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A round-up of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Silver League matches on November 21, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2014Group IHyderabad Hawks held on to secure a draw with two wickets remaining on the final day of their match against Lahore Eagles. Having been set a target of 387 with less than a day to go, Hyderabad were comfortably placed to save the game at 104 for 1. However, they collapsed to 158 for 7, with Asif Raza taking 4 for 68 for Lahore. The ninth-wicket pair of Mohammad Yasir and Mir Ali eventually remained unbeaten as Hyderabad ended on 213.Lahore’s dominance in the game had been set up on day one, when Fadah-ul-Haq scored a century. He finished on 138 as Lahore were dismissed for 334 on the second day, with Hyderabad’s Babar Khan taking 5 for 114. Hyderabad struggled in their response, though, and were dismissed for 238, conceding a 96-run first innings lead. All of theirtop-seven batsmen had got starts but only the captain Azeem Ghumman converted it into a half-century. Ahmed Bashir and Shahid Nawaz took three wicket each for Lahore.Lahore scored at 3.93 runs per over to set up a target, with Mohammad Waheed contributing 110. Mohammad Hamza made 77 off 110 balls to drive his team to 290 for 6, when the declaration came. Hyderabad were able to hang on to avoid outright defeat in the end.Quetta Bears hung on for a draw against Karachi Zebras, after both teams had held the advantage at different points during the match. Bears struck first, bowling Zebras out for 187 in the first innings thanks to a five-wicket haul from Gohar Faiz. Bears then compiled 268 in reply, collecting a vital lead of 81. Their innings was built around half-centuries from Arun Lal (78) and Rameez Raja (67). Zebras, however, counterattacked in their second essay, as Arsalan Bashir (114) and Owais Rehmani (114) both raised hundreds to power the team to 342 for 8 before they decided to declare, setting Bears 262 for victory. A four-wicket burst from Mansoor Ahmed reduced Bears to 142 for 8, but Zebras ran out of time to pick up the last two wickets that would’ve given them an outright win.Group IILeft-arm spinner Zafar Gohar took five wickets in each innings to bowl State Bank of Pakistan to victory by an innings and 21 runs against Sui Southern Gas Corporation in Sargodha.SBP had reduced SSGC to 107 for 5 in the first innings, after winning the toss, but half-centuries fromMohammad Waqas, Safiullah Bangash and Mohammad Irfan lifted the total to 312 by the time they were all out early on the second day. Gohar bowled 30.2 overs to finish with 5 for 80.SBP’s batsmen put in a far stronger performance. Usman Salahuddin and Rizwan Haider made 129 and 107, and Babar Azam missed a century by eight runs as they amassed 488. Irfan took 5 for 144 but was unable to prevent SBP’s Nos. 10 and 11 from contributing. Kashif Bhatti and Mohammad Naved made 24 each to give their side a 176-run lead in the first innings.Gohar and Bhatti then took five wickets apiece to shoot out SSGC for 155 in 55.1 overs. SSGC had progressed to 91 for 1 before the crash came and they lost nine wickets for 64 runs to lose by an innings.

Former Kerala captain and junior national selector M Balan Pandit has died in Ernakulam, Kerala on June 5, aged 86

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2013Former Kerala captain and junior national selector M Balan Pandit has died in Ernakulam, Kerala on June 5, aged 86.A wicketkeeper-batsman, Pandit began playing first-class cricket in 1946 and represented Kathiawar, Kerala and Travancore-Cochin. In a career spanning 46 first-class matches, Pandit scored 2,317 runs including five hundreds at an average of 29.70.He was a wicketkeeper for Kathiawar in the match against Maharashtra, in December 1948, when Bhausaheb Nimbalkar scored an unbeaten 443 runs, the highest first-class score by an Indian batsman.In a Ranji Trophy match in 1959 against Andhra, his 14th for Kerala, Pandit scored an unbeaten 262, which was the record individual score for Kerala before Sreekumar Nair hit a triple century against Services in 2007.As a wicketkeeper, he completed 35 catches and three stumpings during his first-class career.As an administrator, Pandit was a member of India’s junior selection committee and was also the chairman of Kerala’s selection committee. He also served as vice-president of Kerala Cricket Association.

Michael Lumb struck a composed fifty as Nottinghamshire began their Friends Life t20 campaign with a comfortable win at Trent Bridge. Chasing 178, the home team eased to victory with 14 balls to spare

28-Jun-2013
ScorecardMichael Lumb’s fifty came in just 29 balls•Getty ImagesMichael Lumb struck a composed fifty as Nottinghamshire began their FriendsLife t20 campaign with a comfortable win at Trent Bridge. Chasing 178, the home team eased to victory with 14 balls to spare, aided by potent early cameos from Alex Hales and Riki Wessels.David Hussey and James Taylor saw the home side over the line with an 84-runpartnership to the delight of a healthy crowd of 7,390. Hussey played fluentlythroughout for an unbeaten 49 with Taylor (37 not out) content with a supportingrole.Leicestershire had started strongly with openers Niall O’Brien and visitingcaptain Josh Cobb sharing a 40-run partnership. Cobb struck Nottinghamshire’s new New Zealander Ian Butler out of the park witha lofty off-drive but Butler made an instant reply with a lengthball that evaded Cobb’s swipe and removing middle stump to end theopening stand.A delayed toss under grey skies influenced Hussey’s decision to insertLeicestershire but the visitors found some favour from the damp ball early on. Hussey’s wild throw at the stumps with O’Brien short of his ground evaded theback up for four overthrows as the Outlaws were briefly troubled.Samit Patel drew Joe Burns to charge down and mistime an intended drive overextra cover to allow Chris Read a routine stumping before Leicestershire reached82 for 2 after 10 overs.In a frenetic 11th over, Shakib Al-Hasan hit Jake Ball for consecutiveboundaries before offering a chance to Hussey which evaded his grasp after afingertip deflection.Al-Hasan (31) continued to attack but Patel stayed cool under the high ball toaccept a return catch before Hussey bowled O’Brien (47) and had Matt Boycestumped in consecutive balls as momentum shifted in the 14th over.Butler had a short-pitched delivery gloved by Shiv Thakor (8) on his return andMichael Thornley (8) quickly followed. Ned Eckersley’s last ball six gave Leicestershire 177 runs to defend butexpensive spells from Nathan Buck, Rob Taylor and Thornley dashed their hopes.

Australia’s ruinous Test results in India have not dissuaded the architect of the plan, Don Argus, to rejuvenate the national team from his view that the world No. 1 ranking can be attained by 2015

Daniel Brettig06-Mar-2013Australia’s ruinous Test results in India have not dissuaded the architect of the plan to rejuvenate the national team from his view that the world No. 1 ranking can be attained by 2015. Don Argus, the former BHP chairman, authored the review released in August 2011 that overhauled the structure around Michael Clarke’s team, resulting in the appointments of Mickey Arthur as coach, John Inverarity as national selector and Pat Howard as the team performance manager.Those changes wrought promising early returns, but the retirements of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey left Clarke to lead a gapingly inexperienced side to India where the vagaries of playing on the subcontinent have contributed to a humiliating duo of defeats. Nonetheless, Argus told he was adamant that Australia were still capable of achieving for the sustained success striven for in his review, provided those in charge were not panicked into compromising on its dictums.’I wouldn’t compromise on that at all,” Argus said. “It’s like a five-year plan in a company – if you commit to something, you’ve got to get it, and all these players have committed to it. I don’t believe in blind faith. I believe in a lot of hard work, and it doesn’t come tomorrow. I think there’s a lot of effort going into getting this team to its goals. I’ve got great faith they will get to where they want to get to.”Stay the course, but also recognise the challenges that are there. We tend to fall back into thinking we’ve still got this side with seven champions in it. Maybe that will come again, but that just doesn’t come overnight.”Argus was largely supportive of the path taken by Howard, Arthur and Inverarity in following through on his directives, though he admitted it was “debatable” whether the area of spin bowling weakness was being adequately addressed. He stated that current impatience with the team’s results could not be allowed to change the path that had been committed to.”I think they have been quite bold in implementing a lot of the stuff and going down the recommendation path in the report,” Argus said. ”Everyone wants instant success … and the trouble when you go through a transition or succession phase is that impatience manifests itself into a bit of emotion. Up until this series, the guys have done pretty well in trying to unearth new talent and things like that.

Everyone wants instant success … and the trouble when you go through a transition or succession phase is that impatience manifests itself into a bit of emotionDon Argus

“Everyone is going to have to hold their steel here to get the ultimate outcome, because if you start thrashing around in water then you drown, and up until now I think they’ve held it pretty well. I think India is probably the toughest environment of all to blood new talent and that’s what is happening over there.”I’m not that despondent. I think it’s probably teaching the selectors a lot more about the strengths and weaknesses of the squad. I don’t think they could put together a better squad. They’ve tried a lot of people and you can add a few here and a few there, but they’ve gone about a process quite systematically that will get us there in the end, but it was never going to be a short-term fix.”Addressing questions about whether the selectors had adequately fulfilled his stated goal that performance had to be rewarded more consistently with national team representation, Argus said Inverarity’s panel had done so “by and large”, though Xavier Doherty’s Test recall after a barren home summer was a deviation.”Selectors will sometimes make subjective judgments for whatever reason … I’m sure they can justify their selections,” Argus said. “Up until probably that one [Doherty], they’ve stuck with what they’ve said they were going to do, and I think that has paid off for them.”They’ve won in the West Indies, they’ve comprehensively won two series at home [against India and Sri Lanka, but also lost to No.1 team South Africa], and they go to the toughest environment in the world with an inexperienced side in those conditions, and it’s tough.”Suspicious in the review of the impact that the then nascent Big Bash League may have on international performances and focus, Argus said compromises in the name of commercial gains would result in the team being compromised.”If you deviate from your priorities, if you compromise on your plan … you’ll always get caught out,” he said. “If Test cricket is the No. 1 game, and we say it is, that’s the way it is.”

Durham are in talks with South Africa batsman Jacques Rudolph with a view to him joining the club for the 2013 season.

George Dobell14-Mar-2013Durham are in talks with South Africa batsman Jacques Rudolph with a view to him joining the club for the 2013 season.Rudolph has lost his national contract with Cricket South Africa and an improvement in Durham’s financial situation has raised the possibility of Rudolph coming to the Riverside for the new season.Geoff Cook, Durham’s head coach, had said earlier this month that Durham’s “financial situation prohibits any signings” but news of a new funding arrangement with the local council appears to have precipitated a rethink.Rudolph would prove an experienced signing having played 48 Tests and enjoyed several seasons in county cricket, chiefly with Yorkshire for whom he has scored 5,429 first-class runs at 52.20. He also played five matches for Surrey at the beginning of last season.Durham have just agreed a funding deal with Durham County Council which will see them lent £2.8 million – an investment the council have been forced to defend after announcing budget cuts of £200m and 1,600 job losses.The council have cited an independent report which revealed internationals at Durham could add £40m to the local economy over three years. The investment will be used to develop the ground with a view to securing regular international cricket.Blackwell retires

Ian Blackwell, the former England allrounder, has announced his retirement after a third operation on his left shoulder failed to correct his injury. ESPNcricinfo revealed that Blackwell’s career looked over after he was released by Durham a year early.

“For a number of years, the club has been investing and investing, building and building,” Clive Leach, the club’s chairman, said. “This has been essential and has allowed us to secure international cricket at Durham, culminating in last year’s announcement that we will be holding an Ashes Test Match here this summer. This really was a massive achievement.”Our work has also played a significant part in us winning two championships and attracting the stadium’s Emirates sponsorship, which was a huge deal for us.”However, we need to demonstrate local stakeholder support to ensure we have the wherewithal to build upon the work we have undertaken already, make international cricket a permanent fixture here in Durham and leverage that status to bring investment into the club.”We believe that, with the financial support we have been afforded, we can do just that and, as a result, develop the club into a profitable, community focused business and realise the benefits of the ‘long game’ we have been playing.”Cook had previously welcomed the club’s decision not to bring in new players. “I don’t think that is a bad thing,” he said. “The last thing we want is for short-term signings to prevent development. There is nothing more de-motivating for young players than new people to be brought in ahead of them in the queue. I’m confident the young payers we have given responsibility will really prosper.”

Alastair Cook has been removed as captain of England’s one-day side with Eoin Morgan appointed to lead England at the World Cup that starts in February.

David Hopps19-Dec-20140:58

Cook’s position had become untenable

Alastair Cook has been removed as England’s one-day captain, according to widespread but as yet unconfirmed reports, with Eoin Morgan appointed to lead England at the World Cup that starts in February.England’s World Cup captaincy was thrashed out during hours of deliberations at Trent Bridge on Friday as the selectors wrestled with a decision they had done everything to avoid. The ECB is expected to confirm Morgan as the new captain on Saturday less than two months before the start of the tournament although the man himself is currently in Australia preparing for his Big Bash League stint.Cook, 29, has struggled for a long time in one-day cricket, scoring only one half-century in his last 22 innings in ODIs. England have also lost five of their last six multi-match series and the 5-2 series defeat has seen the selectors take action.Pressure has been building for much of the past year for England’s selectors to jettison Cook, as he became a symbol for England’s conservative approach to one-day cricket both as a batsman and captain, but they repeatedly tried to bolster his position in the forlorn hope that he would rediscover his form.That desire was based not only on the wish for continuity, but upon an underlying sense of loyalty to Cook after he had unprotestingly accepted the decision to call time on Kevin Pietersen’s England career after an Ashes whitewash nearly a year ago.Alastair Cook has struggled in one-day cricket for some time•Getty ImagesNow England’s selectors have voted to replace Cook in the face of strong expressions of loyalty towards him by the managing director of England cricket, Paul Downton. As recently as Monday, Downton reaffirmed his belief that Cook was England’s “natural leader” and said he would be very surprised if he was not captain at the World Cup.Downton’s view that the selectors would take “more risks” if they replaced Cook might also have been accepted as fact by those officially charged with making the decision, even as they opted for change, but by then it had been concluded that the risk was worth taking and preferable to the sense of inertia that has settled over the England one-day side.Peter Moores, England’s coach, also expressed personal support for Cook right up to the end, but a majority feeling emerged among the selectorial quartet – the chairman James Whitaker, former England bowler and Middlesex director of cricket Angus Fraser, and Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell – that, however inconveniently, the case for change had become impossible to ignore.Cook was appointed in the wake of England’s failed challenge in the 2011 World Cup, a time when his place in the one-day side was not regarded as automatic. From the outset the decision was questioned; Tony Greig called it “deadly dangerous” and an error of judgment by England’s team director Andy Flower.England won 36 and lost 30 of their 69 matches under his leadership; that record, too, was worsening with only 15 victories in the last 37. The recent slump in form from both Cook and the team had threatened to make England’s World Cup challenge a non-event.Morgan’s form has been equally alarming with only one half-century in his last 19 innings, but that half-century came when he stood in for Cook, who was suspended for a match because he presided over England’s slow over rate, during the seven-match Sri Lanka series. Morgan averages 71 in his eight matches as captain and England ware now clinging to the hope that such an inspirational record will be reborn.Cook’s sense of duty and strong will meant that he was not about to stand down no matter how consuming his problems in one-day cricket began. His wish to lead England in the World Cup never wavered. But when he philosophically remarked at the end of the Sri Lanka series that it was down to the selectors to decide his future there was an underlying sense that he had invited them to act should they so wish.”If the decision goes that way I can’t do much about it. I haven’t scored the number of runs I would like and we haven’t won the number of games I would like,” he said.England are now left with three captains in three different formats, with Stuart Broad the incumbent in T20 cricket. There is no expectation at present that Cook will lose his Test captaincy and, as Morgan is a long way from the Test side, it is difficult to see how such a bandwagon could gain momentum.Instead of the constant negativity that has surrounded Cook’s tenure in recent months – with influential former England figures seemingly united in the view that there was a need for change – England’s selectors are now relying on a burst of fresh dressing room optimism and energy to carry them through. Importantly, too, the cynicism and weariness which has descended upon many England cricket supporters to a disturbing degree has been addressed.With England involved in a non-stop schedule of international cricket for the next year or more, Cook now has a chance to to restore his energy, regain certainty in his game, and lead England in Test series against West Indies immediately after the World Cup and in New Zealand and Australia next summer.

The Bangladesh Premier League will collapse if its franchises cannot survive, the league’s governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain has warned

Mohammad Isam16-Aug-2012The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will collapse if its franchises cannot survive, the league’s governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain has warned. He also admitted that mistakes were made during the inaugural season and that the league may have been born out of emotional impulses, but promised to correct the errors in the next season.The BPL remains in the headlines six months after it began – for all the wrong reasons. The most talked-about of its troubles has been the unpaid players’ wages, with the franchises missing three deadlines between May and July despite reminders in private by the BCB and publicly by national captain Mushfiqur Rahim during the tournament and by FICA afterwards. The cricket board has now stepped in as guarantor and begun paying players over the past few months, as well as handling tax issues that have been raised regularly by the National Board of Revenue.Ashraf accepts the criticism, terming it a “costly mistake” by the league to rely so heavily for sponsorship on companies that are first-time participants in an event of this scale. The main problems seem to have been a lack of knowledge in selecting players and in drawing up a budget.”There was no time for second thought but the finality of the situation dawned on us when they [the franchises] started to brand their jerseys, and it occurred to us that there could be a problem,” Ashraf told ESPNcricinfo. “It was the first time and people learn from their mistakes, but it was a costly mistake.”We are now considering issues which we should have thought of before the tournament. I won’t deny that we made mistakes, and I think emotions ruled over our actual ability to stage the tournament. In the second edition, we’ll try to create a win-win situation for players and teams. If teams aren’t sustained, the tournament will collapse and along with it will go the cricket standards and players’ futures.”Despite being the guarantor, the BCB doesn’t have a formal contract with the franchises, which partly explains the board’s delay in paying players after the tournament. The first season was based firmly on the verbal assurances, but Ashraf says that is changing.”The agreements are ready, and as far as I know, many of the franchises are ready to sign it. They are our functioning partners so, taking the BCB’s role as guarantor in paying players into account, we will come into an agreement with those who have completed all financial formalities,” he said.The larger problem is the additional burden of the Dhaka Premier League, a very popular domestic one-day tournament in which 50-odd foreigners turn up for the different Dhaka clubs each season. “I have doubts over the ability to pull such a large amount of money for two tournaments in the same season from one market, given that the DPL is also an attractive competition for players,” Ashraf said.Part of BPL’s problem was the haste with which the tournament was put together. The window in the international calendar in February was incentive enough to go with it, but that meant there were major hitches. Game On Sports, the event management company that bought the rights to run the show for $44.3 million, had little time, human resources and experience to deal with the logistics. They depended heavily on the governing council which, according to Ashraf, wasn’t very well prepared to handle such an event.”It took some time to [settle] ourselves. We took a month or two to form committees, so time was short afterwards,” he said. “But one of the main reasons that drove us [to go ahead with the tournament] was the window we got. We wanted to take advantage of it as a lot of international players were available. We also had the 2012 World Twenty20 in mind for our players.”This time round, though, a window – February 2013 – in the Bangladesh domestic calendar has already been allocated to the the BPL, giving the tournament’s governing council more time to take control.

ESPNcricinfo previews the final ODI between England and West Indies at Headingley

The Preview by David Hopps21-Jun-2012Match factsFriday June 22, Headingley
Start time 1045 (0945 GMT)Big PictureRotation has been on everybody’s mind since England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series and rested Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad and the local favourite, Tim Bresnan, for the final tie at Headingley.Some supporters are complaining that they are being short-changed and former England internationals, Michael Atherton foremost among them, have talked of how resting players devalues the cap, whatever the reason, but England’s director of cricket, Andy Flower, will not be deflected from his task of winning as many important cricket matches as possible. If that means resting leading England players ahead of a five-match series against Australia, so far little discussed but bound to pick up momentum, and a Test series against South Africa then so be it. And better rested, it might be argued, than injured. That is even before you consider the benefits of discovering more about players on the fringe of the side.England’s policy of maintaining county cricket by the proceeds of a non-stop international summer cannot exist without tensions. The ailing domestic Twenty20 tournament, weakened by dismal weather and the late withdrawals of overseas players whose contracts are now barely worth the paper they are written on and the absence of England players, is suffocated by the very England programme that is meant to support it. What English cricket needs is reliance upon more players, not the same elite squad playing interminably to prop up the first-class structure.As for West Indies, as their coach Ottis Gibson has remarked, losing sides do not have the luxury of resting players. Darren Bravo has already returned home because of injury and Chris Gayle and Andre Russell are carrying injuries. This is not a dead rubber for West Indies – it is a chance to impress upon their long-suffering supporters that they have been better than also-rans.Form guideEngland: WWWWW
West Indies: LLLWT
Players to watch Getting his chance again as Graeme Swann is rested, Samit Patel has to prove that he is worthy of a place in English conditions. He performed admirably in India and against Pakistan in the UAE but a second spinner in England is regarded as surplus to requirements. This is Patel’s chance to show is he more of an option than backup to Swann, particularly with James Tredwell also in the squad.Another player with something very much to prove is Lendl Simmons. He had a terrible time at The Oval and his highest score since joining the tour is 23. Johnson Charles was preferred to him for the Australia series and the selectors may be looking back to Charles is Simmons doesn’t produce something of note at Headingley.Stats and TriviaThe last time West Indies were in Leeds, in 2009, the match was abandoned without a ball being bowled after torrential overnight rain. Blame was attached on Headingley’s new outfield, supposedly fast-draining, but laid too close to the match to be effective. West Indies have made the lowest ODI score at Headingley in recent years, making only 159 eight years ago. The match saw Andrew Flintoff play as a specialist batsman because of a foot injury and England knocked off the runs at more than seven an over.Yorkshire only use their media centre for England matches because it doubles up as a lecture theatre for Leeds Metropolitan University and, even when it is free, they cannot afford the rental fee for county games.Team news England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 James Anderson, 10 Jade Dernbach, 11 Steve FinnWest Indies (probable) 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Dwayne Smith, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin, 9 Tino Best, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Ravi Rampaul.Pitch and conditions At Headingley, you don’t look down, you look up. Looking skywards on match preview day could not have been more displeasing as heavy rain fell throughout the day. Only showers are forecast for Friday, but it could be one of Yorkshire’s more forbidding, stop-start contests with the bowlers in the game throughout and more than a little dissatisfaction in the air.Quotes “Everyone wants to play for England but realistically the amount of cricket that those chaps play; playing every single game of cricket for England is going to be hard work especially with the schedule the way it is over the next 18 months.”
“We don’t have the luxury of resting players. You don’t rest people when you are losing. England have got it right there – they are winning so they can afford to rest people. We’re trying to avoid losing 3-0 so everybody will be available.”

A round-up of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches that finished on December 7, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2013Group IAn all-round performance from Azam Khan gave Peshawar their first win of the tournament when they beat Karachi Blues by 118 runs at home.Peshawar were reeling at 118 for 9 after being asked to bat but Azam, at No. 10, first top-scored with 69 to take them to 213 and then took four wickets to restrict Karachi to 115. Peshawar’s second innings was led by a 49 from Jibran Khan as they were rattled by a six-wicket haul from medium-pacer Waqar Anwar, which curbed their score to 167 and set Karachi a target of 266.Karachi lost their first three wickets for six runs and never recovered much from there as they were kept to 147 by a collective bowling effort from Azam, Jibran, Afaq Ahmed and Iftikhar Ahmed. Peshawar are now third in Group I, one place behind Karachi.Group IIKarachi Whites registered their third win in four matches to lead the Group II table after they thrashed Hyderabad by an innings and 42 runs at the National Stadium. Karachi chose to bat and put on a strong total of 392 on the back of fifties from their top-order batsmen Fazal Subhan (50), Hamza Ghanchi (74) and captain Asif Zakir (88). Only Wajid Ali (44) scored from the middle order and their score was stretched from 317 for 8 to 392 with an unbeaten knock of 51 from No. 10 Faheem Ahmed.Left-arm pacer Mir Hamza dismissed Hyderabad’s openers and struck again later to not let the visitors’ batsmen settle down. With the help of all the other bowlers, who picked up at least a wicket each, Hyderabad were restricted to 174 and were made to follow-on as Hamza finished with 4 for 65.Hyderabad’s second attempt didn’t differ much as they scored 176 this time and were rocked by Khurram Shahzad’s five-for. Zeeshan Gul (42), Faisal Athar (47) and Mohammad Shehbaz (32) resisted briefly but could not avoid the big loss as Zakir (3 for 2) and Hamza (2 for 54) also chipped in to complete the win within three days.

A round-up of the action from the fourth day of the eighth round of matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2011State Bank of Pakistan and Habib Bank Limited were involved in a thrilling encounter at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. SBP prevailed by 12 runs after HBL began the day with a good chance of sealing victory. HBL were set a target of 246 but will rue the fact that their batsmen didn’t carry on to get big scores despite getting starts. Out of nine double-digit scores in their batting order, only opener Ahmed Shehzad managed a half-century, top-scoring with 77. Left-arm medium-pacer Rizwan Haider bagged 7 for 42, his best first-class figures, to bowl out HBL for 233. HBL perhaps were evenly placed at 220 for 7 but Haider struck to ensure they didn’t meet their target. With five wins in eight games, SBP are placed second in the points table.In another closely-fought encounter, Pakistan International Airlines edged out National Bank of Pakistan by three wickets at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. PIA would have backed themselves to chase down a target of 259 by the end of the game and achieved the result they desired thanks to some useful contributions. Opener Agha Sabir made 74 and though a successful chase looked difficult with the score on 160 for 6 at one stage, an unbeaten 51 from Shoaib Khan snr, an important contribution of 30 from No.9 Ali Imran and a handy, unbeaten 16 from Anwar Ali saw PIA through. From 160 for 6, they managed to recover to 214 for 7 and the unbeaten eighth-wicket pair added 45 to seal victory. PIA are currently placed third in the table.The contest between Water and Power Development Authority and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited meandered towards a draw on the final day at the National Ground in Islamabad, with the latter taking home the points after gaining a first-innings lead. ZTBL had done well to gain a first-innings lead, though WAPDA responded strongly in the second innings, the No.3 batsman Rafatullah Mohmand getting a century and Aamer Sajjad making 73. WAPDA declared at 425 for 7, and set their opponents a target of 303 but a solid batting performance ensured ZTBL survived the 30 overs bowled at them, courtesy half-centuries from captain Imran Nazir and Yasir Hameed. ZTBL remained at the top of the table at the end of the round, with five wins from eight games and with 48 points.Islamabad ensured they batted out day four to take first-innings points against Abbottabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. The hosts had conceded a significant first-innings lead and Islamabad ensured there wasn’t much room for them to fight back on the final day of the game. Islamabad began the day on 198 for 2 and they finished the game on 526 for 8. Though their overnight batsmen, Zeeshan Mushtaq and opener Umair Khan, fell in quick succession on the fourth day, Ali Sarfraz, wicketkeeper Zohaib Ahmed and No.8 batsman Faizan Riaz, who scored a run-a-ball 88, extended the Islamabad lead to 575 at the end of day four.Karachi Blues thrashed Faisalabad by 235 runs at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Faisalabad began the day on 18 for 1, chasing 356 for victory but a collective bowling effort from Karachi denied them. The seamers Tanvir Ahmed and Mohammad Sami shared five wickets and so did spinners Azam Hussain and Atif Maqbool. Only Mohammad Salman, the wicketkeeper for Faisalabad, managed to put up any significant resistance, top-scoring with 38 but the innings folded for 120.