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Scorecard
Captain Floyd Reifer scored a half-century and wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton smashed his second successive fifty, as the West Indians easily beat North West in Potchefstroom. Playing their second warm-up match ahead of the Champions Trophy, the West Indians scored 345, their second 300-plus total in three days.In response, North West could only reach 242 for 9 with fast bowler Darren Sammy snaring 3 for 33, and Royston Crandon and Gavin Tonge picking up two wickets apiece.After they were asked to bat, the West Indians were led by Reifer who top-scored with 79 from 76 balls while Walton cracked 69 from 56, following up from a similar score in the opening game against Cape Cobras on Saturday.The West Indians though, were in early trouble when they lost opener Kieran Powell for a duck but his partner Andre Fletcher and Travis Dowlin compiled contrasting fifties to prop them up with a 97-run second-wicket stand. While the attacking Fletcher hammered a near-run-a-ball 52 comprising seven fours and two sixes, Dowlin was cautious during his 73-ball 57, which included seven fours.Having lost three wickets to slide to 140 for 4, Reifer and Walton then revived the innings, with a fifth-wicket stand of 131 from 99 balls. Reifer smashed six fours and four sixes while Walton carved four boundaries and three sixes. Vice-captain Sammy bolstered the lower order with 44, hitting five sixes and a four, and the West Indians ended their innings with momentum. Vusumuzi Mazibuko provided the only consolation for North West with a clinical five-for.North West got off to a good start with Andrea Agathageloy (29) and Jimmy Kgamadi (44) adding 70 for the first wicket but a clatter of wickets left them on 150 for 5 – a position from which they never recovered. Only Christiaan Jonker, who managed a fighting 51, and Brett Pelser (43) showed any resistance as the trio of Sammy, Crandon and Tonge tore through the North West’s innings.The West Indians have two more warm-up matches – against South Africa on Friday at Senwes Park, and Sri Lanka, two days later, at the LC de Villiers Oval in Pretoria – before they open their Champions Trophy campaign against Pakistan on September 23.

Mulewa Dharmichand starred with bat and ball as hosts Singapore recorded their second win in Division Six of the ICC World Cricket League, beating Botswana by 55 runs at the Indian Association Ground. Dharmichand made 39 at the top of the order before Narender Reddy (40) and Anish Param (47) helped steady a shaky middle-order. But it was Saad Janjua’s entertainingly free-spirited 51 which gave Singapore the momentum they needed, an innings which included five fours and two sixes. Set 246 to win Botswana began nicely with Faisal Rana (53) and Shah Zaib Khan putting on 77 for the opening wicket but there was little fight from the middle and lower order, as Dharmichand (3 for 49) and Reddy (3 for 25) stifled their run-chase.Singapore captain Chetan Suryawanshi said he was looking forward to the next game against Bahrain. “It’s going to be a good match because we’ve both won two games but we have previously played them in an Asian Cricket Council event and both times we beat them convincingly so I’m confident.”His counterpart Omar Ali reflected on the positives after the defeat. “Those positives include the fact that the top order did particularly well today and our bowlers managed to make some good breakthroughs,” Omar said. “I feel with tomorrow’s game against Malaysia, we can definitely put up a fight against them. It’s obviously going to be tough, especially since they have come off such a commanding victory over Norway, but I’m not going to let that daunt any of my team.”Bahrain outplayed Guernsey with Adil Hanif cracking 92, to win by 62 runs at the Kallang Ground. Guernsey began strongly, however, when Blane Queripel’s two quick wickets left Bahrain limping on 39 for 3. But Hanif soon took command with 92 from 123, while their innings was given a major late boost by Azeem ul Haq’s thrilling and unbeaten 72 from 71 balls. Guernsey set off in pursuit of a tricky 252 but their top-order, like Bahrain’s, struggled to be reduced to 98 for 4. Unlike Bahrain, however, they couldn’t mount a strong enough counterattack despite 56 from Jeremy Frith and 36 from Ben Ferbrache, and they fell 62 runs short. Fahad Sadeq was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 47.It was Guernsey’s third defeat to Bahrain in the last four months, and the coach Andy Cornford obviously wasn’t pleased. “Bahrain are very positive when they bat,” he said. “They bat well and they bat deep which is something we just weren’t able to combat today. It’s something we spoke about before the match but not a plan that came off when we were out there.”We’re in a bit of dogfight now to stay in Division 6 and tomorrow’s game against Norway is going to be crucial for us, so we’ve got to go in there with a good attitude despite the loss today.”Over at The Padang, Malaysia completely outplayed Norway, beating them by nine wickets with more than 18 overs to spare. Norway could only manage 188 in their innings, Adeel Ibrar top-scoring with 66 from 100 balls, while Shahid Ahmed made 41. Malaysia lost Shafiq Sharif† early for 8 before Rakesh Madhavan (95*) and Ahmed Faiz put on an unbroken second-wicket stand of 167 to seal the match in emphatic style.Malaysia captain Suhan Alagaratnam was happy with the way his players carried themselves in the field. “I’m really happy with the way my team came through today and the boys really played well,” Alagaratnam said. “I think we just played more freely today and enjoyed ourselves out in the field. We showed everyone that we can bounce back from defeat by winning by nine wickets and I hope we carry this momentum through to the next matches.”

Andrew Flintoff appears ever more likely to miss out on selection for tomorrow’s fourth Test at Headingley, after struggling visibly during a 40-minute nets session on the eve of the match. Flintoff received two injections in his damaged right knee ahead of the Edgbaston Test last week, and so cannot undergo any more this week on medical advice. He bowled with a heavy knee brace, but was unable to hit the crease with any of his customary pace and power, before returning to the dressing room at 11.10am.The session was the first time that Flintoff had bowled since his lacklustre display on the final day at Edgbaston, in which he bowled just 11 overs, and none at all in the final session. England have insisted they will take the emotion out of the decision over whether Flintoff plays in what could be the Ashes-deciding Test, but on the available evidence his knee is some way short of the requisite fitness to last for five days.When asked if Flintoff was in a better situation fitness-wise than he had been in the lead-up to Edgbaston, England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, was non-committal. “He did a fair amount of bowling today, but with such things it’s not about the pain he experienced while he’s bowling, but the swelling there is afterwards, and how sore it is,” he said. “At this stage it’s hard to know, because I haven’t had a chance to speak to him fully.”He got the ball through but he didn’t look like he was 100%,” Strauss conceded. “Sometimes a bowler doesn’t want to hit 100% in the day before a game, and so it was more about how he was feeling with his knee, but until I’ve spoken to him at length, it’s hard to say. I’m still optimistic he will be fine to play, but we won’t know until later on this evening.”The hosts have a 14-man squad and a 1-0 lead, and are adamant that they will delay their decision as long as necessary, even if that leads to uncertainty among the players on the fringes of selection. “In situations like this you tell people to prepare to play, and if they don’t, then at least they’ve prepared,” said Strauss. “It’s not an ideal situation, but that is the situation we’re in. If he’s fit enough to play a full part we desperately want him to play. If he’s not then it’s wrong of us to pick him.”Either way, Strauss said Flintoff would not be permitted the final say in his own selection. “It will be my decision ultimately,” he said. “You’ve got to take the player’s point of view on board and listen to that very carefully, because he knows his body better than anyone. You’ve got to take the medical opinion on board as well, because they’ve got an idea of what might happen if he plays. But ultimately it’s a decision for myself and the coach. We won’t know that until later today until we see how he reacts to what he did today in the nets.””We’re going to have to [take the emotion out],” Strauss said. “It’s the fourth Test of an Ashes series, we’re close to the finish line and although we’re all desperate for him to play, we need to be realistic enough to realise that if he’s not fit then he shouldn’t play.”When you’re captain, you’re motivated by what’s good for the team, and obviously if him playing has a detrimental effect on the team, then it’s wrong to make that decision on sentimental grounds. Fred would appreciate that. The last thing he wants to happen is to play and not be able to fulfil a role in the game. That’s a pretty bad situation to be in as an individual. I’m sure he’ll be honest with us, and sentimentality is pushed to the back of all our minds really.”Flintoff was England’s main man on the final day at Lord’s when he took five wickets to guide them to victory, but his discomfort seemed to increase as the third Test wore on. He scored a muscular 74 in the side’s only innings at Edgbaston and did not make a breakthrough in 30 overs.England’s inflated outfit includes the batsman Jonathan Trott and bowlers Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Harmison, whose chances of playing improve considerably if Flintoff is ruled out, a fact that he seemed to recognise as he tore in with venom at Ravi Bopara in the nets, in full view of his captain. “We’ve covered all bases with the squad we’ve picked,” Strauss said. “We will have to wait to see how Fred is. In a way there are potentially hard decisions to make.””Harmison is a genuine option to play in this Test match,” said Strauss. “It’s fantastic to have a squad where you’ve got guys of that quality waiting to get in. Ryan Sidebottom bowled magnificently today as well. There’s been a lot of cases in the past where we’ve been struggling to get three decent seamers on the park, and suddenly we’ve got five or six of them queueing up to play. That’s a pretty good situation rather than a bad one.”By early next week Strauss could be an Ashes-winning captain and he told his players they would have to deal with the extra demands at Headingley. They will not be employing a cautious approach even though the pitch at The Oval, the venue for the final match, is likely to favour another stalemate.”Coming here expecting there to be a draw, or hoping to be a draw, is the wrong way to go,” he said. “It’s not the way we’re looking to approach it, we’re looking to win the game and in doing so win the Ashes. It’s a massive Test and, as always is the case in an Ashes series, the closer you get to the finish, it becomes more dramatic and the pressure and expectation rise a level.”

Tamim Iqbal’s maiden Test century helped Bangladesh wrest control of the opening Test in St Vincent, and the opener was confident of success, given his team’s sizable lead and strength with spin on a turning pitch. By stumps Bangladesh had built a strong lead of 252, and with five wickets remaining they stand a chance of setting West Indies a formidable target on the final day. Tamim believed the left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan would be the main threat for West Indies in their chase. “We are going very well, around 300 will be the target,” Tamim said at the end of the day’s play. “Shakib is one of the best spinners in the world, he is No.1 now and it will be hard for them [West Indies] to handle him on the last day.”Coming into this Test, Tamim had a modest average of 22.83 and he set about making things up with a determined innings, riding his luck – he was dropped twice – to score 128, his first century in 18 innings. He added 146 with Junaid Siddique for the second wicket, and cut loose in the final session, carting David Bernard for 17 in an over, before mistiming a pull to mid-on. While acknowledging that the century was a dream come true, Tamim credited his performance to the guidance of Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach. “Our head coach, Jamie Siddons, has always said the more you leave (the ball) that means you’ll get a big score,” he said. “It’s not about the shots, the good balls you leave, that will give you a big score.” Tamim also conceded that batsmen had it easy on the St Vincent pitch. “It’s very flat, if you don’t want to get out, no one will get you out,” he said. “I was going good but I played a bad shot to get out.”Bangladesh were in control for the most part of the fourth day but experienced a middle-order wobble as they lost Siddique, the struggling Mohammad Ashraful and Raqibul Hasan in a space of nine runs. However, wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib steadied the innings with an unbeaten 54-run stand, rotating the strike well, to stretch Bangladesh’s lead.

Kumar Sangakkara’s tenure as Sri Lanka captain is just seven Twenty20 matches old, but has already contained a lifetime’s worth of heartache and drama.Since arriving in England three weeks ago, Sangakkara has taken it upon himself to serve as the team’s unofficial Lahore spokesperson, sparing team-mates the angst-ridden task of regaling the media with recollections of the March terror attack, all the while risking reopening his own barely-healed emotional wounds. It has been a job that required the tact of a politician, the valour of a general, the sensitivity of a counsellor and the patience of a saint. On all counts, Sangakkara passed with distinction.Sunday’s World Twenty20 final presented him with another stage to display leadership qualities and carry team-mates. Summoned to the crease with Sri Lanka in freefall at 2 for 2 in the second over, Sangakkara was called upon to save the innings and bring smiles to a nation still recovering from the ravages of civil war. This was not so much pressure, as batting with the bends.A difficult task proved even more so after Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene fell to Abdul Razzaq inside six overs, and the tournament’s best one-two punch, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, accounted for Chamara Silva and Isuru Udana with the Sri Lankan total at a modest 70. A dispiritingly one-sided contest loomed. Only inspired intervention would do.Sangakkara has produced more dominant and aesthetically pleasing innings, but perhaps few so completely in-sync with the biorhythms of a match and the needs of a team. A pair of early boundaries off the excedingly impressive Mohammad Aamer served as a warning to Pakistan that he would not be dictated to, and his attritional attitude over the ensuing eight overs – scoring steadily, but without crossing the ropes – screamed defiance and obstinance.The storm weathered, Sangakkara resumed his assault square of the wicket. His half-century was raised (from 44 deliveries) with a crisp clip passed the mid-wicket boundary and, fortified by the redoubtable presence of Angelo Mathews (35 not out from 24 balls) at the other end, Sangakkara accelerated through the death overs.By the innings’ conclusion, Sangakkara stood unbeaten on 64 and satisfied in the knowledge he had steered his side from the potential ignominy of a double-digit total to a competitive 138. It was, given the capitulation of the top order, an innings destined to be more William Wallace than Alexander the Great, but one that spoke volumes for his powers of resolve and leadership.”We tried our best with the total we had, but if you don’t get wickets in the first six overs it’s always an uphill task,” he said after the match. “We’ve had a great tournament. I’m very proud with the way the team has responded, the way they’ve played and the attitude they’ve shown. There are a lot of things to take from here but it’s heartbreaking when you lose a final.”After the winning runs ricocheted off Afridi’s pads, Sangakkara summoned his players to the centre and embraced them all. Few outside the Sri Lankan dressing room can appreciate the emotion, resilience and spells of trepidation experienced by the team throughout this first international assignment post-Lahore, and Sangakkara’s paternal pride was evident for all to see.Ever the patriot, Sangakkara swelled the chests of a war-weary nation when, as part of the internationally telecast presentation ceremony, he thanked the Sri Lankan people in a speech delivered in Sinhalese. To hundreds of millions around the world, the oration was indecipherable. To 20 million Sri Lankans, it was inspirational – a private message delivered on cricket’s grandest stage for their ears only.And, so, Sangakkara – warrior, statesman – left the stage to be received by a galvanised team, an appreciative nation and a reverent cricketing world. Leaders might spend entire careers in pursuit of such universal appeal, and yet Sangakkara has managed it just three weeks as Sri Lankan captain. His team, one feels, are in good hands.”I think we’ve done brilliantly,” Sangakkara said. “Even if Lahore had never happened I think this is a brilliant achievement. Lahore was the furthest thing from our mind coming here preparing for the game today and playing in the final. The team has done a really great job mentally getting over all of those things.”I just wanted them to make sure they understood what a great effort they’d put in during this tournament, what a great achievement it is to get into a World Cup final and to learn from the disappointment that we’ve faced in 2007 and now, being bridesmaids twice. You’ve got to be proud, no matter how disappointed, but proud of what they achieved.”We felt love as a touring side, and back home I know everyone was on edge once we got into the final. Sri Lankans love their cricket and they love the fact we’ve come so far. Thank you for your support and we hope we have made you proud.”

New Zealand Cricket is looking for a new domestic sponsor after State Insurance opted to end their decade-long backing.The company supported all aspects of the domestic game including the inter-provincial four-day, one-day, Twenty20, the women’s one-day competitions, and also team naming rights. A company spokesman said the deal had “reached the end of its natural life”.Board chief executive Justin Vaughan remained upbeat. “This is a rare opportunity for new commercial partners to invest in a sport that sees hundreds of thousands of Kiwis participating and watching every summer.”

Kevin O’Brien, the Ireland allrounder, has pinpointed the league game against Bangladesh as the one crucial to his side’s chances of progressing in the World Twenty20.The other side in Ireland’s group is one of the tournament favourites, India, and two of the three teams move on to the Super Eights. “Bangladesh is the first group game for us and if we can get a good result, then I think we will go through,” he told the . “That’s unless India have an off day against ourselves or Bangladesh, which I can’t really see happening to be honest.”Ireland confirmed their standing as the leading Associate nation in the world by winning the ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa last month, but have had a rough time during the warm-up games for the World Twenty20. They have lost all three of their games so far, and have two more left before the tournament kicks off on June 5.The event also provides the Ireland side the rare opportunity to play in packed stadiums, something O’Brien is looking forward to. “Bangladesh and India … bring such great crowds and such a noise, we have to just live for those two games because you might never play in front of 28,000 again,” he said. “It’s going to be good – I can’t actually wait.”Ireland’s key match against Bangladesh is on June 8 at Trent Bridge, where they take on India two days later.

Afghanistan, the newest member of the ODI community, could look towards India as a “temporary base” to play matches because of the lack of facilities in their country and the unfavourable security situation in neighbouring Pakistan, team manager Sayed Aminzai has said.Afghanistan achieved ODI status, and with it funding from the ICC, by finishing among the top six in the Super-Eight stage of the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa. However, the option of staging matches at home is limited because of the lack of an international-standard pitch.”As much as we would like to play in South Africa, it is too far from home and I believe Afghanistan officials will seriously consider India as a temporary base,” Aminzai said. “Given a choice of opponents, I would want Afghanistan to play Pakistan owing to all the help they gave us in developing as a cricket nation and Australia because they are the world champions.”Achieving ODI status at the WCQ is the culmination of a journey that began with the World Cricket League Division Five in Jersey and involved tournaments in Tanzania and Argentina. Aminzai singled out captain Nowroz Mangal, opener Karim Khan and medium-pace bowler Hamid Hassan for their contributions to the team’s success.”Nowroz was a truly inspirational leader throughout our amazing journey, Karim scored the runs that mattered in so many games and Hamid took countless crucial wickets. We have learnt so much during the Qualifier. Mine is a happy team. We have come to so far so quickly that no one knows where we could end up.”Afghanistan will play Scotland in Benoni on Sunday, a match which will decide who finishes fifth in the Super Eight.

Phillip Hughes will use some downtime after his heroics in South Africa to freshen up for his first Ashes experience. Hughes, who scored 415 runs at 69.16 in his opening three Tests, was not picked in the limited-overs squads and arrived back in Sydney on Wednesday.Hughes, 20, has a six-week contract with the English county Middlesex that he will use to prepare for Australia’s defence of the Ashes. “I’m not disappointed about the one-day side, I wasn’t thinking about it to tell you the truth,” Hughes told the Daily Telegraph.”I just wanted to get home and get fresh before heading back to England to prepare for the Ashes. I’d love to play one-day cricket one day for Australia, but I’m only 20 and I’ve got time on my side.”Hughes said his time in South Africa was “an experience I’ll never forget” and he was pleased to have come through his exchanges with the home fast bowlers. “I remember watching the likes of Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini on television and thinking what a great attack they were,” he said.”But I spoke with Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Simon Katich about how they’d try and come at me so we sat down and had a few plans. I’ve gained a lot of confidence from that, and now I’ll worry about Middlesex and then the Ashes.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Umar Gul produced a sparkling spell of reverse swing and Pakistan’s aggressive openers got off to a flying start but the pressure was still on the home side after Sri Lanka reached 606 in their first innings at Lahore. Thilan Samaraweera hit his second double hundred of the series and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit his first century before Salman Butt was run out just before close to ensure Sri Lanka retained their firm grip on the game.If Sri Lanka thought they could sit back after their mammoth total, though, they were in for a shock. Pakistan started like an express train as Khurram Manzoor and Butt shredded the bowling. The bad deliveries were put away and the pair also created run-scoring opportunities against perfectly acceptable deliveries. With both Thilan Thushara and Dilhara Fernando bowling short of a length, Butt repeatedly cut while Manzoor punched through the off side.Manzoor has already patented a shot of his own in his brief international career. Against deliveries a tad short of length, he hops to get on top of the bounce and clouts the ball through covers. Mahela Jayawardene was forced to bring on Ajantha Mendis as early as the sixth over. Manzoor struggled against spin in the first Test but handled Mendis and Muralitharan without much trouble today. The openers had raised 110 when Jayawardene fired in a direct hit to catch Butt short of the crease.Another run-out proved to be the turning point of the day for Pakistan in the field after runs flowed during the first session. Samaraweera ran himself out after a terrible mix-up with Dilshan. After dabbing the ball to point, he hared down the track before hesitating and turning back but couldn’t make his ground in time. Unexpectedly refreshed, Pakistan attacked with Gul, who troubled the batsmen with reverse swing.Gul has become Pakistan’s strike bowler almost by default after Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif took different routes to self-destruction. Lesser men would have crumbled under the pressure but Gul has thrived. Thankfully, for Pakistan, he has remained aware of his game and not tried to extend himself after becoming the leading bowler. He has retained most of the discipline and consistency that made him a good third seamer earlier in his career. He still struggles on occasions, though. Even today, he started with a series of short-pitched deliveries against Dilshan which were pulled to the boundary. Even then, you could understand the plan; Dilshan is a happy hooker – he was out pulling in Karachi as well – but his shot selection was precise today. Eventually, Gul realised the futility of that approach and started to harass the batsmen with reverse swing. This was when he really thrived.

Unlike in the first Test, where he found reverse but mostly slanted it in, Gul moved the ball both ways. After troubling Prasanna Jayawardene with inswinging yorkers, he induced an edge by getting the ball to hold its line outside off. A similar trick almost accounted for Dilshan but Misbah-ul-Haq dropped a sitter at first slip. Gul continued to work his magic, hitting Thilan Thushara on the helmet with a sharp bouncer before bowling him with a full delivery. He claimed his sixth wicket to dismiss Mendis for a first-ball duck with an inswinging yorker. However, Gul got little support from the other bowlers.For the first time in the series, even the metronomic Yasir Arafat altered his lengths frequently and was punished. It was perhaps the pre-game plan of bowling bouncers to Dilshan that made him lose his radar. The errors Pakistan were hoping for never came and so they reverted to a fuller length, which resulted in Dilshan unfurling several drives. Danish Kaneria continued to frustrate with his frequent four-balls while Mohammad Talha was unable to raise his game to international level.Until Gul found inspiration in the second session after the Samaraweera run-out, Sri Lanka cruised along. Samaraweera and Dilshan forced Younis Khan into making bowling changes and alterations to his field. Pakistan conceded 45 runs off the first seven overs of the day and they were always playing catch up after that.With Dilshan finding the boundaries with his pulls and drives, Samaraweera continued to accumulate steadily. He started the day with a flick through midwicket off Arafat before pulling and cutting Talha without ever looking hurried. However, it was against Kaneria that he produced his shot of the day, moving down the track to play a skilful inside-out off drive with the turn. He ended the morning session with two on-driven boundaries off Kaneria and reached the double hundred in the fourth over after lunch. It looked as if the pair would bat Pakistan out of the game but the hosts fought back through Gul and their openers to stay in the contest.