistan made steady inroads thereafter and had UAE struggling at 127 for 5, but Khurram, who top scored with 43, put on 52 runs with Ahmed Raza (35), to help push UAE to 221.Afghanistan lost Gulbodin Naib early but were well placed at 61 for 1 in the 11th over. But Karim Sadiq was caught behind for 31 off Ahmed Raza and the innings lost momentum. Khurram picked up three wickets, two in the same over, to ensure there was no way back for the visitors. He finished with 3 for 24 from nine overs, while Ahmed Raza, Vikrant Shetty and Shadeep Silva took two wickets each.

R Ashwin’s six wickets – the second-best match haul for an Indian debutant – and quick runs from Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Sammy pulled the game in opposite directions and left it in a state of delicate balance

The Report by Sidharth Monga08-Nov-2011
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
I’ll have five, and then some: R Ashwin during his match-turning spell in his debut Test•AFP

Smart stats

• R Ashwin’s 9 for 128 is the second-best match haul for an India bowler on debut behind Narendra Hirwani’s 16 for 136 in Madras in 1988.

• Ashwin also becomes the fifth India spinner and the seventh India bowler overall to pick up a five-wicket haul on Test debut. His second-innings figures of 6 for 47 are third behind Hirwani’s twin eight-wicket hauls in 1988.

• If India are to win the first Test, they have to equal the record fourth-innings chase in Delhi, by West Indies in 1987. On that occasion, West Indies chased the 276-run target with the help of Viv Richards’ unbeaten 109.

• Virender Sehwag scored a half-century in both innings for the fifth time in his career. It is also the 30th time that an India batsman has made a fifty-plus score in both innings against West Indies.

• There have been ten leg-before dismissals in the game so far. On eight previous occasions, there have been more leg-before dismissals in Tests in India.

• Tendulkar reached the 15,000-run landmark in Tests in his 182nd match. He has now scored 15005 runs at an average of 56.19.

R Ashwin’s six wickets, which gave him the second-best match haul for an Indian debutant, and quick runs from Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Sammy pulled the game in opposite directions to leave it in a state of delicate balance. India were left with 276 to get for a first win in seven Tests, which if managed would be their third-highest successful chase. Virender Sehwag then rudely shook the balance with his sixth half-century in chases, but Sammy pulled West Indies back with Sehwag’s wicket, only for two highest run-getters in Test cricket and its fourth innings, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, to give India the edge with an assured partnership before stumps.India had every reason to feel good about the chase: they had built some momentum, and only one of the 10 wickets to fall in the day was a direct consequence of the pitch’s misbehaviour. The first session of the day, though, looked like the continuation of an exercise in making the Kotla pitch look brutish. India had started it yesterday, losing 10 wickets for 120 runs, and on this slow track with low but manageable bounce, West Indies found a way to lose four wickets in the first hour today. It could have been three wickets in the first three overs, but Ishant Sharma was denied one by the umpire and Ashwin failed to catch a half chance.The beneficiaries, Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo, added 27 for the fourth wicket. Edwards played positively, hitting three fours in the first four overs of spin, but for some reason he chose to leave alone a straight delivery to give Umesh Yadav his maiden Test wicket. More uncertain cricket followed. Bravo thrust his pad forward to Ashwin and was trapped by one that didn’t turn as much as expected. Ashwin then cleaned up Marlon Samuels with one of his first carrom balls in Test cricket. He uses that variation regularly in limited-overs cricket, but had hardly done it on Test debut until he got through the defence of Samuels.A familiar thorn in the side remained, though. Chanderpaul began with two fours off the first two balls he faced, using his wrists on both occasions to manipulate the off-side field. First he rolled them on the cut shot to beat the squarish third man, and then he pushed through a length ball, placing it to the left of point. Despite Carlton Baugh’s careless dismissal, Chanderpaul kept scoring unaffected.With an aggressive Sammy for company, Chanderpaul threatened serious damage. Ashwin, though, interrupted him three runs short of a fifty with an offbreak that didn’t turn as much as he expected. It was a brave lbw decision by Rod Tucker, as this was bowled from over the wicket and pitched within the stumps, but proved to be correct because of the small degree of turn. Sammy, though, continued to exploit the open field sets for him. He found the gaps for couples, hit a four with the field up, and in the most Caribbean of fashions drove Ishant for a six even with the field back. It took a straight Ashwin delivery that stayed low to get rid of Sammy, the first signs of the pitch playing unmanageable tricks. Ravi Rampaul and Devendra Bishoo didn’t throw it away, and added 23 for the last wicket.Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir came out aggressive. A potentially game-changing moment arrived in the fourth over, when Sehwag was a touch early into a straight-drive, but Rampaul couldn’t take the tough return catch to his right. India took 23 off the first four overs, but it would become challenging when pace was taken off.Sammy did so as early as the fifth over, and the openers went into singles mode. Sehwag, though, didn’t like the sight of Samuels’ offspin that early in the innings, and drove him over extra cover for six. Even though Samuels came back with Gambhir’s lbw, Sehwag continued to beat the slowness of the pitch. The fields were spread, the ball didn’t come on, but Sehwag adjusted superbly to score behind square on the off side. The quicker balls he guided past slip, for the slower ones he arched back and used the wrists to impart power. Three of his five fours he hit there.He did not hit everything behind square. He lofted Bishoo, the opposition’s only specialist spinner, for a six over long-on in his first over. Quietly Dravid slipped into positive mode, too, driving two boundaries through midwicket and extra cover before Sehwag managed to reach a score of fifty in both innings of a match for only the fifth time in his career.A typical slow-pitch dismissal followed when Sehwag chopped Sammy on. More control and interrogation was a natural expectation. Immediately West Indies bowled the first maiden of the innings. They could now have some control over where they bowled, but Tendulkar and Dravid remained resolute. Tendulkar avoided playing across the line, and made positive forward movements every time he could. Dravid scored only 17 off the last 73 balls he faced, and the partnership was worth only 57 off 25.5 overs, but the two were desperate to stay unbeaten in fading light, which they managed.Just about. For two overs before stumps, running in classical Indian style, Dravid crossed the stumps without grounding his bat or his feet. A lazy bail and inconclusive replays saved him there, after which he berated himself. The reaction would have been much more severe had he been given out.

A round-up of the second day of the final round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2011Sohail Tanvir and Junaid Zia made State Bank of Pakistan follow-on against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. The duo picked up nine wickets between them as State Bank were shot out for 112 in reply to ZTBL’s 263. Mohtashim Ali (44) was the only batsman to resist for State Bank as they crumbled in 32.4 overs. They lost three second-innings wickets for 62, ending the day still needing another 89 to make ZTBL bat again. Mohammad Ali had earlier ended with 7 for 59, taking the last three wickets as ZTBL added only seven runs to their overnight score of 256 for 7.Mir Azam’s maiden first-class century put Abbottabad in control against Rawalpindi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium despite debutant medium-pacer Mohammad Ahsan’s seven wickets. Abottabad began on 73 for 2 in reply to Rawalpindi’s 215. Azam played an attacking innings, hammering 22 fours in his 133 off only 110 balls as Abbottabad surged to 250 for 3 at one stage. Ahsan ensured they did not pile on a huge lead, running through the lower order to end with 7 for 119 on debut. Rawalpindi, facing a deficit of 94, lost four wickets in the second innings for 136, an overall lead of only 42.Mohammad Imran took five wickets to blow Faisalabad away after Sialkot ended their first innings on 452 at the Jinnah Stadium. Prince Abbas made the early breakthroughs, striking twice before Imran took over to have Faisalabad reeling on 27 for 5. Mohammad Salman and Nabeel Malik got Faisalabad past 100 but could not carry on for long. Faisalabad ended on 153 for 8, trailing by one short of 300. Shehzad Malik (74) and the Sialkot lower order had earlier made the Faisalabad bowlers toil. Prince Abbas was unbeaten on 41 while last man Imran contributed 20 as the tenth wicket added 47.Ahmed Shehzad led an improved batting performance by Habib Bank as they ended on 245 for 6 in their second innings against Pakistan International Airlines at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Shehzad (81) put on a century opening stand with Shan Masood after PIA took a first-innings lead of 56 earlier in the day. Akhtar Waheed, though, triggered a middle-order collapse as five wickets fell for five runs. At 121 for 5, Habib Bank were in deep trouble but captain Hasan Raza resisted with an unbeaten 58 and his partnership with Fahad Masood took Habib Bank past 200. PIA had earlier folded up for 184 with Masood ending with 4 for 56.Afaq Raheem set Islamabad on their way to taking a comfortable first-innings lead over Karachi Blues at the National Stadium. Replying to Karachi’s 264, Raheem shrugged off the loss of his opening partner Umair Khan for a duck as he proceeded to hit 13 fours in his 94. Imad Wasim and Zohaib Ahmed chipped in with contrasting half-centuries as well. Wasim was subdued in his 60 off 130 deliveries while Zohaib clattered 12 fours in making 66 off 68. Though Azam Hussain struck thrice, Islamabad ended the day in front at 301 for 6 after Nasrullah Khan’s four wickets had kept Karachi to 264.Wahab Riaz made 84, his highest first-class score, to stretch , National Bank of Pakistan‘s innings to 358 against Water and Power Development Authority at the Gaddafi Stadium. National Bank had started the day on 274 for 7 with Qaiser Abbas on 84 and Riaz on 28. While Abbas was dismissed soon after completing his century, Riaz smashed nine boundaries in his 84 off 134 balls before he was bowled by Imranullah Aslam to end the innings. WAPDA lost Asif Khan early but Rafatullah Mohmand put them on track. He hit 13 boundaries and put on 78 for the third wicket with Aamer Sajjad. National Bank ended the day on a high when Mohmand was dismissed by Qaiser Abbas off the last ball for 94 with the score on 186.

Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, has confirmed he will unveil the “special delivery” he has been working on during Pakistan’s upcoming Test series against England in the UAE

Umar Farooq06-Jan-2012Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, has confirmed he will unveil the “special delivery” he has been working on during Pakistan’s upcoming Test series against England in the UAE. Ajmal had said in August, before Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe, that he was saving the variation for the England series, and has now said he will try it but will revert to his existing variations if it does not work.”I am working on a special delivery,” he said at Pakistan’s training camp in Lahore. “I won’t tell you about it but you will know it when you see it. If it does not prove to be reliable then I will shift my focus back to the deliveries that have brought me success and I will keep that variation for the next series.”Ajmal was the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket in 2011, with 50 wickets from eight games at an average of 23.86, and was a key factor in Pakistan winning five of those Tests. He took 18 wickets during Pakistan’s last series in the UAE, against Sri Lanka in October-November last year, and said he recognised he would have an important role to play against England.”We are going fully prepared and are working on special plans for their batsmen. I am aware of the weight of responsibility on me and am ready for it. In Dubai, the ball does break on the second and third day so hopefully I can play an important role. In Abu Dhabi it’s difficult because it’s a batting track.”Much of Ajmal’s success in 2011 accrued from the inability of batsmen to read his . Often in games, Ajmal bowled almost as many balls that turned the other way as regular offbreaks, leading to some apprehensions about him going the way of Saqlain Mushtaq in losing the ability to bowl his stock delivery. He also bowls with a flatter trajectory than most offspinners, but said that was because he was not comfortable flighting the ball.”If I bowl with flight I cannot bowl well. If I bowl at a quicker speed I can then use variations in pace. If I take 90% of my wickets with the doosra why should I not bowl it? Whether you bowl a doosra or an offbreak, the ball should be bowled on the right line and one should take a wicket with it.”Ajmal’s style of bowling is in stark contrast to England’s offspinner Graeme Swann’s, which is based on beating the batsman in the air and repeatedly landing his stock delivery on the right length. Though Swann took just 27 wickets in the eight Tests he played in 2011, he remains the highest-ranked spinner in the ICC Test rankings, and Ajmal said there would be healthy competition between the two of them through the series. “Swann is a good bowler and has even been the No. 1 bowler in the world. He has his own variety, I have my own.”Pakistan lost just one Test in 2011, and have won their last three Test series, though two of those have been against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Ajmal, though, pointed out that his best performances of the year had come against stronger opposition.”Whomever you play against, you have to work for your wickets. Sri Lanka are a top team and I was Man of the Series against them. West Indies [against whom Ajmal took 17 wickets in two Tests] are not a bad team either – we have never beaten them in an away series. Bangladesh was not that good a team but only nine of my wickets came against them.”