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Barney Rogers cracked an unbeaten century, his second in first-class cricket, as Matabeleland recovered from a first-ball wicket to get on top of the situation on the first day of their Logan Cup match against Mashonaland at Queens Sports Club on Friday.Coming in at number three, Rogers finished with 133 runs to his name as Matabeleland, who lost the loss and were sent in to bat, closed the first day with 391 for the loss of six wickets from 98 overs.New Mashonaland captain Tatenda Taibu, probably trying to flex his muscles, tried in vain to have the start of the match delayed as slight drizzle started falling but he did not succeed.If Taibu’s move was meant to frustrate the batsmen, then it worked out as Matabeleland’s opening partnership of Charles Coventry and Mark Vermeulen did not last. Coventry was back in the pavilion for a firstball duck when he was dismissed by Douglas Hondo. The delivery was outside the off stump and Coventry would have been wise to leave it. Instead he lunged at the ball and Grant Flower was there at gully to take the catch. Matabeleland were one down with no runs on the board.Gavin Rennie joined Vermeulen and the runs started ticking along, with Rennie getting most of them. The usually hard-hitting Vermeulen was cautious with his strokes and took 14 balls to get off the mark, but when he did, he was on fire.The proceedings were eventually disrupted as the drizzle grew worse with play only resuming after nine minutes.Vermeulen and Rennie put on 99 runs for the second wicket before Vermeulen was dismissed by Waddington Mwayenga, caught behind by Taibu for 44 runs which came off 54 balls.The left handed pair of Rogers and Rennie restored the innings with Rennie getting his half-century from 72 balls, hitting nine fours after staying at the crease for 100 minutes. Mashonaland made a change to their bowling, bringing on veteran Craig Evans and the move worked out as he went on to dismiss Rennie for 71, having him caught by Dion Ebrahim.Rogers got his half-century after for 75 minutes at the crease, facing 54deliveries and smashing ten fours. His partnership with Andre Hoffman yielded 49 runs before Hoffman, who looked on his way to a big score, was run out for 17 runs with Trevor Gripper throwing in the ball for Taibu to finish off the dismissal.Captain Heath Streak joined in the hunt for the runs but he tended to be on the defensive most of the times, especially against young off-spinner Prosper Utseya.After 193 minutes at the crease, dispatching 19 fours and facing 150 balls, Rogers finally reached the century mark. He did it in style, hitting two consecutive fours from left arm spinner Grant Flower.Amos Maungwa grabbed his first wicket when he dismissed Streak, having him caught at gully by Grant Flower for 40, which came off 102 balls.Gavin Ewing, who grabbed a double-century against Midlands last week, came in and settled immediately, dispatching two boundaries off Grant Flower. He went on to get his half-century after facing 52 balls, hitting ten fours and a six.Utseya got his first wicket when he had Ewing given out leg before wicket for 68 runs which came off 75 balls with 13 fours and a six. Mluleki Nkala was the new man in but he was yet to open his account after facing up to four balls.Taibu used eight bowlers but none of them managed to offer any solution with Hondo, Evans, Utseya and Maungwa grabbing one wicket apiece but their figures were not impressive. The Mashonaland fielding was also disappointing.

Shoaib Akhtar has said the ghosts of Pakistan’s recent loss against India have been laid to rest and promised a barnstorming return in the Asia Cup. “I am always there to play for my country and have left all that happened in the India series behind me,” Shoaib told AFP after arriving in Pakistan from England.Shoaib, who has been in and out of cricket because of niggling injuries, cut short a stint with Durham to join the Pakistan team’s training camp at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. “The last two months were full of mental stress but through the well-wishes of my family, fans and supporters I have overcome all the problems,” said Akhtar, who earlier claimed he was not mentally ready to play. “I am duty-bound to play for my country but it was a tough decision after all the mental stress I had to go through.”Shoaib sustained a rib-cage injury during the final Test against India at Rawalpindi, but doubts arose about the severity of the injury when he played in England soon after. “I was really hurt, my integrity and commitment to the team and country was questioned but it was proved in tests in England that I was injured. I have never been short on commitment and will prove this in the coming Asia Cup. People alleged that I play county for money but I am returning home for national duty and do not care about financial losses.”Bob Woolmer, the newly-appointed coach of the Pakistan team, played a vital role in brokering an uneasy peace between Shoaib and the PCB, but he has warned that there would be no special treatment for Shoaib. “There is no secret that Akhtar has a difference of opinion with the PCB but if Akhtar wants to play for Pakistan he has to be here and join the bus. That is the bottom line.”

West Australian Brad Hogg doesn’t believe the surplus of left-handers in the West Indies squad will help his chances of ending his six-year exile from Tests when the Caribbean series begins in Georgetown on Thursday.Hogg has come into contention after taking nine wickets in Australia’s tour-opening match against the Guyana Board President’s XI, placing him within reach of his first Test cap since October 1996.His left-arm wrist spin will turn away from the left-handers, including Windies captain Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Wavell Hinds, and that could be important for the Australians.But Hogg doesn’t expect that to assist him as Australian selectors decide whether to take two spinners or choose between Hogg and Stuart MacGill for the Test at the Bourda ground.”There’s been no indication,” Hogg said.”Obviously Stuey has been a quality bowler over the last decade when he’s had the opportunity and I wouldn’t be surprised if he does get the nod but that’s out of our control.”Whatever situation you’re put in, whether you’re 12th man, 15th man or playing you’ve still got a job to do in a touring party.”I’m just looking forward to the opportunity of being around these guys and it’s a great bunch of quality blokes and it’s been a great team.”Andrew Bichel, MacGill and Hogg seem likely to fight for the final two bowling spots with pacemen Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee certain to play.The Australians will enter the series as firm favourites, with the Windies battling more internal problems with sacked captain Carl Hooper withdrawing from the 14-man squad.Both squads trained on Tuesday, with Windies selectors yet to announce the team which they hope can regain the Frank Worrell Trophy.

One of England’s bowling heroes, Andy Caddick, told how Australia had panicked on the evening of the first day of the Third npower Test at Trent Bridge.Caddick, who took three wickets in 11 balls as Australia collapsed to 105-7 in reply to the home side’s 185 all out, believes that Australia have now lost their aura of invincibility and shown that they are as vulnerable as any other side to quality fast bowling.”I am sure they may have just panicked in the dressing room,” Caddick said.”It just shows you that Australia are good players, but if you get stuck into them and get on top of they do anything that a human would do, and that is panic,” he reasoned.But Caddick was taking nothing for granted, and stressed that England still had a huge amount of work to do before they secure the game, let alone the Ashes.”I would say we have put ourselves in a pretty good position. But I would not say at the moment we will win. There is a lot of cricket to be played still,” he admitted.”The Australians are a very professional side and a talented one. They have some key players capable of doing the business for them in the second innings.”He pointed to the wickets of the Waugh brothers as the key moments of the day, but credited Adam Gilchrist, the not out batsman, as a pivotal figure in the morning”The key two wickets today were Steve and Mark Waugh,” Caddick revealed. “But the key thing tomorrow is to make sure Gilchrist does not get away from us.”The main thing is to ensure that the good 15 minutes we had tonight we finish off tomorrow morning. We will just plod on and stick to the basics and hope we can come out on top.”And Caddick could not help poking fun at Australian coach, John Buchanan’s much-publicised ‘Sun Tzu’ memo.”We will not be bringing any Chinamen into the dressing room, and I don’t suppose they will be either,” he joked. “We will just carry on putting it in the right places, and it is up to them to respond. They have not done that so far.”Meanwhile, opposite number Glenn McGrath – who had earlier earned Australia the initiative with 5-49 accepted that England had struck back in the final session.”They had a very good session there, and we had a very bad one,” he conceded. “But I hope we can bounce back and turn the tables again.”I am sure there will be a little bit of disappointment, but you have to give credit to England’s bowlers. They bowled well and got it in the right places.”Today they got the edges and held their catches, so we have a good game of cricket on our hands.”But McGrath insisted that his role in the match was far from over: “I haven’t got my first Test 50 yet,” he warned.But more seriously he revealed his confidence with the ball, pinpointing Michael Atherton for special attention in the second innings.”I have a lot of confidence, particularly bowling at Atherton,” he said. “I’ve picked him out 16 times now. My confidence is up and he’s always wary of me.”It’s not an ideal Test wicket but there’s a fair bit in it for the bowlers.”

Former New Zealand wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk, who played nine Tests for his adopted home, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He will return to South Africa, his country of birth, to take up the role of Director of Cricket at the University of Pretoria’s TuksCricket Academy.”While it always a tough decision, I feel the time is right to take on an opportunity outside of playing the game, working as Director of Cricket at Pretoria’s TuksCricket Academy,” said the 35-year-old van Wyk.”I’m extremely privileged to have lived my dream as a professional cricketer for the past 17 years and I would like to thank my family and friends for all their love and support during this chapter. My proudest moment was representing New Zealand at Test level, and I’m eternally grateful and indebted to New Zealand for the opportunity it has provided me and my family.”Having played first-class cricket in South Africa since the 2000-01 season, Van Wyk moved to New Zealand in 2006. He earned a call-up to the national side in 2012, and made his Test debut against South Africa in 2012. He played nine Tests, scoring 341 runs at an average of 21.31, with one half-century, a 71 against India in Bangalore in 2012.Van Wyk represented Northerns and Titans in South African domestic cricket, and Canterbury and Central Districts in New Zealand.

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Neisha Pratt, the Hong Kong captain, almost single-handedly subjected hostsMalaysia to a 114-run trouncing at the Johor Cricket Academy in the opening match of the ACC women’s tournament.Pratt made a thumping, chanceless 71 off 77 deliveries as Hong Kongpiled on 143 runs off their allotted 30 overs. In reply, Malaysia couldonly muster a mere 29, that too off 29.5 overs.The hosts almost seemed to be playing for a draw. Opening batsman Emylia Eliani took36 deliveries for her 5 runs – but that was better than Norlida Hamid, whowas out without scoring after 45 deliveries. The crowd waited patiently while 30deliveries were played back to the bowler, and were put out of theirmisery when Kaori Iida clipped her Hamid’s off-stump.Few runs came off the bat for Malaysia, with 14 of the 29 runs coming in extras. Pratt shone with the ball too, capping the day with ahaul of four wickets.Pratt’s innings of 71 contained three boundaries and a couple of sixes.She played some powerful strokes, hitting on the up and it was only theintroduction of the slower bowlers that curtailed her run-scoring.The margin of victory could have been higher for Hong Kong, who were at86 for 1 at one stage – with Pratt going strong – and looking likely tosail past their pre-match target of 150. However, they managed only 57in the last 15 overs, the batsmen tied down by disciplined bowling.The bowlers though did benefit from umpires being lenient on a number ofdeliveries that went down the leg side.

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North

Michael Lumb out-shone Andrew Flintoff in the big-hitting stakes as Yorkshire stormed to a seven-wicket win against Lancashire, at Headingley, and secured a place in the quarter-finals as one of the ‘lucky’ third place teams. Lumb’s 49-ball 84 included 13 fours and three sixes as Yorkshire raced home with more than six overs to spare. Earlier, Flintoff had hit 47 off 28 balls but Richard Dawson and Darren Lehmann pulled the innings back with some tight spin bowling.Leicestershire finished top of the group after an overwhelming 79-run win over Durham at Chester-le-Street. HD Ackerman led the way with a composed, unbeaten 87 balls and Durham, who had nothing to play for and put out a weakened side, were never in the hunt after falling to 21 for 5 and just batted out their overs.Nottinghamshire also gained a home draw in the quarter-finals after powering past Derbyshire by nine wickets at Trent Bridge. Stephen Fleming and Samit Patel added 111 for the second wicket as the Derbyshire total was made to look fairly paltry. Michael di Venuto had top-scored for the visitors but in the end Nottinghamshire easily maintained their 100 percent home record.

Midlands/Wales/West

After appearing one of the form sides early in the qualifying stages, Glamorgan failed to progress after a 13-run defeat against the already dethroned champions, Somerset, at Taunton. David Hemp gave them a chance with a 36-ball 74 but the chase fell away from 143 for 2 after 13 overs. Justin Langer had continued his prolific Twenty20 season with a 39-ball 78 as Somerset passed 200 but it was an all to rare consistent showing from their batsmen.Northamptonshire’s upturn in fortunes continued as they confirmed their place in the next stage with an eight-wicket win against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Rob White and David Sales did most of the blasting, hitting nine sixes between them as Northants eased home with 14 balls to spare. It would have been an even more comfortable victory had it not been for Mark Hardinges’ unbeaten 94, which held a flimsy Gloucestershire effort together.Warwickshire missed out the quarter-finals on run rate despite an impressive 11-run win against local rivals Worcestershire at Worcester. Alex Loudon was the star as he took 4 for 20 with some intelligent offspin, meaning that Vikram Solanki’s 90 wasn’t enough. Nick Knight and Jonathan Trott had formed the backbone of Warwickshire’s innings but they were beaten to the final berth in the next round by Yorkshire from the North group.

South

Ronnie Irani played a true captain’s innings to confirm Essex’s place in the quarter-finals and earn them a home tie with a last-ball, four wicket win against Sussex who were edged out of the competition at Hove. Irani left it late, but timed his innings to perfection by pulling Yasir Arafat for four to win the match and bring up his century off 61 balls. Matt Prior hit Sussex’s highest individual score in Twenty20 cricket, but his 73 proved in vein.Both teams were winners at Canterbury as Surrey took the spoils on the night, gaining a quarter-final berth, while Kent also progressed as one of the best third placed teams. Surrey’s batsmen were at their destructive best, especially James Benning and Ali Brown who added 112 in 9.5 overs for the first wicket. The middle order all exploded and Kent’s chase was in a hopeless position after they lost their first four wickets for 43 inside five overs.Middlesex gave their Twenty20 campaign some cheer with a nine-wicket win against Hampshire at Southgate but it wasn’t a match to capture the imagination of the public. Hampshire’s dismal batting effort produced just 111 in as Johann Louw grabbed a four-wicket haul, then Paul Weekes and Nick Compton knocked off most of the target.Quarter-final drawTies to be played Monday July 24Essex v Yorkshire at Chelmsford
Leicestershire v Kent at Grace Road
Gloucestershire v Surrey at Bristol
Nottinghamshire v Northamptonshire at Trent Bridge

Sachin Tendulkar has been named in a 15-man Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia. Mohammad Kaif and Murali Kartik also got the call in a squad that only had room for three fast bowlers. The squad is to meet up in Bangalore on October 4, two days ahead of the first Test. Sourav Ganguly has been confirmed as captain for the whole series.Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar are the fast bowlers selected, while Ashish Nehra, who has recently had trouble with his ankle, was left out. The new selection panel also discussed the names of Dheeraj Jadhav, Venugopal Rao and Sridharan Sriram.The team was picked towards the end of the India Seniors v India A match in Bangalore. John Wright, who watched the Seniors win after India A had dominated the first three days, said: “It was good preparation. Especially today with Sehwag and Yuvraj getting time in the middle and scoring big hundreds. After all the one-day cricket we’ve played recently we needed this – a good, hard four-day game. What was especially pleasing was the players on the fringe also answered some questions – guys like Jadhav, Kaif and Sriram. In that sense it was a valuable four days. Ultimately the Seniors won the game. They came back under pressure to win the game. But it was good to see we have real depth and quality in the India A side.”When asked about India’s recent one-day slump, Wright was hopeful things would turn around in the Tests. “Now we’re back to Test cricket, and to be honest we’ve played some very good Test cricket over the last two series. Sometimes it is difficult to get momentum going in one-dayers, and most of the boys are really looking forward to getting into Test mode. I’ve never had any doubts about this side. I’ve always had huge trust and enormous belief in their ability.”The squad includes Aakash Chopra and Yuvraj Singh, but Wright was non-committal when asked who would open the batting with Virender Sehwag. However, he hinted that it could be Chopra: “We’ve had two boys who’ve done a very good job for us against Australia in Australia and also in Pakistan”Wright was happy with the balance of the bowling attack. “We’ve certainly got enough variation in there. The players enjoy bowling in Indian conditions, which tend to suit them a bit more,” he said, before explaining why Ajit Agarkar got the call ahead of Nehra. “Ashish [Nehra] has done outstandingly well in one-dayers, but the fact that Ajit [Agarkar] has such a good record against Australia went in his favour.”The Australians have made no secret of their respect for this Indian team, and Wright returned the compliment. “We respect Australia, but we must be the only side to have a win and a draw in our last two series against them. I have no doubt that they will be hungry, because they haven’t won here in such a long time.”Squad
Aakash Chopra, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel (wk), Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Murali Kartik.

Brian Lara, only seven weeks after smashing the world Test batting record, has promised to resign as captain if West Indies do not beat lowly Bangladesh in the second Test at Sabina Park, starting today.”If we don’t win,” Lara announced at a pre-Test news conference, “then I don’t think I’m going to lead the team to England. If we don’t beat Bangladesh in five good days of cricket in Jamaica, I think we need another leader.”Lara was urged by many in his homeland to give up the job during West Indies’ recent 3-0 thrashing by England. He appeared to have fought off his critics with his brilliant and unprecedented 400 not out in the fourth Test of that series.Now, after trailing Bangladesh on the first innings on the way to a scratchy draw in St Lucia, his leadership is again under intense scrutiny. Even a draw in the second and last Test, it seems, will not save him.His former coach Bryan Davis, the West Indian Test opener of the 1960s, criticised the timing of his threat to quit. “Lara must shoulder some of the burden for the poor showing of the team but I don’t think he should have spoken out at this time,” said Davis. “The timing of the decision is poor.”While I understand how Lara feels, I can’t agree with his statement at this time. I feel it is premature. Certainly to say this before the match is not good. A statement like that is putting a lot of pressure on himself and his team.”Lara has lost nine, drawn six and won only two Tests since beginning his second stint as West Indies captain a year ago. His overall record is almost as dismal: 19 defeats, nine victories, seven draws. But if his leadership has not inspired his troops it has at least had an uplifting effect on his own batting. In 35 Tests as captain he has hit 10 hundreds and averages 61.72.Lara is hopeful the bouncier Sabina Park track will suit his team, although he did make a point of offering the following cautionary advice to his four-man pace attack.”I hope what they don’t do is think that because it’s quick and bouncy we need to intimidate the Bangladeshi batsmen,” said Lara. “We are going to get the bounce and the pace out of it. We just need to bowl the right line and length.”Fail to do that and the repercussions for Caribbean cricket scarcely bear thinking about.

Pakistan’s 2003 World Cup campaign has come to a challenging pass, which may seem virtually impossible. They need to beat Zimbabwe here at Queen’s Sports Club in Bulawayo tomorrow, but just a win would not be enough. They must meet exceptionally stiff targets whether they bat first or second.There are so many permutations that the match could be called a statistician’s dream and the nightmare for any cricket fan, let alone Pakistan supporters.On sheer ability, the target is not an unrealistic one for Pakistan, although one has to concede that it falls in the realm of a super-human effort. That is the optimistic view. The flip side is rather stark, and judging by Pakistan’s performances so far, they would be catching a plane home next morning.Zimbabwe is one of the weaker outfits in this World Cup, and the fact that the country and the team has suffered because of its political problems and resulting isolation, has had a bearing on the morale and unity of Heath Streak’s team.Pakistan did not do themselves justice against the much weaker Namibia and Netherlands. Had they scored 300-plus against these two minnows, which Zimbabwe did, their net run-rate would have been far superior to what it is now, and their present predicament much lighter.But that is water under the bridge. Pakistan need to lift themselves, and each member of the eleven needs to play out of his skin. In three of five outings in their recent series in Zimbabwe, Pakistan scored well over 300. They need to repeat it.Coach Richard Pybus has promised that the boys would go flat out, but it is difficult following the gut-wrenching defeat by India, after which a pall of gloom has descended over the team. But Pybus said: “They’ve pulled themselves up after that loss, and they’re aware that they can still make it if they play flat out.”So Pakistan need one big final effort. Though the Australian batting must have given them quite a fright (the entire Pakistan team watched the Sunday match on television and there was visible relief at the outcome), the Aussies in the end gave them a lifeline with their narrow win over England.Beggars cannot be choosers. When you leave your fate in the hands of others, you live at their mercy. And Pakistan must blame their pathetic bowling against India, and lack of application in other games, especially the less important ones against the two bottom-ranked outfits.The Queen’s Sports Club wicket is slow-paced, and if Pakistan win the toss, it would give an opportunity to their batsmen to go after the Zimbabwe attack, which only has a couple of good performers with the ball, captain Heath Streak among them.Zimbabwe will be happy with the return from injury of all-rounder Grant Flower,who along with brother Andy is a world-class performer. Grant missed the game against Holland because of a finger injury, and neither opener Mark Vermeulen or all-rounder Doug Marillier would make up for him. Henry Olonga may still notfind a place in the side, as his replacement Andy Blignaut has blasted runs in quick time.As for Pakistan, Pybus has hinted at a couple of changes, but refused to divulge what these would be.The toss will again be vital, but Pakistan has to make sure that if Waqar Younis loses on the spin of the coin, they still make a fist of it, with sharp and incisive bowling and then some big-hitting.The task is difficult in the extreme, but Pakistan know what is required to achieve a slot in the Super Sixes. If they play up to their potential, with self-belief and a can-do spirit, their comeback may just be achievable. Take a look at the permutations below.