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Yorkshire 194 for 6 (Gale 69, Wood 50) beat UAE 190 (Lawson 3-36) by four wickets
Scorecard

Yorkshire have won the Pro ARCH Trophy after their four-wicket defeat of UAE put them level on points with Somerset and Lancashire, but the fact they wrapped up victory inside 25 overs gave them the best net run-rate of the three.Andrew Gale and Greg Wood launched Yorkshire’s chase of 191 in a hurry as they had to chase down the runs inside 25 overs to pip Lancashire to the title. They smacked 94 for the opening wicket before Wood was caught-and-bowled by Saqib Ali for a 39-ball 50. Gale cruised to 69, cracking nine fours in his 61-ball knock, but fell to Obaid Hameed. Jasim Suwaidi then chipped away at Yorkshire’s middle order with 3 for 17, but it was too little, too late, and Adam Lyth and Mark Lawson saw them home with five balls to spare.It was Lawson who did the damage with the ball, too, picking up 3 for 36 from nine economical overs. He was especially well supported by David Wainwright who conceded just 19 from his 10 overs as UAE were restricted to 190, laboured over 48.1 overs. With Gale and Wood going for their strokes from the off, Yorkshire were always up with the asking rate.

The sporadic downpours that have made the skies over Johannesburg greyremained the main concern for both teams as they headed into the openinggame of the five-match one-day series on Sunday. With rain lashing thecity in the morning, practice plans had to be altered, with South Africagoing up the road to SuperSport Park in Centurion and India opting for theindoor nets in the basement at the Wanderers.India, who have won only three matches here from 16 encounters againstSouth Africa dating back to 1992-93, go into the game on the back of adefeat against Rest of South Africa, but as Rahul Dravid pointed out atthe pre-match press conference, they aren’t the first team to start anaway tour indifferently.The fact that Virender Sehwag has recovered from his hand injury wellenough to come through a full batting session will no doubt encourage theside. Sehwag’s recent form hasn’t been the best, but he if needs anyinspiration he need only to replay tapes of that breakthrough innings onTest debut at Bloemfontein.Dravid suggested that India needed to be brave, and the team is almostcertain to play three pace bowlers and Irfan Pathan in addition toHarbhajan Singh. With Mahendra Singh Dhoni expected to move into the No.5slot vacated by Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Mongia will tusslefor the last batting place. Despite a catalogue of woe that dates back tothe West Indies tour, Raina is likely to be given fresh licence to go outand express himself.For Graeme Smith, there are few selection issues to deal with. LootsBosman did little wrong in his one Champions Trophy outing, and theinclement weather conditions should mean that either Charl Langeveldt orAndrew Hall get the nod ahead of Robin Peterson. Smith will be the loneslow-bowling option, though his offspin is hardly likely to terrorise theIndians.The surface to be used for Sunday’s game bears more than a littleresemblance to that on which South Africa and Australia combined for anincredible 872 runs in March, but with thunderstorms forecast for the day,the cloud cover should ensure that no bowler meets with the fate thatbefell Mick Lewis, whose 10 overs that day went for the small matter of113.The last time India played here, Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyneviscerated their World Cup dream with some of the finest batting everseen on the limited-overs stage. For some of the old boys, it was a red-letterday that went horribly wrong. The new ones, many of whom weren’t even inthe selection picture three years ago, have no such trauma to deal with,and it could be their ability to adapt, or not, that decides the fate ofthis series.South Africa (likely): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Loots Bosman, 3Herschelle Gibbs, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Mark Boucher (wk),7 Justin Kemp, 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Andre Nel, 10 Charl Langeveldt, 11Makhaya Ntini.India (likely): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 MohammadKaif, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 IrfanPathan, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Munaf Patel.

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s legendary captain
Inzi should have reacted far sooner than he did. Had I been in Inzi’s place I would taken a stand right there and then when Hair decided to change the ball and accused the Pakistanis of ball tampering. I would have insisted on the managers of both teams and match referee coming out to register my protest. I would never have meekly accepted Hair’s judgement the way Inzamam did. Hair’s brash and provocative manner makes him the main culprit in letting things go out of hand. During my career I have seen such umpires who go out of their way to make their authority felt. They are umpiring fundamentalists. Such characters court controversy. Intikhab Alam, former captain and coach
I feel Inzamam should have taken the decision of leaving the ground at that very moment when the umpires decided to change the ball or he should have kept on playing as Pakistan were in a winning position. Rameez Raja, former captain and former PCB CEO
The star of the show definitely was umpire Darrell Hair, but as the villain of the piece. With a lot of negative background, and serious protests by the India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka boards on earlier occasions, it was really flabbergasting to see the ICC installing him once again in a Pakistan game. Grossly aggrieved, the Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and the team were in their right to protest. The pride of an entire people has been tarnished by his ludicrous and highly insensitive decision. I’m sure the Pakistan captain would not have changed his stance and entered the field again had he not been bulldozed by diplomatic pressure. Pakistan’s bold stance has certainly exposed Hair. Will it be the end of the road for him? If it is it would not be a day too soon.Jalauddin, former fast bowler
Inzamam did the right thing by not coming out after tea. But the only mistake he made was to get on the field after the ECB and PCB’s intervention. Hair has accused the Pakistan team of cheating and it’s a serious allegation.Moin Khan, former captain
Had I been in the place of Inzamam, I would have immediately led the team off and would not have returned until the umpires had explained their decision. Pakistan team is a victim of circumstances and I think people who have something between their ears would understand Inzamam’s actions. It’s a testing time for the ICC because they now need to come out with something otherwise international cricket would turn on its head.

England’s slump is being worsened by their poor attitude and their selection of ageing debutants, according to Glenn McGrath. Mal Loye and Paul Nixon were doing nothing to move England forward and the team seemed to be waiting for an individual to lift them out of their doldrums, McGrath said.Writing in his column in the , McGrath rubbished Paul Collingwood’s comments that England needed “a bit of luck or someone to have a great game for us to turn it around”. “I disagree,” McGrath wrote. “Winning happens when you operate as a whole team. Cricket is not decided by one guy.”I find it hard to understand England talking about rediscovering their fight, because Australia wouldn’t lose it in the first place. We pride ourselves on putting up a fight in every single game we play.”McGrath said England had erred by not including players like Vikram Solanki and Owais Shah, who at 30 and 28, should still be considered long-term contenders. “When you look at the two guys they have brought in – Mal Loye and Paul Nixon – you have to wonder what they are trying to achieve,” he said.”They are both pretty old. Loye seems to have just one good shot, the slog-sweep, but he’s played three games and got out to the same shot. With Nixon, bringing in a guy who is 36 just doesn’t make sense when you have Chris Read and Geraint Jones around and both younger, more long-term prospects.”McGrath’s criticisms came as Stuart Law also hit out at England’s attitude and their selection of players like “that timid little creature Ian Bell”. But Law told the that Loye, his team-mate at Lancashire, should have been in the team right through the tour. “England have got it all wrong,” Law said. “They need to pick some blokes who will have a go.”At least if they are going to get beaten they should go down swinging. Mal is known for the freakish slog-sweep but there’s a lot more to him than that. I think he’s the best player of horizontal bat shots in England. He should have been picked from the start of the summer. At least he’s got some heart and he’s not afraid of the Australians like some of the other blokes.”

The USA Cricket Association will not receive any payments which it was due from the ICC while it was suspended from the organisation.In the normal course of events, USACA would have been entitled the annual Associate grant of US$90,000 as well as other funding relating to participation in ICC events such as the World Cricket League and the Under-19 World Cup.When USACA was suspended for the first time, it received all backdated grants as soon as it was reinstated. However, the ICC explained that as it and not USACA had paid for all the costs associated with the involvement of the WICB and Chris Dehring in drawing up a new constitution and resolving the impasse between squabbling factions, the situation was different.Aside from the lost money, USACA’s suspension means that the USA resumes at the bottom of the pile as far as additional grants and participation in ICC events is concerned, and that will have additional financial implications.

While the Stanford 20/20 continues to roll merrily along, Bermuda have returned home with their tails between their legs after a humiliating nine-wicket defeat against Jamaica.Gus Logie, the Bermuda coach, initially declined to answer questions but he later spoke candidly. “Let’s start off by saying that we were playing against a very, very good Jamaican side with a lot of Test players in it,” he said. “But we didn’t execute the way we should have and it is very disappointing for us to lose like that. The players are capable of a lot more and let themselves down badly.”There has to be a quantum leap in improvement. We got a lesson from a very good team but it showed the gap between some of the best players in the world and ourselves. And it reinforced what I have said all along, which is that without the time to work with the team, it is going to be hard to make the improvements we need.”I was impressed by the youngsters and the way they played. They did the right sort of things, rotated the players and did the things we talked about. They were never going to provide the big hits and the fast runs but they showed promise. It was a shame they were let down by their senior colleagues.”Perhaps the most stinging condemnation came with post-match jibes about the fitness of the side, and the size of some players was noted by TV commentators. “We can’t lock the guys down for weeks and tell them what to do, and when and what to eat,” Logie shrugged. “We are working with the nutritionists and the players have to take the responsibility to look after themselves and work on their fitness. That is not something we can do for them.”When I took over this team, I saw the size of the players and that is something we have to work with. I do not expect these players to shrink overnight and be able to run like gazelles but we have to make the most of what we have. If our mobility isn’t going to be superb then we have to look at ways round that, like the Indians have had to do in the past. You then have to look at technique and have to look at better awareness in the field.”Bermuda’s public expect more in the light of the government’s $11 million investment in the side ahead of the World Cup. But performances have continued to disappoint and the pressure is starting to mount on players and backroom staff.

Twenty fours and four sixes were struck between them, but “smart cricket” was the cornerstone of the searing opening stand between himself and Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson said.The pair hit a world record 171 in each other’s company, to make light work of Pakistan’s 168 for 7. Williamson said it had been he and his partner’s ability to account for the asymmetrical dimensions of the Hamilton ground, and the particular strengths of Pakistan’s bowlers, that allowed the stand to flourish.Damage to the Seddon Park square during the recent Test match featuring Sri Lanka had meant a surface towards the eastern end of the block had to be used for this T20. This in turn brought the eastern boundary to 52 metres, while the square boundary on the other side of the pitch was lengthened to 75 metres.Williamson in particular targeted the short side of the ground during his career-best 72 off 48 balls, memorably shuffling towards the off side to hit consecutive legside fours off Mohammad Amir, in the fifth over.”No T20 is the same, and here at Seddon Park you’re not just taking the opposition into account, you’re very much identifying the dimensions of the ground, the pitch and using that as part of your planning,” Williamson said. “That comes into your thinking as a bowling unit and a batting unit.”With one boundary very small, naturally there’s going to be the odd boundary hit there. Then there’s the wind going to the long boundary which also helps hit to that side of the ground.”New Zealand hit 59 from the Powerplay, but were unusually reticent against Shahid Afridi in that period, scoring only 11 off his two overs. Williamson said there had been purchase and turn for Afridi on the pitch. Afridi was also generating significant drift.”Afridi is a world class legspinner,” Williamson said. “Today on that surface it was holding and turning a little bit, so for us it was making sure that there’s smart cricket at times amongst Guptill’s sixes and fours.”All Pakistan’s bowlers are danger men – they are all very good bowlers. Depending on the surface, some more than others. It was important that Guptill and I communicated and played some smart cricket. I think we were a bit better at doing that today than we were in the last match.”Williamson and Guptill’s stand surpassed the 170 made by Loots Bosman and Graeme Smith against England. New Zealand’s highest T20 partnership before this game had been the 137 against Zimbabwe by the same pair in 2012.”Records are not something that we set out to do,” Williamson said. “We set out to lay a platform and play to the gameplan. If records come that’s nice, but more importantly, we got across the line to set up a nice finish to the T20 series.”Corey Anderson had played as a specialist batsman during the Sri Lanka series, as he continues to recover from a back injury. He has now begun bowling in matches, and was effective for New Zealand on Sunday, taking 1 for 26 from his four overs. He had been cheap with the new ball, conceding only 12 from his three Powerplay overs.”The likes of Corey standing up after not playing much cricket, and opening the bowling as well, was a superb effort from him,” Williamson said. “He bowled some tough overs at the top.”

Simon Katich is likely to stay on at New South Wales (NSW), despite lucrative offers from other state sides. Katich was omitted from Cricket Australia’s list of 25 contracted players for the 2007-08 season and the reported that Victoria and Western Australia, Katich’s home state, were keen on signing him up.”Simon is someone we cannot afford to lose,” Dave Gilbert, New South Wales’ chief executive, told the paper. “He is a vital member of the NSW team and we’re desperately keen to keep him. He still has at least five good years in him and we’re hopeful that they will be with us.”Katich last played for Australia in the DLF Cup tri-series in Malaysia last year and lost his place in the one-day side since the return of Matthew Hayden. He’s currently in England representing Derbyshire in the County Championship and a day after he was omitted from the contracts list, he smashed 221 against Somerset.Gilbert expressed his surprise that Cricket Australia (CA) overlooked the experienced Katich in favour of several younger players. However, he remained confident that an Australia recall was around the corner.”At the time I expressed my shock and outrage at CA’s decision not to give him a contract, and I still can’t believe it happened,” Gilbert said. “To my mind, and a lot of other people’s, he is easily among the 25 best players in the country at present. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he turned around and proved the selectors wrong next season.”Robert Joske, Katich’s agent, agreed with Gilbert that Katich was comfortable with New South Wales after speaking to him before his departure for England. “Simon has not committed to anything at this stage,” Joske told the paper. “But I would think that it would have to be an amazing offer to get him away from NSW.

In 2013, Australia won the Women’s World Cup. In 2014 they took out the Women’s World T20. Now they are hoping that 2015 brings them the other major piece of silverware available: the Women’s Ashes. It is a prize the Australians have barely laid hands on over the past decade, despite their success in the shorter formats.Captain Meg Lanning and her squad leave for England on Monday night with great expectations, although recent history will be against them. Not since 2001 under Belinda Clark’s captaincy have Australia won the Ashes in England, and only once in the past 10 years have they claimed the trophy anywhere, with victory at home in 2010-11.This will be the third Ashes campaign that incorporates ODIs and T20s as well as Test cricket, and the weighting of points given to the formats has now been adjusted to ensure the Test result does not effectively dictate the outcome of the series. Coach Matthew Mott, who joined the group earlier this year, said the time for Ashes success was now.”The team’s record speaks for itself over the last 10 years,” Mott said. “But the one thing that has eluded us is the Ashes. It was 2001 the last time the team won in England. There’s a lot of payback ready and the girls are really excited about this opportunity coming up.”A lot of teams will say they’re in rebuilding phases. This is the time for these girls to capitalise. They’ve played together for a long time, they’ve had success and they’re all at the peak of their careers. It should be an exciting couple of years.”The series begins with three ODIs, followed by the Test match in Canterbury, and then three T20s that complete the campaign. The Test is worth a maximum of four points and the shorter matches two each, which means that a team needs to perform consistently across at least two of the formats in order to claim the Ashes.The Australian women’s team prior to their departure to England•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“Given that we’ve had success in both the World Cups recently in both the T20 and one-day formats it should bode well for us,” allrounder Ellyse Perry said. “But there’s not much margin for error in this series because you only play a few games in each format.”Perry was Player of the Match last time Australia played a Test, against England at the WACA in 2013-14, where she scored 71 and 31 and claimed eight wickets for the match. However, it was not enough to prevent England claiming victory.Test cricket is a rare sight in the women’s game these days, and generally only occurs for Australia when they take on England – since 1996 they have only once played a Test against another nation, when they beat India in Adelaide in 2006.”It’s truly wonderful, to be able to put on the baggy green is what most young cricketers look forward to doing,” Perry said. “We’re really thankful for the opportunity. It’s a true test of your skill and ability on the cricket field. Because you spend so much time in the field as a team it brings you closer together as well. Every time we play a Test together we learn a little bit more about our own games and about each other. I’m really excited to play again.”Departing for England will complete a busy few days in women’s cricket in Australia, after the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League was announced last week. The T20 tournament will mirror the men’s BBL with the same eight teams and the potential for international players to sign on. Perry said she had been pleased with the public interest surrounding the WBBL since its announcement.”It’s a huge step forward in terms of the development of the women’s game, not just in Australia but globally as well, with the chance for a lot of international players to come and play in what is probably going to be the premier tournament in the world,” she said. “The interest in it is really pleasing and a little bit surprising. A lot of people are anticipating the competition starting, and the fact that it’s integrated with the men’s competition is a really good development.””Things have been developing so quickly in the last five or six years. Even when I came into the team about eight years there were no contracts for players, it was just tours every now and then. Now there are full-time contracts for some of the top players in the country, we have a professional competition in the WBBL starting.”That’s testament to the huge amount of effort and investment that Cricket Australia have put into the women’s game here, and also there’s more interest from the public across all women’s sport in the last couple of years.”

Ireland are to tour Bangladesh for three one-dayers next March and April.Ireland, who in addition to beating Pakistan in that memorable World Cup match earlier in the year also defeated Bangladesh, will also play two four-day warm-ups against local teams.”As we are not yet in the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, we have to look for matches against the teams close to us in the ODI rankings, such as Zimbabwe, Kenya, West Indies and Bangladesh,” Warren Deutrom, the Ireland Cricket Union’s chief executive told .”Bangladesh are sending me an itinerary for the tri-series and after that they have also agreed to play us in three ODIs and a four-day game – an ideal pre-season programme for the coach and players.”The tour gets underway from March 16.