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The Pakistan Cricket Board has issued instructions to its players, stipulating that all their agents will have to be approved by the board, failing which the player will be ineligible for selection. The deadline for completing this process is September 30.”No Pakistan cricketer, who is selected for any squad for local and international teams, will be allowed to engage any agent/manager without the prior written approval of the PCB,” the board said in a release. “Failure to comply with these instructions will result in the player being declared ineligible for selection in any of the domestic and international cricketing events under the control of PCB.”According to the board’s instructions, all agents wishing to represent players will have to submit a written application to the PCB furnishing details such as the names of players they want to represent, terms of the contracts and background data. The PCB will then forward the information to the high commissioner of Pakistan in the country to which the agent belongs for verification and approval. In case of Pakistani agents, the country’s law enforcement agency will be responsible for verification.The move comes in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal that broke during the Lord’s Test, after the tabloid released details of a sting operation on Mazhar Majeed, an agent for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. The Pakistan trio were provisionally suspended by the ICC last Thursday and were quizzed by police the next day for their alleged role in bowling deliberate no-balls at Lord’s. The undercover operation by the tabloid apparently revealed that they had done so at the behest of Majeed, who was arrested but released on bail, while the players had their mobile phones confiscated. No charges have been pressed against them yet.Butt, Asif and Amir are set to return to Pakistan, according to Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik. It does not, however, mean that they are cleared from the ongoing criminal investigation: the government of Pakistan, Malik said, will provide a written assurance that the players be made available if needed for further investigations.

Worry of the day
Under the morning clouds, Ben Hilfenhaus looked the man most likely to strike for Australia and he finally did, when Azhar Ali edged behind. But in the very next over, there was a sharp intake of breath from Australian fans when Hilfenhaus, fielding at deep square leg, dived to save a boundary and struggled to get up, clearly in pain. Hilfenhaus appeared to jar his left shoulder and a couple of minutes went by as he hunched over and was checked on by the captain and physio. Hilfenhaus stayed on and bowled the next over, but after that left the field for some treatment. All was well, though, and he returned after a few overs although he will be watched closely ahead of the second Test.Elbow of the day, revisited
Ricky Ponting’s elbow was the subject of much debate on the first day, when he and Mohammad Aamer clashed after Ponting was caught at short leg. It resulted in an unofficial warning for the bowler, who had also crashed with Michael Clarke in the second Twenty20 at Edgbaston, although plenty of onlookers felt Ponting was more at fault for raising his elbow. “I was just a bit surprised,” Ponting said. “It was more of a reaction thing from me that he was where he was. I had sort of turned my back to look where the ball was going and the bloke caught it. As I went to turn around there was someone immediately in what I feel is my space. It’s not the first time it’s happened, either, as we saw in the Twenty20 game with Michael.” When asked if he thought Aamer was aware of running close to the batsman, Ponting’s reply was blunt: “I think he was looking at me, wasn’t he?”Change of the day No. 1
Salman Butt loomed as the man most likely to inspire an incredible victory, and he progressed with ease towards a century. But when Ricky Ponting handed the ball to Marcus North ahead of Steven Smith, due to the presence of two left-handers at the crease, the part-time offspinner struck with his first delivery. It wasn’t exactly a conventional wicket – a leg-side stumping thanks to wonderfully sharp work from Tim Paine – and Butt was distraught at his mistake. It looked like a masterstroke from Ponting, and it was even more so when North went on to earn a place on the honours board with a six-wicket haul, givin him the best figures ever by an Australian spinner in a Test innings at Lord’s.Change of the day No. 2
Intermittent light rain sprinkled down in the first session but when it became a bit heavier, the umpires were quick to call for the covers. The groundstaff were caught off guard, and by the time they’d removed the boundary boards and got the hover-cover halfway to the pitch, the rain had cleared. The umpires called the players back on, although the Australians hadn’t even had time to get off the field. As weather forecasters, Ian Gould and Rudi Koertzen make good umpires.Sleepy moment of the day
Everyone watching at the ground enjoyed seeing Umar Akmal launch the first six of the innings. Well, almost everyone. The lofted drive to long-on cleared the boundary and landed on the hover-cover, a few metres from one of the groundstaff. But he didn’t get up and collect the ball for a simple reason: he was asleep. The TV cameras caught the man still apparently dozing while one of his colleagues grabbed the ball and tossed it back onto the field. Long-on is a dangerous place when Umar Akmal is batting, and when a four bounced over the fence shortly afterwards, the man had woken from his slumber.Silly, silly mid off of the day
For three deliveries in the hour before lunch Simon Katich squatted at 45 degrees in front of Umar Amin in a position which virtually ran parallel to the pitch. It seemed more confounding considering it was set for Shane Watson, not the most express fast bowler in the Australian team. Amin duly took advantage of the large empty space in the cover region to pick three easy fours, thereby forcing Ricky Ponting to abandon a silly move.Boom boom, crash, crash of the day
Why does Shahid Afridi come out to bat? After his 15-minute mayhem in the first innings which ended with suicidal shot selection, Pakistan’s captain had a good chance to redeem himself today. Instead, three balls into his second innings he once again went for the long handle against Marcus North, offering a simple catch in the deep. Even by Afridi’s standards it was ridiculous to say the least.

Makhaya Ntini, the South Africa fast bowler, believes the existing structure to identify black cricketers in the country’s rural areas is not yielding the desired results. Ntini, among his country’s most renowned sporting personalities and himself a product of that structure, is raising funds to build an academy in the Eastern Cape and hopes it will help in the development of more black cricketers.”We do have a structure in South Africa where they are looking for black cricketers outside the usual areas, the cities. They go to the rural areas to try and find promising youngsters,” Ntini told . “But when you are talking about whether it’s developing, or it’s still going down a bit, it’s a very rare person who will answer in the first way. I would say cricket from the point of view of the black community is not the same as when Khaya Majola or Dr Ali Bacher were around, when it was booming, we had all the schools getting together to play some games.”Then it was easier to see who was a very good cricketer, who could go to the high schools and develop their cricket. Now it’s not so easy. I would like that to change.”Ntini is South Africa’s ambassador for the FIFA World Cup which begins in the country in less than a week. For a cricketer to represent his country in that capacity at a global event, Ntini said, was very special. “As a cricketer for me to be there, and part and parcel of what’s going on in our country, it’s a huge thing, something I’m proud of as a country, as a person and as an individual.”Ntini acknowledged cricket in South Africa was still a sport dominated by whites, and for black cricketers to compete and succeed, they had to work that much harder. “Cricket in South Africa is not exclusively white, but it is more white-dominant. The football is more black-dominant, so they are two different ball games in every respect,” Ntini said. “For those of us who don’t play football, we have to make sure we are 10% ahead of anything else, regarding fitness, regarding preparation, everything, for us to compete with the other players. In a white-dominant sport, to stay there for longer, those kind of things we have to go through.”Earlier in the year, in the Test series against England, Ntini became the fifth South African cricketer to play 100 Tests. His performance, however, had been on a decline and he was dropped after his 101st. He is currently representing Kent in the English domestic season but remains hopeful of a return to international cricket. “I have enjoyed my time [with Kent] and I would definitely love to come back, but first I must sort out my cricket life back home and see if I am still involved with the national team. If not, playing county cricket will be my second option,” he said.”I only need 10 [Test] wickets to get to 400, and I am crossing my fingers I will be given that opportunity. If it was not me, if it was anyone else, only 32 and still needing 10 wickets for 400, he would definitely [get the chance]. You know, ‘We’ll try and get him those wickets’.” Ntini had expressed his disappointment at not having heard from the selectors since being dropped. Andrew Hudson, Cricket South Africa’s chief selector, responded saying Ntini will be considered for selection for the national side’s upcoming series, following his encouraging stint with Kent.

Match Facts

Friday, May 28, 2010
Start time 0900 (0700 GMT)
Elton Chigumbura will make his debut as Zimbabwe captain•Associated Press

The Big Picture

Once was Zimbabwe cricket. Now it’s just a carcass, almost like a country starting anew after a bloody war. World cricket looked healthy when Zimbabwe were healthy. A team comprising Heath Streak, Flower brothers, Alistair Campbell, Paul Strang, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin, Henry Olonga, Guy Whittall and Stuart Carlisle at the bottom of the pile was not a bad sign at all. In the mid-to-late nineties, this team threatened the notion of minnows. A decade later, they have just about started rising from the shambles and have already hit the first roadblock – Prosper Utseya’s resignation from captaincy under mysterious circumstances.By no means is this tri-series top-flight international cricket: it features two other teams who should by now be sick of playing each other, that too massively under-par because of rested players. Nonetheless, it is international cricket, it is being played in Zimbabwe, and that should be cause for celebration, cause for looking forward to whether the game still enjoys a following in the country.As far as India is concerned, Zimbabwe is remembered as the place where Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell embarked upon a rather harmonious captain-coach journey. That was five years ago, and no such drama is expected this time. None of the players from that tour have made the trip this time around. Some, like Irfan Pathan, have taken their personal careers down the Zimbabwe route. Some, like Harbhajan Singh who recently helped Zimbabwe get proper kits, have been rested. It only promises closer contests. India, led by young Suresh Raina who’s yet to play a Test, against Zimbabwe, charged by their battery of strangulating spinners, who have everything to gain.

Form guide (most recent first)

Zimbabwe LLLLW
India LWWLW

Watch out for…

Weeks after the coach Alan Butcher raised a mild disciplinary question about him, Elton Chigumbura finds himself leading the side, following Utseya’s resignation. He is one of the most cleanest hitters in the side, and he now has a very important responsibility.Raina is an unlikely captain too, keeping the seat warm for a resting MS Dhoni. He promises a more eager, energetic performance from the young side he is leading, something his own play does too.

Team news

On the slow and low pitches in the West Indies, Zimbabwe were used to playing a line-up full of spinners, with Chigumbura to bowl some seam-up. Here they could get Chris Mpofu in.Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Charles Coventry, 4 Brendan Taylor, 5 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 6 Elton Chigumbura (capt.), 7 Andy Blignaut, 8 Greg Lamb, 9 Graeme Cremer/Prosper Utseya, 10 Chris Mpofu, 11 Ray Price.India, too, should rely mainly on their spinners, including part-timers like Ravindra Jadeja, whose career ODI economy-rate of 4.90 is in stark contrast with his performance in the World Twenty20 (9.75).India (possible) 1 M Vijay, 2 Dinesh Karthik/Naman Ojha (wk), 3 Suresh Raina (capt.), 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 R Ashwin/Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Vinay Kumar, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Umesh Yadav.

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe have won only one out of their last 11 ODIs. Four of those losses have come against Bangladesh.
• At 23 years 182 days, Raina will become the ninth-youngest man to captain an ODI side. He has played 90 ODIs without a Test cap, overtaking the Indian record for 73 ODIs before Test debut, held by Yuvraj Singh. By the end of the tri-series, he should have at least equalled Andrew Symonds’ world record – 94.
  

  Quotes

  “The tour will be an opportunity to learn and press for a regular berth in the ODIs and stake a claim at the highest level – Test cricket.”
  “This is a real tough two weeks for us as we try to re-establish ourselves as a top cricket country. We have done pretty well in the last couple of months and are keen to continue.”

Michael Hussey was still taking deep breaths when he sat down shortly after the match to discuss what he had just achieved. It hadn’t sunk in. Australia shouldn’t have won this game, they really shouldn’t have got close.The fact they were victorious with a ball to spare was down to one man who produced something even he doubted was possible. Words like “freakish”, “extraordinary” and “special” were thrown around after his 60 off 24 deliveries, but for once they weren’t too far off the mark.One impact of Twenty20 has been the number of innings that are acclaimed as out of the ordinary in their immediate aftermath. When there are so many boundaries, so many run chases and so much cricket in a condensed period, it can be hard to retain context.After Yusuf Pathan clubbed 100 off 37 balls early in this year’s IPL, Shane Warne called it “the greatest innings he had seen”, seemingly forgetting a couple of epics by Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar to start with. Twenty20 is still such a young game that the true gauge of performances will be how they are recalled in 10 or 20 years.Given that Hussey’s display came in a world semi-final against a good bowling attack under immense pressure, it may just last the test of time. “I think that’s probably the best feeling I have ever had on a cricket field,” he said. “Particularly in such a big game when I was having so many doubts, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be our day – when balls kept lobbing over us in field. Before today hitting the winning runs in the Adelaide Test against England was pretty special, but I think this tops it.”Whether Hussey retains that feeling when his career ends remains to be seen, and he may reflect that one of his many Test or ODI epics settles at the top. But it goes to highlight the seriousness with which Australia are now taking Twenty20 when a victory is rated higher than one of the greatest Test successes in history.When Cameron White was caught at long-off for 43 Australia still needed 53 off 21 balls. Basically almost every delivery had to end up at the boundary and that isn’t far off what happened. It was all down to Hussey. Steven Smith only managed 5 and in the 53-run stand that sealed the win Mitchell Johnson’s contribution was 5 off three deliveries – although crucially he squeezed a single off the first ball of the last over.”I can believe it because of the guy sitting beside me,” Michael Clarke said after the game. “[Hussey] and White had an amazing day. I honestly felt Pakistan scored 15 runs too many. But you just can’t write us off, with the class and experience we have in the team.”This was just a freakish performance from an unbelievable cricketer.When we lost a few wickets it was always going to be hard to chase that total. Then I just couldn’t watch the last over after Mitchell got a single. I was in the dressing room and heard cheers so knew it was a six, then another one and I thought: ‘What’s going on?'”Hussey’s striking in the final over will be what is recalled, but the way he played the penultimate six balls was a master class in limited-overs batting. The target began as 34 from 12 and Hussey collected all 16 that came from the 19th over with deft placement and hare-like running. No one could have done it better, not even the king of run-chases Michael Bevan, who used to keep his side in seemingly impossible pursuits.Hussey has grabbed the mantle of Australia’s finisher and has done it so effectively in the 50-over game that he still maintains an average over 50 after 140 matches. However, translating that into Twenty20 didn’t quite come as easily. Brute force, such an important skill in the dying overs of a 20-over match, wasn’t natural to him and even in this innings he used a few balls to get in.”I’m not the kind of batsman who can go in and clear the ropes from the first ball so to start with I was just trying to give the strike to Cameron [White],” he said. “Then it came to the stage where every ball had to go and you just have to try. Even I wasn’t that confident we could do it.”It was all a bit of a blur and with last ball I just wanted to hit it out of the middle. I’m so happy and it’s great to see the elation on the boys’ faces.”His average has lifted by nearly 12 runs during this tournament as he has settled into the No. 7 position. He is Australia’s safety valve, who has twice come in with his team in trouble against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to lead a recovery. When he launched Saeed Ajmal for the third six in the last over everything else looked tame by comparison.

Group D in the World Twenty20 is resembling Friends Reunited. Ottis Gibson and Phil Simmons, former West Indies team-mates, have already gone head-to-head as the coaches of the hosts and Ireland while Eoin Morgan will also face his former colleagues on Tuesday. However, the most intriguing match-up will be when Gibson is brought up against England little more than three months after leaving the role of bowling coach.It was a rapid turnaround between jobs for Gibson who was given permission to speak to West Indies just a week after finishing England’s tour of South Africa. A few days later it was confirmed he would return home to take on the head coach role, but he still keeps in close contact with a number of the England squad which will create an added edge to the contest at Providence.”I speak to Colly [Paul Collingwood] a lot and also Broady [Stuart Broad],” he said. “We [West Indies] are excited and there’s a bit of banter going around about that game, but I don’t play cricket anymore so can pretty much say what I want. It’s up to the players in the middle to produce and it will be fun seeing those guys again. It was only two or three months ago that I was spending a lot of time with them. Somebody reminded me that West Indies have a good record against England in T20 so we’ll look forward to the game.”There are some new guys in there I don’t know much about. Craig Kieswetter is one, Michael Lumb another and Yardy I haven’t been involved with much. In T20 plans can change every day so what I knew about them three months ago could have gone full circle now so we just have to make sure we are well prepared.”Gibson’s appointment as West Indies coach was generally viewed as a positive move, bringing in someone who understands the culture and can relate to the players. However, Viv Richards’ recent outburst, relating to a Test against South Africa in 1998-99, has been the loudest descenting voice and took many people by surprise.”I saw the now present coach Ottis Gibson with his two feet on the balcony, earphones in,” Richards said. “West Indies were just about to go down the chute – and he was having fun, where the music was concerned. That has left an impression on me, seeing him in the present position he is now.”That is not saying he will not be a good coach, but I doubt he would like to see one of his players [behaving as he did] at that particular time, with him being in the position he is now.”Comparing Gibson 11 years ago to the coach he now is forgets the prolific form in the closing stages of his first-class career with Durham and the work he has done to gain his coaching credentials with England. Gibson, speaking before Richards’ comments were made, said he was settling into his new role and felt confident about the future.”I have a passion for West Indies cricket and now the challenge is to bring people together which slowly is happening,” he said. “The signs are very good and the guys are getting used to how I operate. This tournament will give us a good indicator of where we actually are.”With his bowling background that remains the area where most of Gibson’s hands-on coaching continues. He has brought in Jimmy Adams to help on the batting front for the World Twenty20 and is eyeing a permanent batting coach in the future. He admits that moving from working with just one part of a team to oversee a whole operation has been a challenging experience.”When I was bowling coach I generally only had four or five people to look after on a tour or a net session and now I’m in charge of the whole team,” he said. “You have to make sure they are getting what they need in training and when people are left out you have to make sure people are okay about that as well. Then you are scouring the internet at time trying to get stats and information on opposition teams so it keeps me up at night I can tell you that.”However, Gibson’s remit extends beyond the West Indies side. He has been charged with looking at all levels of the game and he has already implement new systems including a High Performance Centre in Barbados which is headed by Toby Radford, the former Middlesex batsman, who played a key role in Andrew Strauss’s return to form two years ago.Radford has also worked closely with Morgan so should be able to pass on some useful advice about England’s new Twenty20 star. “He will try and instil the right attitude into those people who have been picked for the HPC and hopefully when they get into the senior team they will know what is required and can make a contribution to international cricket,” Gibson explained of Radford’s role.He also emphasised what he said when he first took the role, that it’s vital West Indies cricket only looks forward. “We want to stay away from the glory days and start a new era of glory. They are long gone and we have to start again. We should never forget the past but we can’t keep looking back. We want to get players from that era to come in and share their experiences, but it is about this group of players to set new standards for themselves and start a new page.”

Hauritz’s Taylor-made record
Nathan Hauritz went for 25 runs off the 54th over of New Zealand’s innings and it was the equal-most expensive over ever bowled by an Australian in a Test. Hauritz was in the dressing rooms when the previous record was set, when AB de Villiers launched Andrew McDonald for four sixes and a single in Cape Town last year. This time it was Ross Taylor who did the damage in an over that finished with three sixes, all heaved over the on-side. It could have been worse. The second legal ball of the over was headed for six as well, until Shane Watson at deep midwicket brilliantly stopped it and tossed the ball back in before he fell over the rope. But it wasn’t the most runs scored by New Zealand in a Test over – Craig McMillan hit 26 off Younis Khan in 2000-01, also at Seddon Park.Watson’s woes
The six that Watson saved off Hauritz’s over was an impressive effort, and he had much to make up for. When Taylor was on 7 he edged off Ryan Harris and the ball sailed between Watson at first slip and Ricky Ponting at second, both of whom left the ball for the other. It was Watson’s catch, as he was the deeper man and would have needed only to move to his right a fraction to get his hand to the ball. Watson also dropped Taylor on 92, again at slip and again off Harris, this time to his left.Hot Spot gets the shot
For all the talk of Hot Spot helping with the decision review system, there have been few occasions when it has been enough to overturn a decision. Often, the front-on cameras do not capture the right angle to show contact between bat and ball. However, in this series there have been Hot Spot cameras square of the wicket as well, and that was enough to convict Taylor in the eyes of the third umpire. The side-on camera revealed clear contact between bat and ball and the on-field decision of not-out was overturned, ending Taylor’s innings on 138. He didn’t look happy walking off, but there was little doubt the decision was correct.Skippy bushed by kangaroos
Mathew “Skippy” Sinclair has waited two years for another chance at Test level and he couldn’t make use of it in the first innings in Hamilton. Sinclair was yorked by Mitchell Johnson for 11 and it continued his very poor record against Australia in Tests. In nine Tests against Australia, Sinclair’s averaged is a lowly 13.93. Sinclair has often been criticised for his lack of footwork and the Australians made sure they reminded him of that. Brad Haddin was picked up on the stump microphone asking Sinclair if his shoelaces were tied together.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was at the forefront during Guyana‘s first win of the season, and for three years in the WICB regional first-class championship, as they beat Leeward Islands by five wickets at the National Cricket Centre in Couva. Chanderpaul followed up his first-innings century with 32 not out, as Guyana, chasing a modest 98 for victory, reached their target before lunch. The result never appeared to be in doubt, although they lost Assad Fudadin and wicketkeeper Derwin Christian continuing from their overnight score of 49 for 3. But Chanderpaul was there to provide the final touch.”It is always good to win, and it will be a big boost to the team’s confidence going into the final round,” said Chanderpaul. “You needed to apply yourself and be patient which is a problem for most of our batsmen.”Apart from spending time in the middle, Chanderpaul was also pleased that his thumb injury, sustained during West Indies’ tour of Australia in December, hadn’t played up. “I’m feeling okay with my injury,” he said. “Victory against Zimbabwe in the coming series will be a psychological boost to the team and the fans in the Caribbean. We have to lift our game and play more intelligent cricket.”Offspinner Amit Jaggernauth starred with the ball to hand Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) a 155-run victory over Windward Islands in Port of Spain. Jaggernauth picked up 5 for 47 as Windwards, chasing 373 for victory, were cleaned up before the lunch interval. T&T had early success after the Windwards resumed from their overnight 129 for 5, with Imran Khan trapping Shane Shillingford leg before for 1. But from then on it was the Jaggernauth show as the Windwards lower order found the mixture of offspinners and googlies too hot to handle. The result helped T&T climb to third on the points table, whereas Windwards hit rock bottom.

A fine team performance by Mid West Rhinos brought them a well-earned eight-wicket victory over the powerful Mashonaland Eagles in the third round of matches at Harare Sports Club. As usual, Elton Chigumbura shone for the home team with a swashbuckling half-century, but none of his team-mates came through with significant performances, and the Rhinos found several players whose combined efforts brought them success.Eagles, put in to bat, attacked the bowling with reckless abandon, and in retrospect this probably cost them the match. Doug Marillier looked in good form, but was run out through the frozen immobility of his partner, Forster Mutizwa, who hit a six and was then himself run out by a brilliant throw from Vusi Sibanda as Eagles slipped to 33 for 4.As he has done so often this season, Chigumbura rallied his side after the early setbacks shared a 57-run partnership of calm and steady batting with Greg Lamb before Lamb skied a catch to long off. Chigumbura reached his 50 with a six over long on off Darren Stevens, but was out next ball to a superb catch to become the first of Stevens’ four middle-order wickets as the innings ended on 140.Sibanda drove and cut the first and third balls of the Rhinos’ chase, from Chigumbura, to the boundary, as the score raced to 30 off three overs. His partner Riki Wessels was even more aggressive, and the pair put on 61 in eight overs before Wessels was run out going for a quick single. He was replaced by Brendan Taylor, who batted with equal power and confidence, the 100 coming up in the 12th over. Sibanda was run out with 31 runs needed to temporarily slow the scoring rate but Taylor and Stevens paced their batting well, until three were needed off the final over, bowled by Chigumbura. Tight bowling and fielding saw only two scored off four balls, but Stevens lofted the fifth with superb timing over the bowler’s head for six to clinch a rare victory over the strongest provincial side. Taylor was unbeaten with 45 off 30 balls, and a team effort in all three departments was fully evident for the victors.Matabeleland Tuskers followed a superb victory over the strong Mountaineers with a heavy defeat at the hands of Southern Rocks, supposedly the weakest team, in the second match of the day. Outstanding batting by Chamu Chibhabha and Sikandar Raza led the Rocks to a total of 166, and with Tuskers able to muster only 123 for 9 in reply, this means that after three days and six matches, each team has recorded one victory.The start of this match was delayed by just over 30 minutes due to a lunchtime shower, but fortunately it soon stopped – which does not always happen in Zimbabwe in February. The Rocks decided to bat on winning the toss and Chamu Chibhabha cut the first ball of the innings for four – the third successive time today the first ball of an innings had been hit to the boundary – and with his partner, the Pakistan-born Raza, even more aggressive, the Tuskers bowlers were soon on the receiving end of a hiding they did not expect to get.The 50 came up in the sixth over and the 100 – the first century partnership of the tournament – in the 11th. It was left to Sean Williams, the seventh bowler tried, to break the stand. He bowled Raza as the batsman went for a big hit, having scored 53 off 34 balls, including 4 fours and 3 sixes. Steve Tikolo scored 10 before holing out at long off, and Sean Ervine managed only a single before being caught at the wicket. Chibhabha batted through the innings for an unbeaten 82, which included 7 fours and 3 sixes. Rocks looked a transformed team after ratcheting up a total of 166 for 4, but they still had the Blignaut factor to contend with.Tuskers had no choice but to launch their assault from the first ball, but they were soon reeling with the loss of Gavin Ewing, Mark Vermeulen and Charles Coventry for only 16 runs. Williams and Keith Dabengwa rallied the team, but neither are power hitters and after 10 overs the total was 57 for 3 – meaning the required rate was now 11 an over. Somebody needed to get out to bring in Blignaut – and Dabengwa obliged.Blignaut began steadily, but soon lost Williams, brilliantly caught by Chibhabha at backward point off Ervine for 39 off 38 balls. Ervine then struck the vital blow, causing Blignaut to play a slower ball on to his stumps for just 4. With 15 an over now needed, the result was all but sealed, and Tuskers eventually went down by 43 runs.

Ricky Ponting doesn’t bury himself in statistics but he knew he hadn’t scored a one-day hundred at the Gabba. He has one now after his 106 provided the platform for a ground-record score of 7 for 324 that set up a 3-0 series victory over West Indies.It was Chris Gayle’s men who started a testing summer for Ponting, but over the past eight days he has scored 49, 57, 22 and 106 against them to return to something approaching peak form. “I have been working pretty hard with the coaching staff on a few little things and I have probably had a few better situations to bat in as well lately,” Ponting said. “I have been in a little earlier and it has freed me to play a few shots against the new ball, which I always enjoy doing. I have also been able to get off to some reasonable starts with my scoring rate which generally makes things a little easier.”Ponting told his players before the game not to let an opportunity slip to post a big score and they followed the message on the way to a one-sided, 50-run victory. “To bat first and post that sort of a total – the highest total ever at the Gabba – that is really satisfying and is a great reward and great result for the team,” he said. “We were a little disappointed with our batting as a group in Sydney and a couple of games before that we have been in good situations and not capitalised. But I thought we were terrific today.”The result was basically sealed when Gayle departed in the seventh over, but Narsingh Deonarine, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith reached half-centuries as the game wound down. In the Test series, West Indies lost 2-0 while performing strongly over extended periods, but this result reflects the quality of the unit, which is missing seven of its main men.”We’re disappointed we lost the series 3-0 so far,” Gayle said. “We’re up against a top team, a good all-round team, and we test ourselves as players and characters. It’s a learning experience for them.”Gayle expected Australia to come back hard after they were held to 225 in Friday’s washout and realised in the early stages that his side was in trouble. “We knew they were going to do their homework after the last game in Sydney, they were in a bit of a negative zone, and they wanted to show from ball one,” he said. “Shane Watson got off to a flyer and Ricky played a beautiful innings in getting a hundred. They set the tone for a decent total and we were asking for trouble given they started so well.”