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It is important that the performance of the Indian team in their ICCChampions Trophy opening game against Zimbabwe be viewed withsympathy. This was obviously a weary touring side – incessant cricketfor months in various lands followed by a long drawn out row overcontracts is enough to affect even the fittest of players. They thenhad to make a long trip from London to Mumbai, then on to Chennai andfinally to Colombo – a delayed flight on the last leg to boot.Consequently, there was no mistaking the fatigue of the team memberswho took the field against opponents who on the other hand were freshand had not played competitive cricket for some months.Zimbabwe have almost always been tough opposition for India. In thehead-to-head record, India are way ahead but what this simple factwill not convey is the numerous occasions on which the Indians havehad to sweat it out before securing victory. In sub-continentalconditions, the Indians’ superiority is much more marked and in normalcircumstances, India should have won with some deal of comfort. Butagainst the background I have already described, the narrow margin ofvictory perhaps was not surprising.The batting did not exactly cover itself with glory. If the recoverywas strong – 87 for five to a final total of 288 for six – questionsmight well be asked as to why there was a crisis in the first place.Some complacency, a few faulty shot selections and yes, a bit ofstaleness were evident.One may be tempted to say all is well that ends well. But there islittle doubt that the famed Indian batting will have to perform up toreputation in the game against England. It is not a healthydevelopment if there are to be retrieving partnerships for the sixthand seventh wickets every time.Rahul Dravid is perhaps enjoying the finest phase in his outstandingcareer. He is right now at a stage when little is going wrong for him.His timing and shot selection is impeccable and it matters littlewhether he is playing in the West Indies, England or Sri Lanka orwhether it is Test cricket or the limited overs game.

For that matter, Mohammad Kaif also seemed to be carrying on fromwhere he left off at Lord’s on that memorable day a couple of monthsago. The young man represents the new face of Indian cricket. I alwaysthought his style and approach and technique was more suited to Testcricket and while that view remains, the manner in which he hasadapted himself to the quicker tempo of the limited overs game hasbeen admirable. He has obviously worked hard on his game and it isabout time he is given the opportunity to cement his place in the Testside too.Unfortunately, the bowling problems remain, whether it is Test cricketor the shorter version. While the four main bowlers more or less didtheir job creditably, the problem lies with the ten overs to be sentdown by non-regular bowlers. In 12 overs on Saturday, Tendulkar,Ganguly and Yuvraj gave away 78 runs. With the team management firmlybent on playing seven batsmen, there is tremendous pressure on thefour bowlers to come good and if any of them fail, the back-upstrength just does not inspire confidence.But there is no need for the Indians to press any panic buttons evenif they are in the proverbial group of death. The victory overZimbabwe does not guarantee the runners-up of the 2000 tournament aplace in the semifinals. A crucial match against England remains to beplayed.Perhaps VVS Laxman can replace Dinesh Mongia and Ajit Agarkar can takeAshish Nehra’s place. That could strengthen the team even if it doesnot solve the problem of the lack of a fifth main bowler. But with thepolicy of playing seven batsmen firmly in place, there is very littlethat can be done in this regard except to hope that the main bowlersare niggardly and that the remaining ten overs are not very expensive.The Indians have a few days to work out the necessary tactics andthere is no doubt that the team members will welcome the rest andrelaxation. Somehow one senses the players will rise to the occasionagainst England.

THE Western Australian Cricket Association selectors have made one change to the Western Warriors team to play Tasmania in a Pura Cup match at the WACA Ground from December 8-11.Fast bowler Matthew Nicholson has been ruled out because of injury.All-rounder Kade Harvey will replace Nicholson in the Warriors 12.Harvey, 27, has played 11 Pura Cup/Sheffield Shield games.The Warriors team is:Jo Angel (captain), Murray Goodwin (vice-captain), Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Geoff Cullen, Kade Harvey, Scott Meuleman, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges and Paul Wilson.Nicholson, 28, injured ligaments in his right forearm while bowling during Friday night’s ING Cup limited-overs victory over Tasmania.The extent of his injury will be known following an examination by a specialist on Saturday morning.

• Sunday is Family Day at the Warriors opening day of the match against the Tigers. Loads of fun activities, including Bouncy Castle, Animal Farm, Fastball and Face Painting is on offer for the kids.

“The more I get to bowl, the more excited I get.”That’s New Zealand left-arm fast-medium bowler Shayne O’Connor’s summation of where he is at in his recovery from a debilitating knee injury.The 28-year-old is working out regularly at Dunedin’s Edgar Indoor Centre to get himself back into shape for what he hopes will be a season to make up for the last two injury-plagued years.”It seems to be going well,” he said of his knee.”The last two sessions of bowling have been as encouraging as any that I’ve ever had.”While not off his full run yet, he is building towards it.The injury, which was in his landing leg, was thought to have been a slight tear in his patella tendon which had become inflamed. However, surgery showed no tear.It was more of an over-use injury and because there was so little blood flowing through the tendon it was necessary to cut the tendon and create an injury to stimulate blood flow to help the recovery.”The good thing was that when they operated they found there was no dead tissue in my knee. Apparently that is what they have found when others have had knee problems,” he said.O’Connor’s injury stemmed from damage done while in Africa at the end of 2000. It involved four and a half months of continuous cricket – the perfect recipe for over-use injuries, especially when all the other members of the attack had fallen over beforehand.The time between then and now had proven very frustrating and there were times when he wondered whether he might get back.But then he countered that with how much more he wanted to achieve in cricket.”It did make me spare thoughts for guys like Geoff Allott, Dion Nash and Chris Cairns. You felt so sorry for them at times that you wondered why they didn’t just give up. But now I understand where they came from.”And giving up is not an option. You want to keep on.”Little setbacks also became much bigger than they actually were and O’Connor said the last period of his life had been the toughest he had experienced mentally.Seeing the New Zealand side doing so well also got him revved up.”I know what it was like having the feeling of winning a series away, especially after you have been grafting towards it.”If you have been dropped by the selectors you can feel disappointed in yourself that you are not there but if it is due to injury it does make it more frustrating.”The fact that more players had taken the chance and come into consideration did not worry O’Connor as he contemplates his comeback.A player like fast bowler Shane Bond was in the freakish category, like Daniel Vettori, and would have emerged no matter who was playing, although he admitted it was his injury that gave Bond his chance.”But there is competition around for places and that is good. Now I’ll just have to believe in myself and use my experience,” he said.In analysing his injury O’Connor didn’t think it was in anyway attributable to the slight change in action that resulted in him gaining more speed.At the time of the change he said it was more like the way he used to bowl at school anyway.It is all down to his timing and that is what he is working towards regaining.”I have some huge desires still. I want to work towards the Indian series here. So far in my career my best form has been away from home and I would love to have the chance to show people here who have supported me what I can achieve,” he said.Making the World Cup side is another goal and while it was a cliche, he said, it was a huge desire for all players to play in the World Cup.”I’ve got work to do. But if I keep believing and use my head then who knows?”In his career to date, O’Connor has played 19 Tests and taken 53 wickets at 32.52 while in his 38 One-Day Internationals he has 46 wickets at 30.34. In first-class play he has taken 234 wickets at 24.22.

It’s the start of greatest sporting event in Sri Lanka’s history. We’ve beenpromised Kandyan dancers, colourful flag bearers, rock bands and nimbleacrobats. Prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe is gracing the occasion aschief guest and thousands will flock through the turnstiles. By right itshould be a triumph for Sri Lanka, but Sanath Jayasuriya’s side will be onlytoo aware that a Pakistan victory will quickly sour the mood of the nation.The format of this 12-team tournament may have changed but, barring an earlymonsoon, it remains a virtual knockout. Should Sri Lanka lose on Thursdaynight at Premadasa International Stadium they will not qualify for thesemi-final, missing out on a chance to win a portion of the USD 1.15 millionprize money.Waqar Younis hopes the high expectation will weigh heavily on the Sri Lankanplayers’ shoulders: “They have also been playing some very good cricket atthe moment but I think, as hosts, they will be under the most pressure inthe opening game of the tournament.”Jayasuriya, though, who has recovered from his dislocated shoulder and willplay as a batsman only, claimed that his team were looking forward toplaying in front of a capacity home crowd. "We don’t feel under any pressurehome or away," he claimed. "The morale is very good after Morocco. The boysare confident and everyone is getting behind us.""We are treating this game as a final," he added. "Every department has toclick. With the knockout format it’s a case of who plays best on the day andwe have to make sure we produce a brilliant all-round performance againstPakistan, who we play so often that we know inside out."Coach Dav Whatomore was delighted by Jayasuriya’s remarkable rehabilitation:"He’s very important to the team. His ability to score quick runs cannot besubstituted – it’s a hell of an advantage."Not only will they be reassured by Jayasuriya participation, but they willtake comfort from the fact they are playing at Premadasa, a notoriously slowpitch perfectly suited to the host’s spin-based attack – Sri Lanka have won30 of the 42 matches they have played at the venue.Although the square has been primed for months, Whatmore expects fewsurprises: "It looks like a typical Premadasa pitch to me. It’s going to bedifficult for the bowlers." The toss he claims will be of littlesignificance, but the side winning is almost certain to bat first.The Sri Lankan selectors have picked the same team that won the Morocco Cupfinal. They would have been discussion about recalling off-spinner KumarDharmasena in place of the third seamer but newcomer Pulasthi Gunaratne hasperformed well under pressure, especially in the latter overs when ChamindaVaas and Dilhara Fernando can be expensive.Pakistan, meanwhile, are hoping that they can recover the blistering formthat saw them demolish the Australians in June. “We are starting afresh,”said Waqar. ” We started to play better during the last match of thetournament in Kenya and we now have to try to maintain that form here.”But there are problems. Firstly, the form of veteran fast bowler WasimAkram, who struggled with his direction during the tri-series at Nairobi.And, secondly, there is the dilemma over the best opening combination withboth Imran Nazir and Saaed Anwaar not at their best. On the slow-pacedsurface expected, however, Pakistan will probably risk opening the inningswith Shahid Alfridi.Barring one of his infamous niggles, Shoaib Akhtar will be the starentertainment with the ball, although he claims that he will trade speed forcontrol in the interests of the side: "I’ll still be fast and furious but mymain aim is to take wickets for the Pakistan."Tomorrow’s winner, assuming both teams win against Holland, will play NewZealand or Australia in the semi-final on Sept 25.Sri Lanka:Sanath Jayasuriya (Capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, MahelaJaywardene, Russel Arnold, Aravinda de Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, UpulChandana, Hasantha Fernando, Chaminda Vaas, Kumar Dharmasena, DilharaFernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Pulasthi GunaratnePakistan:Waqar Younis (Capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Nazir,Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Sami, Rashid Latif, Saeed Anwar, Shoaib Malik,Shahid Alfridi, Wasim Akram, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Akhtar

Sri Lanka’s world class spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s chances of playing against England in the second cricket Test commencing at Edgbaston 11 days from today was put down as 60 percent by team physio Alex Kountouri, who will begin a period of rehabilitation with the bowler to get him back on the road again.For the past four weeks since he fell on his left arm and injured it in the one-day final at Sharjah against Pakistan, Muralitharan’s had his arm in a sling almost up against his chest.The sling came off after he arrived here on Saturday and Kountouri who examined him said: “He is better than I expected him to be. He’s got a fairly good movement of his arm and he’s got very little pain. For the moment his arm is still stiff because he hasn’t moved it for four weeks. We have got to get him working and hopefully, get some of the strength and movement back very quickly”.For the four weeks of recuperation, Muralitharan was treated by a specialist in Melbourne.Kountouri said Muralitharan did other work for his leg and stuff like that in Australia although his arm remained immobile. He said that Muralitharan would train three times a day to hopefully speed things up.”He will be doing basically strengthening exercises for his shoulder. He still can’t get his arm above his head. He will be undergoing hydrotherapy treatment trying to accelerate things. It depends how quickly he improves. I can’t see him bowling for another four to five days. He is not going to play in the next game before the next Test. It is going to be touch and go,” said Kountouri. “If he feels okay he will definitely play in the second Test. But at this stage it’s a bit too premature to say anything. I would say he’s got a sixty percent chance of playing. There is definitely and element of risk playing him without match practice. It all depends on how much pain he has.”We got him over here to give us an option to play him. As we get closer we’ll have a serious discussion with him, the coach, manager before taking af final decision. He’s a human being and he’s got a career ahead of him. If we can play him we will. if we can’t that’s it. The final decision is partly upto him and partly upto us,” he saidKountouri said Muralitharan was very positive and was keen to play. “He was very optimistic. It is a little bit of unknown quantity what he needs to do with his left arm. It all depends on how much of strain goes through when he bowls. We’ll find out very soon,” said Kountouri.

West Indies A began their tour to England with a convincing victory over British Universities in the delightfully scenic setting of the Parks in Oxford today. The visitors were not particularly tested as they cantered to an 85 run victory.Jamie Dalrymple, a former England Under 19 representative, won the toss and sent the West Indies A side into bat. Despite the early loss of Devon Smith, skipper Darren Ganga and Donovan Pagon punished loose bowling from the student seamers. Spinners Dalrymple, Monty Panesar and Robert Ferley – all with first-class experience – bought some control, Pansesar bowling Ganga while Pagon offered a return catch to Ferley.Panesar struck the stumps a second time to account for Dwayne Bravo, while Lendl Simmons was well held by Matthew Banes to give Dalrymple a deserved wicket.Excellent knocks at the death ensured the West Indies’s innings did notstagnate, Keith Hibbert and Runako Morton batting with an encouragingfreedom. Morton hit three fours and a six in his 57, while Hibbert’s 39 was a more workmanlike innings, coming from 48 balls. A total of 225 looked a par score on a slow outfield, with a wicket which helped the spinners.The Universities were unimpressive in response. A stream of early wickets reduced them to 64 for 5, Jermaine Lawson picking up three scalps. Michael Brown and John Francis were stubborn, while Banes tried desperately to come to terms with the track during a painstaking 11. A late flourish from Tim Murtagh and Tom Mees, who put on 38 for the ninth wicket, helped restore some pride for the students, who were finally bowled out for 140 in the 45th over.The West Indies are on a six week tour to Britain, playing four first-class matches and a host of one-dayers. The highlight is a three day match with India at Arundel. The next match they play is against the Sri Lankans, under lights at Hove, on Wednesday. That will be a much sterner examination than offered by the students under the dreaming spires of Oxford today.

• It was the 1546th Test match in cricket history.
• It was England’s 780th and Pakistan’s 277th Test match.
• It was the 59th match between these two sides. The record now reads: England 16, Pakistan 9, drawn 34.
• It was the 38th match between these two sides in England. The record now reads: England 14, Pakistan 7, drawn 17.
• It was the 11th match between these two sides at Lord’s. The record now reads: England 3, Pakistan 3, drawn 5.
• Ian Ward (left handed batsman and right arm medium fast bowler) and Ryan Sidebottom (left handed batsman and left arm fast medium bowler) were making their Test debut for England. They became 604th and 605th Test cricketer respectively to represent England.
• Ryan Sidebottom furnished the tenth instance of an English Test cricketer’s son following his father in Test cricket. His father Arnie Sidebottom had made his solitary appearance against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1985. The father and son pairs who have played for England in Tests in chronological order are: Charles (2) and David (3) Townsend, Fred (1) and Maurice (39) Tate, Joe Hardstaff Snr (5) and Joe Hardstaff Jr. (23), ‘Frank'(5) and George (7) Mann, James (1) and Jim (46) Parks ,Len (79) and Richard (5) Hutton, Colin (114) and Chris (6) Cowdrey, ‘Micky’ (8) and Alec (109) Stewart and Alan (1) and Mark (27) Butcher. There have been three more cases of father and son pairs playing Test cricket but only one of them represented England.
• Umpires Darrell Hair and Peter Willey were standing in their 38th and 23rd Test match respectively.
• Waqar Younis was making a comeback as Pakistan’s skipper. He had last captained Pakistan against Zimbabwe at Karachi in 1993-94.
• Rashid Latif was making a comeback in to Pakistani side after about three years. He had last played for Pakistan against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1997-98.
• Darren Gough was playing his 50th Test match. He became 45th player from England and 170th player overall to do so.
• The wicket of Cork in England’s only innings was 50th for Wasim Akram in England. He became first Pakistani and 19th bowler from the opposing sides to do so at English soil. Incidentally Australia’s Dennis Lillee with 96 wickets from 16 matches holds the record for most wickets in a career at English soil.
• The catch of his Rashid Latif in first innings was 200th for Alec Stewart in his 109th match (including 35 while not keeping wickets). He became seventh player in Test annals to reach this target after two Australians Ian Healy (366) and Rodney Marsh (343), one West Indian Jeff Dujon (267), one fellow countryman Alan Knott (250) and one Pakistani Wasim Bari (201).
• Darren Gough became the eighth Englishman and 38th bowler in Test history to complete 200 wickets in a Test career when he dismissed Rashid Latif in first innings. The seven other Englishmen who have taken 200 wickets are Ian Botham (383 wickets in 102 Tests), Bob Willis (325 in 90), Fred Trueman (307 in 67), Derek Underwood (297 in 86), Brian Statham (252 in 70), Alec Bedser (236 in 51) and John Snow (202 in 49). By an odd coincidence all eight Englishmen have taken their 200th wicket at home soil.
• When Alec Stewart (captaining England in place of injured Nasser Hussain) asked Pakistan to follow on, he provided the 85th instance of an English captain enforcing the follow-on over the opponents. It was also the seventh such occasion for England against Pakistan.
• The wicket of Latif in second innings was the 100th for Gough in matches in England. He became 11th bowler to do so.The bowlers with maximum Test wickets in England are Fred Trueman (229), Ian Botham (226), Bob Willis (176), Alec Bedser (167), Brian Statham (148), Derek Underwood (145), John Snow (140), Jim Laker (135), Tony Lock (104) and Ray Illingworth (102).
• Saleem Elahi suffered the mortification of failing to score in both innings of the Test. He became sixth Pakistani batsman to bag a pair against England. The others are: Mohammad Ghazali (at Old Trafford in 1954), Imtiaz Ahmed (at Dhaka in 1961-62), Iqbal Qasim (at Lord’s in 1978), Mudassar Nazar (at Edgbaston in 1982) and Aaqib Javed (at Headingley in 1992).
• Elahi also provided the 24th instance of a Pakistani batsman suffering this fate and 366th instance in all Tests. He, however, became only the fifth Pakistani opening batsman to record this embarrassing feat after Majid Khan (v Australia at Perth in 1978-79), Mudassar Nazar (v England at Edgbaston in 1982), Saeed Anwar (v West Indies at Faisalabad in 1990-91) and Aamir Sohail (v New Zealand at Hamilton in 1992-93).
• Elahi also provided the 18th instance of an opening batsman recording a pair against England with South Africa’s Louis Tancred being the only one to have done so twice.
• Stewart’s four catches in the second innings equalled the existing record of most dismissals by a keeper in an innings against Pakistan. John Murray, Alan Knott (on four occasions) and Bruce French are the others to do so for England.
• The seven catches in the match by Alec Stewart equalled the existing record of most dismissals by a keeper against Pakistan. Alan Knott had made seven dismissals on two occasions – at Trent Bridge in 1967 and at Headingley in 1971.
• Five Pakistani batsmen Yousuf Youhana, Azhar Mahmood, Younis Khan, Rashid Latif and Waqar Younis achieved the dubious distinction of getting dismissed twice on same day on the fourth day of the match. This, however, is not a record of most batsmen getting out twice on the same day for Pakistan. The record is of six batsmen suffering this misfortune which has been recorded on three occasions – v India at Delhi in 1952-53, v England at Headingley and at The Oval in 1962. The Test record is held by India as nine Indian batsmen were dismissed on the third day against England at Old Trafford in 1952.
• The victory was England’s 79th by an innings margin – sixth against Pakistan. It was also the 248th instance of a side registering a win by an innings margin. Incidentally England has won most matches in this fashion.
• The Man of the match award was the second for Andrew Caddick. His only other award had come against South Africa at Durban in 1999-00. Caddick had then shared the award with Gary Kirsten in a drawn game.
  

England captain Nasser Hussain, England women’s all-rounder Sarah Collyer and SM:TV presenter Tess Daly launched the npower Lions’ Den at the AMP Oval today.This initiative, from the ECB and npower, will turn a section of around 300seats at each Test Match Ground into a ‘Lions’ Den’ – an enclosure reserved for children. Youngsters in the Lions’ Den will benefit from discounted Test match tickets with every boy and girl receiving a free activity bag, a Lions’ Den T-shirt and cap, an educational activity book and a giant ‘Roar for 4′ paw.The Lions’ Den is an extension of the joint ECB and npower ‘Pride Side’initiative, launched last year, in which three lions and one lioness, based on the traditional lions logo of the ECB, have been created to increase the appeal of cricket to all types of children between the ages of 6-12 years old.Life-size mascots of the ‘Pride Side’s’ superhero cartoon characters – Shen,Maxie and Widget and lioness, Little M – will entertain the youngsters in the Lions’ Den during matches, demonstrating cricket’s continuing drive to rejuvenate and promote cricket at all levels and across ethnic, age, social and gender boundaries.Giving his full support to the exciting project, Nasser Hussain said: “Theseare excellent initiatives which will send out the right messages through every level of the sport. It’s vital that the game evolves to compete with other sports, and these ideas are great. We need to encourage our next generation of fans and players to love the game, and it’s very positive that the ECB and npower are getting together to try and achieve this.”Tess Daly said: “I wish they had this sort of thing when I was growing up!Speaking as a cricket outsider, the Lions’ Den is a terrific idea that should attract kids to the sport. Anything that promotes sport in such a fun way must be a winner.”Sarah Collyer said: “Offering youngsters a taste of the action may lead to more of them taking up the game. Cricket is obviously something I love playing and I am in favour of the game being taken to the widest possible audience, so making cricket accessible to kids like this is terrific news.”npower Strategy Director David Andrew said: “As a young brand – we’re only twoyears old – we are always striving to be different and do what’s not been done before. The Lions’ Den, powered by npower, provides a new experience for our younger cricket fans that they will remember, hopefully through to adulthood, which is a great thing for cricket generally. In the meantime, everyone has fun, which is exactly what we want.”ECB Commercial Director Terry Blake said: “A day out in the Lions’ Den will be both educational and fun. We hope to welcome school classes and junior cricket teams, as well as individual families, to the npower Test Match Series.”Ticket booking is available via www.ecb.co.uk or 08705 33 88 33.

Mathew Sinclair scored his third Test century in 148 balls of outstanding control when Pakistan asked New Zealand to bat first in the second National Bank Test at Christchurch’s Jade Stadium today.Coming to the wicket with New Zealand 102/1, Sinclair ensured the foundation provided by the opening pair was developed, and while four more wickets were lost on the day, New Zealand were in a good position to ram home their advantage tomorrow.It is the second Test century scored by Sinclair this summer, after he scored 150 in the second Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth in December.The day ended with New Zealand 284/5. Sinclair was 100 not out and Craig McMillan one not out.New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said it had been “a pretty good day, very positive.””We lost one, maybe two wickets, too many to say it was a good day,” he said.Fleming was full of praise for Sinclair’s innings.”He’s an all or nothing player. I don’t think there’s a cleaner striker of the ball that I have played with,” he said.Fleming said New Zealand would be looking to get up to around 400 tomorrow. That means Sinclair and his incumbent partner Craig McMillan have a big day in front of them.New Zealand did get their partnership mechanisms right, even if they go into the second day still needing the highest one of them all to be played.An opening stand of 102, followed by 61 and 85 represented a much more satisfying day than might have been expected after the calamity at Eden Park on Monday.Matthew Bell and Mark Richardson built on their 91-run stand in the second innings in Auckland with the first century partnership by a Kiwi opening pair since New Zealand played India in Ahmedabad in the 1998/99 season.Bell, with his ungainly stance taking guard outside leg stump looking like an 800 metre runner about to leave the mark, looked more confident. Although what will happen when the Pakistanis appreciate his fondness for leg side play and attempt to close that avenue off the test for him will be how he handles off side play.Whatever, it was encouraging to see him play his pull shots with confidence and continue the development of an opening combination with Richardson. It offered a completely different look at the top of the order.He did have a life on eight when dropped by Younis Khan while on 54 he looked to start walking after an edge from Waqar Younis was taken by wicket-keeper Moin Khan. He stopped walking back as Waqar ran past him appealing to the umpire, Dave Quested, again.Television replays suggested he was out, but it was some pay back for him after he was given out when not touching the ball in the first Test in Auckland.Richardson was not so quickly into his scoring groove, although one cover drive off Mohammad Sami was a fine shot.Fleming looked to be in a good scoring groove, especially when the first ball he faced was driven straight back down the ground for four from Saqlain’s bowling. Another pull shot for four off Fazl-e-Akbar was a fine shot.But just at the time he should have been starting to feel more comfortable he was run out for 32 with the score on 248.New Zealand finished the day on 284/5 having lost Nathan Astle at 276, edging the new ball from Waqar Younis to Moin Khan while nightwatchman Grant Bradburn edged Fazl-e-Akbar to Imran Farhat to third slip to be out for a duck at 282.

Pakistan Whites pair of Imran Nazir and Shoaib Malik won the fourthInternational Double Wicket Cricket Championship, stunning thefavourites Pakistan Blues duo of Wasim Akram and Yasir Arafat in thefinal by two runs at Gaddafi Stadium Wednesday night.Earlier, both the semi-finals were played. In a most thrilling game,Pakistan Whites beating the strong Pakistan Greens pair of AbdurRazzaq and Azhar Mahmood on the spin of coin. Both teams scored 80runs each.Chasing a target of 81, Pakistan Whites were cruising comfortably at78 without any loss with just three balls left. However, the matchtook a turn when Shoaib was caught off the fourth ball, which reducedthe total to 68. On the next two deliveries Shoaib Malik struck twosixes to level the scores.Shoaib scored 53 off 24 balls. Imran Nazir made 39 off 26balls.Earlier, Azhar Mahmood blasted 73 off 33 balls while Abdur Razzaqscored 20.Wasim Akram and Yasir Arafat defeated New Zealand pair of CraigMcMillan and Chris Harris by four runs in the other semi-final.Batting first, New Zealand made a net score of 36. McMillan scored 35off 26 balls while Chris Harris hit 28 without being dismissed.Wasim Akram conceded only 15 runs in four overs to claim two wickets.Chasing 37 for victory, Pakistan Blues made a bad start when Akram wasdismissed twice which reduced the total to -2. Akram and Yasir Arafateventually reached their target, scoring 40 for two dismissals. Akramscored 40 off 31 balls.In the final, the Pakistan Blues piled up 87 without any loss in theirallotted eight overs. Akram scored an unbeaten 44 off 27 balls whileYasir hit 42 off 21 overs.Imran Nazir and Shoaib Malik, who lost the group match to the samepair, rose to the occasion by striking 89 without any dismissal.Imran Nazir hammered 45 off 26 balls while Shoaib Malik contributed 37off 22 balls.The Pakistan Whites won a prize of US$6,000 while the runners-up,Pakistan Blues, received $4,000.