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ScorecardPart-time offspinner Chris Nash claimed career-best figures to help Sussex secure an opening County Championship win over Glamorgan by 201 runs on the final day in Cardiff.With Glamorgan offering some stubborn resistance from Ben Wright (57) and James Allenby (62), Nash was brought into the attack and suddenly hastened the Welsh county’s demise. He took two wickets from his first three balls and ended with figures of 4 for 12 from 9.3 overs. Sussex, who took 21 points from the contest to Glamorgan’s three, wrapped up victory 35 minutes before tea with 39 overs remaining.Glamorgan had resumed on 51 for 1 in their second innings, chasing an improbable 405 to win, and it took until only the seventh over for Corey Collymore to break through and have Michael Powell lbw. And 61 for 4 became 65 for 5 three overs later when nightwatchman Dean Cosker also went lbw – the 14th such dismissal in the match – to Luke Wright.But Sussex’s march to victory was held up for 30 overs either side of lunch as Wright and Allenby put up some impressive resistance. The sixth wicket added 113 runs with Wright reaching a positive half-century from 73 balls on the stroke of lunch.And with skipper Michael Yardy unable to get the breakthrough from his frontline attack, he turned to Nash. It proved to be an inspired bowling change as Nash broke the sixth-wicket pair immediately. First he had Wright caught at slip after the ball had deflected off the wicketkeeper’s gloves, and two balls later Mark Wallace chopped onto his stumps as Glamorgan went from 178 for 5 to 178 for 7.Amid the carnage Allenby survived at the other end to follow Wright to a half-century, which included eight fours, from 92 balls. But Allenby was again a helpless witness as Nash struck in his seventh over to have James Harris caught behind, before he himself fell victim to Monty Panesar who had him snaffled at short leg. Nash wrapped up the victory in the 84th over by having Chris Ashling caught behind.

The England women’s selectors today named a provisional 20-strong squad for the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean which start in May.England are currently on tour in India, where they have been beaten 3-2 in the ODI series which precedes a three-match Twenty20 series. Yet they will go to the Caribbean as defending champions and much is expected of the side.The squad announced includes two uncapped players – Lauren Griffith and Susie Rowe – and will be cut to 14 on March 19, following a final meeting of the selection panel.Clare Connor, head of England women’s cricket, said: “There is real strength in depth to this squad and this is testament to the development of players at county level and within the England women’s academy set-up.”The 14 players eventually chosen will be faced with the exciting challenge of retaining the World Twenty20 following our victory in last year’s tournament in England. The women’s game continues to grow in popularity and we are delighted that the men’s and women’s semi-finals and finals will be played as double-headers in the Caribbean, just as they were in England in 2009.”Full Squad 1 Charlotte Edwards, 2 Caroline Atkins, 3 Tammy Beaumont, 4 Katherine Brunt, 5 Holly Colvin, 6 Lydia Greenway, 7 Lauren Griffith, 8 Isa Guha, 9 Jenny Gunn, 10 Danielle Hazell, 11 Heather Knight, 12 Laura Marsh, 13 Beth Morgan, 14 Ebony Rainford-Brent, 15 Susie Rowe, 16 Nicky Shaw, 17 Anya Shrubsole, 18 Claire Taylor, 19 Sarah Taylor, 20 Danielle Wyatt.

Victoria will be without four of their best players for the FR Cup decider on Sunday, when they will try to break their final hoodoo having finished runners-up for the past three years. The Bushrangers are without their captain Cameron White, David Hussey, Dirk Nannes and Clint McKay, all of whom are with the Australia squad in New Zealand, while Tasmania are also missing Travis Birt for the same reason.It has left Andrew McDonald to captain Victoria, who are hosting the final at the MCG for the third time in four seasons. The Bushrangers lost to Queensland in 2006-07 and also last summer, and they went down to Tasmania at Bellerive Oval in 2008-09.They are likely to regain Rob Quiney, who will have a fitness test but is thought to have recovered from an adductor strain and has been added to the squad of 12 that beat Queensland last week. Victoria are chasing their first title since 1998-99 and are hoping to keep alive their chances of winning all three finals this summer, having already won the Twenty20 title and qualified for the Sheffield Shield decider.The Tigers have eased the burden of losing Birt, their second-top run scorer this summer, by calling on the allrounder Luke Butterworth, who is back from injury. The batsman John Rogers has also been included in Tasmania’s 13-man squad after he was left out of the group that beat Western Australia recently.Victoria squad Chris Rogers, Aiden Blizzard, Brad Hodge, Aaron Finch, Rob Quiney, Andrew McDonald (capt), Michael Hill, Matthew Wade (wk), John Hastings, Damien Wright, Glenn Maxwell, Bryce McGain, Darren Pattinson.Tasmania squad Tim Paine (wk), Ed Cowan, Michael Dighton, Rhett Lockyear, George Bailey (capt), Daniel Marsh, John Rogers, Luke Butterworth, Jason Krejza, James Faulkner, Xavier Doherty, Brendan Drew, Gerard Denton.

ScorecardHabib Bank Limited’s tail wagged well into the second day to put their side in a strong position, before Sui Northern Gas Pipelines’ batsmen made light of two early losses to put up a promising riposte in the Pentangular Cup final at the National Stadium. Resuming at 315 for 6, HBL lost the wicket of Abdul Rehman early, before being shored up by two substantial stands. First, Farhan Iqbal and Irfan Fazil added 65 for the eighth wicket, to push the total close to 400. HBL then struck twice to reduce the score to 403 for 9, but any hopes of wrapping up the innings quickly were scuppered by a spirited tenth-wicket stand between Fazil and No. 11 Mohammad Aslam. Aslam eventually departed for 45, becoming Asad Ali’s fourth scalp after pushing the score to 484 – a strong recovery from 245 for 6. Fazil was undefeated on 60, having crossed the ropes on five occasions. If not for Raza Ali Dar’s part-time left-arm spin which accounted for two wickets, SNGPL’s agony could have well lasted even longer.Opening bowlers Fahan Masood and Kamran Hussain struck twice to leave SNGPL gasping at 45 for 2, before Dar came to their rescue for the second time in the day. His 104-ball 62 anchored the innings, and he struck five fours and a six to take his side to stumps, still 344 runs behind a first-innings lead. He added 95 with captain Misbah-ul-Haq, whose 30 included six boundary-hits. The pair will look to extend their association on the third day, against a HBL attack that can continue to be aggressive, on the back of a lead that is still substantial.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outTamim Iqbal is thrilled after reaching his century•Associated Press

Tamim Iqbal unleashed an array of brilliant counterattacking strokes on his way to a splendid 151 as Bangladesh posed an injury-ridden Indian side some searching questions on the third afternoon in Mirpur. Having come to bat 311 runs in arrears, Tamim was severe on pace and spin alike as Bangladesh stormed past 200 with just one wicket down. Junaid Siddique provided a solid 55 at the other end and their record partnership was worth 200 when Zaheer Khan broke through just before stumps. And reverse swing was once again the key factor as Tamim too feathered one behind in the day’s penultimate over.India had declared at their lunch score of 544 for 8, after MS Dhoni’s search for a century was ended by a smart stumping from Mushfiqur Rahim, but any hopes of a quick finish were blown away by the ferocity of Tamim’s onslaught. He started off by steering Zaheer through the slip cordon for four and the loss of Imrul Kayes – he mistimed one to cover after being struck by a nasty bouncer – did nothing to hamper his progress. Ishant Sharma was slashed over slip and pulled for four, while Zaheer found his slower ball clouted down the ground. Pragyan Ojha was greeted with a saunter down the track and heave for four, and a deft paddle took him to 50 from just 49 balls.Harbhajan Singh was the most economical of the bowlers on view, but even he wasn’t spared, with Tamim swinging a four and a six over midwicket. The six brought up the hundred of the innings, and a lovely on-drive off Ishant followed. With Junaid clipping some neat strokes through midwicket, the partnership was worth 99 by tea. There was no respite for the Indians after the break either, with Tamim hitting Ojha out of the attack with two fours and a six slugged over midwicket.A pull to fine leg off Zaheer took him to a hundred from just 101 balls, and he celebrated with two imperious straight drives. Harbhajan was then smeared through the covers twice, and sent a fair distance over long-on for six. The only blot came after he had made 138, an ugly heave off Virender Sehwag that Sachin Tendulkar couldn’t quite latch on to at midwicket. He injured himself in the attempt and left the field, and India spent the final hour with the spinners bowling mostly wide of off stump in an attempt to entice the reckless stroke. It was Zaheer that finally gave Dhoni something to smile about, with Siddique getting a faint edge as he attempted to drive.Earlier, India added 85 to their overnight total, with Dhoni’s 89 quite similar in character to the innings he played against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in December. With Rahul Dravid just discharged from hospital and about to head back to India, and Yuvraj Singh nursing an injured ligament in his left hand, India’s batting resources weredepleted, but with Bangladesh adopting confused tactics against the lower order, Dhoni was able to combine watchfulness with some typically brutal strokeplay.His intentions had been clear when play resumed, with Shafiul Islam clubbed for a one-handed four over midwicket. And though Zaheer fell, miscuing a hook to fine leg, Dhoni was undaunted, walloping Shakib Al Hasan over long-off for six. By then, he had already changed his bat, and a wide offering from Shafiul was soon carved through the offside for four more.Shahadat Hossain, who had troubled some of the top order with pace and bounce, was especially disappointing, with even Ishant putting loose deliveries away for boundaries. Dhoni combined clever deflections with powerful cleaves, and a loft over midwicket off Rubel Hossain took him to his half-century from 84 balls.Ishant eventually edged Mohammad Ashraful behind, but the Bangladeshi ordeal was far from over. With a landmark in sight, Dhoni shielded Ojha and targeted the wayward balls. Mahmudullah was thumped over cover for four and then over wide long-on for six and with Ashraful’s legspin also not making a dent, it was a depressing morning for the hosts. Fortunately for the vociferous crowd, Tamim’s Catherine-wheel shotmaking changed the mood completely after lunch.

For the second year running Stuart Broad has shown where his priorities lie after shunning the potential riches of the IPL to concentrate on his England career. And his next challenge certainly requires plenty of focus, taking on South Africa on their own soil over four Tests.Broad’s last outing in whites shot him to superstar status as he produced the spell that virtually secured the Ashes with 5 for 37 at The Oval. His performance on that memorable day in South London has given rise to huge expectations of Broad and that is something he will have to confront over the next five weeks.”We’ve had a good tour so far. It’s been a little hampered by weather in the last few weeks but we won our last Test series against Australia and the confidence is high,” he said. “It’s just up to us to make sure we hit them hard in the first Test and we are trying to make sure we do that.”However, Broad appears to be one of the England players suffering most from the truncated nature of the tour so far with so much inclement weather around. During their two two-day matches in East London Broad was below his best as he returned figures of none for 55 and 1 for 57, but he is eager to build on his Ashes experience and his increasingly senior role in the bowling unit. With the retirement of Andrew Flintoff and absence of Steve Harmison, Broad is England’s second most experienced operator behind James Anderson.”Responsibility is something I thrive on as a player,” he said. “Certainly in the one-dayers, Jimmy and I have been opening the bowling together and have developed extra responsibility in that format. In Test matches it’s up a few players to stand up and I think it is good for the side that it’s not the same players performing all the time.”Broad is a level-headed character – as shown by his IPL decision – but hasn’t quite convinced that he knows what type of bowler to be at the top level. His spell at The Oval gave a good indication as he pitched the ball up and aimed at the stumps, but there is still a tendency to go searching for wickets. Broad could still be pushed into performing an enforcers role with Anderson a natural pitch-up swing bowler along with Graham Onions or Ryan Sidebottom.Quite who makes up England’s final attack is still unclear and it depends on the balance they select. Ian Bell could bat at No. 6, while Luke Wright is also pushing for a Test debut at No. 7 but that may yet be a role filled by Broad. He knows that would make run-scoring a necessity rather than a bonus.”Definitely, there would be extra responsibility to score bigger runs but I’ve done it in three or four Tests so far and it’s a position I do enjoy and will look to do in the future,” he said. “It’s a strong position to be in as a side. We have options of going either way. Obviously if we go with six batters it leaves the bowlers with quite a workload but I think we have the bowlers who can cope. It’s a great position to be in to be able to make the choice and it’s down to the management come Wednesday.”Whichever team takes the field, Broad knows England mustn’t sit back and, echoing the comments of selector Ashley Giles, wants the team to take advantage of the home side’s lack of recent cricket.”It’s a great opportunity for us,” he said. “We have looked at South Africa’s strengths and weaknesses and we see it as a great opportunity to start the series hard. It’s what we’ve done in the last couple of Test series is to make sure we start well and that’s what we are focussed on.”Broad’s final comment is only partly true. When England beat West Indies at Lord’s in May it was the first time in 16 series they had won the opening contest and away from home they have lost the first Test on six out of the last seven occasions. The previous occasion they launched an overseas campaign with victory was against South Africa, at Port Elizabeth, in 2004-05. Now would be a good time for history to repeat itself and for that to happen England need Broad to shine.

Phillip Hughes is a strong chance to be added to Australia’s squad for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan as Ricky Ponting remains in doubt with an elbow tendon injury. Ponting is still hopeful of playing, despite struggling to hold his bat at the WACA this week, and has had his first session in a hyperbaric chamber to speed up the healing.However, the selectors will name a back-up batsman in case the captain is forced to miss a Test for the first time in five years. Hughes, who was dropped during the Ashes tour, will be at the head of the queue after impressing on Saturday with 122 for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield in Newcastle. However, that would force the selectors to make a compromise by either batting Hughes away from his usual opening position or breaking up the promising Shane Watson-Simon Katich partnership.”It’s great to see him make a hundred yesterday,” Ponting said. “It’s good to see him back in the runs again, that’s exactly what we want from him, to go back and dominate Sheffield Shield cricket again. And now couldn’t be better timing for him either. His name will certainly be one that comes up.”What we’ve got to decide is if we want to pick a specialist No. 3 batsman or if we shuffle the order around and pick someone else to bat in the middle order. That’s what we need to talk about over the next little bit. I’ll have a talk to Michael Clarke about that today and the coach and [selector] Merv [Hughes] is here. We’ll have a good talk about that this afternoon and get that list of players down to as few as possible for that spot.”Another option mentioned by the coach Tim Nielsen was Shaun Marsh, who does not open in first-class cricket, while South Australia’s No. 3 Michael Klinger also posted a timely hundred this weekend. If Hughes gets the nod and Ponting is ruled out, Australia will also consider moving Katich, who for most of his career has not been an opener, down to No. 3.”That’s one thing we’ve had a quick chat about at the moment, not with Katto yet, just a chat between Pup and I about that,” Ponting said. “What we don’t want to do is disrupt everything and change the whole batting order around when it might only be for one Test, and that’s if I don’t come up. So there’s lots of things we’ve got to weigh up there.”However, Ponting is still optimistic about his chances of leading the side in the opening Test against Pakistan, which begins in six days. He suffered the injury in the first innings when he misjudged a bouncer from Kemar Roach and was struck on the left elbow, which left him with a tendon problem that the physio Alex Kountouris likened to “when you get meat and bash it with a mallet”.It left him unable to grip the bat properly and although he did bat briefly at No. 9 in Australia’s second innings, he was clearly uncomfortable and unable to play normally. In an effort to do everything possible to make himself available, Ponting spent Saturday night – the evening of his 35th birthday – in a hyperbaric chamber.”I spent a couple of hours in there last night,” Ponting said. “It wasn’t the most pleasant experience of my life, especially on my birthday night when I was looking forward to maybe finishing off a Test match. So I’m doing everything that I can. I’ll probably have a few more of those treatments over the next couple of days.”A similar problem forced Damien Martyn to miss a Test three years ago, although Ponting stressed that their injuries were not identical. He won’t go into the nets over the next few days and Australia will wait until much closer to the match before deciding if Ponting will sit out and hand the Test captaincy to Clarke for the first time.”I haven’t picked up a bat since I batted in the second innings the other day and probably won’t touch a bat again for the next couple of days just to give it as much recovery as I possibly can,” Ponting said. “But it seems to be coming along pretty well so I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope I’m okay.”Australia will also be keeping a close eye on the fast bowlers Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle, who missed the WACA Test through injury. Hilfenhaus, who is battling knee tendonitis, took four wickets in a club game in Hobart on Saturday, while Siddle (hamstring) is likely to play in Victoria’s FR Cup match on Wednesday.

Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outDaniel Vettori’s three wickets helped put Pakistan on the back foot•Getty Images

The weather took time to clear up and New Zealand took time to wake up, but by the end of a shortened, disrupted first day at what was the Basin Reserve’s 50th Test, both had taken firm hold of this match.Incessant rains over the last few days had forced both sides to practice indoors in the run-in and a wet outfield delayed the start until lunch. Overcast conditions, a pitch only just uncovered and some bounce quickly lulled Daniel Vettori into sending Pakistan in after winning the toss. And after an unusual first bout of Pakistan control, New Zealand struck back to leave Pakistan at 161 for 6, bad light stopping play early.Pakistan made two changes to their batting order after the limpness of their first Test display, bringing in Salman Butt and Misbah-ul-Haq to solidify their spine. But the inherent timidity in their senior players – and the ineptitude of some – surfaced again, as they lost the opportunity of a rare opening platform. A familiar story of uncertain prods outside off, awkward encounters with short balls, airy swishes and brain-dead shots unfolded thereafter, 60 for none dwindling to an inadequate first day total.On balance New Zealand deserved their reward, if only because they came back so well after Butt and Imran Farhat had made Vettori’s decision to bowl first look misguided early. Whether Vettori himself would have expected to end up with three wickets on a pitch offering as much turn as an ice-rink might to an early 90s Anil Kumble is open to question, but the spark for the revival was provided by the pacemen.Things had looked difficult more than halfway into the afternoon session. First up, everyone seemed to agree that there would be mischief in the air and pitch. There wasn’t. Chris Martin and Daryl Tuffey – looking every inch a man returning to Tests after nearly five years – had been tight, nothing more. Nothing moved off the pitch and the bounce was true and good. Not that it made much of a difference to the openers, as roused as two turtles on Valium.Carefully, reluctantly, they battled through, the odd boundary signaling growing comfort, but they never broke away decisively. A nervy equilibrium had been reached by the time they put on a second fifty stand in six Tests as a combination; they have a century partnership as well, which in Pakistan’s context makes them Haynes-Greenidge-esque. It had taken time – the first hour produced 32 runs and the 50 came up just before the second drinks break in the 24th over – but the situation was quite dory, if not entirely hunky.It was only after that break, however, that New Zealand finally got with it. Martin, Tuffey and right-arm blogger Iain O’Brien may not match Shane Bond for impact, but they are persevering, under-rated men. Having bowled either the wrong line or length initially, they returned to more basic plans. Tuffey went short, and O’Brien reaped the benefit, Butt pulling loosely straight up to the skies. Fear – and Vettori – now took hold, as the captain lodged himself at one end, and let the pacemen relish the right lengths at the other.In one over came two realisations; Farhat remembered first that he is not perhaps, after all, an international batsman of any quality, lazily cutting to slip. And then, that Vettori’s arm ball is deadly, as he trapped Mohammad Yousuf. As is the way, the ball suddenly began to swing and cut a little, though perhaps that was because both O’Brien and Tuffey hit proper lengths.In a move that confirmed many sad things about Pakistan, bluntest among them that none of their senior batsmen had the guts to front up at that spot, Umar Akmal was thrown in at one-down. Reports from New Zealand yesterday suggested that all senior batsmen had refused to move there, so Umar, presumably, was offered for sacrifice. He was a changed man and O’Brien was just about to have him for brunch, leaving him rooted with movement and surprising him too often with bounce, before tea rudely intervened.Umar sped along after tea, like some crazy, brave firefly glowing madly but always in danger of going out. Just when he seemed to be settling, however, Tuffey undid him with a peach that hit off. As the bowlers continued to probe, fear was replaced by stupidity, as two men supposedly more experienced holed out to shots that should condemn at least one of them. Faisal Iqbal will wonder which God he ever upset if Pakistan continues to think Shoaib Malik worthy of more Test opportunities than him; Malik’s slap to mid-off should, ideally, put an end to that farce.Just before bad light intervened, there was enough time for Misbah to prove again that all the world’s MBAs and domestic experience cannot iron out his tendency to getting out at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way. Vettori would have been smiling anyway at the way the day turned, but Misbah’s ugly sweep would have left him laughing.