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The matches on the third day of the World Cricket League Division 7 were all replays of the first-day games which were washed out.An unbeaten 92 from Adil Hanif helped Bahrain to a comprehensive 137-run win over Gibraltar. Hanif played a vital role in rescuing Bahrain’s innings after another top-order collapse, which virtually mirrored Sunday’s abandoned game when Gibraltar had reduced them to 52 for 4 before the heavens opened up. The situation this time was 65 for 5, but a seventh-wicket stand of 74 between Hanif and Tahir Dar (40) lifted Bahrain to a respectable 235 for 9. In reply, Gibraltar always struggled with the bat and in the end were dismissed with 11.5 overs still remaining.Hanif, who was adjudged Man of the Match, was understandably very pleased with the result. “We prepared well back at home and we have played well as a unit here,” Hanif said. “We will try and stick to the basics tomorrow and if we play well we think we can reach 300 with the bat. We’re in good shape at the moment and we’ll see how we do against Guernsey next up.”Gibraltar, who were condemned to their second defeat, after losing to Guernsey in the previous match, would be crestfallen after looking good for a win. “We perhaps suffered a bit of a hangover from yesterday’s match against Guernsey and, to be fair, the rain didn’t have that big an effect as we had them in the same position again today,” said captain Chris Rocca. “They batted solidly in the middle and they did really well. I think we probably have played the two toughest sides in the tournament and I hope that we can concentrate on trying to stay in this division in our remaining games.”Hosts Guernsey continued their winning ways with an easy win over Japan by seven wickets, as Jeremy Frith starred with an unbeaten half-century. Japan battled to reach 150 for 8 against Guernsey, with Ko Irie continuing his good form in the tournament by scoring 49. But in reply, Guernsey never looked in real trouble as they coasted to an easy victory with 11.3 overs to spare, with Frith (56 not out) and Ross Kneller (44 not out) looking in good touch as they helped the hosts recover from the loss of some early wickets.”We are really pleased at how we have done. It’s now a case that we must keep going and not get carried away by two victories,” Frith said. “The boys as a unit did really well and I was really chuffed with the way the bowlers bowled. It really created some pressure. To go out chasing 150 means you can bat without pressure.”Suriname bounced back from yesterday’s heavy defeat to Bahrain by thrashing Nigeria by 95 runs. A 167-run partnership for the second wicket between Troy Dudnath (92) and Vishual Singh (91) propped up Suriname to 260 for 8. In reply, Adekunle Adegbola, who scored 39, again showed some good resistance but he didn’t receive enough support as Nigeria were bowled out for 165.With Guernsey also achieving a second consecutive victory, the stage is set for an interesting top-of-the-table clash when the hosts face Bahrain at KG Five on Wednesday. In the other matches, Suriname take on Japan and Nigeria face Gibraltar.

Jeremy Bray, the Ireland opener, has been recalled after a two-year exile from the side following a public outburst over the state of Irish cricket and now has the chance to earn a place in the ICC World Twenty20 squad.Bray hit a century against Zimbabwe in the 2007 World Cup, but the following summer branded the Irish Cricket Union (now Cricket Ireland) “a joke” over their attempts to turn the game professional.However, time has been a healer and he is back in the frame for the Friends Provident Trophy matches against Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire next weekend and Bray is grateful for the second chance.”I’m delighted to be involved again. I said some harsh things about Irish cricket two years ago, which I’ve come to regret deeply,” he said. “I was exhausted after all the exploits of the World Cup, and felt we weren’t changing quickly enough. I’ve been proved wrong, and Irish cricket is now in a stronger position than ever before. I made myself available and am grateful to Phil [Simmons] for giving me another opportunity.”I’ve had three months rest from cricket for the first time in over four years, and I feel refreshed, fit and raring to go. I feel I’ve got a good few years left in me, and reckon I can give a good deal of assistance to the talented youngsters in the set up. I feel in great touch and it’s fantastic to get another crack at international cricket.”Simmons said that he has made it very clear to Bray what he expects from his players and that he must fit with the team ethos. “He’s a proven performer at international level, and with us losing so many top order batsmen, I felt he would improve our squad. He made himself available, and after having had a long chat with him, I’m happy to have him back.”He knows my philosophy about the importance of the team ethic to Ireland rather than the individual, which I stressed,” Simmons added. “We also have the Twenty20 World Cup coming up, and to me he’s ideally suited to that form of the game. He scores boundaries and is a powerful striker of the ball.”He’s very fit and is focused on the game now – I don’t think he had that appetite and focus when he took a break from the game. He’s keen and eager, and I think he’ll be a big success again – we all know he can really play.”

Match facts

April 21, 2009
Start time 12.30pm (10.30GMT)Karan Goel’s sixes over wide long-on after charging the Delhi Daredevils bowlers were a treat to watch in the last match•Getty Images

Big Picture

Both Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders lost the opening game of their IPL campaigns on a rainy Sunday in Cape Town and the teams are now preparing to take on each other in Durban, where unfortunately the weather forecast for Tuesday is also bleak.Punjab, however, will not be too disheartened even though Delhi beat them by ten wickets at Newlands. Their innings was curtailed to 12 overs by rain and further showers reduced Delhi’s target to 54 in six overs, leaving Punjab’s bowlers with little chance. The highlight of the game for Punjab was the performance of their openers, Ravi Bopara and Karan Goel, who added 67 at more than ten runs an over.Kolkata, on the other hand, had a horrid outing against Deccan Chargers. Their pre-tournament build up was fraught with controversy over the multiple-captain theory and the issue was laid to rest only days before their first match, with Brendon McCullum taking over the leadership duties from Sourav Ganguly. The unrest reflected in their performance: Kolkata were 34 for 4 after 10.4 overs and the top-score was Brad Hodge’s 31. Unlike those of other franchises, Kolkata’s owner Shahrukh Khan was vocal about his disappointment over his team’s performance and another poor outing will only increase pressure and criticism levels.

Player form guide

Punjab: The openers Goel and Bopara surprised a few people with the power with which they hit the ball against Delhi. Both of them played aggressive cameos while Yuvraj also smashed a couple of sixes before he was run out. The bowlers – Yusuf Abdulla and Vikramjeet Malik in particular – barely had a work out because of the shortened innings but they withered under a fierce onslaught from Virender Sehwag.Kolkata: The explosive opening combination of Chris Gayle and McCullum failed against Deccan and the rest of the batsmen followed suit. The bowling did not inspire either – Ashok Dinda was the only one who took a wicket – as Deccan needed to take no risks to meet an asking-rate of less than six an over.

Watch out for

Karan Goel: He opened for Punjab, when quite a few expected Kumar Sangakkara to partner Bopara, and thrived against the new ball. He began by powering the ball square on the off side but the shots that stood out were his sixes over wide long-on after charging the fast bowlers. Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle: They are one of two overseas opening combinations in the tournament. Both batsmen are dynamic hitters but both failed against Deccan. Don’t bet on both failing once again.

Friendly fire

Ishant Sharma v Yuvraj Singh: The last two times Yuvraj batted at Kingsmead, he smashed 58 off 16 balls against England, and 70 off 30 balls against Australia during the World Twenty20. Ishant will hope to have more success against him than Stuart Broad and Stuart Clark did.

Team news

Punjab are likely to play the same overseas players as they did against Delhi, unless they want to give Burt Cockley a go instead of Yusuf Abdulla. There isn’t too much reason to change the Indian players either because they barely had chance to succeed or fail in the first game.Punjab: 1 Ravi Bopara, 2 Karan Goel, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Mahela Jaayawardene, 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Piyush Chawla, 8 Taruwar Kohli, 9 Vikramjeet Malik, 10 VRV Singh, 11 Yusuf Abdulla.Kolkata did not play Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis in the first game, choosing to give the fourth overseas-player’s slot to Australian allrounder Moises Henriques. However, they might think about including Mendis, given that their others managed to take only one Deccan wicket among them.Kolkata: 1 Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Sourav Ganguly, 4 Brad Hodge, 5 Aakash Chopra, 6 Laxmi Ratan Shukla, 7 Moises Henriques, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Murali Kartik, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.

Head-to-head record

Punjab won their first match against Kolkata in the 2008 IPL by nine runs but lost the second game by three wickets in a last-over finish.

ScorecardMandeep Singh brings up his century•Getty Images

A mammoth fifth-wicket partnership of 242 between Harpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh put India Under-19 in front against Australia Under-19 on the second day at the Bellerive Oval. India’s declaration at 7 for 417 put them 111 runs ahead of the hosts, who then batted for two overs to end on 1 for no loss at stumps.Resuming on 18 for no loss, India U-19 openers Mayank Agarwal and Manan Sharma continued strongly, putting on 85. Manan was the first to depart, dismissed by Mitchell Marsh, five short of his fifty. Wicketkeeper Avi Barot followed immediately for a duck, caught by James Garrett off Jackson Coleman.Agarwal brought up his fifty, but was caught behind by Tom Triffitt off Marsh for 68, having stroked 11 boundaries during his 72-ball stay. India U-19 were precariously placed at 148 for 3 going into lunch.But Harpreet and Mandeep elegantly lifted India into a potentially match-winning position after the break, bringing up their individual centuries in the process. Harpreet’s 125 came from 184 deliveries, including 14 fours and two sixes, while Mandeep scored a 155-ball 126, comprising 17 boundaries as the pair took the Australian attack apart.Harpreet became Coleman’s second victim while Mandeep was bowled by Sean Abbott. Both fell in successive overs, with the score on 398 for 5.Marsh and Coleman were Australia U-19’s most successful bowlers, picking up three wickets apiece.Australia U-19 coach Brian McFadyen said although it was a tricky day for his side, they would have taken a lot out of experience out of the encounter. “It certainly has been a tough day,” McFadyen was quoted as saying in the Cricket Australia website. “Particularly for the spinners, they’ve had an experience that is probably quite similar to a tough day in first-class cricket against good opposition on a very flat wicket against good players of spin bowling.McFadyen also gave credit to the excellent partnership in the Indian U-19 middle order that got the visitors into such a strong position. “They are very good players, they get a sniff and they really back themselves and play so confidently and fluently that it’s very difficult to apply pressure for any length of time,” McFadyen said. “At times we did bowl extremely well and just weren’t able to apply purely through that offensive batting.”In the first session we took some wickets and also missed a couple of difficult opportunities. I think there were five or six chances presented, where as the middle session there were basically no chances, that partnership was superb and they really batted us into a position where we are behind the eight ball and it’s going to take some good hard work to get back in the game. The quality of batting against spin has been very, very high.”

England 2 for 82 (Edwards 32*) beat Pakistan 78 (Abidi 27, Marsh 5-15) by 8 wickets
Scorecard

The unbeaten England sealed their place on top of Group B after Laura Marsh’s heroics with the ball led them to an eight-wicket thrashing of Pakistan at North Sydney Oval. It was another strong performance from one of the tournament favourites, whose next engagement is in the Super Sixes, and they overcame a slow start with the help of Marsh’s offspin.Pakistan had moved to 1 for 51 when Marsh intervened and they managed only 27 more as they were dismissed for 78 in 39.5 overs. England almost got the runs before the lunch break, but returned briefly to reach 2 for 82, with Charlotte Edwards unbeaten on 32. Their only casualties were Ebony Rainford-Brent on 18 and Sarah Taylor for 11 as the chase lasted 23.1 overs.Marsh collected 5 for 15 from her 10 overs, starting with the wicket of Sukhan Faiz when she was caught sharply at first slip by Claire Taylor. Nain Abidi, the top scorer with 27, drove to cover and Marsh was on a hat-trick after bowling Sajjida Shah (5) and having Sana Mir taken one-handed by Lydia Greenway at short leg. Marsh’s haul was completed with the lbw of the captain Urooj Mumtaz, who missed trying a legside slog with her side at 6 for 64.”I am pleased with my performance as it’s always nice for the spinners to take wickets in ODIs,” Marsh said. “The ball wasn’t turning much so I concentrated to bowl as straight as possible and tried to bring the slip fielder into play. I wasn’t aware that it was the fifth best bowling performance in a World Cup until someone told me after the presentation. I am definitely pleased with this, also because it came in a match that we won.”Holly Colvin was responsible for building a lot of pressure during an extremely tight spell of 1 for 8 off ten overs, which included seven maidens. Katherine Brunt, the opening bowler, picked up 2 for 25 while Edwards chipped in at the end with 2 for 2.

It was a no-contest as the Eagles thrashed the Cape Cobras by 88 runs in Kimberley. The win was set up by good contributions from Morne van Wyk, Adrian McLaren and Dean Elgar ; the target of 177 was a little too much for the opposition as they collapsed to 88. The newcomer McLaren was particularly strong on the leg side and shared a solid opening stand of 110 with van Wyk, who contributed 59. After he was run out, the Eagles were quiet for a few overs before Elgar smashed 16 off Roger Telemachus’ final over, finishing with 46 off 27 balls. There was hardly any resistance from the Cape Cobras as CJ de Villiers took 3 for 15 while Shadley van Schalkwyk claimed two wickets.Johann Louw was the hero of the night for the Dolphins, striking a last-ball six to help defeat the Cape Cobras by three wickets at Kingsmead. The unfortunate bowler was Claude Henderson, who leaked 10 off the last over. The match came down to the last ball with the Dolphins requiring six to win, which Louw duly delivered as he hit a flat six back over the bowler’s head to take the Dolphins to 120 for 7.Yusuf Abdulla’s 3 for 23 set up the victory in a low-scoring game by Twenty20 standards. Cape Cobras wobbled to 18 for 4 after being asked to bat first and were revived by a stand of 60 between Justin Ontong and Richard Levi. Levi top scored with 46 while Ontong contributed 27. Abdulla then took three lower-order wickets to restrict the opposition to 119 for 8. The Dolphins didn’t get off to the best of starts either, losing three wickets for 25 in the chase. The lower middle order then chipped in but the game was still wide open when Louw and Alfonso Thomas came together at 104 for 7.After two consecutive defeats, the Cape Cobras bounced back with a 16-run win against the Titans at Newlands, thanks to Justin Ontong’s all-round efforts. Ontong top scored with 59 to lift the Cape Cobras to 157 and later took two top-order wickets with his offspin to restrict the Titans to 141. Ontong added 67 for the fourth wicket with Andrew Puttick and a quickfire 36 with Vernon Philander towards the end to push the score. Ontong struck early with the ball, claiming the wickets of Blake Snijman and Roelof van der Merwe in quick succession. The sweep shot didn’t really work for the Titans, who lost three wickets to that stroke. Roger Telemachus was the most effective bowler, taking 3 for 17 off four overs.An unbeaten 72 by Robin Peterson guided the Warriors to an easy eight-wicket win against the Dolphins at Buffalo Park. It was an ordinary batting performance by the Dolphins who could only muster 127. Hylton Ackerman played a lone hand with 49 and only two other batsman managed double figures. Wayne Parnell, the left-arm seamer, had a good outing with figures of 3 for 18. Johann Louw caused an alarm when he took two wickets in successive balls to peg the Warriors back at 26 for 2. But Justin Kreusch joined Peterson and the pair hung on till the end. Peterson hit nine fours and two sixes in his 58-ball knock while Kreusch played the supporting role, hitting 31 off 43 balls.The match between the Lions and Titans at the Wanderers was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

ScorecardTemba Bavuma’s run-a-ball 63 and four wickets from Stephan Smith led South Africa Under-19s to a comprehensive 50-run win over England Under-19s in the first of five ODIs in Cape Town.South Africa were in control from the off, with Andrea Agathagelou and Mangaliso Mosehle put on an opening stand of 55, the pair taking a liking to the left-armer Christopher Wood who conceded 56 in seven overs. Nathan Buck, Wood’s opening partner, clawed back the initiative with two wickets while Scott Borthwick also grabbed two with his legspin.It was only a falter from South Africa, though, as Bavuma cracked his rapid 63 to loft his side to a challenging 259 for 8. England’s chase began cautiously, reaching 29 from 10 overs before James Taylor was caught behind off the economical Reece Williams. Wickets continued to fall regularly as South Africa tightened the noose and although ten of England’s lineup reached double figures, Daniel Redfern was the top-scorer with 33.Smith, a medium-pace seamer, continued to keep things tight to finish with the impressive figures of 4 for 44 from nine overs, as England were bowled out for 209 with more than five overs remaining.Having lost their two warm-ups before today’s game, England have plenty to do before the second match on Wednesday in Paarl.

Pakistan has barred its players from participating in the IPL after its foreign ministry deemed it was unsafe for the cricketers to travel to India in the wake of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai.”We have been informed by the foreign ministry today that the situation is not conducive for Pakistan cricketers to travel to India,” sports minister Aftab Jilani told the . The sports ministry had last week given clearance to the players to participate in the Indian Twenty20 league, while informing them that their security would be their own and their IPL franchise’s responsibility.”We [the sports ministry] had given the NOC, but the final decision was up to the government,” Jilani said. “Ever since these attacks [in Mumbai] the situation has got tense and even Pakistani artists are facing problems in India.”Pakistan’s top players, including Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul, are contracted to various franchises in the league. “All the players who are already signed up with the IPL teams or those who were due to take part in the players auction have been declined permission,” Saleem Altaf, the PCB chief executive, told PTI. Altaf said an email had been sent to the IPL about the ministry’s decision.With bilateral relations between the neighbours at a low, franchises had indicated they might trade their Pakistan players during the IPL’s one-month-long trading window, which closed last month. No Pakistan players, though, were sold during the window. However, if they are unable to participate in this year’s tournament due to government restrictions, they will have to forego their salaries for this season.Five players – Yasir Hameed, Yasir Arafat, Asim Kamal, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Hafeez – had also been included in the IPL’s list for the auction before the second season, scheduled for February 6. Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said their names will be withdrawn. “The Pakistan government has decided to inform us, through the Pakistan Cricket Board, no Pakistan player will be allowed to play in this year’s IPL,” Modi said. “There were five players on the [auction] list but we have removed them.”The two franchises most affected by the absence of Pakistan players will be Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals – both have three on their rosters. Joy Bhattacharya, Kolkata’s team director, said they will seek more options from the IPL to counter the development. Bhattacharya said they had already accounted the limited availiability of Pakistan players due to the scheduled ODI series against Australia between April 20 and May 10.”It impacts very [us] much as we will not have Umar Gul, a fine cricketer,” he said. “Even then our strategy for the auction has already been thought of keeping in mind any development like this. While this was not a reality a few days ago it is out in the open now. So the IPL will have to offer options.”The IPL, though, has already provided a possible alternative for the franchises. Teams will be allowed to sign players unsold at the upcoming auction as replacements for those who won’t be available for the entire season this year. Also, the amount spent on them will not count towards the franchise’s US$2 million cap on player purchases at the auction.

Saurashtra 189 (RA Jadeja 38, Raghu 2-8) and 327 for 5 (Pujara 112*, Kotak 87, Shah 55*, RA Jadeja 55, Vinay 3-84) beat Karnataka 305 (Uthappa 139, RA Jadeja 5-82, Odedra 3-68) and 208 (Akhil 56, Dravid 52, Jobanputra 5-54, R Jadeja 4-58) by five wickets
Scorecard

Saurashtra joined in the season of improbable chases by reaching the target of 325 set by Karnataka with considerable ease to enter their second successive Ranji Trophy semi-final. Cheteshwar Pujara scored a match-winning century under pressure and was helped by contributions from Shitanshu Kotak, Ravindra Jadeja and captain Jaydev Shah.The backbone of the chase was the 163-run fourth-wicket partnership between Pujara and Kotak that dimmed and then ended Karnataka’s hopes of victory. Those hopes had flared on a spectacular catch by B Akhil, who threw himself to the right to grab Bhushan Chauhan’s outside edge off Vinay Kumar, and ebbed quietly as the Kotak-Pujara combine took centrestage.Both batsmen played enterprisingly, taking their chances rather than grafting around and waiting for the bad deliveries. Kotak prodded one past point and ran three off his first ball in the morning off Vinay and later got away with two edges that whistled past the slips and gully. Pujara took 22 balls for his first run but was soon into the groove, his first three scoring shots being fours. The first was a punch straight down the ground off Vinay, followed by a square-drive on the back foot in the bowler’s next over. He then cut NC Aiyappa, who had already been clipped past midwicket by Kotak in the same over, when the bowler pitched short and wide.Pujara, who began the season with big knocks but failed to reach a half-century in his last seven innings, brought the 50-run partnership with a handsome cover drive off Sunil Joshi – it beat the diving fielders at cover and mid-off. At the other end, Kotak brought up his fifty in style, moving quickly outside the line of a delivery from Vinay to push it to the boundary at long-on.Pujara pulled Joshi immediately in the first over post lunch to get to his half-century. Kotak, the more experienced of the two, realised the session was vital and tried to face most of the deliveries. Vinay got the ball to reverse, and Kotak patiently waited for the bowler to commit an error. When Vinay bowled full on his leg, Kotak found the boundary at square-leg. He even stepped out to hit Joshi over mid-on for a one-bounce four.With none of their bowlers able to impose themselves, Karnataka were clutching at straws. As the pressure mounted, Robin Uthappa, the Karnataka captain, let the experienced Rahul Dravid take charge in the field, but even he could not do much apart from shining the ball, patting the bowlers and clapping. Karnataka’s best chance arrived when Pujara, on 58, chased an away-going delivery in Akhil’s second over but C Raghu, standing wide at first slip, fumbled an easy catch. The score was 148 and it proved to be a turning point as Pujara proceeded to seal Saurashtra’s victory.Kotak, who has built his reputation as a stonewaller by picking his runs in the brick-by-brick fashion, took the initiative in this innings, not hesitating to hook the fast bowlers. By the time Kotak departed, caught-and-bowled by C Raghu half an hour before tea, Saurashtra’s man Friday had virtually robbed Karnataka’s chances of winning.In walked Ravindra Jadeja – arms swinging, chest high, eager to finish the job. He pulled Aiyappa on arrival, and put the pressure back on the bowlers by pulling and sweeping Raghu for consecutive fours a couple of overs later. When Joshi returned for his second spell in the afternoon, Jadeja stepped out to club the veteran left-arm spinner over mid-off for another four, and later for a straight hit down the ground.Saurashtra went to tea requiring 105 runs in the remaining 32 overs. Pujara, who was subdued in the second session, returned with renewed vigour and Karnataka were fast receding against the agility of the 20-year-olds. Having pulled Vinay for another boundary to bring the target below the 100-mark, Jadeja cut Joshi for a four and then walked a single to long-on to complete a swift half-century. He was caught at point trying to slog-sweep Raghu, but Jaydev Shah carried forward the assault with a ruthless half-century of his own that included nine hits past the boundary and a six over widish long-on.Saurashtra will face Mumbai in the semi-final in Chennai, starting January 4.

Garth le Roux, the former South Africa fast bowler, has been sentenced to four years in jail for tax fraud. His accountant, Deon van Heerden, has also been sentenced for the same term.The sentence was handed down in Cape Town’s Wynberg Regional Court on Friday morning.”A message that people with big cheque books can buy their way out of prison is wrong,” said Magistrate Jackie Redelinghuys.Le Roux’s and Van Heerden’s bail was extended pending their appeal.Both men had been convicted of tax fraud in August – le Roux on three tax fraud counts, and van Heerden on seven. The charged involved more than R1.9m, well above the R500,000 threshold for a minimum 15-year sentence.The charges stemmed from issues relating to the tax of commissions that le Roux earned as an agent selling property at an upmarket gold estate near George, in South Africa’s Western Cape province.