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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

More than 21 years after Javed Miandad’s last-ball heroics in Sharjah, India and Pakistan played out a thrilling tie at the ICC World Twenty20, with Misbah-ul-Haq run out off the last ball of the match. But the tournament rules didn’t allow for the spoils to be shared, and it was India that prevailed in the bowl-out. Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa were Dirty Harry-accurate, while Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi all missed by a fair distance as a sell-out crowd celebrated an enthralling finale.The 33-year-old Misbah, who made a magnificent 53 from just 35 balls, had been an unlikely hero for Pakistan after Shahid Afridi’s dismissal, with 39 needed from 15 balls, had left them in a seemingly hopeless situation. He needed just one run from the last two balls of the innings, butSreesanth came round the wicket to deliver a dot ball and then a short one that Misbah could only parry to silly mid-off. He had no chance of completing the single.Earlier, Uthappa’s superb half-century had resurrected Indian hopes after a sensational new-ball spell from Mohammad Asif had skittled India’s top order. Asif bowled four magnificent overs on the trot, with mastery of the seam and impeccable control in overcast conditions. But from the depths of 36 for 4, India recovered to 141 for 9, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan buttressing Uthappa’s brilliant effort.India then fielded with great energy and bowled superbly to defend the total but Pakistan stormed back in the final three overs. They might however reflect on the batting order, with the destructive Afridi having come to the crease when the situation was almost beyond salvage.Rudra Pratap Singh had given India the perfect start, cleaning up the reckless Imran Nazir, and both he and Sreesanth kept the runs down to increase the pressure on Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal. It was Butt that finally succumbed to it, edging Ajit Agarkar’s second delivery behind thestumps. That evened the scales somewhat, but after a fairytale comeback over from Pathan, it was India that were right on top.A misunderstanding with Younis Khan sent Akmal packing off the first ball, and when Younis then gloved one back on to the stumps, a Pakistani victory was no longer a formality. A partnership was needed, and Misbah and Shoaib Malik built one, concentrating mainly on singles and the odd clever thump over the field.Malik’s patience finally snapped in Pathan’s final over, with Harbhajan Singh taking the skier in the circle, and Pakistan needed almost two off every ball when Afridi walked to the middle. He never got going either, but instead of the death-knell, his departure sparked a stunning finish.

Harbhajan’s otherwise immaculate spell was ruined by a six and a four from Misbah, and when the woefully off-radar Agarkar was clouted by Yasir Arafat and Misbah for 17 in the penultimate over, Pakistan needed just 12 from six. Misbah placed one beautifully over cover and then thumped one straight down the ground but it was to be Sreesanth that had the final say.Such a keen contest looked extremely unlikely early on with Asif’s bowling reminiscent of the peerless Glenn McGrath. Gautam Gambhir was brilliantly caught on the follow through at the second attempt, while Sehwag was sorted out as he so often has been of late, inside-edging one back on to his stumps.Uthappa got going with a great flick off his pads for four, and a splendid lofted on-drive off Gul showed that he meant business. But there was little support at the other end, with Yuvraj Singh miscuing one off the leading edge to mid-off. Dinesh Karthik briefly alleviated the gloom withtwo glorious strokes off Asif, making room and lofting through the off side, but when the extra bounce induced another inside edge, Pakistan were right on top.Asif’s exit gave Uthappa and Dhoni the chance to resurrect the innings. Uthappa thumped Arafat for a straight six and then lofted him way into the stands at midwicket, but both batsmen struggled to work out the left-arm medium pace of Sohail Tanvir, who bowled off the wrong out a la Mike Proctor.Afridi’s introduction didn’t stem the Indian momentum either, with Uthappa cutting and driving for fours, but a brief rain delay after he had reached 50 made all the difference. A thin edge through to Akmal gave Tanvir a first wicket, and brought Pathan to the crease.A fascinating little tussle with Afridi followed. Two huge sixes over midwicket had the Indian fans cheering themselves hoarse, but Afridi had the last word with a quicker delivery that crashed into the leg stump.Dhoni clubbed Arafat for a straight four and then swung him over fine leg for six, but the promised late explosion never came. Once he skied one to Younis at deep cover, India were left to limp to the finish. In the end though, those runs that were eked out made all the difference to agame that was the best possible advertisement for cricket’s fledgling format.

The ride of a New Zealand cricket fan is a turbulent one. Just when it seemed we finally had a Test side to match the one of the late 1980s, John Bracewell was appointed as coach. The result: a rapid descent towards the foot of the ICC Test ladder after New Zealand held third place in October 2003 following the last pre-Bracewell series in India.New Zealand had not conceded a Test series in two years save the one Test that was lost in Pakistan when the tour was aborted following a bomb blast. However under Bracewell and excluding the two innings victories over Bangladesh in October 2004, New Zealand has won just once from ten Test matches while losing seven.It is true that he was chosen to arrest New Zealand’s poor one-day form. While he has succeeded in that arena so far, the acid test looms over the coming months with eight ODIs against Australia and five against Sri Lanka.When New Zealand last visited Australia in late 2001 the Test series was drawn. It would be easy to say “well we had Shane Bond” but his figures of 1 for 135, 1 for 74 and 1 for 80 show it was in the VB Series that followed where he made his mark.Although they are loath to admit it, Australia came perilously close to losing that series as New Zealand turned up to play and then some. Even the loss of strike bowlers Dion Nash and Shayne O’Connor during the first Test was overcome.This time around New Zealand has produced two spineless performances with Jacob Oram’s magnificent hundred at the Gabba being the only significant performance when it counted. There can be no excuses. Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan were all there in 2001, the Australian attack was virtually the same (Michael Kasprowicz in for Brett Lee) and the pitches at Brisbane and Adelaide were excellent.New Zealand are simply not the same side that posted four centuries in the first innings against India at Mohali in their final hit-out before the Bracewell-era to emulate the same feat achieved against the Australian attack at Perth in the 2001 series.After losing to Pakistan at Wellington in December 2003, the call from the New Zealand camp was “we only had one bad day”. Similar sentiments followed South Africa’s series-levelling victory in March 2004, again at Wellington.On both occasions New Zealand collapsed in the second innings and were unable to halt the opposition’s last-innings chase. Remarkably the bat-first-lose trend then occurred in each of the three Tests in England. Whether it was just coincidence or poor tactics matters little: the tide had turned and the fighting spirit was gone.With New Zealand being humiliated by Australia to complete six Test losses on the trot, it begs the question not only whether Bracewell can do justice to the role of coach and chief-selector he requested, but also if he is the astute tactician New Zealand Cricket thought it was employing?Ian Chappell, the great Australian captain and long-time commentator, does not believe international sides need full-time coaches. In his view, having a coach second-guessing the captain is untenable. Chappell believes Fleming is suffering on the current tour from too many ideas and theories. When he interviewed Fleming at the toss during the first Test Chappell felt something was different about Fleming’s approach compared to that of 2001. The implication is obvious. In contrast to Bracewell, the previous coach, Denis Aberhart, took more of a back-seat role.Parallel to the on-field failures, the team’s attitude and demeanour off it struggles to generate positive vibes. At press conferences the players were robotic. Even when they were thrashing Bangladesh a few weeks ago smiles and laughs from many of the New Zealanders were a rarity.Onto Australia and little has changed. After the frustrations of Gillespie-McGrath batting effort at Brisbane, had Daniel Vettori’s opening line at the press conference been something like “well that was bloody awful” the honesty would have been warmly received.Whereas the Australians are always looking for a joke at press conferences, the New Zealanders seem to be pre-occupied with not showing any sign of weakness. When the whole world knows you’re being flogged out on the park is there any point?With a Test ranking of seventh and further tough assignments on the way, surely the time has come for the New Zealand team reconsider the whole model because the current one surely isn’t working.

Peter Moores, Sussex’s highly rated coach and former captain, was today unveiled as the new director of the ECB Academy. The appointment was confirmed at a press conference on a second rain-affected day of Sussex’s opening championship fixture at The Oval, and Moores, 42, promised to build on the solid foundations that have been laid by his predecessor, Rod Marsh, who steps down from the role in September.The England & Wales Cricket Board has long had its eye on Moores, who joined Sussex as a wicketkeeper in 1985, and went on to become their coach 12 years later. In 2000-01, he was asked to lead the England A squad on their winter tour of West Indies, but his county stint reached its zenith in 2003, when he steered the team to a maiden County Championship title after 164 years.”My whole philosophy on coaching is one of getting excellence out of players,” said Moores, “rather than putting it in.” As a wicketkeeper, his career overlapped with the era of Jack Russell and Alec Stewart, but he insisted his lack of international experience would have no bearing on his ability to do the job. “My ambition, like every county player, was to play international cricket, but I never quite got there. Even so, I loved the fact that every year you had that opportunity.”Since moving from playing to coaching, however, Moores’s international call-up has been looming large. Last winter he was on a shortlist of two to take over as West Indies’ coach, a role that eventually went to Bennett King, and now he has beaten off other likely contenders such as Tom Moody for the Academy role.”I didn’t have a burning desire to do the West Indies job,” admitted Moores. “They asked me to apply so I did. But the Academy is a fantastic job in its own right, so I’m going to get stuck in and give it the best I can. Coaches are no different to players. You play with a view to playing internationals, and as a coach, the thought of coaching the best players on the best stage available is very appealing.”It is a large pair of shoes that Moores is being asked to step into, however. In his four years in charge, Marsh has built the Academy from concept to fruition, and a steady flow of players is now beginning to graduate through the ranks, with Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen the most prominent of England’s recent additions.”Rod has a reputation as a fantastic coach,” said Moores, “but I’ve got my style, he’s got his. I’ve never worked with him, so I’ll just being doing it in my way, which is to judge it as you see the player. The most important thing is whoever does the job does it well. Rod’s been there, put the groundwork in, established the standards that are needed, and started to produce players. My job is to build on what Rod’s done, and move it forward.”By 2007, the ECB have said they hope that at least 90% of the England team will have come through the ranks of the Academy, although Moores was wary of setting such targets. “For me, the challenge is to make people better. Getting into the England side depends on how well the team is doing, and the individuals in that team. The better they do, the harder it is for new players to come through, so it’s difficult to know if we can achieve those targets. All we can do is ensure that everyone who goes through the Academy can come out a better player and a more rounded person.”Moores refused to single out the Academy as the single most important aspect of England’s recent renaissance. “There have been so many different factors,” he said, “although the Academy is definitely a very positive move. It allows you to know the people, meet the standards and understand the way things are meant to be in an England set-up, before you actually get there. And it gives you a chance to work positively on your game in the winter months, when you might not otherwise have had the opportunity.”The new coach takes up the reins on October 1, which means he has plenty time in which to settle into his new role, and perhaps most importantly, forge a working relationship with Duncan Fletcher, something that was not always apparent about his predecessor, Marsh. “Obviously I’ve met Duncan before, but I’m looking forward to working closely. Until then, however, I’ve got a county season to run, and I’m going to make sure I leave Sussex in good shape, and maybe even with a trophy.”That might be easier said than done, however. The timing of this announcement will ensure that a visit to Hove will be at the top of every aspiring England candidate’s wishlist. Sussex may just find themselves becoming the team that everyone wants to beat.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball
How they were out

England wrapped up the second Test and series early on the third day, Matthew Hoggard taking the last two wickets to end with 5 for 73. It was another convincing win by a buoyant England side – their tenth in a row at home – who showed no mercy in either match. Bangladesh, who lost by an innings and 27 runs, have been totally outplayed, but they will take some consolation from their second innings effort in this match, with the 19-year-old Aftab Ahmed unbeaten on 82.After Michael Vaughan’s lunch-time declaration on the second day few expected that, come Sunday, England and Bangladesh would still be engaged in a contest. But Ahmed’s innings brought both teams back to Chester-le-Street, where he posted the highest score by a Bangladesh batsman against England, with Javed Omar’s 71 and Habibul Bashar’s 63 in the same innings the next best. Ahmed played with confidence again this morning, as Bangladesh edged past the 300-mark for only the ninth time in their short Test history. But he ran out of partners as Hoggard ran through the lower order to finish the game after just 17 minutes’ play.It wasn’t Hoggard’s best bowling overall, but two cracking awayswingers found the edge of Tapash Baisya – who had fought hard in a ninth-wicket stand of 60 with Ahmed – and then Mashrafe Mortaza. “I’m not quite in rhythm,” Hoggard admitted on Sky Sports afterwards, “but it’s nice to come out with a five-for. It’s nice to bowl badly and still take wickets.” And, as he collected the Man of the Match award, he promised to work hard on his no-balling in time for the Ashes.This has been a good allround performance for England, with Ian Bell in particular impressing throughout his maiden Test century and Steve Harmison bowling well. Bell has filled the No 4 spot well, while Vaughan batting at No 3 has paid off. Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones did not bat throughout the series, but Duncan Fletcher said that, with the Ashes firmly in mind, he did not want to disturb the batting order. England were rarely troubled throughout this series, but they know stiffer tests lie ahead.

How they were out

BangladeshTapash Baisya c G Jones b Hoggard 18 (311 for 9)
Nibbled at awayswingerMashrafe Mortaza c Trescothick b Hoggard 0 (316)
Thick edge juggled at first slip

While the Indian Cricket League and ECB continue to spar, there is encouraging news for Mushtaq Ahmed, who has received a second No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).It comes as a surprise: earlier this month the PCB had said that they would withdraw Mushtaq’s first NOC, which would have prevented him from playing for Sussex due to his ICL involvement. But with this second certificate, it seems increasingly likely that Mushtaq’s county career should continue. For the time being, at least.”We’ve provided the ECB with a second certificate, which we received onMonday, and we are just waiting for everything to be formalised,” said Gus MacKay, the Sussex chief executive. “We don’t foresee a problem.”In Mushtaq’s favour – certainly in the eyes of the PCB – was his delay in playing for his ICL side, the Lahore Badshahs, which seems to have helped in his bid for a second NOC. Yorkshire, though, are still waiting on Rana Naved-ul-Hasan who has already played for Lahore.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has assured its English counterparts (ECB) that security for the tour later this month will be “air tight”.Although the ECB carried out its own checks in June, recent bombings have again raised concerns over player and spectator safety.”The security will be air tight,” said Abbas Zaidi, the PCB’s director of operations, after meeting government officials. “We do not foresee any problems with the security arrangements for the England and their followers.”The issue of visas for visitors from the United Kingdom for the series was also discussed in detail. The government officials have been co-operative in the past and they are again extending all co-operation.”Karachi, a venue which has been under the spotlight of late in a city with a record of terrorist attacks, is understood to have been the focal point of the discussions.England leave for their three-Test, five-ODI tour on October 26.

Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, called for the Caribbean public to ensure the survival of West Indies cricket by involving themselves in a membership programme that would fund the regional game without the “stranglehold” of sponsors.Lara, who called the current West Indies team “his family”, made the rousing appeal as the feature speaker at the third annual West Indies Players Association (WIPA) Awards for 2005, which took place at the Chaguaramas Hall of the Chaguaramas Hotel and Convention Centre in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday night. The ceremony had as its theme “In pursuit of excellence”.Lara, who was named West Indies Cricketer of the Year, West Indies Test Player of the Year and given a special award for becoming the highest scorer in Tests last year, suggested the people of the region take matters into their own hands and emulate the efforts of the fans of two world-famous teams, namely the Green Bay Packers, who play in the National Football League (NFL) in the USA, and Spanish football club Barcelona, winners of this year’s European Champions League.”These two teams have a model I would love to see the West Indies adopt,” Lara explained. “They pay an annual membership fee and with a membership of 90,000 fans for the Packers and 100,000 for Barcelona, that brings in a lot of revenue.”He continued: “We can do the same thing here in the Caribbean. We have six million passionate fans in the region and a further nine million in the diaspora. Why can’t we have just one million of those people paying US$20 to ensure that West Indies cricket survives?”Lara’s suggestion was immediately taken up by entertainer Rikki Jai, who performed right after Lara’s address and opened with a pledge to become the first member.Lara reasoned that this venture would prevent any one private entity from dictating the pace for the regional game, like the sponsorship row between Digicel and Cable & Wireless that wreaked havoc last year.”Why do we have to have that stranglehold of sponsorship round our necks? We are greater than that,” he said to great applause from the gathering. Lara had set up his suggestion by pointing out that West Indies cricket was at a critical juncture which could mean the demise of the game in the region.He stated that the expected windfall of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in West Indies would be US $50-60 million, a situation that would finally erase a US$15-20 million debt that has saddled the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to date.”That would leave about US$30 million and I have talked to one person close to the WICB who told me that that money would last five to six years,” Lara stated, after surmising that West Indies cricket was at the “threshold of complete oblivion in world cricket”, due to its perilous financial state.”After that, a period of uncertainty and the unknown would follow. What do we do to arrest that situation? What do we do to ensure that the money we make over the World Cup will help ensure the game prospers long after so we move forward and our cricket moves on to that next level?” he asked.In his address, Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA chief executive officer and president, stressed the importance of the recently-signed collective agreement and paid homage to the region’s fans, asking for their continued support.