New Zealand take command against West Indies positive start as Edwards and Kieran Powell progressed to 46 with New Zealand newball partners Trent Boult and Tim Southee moving the ball around and finding plenty to appeal about but nothing that impressed the umpires. Southee was eventually rewarded with an lbw decision against Powell on 21 while Boult came back in his second spell to remove Chanderpaul. Bravo, unable to reproduce his marathon innings of the first Test, faced 12 balls before he edged Anderson to New Zealand 1st innings: ST Gabriel ........ 25.1-5-86-2 second slip Peter Fulton. Edwards, who had Fulton c Ramdin DJG Sammy ........ 25-3-92-2 b Sammy ........................... 6 S Shillingford ..... 28-4-92-1 looked assured on his way Rutherford b Best ......... 11 N Deonarine ....... 16-2-39-1 to a half century, was undone by a full Anderson delivery Williamson b Best ......... 45 West Indies 1st innings: Taylor c Shillingford Edwards c Rutherford which he tried to turn to the b Gabriel ....................... 129 b Anderson .................... 55 leg side but sent a leading McCullum c Edwards Powell lbw b Southee ... 21 edge to Hamish Rutherford b Deonarine ................... 37 DM Bravo b Anderson .. 4 at cover. Anderson, who has figCorey J Anderson c Powell Samuels not out ............ 50 b Shillingford ................. 38 S Chanderpaul b Boult ... 6 ures of two for 20, was again Watling b Gabriel .......... 65 N Deonarine not out ..... 11 in the play to remove Southee b Sammy ......... 21 Extras: (lb 6, w 1, nb 4) .. 11 Chanderpaul for six when he Sodhi c Ramdin b Best . 27 Total: (4 wickets) ......... 158 took a fine catch at cover Wagner c Sammy b Best 0 Fall of wickets: 1-46, 2-67, 3- point. New Zealand resumed TA Boult not out ........... 38 103, 4-119 Extras: (b 16, lb 6, nb 2) 24 Bowling: ........... O-M-R-W the day at 307-6 and cracked Total: (all out) .............. 441 TA Boult ............... 9-3-25-1 a rollicking 134 runs to be all Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-24, 3- Southee ................ 9-1-40-1 out on the stroke of lunch. It was an impressive to112, 4-189, 5-257, 6-296, 7- N Wagner ............. 7-1-37-0 J Anderson ........... 7-1-20-2 tal on a wicket rated 334, 8-383, 9-383, 10-441 Bowling: ........... O-M-R-W IS Sodhi ................ 3-1-18-0 favourable to the quick TL Best ............. 21-1-110-4 Williamson ........... 2-0-12-0 bowlers, although the West Indies were guilty of too
WELLINGTON—New Zealand claimed the upper hand in the second Test on Thursday with the West Indies on 158-4 and key batsmen Darren Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul back in the pavilion. At the end of the rainabbreviated second day, in which only 63.1 of the scheduled 90 overs were bowled, the West Indies trailed New Zealand’s first innings of 441 by 283.
Neymar scores hat-trick as Barca crush Celtic
Only Kirk Edwards and Marlon Samuels provided any stern resistance with well compiled half centuries. Samuels was not out 50 and Narsingh Deonarine was on 11. New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson, in only his fourth Test, made the crucial breakthroughs for his team, removing first Test double centurion Darren Bravo for four and Edwards for 55. The West Indies made a
De Kock sets world record with hat-trick of tons
C ENTURION —South Africa B A R C E L O N A — N e y m a r batsman Quinton de Kock scored a Champions League hat trick in a 6-1 rout of Celtic on Wednesday to help Barcelona forget about Lionel Messi, for one night at least. Gerard Pique, Pedro Rodriguez, and Cristian Tello also scored for Group H winners Barcelona, while Giorgos Samara added a late consolation goal for Celtic, which finished last in the group. With Messi sidelined by a hamstring injury, Neymar was finally able to take command of a Barcelona attack which has passed through the boots of the Argentina forward for so many years. On Wednesday at the Camp Nou, it was Neymar’s feet which did the talking as he finally scored in Europe’s elite competition. ‘’I don’t feel pressure but, still, I should score,’’ Neymar said. After Pique’s seventhminute opener got the Spanish champions going, Neymar used some masterful dribbling to throw off defender Efe Ambrose with his change of rhythm before cutting a pass back into the box for Pedro to direct home in the 40th. The Brazil forward was able to tap home his first goal since Nov. 10 four minutes later after Alexis Sanchez lifted a ball over Celtic’s defense to meet Marc Montoya’s run, and the Spanish fullback slid it back for an easy goal. Neymar showed no problems handling Barcelona’s slick combination capabilities as he backheeled to Xavi Hernandez who returned on to his run through the defense, and Neymar sent a rising shot into the corner as he slipped to the ground in the 48th. ‘’I wouldn’t say some players gave up but it certainly looked that way at times,’’ said Celtic coach Neil Lennon. ‘’A lot of halfhearted performances and, as a manager, that was the most disappointing aspect of the whole game.’’ Ambrose was caught out again in the 58th. Neymar ’s stepover created space before he used his other foot to slide the ball through the big defender ’s legs, get into the box and then beat Forster.—AFP
many short, wide, deliveries. Wicketkeeper BJ Watling was the mainstay of the late attack which ended when he was removed for 65. Watling and Southee opened the day with 27 runs in 26 balls before Southee was dismissed, caught at deep square leg for 21. Ish Sodhi chimed in with 27 off 35 balls in a cameo peppered with quick singles before he was caught behind off Tino Best who was quickly to go from hero to villain. Best removed Neil Wagner with his next ball to be on a hat-trick only for Boult to crush those hopes. He not only avoided the hat-trick but in the next over he skied a Shane Shillingford delivery, which Best spilled over the ropes, turning a chance to wrap up the innings into a six. Boult was particularly severe on Shillingford, belting 14 off one over, as he and Watling set a record 10thwicket partnership for New Zealand against the West Indies of 58 Best was the most successful of the West Indies bowlers, with four for 110. The day’s play was twice disrupted by rain, with the start delayed by 75 minutes and the entire middle session washed out.—AFP
set a new world record against India in the third and final One Day International at Supersport Park on Wednesday. The 20-year-old lefthander hit his third successive ODI hundred to become the first wicketkeeper-batsman to achieve the feat in game’s history. With 342 runs in this three-match series, he is the first to aggregate this many runs in a three-game rubber. Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar (both Pakistan), Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers (both South Africa) are the other four in this elite club. Pakistan’s Abbas also got to his hundreds in the same series, against India in 1982-83. List of batsmen scoring three successive ODI tons: 1982-83 - Zaheer Abbas (Pakistan) 118, 105, 113 vs India 1993 - Saeed Anwar (Pakistan) 107 vs Sri Lanka, 131 vs West Indies, 111 vs Sri Lanka 2002 - Herschelle Gibbs (South Africa) 116 vs Kenya, 116* vs India, 153 vs Bangladesh 2010 - AB de Villiers (South Africa) 114* vs India, 102* vs India, 102 vs West
Cook says team hungry as ever P ERTH (Australia)—England captain Alastair Cook insisted Thursday his underpressure team was as hungry as ever and did not need lifting, despite being crushed in the first two Ashes Tests by Australia. Cook, who like Australian skipper Michael Clarke will play his 100th Test in Perth from Friday, said his side retained the belief that they can prevent Australia winning at the WACA to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the fiveTest series. “Our confidence has obviously had a hit from the first two Test matches,” he told reporters, referring to Brisbane and Adelaide. “But as a squad we’ve made a conscious effort to look forward rather than back. We think we’ve got our preparations right.” England will go into the Test with coach Andy Flower suggesting there will be changes from the team that played in Adelaide, where they opted for two spinners in Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann. Perth is more of a fastbowlers track and Panesar is expected to miss out, although a team has yet to be announced.—AFP
No room for Jamshed, Amin as PCB names ODI squad
Umar Gul fails fitness test K ARACHI —Senior Pakistan Pakistan in South Africa ear- he bowled in the nets but ap- source stated. parently he failed to convince the selectors he had made a 100 per cent recovery from his operation and was fully match fit for international cricket.” Although Umar has resumed playing cricket in the domestic competitions, so far, in a few appearances, he has failed to come out with a big performance. Another source said that the medical panel of the board would reassess the rehabilitation process for Umar and he might have to undergo another fitness test soon. “The selectors have noted that Umar has so far played in only a couple of T20 and oneday matches for Habib Bank in domestic cricket and is yet to be tested in a first class match,” the source said. “Misbah was keen to have Umar for the ODI series against the Lankans but it appears he will take some more time to make a comeback to international cricket,” the
Afridi stars in Pakistan’s T20 win over Sri Lanka
L AHORE —Pakistan left out D UBAI —Dashing allrounder ets in 69 matches.
opener Nasir Jamshed and middle-order batsman Umar Amin from their 15-man squad for the five-match oneday series against Sri Lanka starting in Sharjah from Wednesday. Jamshed and Amin were part of the squad which beat South Africa 2-1 away last month — Pakistan’s firstever win against the Proteas. The 24-year-old Jamshed scored two and 24 in the two matches he played of the series while Umar Amin made 25 in his only appearance. They beat Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 on Wednesday and will complete the two-match series on Friday before starting the one-day leg. The second one-day will be in Dubai on December 20, the third in Sharjah on the 22nd while the fourth and fifth one-days will be played in Abu Dhabi on the 25th and 27th, respectively. Pakistan will also play three Tests against Sri Lanka for which a squad will be named later. Pacemen Umar Gul and Mohammad Irfan were not considered as both are recuperating from injuries. There was also no place for veterans Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq — who both had to return from South AfCENTURION: Quinton de Kock of South Africa raises his rica after injuries. Sharjeel bat after scoring his third consecutive hundred against Khan, 24-year-old opener who is also part of the Twenty20 India in 3rd ODI. squad, earned a place in the Indies (South Africa) 135, 106, 101 one-day team for the first time, 2013 - Quinton de Kock vs India.—AFP replacing Jamshed.—AFP
paceman Umar Gul couldn’t lier this year, underwent a knee impress the national selectors surgery in Melbourne in May and is yet to convince the selectors he is ready for a comeback to the national team. “Pakistan captains, Misbah-ulHaq and Mohammad Hafeez had conveyed to the selectors they wanted Umar back in the national side for the Sri Lanka series,” one reliable source was quoted as saying to Indian in his comeback bid after he news agency PTI on Tuesday. “Because of this the selecfailed a fitness test at the Nators decided to have a fitness tional Cricket Academy. Umar, who last played for test for Gul at the NCA, where
DUBAI: Shahid Afridi lofts one down the ground during Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I.
Umar, 29, has taken 163 Test, 161 One-day International and 74 T20 wickets in his career. Umar himself remained confident of a comeback when he told reporters after his test that he was feeling okay and was ready to play for Pakistan again. Pakistan are also without tall left-arm pacer Muhammad Irfan for the Sri Lanka series as he has also suffered a hip fracture during the South Africa series.“With the selectors due to announce the squad for the five One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka later this week it is expected they will give a call up to right arm fast bowler Muhammad Talha who has been in great form this season,” the source said. Talha featured in the abandoned Test against Sri Lanka at Lahore in March, 2009 when militants attacked the visiting team leading to the tour being called off immediately.—INP
Shahid Afridi starred in Pakistan’s exciting threewicket win over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international at Dubai stadium on Wednesday. Afridi scored an unbeaten 20-ball 39, hitting the winning six off the last ball of the final over by paceman Nuwan Kulasekara to give Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the twomatch series. In all Afridi hit three sixes and two boundaries to help Pakistan overcome a tough challenge from world number one Sri Lanka who had taken the match to the final over with Pakistan needing six runs. Set a challenging 146 to get, Pakistan lost Ahmed Shehzad (four) in the third over but Mohammad Hafeez (32) and Sharjeel Khan (34) steadied the innings through their 57-run second wicket stand before they lost three wickets in the space of seven runs. Sharjeel holed out after hitting three fours off 31 balls while Hafeez, who hit two fours and a six in his 27-ball knock, fell leg-before and Umar Akmal was run out for five. It was left to Afridi to see Pakistan through. Criticised for his recent poor batting form, Afridi hit two towering sixes in Kulasekara’s 16th over to give Pakistan a sniff of victory. When on 23, Afridi also became the first player to score 1,000 runs and take 50 wickets in all Twenty20 cricket. In all he has 73 wick-
Afridi said he was delighted to return to his aggressive batting. “Pakistan won and I’m very happy for that. I have to mention (skipper) Hafeez, who was not feeling well but still he played for the country. “It’s nice to bat well, once in a blue moon.” Sent into bat, Sri Lankan batsmen did not capitalise on the good starts before Mathews (50) and Lahiru Thirimanne (23 not out) added 58 for the fifth wicket stand to take their team to 145-5 in 20 overs. Mathews hit five boundaries and a six off 34 balls before holing out in the last over. He hit paceman Bilawal Bhatti for three boundaries in one over before sending leftarm paceman Sohail Tanvir to
long-on ropes to reach his fifty off 32 balls. Experienced opener Tillakaratne Dilshan managed just seven before he was the first wicket to fall in the second over. Kusal Perera (15) and skipper Dinesh Chandimal (22) then added 32 for the second wicket but off-spinner Saeed Ajmal put on the initial brakes with 2-35. Kumar Sangakkara scored 21. Pakistan gave an international debut to 19-year-old Usman Shinwari after the leftarm paceman was drafted into the team as late as Tuesday but the youngster from the troubled Kahyber Pakhtunkhwa province bowled only one over, costing nine runs.—AFP
Sri Lanka innings: Dilshan b Tanvir .............. 7 Perera lbw b Ajmal ........ 15 Chandimal lbw b Shahid Afridi ............................... 22 Sangakkara b Ajmal ...... 21 Mathews c Sharjeel b Tanvir .......................... 50 Thirimanne not out ....... 23 T. Perera not out .............. 2 Extras: (w5) ....................... 5 Total: (for five wkts) ... 145 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-41, 359, 4-84, 5-142 Bowling: ........... O-M-R-W Hafeez ................... 4-0-24-0 Tanvir .................... 4-0-34-2 Shinwari .................. 1-0-9-0 Bhatti .................... 3-0-23-0 Ajmal ..................... 4-0-35-2 Afridi ..................... 4-0-20-1
Pakistan innings: Sharjeel Khan b Thisara34 Shehzad b Senanayake .. 4 Hafeez lbw b Mendis .... 32 Umar Akmal run out ........ 5 Sohaib lbw b Malinga .. 13 Umar Amin b Malinga .... 8 Shahid Afridi not out .... 39 Bilawal Bhatti b Malinga10 Sohail Tanvir not out ...... 0 Extras: (nb1) ..................... 1 Total: (for seven wkts) 146 Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-69, 376, 4-76, 5-96, 6-117, 7-139 Bowling: ........... O-M-R-W Malinga ................ 4-0-26-3 Kulasekara ........ 3.1-0-30-0 Senanayake .......... 3-0-14-1 Mendis ................. 4-0-29-1 Mathews .............. 2-0-20-0 Thisara .................. 3-0-26-1
Clive Rice suspects ‘foul play’ in selection of South Africa’s Test team BIPIN DANI OBSERVER CORRESPONDENT M UMBAI —Former South African captain Clive Rice suspects ‘foul play’ in selection of the Test team for the series against India. “I cannot believe that Quinton De Kock is left out of the Test side after scoring 2 consecutive hundreds against India’, he had pasted the message on the social net working site before the final one-dayer yesterday. De Kock followed his form and registered yet hundred on Wednesday. “Are the officials involved with bookmakers because i am sure they
would have got good odds with this selection”, he said. Interestingly, Earlier this year, Rice came in open saying the former skipper Hansie Cronje’s death was not accidental but was murdered. Speaking exclusively on Wednesday night from Cape Town, Rice emphasized, ‘my views expressed on the net working site remain same. I don’t need to elaborate more”. “This is like our politicians thinking we are stupid. We are not and do not accept it. Andrew Hudson’s pathetic excuse in his radio interview for the selection was more than unacceptable and a pathetic explanation”, he said on the site. “The sad thing is that Jacque Folds could have been the
CEO of South African cricket if he bowed down to the board and brought Tsolokele in to the Test team and the Gupta brothers into SA Cricket. This was before Guptagate. At least he has morals not to bow down to total mediocrity that is now prevailing. Where are we heading??? Was this also a requirement for Lorgart’s appointment. Seems like it doesn’t it. Cost South Africa 200 million on the Indian tour and probably the cancellation of the IPL in South Africa because the Indian elections are happening at the same time. What will this cost South African cricket ???”, the message he has pasted on the site.