ScorecardIt rained wickets in Savar as Bangladesh Under-19s scraped through to seal a three-wicket win in a low-scoring encounter against Nepal Under-19s. The victory was fashioned by all-round performances by Rubel Hossain and Suhrawadi Shuvo, who shared six wickets between them and later combined to guide Bangladesh home with a crucial 21-run stand.The match was reduced to 39-overs overs a side and Nepal’s captain, Paras Khadka, chose to give his batsmen the first use of the pitch. Rubel, the medium pacer, got the early breakthroughs before Nepal endured a middle-order collapse. Shuvo, the left-arm spinner and legspinner Mohammad Shakil took charge in a period where the opposition lost five wickets for the addition of only 11 runs. Shuvo bowled a particularly miserly spell, conceding just nine runs in eight overs while Shakil ended with 2 for 14 off eight overs. Puspa Thapa, who top scored with 25, was Rubel’s third victim and the innings ended soon after with the score on 109.Bangladesh’s top order crumbled with half their side back in the pavilion with the score on 37. A fifty-run stand between Mahmudul Hossain and wicketkeeper Mithun Ali put Bangladesh on course to victory before a double-strike by left-arm spinner Rahul Kumar pegged them back further. Rubel and Shuvo batted out six overs to ensure a 2-0 series win, after the second match was washed out.

Worcestershire have signed Steve Magoffin, the Western Australia quick bowler, as their overseas player for the first-half of the 2008 season.He was recommended by Tom Moody, the former Worcestershire coach, who is now in charge at Western Australia and has so far taken 29 wickets at 23 in the Pura Cup this season.”Steve is a tall and lively ‘hit the deck’ bowler who has excellent control,” said Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket. “This will make him a tough opponent to face on the early season English wickets. He is highly recommended by Tom Moody and we are delighted to give him an opportunity to make a name for himself in England.”Magoffin said: “I am delighted to be joining Worcestershire at the start of the season. Tom Moody, speaks very highly of the club, the squad and the set up at New Road and I can’t wait to join up with Steve Rhodes, Vikram Solanki and the rest of the team.”I am very eager to pull on the shirt for Worcestershire and get the ball in my hand for the season opener against Warwickshire”.Magoffin will join the club in April and will stay until June 9, when West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards arrives for the second-half of the season.

A Pakistan-Australia series in the lead-up to next year’s Ashes is looming as a possibility as the two countries juggle their calendars in an attempt to reschedule the cancelled three-Test tour. Creagh O’Connor, Cricket Australia’s chairman, has invited his PCB counterpart Nasim Ashraf to Australia to discuss possible dates.April or May of 2009 might give Australia a chance of visiting Pakistan, but it would be straight after a tour of South Africa and right before their Ashes visit to England. However, Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB’s chief operating officer, said it was potentially the most suitable time.”We believe that would the best time for Australia to honour its commitment to tour,” he told the . “We have been saying again and again we don’t want to play in a neutral venue and our position has not changed. We hope that with a new democratic set-up in the country things will improve, the bombings cannot go on forever.”Australia were to visit Pakistan this month but fears over safety and security of the players led to a decision to postpone the tour. The last year was a turbulent one for Pakistan, with militant violence affecting several areas of the country. In November, a state of emergency was imposed and in December former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while campaigning for elections.This year has already seen several suicide attacks in Lahore and the NWFP. Though South Africa stayed in the country to complete their tour last October and Zimbabwe visited in January, Australia’s tour was put in doubt after players voiced their concerns. Australia haven’t toured Pakistan since 1998.”Dr Ashraf and I have taken the opportunity to catch up during the current ICC board meeting in Dubai and we have had a preliminary look at dates which might be suitable to reschedule the matches,” O’Connor said. “I have assured the PCB that Australia is committed to finding new dates, and we are committed to the ICC principle that cricket will only develop as a genuine global sport if all nations play each other away and at home on a regular basis.”It is clear from our initial discussion here in Dubai that we need to sit down and go through the technical issues on finding new dates with a fine tooth comb. To that end, I have suggested we meet in Melbourne as soon as possible and we will organise dates once the current ICC meetings are finalised.”

On paper it looks like a done deal. New South Wales should win the 2007-08 Pura Cup and they ought to do it comfortably. The Blues are hosting the final at the SCG, they need only a draw to secure the title, and seven members of their starting line-up have Test experience. Victoria have one man with a baggy green in his cupboard, although it’s only been worn five times and has not been dusted off in more than two years.But the script is not always followed in cricket, as Australia know after their unexpected defeat in the CB Series. The presence of the current and former internationals Brett Lee, Michael Clarke, Stuart Clark, Stuart MacGill, Nathan Bracken, Phil Jaques, Simon Katich and Brad Haddin only increases the expectation on New South Wales, and according to the Victoria batsman David Hussey, that plays into the visitors’ hands.”It’s looking very positive for the New South Wales team, full of stars,” Hussey said. “But I think it’s a good thing. All the pressure is basically on them. The whole of the Victorian squad, if we can prepare well, can sort of glide into Sydney like a shark. We’re such a tight-knit group I know we’ll all be playing for each other.”It’s as close to a Test match as you can possibly get. Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken – they’re all Test quality so for myself as a batsman I’m really looking forward to that challenge. We really can’t wait to take on their team because it really is going to be like a Test match experience.”It has been almost impossible to split the two sides all season, so much so that a first-innings tie in their previous match secured both their places in the decider with two rounds remaining. The sudden influx of international experience tilts things in the Blues’ favour, with Brad Hodge the only Victorian who has played Test cricket.The availability of the stars is a stroke of scheduling luck for New South Wales. Not since 1991-92 has the state final been blessed with the presence of so many current Australia players, and on that occasion the benefits were shared between New South Wales and Western Australia. Only in 1995-96 could the national representatives of the day appear in the decider but neither of the finalists, South Australia or Western Australia, had any internationals to call on.To make room for the returning men the Blues have been forced to squeeze out several men who have been integral in helping them get so close to the triumph: Matthew Nicholson, Peter Forrest and probably Grant Lambert and Mark Cameron, who are in the 13-man squad. Bracken has played five Pura Cup games this summer but has been in ODI mode for two months, and he said it was an awkward but inevitable situation.

“It’s never nice to walk in and basically take somebody’s spot but you’ve got to realise that a lot of the guys [coming back] were in the same boat,” Bracken said. “I know Stuart Clark was in the same position when he started, he’d be out depending on the Australian players.”We are used to being put in crunch situations where you basically do have to walk into something, sometimes a little bit cold and get ready to play. With Australian commitments you can go overseas and play over there when you haven’t done anything for what could be two or three months.”It means a very different looking New South Wales side to the one that lost last year’s final to Tasmania – only four men from that team are likely to be used in this decider. One of those players is Katich, the captain, who is the competition’s leading scorer with 1328 runs at 94.85 and needs a further 137 to break the all-time record.”I couldn’t have asked for anything better, except for perhaps a better showing from us in the one-dayers,” Katich said of his personal success and his team’s impressive 2007-08. “If we can win one of the three titles we can walk away pretty content with where we’re at.”For Victoria, one out of three is not enough. They already have the Twenty20 prize and lost the FR Cup to Tasmania, and they are desperate to secure the last Pura Cup before the competition changes names – the milk company is ending its sponsorship after this game. “It’s a great achievement for the whole of the Victorian Bushrangers squad of reaching three finals but there’s no point being in the finals unless you’re going to win it,” Hussey said. “Last year we played in two finals so we’re definitely improving.”The odds might be stacked against Victoria but they have reasons to be optimistic. Hussey is second only to Katich on the run tally, Hodge has had another strong season and Cameron White has found batting form at the right time. Peter Siddle’s bowling has improved immensely, Bryce McGain is one of the country’s top two spinners and Andrew McDonald’s all-round efforts have again been important. Win or lose, the Bushrangers can at least hope that by this time next year they, like their esteemed opponents, will have more than one Test player on their books.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Phillip Hughes, Simon Katich (capt), Michael Clarke, Dominic Thornely, Brad Haddin (wk), Grant Lambert, Beau Casson, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Stuart MacGill, Mark Cameron.Victoria squad Nick Jewell, Rob Quiney, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Peter Siddle, Clint McKay, Bryce McGain, Dirk Nannes.

Match facts

Monday, April 21, 2008
Start time 20:00 local time (14:30 GMT)

The Big Picture

Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals are both looking to open their account in the IPL after coming up second-best in Saturday’s matches. Punjab were undone at home by the brilliance of Michael Hussey but their abundance of riches means they are overwhelming favourites to win in Jaipur. Rajasthan, on the other hand, are enduring a frustrating wait for five of their foreign recruits. To add to their problems their less established players are not showing the mettle required to survive in this cut-throat competition, as was evident during their nine-wicket thrashing by the Delhi Daredevils.With this being the first IPL match on a weekday, after Friday night’s opener, the size of the crowd will perhaps indicate whether the tournament has truly captured the imagination.

Watch out for …

… Punjab taking the early running, regardless of the outcome of the toss. If they bat first , they have the versatile James Hopes to give their innings a lift-off. With Kumar Sangakkara slated to walk in at No. 3, and captain Yuvraj Singh to follow, Rajasthan’s boundary riders are in for some hard work. Punjab’s opening bowlers, Brett Lee and Sreesanth, did not pose too many problems for the Chennai Super Kings, but they will be an entirely different proposition for Rajasthan. With Hopes and Irfan Pathan to follow-up, the going might just get tougher. An intriguing sub-plot to the contest will be a potential face-off between Irfan and his half-brother Yusuf, an aggressive presence in Rajasthan’s top order.Meanwhile, Rajasthan will be eager to prove the critics wrong. They will be looking to Shane Watson and Darren Lehmann, and to Ravindra Jadeja and Dinesh Salunke, both of whom gave a good account of themselves in Delhi, to bring out the big hits. Mohammad Kaif may be a livewire in the field, but he needs to come good with the bat to have a real impact on the contest. Not many players will be queueing up to take the place of seamers Munaf Patel and Siddharth Trivedi, both of whom face a huge test with the ball.

Team news

Punjab’s line-up looks pretty settled and the only question of interest will be whether Mahela Jayawardene gets a game. With each team having a cap on four foreign players, the axe could fall on Simon Katich. Ramesh Powar may replace seamer Wilkin Mota if there is something in the pitch for the spinners, and Pankaj Dharmani can consider himself unfortunate if he misses out as he is yet to bat.Punjab (probable) 1 Karan Goel 2 James Hopes 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk) 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt) 5 Mahela Jayawardene/Simon Katich 6 Irfan Pathan 7 Pankaj Dharmani 8 Brettt Lee 9 Piyush Chawla 10 Wilkin Mota/Ramesh Powar 11 Sreesanth.Rajasthan, more due to circumstance than choice, will be forced to retain most of the team that played in Delhi. Graeme Smith may not be back from South Africa in time for the encounter, while Dimitri Mascarenhas, the England allrounder, will only be with the team for two weeks starting as late as May 12. The Pakistan trio – Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, and Sohail Tanvir, will fly to India on the day of the match after completing their Twenty20 international against Bangladesh on Sunday, and it is highly unlikely that any of them will play.The home side struggled to get a move on at the beginning of their innings in the first match, and may draft in Niraj Patel, who averages 50 at a strike-rate of 132.74 from eight domestic Twenty20s, in place of Taruwar Kohli. Jaydev Shah possesses an equally impressive strike-rate of 159.25 in four matches, and he also may get a look-in.Rajasthan (probable) 1 Niraj Patel 2 Yusuf Pathan 3 Shane Watson 4 Mohammad Kaif 5 Darren Lehmann 6 Ravindra Jadeja 7 Mahesh Rawat (wk) 8 Dinesh Salunkhe 9 Shane Warne (capt) 10 Siddharth Trivedi 11 Munaf Patel.

Stats and trivia

Another week, another round of rain-ruined Championship matches, but there was one result in a match featuring one or more Australians, Jason Gillespie playing a useful part in Glamorgan’s first victory this season.Gillespie scooped 3 for 39 from 18 overs to knock Gloucestershire over for 200 and complete the 114-run win at Bristol, all three victims trapped leg-before. He dismissed the opener Craig Spearman for 7, then returned to collect crucial lower-order wickets to earn victory. His fellow Australian Marcus North made a duck, claimed by Alex Wharf.Gillespie’s 16 not out had pushed his side towards 277 all out in the first innings, then he took 1 for 21 from ten overs in the first innings – his wicket North, for 37 – before Gloucestershire declared. Glamorgan also declared their second innings on 178, leaving an unlikely chase of 315.Steve Magoffin claimed useful wickets again in a hopeless cause as rain affected yet another Worcestershire outing, this time against Northamptonshire in Northampton. Magoffin took 4 for 49 in the first innings, 3 for 93 in the second, to continue to prove his worth as Doug Bollinger’s replacement.Murray Goodwin was the stand-out performer in the first division, although his 98 was part of an inevitable draw for Sussex with Surrey after a first-day washout in Hove. A graceful Goodwin sliced up a feast of wayward offerings with some choice cuts, before his dreams of a 54th first-class hundred were dashed by a feather off Matthew Nicholson, the Australian fast bowler’s only wicket of the innings.Adam Voges’ failure on 6, caught behind off Morne Morkel, was of little consequence as Nottinghamshire drew with Yorkshire in a rainy draw at Headingley.In the one-day league, however, Voges’ unbeaten 42 from 40 balls helped leaders Nottinghamshire ease to their Duckworth-Lewis target of 143, completing the job with two of the 30 overs remaining against Northamptonshire at Trent Bridge in the Midlands Division. Voges continues to make an impact in his first county season. Darren Pattinson, the Victorian fast bowler, picked up 3 for 39 from ten overs in his first one-day match for Nottinghamshire as the visitors struggled to support Stephen Peters, who made 90.Nicholson returned the best figures for Surrey’s attack against Middlesex at Lord’s, grabbing 3 for 37, all from catches. Nicholson found some good swing to remove the useful Eoin Morgan for 16 and then found two edges to remove the topscorer Gareth Berg for 65 and Vernon Philander for 26 to curtail Middlesex’s charge at 233. Surrey hunted down the runs with three overs left, their first win of this South East campaign and Middlesex’s first loss.Sean Ervine was dumped by Western Australia last week, but he had a small part in Hampshire’s Duckworth-Lewis win against Gloucestershire at the Rose Bowl in the South/West division. He bowled the centurion Alex Gidman, returning 1 for 51 from 8 overs and took two catches, including removing North for 85 as Gloucestershire amassed 350. While Ervine could only muster 15 in reply – North getting his revenge with the scalp – his side won by 5 runs, hunting down a whopping 240 just within their 30 available overs. It was their first win of the tournament.Justin Langer’s fall for 7 kiboshed Somerset’s hopes of victory in Taunton, coming up 20 runs short in their chase of an ominous 222 against Glamorgan. Gillespie’s nine overs were wicketless, but they were crucially economical, costing 33 runs. Goodwin also failed, making 5 for Sussex at Hove, as Kent overhauled their 245 with one ball remaining.

Two teams with little in common are meeting at crossroads, one side coming to an end of a successful period, the other beginning a long journey. Contests between South Africa and Bangladesh in any format – save their World Cup meeting in 2007 – have not been much of a contest, but the home team’s improvement will ensure the visitors are anything but complacent.Bangladesh have had few breaks while playing four series and a World Cupin the last 12 months, and these two Twenty20 internationals, three ODIs and two Tests against South Africa will end their 2014-15 and 2015 seasons, which merged into one vast period. They have two months off before hosting Australia in October.South Africa, on the other hand, are touring Bangladesh for their first international assignment since losing the World Cup semi-final to New Zealand in March. Having had three months off, they begin with Bangladesh, before playing New Zealand at home, India away and England at home, before returning to India for the World T20 in March 2016. Between now and February, South Africa play 12 Tests, 16 ODIs and nine T20 internationals.No wonder then that Dale Steyn thought his energy would be better spent elsewhere than in Bangladesh, but since the team arrived in Dhaka last week, his team-mates Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy have given their opponents’ current form due credit. Having had success in the subcontinent previously, South Africa are not the type to go easy on any opponent, and Bangladesh’s victories over Pakistan and India would have hardened that approach.Apart from a host brimming with confidence, South Africa will also have to contend with the heat and humidity of the Bangladesh summer, and Duminy said how well they take care of themselves physically could be critical to success. The T20Is start at 1300 local time.South Africa are missing Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir for the T20Is, and will test an emerging attack comprising Kyle Abbott, David Wiese, Kagiso Rabada, Eddie Leie and Beuran Hendricks, along side Wayne Parnell. Steyn will play only the Tests, while AB de Villiers will play the T20s and ODIs before going on paternity leave.They will be expected to dominate Bangladesh nonetheless, and unless there is an upset, the results are likely to receive a low-key response back in South Africa.In Dhaka and Chittagong, though, interest in cricket – call it madness or frenzy too – is at an all-time high. It has peaked after the 2-1 victory in the ODIs against India, as evidenced by the rush for free seats during South Africa’s warm-up match against a BCB XI in Fatullah. Bangladesh’s fans will do anything to get a glimpse.The captain Mashrafe Mortaza and coach Chandika Hathurusingha have said that South Africa are likely to be tougher than Pakistan and India, not only because of their formidable away record, but also because Bangladesh are coming to the end of a long season.The two Twenty20 internationals are the start of both sides build-ups to the 2016 World T20, and the ODIs that follow are of special importance to Bangladesh. They are all but through to the 2017 Champions Trophy, but one victory against South Africa will cast their qualification in stone.The T20 and ODI series will also be the first under the ICC’s new playing conditions for limited-overs games – no mandatory catchers in the first ten overs of an ODI, no batting Powerplay, five fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle in the last ten overs of an ODI, and free-hits for all kinds of no-balls. Bangladesh have expressed happiness with many of these changes, and it remains to be seen how the teams adjust to them.

With India-Pakistan cricketing ties currently in limbo, former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has asserted that stopping cricket is not the answer to combating terrorism. Imran, who is currently in India attending , a news conclave, said he had raised the issue with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, and was hoping for a positive response.”Stopping cricket is not an answer to terrorism. You don’t boycott a society on the basis of few sick men,” Imran said. “I supported the ban on South Africa once, but that was due to their stance on apartheid and that was a human rights violation. But other than that I believe sport should carry on.”It is a matter of a lifelong relationship. People to people contact is necessary to build ties. Sachin [Tendulkar] is loved in Pakistan as a Wasim [Akram] is loved in India.”On his meeting with Modi, Imran said: “I told Modi that cricket should happen. Modiji smiled at that question and I couldn’t decipher whether it was a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. But I am a positive person and would take that positively.”We are the first generation of partition children, so we had heard a lot of hate stories. And people like us were on each side of the country. But when I toured India as a cricketer, I realised that we are the same people, who listen to the same songs and have the same tastes. There is consensus in Pakistan against terror. So we should look to bridge gaps not create distances.”Former India captain Kapil Dev, who was sharing the stage with Imran, was however more guarded in his stance on India-Pakistan ties.”Players have no problem in playing against each other, but you can’t go against government policy,” he said. “Boards certainly want to play, but Imran, Kapil and Sachin’s views do not matter. It is the government’s decision which finally counts.”

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee has sustained an injury to his left foot during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Nelson on Thursday, a release from New Zealand Cricket said. Matt Henry will replace him in the squad for the fourth ODI on January 2.Southee, who will leave the squad for further evaluation, bowled six overs for 44 runs before hobbling off the field in Nelson. New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said the team management was unsure of the nature of the injury at that point.Henry, incidentally, stood in for Southee when the latter was rested for the first two matches of the five-ODI series. Henry took four-fors in both ODIs in Christchurch, playing a key role in helping New Zealand establish an early lead in the five-match series.”Tim felt pain in his left foot early in the second innings and was forced to come off,” Hesson said. “We’re not sure of the nature of the injury at this point and will need to find out more information over the coming days.”Matt comes back into the squad having performed strongly in the opening two ODIs, so we know he’ll join us in good form.”The Nelson match was Southee’s first ODI since June as the bowler was rested for the limited-overs tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe in August. He suffered from an irritated disc in his back during the first Test against Australia in Brisbane, but subsequently regained his fitness to play the remaining two matches in Perth and Adelaide. With 13 wickets in two matches, Southee had finished as the top wicket-taker in the Test series against Sri Lanka that preceded the ODIs.The last two ODIs of the series will be played on January 2 and January 5 in Nelson and Mount Maunganui, respectively.

India have picked seamer Mohammed Shami for the World T20 and Asia Cup. Shami came back from Australia with a hamstring injury, and has not played for India since the 2015 World Cup. Virat Kohli, who has been rested for the three T20Is against Sri Lanka, also came back duly, replacing Manish Pandey in the 15-man squad. Shami took Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s place.

India T20 squad for World T20 and Asia Cup

MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi.
In: Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami
Out: Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The selection of Shami was a calculated risk. He had not proved his match fitness at the time of the announcement, on February 5. India’s first match in the World T20 is on March 15, against New Zealand. The advantage with Shami is that from now we have 30 days before we start the World T20,” chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said. “Also we have the Asia Cup. So we have good time for making a call on Shami. He has been one of our best bowlers. He has recovered, he has started bowling. That’s what I can say at the moment.”Apart from the XI that beat Australia 3-0 in the T20I series in Australia, India selected Ajinkya Rahane, Shami, Harbhajan Singh and left-arm spinner Pawan Negi. The uncapped Negi is the only left-field selection in the squad. He used to play for Chennai Super Kings, and represents Delhi in domestic cricket. He bowls quick left-arm spin, and is a big hitter down the order.In a press conference in Australia, Dhoni had said the four players outside the XI should be able to fit in more than one slot should a need arise. Negi can do that: on a turning pitch he can play the role Hardik Pandya did, and he can also replace Ravindra Jadeja as the specialist spinner.Rahane, who used to open for Rajasthan Royals, can slot in at the top of order should Shikhar Dhawan, who has not scored an international half-century and strikes at 120 per 100 balls in all T20 cricket, fail. Rahane can also play a role in the middle order if required.Dhoni had also said that Harbhajan would play if the opposition has many left-hand batsmen. It is Harbhajan’s experience and hitting ability down the order that come in handy, according to Dhoni.The big change from India’s last WorldT20 squad was the absence of legspinner Amit Mishra, who was India’s second-highest wicket-taker. While he has come back into the Test team since then, he has not played a Twenty20 for India.