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A 92-run opening stand between England batsmen Charlotte Edwards and Kathryn Leng proved the difference in the One-Day International played against India as compensation for their washed out Test match at Beaconsfield yesterday.India won the toss and batted first but struggled all the way losing Jaya Sharma when the score was seven as Isa Guha set about another fine example of her promise by claiming Sharma as the first of her three wickets at a cost of 28 runs.Later she added Anjum Chopra for five and Sulakshana Naik for six.Clare Connor’s slow bowling also cut a swathe through the Indian batting as she took three for 25 from 9.5 overs.India were dismissed for 118 with one ball of their innings remaining.Edwards scored 54 off 89 balls with only two boundaries while Leng scored 46 off 84.Edwards was second out when England were only 11 runs short of their target and while Claire Taylor and Melissa Reynard were also dismissed before the win was achieved, England got home comfortably to claim a six-wicket win.

The high-quality fielding and the controlled bowling the West Indies exhibited at Sabina Park last weekend were nowhere to be seen at the Antigua Recreation Ground here yesterday. The batting was also not exactly up to par for the first phase of play, but for 60 overs, at least, the West Indies remained competitive.The rest of the afternoon, however, was one-way traffic and South Africa sped to an emphatic victory by eight wickets with 25 balls in reserve to level the Cable & Wireless series at 1-1.Once Nixon McClean, always one to struggle with his accuracy, came into the attack with South Africa on 40 for one in search of 221 from 50 overs, he served up a handful of loose, innocuous deliveries that were predictably punished. The 25 runs he gave away from two overs simply set Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis on their way to a big, record century partnership and the intensity of West Indians on the field appeared to have been significantly reduced.Gibbs negotiated the early tight stuff from Cameron Cuffy before unleashing a series of commanding strokes on route to his fourth 100 (103 off 141 balls) in One-Day Internationals. His Western Province teammate Kallis was just as convincing and was unbeaten on 78 when the target was reached for the loss of just two wickets.”It was disappointing,” captain Carl Hooper said after the West Indies’ first defeat in five matches at the ARG.”I don’t think we batted as well as we could have. The first 25 overs were a bit too slow. Looking at the wicket, it was probably more a 250-260 wicket. The South Africans showed us it was a good track to bat on.”Hooper was also not happy with the bowling.”We expect one of the bowlers to have a bad day, but too many guys had poor days. We’ve got to be a bit more consistent if we want to beat South Africa,” he said.”We definitely could have shown a lot more urgency and a lot more consistency in the field as well,” coach Roger Harper added.McLean’s first ball was pulled by four by Gibbs over mid-wicket, the second slapped over point for another boundary and his fourth hooked over long-leg for another four.The syrup he dished out virtually negated the fantastic opening spell by Cameron Cuffy. Impeccably consistent with his immaculate line and occasional awkward bounce, Cuffy gained an early breakthrough with a delivery that moved and took the inside edge of Gary Kirsten’s bat before going onto the stumps.Cuffy’s control was matched by left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell, but the other West Indies bowlers were disappointing.After the onslaught against McLean, nothing troubled Gibbs and Kallis in their second-wicket stand of 179, the highest South African partnership in the 20 One-Day Internationals between the two countries, the highest partnership on the ground and the highest South African second-wicket stand in 225 matches of this type.West Indies’ fielding could not repeat the standard it set in Jamaica. When Gibbs was on 56, he should have been run out, but Chris Gayle opted to rifle a return from point directly to the stumps when the safe hands of wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs was a better option.And Jacobs himself, whose mistakes behind the stumps have been few this season, dropped Gibbs off Marlon Samuels’ off-spin when the batsman was 76.Even then, the West Indies were in with a faint chance with 84 runs still needed off the last 90 balls.In a jiffy four sixes were carted out of the ground from the West Indies’ spin combination of Hooper, Samuels and Chris Gayle. At the half-way stage of their innings, the West Indies were 76 for one and didn’t seem likely to get their eventual total.It was a start-stop process for the most part, and they required lusty hitting from Shivnarine Chanderpaul and an almost equally destructive Carl Hooper to boost their fortunes in a fifth-wicket stand of 85 in 13 overs.Chanderpaul, included only because of Ricardo Powell’s right thigh strain, finally showed the form that has eluded him all season in an innings of 60 off 54 balls.While the more distinguished hitters like Brian Lara and Gayle were outfoxed in trying to despatch Lance Klusener over the top, Chanderpaul made it look simple. In successive overs, Klusener was clobbered onto the sightscreen and lifted over mid-wicket for sixes.When Allan Donald, an impressive first-spell performer, was recalled, he too was carted over mid-wicket for Chanderpaul’s third six that triggered wild scenes among a crowd of about 9 000.But just when he was in full flow and seemingly about to provide a final flurry in the last seven overs, he was run out in attempting a non-existent second run to square-leg that gained no response from Hooper.The West Indies captain duly took it the cue with a few meaty blows, including a straight six off Jacques Kallis and a couple of lofted off-side drives.Hooper’s dismissal for 48 off 46 balls virtually ended the West Indies’ flow of runs. He was the first of four wickets that fell in the last 20 balls that brought only 10 runs.Gayle provided the early impetus with an even half-century, but while he was flowing, his fellow Jamaican Leon Garrick and Lara took up too many dot balls.Garrick, who suggested he would be run out anytime, eventually fell that way after struggling to 16 off 61 balls, while Lara could not deliver something special on his 32nd birthday and needed 38 balls for his 13. The pair were especially contained by Donald and Kallis.

New Zealand will have separate Test and one-day sides for their tour of Pakistan which has now been confirmed from April 18-May 12.Three One-Day Internationals and two Tests will be played, the ODIs following New Zealand’s participation in the Sharjah tournament.New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said today a separate Test selection would be made for the tour but he didn’t know how many players would be involved. That was for the selectors to decide, he said.It was also decided, in consultation with the players, that no warm-up first-class games will be played before the Tests.New Zealand were conscious of the fact that it shouldn’t be a long tour in order to give players a week or two break before they go to the West Indies.New Zealand will play in Sharjah against Pakistan and Sri Lanka from April 9-17.New Zealand team manager Jeff Crowe visited Pakistan after New Zealand’s ODI series with England was completed and he was satisfied the security arrangements were up to requirements and the tour should proceed.Snedden said: “I am satisfied from the reports I have received that appropriate arrangements have been put in place by the Pakistan Cricket Board to ensure player safety and comfort.”The itinerary is: April 21 v Pakistan, Karachi; April 24 v Pakistan, Rawalpindi; April 27 v Pakistan Lahore; May 1-5 v Pakistan, Lahore; May 8-12 v Pakistan, Karachi.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Pakistan has frozen the PCB’s account over outstanding taxes worth about Pakistan Rs 30 million (US$317,000 approx). The board has heavily criticised the action and said the FBR did not follow proper procedures.According to the , the PCB owed Rs 30 million to the FBR out of which Rs 18 million has been recovered after freezing the PCB’s account. The FBR spokesman wasn’t available to comment though PCB have denied being a defaulter and called the act as illegal.”FBR didn’t serve any notice to PCB before recovering money from PCB bank account and an opportunity of being heard was required before doing such act,” the PCB said in a statement. “The issued Stay Order from Honorable Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenues in favour of PCB recovery of this amount from PCB bank Account is an illegal act.”This is not the first time the FBR has recovered the withholding tax by freezing the PCB’s account with Rs 70 million was obtained in June this year in similar circumstances.According to the PCB, the Commissioner Income Tax (Appeals) granted the stay order for the recovery of money pertaining to the tax year 2006 and proceedings are currently underway before the Appellate tribunal.

Former Indian leg spinner Narendra Hirwani struck twice late in theday to leave Orissa struggling at stumps on the second day of theirRanji Trophy quarterfinal against Madhya Pradesh at the Captain RoopSingh stadium in Gwalior on Friday. Replying to the Madhya Pradeshtotal of 437, Orissa were 110 for three at close of play.Orissa lost Pradip Das early. The opener was leg before to HS Sodhifor ten in the seventh over when the score was 13. But the otheropener Suresh Kumar and Rashmi Parida then added 89 runs for thesecond wicket off 26.3 overs and Orissa were sailing along smoothly at102 for one. Then in successive overs, Hirwani struck. First, he hadSuresh Kumar caught by another former Indian spin bowler RajeshChauhan for 35. Suresh Kumar faced 98 balls and hit five of them tothe ropes. In the following over, the same combination struck to getrid of Sanjay Satpathy for a duck. Skipper Sanjay Raul then joinedParida and the two played carefully still stumps. Parida at close wasbatting with 47. He has so far faced 96 balls and hit six fours.Hirwani in four overs has so far taken two for 14.Earlier, the hosts resuming at 320 for six, did well to get to 437.The tail wagged to prolong Orissa’s stay in the field. After overnightbatsmen, skipper Chandrakant Pandit (28) and AS Srivastava (29) fellquickly, Rajesh Chauhan (36) and Y Golwalkar (41 not out) added 74runs for the ninth wicket off 31.3 overs. While Chauhan faced 90 ballsand hit six of them to the fence, Golwalkar faced 135 balls and hitfive fours.

Mashonaland Eagles are on the lookout for a new coach after it was confirmed that Chris Silverwood would not be returning to the franchise next season. They have, however, already filled the post of assistant coach, with Grant Flower set to take up the role when he returns to Zimbabwe at the end of the current English season.”Silverwood is not coming back and we are still discussing with the prospective candidates for the job and hopefully we will be announcing the name of the new coach soon,” Eagles’ chief executive Hugo Ribatika told in Zimbabwe.Flower, 39, is in his final season with Essex after spending six years at the county. As well as the post with Eagles, he is expected to become part of the national coaching set-up and work with Zimbabwe’s batsmen as part of coach Alan Butcher’s technical team.Mashonaland Eagles won Zimbabwe’s domestic first-class competition, the Logan Cup, last season, and were also beaten finalists in the Faithwear-Met Bank one-day competition and the inaugural Stanbic Bank Twenty20 tournament.Eagles’ captain Elton Chigumbura, who is playing county cricket with Northamptonshire, is likely to miss the opening matches of the forthcoming season, but the franchise has already begun its preparations and the squad will be travelling to Chimanimani in the east of the country for a pre-season retreat next week.”It’s a team building exercise. We have invited a number of professionals to come and talk to the players because we want to build strong individuals on and off the pitch,” said Ribatika.With several franchises making changes to their squads ahead of the new season – Matabeleland Tuskers have parted ways with Mark Vermeulen and Dion Ebrahim, while Tatenda Taibu and Stuart Matsikenyeri are moving from Mountaineers to Southern Rocks – Eagles have signed national Under-19 captain Peter Moor.”We have high chances because we have managed to retain most of our players and we are looking to add one or two,” explained Ribatika. “Negotiations are still going on. We also have got exciting prospects coming up as we have secured the national Under-19 captain Peter Moor to play first class cricket for Eagles this year.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Besides the spin bowling, India were superb in the field too•AFP

Just like most of the cricket played in this hyped rivalry, the cricket at Edgbaston – this time because of the weather – was dreary and uncertain, but India eventually registered their first win over Pakistan in Champions Trophy. However, it was a dead rubber as India were already guaranteed the top slot in the group, and Pakistan the bottom.It was England overhead all right with all the rain, but underfoot the Edgbaston pitch suited the bowlers from Asia, where a big portion of Birmingham’s population has come from. R Ashwin bowled slow and flighted the ball and turned it square, Ravindra Jadeja bowled fast and still turned the odd ball square, and Pakistan batsmen capitulated in what began as a full game but was reduced to 40 overs a side after two rain intervals.Their total of 165 all out was adjusted to 167 because of the rain break during Pakistan’s innings. India got off to a solid start in response, and it mattered little that the rain eventually brought the target down to 122 in 22 overs. India won in 19.1 overs.Rain played a critical part in Pakistan’s innings. Pakistan did lose the toss, which gave India the best conditions in the rain, but Misbah-ul-Haq said he would have batted first anyway.Pakistan were recovering from the early wicket of Nasir Jamshed through Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal when the first shower kept the players off for 16 minutes. Hafeez came out and got out first ball, distracted by a falling towel to the left of the sight screen. He didn’t pull out of the shot, though. Kamran Akmal tried an ill-advised drive against Ashwin’s turn soon, and by the time a bigger rain break arrived Pakistan were 70 for 3 after 19 overs. The loss of three wickets at that break meant their 40-over score wouldn’t be adjusted by much under the Duckworth-Lewis calculations.The rest, Jadeja took care of. Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq looked fluent in a 54-run partnership, but Jadeja’s unerring accuracy put paid to their plans. His first over went for three, the second for one, when the three previous overs had gone for seven, four and seven without a shot hit in anger. In Jadeja’s third, Misbah gave himself too much room. He backs himself on that shot and often the spinner loses his rhythm, but Jadeja remained flat and straight, and beat Misbah – who was not retreating – on the inside edge to hit the top of the leg stump.Ishant Sharma, clearly not at his best, got lucky when he got an edge from Asad Shafiq to a leg-side half-volley. However, without the DRS challenge that he went for, this luck wouldn’t have counted for much. In the next over, Jadeja trapped Shoaib Malik with a quick arm ball, and Pakistan had gone from 110 for 3 to 139 for 6.With a long tail in tow, Pakistan were now a bit directionless and India superb in the field. A low catch, a sizzling direct hit, and some decent last overs later, Pakistan were bowled out in 39.4 overs. Now they were up against an opening combination that had batted 36.5 overs with each other in the last two games. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma threatened to become the first Indian opening combination to post three successive century stands, but Rohit chipped to midwicket when the score was 58 in 10.4 overs.By then, though, the openers had put India far ahead of the D/L par score. There had been a rain break before the wicket, there would be one after, and by that time the Pakistan fans would leave their team’s fate in the hands of rain, the only factor that could save them from defeat. The rain relented, though, to allow India just enough time to finish the readjusted chase off.

ScorecardJim Allenby and Stewart Walters cracked half-centuries as Glamorgan frustrated Essex on the opening day at Cardiff. Glamorgan made 231, a relatively impressive score considering Essex had had them 114 for 6.In reply Essex, who had seven overs to survive before the close, were reduced to 10 for 2. They lost Tom Westley to the fourth ball of the innings, bowled padding up to Michael Hogan who then trapped nightwatchman David Masters leg before.Walters and Allenby may have been the top scorers but Dean Cosker played his part, batting more than two hours for his 18. For Essex, Masters finished with figures of 5 for 44.Essex captain James Foster won the toss and initially his decision was backed up by Masters. He struck early to have opener Ben Wright caught at short leg by Ben Foakes leaving Glamorgan 6 for 1 in the fifth over. That became 30 for 2 when Graham Napier struck with his first ball of the match to have Will Bragg caught behind.But Walters, who had only scored 62 in his previous five innings, launched a recovery along with fellow Australian Marcus North, driving and cutting his way to a 51-ball half-century with six fours. Two overs after reaching the landmark Walters lost North, who was caught in the gully by Tim Phillips off Masters having made eight in 64 minutes.After lunch Glamorgan stuttered from 104 for 3 to 114 for 6 in the space of only 3.1 overs. The collapse began when Reece Topley bowled Murray Goodwin, and in his next over he had Walters caught on the extra cover boundary for 67. Glamorgan lost their sixth wicket when captain Mark Wallace was bowled by Masters via a pad.Graham Wagg departed when he was caught behind off Ravi Bopara attempting to cut shortly before a heavy shower forced the players off the field for an early tea with Glamorgan 142 for 7.But Allenby went to a 77-ball half-century with a cut for four off Bopara – his sixth boundary – and the eighth-wicket pair of Allenby and Cosker frustrated Essex for more than an hour, in the process taking Glamorgan to a batting point.Glamorgan had reached 213 for 7 when Bopara struck to trap Allenby leg before. Michael Hogan and Cosker were the last to help Masters to his five-wicket haul.

Bangladesh opening batsman Anamul Haque will miss the one-off Twenty20 against Sri Lanka on Sunday, as he is set to return home after Thursday’s ODI to sit for his college exams. Anamul, 20, has informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board that he would also be unavailable for the tour of Zimbabwe, which runs from April 17 to May 12.No replacement has been named for Anamul for the Sri Lanka T20.Abul Hasan, the fast bowler who had to sit out the second and third ODIs with a side strain, will remain with the squad. Sending him home as well was discussed, but decided against as that would have left Bangladesh with a squad of just 12 for the Twenty20.Earlier, Bangladesh had already lost batsman Tamim Iqbal and fast bowler Nazmul Hossain for the limited-overs leg of the Sri Lanka tour. Tamim had played in the first ODI, scoring a century as Bangladesh were asked to bat first. Then, while fielding, he had fractured his right thumb. Uncapped right-hand batsman Shamsur Rahman was called in as a replacement.Nazmul had been ruled out of the ODI series after injuring his left knee during training in Colombo. Nazmul twisted his knee while avoiding a straight drive from Ziaur Rahman during a net session, on what would have been the fifth day of the second Test.

Match facts

April 14, 2013
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)Will Brendon McCullum get his first game of the season?•Getty Images

Big Picture

Sunrisers Hyderabad have been the surprise team of the tournament so far. Widely expected to be one of the whipping boys, they have begun with three wins out of four matches, mainly due to their exceptional bowling spearheaded by the best bowler in the world, Dale Steyn. The batting is clearly the weaker link in the side, but with the bowlers limiting the opposition to smallish totals in most games so far, that chink hasn’t been exploited much yet. On Friday, the bowlers chipped in with the bat as well, as Amit Mishra and Steyn kept their head to successfully complete a tense chase.While a share of the top spot will be a huge boost for the Sunrisers, there is still a long way to go in the tournament. Last season’s cellar-dwellers, Pune Warriors, also began with three wins in their first four matches, but soon after they embarked on a 11-match losing streak which they only snapped earlier this week.While the West Indies captain, allrounder Darren Sammy, is flying in for Sunrisers, whether he’ll be ready in time for this game is uncertain. Sammy had missed the start of the tournament for the birth of his child. He tweeted in the early hours of Sunday that he was on his way: “Two more flights to @SunRisers. #IPL6 soon begin for me.. Can’t wait.”Sunrisers are up against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, who have made an indifferent start. They began well enough, with their trump card Sunil Narine bamboozling Delhi Daredevils, but were then undone on a pacy pitch in Jaipur. They could do little to change the result in their third match as Chris Gayle, as he has so many times at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, led a demolition job.With opener Manvinder Bisla getting single-digit scores in each of the three matches so far, Knight Riders will be toying with the idea of bringing in Brendon McCullum at the top of the order, perhaps in place of England batsman Eoin Morgan.

Players to watch

Thisara Perera is the only game-changing overseas allrounder currently with the Sunrisers, and vital to the balance of the side. Capable of bowling a full quota of overs, and providing some much-needed humpty towards the end of the innings, Perera has a big role to play. He will want to make amends after holing out taking on the man at long-on when he was the only recognised batsman in the middle and with a run-a-ball needed in a tight chase against Daredevils.L Balaji was one of the outstanding bowlers for Knight Riders in the previous season. “Bala is the unsung hero, he’s been brilliant all through,” Gautam Gambhir had said after last year’s final, saying that they won the title for Balaji. Narine may have hogged the headlines through the tournament, but Balaji’s miserly economy-rate of 5.40 was also critical to Knight Riders’ campaign. They will want him to replicate that form as they look to get their season back on track.

Stats and trivia

• Narine might only be starting his second season for Knight Riders, but he’s already the franchise’s highest wicket-taker with 36.
• Yusuf Pathan scored at a strike-rate of 161.24 for Rajasthan Royals, but his scoring-rate with Knight Riders is only 125.85.
• Steyn has not only taken plenty of wickets this season, he has been extremely difficult to score off as well. His economy-rate of 4.73 is best of the tournament (min five overs).

Quotes

“Throughout the IPL I will pick his brain and see what I can get off from him.”
Dale Steyn wants to learn as much as he can from Pakistan great Waqar Younis during the IPL
“Lots of games are at home, the next game is at home and hopefully we can turn it around as we did last time around.”