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Amit Mishra, the India legspinner, said a significant variation in pace was one of the factors for his success on the recent tour to Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2013Amit Mishra, the India legspinner, said a significant variation in pace had brought him success on the recent tour to Zimbabwe.Mishra, who last played an ODI in 2011 before being picked for the playing XI in Zimbabwe, finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series, with 18 wickets in five matches at an average of 11.80, equalling Javagal Srinath’s record for most wickets in an ODI bilateral series. His performances in the series included a career-best 6 for 48 in the fifth ODI.”The significant change was the variation of pace,” Mishra told . “Earlier, my deliveries used to come at a slower pace, which allowed the batsman to adjust. Now I am trying to bowl at a pace and still extract spin.”Mishra revealed that the changes were a result of better fitness and tips from former India bowlers Narendra Hirwani and Anil Kumble.”I was injured for a while last year and I was in NCA for recovery,” Mishra said. “That’s the time I worked with the likes of Anil Kumble, Narendra Hirwani and the other coaches at the academy who helped me become a better bowler. He [Kumble] told me about the importance of variation in pace and also told me how to out-think a batsman. I worked on my googly with him and that’s also paying dividends.”In spite of an ODI debut in 2003, Mishra has played just 20 one-dayers and 13 Tests for India since his debut in 2008. He hopes that his performances against Zimbabwe will better his chances of playing more Tests for India against stronger teams.”I know the challenges will be greater, but that’s where I have to show that I have become a better bowler. And for that to happen, I have to be selected first in the Test team. My job is to keep performing.”

If not, perhaps, quite a perfect day for England, but a day when several pieces of their pre-Ashes jigsaw fell into place with a satisfying click as they proved they have a Plan B to their bowling attack

The Report by George Dobell26-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNick Compton’s failure was the only obvious downside of an otherwise quite perfect day for England•Getty ImagesIf not, perhaps, quite a perfect day for England, but a day when several pieces of their pre-Ashes jigsaw fell into place with a satisfying click.Most pertinently, this was a day when England proved their bowling attack had a Plan B. While it is routinely suggested that, when the ball does not swing, the England bowling attack looks toothless and one dimensional, here they showed that they have what it takes to damage opposition sides when there is no such help.With James Anderson and Stuart Broad – the destroyers of New Zealand at Lord’s – struggling to gain the same seam or swing movement, it was left to Graeme Swann and Steven Finn to find another way through the tourists’ batting. With Finn generating impressive pace and maintaining a hostile line and length and Swann demonstrating beguiling drift and sharp turn, England ended the day having inked in their first choice bowling attack for the Ashes.Swann cannot have the fondest memories of this ground. He had never previously taken a Test wicket here and, a year ago, was dropped for the second Test against South Africa. But in a spell of three wickets for one run in seven balls he not only dismantled a disappointingly fragile New Zealand middle-order but proved that he was back to his best after elbow surgery had forced him out of the Tests in New Zealand.As so often before, Swann struck in his first over. Gaining a surprising amount of turn, Swann beat Dean Brownlie’s somewhat loose stroke with one that turned through the gate to hit the top of off stump. Next over, having set-up Martin Guptill with some flat deliveries, Swann tossed one up, drew the batsman forward and again turned one through the gate to hit the top of off stump.Two deliveries later, Kane Williamson was out too. Moving across his stumps to negate Swann much in the way demonstrated by Hashim Amla in 2012, Williamson was beaten by turn and struck on the pad. While Marais Erasmus turned down the appeal, England reviewed and were rewarded.It was the first of two decisions overturned from England reviews in the session. While Tim Southee was originally given not out following a leg before appeal from Broad – the umpire quite reasonably unable to say whether ball had hit bat or pad first – reviews showed it had struck the pad first and was going on to hit leg stump.Moments later Swann had Doug Bracewell taken at silly point, prodding forward to one that turned and took bat and pad, before Broad had Brendon McCullum, clearly struggling with a bad back after being forced back into service as wicketkeeper, caught behind as he poked at one that seamed in a little.Swann ignoring weather forecast

Graeme Swann defended England’s decision not to enforce the follow-on after demolishing New Zealand for the second time in a week.

New Zealand survived only 43.4 overs at Headingley, to be dismissed for 174, only a few days after collapsing to 68 all out at Lord’s.

“It was a pretty unanimous decision,” Swann said. “There is a lot of cricket left in the game. The best way to win that game, we felt, was to put a fatigued New Zealand side back into the field. The bowlers weren’t too happy to go back out bowling and you can’t blame them. We want to build a formidable lead and let the pitch deteriorate and the footholds develop and give us the best chance of bowling them out in the second innings.

The prospect of rain on the final day did not unsettle Swann. “I always ignore British weather forecasts,” he said. “If you start looking at that you are missing the point. If it rains all of Tuesday, it rains all of Tuesday. I can’t remember ever sitting in a professional dressing room where a two-day forecast has been believed. It was supposed to be nagging it down all last week at Lord’s and we played.”

It left Swann with the best figures – 4 for 42 – by an England spinner in a Test in Leeds since John Emburey took 5 for 82 against Australia in 1985 and had New Zealand pondering over the wisdom of going into the game without a specialist spinner and with two left-arm seamers whose foot marks had provided rough for Swann to exploit.But if Swann takes the plaudits, it was Finn who made the initial breakthrough. After New Zealand’s openers had batted with fluency in reaching 55 without loss, Finn claimed the first three wickets in a sustained spell of hostile fast bowling.After prompting an error from Peter Fulton, caught and bowled off the leading edge as he tried to work a ball that bounced more than he expected into the leg side, Finn persuaded Hamish Rutherford to push at one angled across him which resulted in a sliced edge to gully and then forced Ross Taylor to play-on. It was due reward for a wonderfully sustained spell of bowling where Finn had cramped Taylor for room, struck him twice on the body and finally provoked the false stroke.New Zealand’s last pair of Neil Wagner and Trent Boult thrashed 52 runs in 27 balls – Wagner thrashed four fours in an over off Broad before Boult thumped Swann for a four and two successive sixes in the next over – but when Anderson returned to end the innings, New Zealand had conceded a first innings lead of 180.Perhaps surprisingly given the far from promising weather forecast, England decided not to enforce the follow-on – with day one washed out the follow-on target was 150-behind – and opted instead for another bat.Alastair Cook, cutting and driving with freedom, was at his most fluent against an attack lacking Trent Boult, who was absent with a side strain. The England captain raced to his half-century off 63 balls and dominated an opening stand of 72 in 20 overs.But the only obvious downside in the entire day for England was the failure of Nick Compton. He was clearly mindful of the vultures circling around him and laboured for 45 deliveries for his seven runs before falling to a bat-pad catch at short-leg. It is only three Tests since he registered back-to-back Test centuries, but it seems some have short memories.Jonathan Trott found life little easier. Struggling to deal with the rough outside his off stump and some tight seam bowling, he managed only 11 off 69 deliveries, and, though he had helped Cook stretch the lead to 296 by stumps, England hardly forced home their advantage in the final 90 minutes. Still, it is England’s policy – rightly or wrongly – to not allow the possibility of weather disruption to influence their game plan and, with nearly 200 overs left in the game, they remain in an overwhelmingly dominant position.

Netherlands finished third in the T20 Quadrangular, after beating South Africa Emerging Players by 42 runs in the third-place playoff on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2013
ScorecardNetherlands finished third in the T20 Quadrangular, after beating South Africa Emerging Players by 42 runs in the third-place playoff on Wednesday.Batting first, Netherlands scored 206 for 5 in their 20 overs, helped by Wesley Barresi’s 45-ball 70. An 87-run stand between Tom Cooper and Barresi took the side to a strong 129 for 2 in the 13th over before Daan van Bunge and Bukhari hit a few blows to take the side past 200.In reply, South Africa Emerging recovered briefly from a bad start, as opener Cameron Delport added 58 runs for the second wicket with Khayelihle Zondo. However, that was the only substantial partnership in the South Africa innings, as the Netherlands bowlers stated their dominance with regular wickets. Delport top-scored with 65, while the next highest score for South Africa was a 20-ball 37 from Dwaine Pretorious. The Netherlands bowlers shared the wickets, with Michael Swart, Cooper and Bukhari picking up two wickets apiece.

Trinidad & Tobago earned the unique honour of winning the Caribbean Twenty20 for the third successive year, and their fourth in total, after they trampled over a hapless Guyana with a nine-wicket victory

The Report by Nagraj Gollapudi21-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTrinidad & Tobago celebrate their emphatic win over Guyana in the Caribbean T20 final•WICB MediaTrinidad & Tobago earned the unique honour of winning the Caribbean Twenty20 for the third successive year, and their fourth title overall, after they trampled over a hapless Guyana with a nine-wicket victory. Anointed the favourites from the moment this final edition of the tournament began on January 6, the defending champions lived up to their reputation with a resounding victory.Kieron Pollard, promoted up the order, swept a massive six over wide long-on for the winning runs, threw his bat aside and stripped off his red Trinidad & Tobago shirt to display a white vest on which was written: “Congratulations T&T team. We have done it. I’m proud.” His team-mate Dwayne Bravo, meanwhile, cut short the victory lap to join the DJ on the performing deck to sing and dance to the popular Soca numbers “Differentology” and “Bacchanalist”, thus adding to the carnival preparations gathering back in Port of Spain and rest of the island.Chasing a modest 117 for victory, T&T started in dominant fashion, racing to 25 after three overs as the opening pair of Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis declared their positive intent. Guyana should have had Lewis early on, however, when he miscued a pull against a short delivery from Ronsford Beaton, one of the most impressive fast bowlers to have emerged from the last two weeks. Beaton charged forward to take the catch in his follow through but wicketkeeper Derwin Christian advanced simultaneously from behind the wicket and both men collided, allowing Lewis, who had run virtually to the other end, to return safely back to his crease.Next ball, Lewis, playing his second match of the tournament, upper-cut Beaton for the first six of T&T’s innings. Lewis meted out further punishment to Steven Jacobs as 20 runs came from the fifth over to bring up the T&T 50, but Beaton got his man when he sent down a short-pitched delivery that Lewis try to duck only to present an easy catch. The Guyana players flashed nervous smiles, perhaps realising the writing was already on the wall. Simmons and Pollard ensured that it was, wrapping up the chase with almost eight overs to spare.Earlier, there had been a lot of emphasis placed on the toss, as only twice in eleven matches played on the St Lucia leg of this tournament had the team batting first won. Veerasammy Permaul, the Guyana captain, called heads, lost and was asked to bat. However, the way the evening panned out, such factors were unlikely to have made any difference to T&T, as they dominated the contest throughout.T&T were coming into the match after a four-day break but they were not slow to regain their rhythm. Guyana’s batsmen were completely at sea against the combination of aggressive fast bowling from Shannon Gabriel and Rayad Emrit, backed up by the wily spin of Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine. It was Gabriel, with his bounding run-up, who clocked consistently blistering pace to put Guyana under the cosh straightaway.After taking just a single from Gabriel’s first over, Christian powerfully drove Badree for the first boundary off the seventh ball of the match. Two balls later, trying to hit straight and over the bowler’s head, Christian mistimed to mid-off. Emrit was the catcher but in Badree’s next over he made a mess of a simple chance from Trevon Griffith, the other Guyana opener, who had attempted a straight hoick.Ramnaresh Sarwan continued his terrible form, falling prey to an familiar ploy. Prompted by Dwayne Bravo, Gabriel adjusted his lengths, pitching more back of length and short against Sarwan, who lost control of his stroke on the charge and top-edged to midwicket. In the same over, Gabriel attacked the ribs of new man Narsingh Deonarine with a lifting delivery, the batsman beaten by the pace to be caught behind.By the time the fielding restrictions were removed after the sixth over, Guyana were 23 for 3. At the halfway mark, they had limped to 49 for 3, with just two fours coming from the bat. It was not the first time Guyana had started off in such sluggish fashion. Throughout the tournament their top order had failed to perform consistently. If anything short cameos and spirited partnerships had carried them to the summit clash.In Guyana’s play-off win over Jamaica, Griffith and Christopher Barnwell had raised a match-turning 79-run run partnership for the third wicket. Less than 24 hours later the pair were once again attempting another rescue act. On 19, Griffith attempted to slog Emrit down the ground but gave another chance to the bowler, who allowed the ball to bounce out of his hands once again. “This guy doesn’t want to be here,” was Ramdin’s response to another life for Griffith and although the batsman slog-swept Narine for a six in the next over he was eventually run out by a Pollard direct hit from short midwicket while going for a tight single.After that steadying, 61-run partnership, the onus was now entirely on Barnwell. However, he was finding it hard to connect and he departed for 32 in the 17th over, top-edging Emrit to point. Two balls later, Leon Johnson was caught in the deep by Simmons: Guyana had lost two wickets for just one run. Although 11 runs came off the final over, Guyana knew it was too little and too late.Guyana, who won the tournament in 2006 and 2010, were playing their fourth match in as many days and were running low on fuel. Clearly they had not had enough time to chalk out a workable strategy, something T&T managed to do convincingly. Possessing as many as seven of West Indies’ World Twenty20-winning squad, T&T had the experience, firepower, nous and balance to win the tournament. In the end they were the deserving winners.

Angelo Mathews refused to put Sri Lanka’s first-ever loss to Bangladesh on home soil down to conditions, and blamed his side’s bowling instead

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Mar-2013Angelo Mathews refused to put Sri Lanka’s first-ever loss to Bangladesh on home soil down to conditions, and blamed his side’s bowling instead. Bangladesh got off to a rapid start in their response to Sri Lanka’s 302, before rain forced an almost three-hour delay in play.Sri Lanka contended with a wet ball for the remainder of the curtailed match, but Mathews said his side’s bowling had been a concern throughout the series, and they should have walked away with a series win. Only Sachithra Senanayake and Lasith Malinga maintained an economy rate of less than six runs an over, as Bangladesh chased 183 in 26 overs to win by three wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis method.”I don’t think we can blame the conditions. We didn’t bowl well and that’s why we lost. It was very disappointing. I feel we had the runs on the board, but we just didn’t bowl well. Our bowling was the turning point. We didn’t execute our plans and we were wayward from the start.”Duckworth Lewis is always complicated. We had our chances still, because they had to get 102 off 13 overs and the bowling attack that we’ve got is brilliant. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t pull it off.”Sri Lanka had begun the match promisingly, with Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan providing their second brisk 100-run partnership in the series. Dilshan hit 125 from 128 balls, and had support from Kumar Sangakkara as well, who made a busy 48. Sri Lanka lost their way from 203 for 1 in the 36th over, when the middle order collapsed, but Mathews said the batting had not worried him.”Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kusal Janith gave us the ideal start. The midde-order batsmen we were a little too hasty. But still, I think 302 in a 50-over game is a lot of runs. The batting was good, but we again showed a weakness with the ball. Our batting has been good throughout this tour. I think both in the first ODI and in the third ODI, we have not bowled well at all.”Bangladesh had the advantage of playing out all ten of their mandatory Powerplay overs despite the shortened chase, but Mathews said a curtailed match did not necessarily swing the game in Bangladesh’s favour.”It would have been different if they were chasing 303 and we were playing a 50-over game, but the credit should also go to the Bangladeshis for the way they played. They batted extremely well. It could have gone both ways. Maybe with the pressure of a 50-over match, it could have gone our way, but we could still have won the 27-over match. We didn’t play well and we accept that.”Bangladesh required more than seven runs an over for much of their chase, and they kept in touch with the asking rate with regular boundaries, before closing in on the target quickly with a final flourish. Sri Lanka fielded well, despite the wet ball and slippery surface, but it was the bowling where they were not poised, Mathews said.”It was a nervous game because it went down to the wire and the pressure was on. They were feeling it and we were also feeling it. We were a little a little bit rattled with the ball. Those 13 overs were played under high pressure, and Bangladesh outplayed us there, when we were troubled a little bit.”Ultimately they held it to pull it off and get across the line. They’ve played some really good cricket and we were outplayed today.”

Ireland are set to benefit from a new ICC support programme, receiving a funding boost of $1.5 million through to 2015.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2012Ireland are set to benefit from a new ICC support programme, receiving a funding boost of $1.5 million through to 2015.The new Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme (TAPP) includes five ICC members and is designed to develop more competitive teams at international level.Ireland are the first cricket board to agree a TAPP deal will use the financial support to launch an elite domestic competition, create an academy and facilitate more fixtures against full member teams.”We are extremely grateful to the ICC for instituting such a forward-thinking programme of support,” Warren Deutrom, chief executive of Cricket Ireland, said. “We’re delighted to be the first member to get to this stage. We have no doubt the support will help us to be even more competitive on the world stage.”ICC President Alan Isaac added: “Ireland provided an excellent submission to the ICC Board and I am sure they will do their very best to deliver those plans now that the organisation has the funding in place.”Netherlands, Scotland, West Indies and Zimbabwe will also receive support.

Usman Khawaja will be an Australian Test aspirant one day and a Twenty20 billboard the next after a compromise between Cricket Australia and the Sydney Thunder

Daniel Brettig05-Dec-2012Usman Khawaja will be an Australian Test aspirant one day and a Twenty20 billboard the next after a hurried compromise between Cricket Australia and the Sydney Thunder following Michael Clarke’s forced withdrawal from the opening round of the BBL.Named as captain of the CA Chairman’s XI to face the Sri Lankans in Canberra from Thursday, Khawaja will be withdrawn from the match on the Saturday morning and fly up to Sydney in time to take part in the Thunder’s opening match against the Sydney Sixers at the SCG.After Australia’s team physio Alex Kountouris strongly recommended that Clarke be ruled out of the opening round of the BBL – his one scheduled appearance for the Thunder before the start of the Test series against Sri Lanka – the BBL side immediately requested that Khawaja be withdrawn from the tour match at Manuka.A hasty round of negotiations followed between CA, the Thunder and Cricket NSW, resulting in a compromise whereby Khawaja will play for two days with the Chairman’s XI before also playing for the Thunder as their biggest local name in the absence of Clarke.Discussion of how Khawaja’s batting services would be spread across the weekend took place against the backdrop of selection talk about the make-up of the Australian Test side for the first match of the series against Sri Lanka in Hobart. The squad is due to be named on Thursday.Khawaja is part of a four-way battle to replace Ricky Ponting in Australia’s batting order, also including Phillip Hughes, Alex Doolan and Rob Quiney. Doolan is also taking part in the Chairman’s XI match, while Quiney and Hughes will be playing this weekend for the Melbourne Stars and the Adelaide Strikers, respectively.With 570 runs at 81.42 this summer including an unbeaten 161 for Australia A against the South Africans in Sydney, Doolan is second only to Clarke among Australia first-class run scorers this summer. Hughes is third with 524 runs at 47.63, while Khawaja’s 438 runs at 39.81 places him fifth. Doolan said Hughes and Quiney were both ahead of him in his own mind.”If I was picking the team I’d probably put Phil Hughes in there just simply through weight of runs,” Doolan told in Canberra. “It seems every time he steps onto the crease he’s hitting runs and hitting them at good pace and in a consistent way.”I’m not saying that I’d be happy to have someone picked ahead of me but I think Bobby [Quiney] deserves it as much as anyone. I really hope he gets another crack at it. He deserved his call-up to the national team and obviously results didn’t go his way but that just shows what the game is.”It’s a fickle game and sometimes results don’t go your way but I’ve no doubt he’s Test quality and I’m sure he’d show it if he got another go.”Injuries to Josh Hazlewood and John Hastings have reduced the selectors’ bowling options for the Hobart Test, leaving Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus to slot back into the squad alongside Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon.Possible Test squad: Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, David Warner, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, Matthew Wade, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Lyon.

A round-up of matches from the National Cricket League

Mohammad Isam24-Apr-2012Rajshahi Division rallied on the final day to beat Sylhet Division by 119 runs at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, and reached the National Cricket League final. They overtook Sylhet in the points table to finish second.A maiden five-wicket haul from part-timer Farhad Hossain in the post-tea session Sylhet ensured a Sylhet collapse in their pursuit of 330 for victory. Farhad, who bowls off-spin, removed Golam Mabud and Sylhet’s Indian recruit Rahul Dewan in the space of five overs before picking three more tail-end wickets. Abul Hasan, however, took advantage of the open swathes left by Rajshahi, who put as many as six fielders in catching positions during the last hour.Mizanur Rahman set the tone for Rajshahi with his 105 and shared a 186-run opening stand with Jahurul Islam on the first day. Mizanur scored his second first-class century. Sylhet fought back on the second day through Enamul Haque Jr’s six wickets, Rajshahi declaring their first innings on 387 for 9.Sylhet’s approach was predictable but their aim to grind out the bowlers backfired as skipper Farhad Reza and left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam kept it tight and picked wickets regularly. Apart from Nadif Chowdhury’s 61, none of the Sylhet batsmen took advantage of their starts.Khulna Division, who will take on Rajshahi in the final, drew their final second phase game with Dhaka Metropolis at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium. Khulna, the table-toppers, took a more cautious approach as they had already qualified for the final.Anamul Haque, the opener, was the hero for Khulna, making 193 runs with the help of 27 boundaries and two sixes. He was trapped leg-before the next day, just short of a double-ton, by Tareq Aziz to end an innings that lasted more than five hours.Taposh Ghosh, the left-hand allrounder, also notched up an unbeaten 111 during Khulna’s 618 in the first innings and in Dhaka Metro’s reply, Tasamul Haque, too, struck a century. Both players recorded their second first-class centuries in first-class cricket.The match only had an academic interest when Khulna didn’t impose the follow-on despite leading by 330 runs. They batted again and Imrul Kayes struck 117 off 181 balls. There was one more century left to score and Shamsur Rahman duly picked up a ton off 88 balls in Dhaka Metro’s second innings.Both matches endured a day’s break due to a general strike across the country.

Kent made a faltering reply to Northamptonshire’s first-innings on the second day of their Championship Division Two clash against Northamptonshire at Canterbury.

17-May-2012
ScorecardKent made a faltering reply to Northamptonshire’s first-innings on the second day of their Championship Division Two clash against Northamptonshire at Canterbury.The hosts went in at stumps on 123 for 3 after Northamptonshire had extended their overnight score of 244 for 4 to 418 all out. Having taken just over nine hours to dismiss the visitors on what appeared a placid pitch, Kent’s top order all experienced some difficulty contending with fading light and variable bounce.On-loan opener Scott Newman went for 16 just after tea, inside edging Lee Daggett’s delivery on to his off stump. But it was the bowling of Northamptonshire captain and one-time Kent overseas player Andrew Hall that did most to derail the reply mid-way through the final session.The South African allrounder ended a decent second-wicket stand of 63 by enticing left-hander Ben Harmison to drive wide outside off stump, picking out David Willey at backward point.Then, in his next over from the Nackington Road End, Hall got one to hold its line against the slope and brush the edge of Rob Key’s bat to give a regulation catch to another former Kent man, wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien.Key batted a shade over two hours for his 48 but, with the floodlights on, fourth-wicket partners Michael Powell and Brendan Nash saw out the final half-hour to go into day three trailing by 295 runs.The day had started with David Sales and James Middlebrook hogging centre stage with their side’s record fifth-wicket stand against Kent – 205 in 66.1 overs – beating the county’s previous best against Kent, the 187 set by Rob Bailey and Richard Williams at Wantage Road 22 years ago.Sales contributed an excellent 140 to the cause having batted 319 minutes for his part in the stand. His innings ended when, having just driven James Tredwell for two successive boundaries, he attempted an impudent lap-sweep against the England offspinner only to top-edge to the keeper. Middlebrook was leg before soon after, off balance and playing across the line to a full ball from Matt Coles, the former Essex man gone for 73.That brought together Con de Lange and Willey for another century stand, this time for the seventh wicket. On a docile pitch – and against an old ball – scoring became such an easy past-time that Kent skipper Key introduced his own brand of slow bowling in an effort to encourage an early declaration. His one over cost 11 runs, but failed to have the desired effect as the visitors batted on.Willey was finally caught in the deep for a career-best 64 in 85 balls, Daggett clipped one to short mid-on and last man Jack Brooks dragged on against Darren Stevens to complete the Northamptonshire innings.

Junaid Khan, the Pakistan fast bowler, who sustained a knee injury during the recently-concluded England series, will not be available for the Asia Cup when the new selection committee chaired by Iqbal Qasim sits tomorrow to pick the squad

Umar Farooq02-Mar-2012Junaid Khan, the Pakistan fast bowler, who sustained a knee injury during the recently-concluded England series, will not be available for the Asia Cup when the new selection committee chaired by Iqbal Qasim sits tomorrow to pick the squad. PCB sources have indicated that Junaid is likely to be out of action for three weeks.ESPNcricinfo understands that Junaid picked up the injury during training ahead of the second Twenty20 in Dubai. MRI scans revealed a fracture of the patella. Junaid had played a total of three matches on the tour – one Test, one ODI and one Twenty20 – and accounted for just one wicket.Junaid, 21, who graduated from the same Under-19 batch that Mohammad Amir came from, is also a left-arm fast bowler but his fledgling career has been hurt by injuries in the last few months. Incidentally Junaid was picked for the England series after he had freshly recovered from the abdominal tear he picked during the ODI series against Sri Lanka last year, which ruled him out for six weeks.