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Trinidad and Tobago, fresh from their quarter-final victory over Barbados in the Stanford 20/20 tournament on Saturday, face an intriguing Nevisian test in next week’s second semi-finals, and manager Omar Khan and Daren Ganga are confident they can go all the way.T&T suffered a middle order batting collapse after a strong start against the Bajans, but some tight bowling and outstanding fielding enabled them to restrict their arch rivals to 96 and earn a 46-run win.Khan, though feels if the players continue to perform as a team, they can lift the inaugural Stanford 20/20 title. “That (winning) was our intention from the start,” Khan told after the team’s return home on Sunday. “When we started the tournament, we discussed taking it one game at a time, and we have the intention of playing four games. We have played two and won. We have two more to play.”Khan, a former T&T player, also stressed that his team are not worried about their next opponents, despite Nevis’ huge score of 213 against Antigua and Barbuda in their quarter-final. “We are not concerned about that because we know the bowling we have. We bowl to a plan, and we have the players to stick to that plan. The coach [former West Indies wicketkeeper] David Williams has done a tremendous job in working out who we have to bowl to what score.”Reflecting on their batting performance, Ganga acknowledged that his team made some mistakes, but stressed they would rectify that in time for the next match. “I think we were looking for too much boundaries in the period when we were supposed to turn over the strike and put away the bad balls,” he said. “We also had two run outs at crucial times. But at the end of the day, we were able to get a victory, and I’m sure we’re not going to make the same mistake twice.”Ganga was also optimistic that T&T could get the better of Nevis, saying the key is their performance in the field. “Basically we are going to ensure we play to our strengths,” he said. “We were very good in the field. We did achieve the kind of total we wanted and we were able to defend it.” Ganga also lauded youngsters William Perkins and Mario Belcon for the strong starts they gave the team in both matches, while also praising the other young players for their performances.But looking ahead to the tests ahead, Khan felt the mental aspect of the game will be the most critical part of his team’s campaign. “We have to continue playing intelligent cricket, very organised and planned cricket,” he said. “So it’s all about fast action game and you’ve got to keep thinking all the time and our intention is to outthink the opposition. We know we have batting from 1-11, we have very strong batting, and the guys made some mistakes, especially in the middle order, but we know they will come good [against Nevis]. If our batting comes good we know it will be hard to match any totals that we can make.”

ScorecardBangladesh U-19 overcame a top-order wobble on the final day to draw their only Test against Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi.Having eked out a narrow first-innings lead of 15, Bangladesh found themselves struggling at 80 for 5, Mohammad Rameez continuing his impressive form and picking up two wickets. At that point, Bangladesh were effectively 95 for 5, with much of the day still remaining.But Marshall Ayub and Rony Talukder organised the fightback, steering the lower order into adding another 190 runs and essentially saving the game. Ayub’s 59 came in a little over two and a half hours, while Talukder added to his hundred in the first innings with another fifty.Rameez, who took four wickets in the first innings, added another three as Bangladesh were finally dismissed, setting Pakistan an improbable 289 from 23 overs. Ahmed Shehzad used the time for further batting practice, adding to his first-innings century, an unbeaten 46 as the sides agreed to call off the match with seven overs remaining. Still enough time, however, for opener and vice-captain Shan Masood to bag a pair.

A scintillating unbeaten century by Test discard Younis Khan (146) enabled Peshawar amass 352 for four wickets against Lahore Whites on the first day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match at the LCCA Ground on Monday.At close of play, Younis and Taimur Khan (50) were at the creae having piled up 168 runs in their 149-minute unbroken fifth wicket stand.Younis Khan came at the crease 10 minutes before the lunch interval when Wajahatullah Wasti (34) and Rifattulah (31) were back in the pavilion after Peshawar were put into bat by Lahore Whites’ captain Aamir Sohail.Younis batted with authority and belted 22 boundaries and one six during a stay of 234 minutes. He consumed 190 balls. Taimur’s 50 contained six boundaries.

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, expressed understandable frustration on return from a short tour to Scotland which saw his side play no matches and put in no outdoor practice either.Pakistan were scheduled to play two ODIs, against Scotland and India in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively, but both were washed out without a ball being bowled as the UK experienced one of its wettest recent summers.”In Pakistan, a match against India is above everything else and the players were also looking forward to it although it was for a charitable cause. If we had performed well, itwould have been good for our morale and boosted the confidence of the people in us,” Malik told reporters on the team’s return.”It was very frustrating but there was nothing we could do. I was very keen for the match against India because Shoaib Akhtar was making a comeback after a while and was fired up for the game,” Malik said.Abdul Razzaq also expressed disappointment at missing out on the match against India. “The rain ruined everything. We were all looking forward to playing India. But now we must just look ahead and start preparing for other things.”These things happen and one can’t do anything about it. But playing India at such neutral venues is not a bad idea,” Razzaq said.Pakistan will now resume training at camps in Quetta and Karachi before playing in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September. “We have around two months without any international cricket and it is an ideal time for us to train hard and work on our fitness and also get acclimatised with our new coachwhoever he is,” Malik said.”After the Twenty20 World Championship, we face three very tough series against South Africa, India and Australia and we must start preparing for them seriously. For me as a captain it is a big challenge leading the side in such big series,” he said.

Gujarat and Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah has earned his maiden India call-up after being named as the injured Mohammed Shami’s replacement for the three T20Is in Australia.Bumrah, 22, will leave for Australia on January 22 along with other T20I squad members – Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina and Hardik Pandya.With 14 scalps in nine matches, Bumrah is the joint-highest wicket taker for defending champions Gujarat in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 competition.Bumrah, who has been a regular India A player over the last two seasons, also impressed during Gujarat’s victorious Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign in December, where he picked up 21 scalps in nine matches, including that of MS Dhoni with a yorker. He finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker.When Bumrah first burst on to the scene, in the 2013 IPL, it was feared that he was a one-dimensional bowler, who bowled from wide on the crease and just sent the ball in with the angle. However, he showed during the Vijay Hazare Trophy that he had added to his arsenal the delivery that held its line if not moved away from the right-hand batsman.RP Singh, who played for Gujarat this season, said after the Vijay Hazare final that Bumrah was ready to play for India. RP said it was his unorthodox action that made him seem quicker than he was, and that the straighter delivery now made him more dangerous.”He has got a bit of pace. He has got a superb yorker, he got even MS out with a yorker,” said RP. “The other thing is that his action gives him a bit of an advantage, it takes people a little bit of time to pick him.”Bumrah has so far picked up 52 wickets in 47 T20 fixtures since making his debut in 2013. He has also played 18 first-class matches and 20 List A fixtures over the last three seasons.Shami, who returned from Australia last week after picking up a Grade II hamstring injury which could keep him out for four to six weeks, will continue with his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Mark Boucher felt a bit sad breaking Ian Healy’s Test dismissals mark this week, but the former record holder is now excited to see how far South Africa’s wicketkeeper can take it. Healy, who held the prize until Wednesday with 395, said Boucher could add another 200 and achieve a tally that might never be passed.”He has been a great, solid performer who is held in the utmost respect by his team-mates,” Healy said in the Courier-Mail. “He has been a great competitor and now it will be interesting to see how far he can take it. That record may never be surpassed if they decrease the amount of Test cricket played.”Healy, who appeared in 119 Tests, had a bottle of champagne ready to give to Boucher, but the record “snuck up on me a bit”. Instead he sent a note of congratulations via the umpire Simon Taufel, who is standing in the match in Karachi.Boucher moved ahead of Healy when he stumped Umar Gul in Pakistan’s first innings and had mixed emotions about the achievement. “In a way it’s a great feeling, but it is also sad to break such a good keeper’s record,” he said.”Ian Healy is someone I used to watch on television as a schoolboy and I used to love the way he kept.” While Boucher is only 30, Adam Gilchrist, who is the closest current gloveman with 381 dismissals, is 35 and nearing the end of his wonderful career.

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

Playing what will probably be his penultimate one-day game at his home ground of Queen’s Park Oval, Brian Lara produced a glorious matchwinning 69 as West Indies romped home to a six-wicket win to seal the series with an unbeatable 3-1 lead. Set a target of 218 after the Indian batting misfired again, West Indies stuttered briefly when they lost Chris Gayle, but Lara found a willing ally in fellow Trinidadian Dwayne Bravo, who remained unbeaten on 61, and their 91-run stand shut out all hopes for India.On a pitch which tested a batsman’s run-scoring abilities – the pace and bounce was variable, and the spinners got significant turn – the Indians were again found wanting after being put in to bat. The West Indies fast bowlers – led by Fidel Edwards, who added impeccable control to his usual pacy offerings – shackled the Indian top order early in the piece. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif subsequently injected some momentum with half-centuries, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced some fireworks at the end, but India were restricted to a total far below what they would have liked.The run-chase was to a large extent about Lara’s magic, but the initial dent to the Indians’ psyche came from Gayle’s terrific blitz at the start. Two strokes were especially memorable – a one-handed hoick over midwicket for six off Sreesanth, and an apparently hurried defensive prod off Pathan that still had enough momentum to race to the long-off fence.Gayle slowed down noticeably after his frenetic start – his last 16 runs took him 40 deliveries – but by then the Lara show had begun. Hesitant at the outset, especially against Ajit Agarkar – again India’s standout bowler – Lara gradually found his rhythm, pacing his knock quite superbly. The first few runs came mostly off singles, but as the confidence returned so did his breathtaking footwork against the spinners, which was easily the highlight of his innings.Ramesh Powar and Harbhajan Singh would have fancied their chances on this pitch, but Lara won that battle, and quite convincingly. His tussle against Powar was especially engrossing – Powar repeatedly tried to beat Lara in flight, and each time Lara rose to the challenge, padding it away when he wasn’t to the pitch, but willing to take a few chances as well. A sashay down the pitch for a flick past mid-on off Powar brought up the fifty partnership, before he turned his attention to Harbhajan, in his last over. Twice, Lara shimmied down the wicket and hoisted him over midwicket for fours, and then followed it with a glorious lofted stroke – high backlift and complete follow-through – high over long-on for six.At the other end, Bravo, promoted to No.5 ahead of Wavell Hinds, proved to be an ideal foil, batting sensibly when Lara was blazing away, but then taking the initiative himself after the master left. He brought up his fifty by spanking a straight six off Powar, and his all-round display – he had taken three wickets with his usual clever mix of slower balls earlier in the day – won him the Man-of-the-Match award.If West Indies’ batting was authoritative, their performance in the field was equally without blemish. Fidel Edwards ended up with only one wicket, but could easily have had a few more, and his economy rate of 2.37 suggests just how much he made the Indians struggle. Dravid, especially, was all at sea against the late swing that Edwards obtained. Ian Bradshaw kept up his excellent form in the series with two early strikes as Virender Sehwag couldn’t repeat his St Kitts act and Suresh Raina failed for the second time at No.3. When Dravid was finally put out of his misery by Corey Collymore, India were struggling at 47 for 3 in the 16th.

Yuvraj and Kaif then got together for the brightest phase of the Indian innings. From the outset, they looked to break the shackles, placing the ball in the gaps, running hard between the wickets, and putting the loose balls to the boundary. Their 80-run stand came in 16.2 overs, with Yuvraj – back in the side after missing the previous match due to injury – continuing the form, and the drives down the ground, which had almost taken India home in the second match. Kaif, meanwhile, produced his most fluent innings of the series. The runs under his belt showed as he timed the ball well from the start, getting off the mark with a spanking cover-drive, and then found the gaps far more consistently than he had in the previous matches.Once the stand was broken, though – and it took a magnificent delivery from Edwards to do it – West Indies tightened the screw again. Dhoni, struggling for confidence and runs in this series, was denied for long periods by deliveries fired in at the blockhole – there was a passage of play, between the 39th and 45th over, when Dhoni could only manage eight runs in 21 balls. With the overs fast running out, Dhoni finally got his act together, belted a few boundaries in characteristic style, but with Lara and Co. in such sparkling form, a target of 218 was hardly adequate.

IndiaVirender Sehwag c Gayle b Bradshaw 11 (13 for 1)
Suresh Raina c Sarwan b Bradshaw 7 (28 for 2)
Rahul Dravid c Sarwan b Collymore 15 (47 for 3)
Yuvraj Singh c Baugh b Edwards 52 (127 for 4)
Mohammad Kaif b Bravo 63 (188 for 5)
Irfan Pathan c Collymore b Bravo 8 (206 for 6)
Ajit Agarkar b Bravo 0 (206 for 7)
West IndiesMarlon Samuels lbw b Pathan 9 (28 for 1)
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Sehwag b Agarkar 6 (49 for 2)
Chris Gayle c Agarkar b Powar 46 (91 for 3)
Brian Lara c Raina b Powar 69 (182 for 4)

The Sri Lanka team was named as the recipient of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards celebration in Johannesburg on Monday.The Spirit of Cricket Award was presented to the team which, in the opinion of the elite panel of umpires and referees and the captains of the ten Test teams, has best conducted themselves on the field within the spirit of the game. The award was presented to Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene by former South Africa batsman Jonty Rhodes.Upon receiving the award on behalf of his team Jayawardene said: “I think it’s important to remember the spirit of cricket. We try to enjoy what we do, playing against other countries. That was shown in the World Cup with Ireland – they really enjoyed themselves there and it was great to play against that team too.”We are there to win a match but we are also entertainers as well. The most important thing we can do is enjoy the game. We are very lucky to do what we do and it is vital that we remember that. We play a different brand of cricket and we all enjoy playing. There is so much pride to wear the cap for our country. Spirit of cricket can be explained in many different ways.”This Spirit is described in the preamble to the Laws of Cricket: “Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself.”This is the first time Sri Lanka has won the award, after England collected the last two and New Zealand took the honour at the inaugural ICC Awards in 2004. Sri Lanka was one of several teams that demonstrated the Spirit of Cricket to great effect over the past 12 months and they narrowly defeated Ireland and New Zealand for the prize.

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

Australia surfed a tide of emotion in front of a packed fourth-and-final day crowd, sealing their first Ashes whitewash in 86 years with a ruthless demolition job at Sydney. They had a full two days available to do the necessary, but in the end they needed just under two hours, as England’s battered and bruised cricketers surrendered by ten wickets in an abject and embarrassing fashion.Fittingly, it was Glenn McGrath who took centre stage in his final appearance at his home ground, the SCG. After Shane Warne’s heroics with the bat, McGrath took over with the ball, grabbing 3 for 38 in 21 typically metronomic overs, before Justin Langer – in partnership with his best mate, Matthew Hayden – rattled off the necessary 46 runs in just 11 overs.It was Hayden who sealed the win, clubbing Sajid Mahmood for six then, after a consultation with Langer, slapping the next for four past point, but McGrath, Langer and Shane Warne were the inevitable stars of the show. McGrath, ever one to rise above the emotion, started the festivities with his third ball of the day. He scalped Kevin Pietersen, England’s last hope, before instigating the run-out of the nightwatchman, Monty Panesar.In his desperation to score England’s first runs of the morning, Chris Read took off for a suicidal single to Australia’s best fielder, Andrew Symonds, who pinged the top of middle stump from ten yards, with Panesar still a foot short. Read was himself then blasted from the crease by a Brett Lee lifter deflected to second slip, before McGrath bowled Sajid Mahmood off the pads for 4.Warne, to a raucous ovation, then entered at the Paddington End for his final spell in Test cricket, and the last rites of England’s innings developed into a mini-tussle between Australia’s two champions, as McGrath and Warne fought for the honour of claiming the last wicket of the innings, and of their Test careers.Warne so nearly won the race via a stumping, as Adam Gilchrist whipped off the bails with Steve Harmison’s back foot shuffling back towards the crease, and the drama was intensified by a five-minute wait for the not-out verdict, as umpire Peter Parker studied the replay from all angles. And in the next over, the dream conclusion was narrowly missed, as James Anderson edged McGrath inches short of Warne at first slip.Harmison did at least club a clutch of defiant boundaries to carry England to the drinks break, but upon the resumption, McGrath could be denied no longer. Anderson swished at the sixth ball of his next over, and Michael Hussey at midwicket pocketed the simplest of catches. McGrath had signed off with three wickets in the innings, six for the match, 21 for the series, and 563 for a magnificent 124-Test career. And Australia needed just 46 to win.They started watchfully, adding just ten runs in the first five overs, but there were no alarms as a dispirited England team went through the motions to the strains of “The Last Post” from the Barmy Army bugler. The scenes at the end were euphoric and poignant, with Warne, McGrath and Langer leading the lap of honour, as a mighty era of Australia cricket ended in the most immensely fitting manner imaginable.Short CutsDismissal of the day
Kevin Pietersen was England’s only hope for a miracle, but Glenn McGrathsnuffed that dream by catching his edge with the third ball of the morning.It was vintage McGrath and a fitting farewell.Man of the Match
Stuart Clark’s five wickets for the game earned the prize, which was a finereward for a series in which he chipped in with at least a victim in everyinnings. He finished with 26 at 17.03, a total he achieved without afive-wicket haul.Speech of the day
There was a fair bit of competition, but Clark wins easily for telling hiswife and young son how much he loved them in front an almost-full SCG.Tunes of the day
The trumpeter showed his full repertoire today, mixing pop, rock andpatriotism. The Way We Were was on the song sheet along with Oasis’Don’t Look Back in Anger, Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer, RuleBrittania and The Last Post.What England didn’t need to hear
“It was the best Harmy’s bowled all series,” Justin Langer said afterAustralia had knocked off the 46 for the series whitewash. England had beenwaiting for Steve Harmison to turn up since they arrived in November.

As if by rote, questions of psychological advantages began as soon as Matthew Hoggard was bowled in the final Test at Lahore. `Does Pakistan now hold a psychological advantage over England in the ODI series?’ `Is England psychologically down already before the series starts?’ `Psychologically, are Pakistan favourites?’ No psychologist has been on hand to answer the queries, only Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistani captain. And, along with Bob Woolmer, he has only told us that one-day cricket is indeed a different game to Test cricket.Psychology aside, there is little doubt that Pakistan is not lacking for confidence at the moment. That much, at least, Inzamam is willing to admit. “Obviously the team has been very confident after the Test win,” before obviously adding, “but ODIs and Tests are a different game. We will have to work hard. In ODIs one player can change the match completely but yes we are confident.”Even disregarding the Test results, Pakistan’s ODI record, recent and over the last 18 months, is impressive. They begin Saturday having won their last seven matches and 22 from 34 since June last year. Their success in that time has been moulded out of Pakistani and Woolmerian principles; allrounders (multidimensional if you’re a psychologist) are not bits n’ pieces, they are spectacular and a clinical batting line-up revolving largely around the bulwark of Inzamam but boasting cavaliers such as Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi at either end of the line-up. Spearheaded by the unassuming Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and backed up by Mohammad Sami (who does still cut it over ten overs) and a motley crew of spinners and medium-pacers, the bowling has also never lacked for options or incisiveness.But for and from tomorrow, with Shahid Afridi missing (“He will definitely be missed as he is one our main players,” said Inzamam) the line-up will float. With the World Cup now 15 months away and seven ODI series till then, mild experimentation, as Woolmer said, has begun. “This is part of the build-up to the World Cup. The start of getting our team together, getting the players together, making sure they know their roles, getting ideas together. We’ve got seven series leading up to the World Cup and we treat them all as a build-up.”Shoaib Malik, responsible for much of Pakistan’s batting thrust from number three for the last year (947 runs from 22 matches at 45.09 from one down), might play tomorrow or he might not, depending on whether he has recovered from an exhausting three-day jaunt to Australia to have his action examined again. If he does, he might open, or he might not. No clue came from Inzamam either, who said only, “, he will play.”If he doesn’t, then it is understood Kamran Akmal might open. Then again, he might not. Younis Khan, somehow still to fit into Pakistan’s ODI scheme of things, may move to number three, or he may come in lower down, a finisher in the making. With the bonus return of Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq and the possibility of playing Danish Kaneria, the final XI and its order is only more uncertain.For the first time though, Pakistan will be taxed by the dilemma of the Supersub. When the rule first emerged, it was designed seemingly with Pakistan in mind: one wildcard who can come in and throw all plans out the window, preferably with bat and ball. Cards don’t come much wilder than Razzaq, Afridi or even Malik. Not that Pakistan seem particularly disturbed by the prospect. Frankly, Inzamam said, “I can’t say too much about it because I don’t have experience of using it. From tomorrow I will get a clearer idea of it. We haven’t decided yet who it will be.” Woolmer offered only gentle criticism. “We haven’t used it so it is unfair for me to criticise it. But there is an anomaly in it that you have to announce your Supersub before the toss and that is unfair on one side in particular.”Talk of pitches for ODIs borders on the irrelevant in any case and Gaddafi Stadium is unlikely to buck that trend. Runs will come off it and because of the 11.00am start, dew is unlikely to play such a factor later in the game. Inzamam psychologised, “Because of the start, dew might only play a part in the last hour or so of the match but I think the late start covers the effects pretty much. It is a batting pitch but there is nothing in it really that will give a decisive advantage to whoever wins the toss.”All of which brings us back, of course, to the only question: Who starts favourite? England, said Inzamam after much pestering and with a hint of exasperation, but as it was followed by laughs all around, are we to assume that Pakistan start favourites? Maybe not, Inzamam retorted: “They are a big team. They can come back at any time so we can’t be overconfident.” With Woolmer adding he never regards himself as favourite for anything, the only thing left to do is to call for the psychologist and ask him.Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Shoaib Malik, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Younis Khan, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammad Sami, 11 Danish Kaneria. Supersub Yasir Arafat