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

Marcus Trescothick falls to Arshad Khan © Getty Images

Fresh from consigning England to their worst-ever defeat, Pakistan rubbed in the salt with a sparkling bowling performance which took them to a series win at Rawalpindi. It was their tenth victory in 11 ODIs but it was no easy task; a composed display from the bowling attack was required to hold off Kabir Ali and James Anderson’s last-gasp charge. They added 33.England had looked dead and buried at 114 for 8, chasing 211, but Ali added 50 for the ninth wicket and Ian Blackwell and then he and Anderson took England agonisingly close. In the end, though, Pakistan held their nerve to win by a slender 13 runs.They were always going to be up against it after an average showing from their batsmen. Inzamam-ul-Haq had been the mainstay of their innings, his unbeaten 81 taking Pakistan past 200, while Shahid Afridi added 34. But it was just enough.Poor old England, though – just when they thought their bowlers had restricted Pakistan to a realistic target, their batsmen narrowly failed to deliver. Andrew Flintoff top-scored with 40, and Ali posted an unbeaten 39.To be fair to both line-ups, the pitch was the trickiest of the series to date, but it was definitely a day which belonged to the bowlers. England’s attack were first up after Inzamam chose to bat. Pakistan were wobbling at 34 for 3, but Inzamam’s 82nd one-day fifty took them to 210, although this was still way short of his reckoning that 270 was par.While others around him struggled to cope with a turning pitch and some hostile England bowling, Inzamam was as laissez-faire as ever, easing the ball over midwicket, cover, straight – in fact, wherever he fancied – as he moved to an unbeaten 81.There weren’t quite the fireworks that Pakistan’s batsmen have been dishing up of late, in fact it was England’s bowlers who were the sparklers. Liam Plunkett removed their big hitters Afridi and Abdul Razzaq in successive balls to neutralise any danger of a big rearguard and his contribution was just one part of a convincing England bowling display – at long last.Flintoff and James Anderson got the ball rolling, and the wickets tumbling; their pressure caused three wickets to fall for no runs to leave Pakistan in some trouble. Salman Butt and Younis Khan fell in successive balls, then five balls later Kamran Akmal was back in the hutch, too, as Pakistan’s top order succumbed to the squeeze.Flintoff bowled a nagging line and length, and bristled with hostility, while Anderson – who was immediately upgraded from Supersub to opening bowler – proved a worthy foil, using the slower ball to good effect to deceive Akmal. Plunkett slipped in an offcutter later to scythe down Afridi and followed next ball with Razzaq’s wicket to puncture Pakistan’s momentum late on.England’s work was only just beginning though. Pakistan came strongly at them with the new ball as Rana Naved-ul-Hasan took two wickets in two balls to rock their top order and then Shoaib Akhtar followed up with the wicket of Vikram Solanki.In a double wicket maiden that rocked England, Naved got the ball to swing away and was twice rewarded for his efforts; causing Matt Prior to thick-edge through to the keeper and then trapping Andrew Strauss plumb first ball. It wasn’t long before Akhtar got his dues either, banging in a 94mph-belter which Solanki could only edge onto his stumps.

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan grabbed the first two wickets, including Andrew Strauss first ball © Getty Images

Flintoff and Marcus Trescothick set about repairing the innings, adding 45 for the fourth wicket. But their partnership was less than convincing against a polished Pakistan attack, and it wasn’t to last. Flintoff had a reprieve on 5, when his hooray to long leg had Kamran Akmal and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan careering towards each other on course for a collision. They missed each other, but also the catch.Yet it was England who were hurtling to the danger zone. Naved thought he had Trescothick on 9 – and so did the team, the crowd and the Snickometer. Even Trescothick appeared to concur, too, to judge by his guilty expression. But the umpire gave him a stay of execution.It wasn’t to last. He struggled against Arshad Khan’s first two deliveries – alarming rippers – and then he played the third for non-existent turn. It was a great bowling change after Naved had become a little wayward.If the wheels were coming off for one bowler, though, the entire bodywork of England’s batting was in a state of collapse. Flintoff was next to fall courtesy of another good change: Afridi coming into the attack to bolster the spin attack, and he trapped Flintoff in front. Then Geraint Jones capitulated to his legspin, popping up the easiest of chances to gully before Afridi made it three with Plunkett.England needed their tailenders to pull something really special out of the bag – and the final two pairings nearly delivered. Shoaib Malik came on to bowl the 48th over and had Anderson in some trouble against his spin. Anderson nurdled his way to his highest one-day total of 11 but then came the fall, as Akhtar dismissed him with one which the batsman could only fend to slip.With each member of Pakistan’s attack firing, it proved to be too tall an order and the teams will return here on Wednesday with only pride on offer for England.How they were out
PakistanSalman Butt run out (Solanki) 15 (34 for 1)
Younis Khan b Flintoff 0 (34 for 2)
Kamran Akmal b Anderson (34 for 3)
Mohammad Yousuf lbw Ali 11(58 for 4)
Shoaib Malik c Strauss b Blackwell 23 (118 for 5)
Shahid Afridi b Plunkett 34 (174 for 6)
Abdul Razzaq b Plunkett 0 (174 for 7)
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan c Collingwood b Ali 17 (208 for 8)
Shoaib Akhtar c Collingwood b Flintoff 0 (208 for 9)
Mohammad Sami c Jones b Anderson 0 (210 all out)
EnglandMatt Prior c Kamran Akmal b Naved-ul-Hasan 6 (13 for 1)
Andrew Strauss lbw b Naved-ul-Hasan 0 (13 for 2)
Vikram Solanki b Akhtar 6 (26 for 3)
Marcus Trescothick b Arshad Khan (70 for 4)
Paul Collingwood c Shoaib Malik b Sami (77 for 5)
Andrew Flintoff lbw b Shahid Afridi 40 (99 for 6)
Geraint Jones c Naved b Afridi 12 (106 for 7)
Liam Plunkett lbw b Afridi 7 (114 for 8)
Ian Blackwell run out 29 (164 for 9)
James Anderson c Younis b Akhtar (197 all out)

Elite Group
Madhya Pradesh 255 and 222 (Bundela 139*, Kulkarni 5-55) drew with Mumbai 233 and 81 for 4 (Pandey 4-20)
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In what was one of the early season surprises, Mumbai conceded two points to newly promoted Madhya Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium. Devendra Bundela’s battling 139 on the final day thwarted Mumbai’s hopes of forcing an outright victory. Madhya Pradesh were staring at defeat on the third afternoon when they were reduced to 13 for 4, having gained a slender lead of 22 runs. But Bundela was supported ably by the lower order as he inched towards his 11th first-class hundred. Sanjay Pandey, the No. 11, stayed with him for more than a session and Mumbai were left with just 33 overs to chase the target of 245. Although they made an effort to go for the target, they were thwarted by defensive fields and never had a chance once wickets started falling at regular intervals.Tamil Nadu 353 drew with Uttar Pradesh 136 and 157 for 8
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Uttar Pradesh held on for a tense draw at Lucknow as Tamil Nadu finished with just two points from their second game of the season. Ramakrishnan Ramkumar, the left-arm spinner, had given Tamil Nadu a great chance of a thumping victory as UP were forced to follow on on the third day. But Ramkumar and his team-mates managed to snap up just eight wickets in the UP second innings and had to be content with first-innings honours.Gujarat 330 and 307 for 4 (Timil Patel 78*, Niraj Patel 70, Akash Christian) drew with Karnataka 272 and 156 for 7 (Trivedi 6-52)
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The Karnataka tailenders defied Gujarat and managed to hold on for a draw on the final day at Bangalore. Needing to play out 38 overs, Karnataka were rocked by Siddharth Trivedi, the medium-pacer, and were reduced to 24 for 5 within the first seven overs. But a gritty 46 from Thilak Naidu took them to safety as they managed to limit the damage to just two points to Gujarat. Earlier in the day, two Patels had helped to extend Gujarat’s lead as Timil (78 not out) and Niraj (70) shared a 126-run stand. And a third Patel – Parthiv – then contributed a quick 37 as Gujarat declared on 307 for 4.Punjab 422 beat Assam 213 and 158 (Gagandeep 6-26) by an innings and 51 runs
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It took just six overs this morning for Punjab to wrap up their game against Assam at Amritsar. Gagandeep Singh, the medium pacer, finished with 12 wickets in the match as Punjab registered their first win of the season. Navdeep Singh and Rajesh Sharma ended up with two wickets apiece.Railways 348 and 217 for 6 dec (Pagnis 89) drew with Bengal 255 and 212 for 5 (Shukla 65, Arindam 60)
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Arindam Das and Laxmi Ratan Shukla helped Bengal hang on for a draw against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Railways extended their lead to 310 this morning and were left with almost the entire day to wrap up Bengal’s second innings. However, they had to be content with just two points from the game as the Bengal batsmen doggedly resisted. Das used up 241 balls for his 60 while Shukla made a cheerful 65, with nine fours and a six, at the end of the day.Delhi 491 drew with Andhra 311 and 152 for 5 (MSK Prasad 71*)
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MSK Prasad, the former Indian wicketkeeper, helped Andhra secure a draw and deny Delhi an outright victory at the Roshanara Club in Delhi. After being asked to follow-on Andhra lost only five wickets in their second innings as Prasad’s patient 71 held it together. With this result, Delhi have four points from their first two games while Andhra have two, with a clash against defending champions Mumbai next week.Baroda 446 and 189 for 1 (Parab 100*, Powar 64*) drew with Maharashtra 387 (Marathe 110, Mohan 101, Pawar 5-79)
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Satyajit Parab helped himself to his second hundred of the match as Baroda got the better of the draw in their game against Maharashtra at Pune. Maharashtra resumed at 328 for 4 this morning, still needing 119 runs to gain first-innings points. Dhruv Mohan, batting on 87 overnight, managed to reach his first hundred in first-class cricket but Rajesh Pawar, the left-arm spinner, brought Baroda back into the game. The last five wickets fell for just 28 runs and Baroda picked up two valuable points from the match. Kiran Powar (64 not out) and Parab then got some useful batting practice in the middle as the game meandered to a draw.

Everybody’s talking about sledging these days. In recent times Dennis Lillee, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly have all commented on the issue. All of them have a point.Sledging has been happening in cricket for a long time. It has become a concern now because TV viewers and listeners can hear what players are saying via stump microphones. This has resulted in the recent past in some players getting disciplined – such as Glenn McGrath, Shahid Afridi and Darren Lehmann. Even I was incorrectly accused during the 2003 World Cup of wrongful sledging, although everyone knows I am not a particularly vociferous person on the field.A most amazing incident happened in grade (club) cricket in Australia in March, when the batsmen walked off after incessant sledging by the opposing fielders and bowlers.Many people say sledging is against the spirit of cricket. In my mind, not all sledging is bad. Most things in the world have both a negative and a positive side to them. That’s just the case with sledging.Negative sledging, I would say, falls into the category of Abuses and Insults; positive sledging consists of Challenges and Humour. There is, of course, a fine line between insult and humour, and it’s often a matter of perception.Abuses and Insults are against the spirit of the game. They usually begin when despite trying their hardest, players are not getting what they want. They then lose their composure, become desperate and resort to negative sledging by using foul and insulting language. They need to be reined in, and that responsibility falls first on the captain. The onus for determining when the limit has been crossed falls on the match referee.Challenges and Humour, on the other hand, are an affable part of the game. Basit Ali once told me that when he used to go into bat in the initial few matches of his career, Javed Miandad used to ask him to dare the fast bowlers by saying, “Let’s see if you can hit me.” This is like throwing a challenge to the opponent and is good gamesmanship. In boxing, we all know how Muhammad Ali is still admired worldwide for similar behaviour in the ring. Glaring and making unpleasant faces towards the opponents is all part of the aggressiveness in the field and is not unconstructive, as long as no bad words are exchanged.Qasim Umer indulged in some hilarious sledging against West Indies way back in the semi-final of the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket in Melbourne in 1985, when he started to make faces similar to Malcolm Marshall and Winston Davis. He even held out his bat as if he was holding a gun. The World Cup of 1992 will always be remembered for Pakistan’s win in the final against England – and Javed Miandad jumping up and down against India after the consistent chattering of their wicketkeeper, Kiran More.These days when people talk of sledging Australia come immediately to mind. Let us, thus, examine sledging and nationality. The West Indians, considered the friendliest cricket team, never sledge. On the field they play aggressive cricket, talk among themselves and buck up each other, but they rarely get entangled in heated exchanges with their opponents. They rarely lose their composure – though they have done so in the past because of bad umpiring, which is nevertheless not reason enough.For Australia, on the other hand, sledging has been a part of their cricketing folklore – as epitomised by Yabba, a person sitting near the boundary at Sydney throwing encouragements, challenges and insults to players. Australian players on the field have now adopted the role of Yabba. As long as the modern-day Yabba does not use ugly language and is only sending out healthy challenges, it should be fine. In fact, it is good for the game, and adds to its competitiveness.The most popular sport on this planet is soccer. Nobody tries to ban sledging and body contact in this sport. In cricket, with the batsman separated by 22 yards, body contact is irrelevant and undesirable. But positive sledging increases the thrill of the game – just as it does in soccer.As a player, one needs to be mentally tough and able to adapt to the prevailing sports environment. And the ultimate weapon to counter sledging is one’s cricketing skill. VVS Laxman’s exquisite 281 against Australia at Kolkata in 2001 was one example of this, as was Shoaib Akhtar’s 5 for 25 at Brisbane in 2002. At the end of the day, it should all come down to the cricket.

The test match is over and finally we can walk away with something to be proud of. Well, a number of things. Top of the list is the opening partnership between Caroline and Arran, which showed application and steadiness. Purists might argue that by batting slowly we killed the game – but I would disagree.We have played three ODIs in which our batting has been weak; wickets have been lost carelessly and here was a test match that demanded something much more applied. Their performance not only set a new world record but affirmed that we are developing and thus heading in the right direction. It has been a trophy for us all and one that we can draw on in the next two ODIs. The world record having been set by such a young opening partnership also bodes well for the future.With losing so much of the 3rd day due to very heavy overnight rain, the dynamic of the game changed at the beginning of the fourth day. With one wicket down, the Indian side would need to bat out the day. As the day wore on, the game shaped up to be a much more specific contest – the Indians were going to try to reach our score and surpass it by the end of the day. They lost two key batters – Chopra and Jain – the latter being brilliantly caught out of her crease by Jane Cassar and a quick thinking Arran Thompson.This signalled the arrival of Raj, a very accomplished bat, who despite her slight figure can hit the ball as powerfully as anyone. But Dawn Holden bowled her, fourth ball. A sweet moment indeed. Hemalta, who went on to score a ton, was dropped early on and this perhaps allowed for the excitement and challenge of the last hour, which saw India coasting toward our target. A great catch from Caroline brought her demise and the beginning of something special. We knew that the challenge would be to keep India away from our score, but they had only to get 15 runs, with six wickets in hand.They lost five of those wickets over 10 runs as their tail was exposed and we took advantage of their nervousness. And with the last wicket came the end of time – they were three runs short if I remember rightly. It felt as though we had won. It was particularly good to see Laura Newton bowling so well (21-10-24-0). She is a star in the making. Lucknow has been a very generous host and we have been showered with gifts and invitations. Blazers have been made for each of us to commemorate the test and with each game there are trophies for every player. The residents of match venues are keen to show their hospitality, and there often is not the time to do all that they ask.Crowds at the games have been entertained by the ever youthful Clare Taylor, who manages to find fans wherever she goes. Schoolchildren and cricket fans clamour for autographs at every turn, and we are always shown the greatest respect. The players have been patient at some very testing times – not least the day before the test match as we waited at Delhi airport for over nine hours, having missed our flight. Not a single person complained; instead out came the cards, the books, the internet and people happily kept themselves entertained. One of this day’s highlights was Caroline’s performance – on her 21st birthday too – as paid the forfeit for losing at cards the night before. She had to dress in a bikini and sing happy birthday to herself in the middle of Delhi airport! Another trophy, we all felt.A few nomadic Barmy Army fans have supported and entertained us over the last week. It’s been good to have them around, enthusiastic and 100% supportive, they have rallied the crowds, deliberately standing in amongst the largest crowds of Indian supporters and chanting for England. They are celebrities in their own right.Tonight we fly to Bombay, for tomorrow’s practice match and ODI. This final week is as hectic as that which has gone before, but we look forward to it. Let’s hope that we continue finding things to celebrate!!

Rawalpindi struggled to 156 for six in their first innings against Lahore Whites on a curtailed opening day of the Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Trophy Grade I match at the LCCA Ground here on Saturday.The match started 90 minutes late as the pitch was wet due to wateringof the ground, which done two days ago. The morning dew also hamperedits drying out process.The right-arm fast-medium bowler Irfan Fazil exploited theconditionsefficiently to claim four wickets for 54 runs after Lahore Whitescaptain Naeem Ashraf elected to field.Rawalpindi’s skipper Naseer Ahmad played a steady head to stabilisethe innings with an unbeaten knock of 61. He has so far batted for 196minutes. His 120-ball innings includes nine boundaries.Naseer and Shahid Javed (29 with five fours) shared an invaluablepartnership of 83 for the fifth wicket in 112 minutes.

Renowned Glasgow Rangers blogger ‘Four Lads Had a Dream’ have given their reaction to some news that has now come out of Ibrox.

The Lowdown: Sydney Super Cup

As confirmed by the official website of the Teddy Bears, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team have now accepted an invite to the Sydney Super Cup in Australia in November.

They will play Western Sydney Wanderers before facing their bitter rivals Celtic in the first ever Old Firm game to be played outside of Glasgow.

The Latest: Blogger reacts

Taking to Twitter, ‘Four Lads Had a Dream’ have given their reaction to the news, and it is safe to say that they were left far from happy:

“Will repeat again.

“Allowing ourselves to be part of this Sydney cup (which is being marketed as a homecoming tour with the Glasgow Derby) is absolutely nauseating.

“So out of touch with our support.

“Disgraceful decision which will end the trust of many figures in the boardroom.”

The Verdict: Not thought through

The decision to accept the invitation has clearly not been thought through much by the Light Blues board.

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The Cup has been advertised as a homecoming for Hoops manager and Aussie Ange Postecoglou, and so all of the focus and excitement will be on him and his team, rather than the Gers.

Nonetheless, it is also a long way to travel for a friendly tournament that does not really have much bearing on their season, and if anything increases the risk of injuries and fatigue as some players head to the World Cup, before the club anxiously await their return, hoping that they are unscathed.

In other news, find out who RFC’s three worst performers were against St. Johnstone here!

In early February the Somerset website carried an article about the changes that will be taking place to the scoreboards at the County Ground in Taunton this season.Chris Bass, who last season operated the electronic scoreboards has contacted the site and provided the following information regarding the changes.”The installation of electronics in both scoreboards before the start of the 2001 season has been generally considered a success, matched of course by the players’ performance on the field! Comments by members are always welcomed and the consensus has been to further improve the information coming from what has become known as the No.2 Board above the Executive Business Club.Traditionally and by virtue of where they sit, a sizeable proportion of spectators prefer the No.2 Board for information in preference to the Main Board at the Priory Bridge side of the ground. With this in mind, the following changes will greet spectators from the start of the 2002 season:1. The Moving Message Board will be re-located to above the No.2 Scoreboard. This facility will continue to be used to give the crowd virtually any information.
2. The No.2 Board will also carry the following additional items on a newly constructed adjoining panel: Overs Left and Runs to Win. During Limited Overs matches, the number of overs bowled by any respective bowlers will also be displayed, together with the relevant Duckworth/Lewis revised targets whenever applicable
3. Those viewing the Main Board will also see enlarged digits for total and wickets.
4. Spectators will enjoy the additional facility of lights on both scoreboards indicating which of the two batsmen is on strike at every stage of the game.As part of the new technology in 2001, the main board has the wiring capability to display the individual batsmens’ names, but it was considered unnecessary to make this upgrade at this stage with the advent of players’names being shown on the players’ backs during all matches in the forthcoming season.The neccesary work to upgrade the scoreboards will be carried out during the week beginning March 18th. All the new facilities will continue to be operated by Chris Bass from a single control point in the Media Centre.”Thanks Chris for putting us all in the picture regarding the scoreboard. I’m sure that everybody will appreciate the detail you have given in your update.

Whither Lara? © Getty Images

The speculation over whether Brian Lara will turn up to play in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) continues. Contrary to what Gaurav Seth, head of marketing at ICL, said earlier this week, the latest news is Lara is to arrive over the weekend.This time around Seth played it safe and chose not to confirm Lara’s arrival sometime late Friday. “Hopefully Lara will arrive over the weekend,” said Seth, unable to get a confirmed date because he hadn’t spoken with Himanshu Modi, the ICL chief who had rushed to London few days ago to have another meeting with the West Indian legend. “Lara had his own concerns but they’ve been sorted out now.” According to Seth, Modi is on his way back to India and soon things would be made clear.Lara, listed as captain of the Mumbai Champs, one of the six squads that complete the ICL league, was supposed to arrive last weekend to join his team-mates for practice at the Western Railways ground. The second part of the ICL phase starts now with the practice games that commence from tomorrow at five centres across India. The Champs will play the first of their three practice games against Kolkata Tigers from tomorrow, sans Lara.With the extended delay of his arrival, rumours about Lara opting to play both ICL and the BCCI’s Indian Premier League (IPL), which is scheduled to start in the summer of 2008, were adding sweat to ICL management. Seth said he was not bothered about the IPL now that Lara has agreed to the new terms.”He [Lara] had some concerns regarding the contract he had signed originally and wanted to renegotiate certain terms,” said Seth.It’s only natural that Lara will try to come on his own terms now that he knows he is the biggest player with the biggest brand value in the ICL. If he opted out, the pressure would be right on the sponsors.

Ricky Ponting’s Ashes-winning smile was stopped when Shane Warne told him he was retiring © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting was “shocked” and “saddened” when Shane Warne decided to retire, but he is stunned by talk of Glenn McGrath also walking away. In his first comments since Warne’s announcement, Ponting revealed he did not try to change his team-mate’s mind.”I was a bit shocked and a bit saddened like everybody else was – not that he made the decision, because he’d obviously thought long and hard about wanting to retire,” Ponting said. “But because of the fact I played with him for so long and he’s a really good friend of mine and I’ve learned a lot from him about the game.”Warne told Ponting he was stepping down after Sydney during the Ashes-winning celebrations at Perth. “Whenever you lose someone you’ve been close to for a long period of time it’s sad,” he said. “But he’s obviously made that decision on other things he wanted to do in his life so I didn’t at any stage ever try to talk him out of it.”Speculation is also high that McGrath will make a similar decision, but Ponting said he sat next to his team-mate on the plane to Melbourne on Friday. “He can’t believe some of the attention and some of the things that have been written in the paper, particularly today,” Ponting told reporters. “I certainly haven’t had the conversation with Glenn that I had with Shane the other night so that would to me indicate that he’s thinking about playing a bit longer yet.”

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Western Australia ended the third day of their Pura Cup clash against Tasmania at Perth in a good position, but some good bowling gave the visitors an outside sniff of an improbably victory. They closed on 0 for 53 in pursuit of a target of 348.Tasmania’s innings had its share of drama. David Dawson was dropped by wicketkeeper Ryan Campbell when he had made 9 – he was 17 not out at stumps – and Michael DiVenuto (32 not out) caused a few flutters among his team-mates when he required lengthy treatment after being struck on the elbow by Ben Edmondson.The day had started well for Western Australia, even though Scott Kremerskothen delayed procedings with a spirited 66, and Tasmania were bowled out for 234, a first-innings deficit of 171. Rather than enforce the follow on, WA looked to press home their advantage by building an insurmountable lead.But that plan soon came off the rails as Scott Kremerskothen (3 for 22) ripped through their middle order to leave them teetering on 6 for 108, of which Chris Rogers made 73. Darren McNees (3 for 47) chipped in with late wickets as Western Australia were bowled out for 176.