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With two days of the Test to go, the West Indies are in a dominating position at Jamaica. Ahead by 375, with Chanderpaul at the crease and three wickets left, it is almost impossible to see the hosts losing from here. True, stranger things have happened in the history of the game, but one suspects that will not be the case here.The day began quite well for the visitors. A determined Sourav Ganguly and a comfortable VVS Laxman looked in no trouble at all. The West Indies seamers stuck to their task, plugging away at a good length on a wicket that kept the bowlers interested. Eventually, one ball did just enough to account for Ganguly. Fending at a ball just outside the off, Ganguly edged the ball through to ‘keeper Ridley Jacobs.Jacobs has hardly missed anything in this series, and this catch was no exception. Ganguly (36 runs, 72 balls, six fours) became Merv Dillon’s first wicket of the day. Pumped up and energised by the wicket, Dillon improved as the overs rolled by.Ajay Ratra (3), Harbhajan Singh (4), Zaheer Khan (6) and Javagal Srinath (2) contributed precious little to the Indian cause. Dillon, though, was pleased as punch with the wicket of Harbhajan Singh, his fifth of the innings.Despite Nehra’s being run out for a duck and the Indian innings ending on 212, the follow-on was not enforced. Laxman, who has been a picture of confidence and strength throughout the series, top-scored with an unbeaten 65 (152 balls, seven fours). Despite going on to make only one big score, his contribution to every innings has been substantial.The fact that the West Indies chose not to enforce the follow-on did not come as a huge surprise. But then, the hosts probably could not have anticipated the events that followed.Wavell Hinds, who batted tremendously for a century in the first innings, was completely undone by a spell of good bowling by Javagal Srinath. Although nowhere near his quickest, Srinath seemed to find a good rhythm, teasing the batsmen just outside the off-stump. Hinds (6) could not resist forever, and one prod saw him edge the ball to Laxman at second slip.Soon after, Srinath accounted for Gayle (15) in similar fashion.Sarwan, coming in at one drop, began positively, finding the gaps well and stroking the ball through the infield. Perhaps it was this confidence that caused his downfall as well. Driving far away from his body, foot not quite to the pitch of the ball, Sarwan hit Zaheer Khan to a diving Shiv Sunder Das at cover. Making amends for earlier gaffes, Das took a good low catch, sending Sarwan (12) packing.Carl Hooper (6) too could not stick around and dabbed a Zaheer Khan delivery through to wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra. The West Indies, at that point, were in a spot of bother at 60 for four.But if that position before tea gave the visitors hope, their eventual 165 for seven at stumps set things up intriguingly. The hosts are ahead by 375, and one can be sure this match will not end in a draw. With two full days to play, a cracking finale is in the offing.Brian Lara, growing in confidence, played a tremendous pull off the front foot that would have sent a shiver down the spines of the bowlers. The tough situations bring out the best in some cricketers, and Lara in the past has certainly shown that he falls in that category. But there was to be no last Lara hurrah in a forgettable series. On 35, Lara dragged a Zaheer Khan delivery back onto his stumps.Ridley Jacobs, after being dropped in the slips by Rahul Dravid off Zaheer Khan in the 26th over of the innings, went on to compile a tidy 16, whipping the ball through the onside time and time again. Just when he looked like he might help Chanderpaul stretch their partnership, Jacobs was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh.Defending awkwardly at a flighted ball that did not really turn much, Jacobs gloved the ball to substitute fielder Dinesh Mongia at short-leg.Dillon then whacked one ball through square before losing his cool and attempting a wild slog through the on-side. He missed, Nehra struck, and the West Indies were 122 for seven.Then came a period of play that made life miserable for the Indians. Pedro Collins, coming in at number nine, lasted a remarkable 41 balls for four runs and was involved in an unbeaten partnership of 43 with Chanderpaul.Chanderpaul continued to torment India with his accumulation of runs. Never spectacular, yet always carefully doing what is best for the West Indies, Chanderpaul made an unbeaten 55.The West Indies are now right on top of this game. They will have to play very badly, or India extraordinarily well, for this game to end in anything but a win for the home team.

NAIROBI, Aug 28 AAP – A fitter, stronger Shane Warne is ready to go “berserk” and recapture some of his best form, according to stand-in Australian coach Allan Border.Border said the slim, gym-going Warne was in the right physical and mental shape to start wreaking havoc in Test cricket.”I’ve just got a feeling in my gut that he might just surge again and have a period when he just goes berserk,” Border said.It’s a far cry from 18 months ago when Warne was at one of the lowest points of his career – struggling to take wickets in India and subject to public criticism from coach John Buchanan about his lack of physical fitness.”He’s on fire, Warney,” Border said when the team arrived in Nairobi for the triangular series against Pakistan and Kenya.”Whether he’s thought to himself ‘I’ve got to an age when I really need to take stock’ or maybe initially there was a bet and he said “bugger you, I can lose five kilos’.”He’s that sort of guy, once he sets his mind to something he’s pretty good.”Border, filling in for the injured Buchanan in Nairobi, was the national selector on duty in South Africa and said the transformation in Warne on that tour alone “was just incredible”.”It’s up around 12 or 13 kilos that he’s lost and you can tell that he feels his career has had a bit of a trough and now he’s ready for another up-surge,” said Border.”That’s what it looks like from the way he’s bowling, his attitude, his body language – the whole thing is really positive.”Border couldn’t say whether Warne – ravaged by injuries to his shoulder and fingers over the years – would regain the ability to super-spin the ball.”But he’s given himself every chance in the world that he might get some of that rotation back – only time will tell – but he can’t do any more in terms of getting back in shape for it.”

Sussex pace bowler Billy Taylor will miss the first two weeks of theseason after fracturing the little finger on his right hand in two places. He sustained the injury in his first training session after recovering from an ankle operation.

An unbeaten 92 from left-hander Sewnarine Chattergoon guided Guyana to a healthy 230 for four at the end of the first day of their three-day Busta Cup semi-final against Leeward Isles.In the morning, Guyana skipper Carl Hooper won the toss and elected to bat. Chattergoon and Azeemul Haniff made a steady start, adding 66 for the first wicket before Haniff was dismissed for 23.Lennox Joseph Cush and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who were the next two batsmen to follow, did not make significant contributions – Cush making 15 and Chanderpaul just 17.Then, followed, the tragic run-out of Ramnaresh Sarwan for no score; Guyana had suddenly slumped to 144 for four. But Hooper, who replaced Sarwan, was in fine touch.Combining well with Chattergoon, the skipper ensured that his side ended the day on a healthy note. When stumps were drawn, Hooper was batting on 52. Both he and Chattergoon will be hoping to carry on the good work and post mammoth scores in order to ensure their team a place in the final.

Although Brad Haddin was named Man of the Match after Sydney Sixers’ thrashing of Yorkshire at Newlands on Tuesday afternoon, the demolition was inspired by their gang of young quicks. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood combined to take 6 for 44 in 12 overs, with Hazlewood proving miserly in giving away just nine runs in his spell.”The beauty with the group we’ve got at the moment is they’re all so different, and if they get it right they’re definitely hard to score off in this form of the game,” Haddin said. “They all bowl well together. There are no egos with them, they’re happy to bowl when they’re asked to. We’ve got a good crop there.”Haddin was particularly effusive in his praise for the 21-year-old Hazlewood, who drew extra lift and carry off the pitch from the start of his spell to keep Yorkshire’s batsmen on the back foot. “I thought Josh was outstanding,” he said. “The big fella was very hard to play out there today, with the lengths he’s hitting.”Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale admitted that Hazlewood had adjusted very quickly to what he thought was a slightly green, spongy wicket. “Hazlewood came on and he adapted straight away, hit the pitch hard back of a length,” he said. “I thought the pitch was a bit spongy. It was quite hard to pick up the pace of the pitch early on, and he exploited that.”Haddin, on the other hand, insisted that the pitch had very little to do with his bowlers’ success. “It was a very good wicket today. These fast bowlers make the wicket look a lot different to other teams. Everything’s got to go to our bowlers, they did a very good job to put us in the position we got into today.”That position hadn’t looked too healthy when Starc’s radar went awry and he leaked 13 runs from his first over. Yorkshire will have seen a lot of Starc, who was their overseas player this season, and Gale suggested he would have been a welcome addition to their squad for this tournament.”His first over went for 13 and I thought we were going to take him down,” Gale said. “He’s a great lad, a great talent and he should’ve been at the top of his run bowling for us today, not them.”Gale also tipped Starc, who made his Test debut against New Zealand at the Gabba last December but has only nailed down a permanent spot in Australia’s limited-overs sides, for major honours in the future. “He’s one to look out for in the future. It wouldn’t surprise me if he goes all the way to be a world No.1 bowler in the short and the long formats of the game.”Hazlewood played a solitary ODI aged just 19, while Starc and Cummins have shared the new ball for Australia in a handful of Twenty20 Internationals. They’re all tall and quick, but ply their trade in subtly different ways and could well form the backbone of a potent Test attack in years to come. That is, if they’re all fit at the same time.”It’s very exciting,” Hazlewood said. “We had a little joke about it, that we’re all fit at the same time. It hadn’t happened yet, but it’s good now that we’re all together and we’re all fit and firing. This is only the second game I’ve played with Cummo [Cummins]. With all three of us in the same team, it was pretty good fun.”Haddin was quick to draw the focus from potential future Test pairings to the task at hand in this tournament. He was happy enough that the order had not come from Cricket Australia to rest any of his young quicks or, even worse, to get on a plane back to Australia as Shane Watson has been told to do.”I hadn’t even thought about that. We might have to turn our phones off,” Haddin joked. “I think we’d know by now. But I’m not resting the quicks. They can rest tomorrow.”It’s obviously a very good attack, and they all complement each other very well. What we’ve got to remember with these guys is that they’re still very young, and they’ve got a lot of cricket left in them. At the moment, they just want to learn. They want to keep getting better. These guys are challenging each other at training, and trying to get better and better.”

Karachi Cricket Association Blues trounced Lahore Cricket Association Blues by 6 wickets in the first match of the One-day Tournament (Associations), played at the LCA Ground, Lahore.Asked to bat first on a grassy track, Lahore Blues got to a fine start, with their openers – Aamer Manzoor and Kamran Akmal – posting 33 on the board in about 7 overs. However, disaster struck when they lost three wickets with the addition of only 5 runs, reducing the home team to 38 for three by the 8th over.It was then up to a fine effort by Mohammad Ashraf Ali (67 off 110) to hold the innings together. however, there was little support for him at the other end, with the middle order just failing to make any worthwhile contribution.Losing 7 of their top batsmen for just 108, even 150 looked a remote possibility. However, Ashraf found an able ally in Ahmed Khan. Both batted with responsibility, taking the score to 170, after adding 62 for the 8th wicket.After the departure of Ashraf at this stage, all the resistance just fizzled out, the remaining batsmen even failing to play out their full quota of overs. they were eventually all out for 198 in the 50th over, with Ahmed Khan remaining not out on 40 (68 balls, 4 fours).For Karachi, Rajesh Ramesh, Rizwan Qureshi, Mansoor Khan and Rizwan Saeed bowled well, getting 2 wickets each. Harris Ayaz bowled tidily for his ten overs, bagging one wicket for just 27 runs.Karachi Blues had not a confident start to their innings, losing Tariq Haroon for naught with only 8 on the board. But then a second-wicket partnership of 73 in around 11 overs between Zahid Ghouri (77 off 67 balls, 12 fours) and Atif Ali Zaidi (37 off 37 balls, 6 fours) completely turned the tables.Thereafter, it was just a matter of time when Karachi overhauled the required target of 199 in the 41st over, with Mansoor Baig and Bilal Murtaza remaining not out on 42 (67 balls) and 16 (40 balls), respectively.Lahore skipper employed seven bowlers in an attempt to thwart the Karachi’s cruise towards victory. However, none of them, except Salman Qadir could impress the batsmen. Salman bagged two wickets for 42 in 10 overs.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHaris Sohail’s unbeaten 63 made the difference•Getty Images

It was a match of no consequence for either team, but Sialkot Stallions will leave South African shores with greater confidence, having put in an all-round performance against the English domestic champions. Two individual performances from youngsters on either side stood out – Haris Sohail’s unbeaten 63 the highlight, as it was a match-winning knock. Glenn Maxwell scored a counter-attacking 42 when his team, Hampshire, needed runs, but a score of 143 wasn’t imposing enough for Sialkot.A combined bowling effort by Sialkot kept Hampshire to that score, well short of what Trinidad and Tobago had managed earlier in the day, with only 31 runs scored in the last five overs. Hampshire lost early wickets in search of quick runs, scratched around for the first ten overs, surged in the middle overs thanks to an entertaining cameo from Maxwell but lost their way after his dismissal. It was a pitch that offered something for the spinners and seamers. Sarfraz Ahmed, the tall left-arm seamer with an unusual action, got a few to bounce off a good length to pose questions for the openers. Shoaib Malik got turn and bounce and those that skidded through weren’t easy to put away either.Hampshire would have ideally liked one from the top order to bat through for the majority of the overs, but regular strikes stalled their progress. The run-outs didn’t help – they lost two of their top order off direct hits. Hampshire had only managed 59 off the first ten overs and it was up to their overseas picks to give the innings a push.Maxwell was harsh on the pull, connecting a few off the seamers and sending the ball several rows over the on side. He picked Naved-ul-Hasan for consecutive sixes in an over which yielded 16, and added 56 with Shahid Afridi. However, Sialkot pulled things back with a quiet over by the seamer Bilawal Bhatti, whose skiddy pace kept Maxwell in check. Hampshire were 113 for 4 after 16 overs and in the search for quick runs, both Maxwell and Afridi fell off successive balls off Umaid Asif. The lower order though failed to push the score past 150.The Sialkot top order didn’t look at ease against the Hampshire seamers, limping to 26 for 2 after the Powerplay. A couple of pressure-relieving boundaries by Sohail off the left-armer Chris Wood put Sialkot on the path to stability. It helped to have the experienced Malik at the other end as they calmly pushed the singles in between. Sialkot were 62 for 3 after ten overs, just three ahead of Hampshire’s at the same stage.Malik showed some aggressive intent, charging the left-arm spinner Liam Dawson and launching him for a six and four off consecutive deliveries. Crucially, Sialkot didn’t let themselves get bogged down with a boundary drought – the pair ensured they picked up at least one boundary per over on an average. From the 11th to the start of the 18th over, when they were separated, they picked up ten boundaries. It also hurt Hampshire that their most experienced bowler, Afridi, couldn’t effect the breakthroughs or stem the flow of runs. Sohail pounced on anything short and wide from Afridi, and by the time the spinner picked up a wicket – that of Malik – Sialkot were well on course needing 20 off 17. Malik’s 96-run association with Sohail had all but sealed the game. It was a pity though that the tournament format didn’t allow Sialkot to build on the momentum.

ScorecardFawad Ahmed had a difficult match with the ball•Associated Press

Fawad Ahmed provided the single most thrilling moment of Australia A’s tighter-than-it-should-have-been victory over Gloucestershire when he clasped a blinding catch at mid-on to account for a stubborn Gareth Roderick. Unfortunately for Ahmed, it was also the most telling contribution he made to the last match before Australia’s selectors decided whether or not to add him to the Ashes squad that assembles in Taunton on Monday.Match figures of 31.2-9-100-1 for Ahmed told a story almost as barren as the tourists’ second innings fade for 111, against a Division Two team that their captain Michael Klinger conceded was still learning how to play “hard first-class cricket”. There were mitigating factors against the success of legspin in the match, cold temperatures keeping hands cold and an icy wind testing Ahmed’s command of length and pace.Ashton Agar’s left-arm spin fared rather better, though their relative tallies of overs suggested the 19-year-old was not being quite so closely observed by the selectors John Inverarity, Rod Marsh and Mickey Arthur. Ahmed’s best was eye-catching, several leg breaks fizzing past groping bats and some googlies misread as comprehensively by Matthew Wade as they were by the Gloucestershire batsmen.But a tally of two wickets from as many matches on the Australia A tour is the first significant reverse Ahmed has suffered since making his state debut for Victoria last summer and quickly factoring into the calculations of selectors, administrators, marketeers and ultimately Federal politicians, who passed legislation to expedite his application for citizenship last week.Questions about Ahmed’s readiness for an Ashes promotion were chief among those raised by the first long-form match played by an Australian team in England this year. Steve Smith, the stand-in captain while Brad Haddin rested, could thank his pace bowling triumvirate of Ryan Harris, Jackson Bird and the fast-rising Chadd Sayers for ensuring the tour would conclude with three victories out of three, but the tourists were placed under considerable pressure before getting there.On the second evening Dan Christian had taken the initiative well away from the bowlers, inflicting particular punishment on Ahmed. He would only add another six runs to his overnight total before the persisting Harris coaxed an outside edge behind, but after Benny Howell was pinned lbw first ball, a series of partnerships down the order had Gloucestershire creeping alarmingly close to their target, Ahmed’s catch notwithstanding.The last pair of Liam Norwell and Tom Smith had scrounged 36 together by the time Sayers claimed a deserved eighth wicket for the match, granting Wade his fifth catch among 23 byes, the morning session extended by an extra half hour for the taking of the final wicket proving a nervous 30 minutes for a team that had seemed in such command on the first day, declaring after a mere 58 overs then rounding up five early wickets.From there they had to fight the match out. Gloucestershire’s ability to fight toe-to-toe with a conglomerate of Australia’s best young players plus a sprinkling of Ashes tourists provided some disquieting evidence to back up the observation of the former England captain Andrew Strauss about what his side had witnessed down under in 2010-11.”We were surprised at the quality of some of the state sides,” Strauss told the . “Australia used to have a conveyor belt of talent but it was noticeable they were a long way behind where they had been four years previously.”On the evidence of this match there is still a lot of catching up to do, for Ahmed and Australia.

ScorecardSteve Smith gained his rewards for battling against the new ball•Getty Images

Australia A’s top order again needed bailing out, this time by a century from Steve Smith, after Ireland had put them in difficultly on the opening day in Belfast.Although the Australians secured an overwhelming victory in Scotland last week the frontline batsmen did not enjoy huge success, with the majority of runs coming from Brad Haddin and Peter Siddle.This time they slipped to 65 for 4 during the morning session and were later 139 for 6 when Max Sorensen claimed his fourth by removing Siddle for duck, before Smith and James Pattinson added an unbroken 109 until rain forced an early close. Smith’s hundred came off 164 balls.”It’s nice to get a few,” he said. “The wicket played a little better probably the last 30-odd overs, it was nipping around early and was quite hard work but I got through that and it got a bit easier. The new ball did a fair bit and it was quite a tough period.”It was Sorensen who made the early inroads after Ireland, missing some of their county-based players, had won the toss. He bowled both Nic Maddinson and Usman Khawaja during his first four overs to leave the Australians 22 for 2. Trent Johnston, the senior statesman of the Ireland team, followed those breakthroughs by removing Alex Doolan for a lively 40 and claimed the key scalp of Haddin.The first period of recovery came between Smith and Moises Henriques as the pair added 74 for the fifth wicket, keeping their concentration during breaks for showers. Sorensen’s return lifted Ireland, though, when he claimed Henriques and had Siddle caught in the gully four balls later. It was an impressive display from Ireland, following on from their two extremely close-fought ODIs against Pakistan last month.The Australians countered as their lower order, not for the first time, suggested more solidity than what was above them. Smith resisted against some accurate seam bowling in helpful conditions, and later took advantage of Ireland’s back-up bowling, while Pattinson showed some of the batting prowess he has produced in Test cricket.Fawad Ahmed, the legspinner, was included in an Australian side for the first time after being drafted into the squad following the news that his citizenship would soon go through and enable him to be eligible for the national team. Weather permitting, he will add much intrigue to second day.”He’s bowling really well in the nets,” Smith said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him in the game. He’s obviously a very skilful legspinner.”

The Bangladesh dressing room was a subdued enclosure after their 143-run win over Zimbabwe in the second and final Test. The team had decided to skip celebrations as a mark of respect to the victims of the Savar building collapse tragedy, one of the worst industrial accidents in Bangladesh’s history, which has resulted in 389 deaths so far.”We dedicate this win to the Savar victims,” Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said at the post-match press conference. “It probably contributes nothing [to their cause] but we didn’t celebrate after the win. We didn’t sing the team song. It is a very sad moment for us back home.”We were thinking about it during the match, and we discussed it when we got back to the hotel after the first day. We have been trying to keep in touch with everyone back home because it really is a disaster and we don’t want things like this to happen.”It was a tough five days of cricket for both sides, especially for Bangladesh who were smarting from a massive 335-run loss in the first match. There was a human tragedy playing out back home, and they were faced with the challenge of winning the second Test, something they had done only three times prior to this match in 13 years of their Test history.But they turned it around. Mushfiqur was adjudged Man of the Match for his two fifties, one of which could easily have been his third Test century. The 60 and 93 was nonetheless of great value to the team. His phlegmatic approach stood out, he rarely played a rash shot and did not let his emotions run the course of his innings. Shakib Al Hasan also scored two fifties, but the manner of his dismissals will be more remembered easily.”Winning a Test match is an amazing feeling, especially after coming back in this manner,” Mushfiqur said. “We could have won the first Test had we applied ourselves like we did in this game. It was never going to be easy against them, but we turned it around. It is great to be awarded the Man of the Match in a Test victory. Every player would tell you he dreams of this. It means a lot when your hard work pays off in this way.”The Bangladesh captain had special praise for Robiul Islam and Nasir Hossain for the crucial performances they turned in on the second day, which helped Bangladesh gain a 109-run lead. “Robiul bowled very well in both Tests,” he said. “He works very hard, and he is one guy who gives his 100% with every ball even if he doesn’t get a wicket. We needed a bowler like him. He got just rewards for his hard work.”The first innings in the second Test was very important for us. Remember, we hadn’t scored even 150 in both innings of the first Test. Tamim (Iqbal), Shakib and Nasir did well. I tried my best. Shiblu (Robiul) bowled very well in their first innings, and I think the 109-run lead was the turning point in this game,” he said.It was an important win for Mushfiqur as a captain, too. He can now experience what Habibul Bashar and Shakib Al Hasan have achieved as captains. Bashar was in charge when Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe at home in 2005, their maiden Test win. Shakib took Mashrafe Mortaza’s place as the captain in the 2009 series against West Indies, and played a vital part in the two wins.”It helps to do well as a captain. The confidence of a side is different when the captain scores some runs,” he said. “It sets an example, the attitude within the team changes. Nasir can play with responsibilities, and the younger ones will learn from him and our performance.”Mushfiqur didn’t want to comment on the umpiring but had some tough words for the hosts. Zimbabwe Cricket’s hospitality has irked the visitors, especially the lack of practice facilities on tour.”A visiting team doesn’t deserve the sort of practice facilities they gave us,” he said. “We had requested a morning session, but they said no. I had told the media before the second Test that we have to win to reply to such behaviour.”The side now heads to Bulawayo to play the limited-overs leg of the tour, which will bring an end to the Bangladesh season. It has been a season that has seen some big scores, some personal milestones and a drawn Test in Sri Lanka. But it will always be bookmarked by this win in Harare.