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Delaying the declarationSui Northern may have bossed the game, but an experienced captain like Mohammad Hafeez will regret not declaring earlier for so long. Batting first, they out on 511 in 150.1 overs against Habib Bank before being dismissed. Azhar Ali and Khurram Shehzad scored centuries – 118 and 133 respectively as they ground HBL’s bowlers down. Amad Butt did come away with a six-wicket haul, but not before bowling 38 overs and conceding 106 runs.In response, HBL were dismissed for 202 and asked to follow on. However, with bad light meaning several overs were lost, only 19 overs could be bowled in the second innings, with Ahmed Shehzad’s side at 67 for one when the match was called off. Given the extent of HBL’s dominance, they will be disappointed to kick off the Super Eight stage with a win.The two-day gameHave you ever heard of a contest where 167 runs were enough to secure an innings victory? Well, here’s one. On a pitch that seemed to have laid a particularly potent curse on all who batted upon it, WAPDA beat Khan Research Laboratories by an innings and seven runs in a game that lasted merely 120 overs. KRL were skittled out for 95 in their first innings, 40 of them coming from one man, Junaid Ali. WAPDA’s Waqas Maqsood registered the best figures of the tournament, taking nine wickets for 32.WAPDA appeared to have let KRL back into the contest with a fairly ordinary batting display of their own, getting dismissed for 167. More than half of those runs – 86 – came off the bat of No. 8 Khalid Usman as they opened up a 72-run lead. As it turned out, KRL’s second innings was even more listless than the first as they meekly surrendered for 65. Mohammad Asif took six wickets as WAPDA wrapped up a comfortable win.The Lahore DerbyLahore Whites and Lahore Blues played in the final of the recently concluded National T20 Cup, with the Blues coming out on top. They played each other again in the QeA’s Super 8 round, with the same outcome, the Blues sealing a 9-wicket win.They began sharply, bowling out Lahore Whites for 141, Aizaz Cheema and Bilawal Iqbal sharing 8 wickets between them. Their batsmen followed that up with a solid 281, with opener Tayyab Tahir and captain Saad Nasim scoring 83 runs each. Having opened up a 140 run lead, they proceed to clean up the Whites for 207, Cheema’s 7 wickets securing him an 11-wicket haul for the match. That left the Blues with the straightforward task of chasing 68 runs for a win, which they did in under 10 overs for the loss of just one wicket.Fawad watchFawad Alam stormed back to form, scoring 124 for Sui Southern. It was, albeit, an innings in vain as a second-innings collapse saw them slump to 149 runs.United Bank captained by Younis Khan, scored 252 in the first innings, with Shan Masood top scoring with 75. Saad Ali, who has been far and away the highest scorer in the tournament, also scored 52, while Ahmed Jamal’s 6 for 52 ensured UBL weren’t allowed to bat SSGC out of the game.While Alam’s century secured his side a 27-run lead, the innings of the round belonged to Umar Akmal, who once again demonstrated his seemingly boundless ability with the bat – if he is motivated enough. He smashed 148 in 166 deliveries, effectively batting SSGC out of the game as they declared at 328, setting SSGC a target of 302. SSGC never looked like escaping with a draw, let alone clinching victory, with no batsman scoring more than 27 (Alam managed 26) as they were bundled out for 152.

Pakistan’s Under-19 team completed a 5-0 drubbing of their Australian counterparts with a nine-wicket win – with 160 balls to spare – in the last game of the series in Mirpur. As has been the trend throughout the series, the Pakistanis outplayed Australia in every aspect, bundling them out for 128 in just 30.4 overs, and the knocking off the runs in less than 24 overs for the loss of just one wicket.The only thing that went right for the Australians was the toss, but their innings soon faltered as Pakistan struck repeatedly with the new ball. The first five wickets went down with only 51 on the board, and only Dom O’Brien, the wicketkeeper, offered any resistance, scoring 41. Adil Raza, a right-arm fast bowler, finished with 4 for 36 while Jibran Khan’s left-arm spin fetched him 3 for 10.Pakistan lost an early wicket in reply, when Imad Wasim was trapped in front for 1, but Ahmed Shehzad, the in-form opener, blasted an unbeaten 99 from 97 balls as they swept home with plenty to spare.The fourth game, at the same venue, hadn’t been as one-sided, though ultimately Pakistan prevailed by five wickets. After winning the toss, Australia managed 214, thanks largely to a 58 by opener Jeremy Smith and O’Brien’s 44.Pakistan stumbled in reply, sinking to 79 for 4 and 127 for 5, but were bailed out by an undefeated 89-run stand for the sixth wicket between Usman Salahuddin (55 not out) and Jibran Khan (44 not out). They finally ensured that victory was achieved with 13 balls remaining.

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Rohan Gavaskar was the only East Zone batsmen who withstood Jai Prakash Yadav’s outstanding spell of 5 for 94 that helped dismiss East for 245 on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy match at Indore. In reply, Central Zone were 40 for 3 at stumps.East started badly after Sourav Ganguly won the toss and batted. They were reduced to 16 for 3 and kept losing wickets at regular intervals with Ganguly himself making just 16. Gavaskar’s 106 formed the backbone of the innings and only Debasish Mohanty provided him with any sort of support during his 46.East’s seamers inflicted damage on Central Zone by dismissing their openers for just 35 and Ashok Dinda, playing only his fourth first-class match, took Naman Ojha’s wicket at the stroke of stumps.
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Half-centuries from Robin Uthappa and Venugopal Rao along with several other nuggety contributions from South Zone’s batsmen helped them reach 281 for 9 on the first day against West Zone at Gwalior.VVS Laxman didn’t cash in on winning the toss – he was out for 15 – but Uthappa and Rao bolstered the innings. S Badrinath also chipped in with 42 as South Zone strung together a succession of useful partnerships. Zaheer Khan was West’s stand-out bowler with three wickets while Ramesh Powar and Sairaj Bahutule took two each.

Justin Langer believes the Ashes series has been the best he has played in, but he joined Matthew Hayden in predicting Australia would retain the urn at The Oval. The pair said after the tour match against Essex the pressure was on England and if Australia performed at their best the absorbing contest would be drawn 2-2.”That’s not being arrogant, that’s just a fact,” Langer told . “With the experience and the statistics we’ve got in our change room we’ll win Test matches.”Hayden, who made 150 before retiring against Essex, said if England pushed for a draw in the fifth Test, which starts on Thursday, they would “play into our hands”. “There is no doubt they won’t play any differently, but there are a lot of ways we can play differently,” he said in . “We just have to elevate our mindset and I think we can do it. All the pressure is off us now. We can just play our game. If we play like we can, it will be better than England. No question.”Langer and Hayden were brought together as an opening combination at The Oval four years ago and since then have shared 4718 runs in 51 Tests, and are behind only Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, who scored 6482 runs together in 89 matches. However, the form of Hayden this series threatens to end the relationship at the same ground, and the Ashes could go with him.”If we were to lose this series 3-1, worst-case scenario, I would look back on this and say it’s the best series I’ve ever played in,” Langer said. “I would play this series again and again over perhaps New Zealand at the end of last summer or some of the other series we’ve played over the last few years.”I know some of our guys are enjoying it, and some of them perhaps aren’t because the results aren’t quite there. We’ll be better for it, individually and as a team, there’s no doubt about that. To me it’s a buzz to be in this situation.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

England stormed to victory in the second Test at Edgbaston, winning by 256 runs after tea on the fourth day to go 2-0 up in the series and thus retain the Wisden Trophy. Ashley Giles was again the hero of the victory charge, picking up 5 for 57 as West Indies were bowled out for 222 in pursuit of an academic 478.Even though England were bowled out quite quickly for 248, with Chris Gayle taking Test-best figures of 5 for 34, it was again their day as the bowlers took control in the final session. Giles picked up three of the six wickets to fall after tea, including Gayle for 82, to take his tally for the match to nine, and become the first English spinner since Tony Lock against New Zealand in 1958 to do so in consecutive Tests.West Indies always faced a daunting task in needing to bat out five sessions for survival, but they didn’t make the best of starts. All the batsmen found Matthew Hoggard’s bounce and Giles’s spin disconcerting, and it was Devon Smith who fell first, edging Hoggard straight to Marcus Trescothick at first slip (15 for 1).Gayle’s torrid time against Hoggard continued when he was struck twice on the body, but he continued to be aggressive against anything loose. Michael Vaughan brought Giles into the attack early on, and in his first over, Andrew Strauss took a stunning catch at silly mid-off to dismiss Ramnaresh Sarwan for 14 (58 for 2).Brian Lara, who came to the crease just 20 short of 10,000 Test runs, played an extravagant drive first up, which he missed, and he was sent packing in the next over. Lara tried to flick a full delivery through the leg side, but the ball took the inside edge and looped to Andrew Flintoff at slip, and Lara was out for 13 (101 for 3). At least that’s what Simon Taufel thought, and replays suggested that there had been two noises as the ball passed the bat and hit the pad.Gayle, meanwhile, reached his half-century from 62 balls by slapping a full-toss from the off-colour Stephen Harmison through mid-off for four, and Gayle was soon back into his stride after tea, smashing a Hoggard slower ball back past the bowler. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, on the other hand, was content to play Giles with the front pad rather than his bat, but attacked when the ball was there to be hit, sweeping Giles for two fours to fine leg, the first of which brought up the fifty partnership.But just as Gayle and Chanderpaul were forming some resistance, Hoggard and Giles switched ends, and with his first ball from the Pavilion End, Hoggard almost had Chanderpaul caught at cover. But it was Giles who made the breakthrough, as Chanderpaul finally paid the price for hiding his bat behind his pad, and was given out lbw by Darrell Hair for 43 (172 for 4).Dwayne Bravo lasted just two balls against Giles before he fell in an identical fashion to the first innings – bowled by one that gripped the surface and turned past the bat to hit off stump (172 for 5). Ridley Jacobs, on a pair, almost became Giles’s third victim of the over, edging the ball onto his pad and into the air back to the bowler, but the caught-and-bowled chance fell just short.The West Indies collapse continued as Giles picked up his fifth wicket, that of Gayle, who had looked set for a century. Another excellent delivery from Giles hit the pad and brushed the bat as Gayle played forward defensively, and Andrew Strauss snapped up the catch at silly mid-off (177 for 6). Jacobs then completed his pair, lofting one from Hoggard that stopped on the pitch to mid-off, where James Anderson leapt into the air to take a well-judged one-handed catch (177 for 7). Pedro Collins didn’t last long, collecting the third duck of West Indies’ innings when he was palpably leg-before to Hoggard (182 for 8).Anderson came back on after a poor spell earlier in the day, and with his second ball bowled Corey Collymore for 10 to take England to the brink of victory (210 for 9). He then completed the rout two overs later by bowling Jermaine Lawson with a fast yorker to start the celebrations.

It was another sorry ending for West Indies, who crashed to their fifth defeat in six Tests against England. They did, though, salvage some pride by nipping out the remaining seven English wickets in the morning session. However, there was still time for Trescothick to reach his second century of the match – the first man to do so at Edgbaston – and for Graham Thorpe to score a half-century on his 35th birthday. However, both were dismissed shortly after reaching their milestones, and wickets fell regularly thereafter.Trescothick was run out by a direct hit from Sarwan from the boundary for 107 (184 for 4), and Thorpe then charged down the pitch at Gayle and was stumped for 54 (195 for 5). After playing out a few overs, Flintoff unleashed some powerful strokes on Lawson to keep the momentum going, but he top-edged an attempted heave to midwicket off Gayle, and Bravo took a well-judged catch (226 for 7).Before that, Lawson bowled Geraint Jones through the gate with one that swung in through the air and moved off the pitch for his fourth wicket, and Gayle then wrapped things up, bowling Giles for 15 (234 for 8), trapping Harmison lbw and having Hoggard scoop a catch straight to Smith at mid-on. However, it was all academic in the end as England proved they had plenty of runs to spare.

Hampshire make two changes to the side that lost to Somerset in the Frizzell County Championship last week, for the visit of Durham, starting this Wednesday (4th June).Wasim Akram returns after a bout of tonsilitis, and fit again Ed Giddins returns in place of James Bruce,Dimitri Mascarenhas will face a fitness test on the back injury that kept him out of the National League match against Scotland on Sunday.The team: John Crawley (captain), Derek Kenway, Simon Katich, Robin Smith, Will Kendall, Nic Pothas (wicket-keeper), Dimitri Mascarenhas, Wasim Akram, Shaun Udal, Alan Mullally and Ed Giddins.The Durham team: Jonathan Lewis (Captain), Michael Gough, Gary Pratt, Nicky Peng, Vince Wells, Danny Law, Phil Mustard (wicket-keeper), Liam Plunkett, Nic Phillips, Neil Killeen, Mark Davies, Dewald Pretorious.

English county cricket has always been characterised by its festival weeks.Evocative names like Ashby de la Zouch, Weston-super-Mare and Moreton inMarsh have, over the years, given the fixture list an appeal that could notbe matched by an everlasting rotation of county headquarters.Some of these festivals still flourish, and how appropriate that the mostfamous of them all, Scarborough, was the venue when Yorkshire secured theCricInfo Championship this year – their first title in the competition for 33 years.Even the Scarborough festival has changed. Not so long ago it was an end-of-season party with serious cricketers playing cricket that fell just a littleshort of the highest level. Anyone who needed a couple of wickets to reach a hundred in the season, or a few runs for a thousand, would be very disappointed to turn out for, say, T.N. Pearce’s XI and return home without achieving their personal landmark.When players turned up in some of the out of the way venues, usually having made their way through high-season holiday traffic to arrive at some ungodlyhour, they would all complain about the accommodation, the catering, and thesize and condition of the dressing rooms. Batsmen would complain that thepitches were dreadful, as would the bowlers at some of the flatter ones.All in all, the cricket was good or, at least, different and the presence offestival weeks certainly spiced up the daily round of cricket. Most importantly, the crowds would flock in, having fixed their holidays theprevious year to coincide with the next festival of cricket.That has changed along with the face of English cricket. Two three-day matches fitted rather neatly into a week, especially when there was a Sunday League match to be played as well. One four-day match and perhaps a limited-overs game do not make the same financial sense. That is what it comes down to. Why go to all the expense of transporting the trappings of a county match to a distant venue when there is a perfectly good headquarters ground, on which so much has been invested, standing empty?That is what has put a question mark over the continuance of so many festivals. The latest is not by the sea or in some scenic delight. It is in metropolitan Essex. To be exact, in Valentine’s Park, Ilford.At one time, Essex did not have a permanent home. They were a team of gypsies forever plying the A12 as they travelled from Leyton in the west to Clacton in the east, stopping at Ilford, Romford, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Colchester, Southend, and Westcliff on the way. British Railways Eastern Region did much the same.Gradually, as Chelmsford was developed as the county’s home, other venues were dropped. Nowadays, only Ilford, Southend, and Colchester are visited, and Ilford is under threat.Essex have just issued a statement which reads as follows: “Following a recent meeting of the Club’s Executive Committee it has been provisionally decided to proceed with the Ilford Festival in 2002.”The Festival has caused the Club considerable financial difficulty over several years, and the Club is at an advanced stage of negotiations withRedbridge Council for financial support for the future.”Chief Executive David East said: “The problems we have been experiencing with the Ilford Festival are common knowledge, and it is essential that we receive significant support from Redbridge Council if the Festival is to proceed next year.”Our Committee has decided to defer a final decision at this time, but has confirmed that it will not proceed if we are unable to obtain the necessary funding from Redbridge. Early indications are very favourable, but we understand that the Council’s budget will not be finalised until the early New Year.”We very much wish to return to Ilford to continue with our great traditionof first class cricket in the region. The Festival is the pinnacle of ourcommunity development activity in the Ilford and East London area, and weremain hopeful that Redbridge Council will provide the support we need tocontinue with the Festival.”Although our commitment to cricket development will remain, if Council funding is not forthcoming the matches provisionally scheduled at Ilford will have to be switched to Chelmsford.”East makes an important point. A large county in geographical terms, Essex has always felt it important to take the game to outlying areas. Not only does it boost membership by doing so, it also brings more young players into contact with the stars of the game. A couple of players to have come to Essex in recent years from the very same Ilford club whose festival is now under threat go by the names of Graham Gooch and John Lever.It is also the part of the world where the young Nasser Hussain learned his cricket. And yet that whole corner of a cricketing county could be left without any first-class fixtures unless a council budget can be manipulated to find a way of preserving the game. Otherwise, the name of Ilford could be added to a list that includes the likes of Ashby de la Zouch, Weston-super-Mare and Moreton in Marsh – the list of former first-class venues.

Jeff Vaughan’s third first-class century has today saved South Australia fromoutright defeat in the Pura Cup match against Western Australia at theAdelaide Oval.After scoring a duck in the first innings, the 26-year-old was keen to makeamends this time around. He confessed to feeling “pretty bloody ordinary”after that dismissal and was keen to hang about and do his part for theteam. And staying in also meant making runs.”We couldn’t afford to bat for four hours and still not be in front of them,but our number one goal was to still be on the Oval at stumps,” he said.”It’s still disappointing from a team perspective because we really stuffedit up in the first innings. But to come out of it with a fighting draw waspleasing.”Rebacks’ captain Darren Lehmann was full of praise for the right-handedbatsman, who occupied the crease for nearly six and a half hours for his unbeaten 131.”It was a great knock. Real gutsy, especially coming in on a pair; it was anexcellent effort from him,” he said.But Vaughan didn’t do it alone, receiving plenty of support from Brad Youngin particular. Young, who batted for two hours for his 71 not out, scoredat a brisk rate, belting 12 boundaries. The pair chalked up a partnershipof 132 at better than a run a minute. The highlight was one Damien Martynover that yielded 15 runs, including three fours.Lehmann was more than happy with the draw. “It was a goodfightback for us, considering we went in last night at 3/100 or whatever.So to get out with a draw there, where in the past we’d fold and probablylose the game easily, was really good,” he said.The Western Australians, who held on for a draw in similar fashion intheir previous match against Queensland, would be disappointed with theresult, but can take heart from their excellent batting performance.Martyn (122) and Adam Gilchrist (102) both enjoyed fine knocks. Gilchrist,in particular, was in sparkling form, prompting Lehmann to label his century”one of the best hundreds I’ve seen in Adelaide”. The Australianwicketkeeper was named player of the match.Western Australia next faces Tasmania in Hobart in November, while SouthAustralia takes on a full-strength New South Wales team at the BankstownOval.Vaughan said the team was looking forward to facing the Blues’ stellarline-up. “It’s a good challenge for the team. We have had a positive startto the season and it’ll be a huge challenge and one that everyone is lookingforward to. You want to test yourself against the best in the game, sowe’re all looking forward to it.”

Andrew Symonds is considering coming out of retirement to play a limited amount of T20 cricket.Symonds, who retired in February 2012 citing family reasons, has so enjoyed his experience of playing in the Masters Champions League – he is representing Capricorn Commanders in the tournament for players who have retired from international cricket – that he is mulling over offers to play more mainstream tournaments in the coming months.And, even if Symonds, now 40, ultimately decides against a playing comeback, he believes he could contribute to the game in a coaching role.He did some consulting work with the Australian Twenty20 team in South Africa in the lead-up to the World T20 in 2014 and has also had a loose advisory role with Brisbane Heat in BBL.”People have asked me: ‘would you consider starting up again?'” Symonds told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s something I’ve definitely got to consider.”I suppose I’m in a situation where I could go back, try and get really fit and engage again. Or just be happy doing what I’m doing. That’s something I’ve got to work out in the next six months or so.”I’m enjoying playing. It’s physically demanding, but I’m enjoying the challenge again. I’m enjoying the adrenalin and the nerves again. It’s not too bad at all. I am enjoying it.”For all his success – and Symonds played in World Cup-winning sides, set world records and finished with a Test batting average in excess of 40 – there is a sense that his was a talent not entirely fulfilled.A series of disciplinary misdemeanours saw his international career end prematurely when he was sent home ahead of the 2009 World T20, aged 33, but he believes his experience – particularly his experience in limited-overs cricket and playing in Asian conditions – could prove beneficial to another generation of players.Flashback to Andrew Symonds’ last IPL season for Mumbai Indians in 2011•Associated Press

“There’s a lot of ‘could haves’ with me,” Symonds admitted. “I’m probably a bit too old now to play really seriously. I’ve a good life. I’ve had a good life through cricket. I’m not unhappy. Life is really good. I’ve a young family now. It’s probably the greatest thing we’ve ever done.”But I’m also considering maybe going into the coaching side of things now. I wouldn’t want to burden anyone with my presence for too long, but a bit of consultancy work would be good. Going in for a couple of weeks and then leaving them alone: match awareness; how to finish games; setting totals; tactics against certain types of bowling or on certain surfaces.”I ended up playing a lot of cricket in the sub-continent and a lot of teams struggle when they go there. If I can pass on my experience, that may be helpful for them.”I’ve probably a few decisions to make in the next little bit.”

Jacques Kallis’ omission from the South African squad for the Twenty20 World Championship has prompted him to quit as vice-captain of the team. Kallis was non-committal about his future as an international player, though he ruled out the possibility of an early retirement.”I have resigned as vice-captain and I’m considering my options with regard to the rest of my career,” Kallis said. “I have been thinking long and hard over the weekend and there is still a lot of emotion involved because I am extremely disappointed. I was very excited about the tournament and hoping to make a huge contribution.”I feel I have a lot of good cricket left and my best years might even be ahead of me. Ideally I would like to play many more years for my country but this weekend caused me to question my future for the first time.”Joubert Strydom, the newly-appointed chairman of selectors, said that Kallis was merely rested for the tournament, keeping in mind South Africa’s packed schedule ahead. With quite a few young players competing for places in the top order, Strydom felt it would be better to preserve Kallis for Tests and one-dayers and not risk him in the Twenty20 format.Gerald Majola, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive, expressed disappointment over Kallis’ statement after he received a call from Kallis. “I said we all understood his disappointment, and appealed to him not to resign while in an emotional state but to rather meet with CSA to discuss the matter fully so that we could deal with all the issues at hand. It is most disappointing therefore that Jacques took a unilateral decision after speaking to me to publicly announce his resignation as vice-captain.”This is regrettable, particularly in the light that CSA and the players’ trade union, the South African Cricketers Association (SACA), have recently signed a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding which outlines the way in which we will deal with each other for mutual benefit.Jacques is employed by CSA, and we expected him at least to sit down at a meeting and go through the matter before he made his own decision to make a public announcement.”Majola hoped Kallis would reconsider his decision and added that CSA would attempt a meeting with him to discuss the matter in further detail.