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A former South African national player has been charged with corruption involving match-fixing, ESPNcricinfo has learned.The player, who has yet to be named, is understood to be the same “intermediary” who was the subject of a CSA press release in December, following attempts to influence results in South Africa’s domestic competition, the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.In their original statement, CSA said the intermediary had been charged under its anti-corruption code with “contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects” of the 2014-15 domestic Twenty20 competition.The person involved had also been charged with “failing, or refusing without compelling justification, to cooperate with an investigation carried out by an anti-corruption official.”South Africa’s Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act Law was introduced in 2004 and included a so-called “Hansie clause” to tackle corruption in sporting events, such as those for which Hansie Cronje, South Africa’s former captain, received a life ban from cricket in 2000.ESPNcricinfo also understands that other players involved in the competition will face the lesser charge of failing to report an approach, a breach of the ICC anti-corruption code that carries a ban of up to five years if found guilty.”Our attitude to corruption will always be one of zero tolerance and we are confident that we have the necessary structures in place to effectively deal with any corrupt activity,” said Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, in December.”We will relentlessly pursue under our code and the law of the land any persons we believe to be involved in corrupting the game and, with assistance from the police, we will also seek criminal prosecution.”

Match facts

Sunday, April 20, 2008
Start time 18.30 local time (13.00 GMT)
This is the first-ever Twenty20 international game to be held in Pakistan.

The Big Picture

In 22 ODI games since their win against South Africa in the World Cup, Bangladesh have lost 19, winning three against Ireland. Having suffered a whitewash in the ODI series, the Twenty20 game offers Bangladesh a final chance at redemption. Shakib Al Hasan pushed his case for captaincy with a consistent performance with the bat during the series but has lacked support from the top order.Player to watch for Pakistan: Kamran Akmal hit a ferocious 81-ball hundred with 16 fours and a six in the third ODI and he would look to up the ante in the Twenty20 game. He has a strike-rate of 116.92 from 11 Twenty20 games but he would be looking to better his average of 15.20. Bangladesh’s weak bowling attack gives him the chance to do exactly that.Player to watch for Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal is an attacking player but with almost a suicidal instinct at the crease. He averaged 29.20 in the ODI series and has one final chance to leave his imprint on the tour. His weakness, like most of the Bangladesh top order, is a lack of patience and a tendency to charge out to the fast bowlers. It has led at times to some breathtaking assaults, as India experienced in the World Cup, but has led to his dismissals often. Eventually, it might come down to Shakib Al Hasan, the sole reliable performer in the line-up, to shoulder Bangladesh’s burden again.

Team news

Pakistan have dropped Mohammad Yousuf, the highest run-scorer at this venue in ODIs for Pakistan, for the Twenty20 game. Yousuf was also left out of Pakistan’s World Twenty20 team.Pakistan (likely) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Shoaib Malik (capt), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Nasir Jamshed, 8 Naumanullah, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Umar Gul.Bangladesh (likely) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Junaid Siddique, 3 Aftab Ahmed, 4 Mohammad Ashraful (capt), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mashrafe Mortaza, 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Dhiman Ghosh (wk), 10 Syed Rasel, 11 Abdur Razzak.

Pitch and conditions

The format of the game obviously demands that the pitch to be loaded in the batsman’s favour and the Karachi track is unlikely to be any different

Stats and trivia

Nearly a year ago, Australia arrived at Eden Park for their only away match of the World Cup. The 55-metre straight boundaries had their batsmen licking their lips and their bowlers scratching their heads. Big scores were expected. Instead, Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc provided a reminder that if the ball is swinging the boundary size is irrelevant, as they rattled stumps throughout the game. In all, 19 wickets fell for 303 runs.This time there is no Starc, as he continues to recover from ankle surgery, though Boult is available for New Zealand. In fact, none of Australia’s three frontline bowlers from that match will be playing – Pat Cummins is also injured and Mitchell Johnson has retired. Instead, the pace attack will be made up of some combination of Josh Hazlewood, John Hastings, Scott Boland, Kane Richardson, James Faulkner and Mitchell Marsh, who played in that game but bowled only one over.Swing will again be key in Wednesday’s match, the first in a three-game Chappell-Hadlee series ahead of the two Tests. Australia are coming off a 4-1 series win at home against India, in matches where 295 was the lowest first-innings score made, and New Zealand are coming off a 2-0 win over Pakistan, which ended with Sunday’s win at Eden Park, where Pakistan made 290 and New Zealand chased a Duckworth-Lewis target of 263 inside 43 overs.Australia’s recent form against India will give them confidence that they can chase almost any target on the smaller grounds in New Zealand, although that will also depend on what kind of pitches are served up after the flat tracks in Australia. Faulkner, who was Man of the Match in the World Cup final against New Zealand but missed the Auckland game through injury, said conditions would determine whether this series swayed towards enormous totals or lower ones.”There’s no reason why… teams can’t get 350 or 400,” Faulkner said. “A lot of it just comes down to conditions. If it’s swinging around, which we think it would over there, the ball will be moving like it did throughout the World Cup. It’s obviously a lot tougher and early wickets tend to fall. Every team at the moment is setting up to go hard in the first 10, consolidate through the middle and try and have wickets in the shed to try and launch.”Especially with the smaller boundaries, I think if you find the ball isn’t moving, there will be high scores. But if it is, it’s obviously a lot tougher for the opening batsmen to adjust. More times than not at the moment 300 tends to be the base and every run over that is so valuable because every single batter in most teams can bat these days, so it makes it really tough for the bowlers.”Faulkner himself was reminded of the challenges faced by bowlers in ODI cricket last month against India, when he leaked more than a run a ball throughout the series. However, the Australians still managed to win the series comfortably due to the success of their batsmen, and Faulkner noted that the evolution of the one-day game had meant bowlers had to accept that their figures would balloon significantly compared to a few years ago.”I think it’s just the way the game has changed,” he said. “When the first rule came out with only four fielders outside the circle and the Powerplay between 35 and 40, it really shook the game up and I think initially it was a bit of a shock – a lot of people were seeing bowlers going for 70 or 80 off their 10 overs and thinking gee they’ve been whacked around the park compared to what it used to be back in the day of 40-45.”I think it’s just the public and all the players understanding how the game has evolved and T20 has had a hell of a lot to do with that. I think every bowler depending on where they’re bowling, whether it’s up front, whether it’s at the death or through the middle, will have their own little goals but I think now people aren’t really looking at how many runs necessarily; it’s about when they are bowling and how successful they are to certain batters at certain times.”I’ve definitely noticed it at the back end in particular, when you’ve got wickets in hand, it’s so hard to defend. It doesn’t matter how good you are and if you execute, teams can still hit you for a minimum of 10-12 runs an over. So if you’re going into the last 10 only two down, if you’re not getting 100 plus off that I don’t think you’ve done well enough with the bat.”The success of Australia’s batsmen against India meant that Faulkner’s batting was hardly required during the series, although he did play one key innings during the win at the MCG, seeing Australia home in their chase alongside Glenn Maxwell. Faulkner’s finishing with the bat could be important for Australia at the World T20 in India next month and while the selectors may consider form in this ODI series when choosing that squad, Faulkner said his focus was purely on the ODIs.”I just think it’s going to be a great series all around,” he said. “I think obviously after both teams playing in the World Cup final and what New Zealand achieved… I’m expecting a really tough series. I think you’re going to see a really good brand of cricket with bat and ball, and a really good fierce competition.”

Yorkshire have submitted plans for their new pavilion at Headingley as part of their multi-million pound investment in redeveloping the ground.The new pavilion, if approved, will be situated at the Kirkstall Lane end and, for the first time, will mean cricketers will no longer have to share the same dressing room facilities used by their rugby counterparts.”In 2005, with the help of Leeds city council the club purchased the freehold of the famous ground and in so doing went a long way towards protecting a 15-year staging agreement with the ECB to host international cricket in Yorkshire,” a club statement read. “However, the job is still not complete – because there is a need to invest in the ground before 2019 to improve player, broadcaster and spectator facilities as well as growing the capacity to over 20,000.”Although intensely proud of its pedigree, the club does not under-estimate the challenges that lie ahead and the increasing competition from other venues across the country to stage international cricket.”While the club has and will continue to have an excellent relationship with its rugby-playing neighbours, there is an acceptance that separate changing rooms and amenities are now essential – and these will form part of the new pavilion.”It was hoped that the new pavilion to be ready in time for the Ashes Test next year, but it was revealed in January that Yorkshire estimate the redevelopment work will only be half finished.

Left-arm fingerspinner Jayden Lennox has earned a maiden call-up to New Zealand’s white-ball squads for the India tour next month. He features in the ODI squad alongside uncapped bowling-allrounder Kristian Clarke, legspinning-allrounder Adithya Ashok, seam-bowling allrounder Josh Clarkson and fast bowler Michael Rae, who made his Test debut earlier this month against West Indies.Michael Bracewell will captain the 15-member ODI squad in the absence of Mitchell Santner, whose groin injury is being managed. Santner will return to lead the T20I squad, which features big-hitting batters Bevon Jacobs and Tim Robinson as well as Mark Chapman and Matt Henry, both of whom are returning from ankle and calf injuries respectively. Henry will miss the ODIs to continue his rehabilitation from a calf tear in a bid to return for the T20Is and the subsequent men’s T20 World Cup.Kane Williamson was unavailable for the ODIs because of his commitments in the SA20, where he will play for Durban’s Supergiants.Related

• Allen to miss start of India T20I series

• Gill left out of India's T20 World Cup squad

Clarke was called up to the ODI squad during the home series against England and then to the Test squad against West Indies but did not make his debut. Nathan Smith, William O’Rourke and Blair Tickner were not considered because of their side, back and shoulder injuries respectively, while Tom Latham will skip the ODIs for the birth of his third child. Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson and Zak Foulkes are part of both the white-ball squads while Rachin Ravindra and quick Jacob Duffy have been rested from the ODIs following a busy home summer.”Jayden has been an identified player of interest for some time and has some good New Zealand “A” experience under his belt,” New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said of Lennox, who has picked up eight wickets in five Ford Trophy outings for Central Districts this season. “He’s consistently been one of the top performers in white-ball cricket domestically for a number of seasons.”Playing in the sub-continent is obviously very different to what we’re used to in New Zealand, so any opportunity we can get to expose our guys to those conditions can only be a good thing, especially prior to a T20 World Cup in the subcontinent.”Mitchell Hay and Devon Conway will keep wicket for the ODIs and T20Is, respectively. Lockie Ferguson (ILT20), Adam Milne (SA20), Finn Allen and Tim Seifert (both BBL) are slated to join the T20I squad at the back end of the series with an eye on the T20 World Cup.The tour starts with the ODIs from January 11 in Vadodara before the five-match T20I series begins on January 21 in Nagpur.

New Zealand ODI squad vs India

Michael Bracewell (capt), Adithya Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay (wk), Kule Jamieson, Nick Kelly, Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Michael Rae, Will Young

New Zealand T20I squad vs India

Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ish Sodhi

Durham

Captain Dale Benkenstein Coach Geoff Cook Overseas Neil McKenzie, Albie Morkel (SA), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI)
After a coming-of-age season in 2007 where they won the Friends Provident Trophy and were runners-up in the Championship, Durham are now established as a force in the county game. The challenge is to continue the progression and the good news is that they have the core of last year’s team still around, minus the heroic Ottis Gibson. The batting will be well served by McKenzie and Chanderpaul, but it will need one of the young bowlers such as Liam Plunkett or Graham Onions to fill the hole left by Gibson. Andrew McGlashan
High value Phil Mustard – likely to be away with England for parts of the season, but is a crucial part of Durham’s one-day jigsaw.
Long-term investment Moneeb Iqbal – a raw legspinner at the moment but a talent worth persevering with.
Prospects Have the right balance of youth and experience to challenge for silverware again, especially in the one-day game.

Hampshire

Captain Dimitri Mascarenhas Coach Paul Terry Overseas Shane Bond (NZ), Shane Watson (Aus)Hampshire have had a trying time pre-season, what with the departures of Shane Warne and Shaun Udal, the conflicting aspirations of Dimitri Mascarenhas, the retirement of James Bruce, and uncertainty over whether Shane Bond would be joining the club. That last, at least, has now been resolved, and Jimmy Adams is likely to lead the side while Mascarenhas is with the IPL in India. At present the new captain is expected to miss only two weeks’ cricket, but many another county chairman would not have been as forgiving of him as Rod Bransgrove has been. Warne’s great regret will have been not winning the County Championship and much will depend now on the fitness of Chris Tremlett and how many wickets the two spinners, Liam Dawson and Greg Lamb, take between them. Ivo Tennant
High value Kevin Pietersen – but for how many matches will he be available?
Long-term investment Liam Dawson – the teenage left arm spinner with an England future ahead of him.
Prospects A difficult summer ahead. Relegation not out of the question in the Championship.

Kent

Captain Robert Key Coach Graham Ford Overseas Yasir Arafat (Pak)
The captaincy of Rob Key, arguably prematurely discarded by England, is beginning to earn impressive notices. It is 30 years since Kent were last county champions, and although their side does not compare with that of 1978, they have a chance of replicating that success. For a club that has taken much pride in nurturing talented players, too many discarded cricketers from other counties have been signed over the past decade or more, but in Joe Denly and Sam Northeast, Kent have unearthed two exciting young batsmen. Ryan McLaren, described by Key as “a seriously serious cricketer,” took a hat-trick in the Twenty20 final, helping Kent win a knockout competition for the first time since the 1978 side achieved that, also. Alas for the club, Justin Kemp’s registration has been turned down by the ECB, and less enticing is the re-development of the St Lawrence, Canterbury, which will affect the ground’s aesthetic charm. Ivo Tennant
High value McLaren – with both bat and ball, and who is intent on playing for England.
Long-term investment Denly – unless England claim him for a central contract.
Prospects Probably their best in both first-class and instant cricket since, well, 1978.

Lancashire

Captain Stuart Law Coach Mike Watkinson Overseas Brad Hodge (Aus)
Last season was Lancashire’s most agonising Championship near-miss in their history, and the ECB fixture computer clearly has a sense of humour, having pitted them against Surrey at The Oval in the opening match this time around. How well the squad have moved on from the crushing disappointment of last year is crucial, and in Stuart Law, the no-nonsense Australian who has taken over the captaincy from Mark Chilton, they have the ideal man to ensure no dwelling. Once again they don’t have the youngest squad around and it is time some of the next generation started pushing through on a regular basis. Tom Smith needs to recover from a poor 2007, while Kyle Hogg and Oliver Newby must to keep Dominic Cork and Glen Chapple on their toes. Andrew McGlashan
High value Andrew Flintoff – will have his longest stretch of county action since becoming an England regular and has the incentive of needing runs and wickets.
Long-term investment Steven Croft – an attacking batsman and useful medium-pacer who gave a glimpse of his talent last season, especially in the one-day game.
Prospects A strong squad should be a force in all competitions and the Championship is well within their grasp.

Nottinghamshire

Captain Chris Read Coach Mick Newell Overseas David Hussey (Aus), Adam Voges (Aus)
Without Stephen Fleming’s nous and wisdom, a lot rests on Chris Read’s shoulders. Elevated to captain over the winter, he doubtless has a point to prove after again slipping out of favour with the England selectors. He will lead a side who ought to be bubbling with confidence following their promotion to the first Division, though (England fans hope) he won’t have much use of Stuart Broad who hopped north from Leicestershire over the winter. Though Jason Gallian has fled to Essex, the batting line-up has a reassuringly solid feel to it. Adam Voges, the Western Australia batsman, will cover for the prolific David Hussey who is on IPL duty. Will Luke
High value Hussey – scores big runs, quick runs and lots of them.
Long-term investment Bilal Shafayat – disappointing last year(560 runs at 31.11 with no hundreds) but a gifted strokemaker who has youth on his side.
Prospects Notts’ bowling is light when the England stars are away, but their batsmen ought to keep them afloat in the Championship.

Somerset

Captain Justin Langer Coach Andy Hurry Overseas Justin Langer (Aus)
Can Somerset become county champions for the first time in their history after storming to the second-division title? It is not improbable, given that Langer has put off joining the IPL until next year – to the appreciation of many at Taunton – and that Marcus Trescothick, whose first scoring shot in Somerset’s initial pre-season friendly match was to put the ball out of the ground, will not be playing any international cricket. Then there is Omari Banks; the ever-willing Andy Caddick, who took 75 wickets last year and understandably felt he should play for England again; and a number of talented young players, including James Hildreth and Michael Munday, who should have played more often last year. And do not forget the clubbing of the ball that Ian Blackwell perennially provides. Ivo Tennant
High value Trescothick – will almost certainly score a heap of runs in this his benefit year.
Long-term investment Off the pitch, a £50m ground redevelopment; on it, Munday’s legspin, so effective at the very end of last season.
Prospects A fair chance of becoming champions, but much will depend on whether the highly respected Phil Frost can maintain an even balance between bat and ball on the Taunton square.

Surrey

Captain Mark Butcher Coach Alan Butcher Overseas Matt Nicholson (Aus)
The Butcher family alliance has helped Surrey rediscover their street-cred resilience: they fought tooth and nail to claw their way up the Championship and finish fourth last summer. Father and son have not, however, halted a few familiar faces from leaving over the winter. Out go Ian Salisbury, Azhar Mahmood, Rikki Clarke and Nayan Doshi – a strong bowling quartet – and in come Pedro Collins and Saqlain Mushtaq – “a Surrey legend”, in Butcher senior’s words. There is enough talent there to urge them to a trophy in one-dayers – 40-year-old Chris Lewis is back for the Twenty20s – but the powerhouses of Lancashire and Sussex will probably be too strong in the Championship. Will Luke
High value Mark Ramprakash – who is approaching his 100th first-class hundred and shows no sign of fading. Or ageing. Will England be tempted if and when one of their top six loses form or fitness?
Long-term investment Chris Jordon – a fast bowler of West Indian heritage and not yet 20 years old. It’s still not certain where his future allegiance lies, but Surrey will want to keep hold of him as long as possible.
Prospects Mid-table beckons in the Championship; possibly challenging for the title if their bowlers fire. Ramprakash to fill his boots again.

Sussex

Captain Chris Adams Coach Mark Robinson Overseas Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak)
Aiming for a hat-trick of Championship titles, Sussex went through a nervous pre-season waiting to hear if they would have the services of Mushtaq Ahmed after his time in the ICL. His availability means Sussex will again be the team to beat over four days, while Ryan Harris looks a useful acquisition from South Australia. The batting should look after itself, especially with Matt Prior back to boost the middle order and prove his worth to England. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s bowling will be missed, but Sussex know what it takes to win titles. The main issues are off the field as they try to develop Hove to keep up with changing times. Whatever the final plans, let’s hope it doesn’t lose its character. It’s part of the Sussex package. Andrew McGlashan
High value Mushtaq – one of the shrewdest county buys of all time and continues to handsomely reward Sussex.
Long-term investment Ragheb Aga – a pace bowler who has played ODIs for Kenya and made a good impression during pre-season.
Prospects They will be in the Championship mix throughout, but should be pushed all the way in a strong division. Harris and Prior will help their one-day chances.

Yorkshire

Captain Darren Gough Coach Martyn Moxon Overseas Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (Pak), Morne Morkel (SA)
The confirmation of Rana Naved’s availability is a boost and Yorkshire will boast an international-class bowling attack, with Matthew Hoggard eager to prove his England worth and Morne Morkel on early-season cover. Darren Gough’s first season back promised much before Yorkshire faded in the final stages, but there is still a positive vibe around the club. This will probably be Gough’s final year and you wouldn’t put it past him to go out on a high. However, the squad doesn’t appear quite strong enough for the Championship crown. All eyes will be on the further development of Adil Rashid; his England days are drawing closer. Andrew McGlashan
High value Jacques Rudolph – will need to fill his boots as some of the top order are unproven.
Long-term investment Ajmal Shahzad – another locally produced player of whom much is expected in the near future.
Prospects The squad appears more suited to one-day success as they aim to give Gough a fitting send-off.

Paul Stirling celebrates after notching his fifth ODI ton•Peter Della Penna

In a coaching tenure pockmarked by a lack of victories over Full Members, John Bracewell signed off on his time as Ireland coach with two straight wins in Sharjah as Ireland took the series decider by five wickets on Sunday night. George Dockrell’s first four-for in nearly three years was followed by a disdainful century from Paul Stirling, who finished as the leading run-scorer in the series.Afghanistan’s innings started in assured fashion with Dockrell being hit for six by Javed Ahmadi in the second over. In the sixth over, he carved Boyd Rankin through the off side for a series of boundaries. But the slightest pressure applied by Tim Murtagh resulted in the first mistake, Ahmadi forcing a pull in the seventh over to mid-off for 27. Rankin had Noor Ali Zadran dragging on in the next over and from there Ireland grew taller in the field.Whereas most of the Irish damage came from pace in the first two games, Dockrell and Stirling stepped up to take half the wickets. Stirling struck first, getting Asghar Stanikzai to skew a drive to backward point for 5 in the 18th over. Rahmat Shah then got out in arrogant fashion to give Dockrell his first, attempting to bring up a fifty with a six and instead picked out the tallest man on the field, Rankin at long-off.But it was the wicket of Mohammad Nabi that demonstrated Afghanistan’s lack of respect for Irish fingerspin, falling in identical circumstances to Stanikzai as a sliced drive found its way to Kevin O’Brien at short third man. Nasir Jamal picked out square leg with a sweep he middled, to give Dockrell his third and put Afghanistan on 109 for 6 with nearly 20 overs left.Rashid Khan fought gamely to keep Afghanistan in the match. He wound up finishing with a joint-top score of 44 and ended the series as Afghanistan’s second-highest scorer, a major indictment of the recognised batsmen. While he played orthodox strokes, his frustration grew as his remaining partners showed little willingness to apply themselves as Barry McCarthy ran off three straight wickets, two of those in the 41st over. Rashid began turning singles down in the 42nd over and stretched the innings into the 49th, giving the crowd a rise with a huge six off McCarthy into Second Industrial Street, before he was caught in the deep off the same bowler to end the innings.With Dawlat Zadran out nursing a niggling shoulder injury, Afghanistan made the curious call to bring in Shapoor Zadran, who had only played three ODIs since taking the new ball in the 2015 World Cup. Based on his performance on Sunday, he may have wrecked his chances of being in the touring party to Zimbabwe for the World Cup Qualifiers after he was dismantled single-handedly by Stirling. The bruising opener drove Shapoor through extra cover for the first of his 11 fours in the third over, and then nearly took Shapoor’s head off with a searing straight drive in the fifth to knock him out of the attack.Afghanistan’s spinners made inroads in the interim with Mujeeb Zadran bowling William Porterfield for 4 in the next over to land a hopeful blow. Nabi was curiously held out of the attack until after drinks but struck in his second over, drawing Andy Balbirnie into a dance down the pitch for a stumping. Rashid had Niall O’Brien lbw to a legbreak that held its line to make it 96 for 3.But Gary Wilson and Stirling teamed for a half-century stand to straighten Ireland’s chase once more as Afghanistan went crooked with the return of Shapoor to the attack. Stirling hooked the first ball of the 29th over a statuesque Rahmat at long leg for a six that could have been a wicket. But Stirling showed his disdain for Shapoor’s medium-pace two balls later, getting on a knee to slog sweep him over the square-leg rope for six more.Stirling’s hammering of Shapoor culminated in the 36th over. In the space of four balls, he moved from 81 to a century with hooks for four and six over long leg, then a tennis swat over cover for six more. A front-foot pull over midwicket finished the sequence to bring up his sixth ODI century, off 93 balls.Stirling fell to a Rashid googly to end the next over and several of Afghanistan’s players graciously shook his hand before he exited the field to more applause from the Afghanistan fans who remained. Two fours by Kevin O’Brien off Mujeeb in the following over sealed the win with 12 overs to spare.For Ireland, the back-to-back wins after a humiliating loss in the series opener were a major confidence boost in their final scheduled series before the World Cup Qualifier. The series loss for Afghanistan, only their second in nine ODI series since the 2015 World Cup and first since a 2-1 defeat in Bangladesh in October 2016, may dent their standing as one of the pre-tournament favourites heading into Zimbabwe.

Group A
A combined bowling effort from State Bank of Hyderabad inflicted a second consecutive defeat on All India Electricity Board in Visakhapatnam. Vinay Dandekar picked up three wickets and was supported by Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Rana Chowdhary who picked up two each. The problem for SBH was the failure of their batsmen to convert starts. T Suman made a fluent 32, P Srihari Rao chipped in with 37 while wicketkeeper M Srinivas contributed an unbeaten 33. They were not helped by the appalling lack of support from the other end, as the AIEB bowlers kept chipping away.AIEB would have backed themselves to chase down 172 but they didn’t have to go that far. Rain intervened when they were on 99 for 2 in 20.3 overs, well past what they required at that stage in the event of an interruption.Group B
In a thrilling contest in Chennai, Tata Sports Club survived a spirited chase by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and prevailed by one run to open their mark in the BCCI Corporate trophy.The chase of 265 was dealt a major setback when Abhishek Nayar’s fluent knock of 85 was terminated by Gaurav Jathar. At 138 for 4, it seemed TSC were in control but captain VA Indulkar and wicketkeeper Uday Kaul struck half-centuries to surge BPCL back in the game. Indulkar was more measured while Kaul stepped up with four fours and a couple of sixes. Just as it seemed BPCL would upstage their opponents, Wilkin Mota struck twice, ending the threatening stand and then dismissing Sairaj Bahutule. Mota bowled the final over and Bahutule fell first ball but BPCL were still favourites, requiring 4 off 5 balls with Kaul still batting. However, they managed just two more, failing to dispatch Mota, and slipped to an agonising defeat.The star with the bat for TSC was Dhruv Singh, who led his team’s recovery from 109 for 5 with an attacking 115. He was supported down the order by Mota, who chipped in with 30 – part of a decisive all-round effort – and Ajit Agarkar, who blasted 31 off 19 to stretch his team’s score to one they barely managed to defend.Group C
Air India eased to their second straight win in the tournament, beating Chemplast by six wickets in Hyderabad. Even a century from Napoleon Einstein and a score of 278 wasn’t enough in the wake of a solid reply from AI’s batsmen. Captain Mohammad Kaif took the lead in steering his team home, making an unbeaten 82 in 88 balls including four fours and two sixes. And there was ample support from the rest. Hrishikesh Kanitkar scored a run-a-ball 53 in a 118-run stand with Kaif, while Sushant Marathe and Chandan Madan put the chase on track with a 70-run stand. Victory was secured without much fuss with 14 balls to spare.Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited edged State Bank of Mysore by five runs in a fascinating encounter in Hyderabad. Both teams were bowled out, there were no half-centuries in the match and yet there were 575 runs scored in all.BSNL opted to bat and seemed to be on track for a more challenging score with a series of consistent contributions from the batsmen in the top and middle orders. Monish Mishra made 39, NS Negi made 41 and Niranjan Behera chipped in with 36 but what was missing was a more substantial innings. Chethan William grabbed three wickets while every other bowler chipped in with at least a wicket to keep BSNL in check and restrict them to a score of 240.SBM were in a good position to secure a win at 152 for 3 but offspinner Kamlesh Makvana broke a 76-run stand between William and B Akhil. He dismissed both batsmen and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Diwan stepped in to trigger a collapse where the last five wickets fell for 31 runs to deprive SBM of a win.Group D
State Bank of Patiala and Income Tax (India) served up the third closely-fought game of the day, with the former prevailing by 17 runs in Bangalore. SBP batted first and squandered an excellent start provided by their openers, R Rehni and Ravi Inder Singh, who added 101. Inder Singh made 75 but there were no major contributions from the rest. Spinners Ankit Sharma and Parag Khanapurkar grabbed seven wickets between them to help skittle out SBP for 218. SBP held the edge in the chase, limiting IT for 104 for 6 at one stage. But wicketkeeper Amol Ubarhande and Rohit Dahiya tried to revive the innings with a 57-run stand for the seventh wicket, but SBP fought back. Mukesh Sharma chipped away at the rest of the line-up, finishing with 5 for 26, and ending IT’s innings with more than three overs to spare.Oil and Natural Gas Corporation raced to victory against Madras Rubber Factory at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Despite good starts, the MRF top-order batsmen fell in pairs. The openers Thalavan Sargunam and S Anirudha fell with the score on 87, Sridharan Sriram and Y Gnaneswara Rao then fell in a space of three runs. Venugopal Rao remained unbeaten on 83 but MRF had been in a position to post more than 242 for 6. The score proved inadequate. Praveen Kumar, who opens the bowling for India, shone in his role as a batsman at the top of the order, giving the ONGC innings a boost with a quickfire 54. His opening partner Sandeep Sharma made 75 while Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir remained unbeaten to steer their team to victory with 73 balls to spare.

Mark Taylor has joined Stuart Clark, the Australia fast bowler, in saying the game could become boring if measures are taken to ban sledging and confrontation during matches. The ICC has asked teams to improve their behaviour through a “zero-tolerance policy” over verbal abuse.”How are we going to remove something that has been so much part of the game?” Clark told Sydney radio station . “Put it this way – it’s going to be very boring for six hours if you can’t talk to one another and can’t do anything like that. What is a sledge and what’s not a sledge is my big question there.”Cricket Australia says the ICC’s code of conduct already covers the issue and said a total ban on sledging, which was raised during an ICC meeting in Kuala Lumpur last month, had not been supported. The behaviour reminder comes after Australia’s often heated series with India over the past four months.Taylor, a member of the ICC cricket committee, said it was important not to go “over the top” with the regulations. “When you get a close series like we had this year with Australia and India you are going to get confrontation,” he said in the Courier-Mail. “Provided it’s kept in reasonable check it is all good.”That’s the kind of competition people want to see. We can’t go over the top, make the players the same and the game very boring.”Clark, who appears to be one of the more quiet members of the Australia squad, said removing sledging would be “detrimental to the game”, but he supported eliminating racial and political barbs. “It’s going to be a hard one to police because there are going to be times where people are going to be talking and it’s going to be misconstrued or taken the wrong way,” he said. “I can’t say what they [the ICC] are thinking but the removing of sledging completely from the game of cricket … I think it’s going to be detrimental to the game.”

Tamil Nadu, thanks principally to an unbeaten 120 by N Lokesh, were297 for four wickets at stumps on the first day of their three dayKSCA Coca Cola Cup (under-25) tournament in Bangalore on Wednesday.Opting to bat, Tamil Nadu were given a good start with openersRavindra John (69) and SP Lakshmi Kumar (6) putting on 63 runs off20.3 overs. John who dominated the scoring was second out at 102 inthe 32nd over. He faced 110 balls and hit 11 of them to the ropes.Lokesh, who had come in at the fall of the first wicket, added 39 runsfor the second wicket off 11 overs with John. He was then concerned inthree more fruitful partnerships. First with Noorul Riaz (18) he added53 runs for the third wicket off 26 overs. Then with J Harish (36) hewas concerned in a fourth wicket stand of 81 runs off 21 overs. Andfinally, Lokesh and Surendra Doss (38 not out) put on 61 runs for theunbroken fifth wicket off 13.2 overs. By close, Lokesh had batted 270minutes and faced 174 balls, hitting 14 of them to the ropes.