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Match facts

September 7, 2010, Cardiff
Start time 6.00pm (1700GMT)Spirits remain high in the England squad as they keep their focus on maintaining their Twenty20 winning streak•PA Photos

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A cricket match was completed at Cardiff on Sunday which, given what had happened over the last week, was something to be very grateful for. England, in their first Twenty20 outing since winning the world title in May, were impressive with the ball and in the way Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy chased down the target, while familiar Pakistan failings came to the fore in the field.However, the hosts will know it wasn’t a perfect performance. Three catches went down and the batting subsided to 62 for 5 as Pakistan threatened to turn the game around. England will want to sharpen their skills in the second match ahead of the five ODIs, but such is the confidence in the team it is hard to see past another home victory.Pakistan need to rethink their strategy because it was a complete waste to leave Abdul Razzaq in the dug-out for 20 overs and Shahid Afridi needs more time in the middle. One of them has to bat in the top three. Shoaib Akhtar bowled quickly to rattle England’s top order, but his fielding was an embarrassment with the drop of Morgan the turning point in the game.

Form guide (last five completed matches; most recent first)

England WWWWW
Pakistan LLWLW

Watch out for…

Craig Kieswetter is facing his last international innings of the summer and, if Steve Davies takes his chance over the next two weeks, what could be his last international innings for quite a while. England’s next Twenty20 isn’t until January following the Ashes and Kieswetter’s form has been on the slide since the World Twenty20. He was undone by Shoaib’s pace in the opening game, but has the backing of Paul Collingwood to continue with his attacking mindset. However, he really needs a substantial innings to remain central to the team’s future plans.Shahid Afridi has returned to lead Pakistan in the midst of a crisis and has tried his best to move the talk away from spot-fixing allegations. He remains one of the finest Twenty20 cricketers in the world, but couldn’t have much impact with the bat on Sunday as England’s death bowling proved hard to get away. With the ball, though, he caused problems with two wickets and almost turned the game around. If anyone can change Pakistan’s fortunes it’s Afridi.

Team news

There is no reason for England to change a winning formula so James Anderson is likely to remain on the sidelines of the Twenty20 team. However, Luke Wright needs a much-improved display after dropping a catch and making a duck on Sunday while the captain could also do with a few runs.England (probable) 1 Craig Kieswetter, 2 Steve Davies (wk), 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Michael Yardy, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Ryan SidebottomIt’s always a guessing game with Pakistan, but given the lack of options in a reduced squad the same XI is likely to take the field. However, it would be very strange if they didn’t alter the batting order to make better use of Afridi and Razzaq.Pakistan (probable) 1 Shahzaib Hasan, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Fawad Alam, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Umar Gul, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

Pitch and conditions

There was more turn than anyone expected in the first match and this game will be played on the same surface so the spinners are likely to be key again. The large boundaries cut down on the fours and sixes – there were none of the latter – and when even Afridi can’t clear the ropes you know it’s hard work. Heavy rain is forecast on Monday and showers on Tuesday, but the new outfield drains well.

Stats and Trivia

• Pakistan’s 126 for 4 on Sunday was the first time they hadn’t hit a six in a Twenty20 international.
• Graeme Swann, who took 2 for 14 in four overs, is now England’s second-most economical bowler in Twenty20s behind Andrew Flintoff for players with at least six caps.

Quotes

“I didn’t have to say anything. You just look at each other, and those smiles go on your faces. We’ve got great memories of that. But from a captain’s point of view you’ve got to try to tell the guys to restart … and we did it 100%.”
Paul Collingwood enjoyed having most of his World Twenty20 winners back together“We missed some opportunities, like catches and run-outs. So next time I hope we will avail these opportunities. In this kind of cricket, fielding is a main weapon if you want to win.”

India’s hopes of drawing level in the Test series against Sri Lanka were dealt a serious blow with Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh being ruled out of the second Test in Colombo. Gambhir was racing against time to recover from a troublesome knee, and the team management decided to leave him out after a final assessment on Monday morning. Yuvraj, who struck an attacking fifty in the first innings of the first Test was down with fever, leaving India without the services of their two first-choice left-hand batsmen.Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina, who makes his debut, took their places in the side.India are already fielding a depleted side for the series, with fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth missing out due to injuries. Offspinner Harbhajan Singh was down with flu in the lead-up to the first Test and struggled for fitness through the course of the match.

Zimbabwe Cricket has announced the construction of a major new cricket ground close to the iconic Victoria Falls, widely considered to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world.The venue, which will have a capacity of up to 12,000, will be of Test standard, the first such major site outside Harare and Bulawayo, and will utilise the latest ecologically-friendly features. Approval has been obtained from the local authorities and ZC is now working with architects on the final design. The board hopes tenders will go out by the end of August.”Victoria Falls is a wonderful location,” ZC chief executive Ozias Bvute told Cricinfo.”Its climatic conditions create the ideal environment for year-round cricket and its status as an international heritage site and one of the amazing wonders of the world will aid to the excitement of teams visiting it.”Victoria Falls has always been a fascinating destination for visiting teams and they will undoubtedly revel at the prospect of playing between the mighty falls and surrounding wildlife”.”The ongoing 2010 World Cup means that the eyes of the world are focused on Africa as a sports tourism destination more than ever before and as one of the most loved sports in the world, it is only right that we play our part in making Zimbabwe a sporting destination of choice.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGautam Gambhir’s half-century gave India the advantage before the drama began•Associated Press

The Asia Cup’s marquee clash was a cliffhanger. The contest between India and Pakistan simmered tantalisingly, with one team edging ahead at several junctures only to be pulled back by timely strikes from the other. The ebb and flow went on until the match reached flashpoint during India’s chase. Tempers flared, nerves frayed, batsmen resorted to the desperate, bowlers lost their radar and fielders fumbled as margins for error became non-existent. And Pakistan, fighting to stay alive in the Asia Cup, watched Harbhajan Singh, fuelled by adrenalin and his love for a scrap, heave the penultimate ball of the match from Mohammad Aamer over the midwicket boundary to trigger explosive celebrations in the Indian dressing room.Pakistan, after the emotion subsides, will identify a period during their batting, when they let a critical advantage slip, as a factor that contributed significantly to their exit. Their top three – Salman Butt, Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik – had built a platform from where a total of 300 was probable, but a collapse eroded their position from 144 for 1 to 159 for 4. A regular fall of wickets thereafter, and especially the loss of Shahid Afridi and Adbul Razzaq before the batting Powerplay was underway, gave rise to the possibility of a total less than 250. It needed a counterattack from Kamran Akmal to lift Pakistan to 267, a score well short of what they were on course for. It was the ninth consecutive ODI in which Pakistan had failed to last 50 overs.This tensest of finishes – India needing three off two balls with tailenders batting – seemed improbable when Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni put on an exhibition of clinical accumulation during their partnership of 98, which left only 89 to get off the last 15 overs with eight wickets in hand. They ran hard, pierced gaps, and muscled pressure-relieving boundaries whenever the asking-rate crept over six an over. India were in control even after Gambhir’s dismissal – bowled trying to cut a straighter one from Saeed Ajmal – with Dhoni, who had clouted a Shoaib Akhtar free-hit over midwicket for six to reach a half-century, taking charge.India’s advantage began to shrink between overs 38 and 41. Pakistan had 76 runs to defend at the start of this period and conceded only 15 in four overs. Rohit Sharma was then trapped by a Shahid Afridi flipper, but it was Dhoni’s freak dismissal, in the 43rd over bowled by Malik, that made Pakistan the latest favourites. Malik drifted a friendly full toss down leg side, Dhoni reached away from his body and tried to paddle it fine. He was early on the shot and the ball ricocheted on to the stumps off the back of the bat. India now needed 58 off 46 with two brand new batsmen in the middle.Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja nudged and pushed until 50 were needed off the last six overs and decided it was time to take the batting Powerplay. Afridi brought back Shoaib Akhtar, who was economical in his first spell but expensive in his second, for the fielding restrictions and he bowled an exemplary over, troubling both batsmen with quick short-of-a-length deliveries. Raina and Jadeja managed only one off him.Jadeja was castled by Ajmal off the first ball off the 46th over and Raina was then joined by Harbhajan. Raina had struggled to make contact with Shoaib’s bouncers and so he targeted Ajmal, cutting the ball to the boundary before heaving it over midwicket. That 13-run over narrowed the gap between runs required and balls remaining significantly and Ajmal hobbled off the field shortly after.Pakistan had held the edge since Dhoni’s dismissal but their grasp on the contest weakened when Harbhajan lofted Shoaib over long-on with impeccable timing, reducing the equation to 30 off 22. Shoaib, however, mixed slower balls with sharp bouncers to concede only three of the next four balls. In the 48th over, Aamer’s direction failed him and he delivered two wides, but the batsmen managed only singles off the first four legal deliveries. Then Raina went deep into his crease to convert a yorker into a full ball and swung it powerfully through midwicket, finding the gap between two boundary riders.Raina took on Shoaib in the 49th, pulling a short ball – this one didn’t rise as much – for six to slash the equation to 10 off 11 balls. Shoaib, however, once again finished strongly, beating Harbhajan with consecutive bouncers off the final two deliveries. He followed up those fiery deliveries with an equally fiery verbal volley. It riled Harbhajan who responded before Billy Doctrove intervened.With India needing seven runs off the final over, Raina took a single off the first ball, giving Harbhajan the strike. Raina tried to get it back immediately by stealing a bye but his desperate dive was beaten by Kamran Akmal’s throw. Kamran was pumped: he had dropped Sharma earlier, and had a confrontational tête-à-tête with Gambhir over an appeal for a catch.Praveen Kumar, India’s No. 9, scored three off his first two balls and gave Harbhajan the strike for the penultimate delivery. Aamer ran in and pitched on a length, Harbhajan wound up, swung hard, and began to raise his hands in triumph as the ball cleared the ropes. And then he roared, and roared, and looked for Shoaib.

ScorecardRain was the only winner on the opening day of Glamorgan’s County Championship match against Surrey at the Swalec Stadium, where only eight overs were possible.After persistent rain, play eventually began at 4.15pm after Surrey put Glamorgan in to bat. But Division Two leaders Glamorgan, looking to record a fifth successive victory for the first time in their history, had made 19 without loss when rain arrived again and umpires Michael Gough and David Millns took the players from the field.It was Glamorgan’s first significant loss of play to the weather this season. Before today the Welsh county had lost only 90 minutes to the weather in their opening seven matches.

ScorecardRana Naved followed his four first-innings wickets with a rapid century from number nine to give Sussex control•Getty Images

Centuries from captain Murray Goodwin and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan helped put Sussexon course for a fourth successive victory in Division Two of the County Championship. The pair shared an eighth-wicket stand of 164 in 32.2 overs to help their sideto 392 all out – a lead of 278 – on the second day against Leicestershire atHove.The visitors closed on 226 for 3 in their second innings, held together bya unbeaten 68 from Paul Nixon, but still 52 runs behind. Goodwin moved into ninth place on the all-time list of Sussex’s century makers with 41 as he and Rana hammered some woeful bowling during a morning session when 166 runs were plundered in 32 overs.Only acting captain Andrew McDonald seemed able to stem the flow of runs asboth batsmen attacked seam and spin with relish. Rana began the day 24 runs behind his partner but reached his hundred three balls before Goodwin.It was the fifth hundred of his career and second for Sussex and included ninefours and two sixes, both off slow left-armer Claude Henderson. He had added a single when he mis-timed a drive at McDonald and was caught at mid off, having faced 113 balls for his first century at Hove.Goodwin lost little in comparison and was merciless when Leicestershire’sattack fed his favourite areas square on the off side. He recorded the 60th first-class century of his career and it was a surprise when McDonald trapped him leg before for 142 from 173 balls which included 21 fours and two sixes, both carved powerfully over point as he took advantage of a short boundary.Leicestershire wrapped up the innings when Wayne White, surprisingly left outof the attack during the morning session, had Monty Panesar caught behind butSussex’s last two wickets had still added 67.It left Leicestershire with a mountain to climb as they tried to avoid theirfirst Championship defeat of the season. Opener Will Jefferson should have gone first ball but Michael Thornely dropped him at third slip off Rana.Jefferson made the most of his reprieve to hit eight fours as Rana and CoreyCollymore continued to be plagued by over-stepping. But he was undone by some clever captaincy from Goodwin, who moved Chris Nash on to the mid-wicket boundary and saw his plan come to fruition when Jefferson pulled the next ball from James Anyon obligingly into the fielder’s hands.Anyon struck again later in his spell when Boyce was caught low down at slip byMatt Prior after being forced onto the back foot. But veteran Nixon and James Taylor steadied their side with a third-wicket stand of 65 until Anyon returned after tea to trap Taylor in front with his nip-backer.Nixon, however, had resisted for 132 balls by the close while McDonald playedsome aggressive shots in helping him add an unbroken 70 in 12 overs for thefourth wicket.

Pakistan fast bowler Naved-ul-Hasan will be appealing against the one-year ban and the Rs 2-million fine slapped on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).Naved, 32, was one of the seven leading players punished by the board following Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia, where they lost the three Tests, five ODIs and the lone Twenty20 international. He was also denied a central contract by the board yesterday, and said he would submit his appeal in a couple of days’ time.”I have been preparing the response papers with my representatives and they will be ready in a couple of days’ time,” Naved told .He said he was also in possession of the report prepared by the inquiry committee. “Yes I have the report and have read it. The only reason why they have banned me is due to underperformance. They felt that my performance on the tour of Australia was below par. I always give 100% effort every time I take the field, it doesn’t matter who I am playing for, I always give my all”.”If necessary I will take my appeal papers by hand and meet whoever I need to from the board to discuss these matters. I hope the situation is resolved soon and I can recommence my career for Pakistan”.Reports also suggest that former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, who was handed a ban similar to Naved’s, would also make an appeal. Though the PCB has not revealed the nature of charges against Malik, it is thought that his role in creating unrest within the side during the tour, among other things, came under scrutiny.”I will fight against the ban and go to every possible platform to prove my innocence. I want to prove my innocence as there have been no cases of indiscipline in my 11-year career,” Malik told AFP.The PCB on Thursday sent letters to the banned players, explaining the committee’s findings, and gave them a 30-day period within which they can appeal against the charges.Both players, however, have been granted permission by the board to play in a domestic Twenty20 league in Bangladesh, just two days after Mohammad Yousuf, another banned player, was allowed to play in the country.

West Indies’ four-wicket win in the second ODI against Zimbabwe was their first victory in an international match since August last year. Chris Gayle, the captain, called the series-levelling victory “a big relief” and hoped “this is the first of many to come.”Half-centuries from Gayle and Narsingh Deonarine helped West Indies overhaul Zimbabwe’s total of 206. Gayle top scored with 88 from 111 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, while Deonarine supported him with 65 not out from 85 balls. The victory helped West Indies draw level in the five-match series, after Zimbabwe won the opener on Thursday at the same venue.Gayle, though, was all praise for the opposition. Zimbabwe appeared in control of the match after the hosts slipped to 85 for 4 in the 26th over. Like in the first ODI, spinners were again at the forefront, before Deonarine paired up with Gayle.”I must commend Zimbabwe about the way they have gone about their business in this series,” Gayle said. “They have played some good cricket, and they have put us under a lot of pressure. It wasn’t an easy game, but I am happy that we rebounded, and we won this game. Hopefully, we can carry on for the remainder of the series.”After Zimbabwe chose to bat, the visitors were dismantled by Nikita Miller, who took a career-best 4 for 43, and Kemar Roach (3 for 37). Despite Elton Chigumbura’s half-century, they could only manage 206. “We probably came up a little short on the batting side,” said Prosper Utseya, the Zimbabwe captain. “We never got a partnership up front, and we kept losing wickets at key moments, so that’s why we were about 20 runs short of setting a decent target.”However, he was pleased with the bowling effort. “We just believed that if we could keep bowling in partnerships, we could upset them,” Utseya said. “The ball started to turn [for our spinners], and it was also keeping low. But we just did not have enough runs on the board to keep up the pressure.”The teams will play the remaining three ODIs in St Vincent on March 10, 12, and 14.

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, claims a leading English football club is interested in bidding for a new team in the fourth edition of the IPL next year. In an interview to the , Modi – also the Champions League Twenty20 commissioner – said he was in talks with the Marylebone Cricket Club who were also apparently eager to become involved in the IPL.”There is a football club, a very famous football club in the UK, very interested in bidding,” Modi said. “[They are] probably one of the most famous football clubs – that’s all I can say. Probably top three. They are interested in taking a stake.”Responding to speculation in the Indian media, Modi later said on his Twitter page that the club in mention was not Chelsea. A report in the named Manchester City as the team looking at buying a franchise although the club told Cricinfo they were not involved.The IPL will include two more teams from the 2011 season and will auction the franchise rights at a base price of $225 million ahead of the third season, which starts in India on March 12, and will invite potential investors this week. That figure – double of what the most expensive franchise was sold for in 2008 and more than four times the base price in that first auction – is, in an uncertain market, a sign of the league’s confidence in itself and the Twenty20 format.According to Modi, the MCC would be a value addition to the IPL and open up the possibility of taking the bandwagon overseas to Lord’s. “I have talked [to MCC] last night and they are quite interested,” he said.Keith Bradshaw, the MCC chief executive, did not deny he had been approached but would not confirm to join the IPL. “At the moment, our finances are focused on the redevelopment of the ground,” he said.The league’s expansion will see a much longer fixture list – 94 games as opposed to 59 in the first two seasons if the format remains the same – and accommodating it in the 45-day window without compromising players’ fitness, and keeping the international calendar in mind, will be a challenge.

Offspinner Ryan Austin’s career-best performance helped Combined Campuses & Colleges beat Guyana by five wickets at the 3Ws Oval. The result was a come-from-behind victory as CCC had conceded a first-innings lead and Guyana had begun the third day on 60 for 1 in their second innings, with an overall advantage of 92. Austin, however, cut through the Guyana batting line-up, nipping partnerships before they began to grow, and finished with figures of 7 for 42 in 24.5 overs. Guyana lost nine wickets for 98 runs on the third day with Sewnarine Chattergoon’s 39 being the top score. CCC were left with a target of 195 but their chase started shakily as the openers were dismissed with only 36 runs scored. But debutant Kjorn Ottley steadied the innings with 66 and Chadwick Walton scored an unbeaten 34 to secure victory inside three days. Austin was the Player of the Match with figures of 10 for 118, his maiden ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket.Kirk Edwards helped Barbados gain a sizeable lead against Windward Islands at the Kensington Oval. Having dismissed Windwards for 307 in their first innings a little under an hour before lunch, Edwards scored 90 to take Barbados ahead by 230 runs at stumps. Edwards shared a vital third-wicket stand of 125 with captain Ryan Hinds, after adding 45 for the second wicket with opener Dale Richards. Both Hinds and Richards scored half-centuries and Shane Shillingford impressed with the ball for Windwards, taking 3 for 76. Edwards ran himself out just before close with Barbados on 250 for 4.Wilden Cornwall and Omari Banks picked up four wickets apiece to ensure LeewardIslands were firm favourites against Trinidad and Tobago at the Foursquare Oval. Leewards – chasing 202 for an outright win – were 115 for 5 at stumps. T&T started the day on 94 for 3, and managed to add 132 in 59 overs. No. 7 Imran Khan’s 63 was the highlight of the innings as Cornwall and Banks scythed through the line-up. Leewards appeared in a hurry during the chase, but lost half their side as offspinner Amit Jaggernauth struck thrice.