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ScorecardVidarbha were left chasing 96 for victory – a small but tricky target in the context of this game – after a remarkable innings by Gagan Khoda took Rajasthan to 151 in the second innings. His 87 was, by far, the highest individual score in a game where teams totalled 101, 157 and 151. He retired hurt on zero, and returned when the score was 59 for 8. Then began a counter-attack that took 91 balls, contained ten fours, three sixes, and gave Rajasthan a chance of victory. Earlier in the day Vidarbha recovered from their overnight score of 97 for 7, and battled to 157. This was due to the efforts of Harshal Shitoot and Pritam Gandhe, who scored invaluable 30s. The runs they added could prove to be the vital difference when a result is achieved some time on the third day.
ScorecardSree Santh became the first bowler from Kerala to take a hat-trick, but not even his triple-strike could limit the damage Himachal Pradesh’s batsmen inflicted. First he dismissed Maninder Bisla (134), breaking his 277-run stand with Sangram Singh, who remained unbeaten on 206 – an effort that took him more than nine hours. But Santh then removed Ajay Mannu and Paras Dogra to claim the hat-trick (330 for 5), and then took one more wicket to claim 5 for 103. Along the way Karumanaseri Ananthapadmanabhan claimed his 300th first-class wicket as Himchal progressed to 465. But before the day was done, Kerala were in more trouble than ever. They were 4 for 2 within eight balls, and though they recovered to 165 for 7, none of the batsmen could go the extra mile and score big runs.
ScorecardA couple of Singhs took Services to 507 for 5, giving Goa a momentous task to avoid the follow-on, let alone take the lead. Yashpal Singh went on to 200 before the team declared, while he was assisted by Sarabjit Singh, who scored 56. They shared a stand worth 167 runs before Faisal Shaikh, who bowled 51 overs during the innings, finally dismissed Sarabjit. Then Goa had to deal with AK Mohanty, who added 30 runs to the total. Goa were 1 for 0 when the second day ended.
ScorecardAfter dismissing Haryana for 200 on the first day, Tripura went into the black, reaching 221 for 4 when the second day ended. Ramaswamy Prasanna fell short of a century by two runs right at the end of the day, but his innings ensured that Tripura recovered from a shaky start to take the lead. He had able partners in Tirtha Roy (55) and Chetan Sachdev (33 not out). With plenty of wickets left in hand, Tripura look set to take control of the game.

Women’s cricket will be played on Telstra Stadium in the summer when NewSouth Wales and Queensland meet in a Women’s National Cricket League match.The NSW Breakers and Queensland Fire will have the honour of being the firstwomen’s cricket team to play at the former Stadium Australia, host venue forthe opening and closing ceremonies and track and field athletics at theSydney Olympic Games in 2000.Only one match has previously been played at the ground when Steve Waugh¹sNew South Wales Blues played an ING Cup fixture against Southern Redbacks onFebruary 16 this year.Among two other new venues for the women’s league is Bowral, where theBreakers will play the Southern Scorpions at Bradman Oval, an appropriatechoice given Sir Don Bradman’s affiliation with both states, on December6-7. The other venue is Frankston’s Butler Oval for the repeat of lastseason’s final between the Victoria Spirit and the Breakers on December20-21.The League begins on November 22 when Victoria play the Queensland Fire, whowere fourth-placed last year, at Allan Border Field in Brisbane. Victoriaare chasing back-to-back titles after winning their first WNCL crown lastseason, beating New South Wales in the competition final at the MelbourneCricket Ground. The win broke New South Wales¹ run of six consecutive WNCLtitles.The double-action opening round also sees Western Fury host last season¹srunners-up, New South Wales, at the WACA Ground in Perth.This season will again see the WNCL finals series hosted by the team thatfinishes the home-and-away season in top position. In the past, the finalswere hosted by the team that finished first in the previous season.At youth level, national under-age championships for Under-15, Under-17 andUnder-19 players, will also take place over the summer.The Under-15 championships (December 15-19) will be staged in Melbourne, theUnder-17 championships (January 19-23) in Geelong, while the Under-19championships (January 7-14) travel to Hobart for the first time. TheCricket Australia Cup (women¹s) will be held in Sydney (December 8-12).The international schedule for the Australian women¹s team, the CommonwealthBank Southern Stars, will be announced in the coming months.

Nashua WP recorded a convincing 73 run win over the luckless Highveld Strikers in a Standard Bank match at Newlands on Friday.Batting first, after captain HD Ackerman won the toss, WP totalled 227/7 in their allotted 45 overs. WP started and ended well but did experience a middle order batting slump. Graeme Smith and Andrew Puttick gave WP a flying start with an opening stand of 80. Jonathan Trott and Smith then added 56 for the second wicket. Smith went on to score 80 which included seven sweetly timed fours.The WP middle order failed to fire and in the end Ashwell Prince had to guide them to 227/7 with a fine knock of 41 not out. Gauteng captain Clive Eksteen ably assisted by Johnson Mafa and Azeem Mohamed applied the brakes to the Province middle order surge.At their turn at bat Gauteng never mastered the Province spin attack of Claude Henderson and Graeme Smith after Roger Telemachus claimed the prize wicket of Adam Bacher. Smith’s batting and bowling performance earned him the man of the match award.The full scorecard;Standard Bank Cup, 2001/02Western Province v GautengNewlands, Cape Town (day/night)23 November 2001 (45-over match)Result: Western Province won by 73 runsPoints: Western Province 4, Gauteng 0Toss: Western ProvinceUmpires: M Gajjar and S WadvallaTV Umpire: LL MatroosMan of the Match: GC SmithWestern Province innings (45 overs maximum) R M B 4 6GC Smith c Masingeni b Mafa 83 146 107 7 0AG Puttick b Mohammed 34 58 46 3 0IJL Trott st Masingeni b Eksteen 27 54 43 2 0*HD Ackerman c Masingeni b Mafa 10 21 18 0 0AG Prince not out 41 54 33 4 0+TL Tsolekile c Otto b Mohammed 8 11 7 1 0AC Dawson c de Bruyn b Mafa 7 15 8 0 0R Munnik b Mafa 6 10 6 1 0CW Henderson not out 2 4 3 0 0Extras (b 3, w 5, nb 1) 9Total (7 wickets, 45 overs, 188 mins) 227DNB: R Telemachus, CM Willoughby.FoW: 1-80 (Puttick, 14.6 ov), 2-136 (Trott, 28.4 ov),3-160 (Ackerman, 34.4 ov), 4-171 (Smith, 36.5 ov),5-184 (Tsolekile, 38.5 ov), 6-201 (Dawson, 42.2 ov),7-223 (Munnik, 44.1 ov).Bowling O M R WMafa 9 0 49 4 (1nb)Fusedale 9 0 43 0 (3w)Mohammed 8 0 46 2 (2w)de Bruyn 3 0 15 0Eksteen 9 0 34 1Trainor 7 0 37 0Gauteng innings (target: 228 runs from 45 overs) R M B 4 6AM Bacher c Henderson b Telemachus 16 48 31 1 0NJ Trainor c & b Henderson 56 112 83 6 0GD Elliott c Prince b Henderson 8 18 17 1 0DJ Cullinan c Ackerman b Henderson 4 10 10 0 0JM Otto c Tsolekile b Munnik 11 12 12 1 0Z de Bruyn c Tsolekile b Dawson 9 22 16 0 0+S Masingeni b Henderson 11 34 24 1 0*CE Eksteen st Tsolekile b Smith 16 35 32 2 0NA Fusedale b Dawson 4 24 16 0 0JT Mafa c & b Smith 0 5 2 0 0A Mohammed not out 11 13 12 2 0Extras (w 7, nb 1) 8Total (all out, 42.2 overs, 172 mins) 154FoW: 1-43 (Bacher, 12.5 ov), 2-59 (Elliott, 17.1 ov),3-66 (Cullinan, 19.6 ov), 4-83 (Otto, 22.6 ov),5-107 (Trainor, 27.6 ov), 6-107 (de Bruyn, 28.1 ov),7-134 (Masingeni, 36.3 ov), 8-140 (Eksteen, 37.5 ov),9-140 (Mafa, 39.1 ov), 10-154 (Fusedale, 42.2 ov).Bowling O M R WDawson 7.2 0 23 2Willoughby 9 1 33 0 (1w)Telemachus 8 0 26 1 (1nb)Henderson 9 0 33 4 (2w)Munnik 3 0 20 1 (1w)Smith 6 0 19 2 (3w)

As was England’s mantra against New Zealand earlier this summer, when they responded to back-to-back defeats to take the five-match ODI series, there will be no backing away from an aggressive mindset after the loss to Australia at the Ageas Bowl regardless of the ramifications.That much was clear when James Taylor, who made 49 on his return to the side at No. 3, said he was willing to take the chance that he could “look silly” when it goes wrong rather than change the outlook which has been at the core of reshaping England’s one-day side since the World Cup.Taylor was almost hyperactive on Thursday, skipping around his crease, coming down the pitch at the bowlers and generally trying to put the opposition off. Early on, he launched Mitchell Marsh for a straight six and he had helped give England the platform to chase down a target of 306 whey were 152 for 2 in the 27th over.However, one shuffle and swipe too many ended with him missing a straight delivery from Shane Watson – for which he was given a forceful stare by the bowler, who had been one of Taylor’s main targets – and from that moment England lost their way to be bowled out for 246.”When I bat, and especially against a specific bowler who is bowling into my strengths, I go for it. It was in my arc, but it was just the execution,” Taylor said of his downfall.”It is a shot I have played for a number of years now – and people watching international cricket will have seen that when I go big, that’s a shot I have played. It brings me runs.””When you miss you look silly. But that is the way it is,” he added. “When I bat I try and take hindsight out of the equation. If I want to take a bowler down, I will go into it wholeheartedly rather than pussy-foot around.”You saw that when I hit Mitch Marsh over his head on 2. I’m confident with the shot, and I don’t do it half-heartedly.”Marsh, for his part in the contest, not just with Taylor but with the whole of the England batting, sees plenty of gain for Australia from England’s method with the bat. Marsh conceded more than eight-an-over, and was only used for four overs, but removed Alex Hales when the opener pulled a long hop to midwicket.”We know they’re going to come hard at me, Watto and Maxi. We said in our team meeting that it gives us an opportunity to take wickets. If they’re going to come hard at us then so be it … the only way to stop their team scoring runs is by taking wickets. Our attack allows us to do that.”It would be easy to forget that England’s first ODI after the World Cup debacle was captained by Taylor, when they faced Ireland in Dublin, although the match was abandoned after 18 overs. The day was quickly overtaken by the news emerging of Peter Moores’ sacking as coach, and when England next took the field for an ODI, against New Zealand at Edgbaston when they crossed 400 for the first time, Taylor was carrying drinks.That followed a period around the World Cup where he was shuffled up and down the order. In the triangular series which preceded the tournament he batted at No. 3 and made two half-centuries against India but failed against Australia. That prompted a seemingly panicked 11th-hour change from the selectors as Gary Ballance was recalled at No. 3 and Taylor moved to six.To his credit, Taylor was one of the few players to emerge from the opening-game mauling by Australia at the MCG with any credit as he made an unbeaten 98 – only denied a maiden hundred when James Anderson was controversially run out when the ball should have been dead. Although Taylor did not pass fifty again in the tournament, he conceded that getting the axe just one game after being captain had tested his resolve.”When I got whispers of the team, I was bitterly disappointed,” he said. “But you cannot dwell on that. I got over it quickly. I have been knocked down before and got up stronger, and that’s the way I try and look at it.”I try to look at the positives – if I take one step back by not getting selected, I will take a few forward in the future. It makes you tougher as a player.”And now he wants to keep taking it to the Australians.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThree days into this series England hold a 261-run lead over a South Africa side riddled with problems, chief of which was another injury to Dale Steyn after their batting had slumped in the morning session. Moeen Ali, who claimed 4 for 69, continued their difficulties against spin to earn a priceless 89-run advantage before England benefited from crucial fielding lapses to increase the lead steadily with Joe Root unbeaten on 60.Any hopes that a return to home soil would ease the ills of the India tour for South Africa have not come to pass early in this series with England’s impressive attack compounding the pressure on a fragile batting order. They lost 6 for 77 in the opening session as their first innings finished on 214 although Dean Elgar fought outstandingly to become the sixth South Africa batsman to carry his bat for 118.Then Steyn pulled up after the second ball of his fourth over with a right shoulder injury and an attempted return was aborted after three deliveries. After play, though, the South Africa camp said the problem was being treated as “shoulder stiffness” after Steyn had been sent for a scan and there was hope he would be able to bowl on the fourth day although it may come too late to change the course of this match.To further compound South Africa’s woes their fielding also let them down. Dane Piedt had removed both openers – Alastair Cook lbw with one that slid on and Alex Hales defeated by drift to be caught at long-on – but in consecutive Morne Morkel overs shortly before tea they had the stuffing knocked out of them.Nick Compton was shelled on 11 when Elgar missed a sitter at second slip and Root was missed on 6 when he gloved a pull which AB de Villiers, whose future was the subject of much speculation during the day, could not gather one-handed above his head.

SA frustrated by ball change

South Africa have said they were unimpressed when the umpires changed the ball in the 26th over of England’s second innings after it had been damaged by one of the advertising screens around the boundary.
The damage, which was classed as “unnatural wear and tear” occurred when Alex Hales hit Dane Piedt for six in the 16th over but the umpires allowed play to continue before deciding the impact had enabled the ball to reverse swing. The change of ball came when Hales was dismissed, caught at long-on against Piedt, while Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott had been operating from the other end.
“The ball was changed because when it hit the LED screen…a chunk of it came out and because there was unnatural wear and tear, they had a right to change the ball,” Mohammed Moosajee, the South Africa team manager, said. “We were not very impressed but the match officials made the final call.
“When the ball goes to the boundary and it comes back, the umpire has a look. Initially he allowed the match continue and then felt that with the reverse swing, there was unnatural wear and tear.”
Law 5.5 states: “If, during play, the ball cannot be found or recovered or the umpires agree that it has become unfit for play through normal use, the umpires shall replace it with a ball which has had wear comparable with that which the previous ball had received before the need for its replacement. When the ball is replaced the umpire shall inform the batsmen and the fielding captain.”

Morkel put in sterling service in the absence of Steyn but, astonishingly, a third chance was to be missed off his bowling when Compton, on 45, edged a pearler only for de Villiers to grass another. That opportunity, at least, did not prove costly as two balls later Compton glanced Morkel down the leg side and de Villiers made amends. De Villiers puffed out his cheeks; Morkel just about managed a celebration.By then, however, England’s lead was over 200 on a surface offering considerable assistance for the spinners and a hint of uneven bounce. England’s progress was never electric but time was on their side. Root made the most of his life with a 96-ball fifty which kept the scoreboard ticking over. He collected a six with a slog-sweep off Piedt and some of his off-side driving was a delight on a surface where few batsmen have found that sort of strokeplay easy.At the start of the day there was not a consensus as to whether England had their noses in front or it was honours even. By the close there was no doubt after the match had been seized in the morning session.As when Stuart Broad started the innings, it took him just two deliveries to locate the stumps, Temba Bavuma this time defeated by some low bounce outside off and dragging on an inside edge. There was certainly some variation in bounce, but it was also the shot of a batsman who had yet to get his feet moving early in the day.In another shrewd piece of captaincy, Cook did not wait long to introduce Moeen with two left-handers now at the crease, one of whom, JP Duminy, who has had his travails against offspin. And it took Moeen just two balls to find Duminy’s outside edge with a beautiful delivery which turned from middle and off, safely held by Ben Stokes at slip.Kyle Abbott did not stay long, prodding forward at Moeen and getting a thick inside edge into his pad which was well held by James Taylor diving forward at short leg, although it needed the intervention of the third umpire after Rod Tucker had failed to spot the sizeable deflection.The support provided by Steyn to Elgar suggested that he should be at No. 8 ahead of Abbott. Their stand took South Africa to the brink of the second new ball only for Steyn to try and send Moeen down the ground and instead find mid-off where Chris Woakes held the chance with a juggle. His spell ended on 12-3-24-3 and overall it was the first time Moeen had taken more than three wickets in an innings since facing India, at Old Trafford, in August 2014.Steven Finn cleaned up the last two wickets in his first over with the second new ball to leave Elgar undefeated with his fourth Test hundred having brought up three figures from 211 deliveries. In an innings marked by his defensive technique, he continued to prosper on the leg side where two thirds of his runs came.It was his second hundred in a Boxing Day Test, following the 121 he made against West Indies last year, and this was his first 50-plus score in ten innings. When the innings ended he became the first South Africa opener to carry his bat since Gary Kirsten against Pakistan in 1997. He may have to perform a repeat to save his team.

Pakistan’s convincing win against Sri Lanka means their match against Australia – their first game of any kind against them for two and a half years – on Tuesday could well decide which team takes top spot in the group. Australia have bounced back superbly after their shock defeat against Zimbabwe, but that was hardly unexpected, considering the quality in their team. Pakistan’s comprehensive win against Sri Lanka was an unexpected result, and it sets up Tuesday’s game perfectly.Australia have the momentum, and usually in important tournaments they’ve shown a tendency not to let go once they get on a roll. Pakistan, on the other hand, tend to blow hot one day and cold the next. Anything less than a near-perfect performance won’t be enough.Bat play: Pakistan’s openers continue to be a worry, and while the team recovered in style against Sri Lanka, it might be more difficult to come out of a poor start against the Australians. The good news is Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik have run into form, and Misbah-ul-Haq has shown himself to be breathtakingly innovative and consistent at the same time. And perhaps the better news is Pakistan have done well without a significant contribution from Shahid Afridi.Australia, meanwhile, have had two games where most of their batsmen haven’t needed a hit. Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist have been in terrific form, but there could be questions asked of the rest if the openers fall early.Wrecking ball: Both teams have an impressive bowling attack. Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul have proved themselves in the past, but Sohail Tanvir has been the surprise package. He troubled the Indians with his awkward action and his ability to swing the ball away from the right-hander, and Mahela Jayawardene admitted the Sri Lankans had trouble picking him too. Add Shahid Afridi to the mix and Pakistan have a more than competent bowling line-up.The same can be said for the Australians as well. Brett Lee is fresh from a hat-trick against Bangladesh, while Stuart Clark has succeeded in staunching the runs and taking wickets. In his 12 overs in the tournament so far, he has figures of 5 for 59.Keep an eye on: Ricky Ponting. He is a big-match player, and can be expected to seize the moment and the game.Shop talk: Clark’s statements on the eve of the game showed the frame of mind the Australians are in. “I don’t think the Australian cricket team fears anyone. They [Pakistan] are a very good team with very good players, [but] we’re starting to get into a bit of a rhythm. We’re enjoying it and the guys’ skills are slowly getting better.”Pakistan have lost more than one World Cup game against Australia, and Salman Butt, their vice-captain, admitted that they’d be up against a better team than Sri Lanka, who they beat so convincingly.Pitch talk: If it’s Johannesburg, it has to be a belter. The bowlers could be in for another tough day in the office.Australia (probable): Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, RickyPonting (capt), Andrew Symonds, Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Stuart Clark, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson.Pakistan (probable): Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik (capt), Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has, as expected, rejected a claim for compensation totaling around £800,000 lodged by the ECB in relation to the abandonment of the Oval Test in August.The ECB was looking to recoup losses it incurred resulting from Pakistan’s forfeiture of the match. It had to reimburse people who had bought tickets for the final day, and it also handed a 40% refund to ticket holders who attended the curtailed fourth day.The ECB declined to comment on the grounds that its correspondence with the PCB was confidential. However, a spokesman for the PCB told The Times: “We have decided to contest the claim legally as the Pakistan board was not responsible for the Test not being completed.”The PCB has maintained ever since Inzamam-ul-Haq was cleared of ball-tampering that the blame for the early end to the Test lay with the umpires, especially Darrell Hair, as it was their decision which set in motion a chain of events that led to the forfeiture. As a consequence, the PCB argues that, as Hair’s employers, the ICC is ultimately responsible.The ECB’s position is that whatever the rights and wrongs of the original action, Inzamam was to blame for Pakistan refusing to take the field – an offence he was punished for following the hearing – and that makes the PCB liable to make good losses.The matter is now likely to be raised when the ICC executive board meets in Mumbai early next month. It an agreement cannot be reached then, the likely next step is arbitration, months of deliberation and quite possibly more legal bills.

Allan Donald, the former South African fast bowler, is part of the star-packed Jacques Kallis Invitational XI who will take on the South African side in two benefit games to be held in Cape Town and Centurion this month. These games are part of the Jacques Kallis Benefit Year and, apart from superstar Brian Lara, gracing the occasion will be famous names like Mohammad Sami and Gary Kirsten.Donald, 38, retired from international cricket after the 2003 World Cup and from all cricket a year later following the rapid ebbing of his formerly formidable physical powers. Two of his former team-mates – Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes – will also be part of the team. The team is to be coached by Duncan Fletcher, the former Zimbabwe batsman who is currently coaching England.The matches are scheduled to be held on September 16 at Sahara Park Newlands and September 18 at Super Sport Park in Centurion.Jacques Kallis Invitational XI
1 Brian Lara, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mohammed Sami, 4 Salman Butt, 5 Jonty Rhodes, 6 Gary Kirsten, 7 AB de Villiers, 8 Mfuneko Ngam, 9 Lance Klusener, 10 Alan Dawson, 11 Neil Johnson, 12 Allan Donald.

Marvan Atapattu knows the value of home advantage, and he certainly thinks beating Pakistan in Pakistan will be a challenge. “Cricket is a game of uncertainties and I wouldn’t want to predict anything at this stage,” said Atapattu, as Sri Lanka departed for Pakistan on Sunday to play in the Paktel one-day triangular series and two Tests.”Pakistan is a good and well balanced side. The way they have played in the past few months under Inzi’s [Inzamam’s] captaincy, they have done exceptionally well. Beating them is as difficult as somebody coming here and defeating us.”Pakistan had more strength in their bowling till very recently. However, they have found some good players to get runs at the top and in the middle. They are a very competitive side.” Atapattu said the squad of 16 players picked for the one-day triangular tournament covered all areas to suit the conditions they are going to play in Pakistan – four seamers, three spinners and eight batsmen. “We have covered all options to play any side at any given moment.”Pakistan is the team to beat for Sri Lanka even though Zimbabwe is also part of the competition. In the past six months Sri Lanka have beaten a struggling Zimbabwe six out of six times, the last occasion being the Champions trophy game at The Oval last month when they won by four wickets.Zimbabwe have been playing Sri Lanka so often in the last few months that they are gradually picking up the strengths and weaknesses of the players and are not going to be any pushovers. It was to be Sri Lanka’s only win in the Champions trophy tournament for in their next encounter against England they lost and were eliminated.”It was one of those games that every team goes through. There were teams with more hopes than us. We went there with 18 wins out of 22 games. It was purely bad luck. I don’t think we played the game that we are all good at against England,” said Atapattu. “Nothing went right. Had everything gone to plan we would have won. I don’t want to pinpoint to anyone. We take credit as a team and likewise we take the blame also.”Atapattu said that to make Sri Lanka the best one-day side, they had to keep on improving in all three areas – batting, bowling and fielding. “To be competitive in the cricketing world you have to be updated and be looking at improving day by day, maybe 1%. We make an effort to constantly do something different at practices not just go through the motions. It may not come right every day but it helps.”The areas we need to work on sometimes depends on the country that you are play in. At home the margin is less. You may have heard from various other teams that Sri Lanka is a difficult place to play. Going into a country like England maybe we got to concentrate on the middle overs and probably the top order batting. You learn by experience. You should be prepared to do experiments.”On seamer friendly wickets if you safeguard your wicket for a while it would do you good. It depends on the country that you play, the attack that you are facing and the wicket that you are playing on. Generally we need to keep improving in all three areas.”Atapattu said that he would still go for seven batsmen in a one-day side unless the conditions forced a change. He said the absence of any warm-up games ahead of the two Tests against Pakistan has given less opportunity to fringe players to make any impact for selection. Sri Lanka will open their tour against Pakistan at Karachi on October 6. They play Pakistan and Zimbabwe twice each before the final on October 16 at Lahore after which they go straight into the two Test series starting at Faisalabad on October 20 and at Karachi on October 28.

Monsoon rains in Karachi washed out the 2003 Youth Asia Cup matches, meaning the points were evenly shared by Singapore, Maldives, UAE and Qatar.

At the Karachi Gymkhana, Maldives, chasing Singapore’s 276 for 9, were 17 for 1 from 6.4 overs when the rains came flooding down. At the UBL Sports Complex Ground No. 1, Qatar were 13 for no loss after 2.4 overs while chasing UAE’s 201 in 43 overs.The star performer for Singapore was Zeeshan Raza who hit a fine 91 from 82 balls. His innings included eight fours. He featured in a 69-run sixth-wicket stand with Iftikhar Haider, who chipped in with a useful 36. Opener Christopher Janik contributed a 53-ball 40 which included four boundaries.For Maldives, Mohammad Imran picked up four wickets for 65 runs, while Mohammad Mahfooz bagged 2 for 44.Hussain Adnan (2) and Hasan Aflam (5) were at the crease when the rain came down and forced the abandonment. Maldives were 17 for the loss of Ahmed Hassan Sobir (6).Across Karachi at the UBL Sports Complex, UAE’s innings revolved around opener Asim Zubair’s 57 which was laced with four boundaries and a six off 53 balls. He received good support from fellow opener Ramvir Rai (32) and they put on 61 for the first wicket.Qamar Sadiq, a left-arm spinner, was the pick of Qatar bowlers with 3 for 38.Scores in brief:
Singapore 276-9 in 50 overs (Zeeshan Raza 91, Christopher Janik 40, Iftikhar Haider 36, Mohammed Imran 4-65) v Maldives 17-1. Match washed-out. Points shared.UAE 201 in 43 overs (Asim Zubair 57, Ramvir Rai 32, Qamar Sadiq 3-38, Mohammad Emran 2-36) vs Qatar 13-0. Match washed out. Points shared.Thursday’s fixtures:
Hong Kong v Malaysia at PCB Academy Ground, Kuwait v Thailand at Aga Khan Gymkhana Ground.