Vanka Pratap in the process of giving Hyderabad the upper hand with atimely century, put to shade a good bowling performance by Keralaseamer Tinu Yohannan (6 for 177). Such was the dominance of Hyderabadthat they declared at 489 for 9 well into the second day of theirSouth Zone Ranji Trophy match at the Nuclear Fuel Complex Ground atHyderabad on Thursday. Kerala at stumps were tottering at 69 for 4.Resuming where he left off the previous evening, Vanka Pratap (128)went on to complete his century after a 317 minute stay at the crease.His overnight partner Vinay Kumar (71) was not far behind, reachinghis half century off 85 balls. After forging a 146 run fourth wicketstand with Vanka Pratap, Vinay departed caught by Ananthapadmanabhanoff Ramprakash. Then Vanka Pratap fell leg before to Yohannan afteradding 45 run for the fifth wicket with PR Satwalkar. Stumper MSrinivas joined Satwalkar and put on 56 runs for the sixth wicket.After the fall of Satwalkar, the Hyderabad innings folded up with theaddition of 41 runs. In reply Kerala made a circumspect start with theopeners V Girilal (22) and MP Sorab (24) adding 48 runs. But disasterstruck Kerala when former Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju wasintroduced into the attack. Raju drew first blood for Hyderabad in the18th over when he trapped Girilal in front. Two balls later he sentback Sorab in much the similar manner. Kerala’s woes were not to endthere as Raju in his very next over picked up the wicket of S Shankar(0) caught by Vinay Kumar. Kanwaljit Singh joined in the act and inhis very first over trapped Sunil Oasis (6) leg before.

Mark Waugh answered his critics today in the New South Wales Blues’ decisive seven-wicket victory over Queensland in the Mercantile Mutual Cup at Bankstown Oval.Returning from a short break due to back trouble and under fire for his form for Australia, the 35 year-old Waugh scored 108 not out on the ground where he cut his teeth in grade cricket as New South Wales overhauled the Queensland total of 247 with fourteen balls to spare.With Waugh at the finish was Michael Bevan, who scored the winning runs with a four to bring up his own half-century.In front of a sellout crowd of around 4300, Queensland captain Stuart Law won the toss and elected to bat first in fine but overcast conditions.Openers Matthew Hayden and Jimmy Maher made a promising start to the innings, before left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken made the first breakthrough of the day. Replacing Brett Lee at the southern end, Bracken’s first ball of the day was bowled wide of the off stump to Hayden, who chased it and got an edge to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who took the ball in front of first slip. Hayden made 14 of an opening partnership of 30.Maher and the incoming batsman Martin Love took advantage of the small Bankstown Oval to despatch any loose deliveries to the fence, and at the end of the first fifteen overs Queensland were 1/73. The next over saw Maher loft Bracken for the first six of the day (which was dropped by a spectator).In the nineteenth over, Maher was in sight of his half-century when he mistimed a slower dipping delivery from MacGill, giving Glenn McGrath an easy catch at mid-off. Maher faced 61 deliveries for his 48 and struck seven fours and a six.Andrew Symonds surprisingly came to the crease ahead of Stuart Law. The change of order made little difference. MacGill’s first delivery to Symonds was a top-spinner which kept straight and low and deceived the Queensland all-rounder. Symonds was gone lbw for a golden duck and the Bulls were 3/88.Stuart Law survived the hat-trick ball, but in the next over from Shane Lee he was given out caught behind to a ball which he appeared to have edged to wicketkeeper Haddin. Video replays indicated that the ball apparently missed the edge of the bat and brushed Law’s back pad. Law appeared to be asking umpire Hair as he left the field whether he was out caught or lbw – in either case, the ball seemed headed on a trajectory which would have cleared the stumps. Law made 4 and Queensland were 4/98.Clinton Perren replaced Law at the crease and struggled against MacGill and Shane Lee. After facing fifteen scoreless deliveries, a frustrated Perren chased a wideish MacGill delivery and slashed it straight to Bracken at point. The Bulls had lost their last four wickets for the addition of 28 runs.Lee Carseldine joined Love, who brought up his fifty in the thirtieth over by lofting Brett Lee over the midwicket fence, just wide of one of the Mercantile Mutual signs. Love’s fifty came from 64 deliveries, including six fours and a six.Martin Love and Lee Carseldine built a steady recovery between the thirtieth and fortieth overs. Love hit Shane Lee for two consecutive sixes to mid-wicket, but four balls later the Queensland batsman chipped to short mid-on where Mark Higgs took a smart catch close to the ground. Love scored 82 from 101 deliveries. Queensland were 6/188 after forty, and back on track for a score around 250.Brett Lee was brought back into the attack at the start of the 44th over and struck immediately. He pitched a ball very short to Carseldine, who was advancing down the pitch. Carseldine played a cramped hook shot off his gloves straight into the air, with the bowler taking the return catch almost face-to-face with the batsman. Carseldine had scored a valuable 33.With Queensland reaching 7/214 after 45 overs, Lee struck twice in his next over. He bowled a bouncer to Scott Prestwidge – who used to play grade cricket at Bankstown Oval – who attempted a misjudged pull shot, lofted to the waiting hands of Michael Slater at mid-on.Three balls later, Wade Seccombe (15) played an uppish cover drive straight to Steve Waugh. Queensland were 9/215.Creevey and Bichel, both with useful track records with the bat, steered the Bulls through the final overs before each claiming a six off Brett Lee’s tenth, and NSW’s 50th, over. Creevey hooked a short ball which just cleared the Mr Whippy van at backward square leg, before Bichel lifted a short ball over mid-wicket.That final over, in which 21 runs were scored, was the only blemish in a fine exhibition of pace bowling by Lee, who finished with the figures of 3/54. MacGill took 3/44 from his ten, while Shane Lee (2/42 from seven) and Nathan Bracken (1/39 from nine) were the other wicket-takers.Glenn McGrath’s lack of penetration must be a cause of concern, however. Today he took 0/43 from ten overs. Discounting a game of grade cricket yesterday, his last three appearances for Australia and New South Wales have been worth figures of 29-1-152-0.Chasing 248 for victory, Mark Waugh, back in the side after being rested last week through injury, opening the batting with Michael Slater, got the Blues off to a strong start against a Queensland attack lacking Kasprowicz, Dale and Muller. Fifty runs were scored in the first twelve overs, but the thirteenth over of the day saw Andy Bichel strike twice.Slater (29 from 45 balls) failed to get his timing right to a short ball from Bichel and holed out to Clinton Perren at long off. Four balls later, Brad Haddin, the man of the match against the Bushrangers last Sunday, attempted a cover drive, getting a thick edge which was taken by a diving Matthew Hayden at gully.Steve Waugh came to the crease with the score 2/52, and together with his brother proceeded to dominate an attack lacking a spin bowler. Promising paceman Ashley Noffke was perhaps the tidiest of the Queensland bowlers in the opening stages. Brendon Creevey began his spell off a short run, and when this proved ineffective reverted to his normal run-up. Andrew Symonds’ three over spell yielded 29 runs, including a six by Steve Waugh dropped by the lad outside the mid-wicket fence. Mark’s fifty came from 71 deliveries, including six fours.Steve’s innings came to an end one run short of his own half-century, when he edged a ball from former Bankstown team-mate Scott Prestwidge into the gloves of Wade Seccombe. The Blues captain took exactly 49 balls to score his 49 runs, hitting eight fours and a six.Bevan joined Mark Waugh at the crease, and with all the experience of 366 one-day internationals between them, the rest of the innings was a formality. Never rushed, and never troubled by a Queensland team which lacked the variety of a specialist spinner, they put together an unbeaten fourth-innings partnership of 105 runs in 19 overs to complete the victory.Waugh’s second one-day hundred for the Blues was completed at the end of the 45th over when he took a single off Andrew Symonds. Waugh’s 100 took 127 deliveries and included eleven boundaries. It completed a remarkable double for the Waugh twins – Mark scoring a century in Bankstown Oval’s first Mercantile Mutual Cup game after Steve made a hundred in the ground’s first Sheffield Shield game four years ago.Bevan’s fifty – his fourteenth for the Blues without ever breaking the ton – came from 60 deliveries including four fours, the last of which was pulled over mid-wicket off the bowling of Noffke to end the game.Mark Waugh unsurprisingly won the man of the match award. The Blues now advance to nine points after two games at the top of the Mercantile Mutual Cup ladder. They play the Victorian Bushrangers at Punt Road, Richmond, next Sunday, and will be keen to take further advantage of their international stars while still available. The Bulls next Mercantile Mutual Cup game is a day-nighter at the WACA against the Western Warriors on November 15.

Martin Guptill’s century and 94 for Scott Styris put Auckland on track for first-innings points before the final match of the round also ended in a draw in Auckland. The Otago captain Craig Cumming started the game with 105 and enjoyed a 158-run partnership with Aaron Redmond, who picked up 50 after being cut from the Test team.Greg Todd, the No. 3, missed his hundred by two, but Neil Broom’s 60 also helped them reach 418 after losing the toss. With Auckland 379 for 6, the visitors were a chance of taking a first-innings advantage, but Steven Croft’s 53 ensured a couple of points, which pushed the home team to seven behind second-placed Wellington. Guptill top scored with 148, his maiden first-class hundred, while Reece Young also registered a half-century.There was only a 12-run difference between the sides so when Otago went back in on the third day only a quick collapse could lead to a result. They escaped the danger and moved to 343 for 7, with Shaun Haig recording 108 and Derek de Boorder (63 not out) and Cumming (58) contributing heavily.Todd Astle’s 101 gave Canterbury a chance of sealing a thrilling victory, but their last-day chase ran out of puff and they held on for a draw with Northern Districts in Hamilton. Canterbury were in a reasonable position at 238 for 2 in their pursuit of 318, but the task became too hard when Peter Fulton went for 56 and they were 294 for 8 at stumps.Northern Districts were in trouble at 63 for 4 on the opening day before the 18-year-old Kane Williamson, who recorded a personal best of 98, and Joseph Yovich (65) put on 141 for the fifth wicket. Further assistance came from Peter McGlashan’s 91 and 75 from Graeme Aldridge in the healthy total of 430.Fulton hit back from being dropped from the Test side with a patient 84 from 263 balls and Johann Myburgh chipped in with 61, but Canterbury were dismissed for 265 after scoring at slightly more than two an over. Myburgh then captured 4 for 56 with his offbreaks as the home side set up its declaration and the innings was closed at 152 for 5. Northern Districts gained their first points of the season for the first-innings success while Canterbury remain bottom.Mathew Sinclair, the Central Districts captain, completed centuries in consecutive matches, but his efforts went unrewarded in a rain-ruined draw against Wellington at the Basin Reserve. Sinclair, who has 516 runs at 103.20 in four games this season, followed his 108 against Otago last week with 164 as his side rode to 523 after Wellington won the toss and bowled. At one stage Jeetan Patel was so frustrated by Sinclair, who was dropped twice, he was no-balled for throwing.Rain cut the first day to 24.3 overs but the 235-run stand between Sinclair and Bevan Griggs, who collected a career-best 143, put the visitors on top as they batted into the third day. Matthew Bell (75), Neal Parlane (54), Grant Elliott (63) and Luke Woodcock (59) registered half-centuries for Wellington, but the weather cut short the final day and ensured a soggy draw, with the home side 376 for 7 in its first innings. Central Districts lead the competition on 25 points while Wellington are second on 18.

Australia’s cricketers have responded angrily to suggestions that the presence of their partners and children on tour contributed to the team’s loss of the Ashes.Members of the team have been incensed by stories written back home that depict their families as unnecessary distractions during the contest against England, and rejected outright the contention that they somehow brought on the team’s poor batting displays in the Edgbaston and Trent Bridge Tests that effectively surrendered the Ashes to Alastair Cook’s team.The retiring captain Michael Clarke described allegations published in News Limited Group newspapers as “a load of shit” in a radio interview, while Mitchell Johnson singled out the columnist Rebecca Wilson in a series of tweets after reading a piece that claimed, among other things, that partners “all travel with them the entire time they are away”.”I’ve never had a conversation with this Rebecca Wilson so to be called ‘arrogant’ is arrogant on her behalf and disrespectful!” Johnson said. “Also saying we spend every second of the day with our family is incorrect and none of her business anyway but if she wants to know, ask my wife and little girl that question. You are well off the mark Rebecca Wilson. Stick to writing about the game thanks!”The theme of questioning the players’ partners was begun by the former vice-captain Ian Healy before the Trent Bridge Test was over. Healy wondered whether it was right for the team to have the partners on the tour before the Ashes series was decided.Players and staff have been prepared to face criticism for cricket reasons, and have in some cases openly admitted fault, whether it be Darren Lehmann conceding ground on selections, Clarke speaking about his dire batting in the series or Steven Smith talking about where he had failed to learn swiftly enough to stay ahead of England’s bowlers. However the family accusations have struck a raw nerve. David Warner, who started his relationship with his wife Candice during the 2013 Ashes tour, offered a reasoned view.”I spoke to Ian Healy the other day about it,” he said. “I don’t think they quite understand at the moment that your partner is probably not going to come to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka… just purely based on because if you’ve got a young kid, probably not the right environment to take your kid there and little bugs and things can happen. Like with the South African A team at the moment.”But my take is I love having my family on tour. I think everyone out there knows that when you go to work on a day to day basis, when you come home to your family it’s a great thing and that always keeps me smiling. The other day we had a bad day, we went in the change rooms, we all spoke about it, we got over it, came home and we have our families here and we’re all down together playing with our kids in the foyer. It’s fantastic to have them along.”As for further accusations of disunity in the tour party, Warner offered a realistic view of things. No cricket team is ever entirely free of problems, but it is up to the touring squad to sort out such issues before they escalate too far. The 2013 tour of India and its “Homeworkgate” episode provides an example of things getting out of hand and an overreaction arriving too late in the piece.”Not everyone is going to see eye to eye on a long tour. There’s going to be the odd hiccup here and there but you just deal with it,” Warner said. “That’s what happens in the work environment. You’re not going to get along with everyone, so you’ve just got to work out a way to make sure that does not disrupt anything going forward. And in our camp at the moment there’s nothing there that has been disruptive.”The way we’ve prepared for this whole series and on the back of the Caribbean, yes, we are disappointed about this series obviously, but we’ve got one Test to go. There’s definitely no rift in the team at all. At the end of the day, when people aren’t performing, I think some stories get leaked that the players aren’t talking to each other and this and that. But definitely in our camp, we’re as strong as we always are and we’re always going to do whatever we can to get back into the winning position.”The Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) chief executive Alistair Nicholson said the family travel periods were a more than reasonable support service for players who often spent more than two thirds of the year away from home. Cricket Australia (CA) allows for allotted time during home series for partners and families to spend time with the team without cost, while the ACA organises the same overseas.”Having families on tour is an important part of the support network for players, particularly with three forms of the game and year-round travel,” Nicholson said. “Overseas campaigns can be brutal and while players understand that it is part and parcel of what they do, the relatively short periods they spend with their families and partners [on tour] has a positive impact on their well-being.”The official overseas travel periods are negotiated as part of the MOU and paid for by the players from the Player Payment Pool [money that CA passes on to the players as their share of game revenue]. The support provided to them is valued highly.”There are two official visitors’ periods: one as part of the Australian team’s overseas schedule [funded by ACA] and one at home [funded by CA]. The latter runs over the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, coinciding with the Christmas and New Year’s periods, respectively. This is obviously an important time for families to be together.”

ScorecardZafar Ansari worked through Derbyshire’s top order•Getty Images

On a rain-marred first day in which Surrey collected the first of the 15 points they require to guarantee promotion back to the top tier of the County Championship, they found themselves in a better position than their fielding deserved against Derbyshire having dropped five catches – four of them the first 90 minutes of play. Life will not be so forgiving in Division One.It would, however, be churlish to say that Surrey were lucky. With England’s tour of the UAE looming and their spin options worryingly threadbare, left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari delivered a first-day performance to justify the growing voices calling for his inclusion in England’s Test squad, taking 4 for 44.On an excellent pitch that has so far offered seam movement and tacky turn, Ansari took four of the five wickets to fall on a truncated opening day, bowling with impressive control and patience. A belligerent innings by Chesney Hughes who finished unbeaten on 85 ensured that Ansari did not completely ruin Derbyshire’s innings, but having been granted precious lives by Surrey’s fielders they will feel as if they have let an opportunity for better things slip.As an opening batsman who bowls spin in county cricket, comparisons will no doubt be drawn between Ansari and Moeen Ali, and Ansari is keen to extol his role as a bowler as much as a batsman.This season has indeed brought upon a Moeen-style perception shift in which Ansari’s bowling has widely become regarded as his most respected, if not most valuable, asset. While he is averaging just 29 with the bat in first-class cricket this season, he has now bowled more than 400 first-class overs – only Jeetan Patel has bowled more, and taken more first-class wickets: 43.Having already played in the UAE earlier this season for the MCC alongside Alastair Cook, and made his international debut in Ireland in May, he will no doubt be close to the national selectors’ thoughts as they convene before the UAE.After the start of play was delayed by light rain, Ansari toiled away diligently at the Pavilion End under dark and moody skies for 21 overs during two sessions, demonstrating impressive control and patience.Having won the toss and chosen to bat beneath heavy clouds Derbyshire will have been as surprised as they will have been pleased that after an hour of play both openers remained at the crease. Indeed, around the one-hour mark three consecutive overs induced three edges through to the slips — one which fell just short and two that were put down; both, rather remarkably by former international wicketkeepers Kumar Sangakkara and Steven Davies. Two further catches would be also spilled.Ansari’s introduction brought with it a wicket as Billy Godleman, seeking to continue an impressive run of form, was bowled between bat and pad looking to force the ball through the leg side.It was some time before Ansari would bowl again, 18 overs in fact, and rather appropriately it was not until he returned that Surrey found another breakthrough. When Ansari removed opener Ben Slater for a hard-fought 42, trapped lbw to end a gritty partnership with Hughes, it began an uninterrupted spell of 17 overs for Ansari that reaped 3 for 28. The other two wickets to fall were Wayne Madsen, caught and bowled and Wes Durston, also lbw.As the light and rain closed in there was just enough time for Tom Curran to prize out Harvey Hosein before play was halted for the day.Although the pitch offered turn what was conspicuous about Ansari’s bowling was that it was inconspicuous. He did not turn it square, or get it to drift or bounce wickedly, it was straightforward, controlled spin bowling. A career economy rate of 3.12 suggests such pressure is consistently applied.Only Hughes, typically a colourful stroke-maker, demonstrated the application required on a pitch that has certainly not been easy to bat on. He did unfurl a couple of trademark cover drives but it was his restraint that illuminated where the rest of Derbyshire’s batsmen went wrong on a day in which good things came to those who waited.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said the owners of the Rangpur franchise from the 2013 BPL have cleared their dues and can now bid for a team in this year’s tournament. While the sum was not mentioned in the press briefing, ESPNcricinfo has learned that Rangpur’s due amount was around Tk 1.5 crore (USD 192,802).Flora Limited, which had bought the Rangpur franchise in December 2012, will join 11 new enterprises that submitted their expression of interest (EOI) on August 17. The next step for the BPL governing council will be to send a letter to the 12 interested parties by September 1, asking them to pay Tk 5.5 crore (approx USD 700,000).The money will be divided into a pay order worth Tk 1 crore while the remaining Tk 4.5 crore will be a bank guarantee for player payment. There have been claims of players not getting their earnings on time in previous editions of the BPL and the BCB feels this arrangement keeps all parties well-looked after.”Among the old franchises, Rangpur have cleared their due amount,” Hassan said. “So now we are taking 12 enterprises under consideration for new franchise ownership. We will give them a letter on August 30 or September 1 to deposit to us Tk 1 crore (approx USD 100,000) as pay order and Tk 4.5 crore (USD 600,000) as bank guarantee, a total of Tk 5.5 crore.”The bank guarantee amount is for players’ payment. There won’t be any more risk if we take the Tk 5.5 crore, both with local and foreign players. There won’t be problem similar to the last two editions.”Hassan hinted that there might be eight teams in the BPL in 2015. He also added that paying the money would not guarantee a franchise. The new owners must show they are dedicated to the sport, and are not just looking at the BPL as “a business venture””We will scrutinise the offers,” Hassan said. “It won’t just be about paying the money. If the older ones pay us, the list will be bigger than the 12 existing applicants. This time we will not consider any company who are eyeing up a business venture at the BPL.”We will keep those companies that have strong financial background, are interested in sports, have spent money in different tournaments in the past and are interested in financing for the sake of cricket. We might increase the number of teams if we see some sound investors are coming forward.”The BPL governing council are not ruling out the possibility of more old franchises meeting their dues and joining the new applicants.”We will wait till August 27 for the old franchises to pay their past dues,” Hassan said. “Right now, I don’t want to hear the names of those old franchises who didn’t pay us previous dues. I don’t know if it would be ethical to reconsider old franchises, but past dues will go against them. But since we are taking bank guarantee on players payment, there is no risk involved. In that case what happened in the past may not get priority.”Five companies are still to pay Tk 36.81 crore (approx USD 4.7 million). The Sylhet franchise have almost Tk 8 crore (approx USD 1.02 million), Barisal Tk 6.5 crore (approx USD 835,500), Khulna around Tk 8.19 crore (approx USD 1.05 million), Rajshahi Tk 6.09 crore (approx USD 780,000) and Chittagong Tk 7.45 crore (approx USD 957,500). There may be discrepancies of 100,000 to 200,000 taka in these figures but this is what we have in our records.”These due amounts include player payments and everything else they owe us,” Hassan said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRangana Herath bowled Sri Lanka back into the dominant position achieved by Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal’s double-century stand and squandered somewhat by a collapse that cost them their last seven wickets for 59 runs. At the end of an action-packed second day, West Indies were 66 for 2, trailing Sri Lanka by 418 runs.The quick demolition of Sri Lanka’s lower order raised West Indies’ spirits when they came out to bat, and the openers got off to a solid start against the quicks, with three fours coming off the second over, bowled by a Nuwan Pradeep erring generously on the full side. But Herath, introduced as early as the sixth over, pulled West Indies back down to earth with his ability to beat both edges.In his very first over, he had Kraigg Brathwaite adjudged lbw with one that turned sharply from leg to off, only for Hawkeye to rule the ball had pitched marginally outside leg stump. In his next over he sent down the arm ball, which snaked past the inside edge of Brathwaite’s defensive bat and rapped into his front pad. This time the batsman didn’t even review.Shai Hope was next to go, bowled by a beauty. The opener came half-forward in defence, inward drift causing him to open up, and the ball turned past his outside edge to clip off stump.Herath caused Darren Bravo problems as well, beating his outside edge on a couple of occasions and causing him to inside-edge sharply turning deliveries close to short leg. Bravo survived the testing spell in the company of Marlon Samuels, but both of them will have to come out and begin all over again on the third morning.The day began with Chandimal and Karunaratne extending their overnight stand to 238 – the highest by any third-wicket pair in Galle – after which Chandimal added a further 86 with Angelo Mathews. Sri Lanka were 425 for 3, and a 500-plus total looked like a formality. Their sights, perhaps, were set on 600, but they only managed 484.The slide began with tea around the corner, when Chandimal slapped Jerome Taylor straight to cover, against the run of play. In his next over, Taylor straightened one from around the wicket to produce an edge from the debutant Milinda Siriwardana.First ball after tea, Mathews was back in the dressing room. Jason Holder banged one in short, and Mathews, getting into an awkward position while trying to fend the ball into the leg side, popped back a simple return catch. Devendra Bishoo then sent back Dhammika Prasad and Rangana Herath off successive deliveries, before Kusal Perera, looking for quick runs, played on to Shannon Gabriel. The final wicket fell to Bishoo, who finished with four wickets as Nuwan Pradeep miscued a slog to deep midwicket.The tumble of wickets must have left West Indies wondering how good their position might have been had they held their catches. On day one, with Chandimal on 11, Taylor had put down a relatively straightforward chance while backtracking from mid-on. In the tenth over of the second morning, Chandimal cut Shannon Gabriel to backward point, where Jermaine Blackwood spilled the ball after getting both hands to the overhead chance. Chandimal was on 82 at that point.Bishoo had struggled on a slow pitch, the batsmen easily negotiating his legspin off the back foot, often making length balls look like short balls. In the third over after lunch, he managed to draw Mathews forward and find his edge, only for Jason Holder to put him down at slip.Later, Hope dropped Prasad at backward point, taking West Indies’ total of spilled chances to five, including Bravo letting off Lahiru Thirimanne on the first day.Coming in to bat at 339 for 3 – it was the first time since August 2014 that he had walked in with Sri Lanka’s score past 200 – gave Mathews license to play his shots. He hit two fours off Bishoo in the first over after tea – admittedly off bad balls – and continued going after the spinners after Holder dropped him. He pulled Bishoo for another four, ran down the pitch to Marlon Samuels to launch him over wide long-on, and scored his runs at a strike rate of above 100 until he reached 32.Chandimal was a little more sedate at the other end, but got enough scoring opportunities, with Kemar Roach and Taylor both feeding his favourite square-cut, and the latter shot getting him to 150.In the morning session, Samuels dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne 14 short of a double-hundred. The wicket was a result of the slowness of the pitch, which Karunaratne had dealt with expertly till then, picking the right lengths to drive and even then refusing to go hard at the ball. For once he jabbed at the ball, a short one from Samuels that stopped on him, and ended up lobbing a return catch to the offspinner.Till then a double-hundred had seemed inevitable. The ball was only 10 overs old at start of play, but there was little of the seam movement that had been in evidence on the first morning. The runs came at a good clip, with Karunaratne pulling Taylor to the square leg boundary in the fifth over of the morning before driving him through mid-off for another four to bring up his 150.At the other end Kemar Roach, bowling without either the seam movement or the pace he generated on the first day, conceded two fours in two overs to Chandimal. Taylor and Roach went out of the attack, and Gabriel, who replaced Roach, saw an edge from Karunaratne fly through the vacant slip area before Blackwood put down Chandimal. In his next over, Gabriel produced the only other moment of discomfort for a Sri Lankan batsman in the session when he straightened one past Chandimal’s edge.Chandimal was not unduly deterred. Following Bishoo’s introduction, he stepped down the track and whipped him away wide of mid-on, and in the next over flat-batted Gabriel over extra cover to bring up his hundred. It was his second in a row at the venue, after his match-turning 162* against India two months ago.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:42

Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe to create history

Afghanistan secured a historic 3-2 series win over Zimbabwe, the first in ODIs by an Associate against a Full Member, with a massive 73-run victory in the fifth ODI in Bulawayo. In a strong all-round performance, Afghanistan set the hosts a target of 246 with fifties from Noor Ali Zadran and Mohammad Nabi, and weathered a fighting hundred from Sean Williams to bowl Zimbabwe out for 172 in 44.1 overs.Even though Afghanistan’s middle order did not capitalise on the strong start provided by their top four batsmen, their bowlers, led by Dawlat Zadran, did not allow Zimbabwe to build partnerships at any point during their innings, striking as early as the second over to quickly derail Zimbabwe’s chase.Dawlat was once again penetrative with both the new and old ball, finishing with 4 for 22 from his eight overs, while left-arm spinner Amir Hamza strangled them further with his 3 for 41. Williams’ maiden ODI hundred went in vain as he was the only fighting force from his team and was the last wicket to fall. The next best contribution was 16 from No. 9 Luke Jongwe and only three batsmen reached double-figures for Zimbabwe.Dawlat, who shared the Man-of-the-Match award with Williams, struck with his very first delivery of the match to have opener Chamu Chibhabha caught at point. Craig Ervine did not last long, feathering an edge through to Mohammad Shahzad off Mirwais Ashraf, and when an advancing Richmond Mutumbami was bowled by Dawlat, Zimbabwe were a ragged mess at 15 for 3. Tino Mutombodzi’s first shot in anger, off Hamza, produced only an edge that flew to Nabi at slip, and it quickly seemed as though Williams would be playing a lone hand.He attempted to mount a counterattack, swiping Nabi for a pair of handsome sixes over long on, but when Sikandar Raza attempted to repeat the treatment from the other end, he was immediately stumped and Zimbabwe slipped to 51 for 5 in the 15th over. With fielders circling the bat menacingly and the spinner finding increasing purchase off the track, Elton Chigumbura was rendered virtually shotless, but Williams continued to take the attack to the bowlers, cracking two more sixes off Najibullah Zadran’s part-time offspin and reaching a 62-ball fifty in the 24th over.Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai used his young legspinner Rashid Khan cunningly, repeatedly switching the end he would bowl from as he searched for the wicket that would break the back of the chase. He got it when Rashid, bowling from the City End, produced the delivery of the day to get rid of Chigumbura, the ball drifting in through the air, drawing the bat with it, and then pitching and spinning the other way to clip off stump. Zimbabwe were 103 for 6 then, in the 26th over and Afghanistan were buzzing with anticipation.They were kept waiting by Tendai Chisoro, who dug in at one end, but with the required rate climbing swiftly, the pressure eventually told and Chisoro lifted Hamza straight to Najibullah at long on. It seemed that Williams and the rest of the side were batting on different pitches as he cruised through the 90s while the rest of the side had struggled, and he had moved to 99 when Jongwe’s entertaining cameo, which included a reverse sweep off a quick delivery from Dawlat, was ended when the bowler pegged back his off stump with a yorker.Zimbabwe moved to 167 for 8 with the single that took Williams to his century in the 43rd over, but with Dawlat now reversing the old ball at will, it was clear that Zimbabwe’s tail could not last long. Dawlat knocked back both the off and middle stumps with a bulls-eye yorker to get rid of Wellington Masakadza, and the No.11 Tinashe Panyagara was only just able to survive the final two deliveries of that over, both of which swung in to the blockhole.With virtually nothing left to play for, Williams charged down at Rashid in the next over and swung past the ball to be stumped for 102, his dismissal sparking feverish celebrations. Shahzad began ripping out the stumps at the striker’s end, throwing one each to the fielders on either side of him and keeping one for himself as a memento of a historic victory.Afghanistan got there easily in the end, but they had been made to work much harder with the bat when a middle-order collapse threatened to undo the good work of their top three, the visitors slipping from 160 for 2 to 202 for 7.Shahzad had roared out of the blocks with a flurry of boundaries in the morning, and Afghanistan were racing along at better than seven an over before he pulled a long hop from Masakadza out to the deep midwicket fielder. But Nabi and Noor Ali kept Afghanistan steady with a 97-run stand for the second wicket, the highest of the match, and Noor Ali registered his third half-century of the series. His patient knock was ended when he misread the length of a quicker one from Raza to be bowled for 54, and at that stage Afghanistan were still a relatively healthy 132 for 2 in the 28th over.Nabi brought up his own half-century and had taken his series tally to 223 runs before he too was dismissed by Raza, reverse-sweeping into the hands of backward point. Zimbabwe clawed their way back into the ascendancy with some disciplined bowling and pressure-building fielding, and picked up the wickets of Samiullah Shenwari, Najibullah, Shafiqullah and Rashid for single figures.But Afghanistan are not usually the sort of team to subside meekly – or at least not without playing their shots as they go – and the No.9 Ashraf struck two enormous sixes as he and Stanikzai put on 27 in under three overs. Afghanistan swung merrily through the final few overs to set what was thought to be a decent total. After their inspired performance in the field, it was more than enough to secure a victory that sparked emotional celebrations both by the players on the field, and by their many fans back home.

North choked at the death to throw away a game they should have wonwith ease at the CPT ground in Chennai on the final day of theCricInfo Rani Jhansi tournament today. Replying to South Zone’s totalof 164/9, North fell agonisingly short by one run, at 163/6. Thenumber of wickets in hand tells the tale of how North failed to forcethe pace in the final overs. A magnificent 88 run third wicketpartnership between Rajini Bhalla (56 not out) and Gurdeep Kaur (44)took North to 137/2 in the 42nd over.The stand was broken in the only possible way that it looked likehappening, a run out, and two more wickets fell cheaply. But withcaptain Rajini Bhalla around at the crease, North were still thefavourites until the very end. Eight were needed from the last twoovers and four from the last. Seema Wadhwa just could not get the ballaway in the final over bowled by Mamtha. Two runs were needed from thelast ball and Seema was bowled to give South a consolation victory andNorth a most inconsolable loss. Mamtha had done the trick for Southwith a spot on last over and finished with figures of 10-3-21-3.Raakhee Mehra and Jaya Sharma had given North the ideal start with a49 run stand in just under 18 overs. Both were dismissed at the samescore, the latter trapped leg before by Mamtha, and the former beingpointlessly run out. Rajini and Gurdeep made the task look easy asthey kept the scoreboard moving relentlessly for the next 23 odd overswith some clean hitting, some deflections and some edges. The bowlingheld no terror as the two never looked remotely in trouble. Howeverboth began to tire towards the end, easing up in their running betweenthe wickets so much so that a run out looked a distinctpossibility. After Gurdeep had obliged South, Gulshan Sharma playedout a maiden from Mamtha in the 44th over to pile the pressure onNorth. Yesterday North had mocked at an asking rate of 54 runs in 60balls to take out Central but today they baulked at a much simplerproposition. There was a funereal atmosphere in the North camp afterthe match and as their coach launched into a tirade against them youreally felt sorry for these girls who had played their heart out forthe greatest part of the contest. Cricket can be a very unforgivinggame.Earlier a 75 run third wicket partnership between Sudha Rani andHarsha had helped South recover from the perilous depths of 17/3 butNorth hit back towards the end to peg their target down to 165. Acombination of some poor running between the wickets and some inspiredbowling by Vandna Gupta and Anjuman Bassi cost South dearly. Southcame into the match with a day’s rest behind them and elected to batafter winning the toss against a rejuvenated North side playing thesame eleven that beat Central yesterday. Vanita Viola cover droveVandna Gupta to the boundary in the very first over. A no ball wascalled in Vandna’s second over for illegally employing three fieldersbehind the popping crease on the leg side. Asha Jain at the other endwas bowling to an unusual 7-2 field and in the 4th over of the day,Manjula patted a halfvolley straight back to her to fall for a duck.Vanita continued in her aggressive vein, driving Vandna through midoff for four but South lost their second wicket when Karuna Jainplayed to square leg and set off furiously without any response fromthe other end. She was comfortably run out by a Gulshan throw. Therewas more hara-kiri to follow when Vanita was also run out by JayaSharma in the covers to leave South in an unflattering position. Sudhaand Harsha now came together in a rescue act, playing with a lot ofresponsibility. They did take a few risks though, especially to Asha,with the great open spaces on the leg side being too tempting. The12th over produced 11 runs as both batswomen took toll of the vacantdeep midwicket region. Vandna Gupta was bowling a magnificent rundenying length and produced three consecutive maidens at one stage toreally tighten the screws on the scoring. The 50 came up with a coupleto deep point in the 19th over as Vandna finished her ten overs on thetrot with figures of 10-4-16-0.Seema Wadhwa’s first over produced ten runs as Harsha, after a periodof relative quiet, drove one furiously past the bowler to the fence asshe gingerly put out a hand to stop it. Seema had to endure threeconsecutive misfields in her next over, including a dreadful one byAnjuman at deep midwicket for four. But her luck finally turned whenHarsha lobbed one gently into the hands of square leg for 31. Sudhaseemed to be unperturbed as she took 11 runs in the next over byReema, mostly coming through sweeps and pulls on the leg side andbringing up the 100 of the innings in the process in the 31stover. But in the next over by Seema, Sudha played a couple ofhorrendous premeditated heaves across the line and only managed toconnect thin air. Off the first she survived a stumping appeal but thesecond time she got a nick to the keeper, Gurdeep Kaur. Having made48, she should really have been looking to push the ball away for asingle or two to a field that was pretty deep.The score was now 107/5 and Kamakshi also ran herself out shortlyafter, when the non striker, Amsavalli, clung like a limpet to thecrease. Anjuman came back for a splendid second spell of three overswithout conceding a run, in the course of which she also snaredAmsavalli, stumped as she played forward and missed. Her back foot wasreckoned to be just out of the crease. The South lower order managedto accumulate a few useful runs in the later overs and moreimportantly play out their entire quota. Seema Wadhwa was the mostrewarded bowler, with figures of 2-42.

After considerable overnight rain and a number of inspections, no play was possible at Allan Border FieldQueensland team: (from)
*SG Law, JP Maher, TJ Dixon, ML Love, A Symonds, GI Foley, +WA Seccombe, AJ Bichel, AC Dale, SA Muller, JH Dawes, MA Anderson.South Australia team: (from)
*DS Lehmann, SA Deitz, DA Fitzgerald, BA Johnson, JM Vaughan, DJ Harris, BE Young, +GA Manou, JN Gillespie, P Wilson, BA Swain, PE McIntyre.