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Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach, has said he’s not worried by his side’s miserable performance in their tour opener against Auckland, folding for 91 in a Twenty20 match which they lost by five wickets. Pakistan’s brittle batting failed to last 20 overs at Colin Maiden Park in what was their only Twenty20 warm-up match of the tour, and Auckland chased down their target with more than six overs remaining.”It wasn’t the ideal start but that happens sometimes when you’ve just arrived in the country and you don’t really know much about the pitch conditions,” Waqar said. “I’m not really worried about it.”Pakistan’s batting fragility has hurt them plenty of times this year, and it was no different against Auckland. “The batting had been undergoing a good deal of work but the batsmen failed to click in the game and no-one had taken responsibility to anchor the effort.”Pakistan’s next match is the first of three Twenty20s against New Zealand, on Boxing Day. “I think they’ve learned the lesson and hopefully in the next game it will be a different ball game,” Waqar said. “We have done badly today, and we have spoken about it. We have to work hard over the next couple of days so we don’t repeat this type of performance.”

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Doug Bollinger was in the wickets for New South Wales•AFP

New South Wales’ opening bowlers, Doug Bollinger and Trent Copeland, ensured a first-innings lead for their side, sharing six wickets as Western Australia were kept to 205 on the second day of their Sheffield Shield match at the WACA. Shaun Marsh’s 86 was WA’s top score by some distance as discarded offspinner Nathan Hauritz also chipped in with two middle-order wickets. New South Wales lost both openers quickly in the second dig, however, and went to stumps at the fragile position of 2 for 43.WA’s opening batsmen, Wes Robinson and Liam Davis, survived a short, four-over burst on the first evening by adopting an overwhelmingly defensive approach and they continued in much the same manner the next morning. Robinson had grafted just four runs from the first seven overs of play before he was trapped in front of his stumps by Bollinger, who has been re-called by Australia ahead of the second Ashes Test, and Davis was eventually prised out in the 20th over of the innings for just 14.Marsh and Michael Swart cobbled together something of a recovery with a 67-run partnership for the third wicket that carried their team into the post-lunch session but when Swart was removed for 39, bowled by Hauritz, a fragile middle-order was exposed. Bollinger, Copeland and Hauritz quickly worked their way through Nos. 5 to 8, and when Moises Henriques had Brett Dorey caught behind WA were tottering at 8 for 151.Marsh, who had reached his 19th first-class fifty amid the carnage, found another willing partner in Ryan Duffield and together they took WA past 200 with a 54-run stand. Duffield cracked three fours and a six in an aggressive 36 – the 22-year-old’s best first-class effort – but he and Marsh were dispatched in the space of three balls by Bollinger and Copeland as the innings folded for 205. Duffield, a left-arm seamer, carried his fight into the field as he dismissed both Phil Hughes and Phil Jaques in the first six overs, but New South Wales’ lead already stands at a handy 129.

Jonathan Foo, the Guyana batsman who starred in the Caribbean Twenty20 earlier this year, has been named in the West Indies A Twenty20 squad that will take on Pakistan A at home next month. Devendra Bishoo, the legspinner who topped the wickets chart in that tournament, has also been included. All-rounder David Bernard, who was part of the weakened West Indies team that played Bangladesh in 2009, will captain the side.Foo helped Guyana snatch victory against Barbados in the nail-biting final of the domestic event, hitting a 17-ball 42 under immense pressure. A hard-hitting lower-order batsman, the 20-year-old is among a rare breed of West Indies cricketers with Chinese descent.”The selection committee has identified this core group for Twenty20 cricket,” Clyde Butts, chairman of the WICB selection committee said in a statement. “We are now looking forward to seeing how these players do on the next level up, how they respond to the pressures and the challenges.”The A tour beginning on November 3 consists of two Twenty20s, three one-day matches and two four-day games.West Indies A Twenty20 squad: David Bernard (capt), Jason Holder, Miles Bascombe, Devendra Bishoo, Johnson Charles, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher (wk), Jonathan Foo, Danza Hyatt, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse, Ravi Rampaul, Krishmar Santokie

Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round brilliance and the dominance of Bangladesh’s spinners may be the lasting memories from this series, but today both those factors were reduced to secondary roles. On a day when Bangladesh went one better than the series victory, completing a memorable whitewash against a top opposition, it was Rubel Hossain’s abilities with new ball and old that made the difference.Defending a decidedly under-par 174, Rubel had more than played his part in his opening spell, nipping out New Zealand’s top three batsmen in his first three overs. New Zealand’s resilience had, however, brought them back into the game and Rubel was called on for the final over against a rampant Kyle Mills, with seven runs to defend.Rubel would have had a sense of déjà vu as he ran in for that last over. When Mills slammed the first ball for four, Rubel would have remembered the fateful tri-series final against Sri Lanka last year, in the same ground, when Muttiah Muralitharan’s targeted onslaught against him in the batting Powerplay stopped Bangladesh inches short of their most memorable cricketing moment.Things were about to turn out differently today, though. Two inch-perfect yorkers on leg stump followed, the second one cleaning up Mills and sending Mirpur into a frenzy. Rubel later revealed that he never felt the pressure, even after that boundary ball.”I thought it was only a matter of one good delivery and it never really crossed my mind that we could lose,” he said. “The captain also told me that they need four runs and we needed one wicket and that it was my day and he believed I could win the match for Bangladesh.”Shakib would have had a sense of déjà vu of his own; this was not the first time he was taking over the reins from an injured Mashrafe Mortaza to lead his side to a whitewash. The same template had been followed when Bangladesh beat West Indies 3-0 last year. “Maybe you should ask him to get injured in a series again and then we’ll try to find out if this formula works every time”, Shakib said light-heartedly. “When I bat I don’t think of myself as a captain with specific or special responsibilities. I just play my own game. Similarly, when bowling I try to pick the best bowler to bowl in a particular situation and if that bowler happens to be me then I come in.”With four wins this series, Bangladesh have emphatically addressed their previous inability to build on hitherto sporadic victories against top sides. Shakib said it was the winning habit, developed on the back of three authoritative performances, that stood his side in good stead despite a poor total today.”We didn’t have a defendable total and yet the moment the first wicket fell there was a buzz in the field and we believed we could pull this game back our way,” Shakib said. “This was a result of the three victories in a row. Often in the past with a similar score I have seen shoulders dropping and the belief disappearing but today we saw what winning teams are made of.”Shakib was also careful enough not to get too caught up in the euphoria of the victory and ignore the areas for improvement. “I still think our top-order batting was not up to the mark as we lost wickets at the wrong times. We want atleast one of the top four batsmen to get to a good score and try to hold the innings together. Apart from the second game where we chased that did not happen in this series.”The bowling and fielding was satisfactory but you can always improve on that. We also did not execute the Powerplays very well and often we found ourselves with too many wickets down when the last Powerplay arrived. Ideally you should have five or six wickets in hand when the final Powerplay starts.”The 4-0 scoreline brought Bangladesh within a few decimal points of toppling West Indies from the eighth spot in the ODI ratings. The upcoming series against Zimbabwe will give them a chance to push ahead and Shakib knew the importance of that tour.”We should definitely continue working hard and prepare for the next series against Zimbabwe in December,” he said. “They are a much improved side and although we have had a stranglehold over them in the last few years the matches often have been quite competitive. They are also playing pretty well in South Africa although the results haven’t gone their way.”

Former India captain Anil Kumble has said that his responsibilities as National Cricket Academy (NCA) chairman will involve the moulding of the personalities of young players in addition to imparting cricketing skills. Kumble’s appointment to the role, replacing Ravi Shastri, was announced by the BCCI on Wednesday.”The way I see it, it’s an opportunity to put together a structure that will help in the development of young cricketers,” Kumble told . “The role of the NCA is not just to churn out cricketers, but to churn out really good personalities and well-rounded individuals.”This is not something that will happen in a year or two. It’s a continuous process for various sets of cricketers, right from the youngsters who are in the NCA to those who come back to it at different stages.”Kumble retired from international cricket in 2008, finishing as India’s highest wicket-taker in the Test and ODI formats. He has continued playing in the IPL, with his elevation to the captaincy role for Royal Challengers Bangalore sparking a revival in the team’s fortunes. After finishing seventh out of eight teams in the inaugural edition, they reached the knock-out stages of the next two seasons under him, making the cut for the Champions League on both occasions. The NCA role puts him in a good position to pursue his ambition of guiding India’s young cricketing talent.”It will help that I’m still involved in that many of the youngsters around would have played either with me or against me. It will help that they have some sort of comfort level with me and that they can approach me if they need something,” Kumble said.While saying he was keen on developing the next line of cricketers for the country, Kumble did not lose sight of the present. Rigorous schedules and lucrative Twenty20 leagues have had their say on fitness, forcing India to play important tournaments without their first-choice cricketers. Kumble was aware of the situation and told the newspaper that the NCA would address the challenge of keeping the players match-fit.”There must be a pipeline in place for a fresh talent pool to emerge, but we must also make sure the present talent pool remains focussed, motivated and in the best physical and mental shape to keep delivering for the country,” he said.

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Netherlands slipped to their seventh defeat in nine Clydesdale Bank 40 matches as Northamptonshire beat them by 32 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in Rotterdam. Interruptions by rain meant Northamptonshire were restricted to 27 overs and they posted a competitive 150 for 5, Alex Wakely top scoring with 35. Further breaks meant Netherlands’ target was revised to 139 from 22 overs, but it was a task they never looked like coming close to completing.Mal Loye and Rob Newton put on 36 for the first wicket before Bernard Loots removed them both, and Wakely then added 59 for the third with David Sales (28). With both partnerships interrupted by rain stoppages, some late runs were needed and Nicky Boje provided them, hitting an unbeaten 24 off 15 balls.Elton Chigumbura removed both of Holland’s openers in the second over of their reply, and by the time the weather struck again the hosts were 69 for 5. Bas Zuiderent straddled the stoppage with his 35, but when he was the sixth wicket to fall, bowled by Andrew Hall, Netherlands had nothing left to offer and their innings closed on 106 for 9.Chigumbura, Hall and Lee Daggett each took the two wickets, the latter for the cost of just 11 runs in four overs.

Bryce McGain’s time with Essex might have been cut short by the return of Danish Kaneria, but Victoria’s legspinner is already looking ahead to his next big challenge. A shoulder injury to Jon Holland means McGain could become Victoria’s No. 1 spinner for the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa next month, where they will also be without their captain Cameron White.McGain, 38, has not played a Twenty20 match since January 2009 as the younger Holland was preferred in the short format, and he will battle with the offspinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell for the slow-bowling position. South Africa was the venue of McGain’s Test debut, when he took 0 for 149 and copped the brunt of some fine batting, but he said 18 months on he was simply excited to be heading back there.”One not so good day in terms of your bowling figures doesn’t scar you at all,” McGain said. “I’ve moved on. I think I’ve improved since then, and it’s a different format of the game as well, different circumstances, different players, different strategies. It was something I learnt from but now I’m just excited to get back over there.”They might go down the path of Glenn Maxwell, who bowled quite well in some one-day games at the end of last year. If I can do that role it would be great. I would love to play on that stage, play against the best players there are.”One of those opponents will be Victoria’s regular leader, White, who was contractually tied to Royal Challengers Bangalore, and could face his state colleagues if both sides progress past the group stage. In the absence of White, Victoria will be captained by David Hussey, who has scored more Twenty20 runs than anyone else in the world.”It would be great to have our captain, he’s probably in the top five Twenty20 players in the world,” McGain said. “He’s been phenomenal for the Bushrangers. He is a loss but our line-up is very experienced all the way through. Dave Hussey will be a great captain, he’s been over here captaining Notts and his captaincy is equally as good as Cameron’s.”There are obviously things that he’ll share with his team … but there’s no great secrets about what Victoria do, tactically. Our success has just been around executing the basics more consistently than our opposition.”McGain will be well warmed up for the tournament, having spent three weeks with Essex as the replacement for the Pakistan legspinner Kaneria. McGain was popular at the club and the fans came up with a chant to support him: ‘Bryce, Bryce, your bowling’s quite nice, they’re gonna need some batting advice’. However, when Kaneria was released from the Test squad, it spelled the end of McGain’s first taste of county cricket.His stay might have been brief, but it was also personally successful, as he collected 10 wickets at 26.00 in his only two first-class appearances, including a five-for in his first game for Essex. While he said he couldn’t have been happier with his performances, he will face a different challenge come the start of the Sheffield Shield season in October.The emergence of the young left-armer Holland, who has played for Australia A, will keep the pressure on the older McGain to hold his place in the first-class team. McGain grabbed 26 wickets at 32.50 in the Sheffield Shield last summer, but on a couple of occasions was overlooked for Holland, and he knows that staying ahead of a promising 23-year-old will be hard work.”At times it’s a little frustrating, especially when you get a little run of form but you find yourself not in the team,” McGain said. “But having said that, that’s part of a good competitive squad. I don’t mind doing my role for Victorian cricket and if that involves helping to develop someone else, that’s good as well. I’m happy to do that.”It’s out of my hands, I can’t control that part of it. I want to play for a few years yet. Physically I’m certain I can do that. There’s always something to learn – spending a couple of days with Danish [Kaneria] it was great to learn a couple of things that he does, and I’ll keep exploring new things.”For now, that means the Champions League and renewing his Twenty20 career.

ScorecardGeraint Jones defied Somerset’s bowlers for nearly three hours on a turning pitch to lead Kent to a draw at Taunton. The wicketkeeper walked out at 2.40pm with his side 67 for 1 chasing an improbable 335 to win and was out just moments before the end for a gutsy 47 as Kent closed on 191 for 7.Murali Kartik claimed 5 for 57 for match figures of 10 for 107, bowling 31 overs unchanged from the River End. When the total was 134 for 5 with 20 overs still remaining Somerset had a chance. In the end their skipper Marcus Trescothick might have regretted erring on the side of safety as he delayed his declaration until 25 minutes before lunch, by which time his team had progressed from an overnight 122 for 2 to 301 for 7.Somerset took seven points to Kent’s six from a game in which 158 overs were lost to rain over the four days. Trescothick led from the front at the start of the final day. Unbeaten on 59 overnight, he progressed to 80, with eight fours and three sixes, before driving a catch to extra cover off Amjad Khan.Alfonso Thomas (30), Zander de Bruyn (43) and James Hildreth (48) all made breezy contributions, but it was a surprise when Trescothick opted to continue the innings once a 300 lead had been established.Kent had to face only four overs before lunch, which was taken at 12 without loss. Openers Joe Denly and Sam Northeast extended their partnership to 67 in the afternoon session before Thomas held a sharp caught and bowled chance offered by Denly on 36.Kartik was expected to prove Somerset’s most potent weapon following his five first-innings victims and he had Northeast caught by Arul Suppiah at square-leg off a leading edge for 40. Kent captain Martin van Jaarsveld then miscued a pull shot off Charl Willoughby and was well caught by Jos Buttler at deepish mid-wicket to make it 94 for 3.Alex Blake was lbw playing no shot to a ball from Kartik that turned from outside his off stump and Darren Stevens fell to a juggling catch by Trescothick at slip off the same bowler. There were only 23 balls left when James Tredwell became another Kartik victim, but still the obdurate Jones held firm.By the time he fell lbw to Kartik in the penultimate over he had faced 150 balls, hitting just three boundaries. It was a fine effort of concentration in bowler-friendly conditions. It was not such a happy afternoon for Somerset’s wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter, who dropped Blake amid an untidy display behind the stumps.

ScorecardSuzie Bates set up the New Zealand victory with 68•Getty Images

A half-century by Suzie Bates, followed by three wickets for Sian Ruck, helped New Zealand square the series at the Rose Bowl despite a heroic 73 from Sarah Taylor.After the opening fixture was dominated by spin this was a much more free-flowing contest that fluctuated one way and the other before finally settling in New Zealand’s favour. Twice the tourists took control, first in their batting innings and then again in their fielding effort, only to see England fight back strongly, but they eventually held off the challenge for a deserved win.Set 148 after Bates and Sara McGlashan’s century stand helped post a competitive total, England slipped to 29 for 4, as some ill-judicious shots combined with Ruck’s accurate left-arm swing left the home side floundering. But Sarah Taylor was joined by Jenny Gunn to revive England’s hopes and leave them needing just 38 from the final 34 balls. Having worked their way into a strong position though, England lost their last five wickets for 26 runs to give New Zealand the spoils.That England even got so close looked unlikely after the batsmen had faltered so badly early on. Charlotte Edwards fell to the first delivery of the innings – which she didn’t even face – when Sarah Taylor’s crisp drive was deflected off the bowler to cannon into middle stump. If it wasn’t quite the worst possible start, it was close to it and brought Claire Taylor, still searching for her mesmeric 2009 form, to the crease.Given her record and experience she needed to be the architect of the chase but instead she scratched around, making 2 off 7 balls, before aiming – and missing – a leg-side heave at Sian Ruck. It betrayed a player short of confidence and match practice.Ruck then struck twice more, removing Laura Marsh and Lydia Greenway in the space of three deliveries to leave England tottering. Sarah Taylor, however, stood firm throughout. She started slowly but soon grew in confidence to pick off regular boundaries through the leg side on her way to a half-century from 44 balls. Gunn at the other end was almost as effective and the pair put on 80 to carry England right back in the contest.The game changed with the introduction of Amy Satterthwaite, who didn’t even play in the opening match, in the 15th over. Gunn aimed a routine clip into the leg side only to find a leading edge that looped tamely to Watkins at mid -off. Danielle Wyatt departed soon after and suddenly England were in trouble again.Lucy Doolan’s slow, looping offspinners did for Danielle Hazell and Taylor lost the momentum she had generated so effectively with Gunn. With 24 needed from 14 balls she couldn’t find the boundaries like she had six times before and ended up being run-out off the final delivery of the penultimate over to seal the game for New Zealand.If anything, the tourists would feel they should have set a lot more than the 147. Bates and McGlashan were completely dominant, picking off boundaries with powerful shots down the ground and pulling-off inventive scoops behind the wicket, to take New Zealand to 115 for 1 by the 15th over.But a rocket throw from long off by Katherine Brunt caught McGlashan short and England, sensing an opportunity, surged back. Hazell was the best of the bowlers, finishing with 3 for 19 but it wasn’t enough to prevent New Zealand setting up a winner-takes-all clash in the final match at Hove on Friday.

Newly selected fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed is pleased with his call-up to Pakistan’s squad for the England tour, and now hopes to push for a settled spot.”I am delighted that my hard work has been rewarded,” Tanvir told AFP. “It’s true that your hard work pays and now I will do my best to get a permanent place in the Pakistan team.”The 31-year-old Tanvir has earned his stripes at the domestic level, having played over 100 first class matches. He starred in Karachi’s victorious Quaid-e-Azam campaign last season, picking 97 wickets to force his way into the selectors’ radar.Tanvir is excited by the prospect of playing Australia, which he terms as a dream and hopes to do well against their strong batting line-up. He is confident that his experience with minor English club Peterborough Town will come in handy when he gets a chance to bowl on tour.Rashid Latif, former Pakistan captain and Tanvir’s mentor, credited his ward’s perseverance for making the cut. “I am sure Tanvir will be successful on the England tour because he pitches the ball up compared to other Pakistani bowlers who bowl short. And more so, he is very committed,” Latif said.