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USA Women beat Zimbabwe Women in a thrilling encounter in Mirpur, prevailing by just one run. A contribution of 72 off 89 balls from wicketkeeper Shebani Bhaskar was the backbone of USA’s score of 188. Bhaskar was the seventh wicket to fall with the score on 144, but Anahita Arora and Sara Farooq added a further 44 to lend some respectability to the total.USA didn’t do themselves any favours by bowling too many extras in the chase but made up for that by picking up wickets. The highest score in the Zimbabwe response was an unbeaten 28 from Christabel Chatonzwa; six batsmen in all reached double-figures. There were 33 extras in all, but the wickets fell in quick succession at the same time. At 172 for 7 in the 46th over, it was still Zimbabwe’s game but seamer Triholder Marshall and a couple of run-outs at the death clinched the game for USA. Marshall picked up three wickets, was involved in a run-out in the 48th over of the game while Bhaskar sealed the win with a run-out, catching Sharyce Saili short with two needed for victory. Zimbabwe will rue the fact that they lost the game with seven balls to spare with a set batsman at one end.Ireland Women slipped to their third defeat of the competition, losing to Bangladesh Women by 95 runs in Savar. They managed to restrict Bangladesh to 209 for 7 in an innings that included five run-outs. Opener Suktara Rahaman made 47 while captain Salma Khatun led the way with 73. As it turned out, the score proved more than sufficient. Ireland were in a good position at 68 for 1 in the 17th over but the innings soon fell apart. Offspinner Khadiza tul Kubra dismissed top-scorer Cecilia Joyce for 44 and finished with six wickets as the rest of the Ireland line-up failed to offer any significant resistance. They were bowled out for 114.West Indies Women preserved their position at the top of Group B by thrashing Japan Women by 10 wickets in Fatullah. Stafanie Taylor starred with the ball this time, taking 5 for 13 as Japan were bowled out for 71. In response, the win was sealed in 16.3 overs, the openers Kycia Knight (24*) and Britney Cooper (36*) seeing West Indies through. Japan bowled 15 wides.South Africa Women‘s new-ball pair of Shabnim Ismail and Moseline Daniels demolished Netherlands Women for 36 to help their side to a whopping 233-run win in Savar.South Africa chose to bat and all their top and middle order got into double figures to set-up a competitive total of 269 for 5. Mignon du Preez and Cri-Zelda Brits top scored with 65 and 63 respectively. Offspinner Esther de Lange was the pick of the Netherlands’ bowlers, with figures of 10-1-45-3. Netherlands got nowhere close in their reply. Ismail struck in the first over, and went on to claim a career-best 6 for 10. Daniels also put on a career-best performance, picking up the other four wickets for 25 runs. Just one of the Netherlands batsmen managed to get into double figures: No. 5 Esther Lanser remained unbeaten on 11 as her team crumbled around her.

Many modern coaches speak of the importance of visualisation. VVS Laxman doesn’t need to imagine things when he arrives at Eden Gardens. He just needs to tap into the memory bank and recall the greatest innings in India’s cricket history. Whatever he does, it works. This was his fifth century in 10 Kolkata Tests. No one apart from Donald Bradman (128.53 at the MCG) and Greg Chappell (111.77 at The Gabba) averages more at a venue where they have batted at least ten times, than Laxman at Eden (110.63).”I have always enjoyed batting at the Eden Gardens,” he said after the second day’s play. “It’s a great ground with a lot of history. Even though there were not a lot at this Test match, the spectators make it special.”For such a gifted batsman, Laxman would be the first to admit that he could have made bigger scores. This was his first century since August 2010. “It was a relief to get a hundred,” he said. “The last hundred I got was against Sri Lanka in the last Test match at P Sara Oval where the team was under tremendous pressure. After that, I have played knocks in pressure situations. Luckily, in this Test match, Sehwag and Gautam gave us a good start, and Rahul and Sachin had a good partnership.”When I went in to bat, the position wasn’t very challenging but it was important for us to build a partnership at that stage and that’s what Rahul and I tried to do. It was also important to get a big score in the first innings especially seeing the nature of the wicket, which will deteriorate on the third and fourth days. Even though I had some valuable 50s under my belt, it is always satisfying to get a hundred.”His best efforts in that 15-month period between tons came at Mohali and Kingsmead. The first inspired a remarkable one-wicket win against Australia, while the second was a matchless 96 in conditions that no other batsman could master. When the going’s good though, Laxman hasn’t always thrived, and he admitted as much.”When Paddy Upton was the mental conditioning coach, we tried various strategies to get the best out of me, especially in a situation where the team is not under a lot of pressure,” he said. “This is the first time in a long time where the team has not been in a difficult or challenging position and I have gone and got a hundred.”Thoughts of a double-hundred were quickly scotched as the light waned in the afternoon, and he had no hesitation in walking off with an unbeaten 176 to his name. “The light was fading, especially after MS [Dhoni] got out,” he said. “We wanted to bowl at least 20 to 22 overs at the West Indies this evening, that’s why we declared when we did.”The declaration was made possible by a stunning onslaught from Dhoni, who bludgeoned 116 runs in an extended second session in which India rattled 180 runs. Laxman did the sensible thing and picked off as many singles as he could, watching from the bowler’s end as Dhoni laid waste an exhausted attack.

Rahane released for Ranji duties

Top-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane has been released from the Indian side so that he can participate in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy fixture against Karnataka from November 17-20 at the Brabourne Stadium. The India selectors are yet to name the squad for the third Test against West Indies to be played from November 22 at the Wankhede Stadium, also in Mumbai. Rahane remains in contention for a spot in that squad.

“Whenever he hits a six, he says he didn’t connect the ball,” said Laxman with a big grin on his face. “I just start laughing because he easily clears the boundary. In fact even in the last Test match here against South Africa, we had a similar partnership where both of us remained unbeaten. It was the same today.”When we needed quick runs, it was easy for me because Dhoni was at the other side and common sense says you take a single and give him as much strike as possible because he is definitely a cleaner hitter than me. It’s always great to see Dhoni [batting]. He is a brilliant batsman, he puts the bowlers under pressure right from the word go.”Laxman’s innings spanned 391 minutes and given the problems he’s had with his back in recent years, he was pleased to have emerged from it with little discomfort. He did cramp up after playing a pull shot, but credited the physio and trainer for his improved fitness levels.If there was a hint of disappointment, it was at the sparse turnout, at a ground renowned for vociferous and intimidating crowds. “We always felt that Kolkata was one place where you had a lot of support for Test match cricket,” he said. “It’s quite strange, I am not sure what the exact reason behind that is, but as I said earlier, it’s always a great feeling playing here. Whenever I come here, all of you remind me about the 2001 Test match. That gives a lot of inspiration to me and all the guys who were involved in that game.”Light permitting, Laxman was confident that India could make scoreboard pressure tell over the coming days. “The wicket is already turning and there is good bounce for the spinners,” he said. “Hopefully, our bowlers can bowl in the right areas and we can win the game.”

West Indies will play five ODIs during their tour of India, between November 29 and December 11, the BCCI has announced. The Indian board had previously confirmed that the sides will play three Tests on the tour, in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, starting from November 6.The venues for the one-dayers are Cuttack, Vishakhapatnam, Ahmedabad, Indore and Chennai. As of now, no Twenty20 has been scheduled for the tour.West Indies will head to India soon after completing their tour of Bangladesh, which ends on November 2. India are currently hosting England for a limited-overs series that finishes on October 29.The schedule
1st Test, November 6-10, Delhi
2nd Test, November 14-18, Kolkata
3rd Test, November 22-26, Mumbai

1st ODI (D/N), November 29, Cuttack
2nd ODI (D/N), December 2, Vishakhapatnam
3rd ODI (D/N), December 5, Ahmedabad
4th ODI (D/N), December 8, Indore
5th ODI (D/N), December 11, Chennai

The contrast could not have been more obvious. Six Leicestershire players swaggered in for the media briefing behind their captain Matthew Hoggard, who was grinning from ear to ear, trying his best to appear excited and interested. After seeing that the reporters were sitting about 20 feet from his table, he even implored them to “shout” out the questions, before realising that there were microphones in place.A couple of hours later, a pale-looking Mahela Udawatte trudged in, his only accompaniments being Ruhuna coach Sumithra Warnakulasuriya and a weak promise of a possible late appearance by Sanath Jayasuriya.Given the gregarious mood Hoggard was in, it did not take him long to move beyond the standard phrases which press conferences are routinely littered with. “We are the underdogs. Everyone expects us to go home,” Hoggard said. Why should a side that has just won a gruelling domestic Twenty20 tournament – after 16 league matches and a tied semi-final decided by an eliminator – be treated as the underdog? Hoggard had an answer. “We do not have too many star players,” he said.”But we have got some good solid match-winners. We have Andrew McDonald, Abdul Razzaq. It’s going to be an interesting tournament. India is a tough place to come and get results. Two games [per side for the qualifiers] is a bit of a lottery but it also takes only two good games to take it away from the opposition. We have come with high hopes.”Leicestershire have sufficient reason to hold sky-high expectations. They had a loss of £400,000 last year and Mike Siddall, their chief executive, admitted earlier that it has been a financial struggle for the club. They stand to gain substantially if they can make it through to the main draw of the Champions League Twenty20.Money was the last thing on Hoggard’s mind though. “You don’t play for money. It is a challenge for us to come here and test ourselves at this level against competitive and top sides from around the world. The money looks after itself.”Testing themselves against top T20 opposition is something that Sri Lankan sides haven’t found too easy in the previous editions of the Champions League but Udawatte was hopeful of a turnaround this time. “We’ve got a good side of youngsters as well as experienced players like Sanath,” Udawatte said. “Batting is our strength but we have also got some decent spinners and fast bowlers.”It is the bowlers that are absent though that are a cause of worry for coach Warnakulasuriya. “We are missing out on Chanaka Welegedara, Suraj Randiv and Shaminda Eranga who are all doing national duty against Australia. The bowling department is a bit weak.”Not having heard such an honest admission throughout the day, all the reporters suddenly went very quiet. Udawatte tried looking at some positives. “We are really lucky to have Sanath. He is always giving good ideas in the dressing room.”The mood wasn’t getting uplifted so easily though. And when it was finally announced that Jayasuriya was not going to make an appearance after all, the briefing ended in disappointed groans.

ScorecardEngland Under-19s kept their hopes of levelling the limited-overs series against South Africa Under-19 alive with a two-wicket win in a low-scoring match at Canterbury. Kishen Velani, the 16-year-old batsman who made his Under-19 debut at Taunton, guided England’s pursuit of 177 with a 60-ball half-century but it still took a late cameo from Jamie Overton to secure a vital victory in the 36th over.Quinton de Kock once again kept the tempo up despite wickets falling at the other end after South Africa had been put in to bat, striking five fours in his 40. His innings was complemented by Shaylin Pillay’s patient 30 and James Price’s typically adventurous 48, but there was precious little else from South Africa’s batsmen and had it not been for Prenelan Subrayen’s 25 South Africa would have been shot out for under 150.As it was, Peter Burgoyne had plenty to do with their sub-par total, snatching 4 for 8 in just over six overs as South Africa collapsed from 140 for 4 to 147 for 7. He had Pillay caught behind to spark the capitulation of the lower order, and followed that up by dismissing the dangerous Price, ending Subrayen’s cameo and trapping Lizaad Williams lbw to end the innings.Williams was soon getting his own back, picking up four quick wickets in his opening spell to reduce England to 25 for 4. Sam Wood, in partnership with Velani, helped England recover but Wood fell to South Africa captain Keaton Jennings for a 40-ball 48 and when Velani was dismissed by Duanne Olivier for 54 the home side were eight down with 21 still needed.Overton struck four fours to see them home in the tight finish, however, and with the scoreline now 3-2 England have the chance to level the series at Canterbury in two days time while South Africa will also be confident of ending their trip on a triumphant note.

Scorecard UAE recovered well from their loss in the first 50-over game against Kenya, putting in a team effort to register a four-wicket win in the Intercontinental One-Day Cup in Nairobi, as a century from Kenya opener Rakep Patel went in vain.After Kenya were asked to bat, Patel – who was very highly rated by the previous Kenya coach Eldine Baptiste – built the host’s total almost single-handedly with a knock of 124 off 154 balls. He struck nine fours and six sixes before being run out in the final over of the innings. Only Tanmay Mishra offered Patel adequate support, scoring a half-century in a 111-run stand for the third wicket, as Kenya posted 230 for nine. Saqib Ali was pick of the UAE bowlers, claiming three middle-order wickets while conceding only 28 in an eight-over spell.UAE lost Bakthiyar Palekar early on in the chase, but were steadied by Arshad Ali and Amjad Ali who added 85 for the second wicket. Kenya fought back with three wickets in the space of 17 runs, including that of Amjad Ali for 60, before another half-century stand between Shaiman Anwar and Khurram Khan put them back on course. Anwar fell with his side 46 short of victory, but Khurram saw the chase through, finishing unbeaten on 65 as UAE won with 20 balls to spare.

Ravi Shastri, a member of the IPL Governing Council, has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to help with their probe into the alleged financial irregularities in the running of the tournament during its first three seasons.”It’s a routine thing”, Shastri told AFP at Lord’s, where he is part of the commentary team for the first Test between England and India. “Everyone who was on on the Governing Council has been asked to help with this inquiry.”The IPL was thrown into controversy during its third season when then chairman Lalit Modi was sacked for alleged financial irregularities relating to, among others, the bidding process for IPL franchises, the mid-over ad sales and the sale of theatrical rights. Modi left for England shortly after his removal, citing threats on his life, and refused to return to India to appear before the ED. Consequently, his passport was revoked after the ED wrote to India’s foreign affairs ministry.Reports indicate Shastri will have to return to Mumbai sometime next week to meet ED officials. Shastri and former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath are the only two cricketers on the IPL Governing Council, which is headed by BCCI vice-president Chirayu Amin.

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has hit out at former captain Shahid Afridi in his tour report of Pakistan’s series in the Caribbean, saying, “as a captain he is very immature, has poor discipline, lacks a gameplan and is unwilling to listen to others’ opinions or advice.” The report, whose excerpts have been published in , confirms the existence of a rift between captain and coach during the end of the tour, with Waqar admitting that Afridi walked out of a meeting over differences relating to selection.The acrimonious relationship was also acknowledged by team manager Intikhab Alam in his tour report, in which he – while saying Waqar had at times been “arrogant” – described Afridi as a “highly hyper-active personality who lacks [the] temperament to listen to other people’s point of views or look for solutions for the betterment of the team.”Afridi was removed as ODI captain after the tour and reacted by retiring “conditionally” from international cricket due to the “humiliation” inflicted by the PCB. His criticism of the board led to the suspension of his central contract and revocation of NOCs permitting him to play cricket overseas. The matter now rests before a disciplinary committee, which is scheduled to meet Afridi – who faces charges of violating the board’s code of conduct – on June 8.”Besides myself, the rest of the coaching staff has worked very hard with him to improve his abilities as a long-term and successful captain but sometimes his volatile and immature nature have proved detrimental and led to unfortunate outcomes including game losses,” Waqar said.Pakistan won the ODI series 3-2 but lost the final two games, both dead rubbers. The tour report reveals there was considerable disagreement between Waqar and Afridi over the team composition for those two matches.Before the fourth and fifth ODIs, Waqar said, Afridi “came into the meetings with a decisive mindset and was refusing to discuss playing XI options. I, as a part of the touring selection committee, tried to discuss different options for the team but he behaved very inappropriately and walked out of the meeting.”His attitude and unwillingness to sort out matters led to a very uncomfortable dressing-room environment which affected the players’ performance, resulting in the last two losses of the ODI series.”Alam, in his report, said there was also a disagreement over Afridi’s decision to suddenly promote himself up the order in one of those two games, as that hadn’t initially been part of the team strategy. “At one stage we were 200 for two in forty overs. All of a sudden Afridi promoted himself and as soon as he went in, the very next over he took the Powerplay and got himself out. The entire batting order was reshuffled and as a result, we could only manage 40-odd runs after that.”After losing the match Waqar was furious why he was not consulted over change in order. Afridi in return told Waqar, ‘I am not having a good time as far as my batting is concerned, but how many times you have taken me to the nets and worked with me or talked to me about my batting’. After heated arguments, once again Afridi left the room.”Alam also claimed he told Afridi not to speak to the press about his differences with Waqar, but inform the PCB chairman if he had complaints. But, according to Alam, it wasn’t just Afridi whose behaviour had been a problem. “I have also been observing Waqar and feel that he is at times little harsh and arrogant which creates some problems.”

Danish Kaneria’s exclusion from the national team looks set to continue for a while yet, after the PCB has said the communication the legspinner sent the board from his former employers Essex “failed to satisfy requirements” of the integrity committee.The PCB had asked Kaneria to send them a certificate of clearance from Essex following his arrest by police and eventual release last summer in a spot-fixing case involving another player from the county. Earlier this week, Kaneria sent the board an email from Essex in which the club thanked him for his services and explained the reasons he was not being offered another contract. It was an email he had already submitted to the board late last year.”We have responded to Kaneria,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarward told ESPNcricinfo. “The clearance letter he sent is something he sent to us six months ago and which we had. We sought legal opinion and confirmed with the ECB, and decided that the document failed to satisfy the requirements of the PCB. So Kaneria has been advised to provide a clearance certificate at the earliest.”What exactly constitutes a “clearance certificate” is unclear: “We just want an idea of what Essex say about him and the case. They were his employers at the time. Will they consider him now?” is what the board’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi told ESPNcricinfo recently. Whether or not Essex will or can provide such a document is another matter altogether. Indications from board officials suggest that such a certificate may not arrive so readily, which leaves a question mark over Kaneria’s international future.Kaneria, presently Pakistan’s leading Test wicket-taker, has not played internationals since last summer. He was selected as part of the squad to face South Africa in a series in the UAE in November 2010, but was prevented from travelling by the PCB at the last minute. The board said he had not been cleared by the integrity committee, newly-formed in the wake of the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal.Since then, Kaneria has submitted various financial records and documents and appeared in front of the committee several times, but hasn’t managed to satisfy members. Until recently, the committee was asking him for transcripts of his questioning by police in the case, something Kaneria and his lawyers insisted they could not provide as it was part of an ongoing investigation in the UK.”This is an integrity issue for us,” Rizvi had said nearly two weeks ago, when asking for the clearance certificate. “The committee is not just made up of board members or cricketers, it has an ex-judge of the Supreme Court on it and in their opinion, Kaneria had not satisfied them so he has not been cleared. We can’t take a risk, so we have asked for this clearance now.”

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the former India captain, has moved the Bombay High Court, seeking the appointment of an arbitrator in relation to what he claimed was the BCCI’s failure to abide by its contract with him while he was a consultant with the board as well as a member of the IPL governing council. He has also claimed an amount of Rs.1.16 crore as fees for services rendered.According to the application filed by Pataudi in the High Court, his agreement with the BCCI came into effect in October 2007 and was to last for a period of five years, where he would be paid Rs 1 crore annually. In the event that one of the parties chose to terminate the contract, as stated in Pataudi’s application, they would have to invoke the agreement’s arbitration clause.In October last year, the BCCI made wholesale changes to the IPL governing council, slashing its membership term from five years to one year and taking a decision that no payment will be made to any member of the original council. These new terms were unacceptable to Pataudi, as well as Sunil Gavaskar, and both turned down posts in the new governing council.In January this year, Pataudi wrote to the BCCI seeking the appointment of an arbitrator since his ties with the governing council had ended. When there was no reply from the Indian board, Pataudi took the matter to court. The case will be heard next week.Pataudi was critical of the BCCI following his withdrawal, saying the board was in a “mess” over the controversies that plagued the IPL, it no longer enjoyed the goodwill it once did in the global cricket community and that the time had come for it to back its financial clout with moral leadership.