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ScorecardRookies Steffan Piolet and Paul Best swept Warwickshire to the top of Group C of the Clydesdale Bank 40 with an unexpected three-wicket victory under the Edgbaston floodlights under the Duckworth-Lewis method that effectively dashed Yorkshire’s already slim semi-final hopes.Piolet, who batted with a runner after he sustained a hamstring injury bowling, and Best added 40 in just three overs to take Warwickshire to a revised target of 238 in 34 overs with four balls to spare.Yorkshire thought they had the match won when Tim Ambrose, who made a bustling 64 from 47 balls, carved Moin Ashraf to short third man. But Piolet turned the match decisively in Warwickshire’s favour when he pulled Steven Patterson and Ashraf for sixes in consecutive overs to finish unbeaten on 23 from nine balls.Best followed up his competition-best bowling of 3 for 43 with a rapid unbeaten 16, also from nine balls, to take Warwickshire above Sussex in the group.Yorkshire will wonder how they contrived to lose their fourth game in the competition this season after captain Andrew Gale and Adam Lyth laid the foundations for a competitive total with aggressive half-centuries.But Yorkshire lost five quick wickets after they returned to face 19 balls after a 65-minute stoppage for rain and Warwickshire’s run chase was sustained by a third-wicket stand of 74 in 10 overs between Ambrose and captain Jim Troughton.Neither could finish the job, as Troughton was bowled for 61 driving at Azeem Rafiq and Ambrose fell when victory was in sight, but Piolet and Best, who have become one-day regulars this season, proved their worth.Defeat was particularly hard on Lyth, who played a superb attacking innings which included four sixes in six balls, three of them off consecutive deliveries from Chris Wright either side of the rain break. The second of those took Lyth to a 49-ball half-century and he added a fourth off Keith Barker before he skied the next ball to midwicket.Warwickshire’s run chase was interrupted by some brilliant fielding by South African David Miller, who held two catches including a superb running effort at deep midwicket to account for William Porterfield, and was also involved in two run-outs.But Yorkshire’s bowling under pressure was not quite so assured, with Warwickshire successfully chasing down 83 from the last 10 overs.

ScorecardGraham Onions took his match tally to six wickets•Getty Images

At 3.20pm on Saturday Durham wicketkeeper Michael Richardson had just been dismissed. His team was 36 runs ahead of Middlesex in the second innings with three wickets remaining. The visitors appeared to be in total control. Then the rain came and kept the players off the field for 70 minutes. If this was a game of two halves, then that rain break, though of course nobody knew it then, was the half time interval.Durham won early on Sunday afternoon by 15 runs, prompting scenes of ecstatic celebration among their players on the outfield. This was their first Championship victory of the season and, had they lost again in a tight finish, as they had done against Sussex last week and Lancashire at the beginning of June, then they would surely have been doomed to relegation from Division One.Indeed at times when they were in the field on Friday and Saturday their body language suggested that they might already have given up the ghost. As it is, while the 19 points they have gained from this match will give them hope, and no doubt provide an injection of confidence, Durham must still be favourites to make the drop.Their recently appointed four-day captain, Paul Collingwood, was a satisfied man after the finish, and calmly bullish about his side’s chances of continuing to make progress. He confirmed the view from the boundary that during the Saturday afternoon rain break he had encouraged Scott Borthwick and Callum Thorp to bat with controlled aggression, and it was their partnership of 60 in eight overs that shifted the balance of power in the match.A compelling morning of cricket seemed highly likely as Middlesex resumed their innings needing 60 runs to win with five wickets in hand. A healthy crowd turned up to see a day that, short as it might be, promised much. In the first hour the contest remained even, Middlesex reducing their target to 23 and Durham taking two wickets.The first fell before a run had been added. Durham’s reserve wicketkeeper, Richardson, had an excellent match, making useful runs in the lower middle order and taking five catches. The first of his two catches on the third day saw the end of his Middlesex counterpart John Simpson. Graham Onions, who bowled unchanged from the Finchale End, found the inside edge of the left hander’s bat and Richardson dived low to his right to take a spectacular catch at the second attempt.Gareth Berg, whose 37 in Middlesex’s first innings had been so useful in a low scoring match, also went to an excellent catch. When Chris Rushworth served up a short one outside the off stump Berg could not resist slashing at it, and the man at first slip leapt up and backwards to pluck it one handed out of the sky. Everyone only stopped being amazed when we realised that the catcher was Collingwood.The end, when it finally arrived, came quickly. Richardson and Onions combined again to end Toby Roland-Jones’ impressive rearguard 34. Collingwood had delayed introducing Ben Stokes to the attack, but he timed the change brilliantly and Stokes mopped up the last two wickets.Ollie Rayner survived a huge appeal for caught behind off Onions, but had only added one more run when Stokes bowled him with a fast yorker. Then Stokes decided to go round the wicket to the left handed Tim Murtagh and when the ball feathered the outside edge the game was over.

ScorecardAndrew Strauss is back in the groove after a month off that included this visit to the tennis at Wimbledon•Getty Images

Andrew Strauss was splendidly to the fore while making an unbeaten 127 for Middlesex at Uxbridge in his last innings before the first Test against South Africa next week.Strauss had scored more than half Middlesex’s runs in their paltry first innings total of 98 before being dismissed by a virtually unplayable delivery from Andre Adams.He was then blameless as Nottinghamshire established what appeared to be a vice-like grip, not responsible for any of the five Middlesex catches that went to ground as they conceded a first-innings lead of 231.But far from deciding he had done enough before leading England in the summer’s showpiece series, Strauss tuned up his game further, batting with great certainty and fluency on a pitch that still had a trick or two in it despite having flattened out considerably compared to the first day.Strauss needed a bit of luck against the new ball – and he must have been perilously close to falling lbw to Harry Gurney’s second delivery. With just a single to his name, the left-hander was neither back nor forward but a long appeal failed to bring the response Nottinghamshire wanted from umpire Jeremy Lloyds.Thereafter, Strauss gave the Nottinghamshire precious little encouragement. Inevitably, he played and missed a few times and edged Adams, on 59, a fraction short of the diving wicketkeeper, Chris Read. Then, moments before tea, he mistimed a pull against Andy Carter that could have gone anywhere but dropped safely in the deep.Those incidents apart, though, Strauss could not have batted much better. His cover drive was working well, as it had been in the first innings, he cut and glanced confidently and, when Samit Patel’s left-arm spin entered the attack, his game went into overdrive.Patel was driven for a soaring six way beyond the marquees at long off, one of several meaty hits that saw him race from 62 to 100 in the space of 24 deliveries. By then, it looked as though nothing could stop Strauss, apart from rain, that is, which duly arrived during the tea interval and ended play two hours early.By then, he had faced 205 balls, struck 13 fours as well as that six against Patel and guided Middlesex from a position of gloom and doom to a fairly rosy 239 for 2 – eight runs ahead and, given a good imagination and a full final day, with all results just about possible.It needed more than Strauss’s first championship century of the season, at the seventh attempt, to revive Middlesex, however. Although Sam Robson, who was dropped in the slips by Adam Voges on seven, made only 26, he helped Strauss to put on 55 for the first wicket and, more important, see off the new ball.But it was the second-wicket stand of 143 between Strauss and acting captain Chris Rogers that really deflated Notts. The pair started steadily, then counter-attacked brilliantly after lunch until Rogers became just a little too confident and went lbw to Gurney, playing across the line. By then, though, Nottinghamshire knew nothing would come easy.”I think we were unlucky with the conditions over the first couple of days,” said Rogers. But he admitted: “We put in two bad days so we needed to change that – and fortunately we did. We let ourselves down in the first innings and we wanted to show each other that we are still a good side and can fight hard.”Rogers responded “I guess not” when asked whether he had ever seen England’s captain in better touch despite taking a month off since the end of the West Indies series.”Straussy was amazing,” he said. “He looks in control, his balance is just about perfect and mentally he is in a very good space. It’s amazing that when you are in good form you can have a break, come back and still play well. Hopefully he can take that into the series against South Africa.”

Scorecard
Jonathan Carter picked up his maiden five-wicket haul•West Indies Cricket Board

A five-wicket haul by Jonathan Carter restricted India A’s lead to 25 on the second day of first unofficial Test in Barbados. Carter, a middle-order batsman who bowls lively medium pace, was well supported by left-arm fast bowler Delorn Johnson as India A’s strong batting line-up failed to build upon decent contributions in the middle order.After a fightback by the West Indies A lower order on the first day, their bowlers had a perfect start on the second morning as Johnson bowled Abhinav Mukund with the fifth ball of the first over. India were rocked by the run out of the in-form Ajinkya Rahane in the third over and then slipped to 21 for 3 as Shikhar Dhawan was caught behind playing a loose backfoot drive off Carter’s first ball.That brought the pair of other India Test hopefuls Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma together as they thwarted West Indies’ bowlers in a 97-run partnership. Captain Pujara was out to a lifting Carter delivery after scoring a solid half-century, but Rohit continued playing attractive shots and was well supported by Manoj Tiwary, who scored 40, in an attacking half-century partnership.Rohit looked well set for a century as he moved to the nineties with a six off Carter, but was out soon after to an inswinging delivery by Johnson. At 204 for six, India were in danger of falling short of West Indies’ score, but Wriddhiman Saha’s 56 helped India to a lead.Just as the Indian batsmen failed to make a strong statement, West Indies’ Devendra Bishoo, who is hoping for a Test comeback, struggled to make an impact while wickets fell to the faster bowlers.West Indies openers played out six tricky overs before the end of play to set-up the match for an interesting third day.

Kings XI Punjab captain David Hussey has said a lackadaisical approach from his side against Rajasthan Royals at Mohali led to their 43-run defeat on Saturday. Kings XI, who are now sixth in the points table, have lost four out of the five home matches this season.Royals’ batsmen, who have tailed off after strong starts in the past, played attacking cricket from the start against Kings XI on Saturday, with Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson hitting a flurry of boundaries. Brad Hodge and Johan Botha ended their clinical display by hitting 27 off the last two overs, helping them post 177.All the Kings XI bowlers conceded 8 runs an over or more. “When we turned up in the bus today, I don’t think we were really switched on as we were still celebrating the win against Bangalore [on May 2],” Hussey said. “People got a bit carried away and when the first ball was bowled we were not switched on for the game.”Kings XI have won four matches on the road this season, but haven’t replicated that form at home. “It was disappointing as we’ve played good consistent cricket at home but we have not got the win, as a couple of close games have gone the other way. I guess we are an away team and play well away.”Hussey said that a poor all-round performance by his side gave Royals the advantage. “I thought it was a very good cricket wicket but we let 20 runs go in the field. I don’t think our bowlers were that flash, I don’t think our fielding was that flash. I think the batting needs a bit of work as well.”Hussey said that with the tournament reaching its business end, it’s time his side performs as a unit. “We must work hard to qualify for the finals, we got to win three out of five matches. Once we get to Hyderabad [on May 8] we’ll regroup, refresh and you see a very determined team play against Deccan,” he said. “There are still a few positives from the Bangalore game that we’re all focusing on, we had a brief talk tonight and we’re heading to Hyderabad with a lot of confidence and a bit of a spring in our step.”

Peter Nevill is used to having his cricket fortunes determined by the decisions of Brad Haddin.As club team-mates at Eastern Suburbs in Sydney, or state team-mates for New South Wales, Haddin and Nevill have always had an understanding. If the senior man wants to keep wicket, he does, Nevill happy to step in should Haddin prefer a spell in the field. Most recently, in the Blues’ last two Sheffield Shield games of the summer, Nevill was 12th man and then a batsman in deference to Haddin.Now that Haddin has decided he must fly home to be with his family, Nevill is again stepping in more or less at the behest of his team-mate. When word of Haddin’s departure filtered through from the West Indies, there was little doubt that Nevill would replace him, having been a rare speck of light in a grim season for the Blues. But it was with a sombre tone in his voice that Nevill spoke about his call-up, not knowing exactly what reasons – clearly serious – had forced Haddin home.”I got the call from [Cricket Australia team performance manager] Pat Howard, it was a fairly brief conversation, but obviously it’s a call that does get you feeling pretty good about your cricket, [since] the Australian cricket set-up wants you to be involved,” Nevill said in Sydney. “So, in that sense, it was a nice call to receive, but in the same breath not knowing what’s happened to Brad, it is also a little bit sombre as well.”It’s going to be a great learning opportunity for me, but obviously Brad’s left for personal reasons – I’m not entirely sure what those are – and my thoughts are with Brad. He’s been a great help to me in my time in NSW.”I’m over there as back-up for Matthew [Wade]. So whether it’s training, helping people mix Powerade or whatever it is, whatever capacity I can help in [I will do so], and learn as much as I can and improve my cricket as much as I can. It’ll be a chance for me to pick some of the best Australian players’ brains and do what I can to improve.”As a former Victorian who moved to NSW four years ago in search of a greater opportunity with the wicketkeeping gloves, Nevill is well acquainted with both Haddin and Wade. It was Wade whose performances pushed Nevill north, where Haddin’s Australia duty gave him a greater chance of domestic exposure.”I know Brad very well, he is a club-mate as well as a state team-mate, and he has done so much for me in a coaching capacity as well as in a team-mate capacity,” Nevill said. “He’s got a wealth of knowledge that he’s been kind enough to share with me.”The unfortunate realisation was that there was no opportunity there for me in Victoria at the time and it was a difficult decision [moving states], one I felt I had to make, and it has certainly paid off quite well. It was quite obvious in Victoria that I wasn’t getting an opportunity, so I started exploring other possibilities. I knew that to play first-class cricket I as going to have to move states, and the rest is history.”That history now includes the 2011-12 season, which unfolded unhappily for NSW. Juggling a new captain, a new coach and two new Big Bash League teams, the state performed poorly everywhere but in Twenty20, where the Sydney Sixers lifted the trophy under the guidance of the former Blues coach Trevor Bayliss.”It has been a difficult season. It is always pleasing when you perform personally, but there’s a burning desire among all the guys to have a much better season next year and help us get back to the top of the table,” Nevill said.Key to Nevill’s contribution for the Blues has been his batting, which reaped 570 runs at 51.81 in nine Shield matches this summer. However Nevill’s keeping has also impressed, with his smooth footwork and lightness of touch with the gloves, and he is adamant in describing himself as a wicketkeeper first, a batsman second.”First and foremost I’m a wicketkeeper and I take a lot of pride in my wicketkeeping,” Nevill said. “But the way cricket’s evolved over the past however many years is that batting is a vital component of what you do, so I’ve had to work very hard to get my batting up to standard.”

Match facts

March 18, 2012
Start time 1400 (0800 GMT)Pakistan look more settled overall, with a superior bowling attack•AFP

Big Picture

If India had beaten Bangladesh, their match against Pakistan would have been a preview to the final. Thanks to their inept bowling in the dying stages of their previous match, and some fearless Bangladesh batting, this tournament is still open. No team has bowed out of the tournament yet, including Sri Lanka, who are yet to open their account. If India and Bangladesh win their remaining games with bonus points, it will leave three teams tied on nine points, meaning the finalists will be decided on net run-rate. If the same two teams win without bonus points, then Bangladesh will go through because they beat India in the head-to-head. A win, tie, no-result, or even a loss without conceding a bonus point, for Pakistan tomorrow will guarantee them a place in the final.Bangladesh’s stunning turnaround has given tomorrow’s clash greater context. However, a downpour at the Shere Bangla Stadium the day before the game means the groundstaff will have to work to ensure the match goes ahead as scheduled. Should weather intervene, there is a reserve day on Monday.The encounter promises to live up to the tournament’s top-billing because these teams have hardly played each other, due to political reasons. India trumped Pakistan in the semi-final of the World Cup, so Pakistan have a score to settle. Despite being drubbed by England in the one-day series in the UAE, they still look a far more settled unit than India.The gulf between the two teams lies in the bowling. Both attacks are spin-heavy, but Pakistan’s is a league ahead in terms of experience and penetration, with the likes of Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi. Ajmal’s doosras derailed Sri Lanka in the batting Powerplay and from that point on Sri Lanka were playing catch-up. India failed to run through the Bangladesh batting but they were still well-placed to defend 290. Swinging yorkers from Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan gave India a sniff, but the consistency was lacking. Yorkers made way for length deliveries and full tosses, which were either muscled over the ropes or sliced over point.India’s top order looks more reliable than Pakistan’s, with their top three each having scored a century in the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar may well play with the kind of freedom missing over the last 12 months, after getting the monkey off his back. The Pakistan top order didn’t look fluent against Sri Lanka, and the slow run-rate early led them to throw away their wickets.

Form Guide

(most recent first)
Pakistan WWLLL
India LWWLL

In the spotlight

Ravindra Jadeja is yet to justify the US$2million contract he earned from Chennai Super Kings with performances on the field. He underperformed in the Commonwealth Bank series with both bat and ball, though his fielding remains an asset. He was not used much as a bowler and failed to convert his opportunities with the bat, struggling to clear the bigger Australian grounds. There have been calls for the big-hitting Yusuf Pathan to replace him. However, Jadeja offers the variety of left-arm spin, to go with three offspinners.Fifteen, 5, 12, 2 – scores you would not normally associate with Younis Khan. His last ODI half-century came against Afghanistan, and he has struggled against quality opposition. His shot-selection against Sri Lanka was poor; he attempted an extravagant flick to midwicket and ended up chipping it to mid-on. With Asad Shafiq in the reserves, Younis will have to justify his place with a big score. He is too experienced to endure a prolonged slump.Misbah-ul-Haq’s calm presence is the reason for Pakistan’s upswing, and they would not want to lose his services for a crucial game because of a slow over-rate. The Pakistan captain will be suspended for one game if his side makes another transgression in the next 12 months after the team fell two overs short of the target against Sri Lanka. For tips on how to ensure a quick over-rate, Misbah would rather not consult his counterpart MS Dhoni, who has already been banned for a Test and ODI in recent months for the same offence.

Pitch and conditions

Despite the rain on Saturday evening, the forecast for Sunday suggests a full game will be possible. Both captains will be unsure of how the rain would have affected playing conditions, in particular the usually lightning-quick outfield. In general, the pitches have become better for batting in the evening, and the team defending a target will also have to watch out for possible dew. After Bangladesh’s heist, the captains may back their teams to chase down any target.

Teams

Ashok Dinda was all over the place against Bangladesh, going for 38 off 5.2 overs, so India could consider bringing back Vinay Kumar, if he recovers from injury. There’s still no indication that Manoj Tiwary, who has warmed the bench for so long he may have set it on fire, will get a game.India 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja/Yusuf Pathan, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Ashok Dinda/R Vinay Kumar, 11 Praveen KumarWith Shahid Afridi not in the best of form with the bat, Pakistan are likely to play an extra batsman, with Umar Akmal taking the wicketkeeping gloves.Pakistan 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Umar Akmal (wk), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Hammad Azam, 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Aizaz Cheema

Stats and Trivia

• The head-to-head record between the two sides in the Asia Cup stands at 4-4.
• India have the better head-to-head record in matches played in Bangladesh, winning five and losing three.

Quotes

“You cannot take revenge on anyone, but we will try to give our supporters the joy we could not give during that game.”
Edited by Dustin Silgardo

ScorecardNathan Coulter-Nile, the Western Australia fast bowler, pressed his case for an Australia call-up with a compelling allround display, but New South Wales were still able to achieve a four-wicket victory over the Warriors in the domestic limited overs match in Perth.After WA’s batting slipped to 7 for 96, Coulter-Nile shepherded the tail to a total of 151 with a poised innings of 53. He then claimed the wickets of Simon Katich, Steve Smith and Nic Maddinson with the ball to ensure the Blues made hard work of their modest chase, achieved with 7.2 overs to spare.The NSW chase was guided by Phillip Hughes, batting at No. 3 behind Usman Khawaja and Brad Haddin. Hughes made an unbeaten 58, after Haddin had found some semblance of batting form in an innings of 32.Mitchell Starc, dropped from Australia’s ODI squad in order to be available for the match, collected 4-39 to slice through The Warriors’ batting. His first wicket was that of WA’s stand-in captain Shaun Marsh, who cut a short ball straight to backward point.