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Scorecard

Brad Hogg’s unbeaten 41 and a half-century to Luke Pomersbach steered Western Australia to a tight victory after they were rocked by Ben Hilfenhaus in their chase of 180. Hilfenhaus dropped the Warriors to 4 for 36 and went on to collect 5 for 84, but he could not push Tasmania to a home-ground win.The debutant Pomersbach completed a strong game by adding an important 63 to his first-innings 74 as he lifted Western Australia out of trouble. However, his departure to Hilfenhaus left the Warriors at 7 for 148 and it was left to Hogg to guide them home.Brett Geeves and Hilfenhaus added 34 in the first session before Hilfenhaus fell to a catch behind off David Bandy. Geeves was unbeaten on 80 as the Tigers posted 477, giving the Warriors an uncomfortable chase.

North Division

Scotland pulled off a sensational two-run win over Lancashire at Old Trafford despite only scoring 155 for 9. The shock came a week after they had been skittled for 74 in the reverse fixture. Steven Croft took 4 for 24 as Scotland struggled for runs, and Andrew Flintoff chipped in with 2 for 13. Lancashire’s innings fell apart as they crumpled to 44 for 7 before Luke Sutton and Kyle Hogg put on 71 for the eighth wicket. Eight were needed from the last over, and James Anderson needed to hit a boundary off the last ball but Gordon Drummond restricted him to a single.Click here for John Ward’s report of Yorkshire’s match against Durham at Headingley.

South/West Division

In a rain-affected match at New Road, Vikram Solanki powered Worcestershire to a seven-wicket win over Glamorgan with a slick 88 from 84 balls which included five sixes. He and Stephen Moore put on an unbeaten 58 for the fourth wicket to guide Worcestershire to their target of 186, with nine balls to spare, and Ben Smith chipped in with a valuable 34-ball 41. In a match reduced to 28 overs, Glamorgan’s Tom Maynard – son of Matthew – top-scored with 48 from just 29 balls, while Jamie Dalrymple cracked 44 from 31, but they hadn’t counted on Solanki’s explosive hitting.

Midlands Division

A superb 102 from Stephen Peters helped Northamptonshire ease past Ireland by eight wickets at Northampton. Ireland could only muster 203 for 9 in their fifty overs, though Paul Stirling – the very highly regarded 17-year-old – top-scored with 70 from 95 balls, including four fours and four sixes. It was never a total to trouble Northamptonshire, however, and Peters found excellent support in Niall O’Brien, their pugnacious Irish batsman, who made 75. Northamptonshire lost two wickets but Peters saw them home in the 43rd over.Ryan Cummins took 3 for 21 in a disciplined bowling performance for Leicestershire who beat Warwickshire by 45 runs at Edgbaston. In a match reduced to 23 overs, Leicestershire compiled 148 for 6 thanks to thirties from Jacques Du Toit, Jim Allenby and Boeta Dippenaar, but it was their bowlers who swung the match. Cummins removed Neil Carter for 3 while Garnett Kruger picked up the key wickets of Ian Westwood and Jonathan Trott. Tim Ambrose gave the hosts hope with 28 from 31, but there was little else from the lower-order and Warwickshire were dismissed for just 103.

South East Division

Chris Adams led from the front with a perfectly timed 109 from 103 balls to guide Sussex to a comfortable win over Middlesex at Hove, chasing down a sizeable 274 with 12 balls to spare. Middlesex’s 273 was set-up by a slick 80 from Ed Joyce, which contained 12 fours, and a typically industrious 68 from Owais Shah. Middlesex’s bowling is their weakest suit, however, and none of their pace attack settled into any kind of rhythm. Matt Prior crashed 79 from 92 balls, sharing in a second-wicket stand of 81 with Adams. But it was Adams’ partnership of 115 with Murray Goodwin which really put the match out of Middlesex’s reach, as Adams took them home with 12 balls in hand.Click here for Brydon Coverdale’s report of Kent’s 90-run win over Surrey at The Oval.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, has blamed his side’s poor batting for the series loss to England after conceding an unbeatable 3-1 lead with one match to play. A comfortable five-wicket win at the Premadasa Stadium sealed England’s first ODI triumph in the subcontinent since 1987.”I don’t think we’ve batted well for the last three games,” said Jayawardene. “One or two individuals have been having good days but we’ve not been batting as a unit to put runs on the board for the bowlers to bowl at.”He admitted England were the better side and that they deserved to win the series. “Losing matches is not easy for us, especially at home, but credit should go to England because they’ve played some really good cricket. Some of their players have performed really well and they’ve basically outplayed us in the last few games.”Paul Collingwood, the England captain, termed his side’s comeback “unbelievable” after they won their first one-day series in Sri Lanka despite losing the series opener.”Before we came here a lot of people wrote us off. We lost that first game and the way the lads have bounced back has been unbelievable. They’ve learnt and adapted new skills and showed a lot of character.”I am very, very proud and it was a very proud moment when we knocked those runs off. I’m proud of all the players that have been involved and the management have been fantastic.”He said the series victory against India had given the team a lot of confidence.”We knew the areas we needed to improve and the key has been the belief we have built up over the last few weeks, especially the India series which was a big thing for us – that belief was not going to go after one game.”Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen scored half-centuries to help England coast to victory after the bowlers had restricted Sri Lanka to 211.

Shot of the day
Ian Bell’s response to Dilhara Fernando’s first ball of the morning.It was full and straight, and Bell creamed it straight back down theground, past the non-striker’s off stump by a whisker, and all the wayto the rope. Last night Matthew Hoggard has spoken of England’s desireto hit the ground running in this match. With one shot, Bell showedthat England were determined to live up to that promise on a dailybasis.Catch of the day
Chamara Silva’s outstanding snaffle at short midwicket. Bell had beenbatting with determination and poise, but his desire to remainpositive in the face of Muttiah Muralitharan’s onslaught eventually proved hisundoing. It needed a massively alert fielder to take advantage of hismiscued drive, however, as the ball squirted in the air off a thickinside-edge and Silva at full stretch to his left ended an excellentinnings and carried Murali ever closer to destiny.Stonewaller of the day
The free-flowing Michael Vaughan is not used to being entrenched whilebatting… except, of course, when he’s playing a Test in Kandy. Threeyears ago, Vaughan led England’s rearguard on this ground with aseven-and-a-half hour 105. Today, he dug in with the determination ofa captain with four days in which to capitalise on an outstandingfirst-innings bowling effort. Muralitharan kept him pinned down at thepress-box end of the ground, and by the time he was dismissed (much tohis chagrin) for 37, he had occupied the crease for a furthertwo-and-a-half hours.Over of the day
There was only one bowler who mattered today. A feverish crowd chantedand drummed in appreciation, and Murali did not disappoint, as hereeled his way towards the world record with a mesmeric performance.The zenith came in his 18th over of the day – six deliveries, everyone a live hand-grenade. Paul Collingwood fenced a ripper inches shortof a sprawling silly point; Ravi Bopara turned one tentatively off histoes and into the hands of short leg, but replays showed he’d justmanaged to jab it into the turf first. But Murali’s eyes weretwinkling with anticipation, and sure enough, Bopara’s maiden Testinnings ended with a leg-side strangle next ball.Anticlimax of the day
Kandy hasn’t known such heights of reverence and worship since theBuddha’s tooth was last paraded through town. The world record was athis mercy, as Ryan Sidebottom took guard in preparation for the ordealhe was about to face. Six deliveries were negotiated but none of themcomfortably, but then the weather closed in from the surroundinghills, and the quest had to be put on hold for another 24 hours.

Victoria 251 (Hussey 84, White 61, Magoffin 5-67) and 0 for 17 trail Western Australia 9 for 428 dec and 5 for 277 dec (Marsh 96, Voges 79*, Ronchi 61) by 437 runs
Scorecard

Victoria face a monster fourth-day chase as they fight for Pura Cup final-hosting rights, after Shaun Marsh’s 96 set up a lead of 454 for Western Australia. The Bushrangers reached 0 for 17 at stumps with Nick Jewell on 6 and Lloyd Mash on 9, meaning they required a further 438 for an unlikely win.Western Australia could have enforced the follow-on after the Bushrangers were dismissed for 251, at which point they trailed by 177. Cameron White began the day as their primary hope but he could only add five to his overnight score and at 61 became Steve Magoffin’s fifth victim.Shane Harwood and Bryce McGain grabbed two wickets each in the Warriors’ second innings, however Marsh and Luke Ronchi got the home side away to a strong start. Ronchi was promoted to open as Justin Langer rested his sore back and his 61 from 62 balls set the scene.Adam Voges continued to extend their lead with 79 not out before the declaration came at 5 for 277, giving Victoria a nine-over period to face late in the day. Although they have built their reputation on chasing big targets in recent years, the Bushrangers’ current task would be one of their greatest achievements if they could pull it off.Victoria and New South Wales have already reached the Pura Cup decider and the teams are equal on points, meaning the hosting rights will be determined by the current games and the final round, which starts on Friday. New South Wales also failed to claim first-innings points in their match against Tasmania.

The rain affected South Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match between Kerala andGoa, predictably enough, ended in a disappointing draw at the MedicalCollege ground in Trivandrum today. Play was possible only for 133 minuteson the first day during which Goa made 71 for eight wickets. The second andthird days were completely washed out and the teams got three points each.This was the second successive no result for Kerala.

After Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, Mushtaq Ahmed, the caretaker coachand Talat Ali, the manager, were questioned by police on Saturday over Bob Woolmer’s murder, it’s now the turn of Brian Lara, the West Indies captain. Lara was staying in the room opposite to Woolmer’s in the Pegasus Hotel and the questioning, which may be followed by DNA testing, is believed to be part of the routine process of eliminating suspects.After the questioning of Inzamam and the other two, the Pakistan team flew out of Jamaica to home as scheduled.Pervez Mir, the team’s spokesperson, told Cricinfo that the three Pakistan players werequestioned for about half an hour. “They were questioned over a coupleof things that were previously overlooked.” But he was keen to stressthere was “nothing out of the ordinary” about the questioning andreiterated that “no one from the team is involved – this is all justmedia hype.”The team is planning to leave as per our original plan and there isno change in that,” added Mir. The team is due to fly from Jamaica toHeathrow and onwards from there to Karachi.Later, addressing a press conference, Mark Shields, deputy commissioner of Jamaican police, said: “This really continued the process of cooperation that we have had with the Pakistani team throughout. We need to be absolutely thorough and clear and ensure if there is any ambiguity in anyone’s statements we should clear up that ambiguity as soon as we can.”The Pakistan team are free to go and are on their way to the airport. There is no reason at all why they shouldn’t leave the island.”All of this, Shields said, was “standard police procedure when you consider any serious crime investigation.” The important thing, he added, “is that we keep an open mind. What we need to do is look at all of the options, all of the suspicions people have.”Sources close to the team told Cricinfo that Mushtaq was questionedabout his nose injury (which is likely to be the one he picked up inpractice before Woolmer’s murder) and Inzamam and Ali about roomchanges.Inzamam told AFP that the questioning was routine and that they hadbeen told by police that they were free to leave for home as plannedlater Saturday. “It was nothing, just one question, nothing special,”Inzamam said. “There have been so many rumours but we are going hometonight and everything is clear. The police said we are free to gohome.””The police are doing their work and they ask lots of guys differentquestions,” Mushtaq told Sky News. “It is not a big issue, just amatter of timing. It was little things they wanted to know. We have to follow police policies and everything is calm and OK. Weare supporting the police. We are leaving and they wanted to cleareverything up.” reported that investigators were yet to hand over Woolmer’s room on the 12th floor to hotel authorities and that the police were examining the electronic key to Woolmer’s room to find out the number of times the room was opened in the few hours leading to his death.Sayed Hafiz, first secretary at the Pakistani embassy in Washington,attended the media briefing at the Pegasus Hotel. He said: “The team was never under detention. They are understandably traumatised. But this is a serious crime, and we wanted to cooperate. We’re very satisfied with the professionalism shown by theJamaican police.”He added that Murray Stevenson, the trainer, and Asad Mustafa, the chiefoperations officer, would be staying back in Jamaica – Stevenson to escortWoolmer’s body back to South Africa, and Mustafa to “tie up any looseends.”Neither he nor the diplomats would say for sure whether the players wouldbe asked back to Jamaica if required – “We’ll cross that bridge when wecome to it,” said Shields – and it’s still unclear when the coroner willallow for Woolmer’s body to leave the country.Shields said that DNA swabs and fingerprints had been taken from severalpeople, apart from the Pakistan players, and added that CCTV footage wasbeing analysed by his officers. He was also in touch with a representativeof the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit, saying: “We will look at all theoptions.””Everybody in some ways is a suspect,” said Shields, when asked if he andhis investigating team had made any headway in identifying the culprit.”There are no clear suspects at the moment.”

Shoaib Malik has been retained as Pakistan’s captain until December 2008 after the PCB extended his current appointment by another year. Malik was made captain in April, following Pakistan’s dismal World Cup performance, originally until December this year.”Malik has shown enough promise to warrant more time as captain,” Nasim Ashraf, the board’s chairman, said. “He has led the team well and all the players are comfortable with him.”We are looking to have continuity in the captaincy as this is instrumental in the improvement of the team. Malik is young and learning and the perfect choice.”The appointment of a vice-captain, however, will be made on a series- to-series basis. Younis Khan, deputy for the tour of India, is the third vice-captain during Malik’s tenure; Mohammad Asif was appointed for the Abu Dhabi ODI series against Sri Lanka, while Salman Butt replaced him for the ICC World Twenty20 and the home series against South Africa.Asif, meanwhile, might be sent to Australia for treatment on the elbow injury which forced him out of the ongoing ODI series in India. He also missed four out of the five ODIs against South Africa last month, and the status and extent of his injury remains uncertain.”We have two reports on his [Asif’s] injury. One specialist says he requires surgery, another feels he can recover without surgery. We have sent his reports to a top specialist in Australia and we are awaiting his response,” Ashraf said.Pakistan are due to play three Tests against India after the ODIs, before taking on Zimbabwe for a five-match ODI series at home in January.

MCC won by an innings and 128 runs – ScorecardSutcliffe and Leyland gave MCC a splendid start by putting up 223 for the first wicket – a record partnership for English teams against South Australia, and when stumps were drawn the score stood at 341 for five. Leyland, who might have been caught and bowled at 93, reached his hundred out of a total of 166, and when he was caught at point had hit 14 fours, mostly beautiful stroke through the covers. Sutcliffe hit out freely when he had reached three figures, and altogether claimed two sixes and thirteen fours. He gave no chance.On the second day an admirably placed field kept Jardine from scoring quickly, but the MCC captain scored a magnificent century, the only blemish being a chance in the slips when 105. Larwood hit with terrific force, his innings which included two 6’s and ten 4’s only lasting 42 minutes. Wyatt, after a shaky start, made some powerful hooks. He and Jardine established a record for the seventh wicket for an English team v. South Australia by adding 135. Jardine and Larwood also established a record by adding 106 for the eighth wicket, the previous best for a visiting English team against this State being 102 by J. T. Hearne and W. Storer in 1897-98. Grimmett gave the impression that he was taking things easily, and did not wish to put too severe a strain on his damaged ankle.Richardson and Nitschke gave South Australia a splendid start, the latter falling to Verity after he had twice hit the Yorkshireman to square leg for 6. Richardson was very severe on Bowes, his leg strokes being extremely powerful. He was not so successful against the slow bowlers. The remaining Australian batsmen did little against some very steady bowling by Brown and Verity, and, following on, they never appeared likely to save an innings defeat. In his second innings, Catchlove, a last-minute selection, batted very stolidly for four hours for his 65. Verity was the outstanding MCC bowler, and it was noticeable that he bowled a little shorter than in England. Bowes howled medium-pace most of the time and Larwood only sent down a few overs as he was suffering from a damaged toe. The English fielding on the whole was very disappointing.

Scorecard and ball-by-balldetailsDefending just 105, Asia stamped their authority on the Twenty20 match against Africa by dismissing the opposition for a paltry 45. Smarting from a top-order collapse inflicted by Ashlyn Kilowan, as well as from some inopportune run-outs, the Asian side stormed back to ruthlessly shred the African batting order.Though the game finished with five overs still remaining, the action in the preceding 35 gave no one a chance to complain that they were short-changed. While good fielding dominated in the first half, impressive bowling dominated the second. Rumeli Dhar had impressive figures of 4 for 8, while her opening partner, Jhulan Goswami, was not required to bowl her last over.Goswami had, however, struck the first blows when she dismissed Margaret Banja and Julie Chibhabha for ducks in the first over. In her next one, she dismissed Trisha Chetty for one – all her dismissals were lbw. Dhar, meanwhile, trapped one in front of the stumps, and bowled the rest.Eight ducks in the match indicate that the women reversed the trend of Twenty20 cricket – usually associated with fours and sixes – yet they managed to keep the buzz in the game. A spunky partnership between Urooj Mumtaz and Chamari Polgampola for the ninth wicket ensured that Asia got to a competitive total after being 47 for 6 at the half-way mark.Bad calling by Sulakshana Naik had Jaya Sharma run out at the non-striker’s end without facing a ball and Kilowan then struck twice in consecutive balls, trapping Mithali Raj leg before with her first ball and bowling Dedunu Silva off the next.Cri-Zelda Brits, the Africa captain, would be disappointed that her side allowed Asia to set them a target of 106. It has to be said here that there are only four players from among ICC’s top-ten-ranked countries in the Africa side. Asia were always to be favoured – with six players from India, who are ranked No. 2 – but the manner in which they wrapped up the match was still impressive. Alicia Smith top-scored for Africa with 23, their only double-digit score.Spectators trickled into the ground as the hour drew closer to the men’s game and were not disappointed by what they got to see while they waited. Music accompanied every bit of action on the field and it looked like Indian crowds were getting attuned to Twenty20 cricket. The curtain-raiser was meant to whet the crowd’s appetite – excite them without stealing the show. But if the women ended up stealing the show, it would only reflect poorly on the men.