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Pakistan’s start in the Bank Alfalah Cup could best be described as absolute brilliance one day then a shoddy performance the next. Back-to-back matches against two quality oppositions are never easy, but it was really some masterful swing bowling by the Kiwis in helpful conditions that undid them on Sunday.Against Sri Lanka the Pakistan young guns proved their victory in Sharjah was not merely good luck but they had the capability to pulverize the full strength hosts in their own backyard. A cautious start laid the platform for a decent score, which in the end proved to be more than enough under the conditions.The Rangiri Dambulla ground was certainly not up to par for ODI cricket, with conditions tilted towards the bowlers, and shot-making rather difficult. Even though Hafeez and Faisal Iqbal weathered the early storm, their performance in the middle overs left a lot to be desired. Caution is understandable against the swinging new ball, but both showed little intent even against the second string Sri Lankan spinners. A lot of work is still needed to perfect the art of rotating strike, to make sure they don’t pressurize the likes of Youhana and Younis Khan when they come in after.Pakistan’s bowling and fielding in the opening match could be called brilliant, with Shoaib Akhtar proving he isn’t a spent force by any means. However, I believe they are committing a tactical blunder, when it comes to handing Shoaib the new ball, and bringing Umar Gul in as first change. Umar is a seam bowler very much in the mould of the great McGrath, and is not as potent when he operates first change. The seam is worn by then and since he lacks pace, gets taken for runs as was the case against New Zealand.With Umar and Razzaq operating in the middle overs there is very little pressure on opposition batsmen and they can stabilize the innings. Pakistan would do better to let Umar partner Sami with the new ball and have Shoaib come in to attack on one end, while Razzaq does the hold up job.If they do want to persist with Shoaib Akhtar opening, then it is better to drop Umar Gul for Kaneria, to provide greater variety. The pitches in the second round in Colombo are likely to be slow turners, unlike the moist ‘seamers’ at Dambulla, so Kaneria could prove very useful.The Pakistan batting may have done reasonably against the Sri Lankan attack, but failed when they encountered New Zealand’s top quality pace attack under similar conditions. For the first time the youngsters were up against a quality attack and wilted under some trying conditions unable to cope with swing and seam. I shudder to think what will happen during their England tour unless they learn to cope with such wickets.Problems exposed need to be addressed immediately, they could not handle the swing of Shane Bond who beat them on almost every ball of his opening spell. Only Younis Khan displayed an adequate technique in countering his sharp inswing.Faisal Iqbal looked quite ordinary, and it may be time for either Faisal Athar or Yasir Hameed to get a chance in the next match.Youhana got out to very loose shots in both matches, and must be made to realize he is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s batting line-up, and must cut down on some of the flair he is so well known for.Taufeeq Umar was a little disappointing, after having done all the hard work weathering the new ball attack he got out to a very loose shot. Taufeeq looks in reasonable form but has a terrible habit of giving it away when well set. He is a naturally defensive player who takes his time, and must realize that playing aggressive shots is not his job. He needs to stay out there, rotate strike and allow the stroke makers in the line-up to play around him. Instead, he seems to suddenly feel pressure when the going is tough and in trying to emulate a Saeed Anwar, starts playing risky shots.The defeat to New Zealand should not lead to wholesale changes, or cries to bring back more experienced players, but does offer the team a chance to reflect on their mistakes and strategy. Young players will only learn if they get a chance to play the best bowlers in the world, and cannot be expected to massacre them at first sight, especially when conditions are as difficult as in Dambulla.Hopefully, we will see a much improved effort under the batsmen friendly conditions in Colombo.Ed: If readers wish to correspond with the author, please email Taha Noor

The remarkable Andy Flower hit yet another fifty as Zimbabwe declared theirinnings closed at 419 against South Africa just before the close of thethird day at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. However, only some unusuallygood or bad play by one of the teams can bring about a result in this matchon a benign pitch.Play began 30 minutes early in an effort to make up for lost time after thecomplete washout of the second day’s play. The weather was still overcastbut at least the strong frigid wind had gone; by lunchtime the sky wasfinally clear again. Hamilton Masakadza and Stuart Carlisle, the batsmen inpossession, played positively from the start. Masakadza had just hooked Nelsuperbly for four when he drove at a leg-cutter from the same bowler, to becaught at the wicket by Mark Boucher for 13.Flower began as if he had been batting all week – which he virtuallyhad – taking just eight balls to reach double figures. It took over an hourbefore Claude Henderson was given a belated bowl, and immediately he got theball to turn sharply. Carlisle, struggling against the spin, became almosta sleeping partner, contributing only 12 runs when the fifty partnershipcame up, as Flower again held court. He scored mainly through well-judgedpushes and nudges through gaps in the field, but when South Africa finallydecided to bowl very straight at him, as he entered the forties, theymanaged to restrict his scoring temporarily.Yet another fifty, his 12th in his last 15 innings, came off 79 balls. Oneunusual aspect of it was his faulty running between wickets, normally verygood, but in this session he had four narrow escapes, the third only becauseMark Boucher dropped the ball as he swept the bails off.Flower fell soon after lunch for 67 in uncharacteristic fashion: hequite misjudged a ball from Henderson that kicked viciously off the pitch,and lobbed up off the glove to give silly mid-off the easiest of catches.Zimbabwe were 261 for four.Grant Flower, with several unsuccessful Tests behind him, obviously decidedthat there was nothing to lose by being positive, and was soon catching upCarlisle, who occasionally surprised with a sparkling stroke, such as aswept six off Henderson when he was 40. Then came a mix-up in mid-pitch,which resulted in Flower (44) slipping and failing to beat the throw fromJacques Kallis; 327 for five.Carlisle failed to reach his fifty, adjudged lbw to Pollock for 49 off 201balls, although the camera seemed to reveal a thin inside edge. Althoughthe slow pitch and the now heavy outfield made scoring difficult, hisinnings was slower than Zimbabwe would have liked, with time at a premium.Heath Streak scored a single off his first 24 balls before he suddenlyhammered Henderson for six into the top of the sightscreen. Guy Whittall on8 appeared to be brilliantly caught by Pollock at slip of Henderson, butumpire John Hampshire called for decision by camera, which was inconclusive,leading to a decision of “not out”. Streak went on to record a powerful 31before skying Henderson into the off-side field. Without addition Whittall(16), who never really settled, was caught attempting a reverse sweep atHenderson; Zimbabwe 377 for eight.Paul Strang hit brightly on his return to Test cricket, mainly throughpulling the short balls, and the 400 came up in the 176th over. Shaun Pollockmoved a ball back in to bowl Travis Friend (4), the first batsman of the innings tofail to reach double figures. Streak declared shortly afterwards withZimbabwe 419 for nine; Strang was unbeaten with 38 off 28 balls, with twosixes and four fours. Henderson bowled 66 overs in the innings, a recordagainst Zimbabwe, including an unbroken spell of 38 overs at one stage,conceding 143 runs (29 off his last three overs) and taking four wickets.The South African openers found little difficulty in the Zimbabwean paceattack, and after seven overs Streak brought on Strang, and then RaymondPrice. Price came very close to dismissing Gary Kirsten lbw, but the batsmenheld out until the close, when Herschelle Gibbs had 15 and Kirsten 11.

ScorecardJames Vince, seen here in England Lions action, made his first Championship century of the summer•Getty Images

James Vince notched his maiden LV= County Championship century of the season before the bowlers lead Hampshire well on the way to a crushing victory at the Ageas Bowl. Captain Vince amassed 1525 runs last season and seemed on the brink of an international call-up but bar three figures in a university match he has struggled in red ball cricket.His ton was followed up by a team effort with the ball as Liam Dawson and Fidel Edwards both snatched two each with Hampshire needing four wickets on the final day for their maiden home win of the season.Vince, with batting partner Michael Carberry, began the day as they ended the previous in glorious touch – the pair amassing 180 for the second wicket. Both went past 50, Vince in 105 balls and Carberry in 120 deliveries – with the former smashing a six over midwicket – as the hosts scored quickly.

Hampshire in false position – Brown

Warwickshire director of cricket Dougie Brown said: “If we’re totally honest we have been short in both disciplines, bat and ball. With the ball we have tried really hard but they have outplayed us.
“This game shows where the Division One Championship is at the minute: there are a lot of good teams. The position Hampshire are in in the Championship belittles their ability.”

The partnership was ended out of nowhere when England and Ireland international Boyd Rankin found an edge before Tim Ambrose pulled off an eye-catching catch behind – Carberry departing for 91, his second dismissal in the 90s this season. Will Smith came and west for two before lunch with a loose cut shot – another bowled Rankin, caught Ambrose.After lunch, Vince reached his lavish century from 170 balls – which included 11 fours and a six. Vince and Gatting scored quickly putting on 79 runs in 9.5 overs before the former called the sides off to give Warwickshire almost five sessions to either chase 444 or find a draw.And the quest to avoid defeat started badly when Varun Chopra was leg before to a Gareth Berg ball which nipped back and stayed low. Laurie Evans was then bowled by Jackson Bird – the ball pinging back the batsman’s off peg for a duck – and Jonathan Trott’s continued a horrendous week against Hampshire by departing lbw for 5. Wickets continued as Sam Hain was leg before to first innings star Edwards.Ian Westwood provided a minuscule of personal delight with his fourth fifty of the season – from 108 balls – but the next ball he looped a push to Will Smith at short leg. Former Test duo Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke delivered some resistance in the twilight with a sixth wicket stand of 64.Clarke became the second Warwickshire player to reach 50 in the match, coming in 55 balls, and brought up with a clanging pull in front of square. Wicketkeeper Ambrose prodded to Vince at first slip off the West Indian Edwards – as he ended the day with figures of 2 for 25, Dawson 2 for 34.

Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has sought to reassure his top-order batsmen that their modest displays in the victory over South Africa will not necessarily lead to their exclusion from the Test side that takes on Sri Lanka in England in May.But Bayliss has conceded that, with batsmen unable to cement their positions in the team, “there are possibilities” for players in domestic cricket who start the County Championship season well.Alex Hales and Nick Compton both contributed just one half-century each during the four-Test series against South Africa. But Bayliss saw enough in each of them to retain faith that they could prove valuable players for England, though possibly in different batting positions.Certainly he retains faith in the natural talent of Hales – a key member of the limited-overs squads – and feels that Compton will find greater consistency once he relaxes in the England environment. And while Hales looked vulnerable outside off stump, Bayliss felt some technical work – and perhaps a move down the order – could help him flourish in Test cricket.

Bayliss on…

Kevin Pietersen’s World T20 hopes
“I’ve been concentrating on the guys in the squad. We’ve done pretty well over the last six or seven matches. I don’t think there is any real need to change it at this stage.”
Jonny Bairstow
“He would be more disappointed with missing catches than his team-mates. Anyone who misses a chance feels a little embarrassed. They know how hard their team-mates are working to get the edge. I know he is disappointed. We like to enjoy each other’s success but we must stand by our mates as well when things don’t quite go our way. Everyone who has played the game has some bad days and disappointed your team-mates at certain times. It is just the way it is. So certainly there are some challenges for Jonny but at different times his keeping was very good. And he was starting to look like he belonged as a batter.”
Moeen Ali
“I’m reasonably happy with his spin bowling. Again, he’s a work in progress. On his day, he puts a lot on the ball and gets good spin and good bounce. Probably at times, he lacks a little bit of consistency in length more than anything. It just makes it a little bit easier for the batters to get off strike. That’s something he is aware of and trying to improve on all the time. If you take out the absolute superstars, most spinners became good spinners when they were 30 years old. He is improving since I first saw him.”
Defeat at Centurion
“There’s still a lot of hard work to do and that performance is a bit of a reminder. It was a bit of a kick up the backside to the players that we still have a lot of hard work in front of us. And it is also a message to the fans not to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’re going to go through a few difficult periods as well and disappoint, not just themselves but also the legion of fans. But have confidence that they are working very hard to rectify that. I still think we are probably two or three years away from reaching our absolute best.”

“Hales is one of the guys who will be disappointed with how he’s gone in this series,” Bayliss said. “I thought the first couple of games, even though he didn’t score a lot of runs in Durban, he looked quite comfortable at the crease and like he belonged.”He’s one of those guys who has shown what he can do at this level. So it’s about knocking off a few of those rough edges. Whether it is as an opener or somewhere else in the order, he is certainly a guy with a lot of talent.”Swapping Compton and Hales is one of those possibilities. Compton has done the job before and I think Hales has batted at No.3 before. That is certainly an option and has been spoken about in the past.”Bayliss admitted there had “been glimpses” of the intensity that that did not always endear Compton to all his colleagues, but suggested he looked “very solid” at times early in the series. And while Compton – perhaps scarred by his previous experiences in the England environment – has seemed somewhat unnerved by talk around his relatively sedate pace of play, Bayliss suggested he should not feel any pressure to change his natural game.”Early in the series, I thought he looked very solid,” Bayliss said. “Yes, he played a few more shots than I thought he would. Whether that’s any different to what he has done in the past, I’m not sure.”Hopefully, he’s not confused with what his role in the team is. He and Alastair Cook are very much blokes the rest of the order can bat around. So if he approaches it his natural way and scores 80, 90 or 100 or more, the rest of the attacking players can bat around him.”I think there were a few glimpses of that intensity. But a few of the coaching staff and people I’ve been talking to were saying that change in him since the first time he played for England was very noticeable. So hopefully he is relaxing as he gets a little older to give himself the best opportunity to succeed. He is trying to do whatever he can and certainly some of the signs were pretty good.”With neither man – or James Taylor, who also made a single fifty in the series – having made an irrepressible case for their continued selection, though, Bayliss said he would be watching the early weeks of the county season with interest. Given England’s almost relentless schedule, and the fact that he was appointed mid-way through last year, Bayliss has seen very little of the talent available in the county game, but did take the opportunity to watch England Lions team training a couple of times while he was in the UAE.”The players we have in South Africa are the best players we have at home,” he said. “But I think it is also a sign to everyone else in county cricket that, if I come out and score runs early in the season, there are possibilities there.”So when I watch county cricket, it will be a little bit with a view towards current selection and a little bit about looking towards the future. From my point of view, it is not necessarily about technique and the number of runs scored. It is the style of player or person. It’s about guys that have got a bit about them, guys who are a little bit tougher.”They always seem to be the guys that can make it at the top level. You don’t necessarily have to have the best technique to score runs or take wickets. It’s how you use the technique that you’ve got and being hard enough and strong enough and smart enough to be able to use that in the right context.”I’ll certainly be making an effort to watch some cricket and start to understand a bit more about the English game.”

Indian fast bowler Sreesanth, who took three wickets in the rain abandoned first ODI against Australia in Bangalore, is aiming for a a five-wicket haul on his home ground in Kochi.”My ambition is to take five wickets in the match in my home ground where I did my training all through,” Sreesanth told , adding that he would like to emulate Sachin Tendulkar’s bowling feats at the venue. “Sachin has achieved it here twice. I would love to achieve the same.”Sreesanth, who has dismissed Matthew Hayden twice in succession, the first occassion being the charged-up semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20, downplayed the importance of his wicket. “Hayden is a good batsman. But he is not the only batsman in the Aussie team. All the wickets in any match are important. We are not scared [of the Australian team]. [But] outside the ground we are friends and we respect all.”Sreesanth’s aggressive methods, which resulted in him being docked 25% of his match fee for excessive appealing in India’s semi-final win over Australia, could once again be on display in the Kochi match after recent comments made by the Indian team manager Lalchand Rajput.”We have to give it back to them [Australia]. The strategy is clear. If they throw stones, they’ll get them back. We’ll fight fire with fire,” Rajput told , the Mumbai-based tabloid. “The Aussies’ tactic is to keep chatting and unsettle the opposition. But we have decided that if anyone says something, they will get it back. However, there should be no physical contact.”However, Rajput stressed that the team should not get carried away. “There are clear instructions to stay focused. The players should say whatever they want to as long as they don’t get carried away because that would mean playing into the Aussies’ hands.”The match itself appears in doubt owing to a wet outfield. The teams couldn’t get a full game at Bangalore and the rain appears to be following them. Two days before the game the outfield at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium were slippery and parts of the playing area covered with sand. The pitch though, has been unaffected by the conditions and will favour batting if the match takes place.

Brian Lara is glad his side will have the chance to play the reigning World Cup winners in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday. But he acknowledged it would be a different challenge to when West Indies defeated Australia in their opening group match at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, which is also the venue for the final.”Australia have gained some momentum since they lost to us,” Lara told . “They are very confident of their chances. We have to realise that we are going to play a completely different opposition to the one we played against.”That time Australia were playing their first match and we had a sort of an advantage [having played three qualifying games]. It’s a challenge but we will back ourselves.” West Indies are gaining one-day momentum after beating India in a home series in May and reaching the final of the DLF Cup tri-series in Malaysia in September, which they lost to Australia.”I won’t say it’s an unfinished business against Australia. I just feel it’s nice to play them in the final again,” Lara said. “Our one-day game has always been pretty good. It just required a little bit of fine-tuning. We did that in Malaysia. We were forced to play the qualifying round here and that in itself gave us a little bit of competitive cricket.”It’s nice to be playing the world champions in the final. It says a lot about our effort … getting past South Africa, and beating India and Australia in group matches. So, we are looking forward to the challenge.”

England’s cricket team flew into Pakistan early Wednesday for a 58-day tour. There were some initial anxieties regarding the tour following security troubles and the devastating South Asian earthquake.The 14-man squad led by Michael Vaughan and the team officials were greeted by tight security of around 150 police personnel and commandos who had cordoned off the Islamabad International Airport’s VIP lounge, from where the team was whisked off to a hotel in 20 minutes.Two members of the squad – allrounder Andrew Flintoff and pacer Steve Harmison – will arrive next week. They are now in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to raise quake relief funds.Meanwhile, Ashley Giles, the England left-arm spinner, has told his team-mates they should prepare themselves for a hard-fought series in Pakistan as they look to build on their Ashes-winning exploits.Giles, one of five survivors from England’s last tour of Pakistan, said: “It will be a very tough series for us. Everyone is on a high still and very excited about what has happened in the Ashes. But this is another stepping stone to becoming the best side in the world, so we still have a lot of work to do. We have to draw strength from what we have done and learn from our experiences, but it will be a tough and very different challenge. If we go into it lightly it could easily bite us quite hard. We must be ready so we can come out on top and enjoy our Christmas.”Giles was making his name in international cricket when England last toured Pakistan five years ago, winning the three-match series 1-0 after a dramatic victory in fading light on the final day of the third Test saw them become the first visiting team to win a Test in Karachi. He said patience would be vital if this tour were to become the high spot again of a 50-Test career featuring 137 wickets at a shade under 39 apiece. “We managed in 2000 to stick at it and stay with them until the final hurdle when we won that great game in Karachi,” he explained. “That was a personal highlight in my career.”Giles has usually operated as a lone spinner for England but if, as is often the case in Pakistan, the pitches are dusty and dry he could find himself being partnered by Hampshire veteran Shaun Udal or Warwickshire’s Alex Loudon. The off-spinners’ prospects of making what, in both cases, would be a Test debut have been increased by the withdrawal through injury of reverse-swing specialist Simon Jones, one of England’s Ashes heroes. And Giles said he was looking forward to playing alongside another spinner, especially Udal who appeared in the last of his 10 one-day international caps a decade ago.”I always enjoy bowling with another spinner. You pick up a bit of rhythm and can create more pressure and get on top of batsmen together. I hope we will play two spinners. I can learn from ‘Shaggy’ [Udal] as much as he can learn from me, because he is a very experienced bowler. We have three spinners, and I don’t think any of them will be written off. I have to do my job, because I have two guys up my back now looking to put me under pressure.”

The first step to solving a problem is often to admit that it’s there in the first place. And Sourav Ganguly did that after the Asia Cup final when he admitted that India’s performances in grand finals bordered on the unacceptable. “I don’t know what it is, but we’re not doing something right,” he said. “We cannot lose so many finals.”As the fireworks sparkled over the Premadasa and Sri Lankan flags were waved joyously to the accompaniment of blaring klaxons, Ganguly cut a disconsolate figure in front of the media posse. But to his credit, there was no fumbling for excuses, the coward’s way out. “We didn’t play to our potential right through the tournament,” he said, alluding to two losses against the hosts and a drubbing at Pakistan’s hands. “Breaks are a part of international cricket, and we have to make sure that we pick up quickly when we come back from one,” he added, when asked whether a long lay-off had left the team ill-equipped to meet the Asia Cup challenge.Once again, the much-heralded batting misfired horribly when it mattered most, albeit on a pitch where batting had become a lottery by the end. “We didn’t get partnerships going,” said Ganguly. “We needed someone to stay with Sachin [Tendulkar] and bat with him. We didn’t rotate the strike well either. Even on a pitch where the ball was stopping and turning, 228 was always gettable, and we could have put up a better show.”He stressed that it had been a good toss to win for the Sri Lankans, but was also full of praise for his bowlers who kept them down to 228. “On pitches like this, you need them to do well. The main spinners on both sides [Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh] went for a few, but the part-timers [Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Upul Chandana and Sanath Jayasuriya] did really well. But we didn’t expect the pitch to be so difficult.”When asked to compare the mediocre displays in this tournament with the efforts of the previous season, he said, “We weren’t as intense on the field, though the boys were committed enough off it. We have to get the thought process right. No matter how much talent you have, it’s no use if the thinking isn’t right.”For Ganguly, it was a ninth loss – against a solitary win – in 13 finals under his stewardship, and he accepted that falling short yet again was a devastating blow. “We were expecting to win this tournament, so the way we played here is a real eye-opener. But this is a good side. We’ve played well all around the world for two years now. I wouldn’t call it a setback; it’s more a jolt to get us back to where we were.”He was candid enough to admit that there were few positives to take out of Colombo. “Maybe the return of Harbhajan,” he said after some thought. “I thought he came back very well after six months out of international cricket.”The nature of the drubbing here should provoke some serious soul-searching within the team. Since the World Cup, where they lost only to Australia, India have won 16 and lost 15 of their 33 matches. Claims of being second-best behind Australia are looking increasingly laughable as Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand – not to mention a Pakistan team in Bob Woolmer’s capable hands – make rapid strides.Worryingly, India have lost heavily both on fast pitches in Australia, and slow turners in the subcontinent. And there are some in the side who are still dining out on former glories. As Marvan Atapattu said after the game, the great teams know how to make the good times last. This Indian team, for all its potential, isn’t quite there yet, and with the most challenging season in living memory having just begun, they can thank Sri Lanka for the rudest of wake-up calls.

THE CUP; the Challenge; the Bowl. What next?With the clinical efficiency that has been the hallmark of their cricket all season, Barbados hastily demolished Jamaica yesterday to complete an unprecedented double by adding the Carib Beer International Challenge to the Carib Beer Cup they secured three weeks ago."It is a great feeling. This is tremendous," victorious captain Courtney Browne said amidst excited celebrations among teammates in the Garfield Sobers Pavilion."The old saying that hard work pays off really caps it off here for us. Hard work is what this was all about."It was reflected in the presentation ceremony when Barbados copped most of the awards named after illustrious former West Indies players.And there was warm applause in front of the pavilion when Browne accepted the Challenge and the US$10 000 that accompanied it, along with the Cup and the US$7 500 that came with it.Sunday morning collapses at Kensington Oval have become common this season and yesterday was no different.Barbados, winners of last September’s Red Stripe Bowl final against the same opponents, wasted no time in wrapping up a Jamaica second innings that offered some promise on the third evening.For the second time in the match, the Jamaicans tamely folded after building an encouraging platform. In the first innings, their last nine wickets fell for 68 and yesterday, their last seven second innings wickets went for 32 to transform their overnight 166 for three to 219 all out.As a result, Barbados’ seven-wicket victory was achieved as early as 1:01 p.m. after they were set a small target of 35.In the process, they lost three wickets, one of which was Philo Wallace, who left the field raising his bat and helmet after he went for a duck. There was speculation that Wallace might have been hinting this was the end of his first-class career, but he indicated afterwards it was not.In the end, the Challenge final was a one-sided match and not the type of contest many expected against a team that featured eight players with international experience."I never thought it would have been a challenge. I know the Jamaican team. I never thought it would have been close," Browne said."They are still a young team and they were coming into the match with a bowling department that was not really good."In terms of their batting, I have some bowlers who bowl the ball in the right areas and guys who swing the ball. Once the ball is swinging the Jamaican batsmen don’t play it well. They always edge it."Since the first-class championship was expanded to feature two segments in 2001 following the inclusion of international opposition, no side has won both titles and Browne praised not only the effort of his players but the support of fans and those working behind the scenes.They included Barbados Cricket Association president Stephen Alleyne, the Barbados Defence Force team trainer Wayne Griffith, along with technical assistance from former West Indies opener Desmond Haynes and seasoned overseas professional Hendy Wallace.Needing to score briskly in an effort to set Barbados some kind of a workable target, Jamaica resumed the final day 19 runs in deficit with aggressive intentions that never worked.They scored at almost a run a minute in the first 35 minutes but were set back by the loss of their most consistent batsman this season and their most potentially explosive, both falling to left-arm pacer Pedro Collins.Dave Bernard Jr., the new West Indies selectee, drove a catch to cover and hard-hitting Ricardo Powell edged his fifth ball low to first slip where Floyd Reifer took a neat catch.It completed a double failure in the match for Powell. But he was not alone.Three of those who followed him also endured a match they would quickly want to forget.Vasbert Drakes, who came on after an hour, gave away precious little after he was knocked around the previous evening when he conceded 40 runs from his six overs. He delivered another six overs yesterday, gave up only four runs and collected three wickets.The first was Leon Garrick, who carried his overnight 56 to 75 before Drakes deceived him with his sixth ball of the day.With Garrick gone, there was still plenty of batting with captain Robert Samuels, Gareth Breese and Keith Hibbert capable of offering resistance. None of them did.Samuels and Breese succumbed to Drakes and Hibbert gave Tino Best his only wicket of the match.Reifer again took another low catch at first slip to account for Breese and Samuels’ cut was smartly held by Kurt Wilkinson at second slip.

A record-breaking 315 by Warwickshire’s Mark Wagh was the highlight of a draw against Middlesex in this promotion battle at Lord’s.In a match of new faces and high scores an unlikely result looked possible with Middlesex 90 for four at tea with 34 overs remaining. They ended at 167 for six with the pitch the only winner in a game of 1 300 runs and 22 wickets.Wagh was on the field for all but one over of the match, bowling 33 overs in the first innings and another 18 in the second. He came in at 6 for one and saw Warwickshire through to 631 for nine declared, a first innings lead of 129.Wagh was unaware of the records that lay ahead when he resumed in the morning at 266. His score was equal to Percy Holmes’ 315 and one behind Jack Hobbs’ 1926 championship record at Lord’s.The 449-ball epic was the second highest for Warwickshire behind Brian Lara’s unsurpassable 501 not out. Graham Gooch’s 333 for England against India in 1990 remains the best at HQ.”It was a relatively flat wicket,” the 24-year-old told CricInfo. Unsurprisingly, the Oxford University psychology graduate was “absolutely knackered” when he finally left the field at 5.30pm.His patience and wristy timing finally went awry when he was caught at midwicket by Jamie Dalrymple off Tim Bloomfield whose three for 111 were the best figures of the match.Only Middlesex’s Stephen Fleming came close to match Wagh’s powers of concentration, adding 65 to his first innings 102. A final scare came when Fleming gloved a sweep to Warwickshire captain Mike Powell at short backward point.Guess who the bowler was?