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Wayne White and Matthew Hoggard saw out almost ten overs to secure a draw for Leicestershire with nine wickets down

12-May-2012
ScorecardLeicestershire held out for a draw in a tense finish to their Division Two match against Northamptonshire. Having been set a victory target of 341 in 86 overs, the home side finished on 289 for 9, with last-wicket pair Wayne White and Matthew Hoggard surviving the last 9.2 overs to deny Northants their second win of the season.At one stage Leicestershire looked the more likely winners, with Ramnaresh Sarwan hitting 94 and Josh Cobb 59, to leave them needing 101 runs off 20 overs. But they then lost five wickets for 28 runs in 10 overs before White and Hoggard salvaged the draw.It was a fine effort from Northants who were reduced to a four-man bowling attack because of an injury to Chaminda Vaas that kept him off the field for the final day. Lee Daggett took 4 for 76 and David Willey 2 for 70 but, despite claiming the second new ball with six overs remaining, Northants were unable to claim the wicket they needed for victory.Two enterprising declarations set up the prospect of a positive result from the rain-affected game. Leicestershire declared on their overnight 38 for 2 and Northants responded by scoring 26 without loss. Leicestershire did not make the best of starts to their chase, slipping to 64 for 3 as Willey and Daggett gave Northants the initiative.But Sarwan and Cobb joined forces in an exhilarating fourth-wicket stand of 103 in 21 overs that gave Leicestershire a sniff of a possible victory.Sarwan was in majestic form with some glorious drives on the off side and wristy strokes through midwicket. He reached 50 off 65 balls with seven fours and looked set to complete his second century of the season as he cruised into the nineties. But he was finally dismissed lbw trying to sweep offspinner James Middlebrook having hit 94 off 120 balls.Cobb’s half-century came off 62 balls with a six and seven fours but his innings ended when he was bowled offering no shot to a ball from Daggett. Ned Eckersley made a determined 35 but in the end it was White and Hoggard that came to Leicestershire’s rescue.

Former Sri Lanka coach Geoff Marsh has sent a letter of demand to Sri Lanka Cricket after he was sacked just three months into his two-year contract

Sa'adi Thawfeeq23-May-2012Former Sri Lanka coach Geoff Marsh has sent a letter of demand to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) after he was sacked just three months into his two-year contract. Sri Lanka Cricket, reacting to Marsh’s letter, said it had taken the appropriate steps prior to terminating his services.Confirming it had received Marsh’s letter, Sri Lanka Cricket president Upali Dharmadasa stated, “We terminated his services and paid him whatever that was due to him.”It is now a legal matter and we have referred it to our legal department to check it and deal with it.”Marsh was appointed coach in September last year and his contract was terminated after the tour to South Africa where Sri Lanka recorded their maiden Test win. But they lost the three-Test series 2-1.Marsh’s sacking was criticised, with former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga calling the move “disgraceful” and “unprofessional”.Marsh was replaced by South African Graham Ford, who became Sri Lanka’s fourth coach since Trevor Bayliss quit after the World Cup final in April 2011.

05-Jun-2012
ScorecardRain prevented Kent from exacting revenge over the Unicorns in their Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Southend.The Unicorns claimed their only win of an otherwise fruitless campaign so far against the Spitfires by four wickets last month. It was a defeat to frustrate Kent’s early semi-final ambitions and a share of the points on Tuesday will have hardly helped either after they had restricted the Unicorns to 177 for 8.With an achievable target in sight, however, only three overs of Kent’s reply was possible before the weather closed in.The Unicorns had started fairly brightly with a half-century from opener James Ord in a 72-run second-wicket partnership with leading runscorer Tom New. The pair progressed the score to a handy 88 for 1 in the 20th over before the Ord perished soon after reaching his first Unicorns fifty when bowled by Darren Stevens.England spinner James Tredwell trapped New (31) lbw three overs later before a collapse of 4 for 18, that included two run outs, left the Unicorns scrambling to put a competitive total together. That was at least managed by 21-year-old allrounder Luis Reece, who hit an unbeaten 36 from 35 balls.But with Kent in need of full points they were only able to reach 9 for 0, after three overs, before the rain came. The point was at least enough to move Kent up to third in Group C, having played a game less than leaders Warwickshire, who they trail by three points.

Mashrafe Mortaza’s early blitz saw Bangladesh comfortably win the opening game of their tour of Ireland. They defeated an Ireland XI by seven wickets at Comber, chasing down 103 with more than five overs to spare.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2012
ScorecardMashrafe Mortaza’s early blitz saw Bangladesh comfortably win the opening game of their tour of Ireland. They defeated an Ireland XI by seven wickets at Comber, chasing down 103 with more than five overs to spare.Mortaza took 3 for 14, with the wickets of Andrew Balbirnie and Andrew Poynter coming in the first over, and Ireland were 10 for 3 as Mortaza took his third wicket. The Ireland XI never recovered from such a terrible start. Andrew White, the Ireland XI captain, managed to stay at the crease for 25 balls, making 16, but he and Stuart Thompson went quickly as the side slumped to 58 for 6 with fewer than five overs remaining.Nigel Jones managed to save Irish blushes by striking three sixes in a 26-ball 41 as he and Rory McCann shared 45 but the total was well below being competitive.Thompson did find two early wickets but Shakib Al Hasan’s unbeaten 37 at a run-a-ball guided the chase and Bangladesh captain Mushifiqur Rahim blasted 40 in 25 balls to get the tourists to the line.

With rain again playing the decisive role, Essex and Leicestershire had to settle for a draw in their Division Two match at Chelmsford

04-Aug-2012
ScorecardWith rain again playing the decisive role, Essex and Leicestershire had to settle for a draw in their Division Two match at Chelmsford.The adverse weather restricted the action to just under half-an-hour in the morning session, long enough for David Masters to claim his seventh wicket and the visitors, resuming on 336 for nine, were bowled out for 359.This left Essex with a lead of 75 but before they were able to embark upon their second innings, rain returned to wash out further play, stumps being pulled up shortly before 2pm.Shiv Thakor and Matthew Hoggard carried their last-wicket partnership to 56 before Masters struck to finish with a haul of seven for 60 from 26.5 overs to record his best figures of the season.He did so by finding the edge of Hoggard’s bat to Harbhajan Singh, who pouched his fourth slip catch of the innings. His success in that department was in complete contrast to his bowling where he managed just one wicket at a cost of 96 from 37 overs.It was the 23rd time in his first-class career that Masters has claimed five or more wickets in an innings, and underlined his liking for playing against his former county. Last year at Southend, he took eight for 10 as the visitors were swept aside for only 34 in their second innings.Hoggard’s departure for 28 left 18-year-old Thakor stranded on 62, his highest score in the Championship. Neat and compact, the teenager’s effort included three fours and a six but it was an ability to coax the ball into the gaps that was a feature of his knock.Essex, who had gone into the match still had slim hopes that victory would keep alive their promotion aspirations, had to settle for 10 points while the visitors emerged with seven on a day when only 5.5 overs were sent down.In what has proved a miserable summer, Essex have now lost a total of 1,677 overs in the County Championship due to the weather and close on 2,000 overs if the Clydesdale Bank 40 and Friends Life t20 competitions are also taken into account.

The quality and condition of the pink ball has emerged as the major concern from the day-night match played under first-class conditions in Potchefstroom

Firdose Moonda06-Sep-2012The quality and condition of the pink ball has emerged as the major concern from the day-night match played under first-class conditions in Potchefstroom.The match, between North West and the Knights, was Cricket South Africa’s way of trialling the idea of playing the longer version at night, something that was discussed at the ICC’s most recent annual conference. It ended in a draw after heavy rains washed out the fourth day, but the issues that emerged from the first longer-form fixture played under lights in the country overshadowed the result.”It seems as though as the ball does not last very long. It will have to be investigated more if cricket is played this way in future,” Jacques Faul, acting chief executive of CSA told ESPNCricinfo.The pink ball became the talking point after the first innings, during which it was changed five times in 112 overs. Despite the Knights amassing 562 runs, their coach, Sarel Cilliers, was unimpressed. “As soon as the ball gets scuffed up, it loses colour,” Cilliers said. “Other than that it behaved like a normal ball and didn’t lose shape but I can’t see the ball manufacturers getting it right.”His opposite number, Monty Jacobs, was also not convinced that the pink ball could facilitate the demands of the longer format. “It scuffs easily and gets gratings and, it doesn’t shine like a red ball. With it being changed quite often, you lose that element of swing in the middle overs,” he said.It was not only the seamers who struggled to get the pink ball to talk. Jacobs said the spinners also had problems with it. “They struggled to grip the ball at times. So eventually it became a bit like a one-day ball with the spinners just darting it in instead of trying to spin it.”Match referee, Devdas Govindjee, who presided over the captains and coaches’ reports and will present them to CSA, had a more complex argument to explain why the ball was changed so often. He said the officiating panel debated it at length and came to the conclusion that colour was not the only problem. He also clarified that the first ball change occurred because of a split seam.”After that we changed it on average every 25 overs. We have to remember that it was the first time anyone was doing this so there was also some uncertainty at times. If you look at day two, we only changed the ball once, which is normal, I would say. So we learnt as we went along.
“On day one, there were various reasons that the ball was scuffing like that. It could have been because the bowling side did not look after the ball too well, for example. The other reason may have been because of the pitch, which was more abrasive on day one.”Govindjee’s comments on the pitch also highlighted another concern about day-night first-class cricket – how to tend to the surface. With the match being played early in the South African season, when rain has been scarce until now, the strip was always expected to be dry but could become even more lifeless in a day-night match considering the amount of time it will spend uncovered.The covers on the first day were removed at 7am – the normal time for a first-class match starting at 10am. That gave the pitch seven hours of sunshine before play began at 2pm. On the second day, the covers were only removed at 12:30, an hour and half before the start and the ball behaved differently.”There is a fine balance that has to be achieved when you decide about the covers. If you keep them on too long, they will sweat, but you also can’t remove them too early,” Govindjee said. If the pitch is left without protection from early morning it will, as Jacobs put it, “give you an eight-day old pitch by day four.”The removal of the covers early on the first day could have contributed in some way to the ball degradation but all three men interviewed by ESPNCricinfo stressed that the ball remained the “main issue.” Its neon nature also contributed to difficulty with visibility, which affected both the batting and fielding sides.”It has to be luminous, because that’s good for sight, but that means it creates an illusion as well and leaves a tail,” Cilliers said. “The batsmen couldn’t pick it up, especially in the twilight period, when it is already quite difficult to see.” Morne van Wyk, the Knights captain, who scored 125, specifically mentioned sunset as the time when his innings became the most difficult.Jacobs’ charges dropped five catches as darkness approached and although he was careful not to blame that on the ball alone, said the problems with “depth perception,” also led to butter fingers. “You can see the ball but you can’t see the edges,” he said.Along with trouble with vision, the players also had to contend with unusual hours, with play ending after 9:30pm to make up time. Compared to a one-day game that starts at 2:30pm and can end well after 11pm, it’s not too bad, but to operate on those hours for four consecutive days is something both coaches thought was a challenge.”There is too much dead time in the morning,” Cilliers said. “You can’t do any sort of conditioning then either.” Jacobs said he told his players to try and “sleep in until 11am,” but most found it unnatural and ended up with little to do in the morning. “It’s just a waste of good daylight,” he said.Both were also concerned about the costs involved in playing day-night cricket over four days. With electricity prices constantly rising in South Africa and power cuts, although not the notorious load shedding of four years ago, still fairly common, they both said playing cricket with natural light made more environmental sense too.Faul said CSA would take everything, including the bill, into consideration when they conduct their assessment of the match. While he accepted that the game itself was a “mismatch,” because it was contested between a professional franchise and an amateur provincial team, he said the exercise itself was worthwhile.”The ICC encouraged us to try this and we did. We can now give them a bit of feedback,” Faul said. But he confessed that the green light from cricket’s governing body was not the only reason South Africa are interested in the possibility of playing the longer game at night. “When we play some of the lower ranked Test teams we don’t get bums on seats, especially on the Thursday or Friday of the match. We wanted to see if this can help that?”Cilliers and Jacobs don’t think it can. Potchefstroom’s popular student crowd did not go to the match in droves despite it being advertised on multiple platforms. “Some people came dressed colourfully because they expected a T20 or a one-day game, because they heard it was at night. When they heard it was a first-class game, they left,” Jacobs said. “It’s the longer version, every ball can’t be action packed and that’s what they wanted. The atmosphere was actually a bit like those dead overs in a one-day game.”

Board strapped with debts of US$18 million

Firdose Moonda26-Sep-2012Zimbabwe Cricket has incurred debt amounting to US$18 million and has not paid some of its players, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The board has denied the allegations and said its “financial standing is sound” and it has “never failed to execute our mandate”.The situation came to a head three months ago, when Zimbabwe hosted an unofficial T20 tri-series between themselves, South Africa and Bangladesh, which Zimbabwe won. Midway through the competition, a delegation of players who had not been paid match fees in over a year sought the help of a government minister to ensure the board fulfilled its obligations to them.Apart from players who had not been paid at all, some were given only allowances, and put up in what an insider called “appalling conditions” for the duration of the event. ZC is also accused of asking some of their own players from outside Harare to pay their own expenses to travel to the capital to compete while Cricket South Africa paid all the costs for its own team to take part in the tournament.Certain players were “threatened” when they asked about the status of their payments and so looked for outside assistance. The intervention resulted in most of the players been paid, although there remain a few who have not seen any of the amounts owing to them. A source close to the Zimbabwe camp told ESPNcricinfo that five members of the squad who played at the World T20 had not been paid.This has led to some concerns being expressed over the players’ financial well being and whether they will be able to continue playing cricket in the future. “Some of them are the breadwinners of their families and so they can’t afford not to be paid,” the source said. Zimbabwe’s preparations for the World T20 were disrupted because those players who had found other employment were unable to attend some practices.Alistair Campbell, chairman of the cricket committee, said he was “not aware,” of any non-payment*. He said the 10 central player contracts were renewed in August, in keeping with the annual date for their turnover and that any players were told when their paperwork would be in order and all payments had been made. He conceded that ZC does have some “financial concerns” but said they are making efforts to sort it out.Campbell referred to the body moving out of its headquarters at Harare Sports Club two weeks ago. It was reported in the local media that ZC were forced out because they had not paid their rent, a charge ZC denies. It said it chose to move to property it owns in the suburb of Highlands for cost-cutting purposes. “Like every other company, ZC has had to review its expenditure within the framework of the current economic conditions,” the board said in a statement. “It does not make sense for an individual or company to pay rentals when they have a property that can be utilised for the same purpose.”ZC was previously not able to fit all its staff into the Highlands office but has since trimmed its administrative roster. “Harare Sports Club remains an international cricket ground and we are likely to have satellite offices there during international games,” the board said.Zimbabwe are scheduled to host Bangladesh in a series that was postponed from August this year, but no dates have yet been set for that tour. Talk that the delay was partly caused by ZC’s cash-flow problems has been squashed by the board, which insists it remains able to provide the necessary finance to run cricket in the country. “We have prepared and equipped a national team to represent us at the World Twenty20, the domestic season is set to commence on schedule, our franchise system continues to function, and our age-group teams have been well represented on the international arena,” ZC said.While Zimbabwe does have a functional franchise system, there is no active second-team competition and club cricket has suffered. ZC has little means of making money, with incoming tours often costing more than is made from selling television rights. The board made losses on all three series it hosted last year, and although it has sponsorship arrangements, these do not offer them enough money to fully fund cricket in the country.*09:20 GMT, September 26: This story has been updated.

Pat Cummins will not make a cameo appearance in New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield match against Queensland and Brad Haddin has also been ruled out of the match due to a thumb injury

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2012Pat Cummins will not make a cameo appearance in New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield match against Queensland and faces a cloudy immediate future as his sore back is examined further.Initial scans on Cummins’ back proved inconclusive, and he is now scheduled to visit Melbourne tomorrow for further consultation with medical experts after he returned home from the Champions League Twenty20 with the niggle.There had been a chance of him slotting in to the New South Wales side for the last day of their Shield match, which starts on Friday, as a replacement for one of the state’s Test players, but his injury has taken that possibility off the table. Cummins, 19, has not played a first-class match since his Test debut last November and his chances of being involved in Australia’s Test summer will hinge on the outcome of his examinations.Brad Haddin will also be on the sidelines for this week’s match after it was decided that his thumb injury, picked up during the Champions League in South Africa, had not fully recovered. A specialist diagnosed residual swelling and infection but it was expected Haddin would be available for the next round of Shield and Ryobi Cup matches.Peter Nevill will take the gloves against Queensland and David Dawson has also been included in the squad. The Blues also confirmed that Steven Smith and Moises Henriques, who are part of the Australia A match against South Africa due to finish in Sydney on Sunday, would fly to Brisbane after that game and would be available as replacements for the final day of the Shield game.Sean Abbott will also be on standby for replacement duties, as will the nominated 12th man. New South Wales could lose Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, David Warner and Mitchell Starc on the final day of the game as they may be required to join the national squad in preparation for the first Test.

South Africa began the first Test looking every inch the world’s best team. They ended it cornered, scrapping unattractively to secure a draw

The Report by Daniel Brettig13-Nov-2012South Africa 450 (Amla 104, Kallis 147, Pattinson 3-93) and 5 for 166 (Kallis 49, Lyon 2-41, Pattinson 2-58) drew with Australia 5 for 565 declared (Clarke 259*, Cowan 136, Hussey 100, Morkel 3-127)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Pattinson defeated Alviro Petersen early, and his aggression was a notable feature of the final day•Getty Images

South Africa began the first Test looking every inch the world’s best team. They ended it cornered, scrapping unattractively to secure a draw, having weathered a sustained and significant resurgence by Australia over the final two days.The loss of Saturday’s play due to persistent rain deprived the match of enough time for a result given the benign nature of curator Kevin Mitchell’s pitch, but Michael Clarke’s team will depart Brisbane with the kind of spring in their step that England took from the Gabba after a similar recovery at the outset of the 2010-11 Ashes. Such confidence will be derived as much from how James Pattinson and Peter Siddle discomforted South Africa’s batsmen on the final afternoon as from the way Clarke, Ed Cowan and Michael Hussey dominated the visiting bowlers.On a tense afternoon characterised by a series of frenzied Australian appeals and grim South African occupation, Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis all flirted frequently with danger while the hosts dictated terms. Pattinson and Siddle frequently pushed the line of acceptable aggression with their words and appeals, but did no more than Clarke had predicted before the match.A lone exception to the prolonged passage of Australian aggression and South African diffidence was a two-over period before tea in which the spinner Nathan Lyon was clumped for 26, but even he recovered in the final session with a neat spell that returned the wickets of Kallis and Jacques Rudolph.Clarke had declared with a lead of 115 after he reached the highest individual score in Tests at the Gabba. His unbeaten 259 featured some rollicking shots on resumption, lofting drives down the ground and heaving over midwicket with plenty of force. Hussey’s advance to a hundred was a little more fraught, and on 99 he escaped being lbw on South Africa’s referral via the thinnest of edges picked up on Hot-Spot.The pitch was starting to show the very first signs of deterioration, Morne Morkel extracting some variable bounce to strike Clarke in the ribs and on the back, while Vernon Philander gained some disconcerting seam movement. After Hussey lifted Morkel to cover – the first wicket to a bowler in 120 overs – Matthew Wade took his time getting in, and was beaten several times. However once he had his sighter, Wade unleashed a trio of rasping offside strokes, the first a drive that might have decapitated Rory Kleinveldt, and hurried Clarke towards his declaration.South Africa’s response to the scenario confronting them was uncertain. Pattinson found his rhythm and some early swing, and it was the combination of speed and movement that drew Petersen into an ambitious drive that resulted in a thin edge through to Wade. Smith battled through the session, snicking Siddle just short of the slips, and Amla was grateful for the third wicket off a no-ball in the match when he dragged Pattinson onto the stumps but was reprieved by Asad Rauf’s referral.The afternoon began with a tense and occasionally ill-tempered duel between Pattinson and Smith. Pattinson was irritated when Amla survived a caught behind appeal that was proven faulty by a decision review, and was further annoyed by Smith pulling away from one delivery as a bird flew across his eye-line. There was plenty of chatter over the next two overs before the bowler had the final say by coaxing a sliced drive that was well held by Rob Quiney at gully.At the other end Australia lost their second and final review when Ben Hilfenhaus thought he had Kallis caught behind from an inside edge, but replays showed a large gap between bat and pad. The loss of the two referrals seemed costly when the hosts went up in unison for a caught behind appeal by Siddle against Amla, but again the video evidence of an edge was lacking.Kallis survived another appeal from Siddle when avoiding a short ball that passed desperately close to his gloves, and Lyon’s entry to the attack brought a brief flurry as both Kallis and Amla lofted down the ground with skill. Amla would lose his wicket shortly before tea when he pushed Siddle to Hussey at short cover, but it seemed at the interval that the South Africans had done enough to stave off the prospect of defeat.AB de Villiers and Kallis held out for another hour but made very few runs. Lyon returned to bowl with the batsmen in their shells, and was rewarded when he drifted the ball across Kallis, finding the edge and allowing Clarke clasp a neat one-hander at slip. Next over Rudolph eluded a raucous lbw appeal because Siddle’s delivery had pitched outside leg stump, and Australia’s frustration showed they felt they were still a chance.Ultimately Rudolph survived until just before the final hour was due to commence, at which time he was lbw to a Lyon back-spinner that pinned him on the back pad. This wicket encouraged Clarke to push the match into its last 60 minutes. The fact he was able to do so was a considerable moral victory for Australia, just as the final two days had been.

Round-up of the Faysal Bank T-20 Cup games on December 3, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2012
ScorecardCrucial knocks by lower-order batsmen repaired Bahawalpur Stag’s chase and took them to a close two-wicket win against Karachi Dolphins in Lahore. Bahawalpur had lost half their side for 86 in the 14th over, needing 67 more runs to win at more than 11 runs per over. But Kamran Hussain, Usman Tariq and Moinuddin together scored 50 runs in 31 deliveries to help their side get to the target in the last over. Seamer Tanvir Ahmed was the most expensive bowler, giving away 41 runs in his four overs.Karachi’ innings was based on productive contributions by wicketkeeper Amin-ur-Rehman and Fawad Alam, who scored 44 and 43 respectively. After an aggressive stand of 51 runs in five overs that laid the foundation for a strong total, Karachi suffered a minor collapse. But Fawad Alam and Khalid Latif steadied their innings. The final total of 152 wasn’t out of reach of their opponents.
ScorecardSialkot Stallions captain Shoaib Malik led the chase of a below-par target and completed an eight-wicket victory against Karachi Zebras at the Gaddafi Stadium. All of the Karachi top-five batsmen made starts but no one carried on. Daniyal Ahsan’s unbeaten 24 was the top score as Adeel Malik claimed 3 for 19 to restrict Karachi to 111 for 5.After Sialkot lost their openers, Haris Sohail anchored the innings with 34 off 44 balls, while Shoaib Malik blasted 50 off 31. The target was achieved with 20 balls to spare.
ScorecardIn another tight battle, Abbottabad Falcons defeated Islamabad Leopards by two wickets, helped by captain Younis Khan’s responsible knock of 38. The low-scoring match seemed to be heading Islamabad’s way after fast bowler Umar Gul had helped them reduce Abbottabad to 105 for 8, but in the company of Junaid Khan, Younis took them to the target of 120 with one ball to spare.Abbottabad were in control of their chase at 83 for 2, but Mir Azam’s wicket triggered a collapse as they lost six wickets for 22 runs to be in trouble, before the recovery by Younis. Azam, with a quick 59, scored a run less than half of the team’s total.Islamabad had similarly slipped against their opponent’s bowling to post 116 for 8. Middle-order batsman Imad Wasim put up a resistance with 45, but couldn’t string more than two productive partnerships. Left-arm spinner Amjad Waqas took three wickets.
ScorecardThe contest between Lahore Eagles and Peshawar Panthers wasn’t so evenly matched as Peshawar were restricted to 86 for 8 to lose by 76 runs at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Four batsmen scored in double digits, and opener Israrullah top-scored with 22. A fourth-wicket partnership of 25 runs was the highest Peshawar could muster. It was a combined effective bowling effort from Lahore as no bowler went wicketless.Lahore, after being put in to bat, started with a brisk 43-run opening stand in four overs. Imran Farhat, who scored 68 off 45 deliveries, was the bedrock of the strong total. At 150 for 3, they lost six wickets for 12 runs at the end of the innings.
ScorecardFaisalabad Wolves achieved an authoritative victory by eight wickets against Hyderabad Hawks. Their bowlers restricted Hyderabad to 97 for 8, and opener Farrukh Shehzad and Naved Latif then put on 74 runs together to chase the target down with 23 balls to spare. Shehzad won his second successive man-of-the-match award.After choosing to bat, Hyderabad suffered a shaky start as the top three batsmen in their line-up fell cheaply. They had lost half their side for 50 in the 13th over. Although No. 4 Rizwan Ahmed struck a 41-run stand for the sixth wicket Mir Ali, the latter’s dismissal in the 18th over caused a collapse, as Hyderabad limped to 97 or 8.
ScorecardHalf-centuries from Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal drove Lahore Lions to a commanding total of 182, by the weight of which they crushed Multan Tigers by 30 runs. Although Multan were in the hunt in their chase till the penultimate over, their hopes had been diminished once set batsmen Gulraiz Sadaf and Saeed Anwar jnr were dismissed.Lahore, from the outset, were in control of their innings. After a couple of partnerships of more than 50 runs each, Shehzad and Umar added a further 50 runs in 3.4 overs, with Umar smashing 55 off 21 deliveries. The late acceleration pushed them to a run rate of over nine runs per over, and it ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides. Seamer Mohammad Irfan, who took 3 for 8 in his previous game, conceded 47 in his four overs.