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Greenway, Brindle tons set up win

Scorecard
A pair of maiden one-day international hundreds from Lydia Greenway and Arran Brindle helped England get their South African tour off to a winning start with a 62-run victory over the hosts in the first ODI in Potchefstroom. Greenway and Brindle shared in an unbroken stand of 218 for the fourth wicket – a new English record – as England reached an imposing 297 for 3 before restricting South Africa’s response to 235.England had been in some trouble early on after being put in by South Africa, losing captain Charlotte Edwards in the first over and being pegged back by the dismissals of Danni Wyatt (21) and Sarah Taylor (33) inside the first 20 overs. That was the South African bowlers’ last joy, however, as Greenway and Brindle set about laying a solid platform before going on the charge in the latter stages of the innings.Greenway reached her century from 111 balls, a rate which was bettered by Brindle, who reached the mark from just 96 deliveries. Together they hit 27 boundaries, with no South African bowler escaping punishment.South Africa’s batters put up a better show, Trisha Chetty and Alison Hodgkinson keeping the chase on track as both passed fifty and shared in a 143-run stand for the second wicket. Once they were parted the rest of the line-up folded, however, South Africa slipping from 155 for 1 to 235 all out in the space of just under 15 overs.Greenway and Brindle were both predictably pleased with their centuries. “We did quite a lot of running out there but it was great to come away with a win from out first game. It’s taken quite a long time to get my ODI century so it’s really nice to finally get it,” Greenway said after the match. “South Africa played well today and we know we need to keep playing well to win again on Sunday.””It was really nice to get out in the middle and get some runs under my belt. It’s a great feeling scoring a hundred at any time, but to do it in an international is fantastic,” Brindle said. “We want to hit our straps every time we go out there.”

Johnston back in ODI squad

Trent Johnston has recovered from a knee injury and has been named in a full-strength Ireland squad for their upcoming ODI’s against Canada that will be played at Clontarf next week. Boyd Rankin, Niall O’Brien and Ed Joyce, the three players who missed the Intercontinental Cup game against Namibia because of their county commitments, are also back in the side for the two one-dayers on September 19 and 20, as is captain William Porterfield. Kevin O’Brian led the team against Namibia in Porterfield’s absence.Johnston has suffered through an injury plagued season, but took a cortisone injection two weeks ago and said his knee has felt a lot better since then. “I’ve a lot more mobility, and I’m due to start bowling again in the nets tomorrow while the I-Cup game is going on. I’ll be building up my workload as the week progresses, and I’d be pretty confident of playing next week.”Having said that, I’ll probably still have the operation on my knee on the 29th of this month. If that goes to plan, I’ll be back in full training in December ahead of the tour of Kenya and the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in UAE in mid March.”Ireland coach Phil Simmons said the return of Trent gives the side a boost. “I like experience in my squad as everyone knows, and it’s no surprise that it’s the World Cup squad, with the exception of Andre Botha,” Ireland coach Phil Simmons said. “We’ve been boosted by the return of Trent, who always gives the squad a lift by his very presence.”Ireland take on Canada in a four-day game that starts on September 13.Ireland ODI squad: William Porterfield (capt), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Albert Van der Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson

Zimbabwe triumphant on Test return

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrendan Taylor was adjudged Man of the Match for his century, after leading Zimbabwe to a memorable win•Associated Press

A dominant all-round performance by Zimbabwe, capped by their bowlers slicing through the Bangladesh line-up on the fifth day saw them win their comeback Test, after an almost six-year exile from the format. It took just 15 balls after lunch for Zimbabwe to complete their victory after a near flawless morning session from the bowlers. Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis created the pressure upfront, leaving the Bangladesh line-up ripe for the picking for Chris Mpofu and Elton Chigumbura.Bangladesh’s batsmen had a tough, but doable, task on a pitch that has not deteriorated and remained good for batting, needing 263 runs with seven wickets in hand at the start of the day. Instead of applying themselves with patience and planning, though, they played a clutch of careless shots, especially as it became evident that their challenge was dissipating. Abdur Razzak’s 43-run cameo added a little bit of sunshine to an otherwise dark performance that mirrored their first innings display in terms of execution.Zimbabwe had done the bulk of their hard labour in the four days preceding the final one, with centuries from two of their stalwart batsmen, Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor. But, it was the new-ball pair of Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis who impressed most, especially after being labelled “ordinary” by a confident Tamim Iqbal at the end of day four and they exacted their revenge early on the fifth. Vitori began by demonstrating that he could move the ball into the right-handers as well, while Jarvis bowled with brisk pace and variety, mixing up his full, short and slower balls.Mohammad Ashraful was up to the task, at least initially. He left well and took advantage of anything overpitched. He batted with the same calm that he had employed in his first innings and was also doing a fine job of marshalling his partner, Mushfiqur Rahim, who showed composed judgment.Vitori continued plugging away, getting some balls to move away, others to hold their line and after several overs of nagging length, Ashraful could take no more. He tried to push a delivery away but it jagged in late and took the inside edge onto the stumps. With that dismissal, Bangladesh were rattled and Zimbabwe fired up.Vitori followed Ashraful’s wicket with a superb over, beating Mahmudullah’s bat twice. The danger for Zimbabwe came when the opening pair was replaced but Mpofu and Chigumbura did not let up. Mpofu varied his lengths while Chigumbura put on an impressive display, bowling as many slower balls as possible.Mahmudullah was determined to cash in where he could but his over-eagerness started a mini-collapse, during which Bangladesh lost three wickets in 12 balls for seven runs. He tried to cut without any foot movement and was caught behind. Five balls later Shakib Al Hasan, who also played irresponsibly, went to a sharp catch from Taylor at second slip after pushing at a length ball, and then Mushfiqur Rahim’s more careful knock ended when he flicked a ball to square leg.Zimbabwe could smell blood but instead of tracking it down with a killer instinct, they relaxed a little and allowed Abdur Razzak to have some fun. He smoked five fours off a Mpofu over and three sixes off Ray Price, two of them slog sweeps. The cameo ended when Chigumbura, from around the wicket, broke through his defence and bowled him.Bangladesh had little to hope for after that and their misery ended inside three overs after lunch. Jarvis struck with the first ball, bowling Shafiul with a length ball that pitched on middle and held its line. With just one more wicket to get, Zimbabwe put in six slips for Robiul Islam, who survived a confident lbw shout first up.He defied the field placing with two fours on the leg side, but was never going to last for any length of time. Jarvis claimed his fourth wicket of the innings, trapping Robiul lbw with a ball that jagged in and hit him on the front pad. As umpire Kumar Dharmasena raised his finger, Zimbabwe’s players immediately formed a huddle, a collective show of unity to mark their victorious return to the Test fold.

Onions called up to England squad

Graham Onions has been called up to the England squad for the final Test against India at The Oval after Chris Tremlett was ruled out due to his back injury while concerns emerged over James Anderson.Tremlett has failed to recover from the problems that ruled him out of the second and third Tests, meanwhile Anderson has experienced tightness in his right quadriceps since the victory at Edgbaston, on Sunday, which sealed the series and took England to No. 1 in the world. Steven Finn was already in the 13-man squad and now Onions will provide a further option for Andy Flower.For Onions it is his first call-up to the full national side since leaving the tour of Bangladesh in March 2010 with a back injury that would subsequently be diagnosed as a stress fracture and put his career in doubt. He missed the whole of the 2010 season and towards the end of the summer had metal pins inserted in his back.”Unfortunately Chris Tremlett has failed a fitness test and won’t be available for selection for the fourth Test, despite showing strong signs of recovery over the past few days,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said. “Chris’s absence in conjunction with what appears to be a minor injury concern with Jimmy Anderson has led to a call up for Graham Onions as precautionary bowling cover.”We are hopeful that Jimmy will overcome this niggle by Thursday but more time is required before a decision on his availability can be made conclusively. Steven Finn is obviously in the squad and he is now joined by Graham Onions who has been in good form for Durham since returning from a back injury at the start of the season.”Onions has taken 39 wickets at 28.82 in nine Championship matches for Durham this season and played for England Lions against Sri Lanka at Derby in May. He only took three wickets in that match but bowled with good pace and has remained highly rated by the selectors throughout his injury lay-off.In eight Tests Onions has taken 28 wickets at 31.03 including a best of 5 for 38 which came on debut against West Indies at Lord’s. However, he is equally famous for two efforts with the bat when he survived the final overs against South Africa at Centurion and Cape Town. The Test at Newlands was his last because he was then dropped for the final match of the series at Johannesburg before injury struck in Bangladesh.Onions has been preferred over Jade Dernbach, the Surrey fast bowler, who was named as cover for the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka earlier this season and has also made his one-day international debut. Whether he earns a recall to the XI will depend on whether Anderson, who has 18 wickets in the series including his four-wicket burst to remove the India top order on the fourth day at Edgbaston, is replaced with a like-for-like bowler should he not recover by Thursday.Finn is the next pace bowler in line for a spot having played against Sri Lanka and has been a regular part of the squad, but Flower and Andrew Strauss may decide that with Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan able to trouble India with the short ball that Onions’ fuller length is a better option.

Derbyshire on top despite battling Newton

ScorecardRob Newton could have been forgiven for feeling some frustration of late. After capping an impressive first season with a maiden Championship century against Leicestershire in the final game of last year, he might well have expected a prolonged run in the side at the start of this campaign.Instead he has had to wait until now for his opportunity. The 21-year-old has been forced to bide his time as Northants have put their trust in the experienced middle-order trio of Mal Loye, David Sales and Rob White. Indeed, had Sales or Alex Wakely been fit for this match, Newton may well have missed out once again.As it is, however, Newton has seized his chance with both hands. Demonstrating a naturally positive approach, he dominated the Derbyshire attack with some style and fell just six short of what would have been a second century in successive Championship games.It was an impressive innings. Newton thumped 18 fours – that’s 72 of his 94 runs – as he took full toll of some loose Derbyshire bowling. His cutting was especially impressive, but he also drove and pulled with proficiency. He’ll prove hard to leave out now.Stephen Peters was the only other Northants batsman to look comfortable for any period of time. Though he adopted a more watchful approach than Newton, Peters leaned into some typically elegant drives and helped his partner add 139 in 34.3 overs for the third-wicket.For much of the afternoon session, Derbyshire’s bowlers lacked the discipline to apply the requisite pressure. Though the immaculate Tony Palladino produced a fine ball for White, well caught by Luke Sutton as he edged one he had to play, and Ben Howgego steered obligingly to the keeper – a shot that left the batsman with his head in his hands – there was too much loose bowling to trouble Newton or Peters.Jon Clare stuggled with his length, Ross Whiteley was wild and Mark Turner, in his early spell, was all over the place allowing Newton, in particular, to put the poor balls away with ease. On a pitch that provides just a hint of uneven bounce, Derbyshire may yet come to rue their profligacy.They still hold the upper hand, however. Peters fell, very well caught at short-leg, as he tried to turn an off-break behind square, before Newton’s fine innings ended when he edged a full ball that may have left him slightly.More importantly, Derbyshire produced a much improved performance after tea. Turner emerged almost unrecognisable, bowling not just with pace but with excellent control and consistency, too. Those are words that may surprise followers of Durham or Somerset, Turner’s previous two clubs, but he showed in his post-tea spell why he has always been seen as a bowler of some potential.Loye, who looked horribly out of touch as he laboured over 50 balls for his six runs, was put out of his misery as Turner induced a tentative edge to the slips, before Andrew Hall missed a straight one and was leg before.Earlier Palladino and Groenewald extended their overnight partnership to 78; a Derbyshire record in first-class matches against Northants. Palladino, launching into a series of crunching straight drives, recorded the third half-century of his first-class career and his first for his new club but, more importantly, the pair helped their side to a fourth batting bonus point and a strong platform in a game that could go a long way towards earning them promotion. Derbyshire’s final total – 364 – represented a fine recovery from the depths of 39 for 5 the previous morning.

Afridi pulls out of Ireland ODIs

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has withdrawn from the squad for the two one-day internationals against Ireland later this month for personal reasons, according to a PCB official.”Afridi has informed PCB that due to the illness of his father he had to stay longer in USA, so he would be unable to join the squad for Ireland.” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told ESPNcricinfo.The pull-out comes after days of speculation about Afridi’s unhappiness at the decision to remove him as captain, with some local reports even suggesting he would retire from the game altogether, though there is no indication yet that this is the case. Last week the board chose to replace Afridi as ODI captain with Misbah-ul-Haq, despite the former having led Pakistan to the semi-final of the World Cup.Pakistan are expected to arrive in Ireland on Wednesday, with the two games scheduled for May 28 and 30. The board will not be sending a replacement for Afridi.Afridi took over as ODI captain properly in June last year, before the Asia Cup, having been appointed the Twenty20 captain the previous year. He was never given the leadership on a full-time basis, but first irked the board by walking away from the Test captaincy on the tour to England, one Test after being appointed. Misbah, currently the Test captain, now becomes the fifth ODI captain under the near three-year tenure of Butt; there have also been six Test captains in that time.

Pakistan's batsmen seal the job started by spinners

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq steered Pakistan to victory with an unbroken 134-run stand•AFP

Pakistan strolled to victory in the first one-day international against West Indies at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq all contributing half-centuries as West Indies’ score of 221 for 6 was overhauled with more than eight overs to spare.It appeared West Indies had a fighting chance of continuing the success of the opening Twenty20 of the tour after Darren Bravo’s 67 helped them to a workable total and legspinner Devendra Bishoo struck twice in quick succession to reduce Pakistan to 88 for 2. Bishoo had precious little support from the rest of the bowling attack, however, and Misbah and Shafiq put together an unbroken partnership of 134 for the third wicket to steer Pakistan home.This match had been billed as a chance for West Indies to get revenge for their World Cup humiliation by Pakistan, but in the end it was more like a replay. Even the Man of the Match, Hafeez, was the same and West Indies’ greatest errors stemmed from their misreading of the pitch for today’s game – an unforgivable error as they should have known what to expect after the Twenty20, which was also played at Gros Islet.It had been thought the pitch would be slow, and it was, but it also offered turn and bounce to the spinners. Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Hafeez bowled a combined 30 overs for just 100 runs, picking up two wickets, but Bishoo was the only slow bowler in an unbalanced seam-heavy attack as Devon Smith bowled two ineffectual overs of offspin and Marlon Samuel’s respectable offerings weren’t called upon.West Indies were left chasing the game almost from the start as, reprising his World Cup role, Hafeez was brought on early and soon dealt with Smith while Ajmal toyed with Lendl Simmons before sending down a that the batsman feathered through to the keeper to give a sluggish start an even more sombre tone.Samuels maintained his trademark ice cool composure and exhibited his best poker face but fell to some indecisive running and it was left to Darren Bravo and Kirk Edwards to get an increasingly rudderless innings back on track. They gritted out a fourth-wicket partnership worth 59, replete with snappy singles and dinks into the outfield, that carried West Indies to 135 before Edwards tried to break the shackles with a heave into the deep that could only get as far as Junaid Khan at deep midwicket.That brought Darren’s half-brother Dwayne to the crease, and it was in his company that he reached a boundary-free half-century from 97 balls. The brothers Bravo continued to push the ones and twos wherever possible, and when the Batting Powerplay was called for at the start of the 43rd over Darren took it as his cue to take the attack to Pakistan’s seamers.With much of the boundary unprotected, Dwayne Bravo attempted to follow Darren’s lead but his charge came to a premature end when he chipped a Riaz full toss towards mid-off, where Afridi skipped to his right and bent low to hold the catch inches from the turf.Sammy’s walk to the crease was accompanied by a warm reception from a middling crowd – St Lucia being his home island – but they were soon hushed into silence by another piece of inept running. Bravo dug a free hit towards deep mid-off and Sammy cajoled him into a second run that was never there, the result being that the set batsman was run out for 67 just as he began to accelerate and West Indies faced the final five overs of the innings with two brand new batsmen at the crease.While Ajmal continued to weave mysteries around the batsmen until the very end, Sammy took the dismissal in his stride and responded with a flurry of boundaries – including a memorably monstrous six that landed on the roof of the stands on the western side of the ground – and together with an energetic Carlton Baugh boosted West Indies’ total at the death.It was soon made to look nowhere near enough, however, as Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad put on an untroubled 68 for the first wicket at close to a-run-a-ball before Bishoo’s intervention. Hafeez had set about Pakistan’s chase with alacrity from the start, displacing a silken touch on both sides of the wicket as he raced to 20 from just 10 balls without a slog in sight and taking full advantage as a swirling top-edge evaded Kemar Roach, running in from long leg.After a slow start his opening partner, Shehzad, started to catch up with three classy boundaries from one Roach over and with Pakistan soon racing along at better than a-run-a-ball West Indies began to wilt visibly in the field.Bishoo’s introduction quickly changed that, however, as he gave away just one run from his first nine deliveries and then lured Shehzad forward with a looping, dipping legbreak that fizzed past the outside edge for wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh to complete a smart stumping with the batsman’s back foot in the air. Hafeez went to his fifty with a slog sweep over deep backward square off Bishoo, but was then undone by what appeared to be a wrong ‘un as, cramped for room, he clipped straight to a diving short midwicket.The wickets reduced Pakistan to 88 for 2 and brought West Indies back into the game, but with the seam attack unable to contain the batsmen and spin support for Bishoo unavailable Misbah and Shafiq soon settled. Both played with increasingly imperious confidence, Misbah raising a 63-ball fifty in the 35th over and Shafiq following suit four overs later. West Indies’ demise thereafter was swift, and they will have to improve in all areas if they are to square the series in the second match at the same ground on Monday.

Henderson fifty props Leicestershire up

Stumps
Scorecard
Claude Henderson battled to an unbeaten half-century to see Leicesterhire past 200•PA Photos

Claude Henderson began the new season in style with his first County Championship half-century since September 2009 to lead a Leicestershire fightback against Glamorgan at Grace Road.The 38-year-old South African, in his testimonial season at the club, top-scored with an unbeaten 74 as Leicestershire closed on 231 for 9, having looked in dire straits at 156 for 8. It was Henderson’s best score since he made an unbeaten 79, also againstGlamorgan, at the end of the 2009 season.Before the veteran came to their rescue Leicestershire had crumbled alarmingly against left-arm spinner Dean Cosker, who finished with figures of 4 for 41 from 30 overs. But Glamorgan’s hopes of dismissing the home side for under 200 were shattered as Leicestershire’s last two wickets added 75 runs with skipper Matthew Hoggard still there on 12 having shared a stand of 39 with Henderson.Leicestershire, who reported a loss of more than £400,000 last season, were given the boost of winning the toss and batting in front of a bigger than average first-day crowd. But despite a solid opening stand of 45 between Matthew Boyce and Will Jefferson it was Glamorgan who claimed the initiative in the first two sessions of the day.Once seamers Graham Wagg and Huw Waters had dismissed the openers the home side’s innings fell apart with only young James Taylor offering any real resistance. He made a stylish 45 off 98 balls but could find nobody to provide any support for him as the middle order folded.Greg Smith, another highly-rated young player, was disappointingly run out for nine runs and then the spin duo of Cosker and Robert Croft had the home side toiling.Cosker, who claimed his four wickets in an unbroken spell of 23 overs, created all manner of problems and when Henderson strode in with the score at 125 for 6 Leicestershire’s hopes of a decent score looked slim. But the South African took charge, hitting three fours in an over off Wagg and by the close he had turned things around with an excellent innings of 74 off 146balls with 10 boundaries.Nadeem Malik shared a stand of 36 for the ninth wicket with him and then Hoggard saw things through to the close as Leicester reached respectability. It was a disappointing finish to the day for Glamorgan, who like Leicestershire endured a turbulent winter and much backroom upheaval. But their new captain Alviro Petersen impressed with his field placings andbowling changes until Leicestershire’s spirited fightback in the evening session.

Still not convinced about Associates – Ponting

Ireland’s upset victory over England has not convinced Ricky Ponting that the Associates should be a part of future World Cups. Early in the tournament, Ponting said fewer teams would make for a better tournament. As his side prepared for Sunday’s clash with Kenya, a team that hasn’t had a significant win in eight years, he said his view hadn’t changed.”There have been a couple of upsets,” Ponting said. “From what I’ve seen, it looks like Ireland have come a fair way. But I am still a believer that it [the World Cup] should be a place only for the best eight or ten teams. I think what we’ve got at the moment is probably a couple too many. But by the same token, I absolutely understand the reasons behind the other teams being here.”It’s about trying to grow the game everywhere around the world and giving these other smaller countries some exposure to cricket at the highest level. What I’ve always said is I’d like to see any of those qualifiers that come in really dominate the level below international cricket for a long period of time. At least then you know that you’ve got a team that’s going to be competitive in a tournament like this.”Australia have not lost against a non-Test side since 1983, when they were upset by Zimbabwe in the World Cup. They face Kenya on Sunday and Canada on Wednesday, and there is a chance they could face Bangladesh – the ninth-ranked among the full members in ODI – in the quarter-finals after their memorable victory over England in Chittagong.”They’ve never been classified as a minnow,” Ponting said of Bangladesh. “They beat us in Cardiff a few years ago. With all their games at home, there was always a chance they could cause a couple of upsets, last night was probably one. They let one slip against the West Indies with a bit of an abysmal performance, but in their conditions they are a very competitive team.”

Bowlers give Queensland victory

Daniel Harris fought a valiant, but ultimately futile, battle as James Hopes and Luke Feldman ran through South Australia to give Queensland a comfortable win and move them to third in the points table, behind New South Wales and Tasmania.Harris batted for just shy of three hours to make an unbeaten 105, and innings that included 12 fours and a six, but watched a procession of his team-mates come and go at the other end as no one else was able to knuckle down and keep him company. The South Australia batsmen racked up a total of seven ducks, including four of the top six batsmen, as Hopes ran through the middle order. He trapped Cameron Borgas and Aiden Blizzard leg before off consecutive balls in the 10th over, repeated the trick with Daniel Christian in the 12th over, and then had Graham Manou caught behind for naught in the 14th over.At 6 for 36, it looked like South Australia would not make it to lunch, but Cullen Bailey battled to make 28 and add 82 with Harris, to give the South Australian innings some respectability. Hopes eventually had him trapped in front as well to complete his five-for, before adding Kane Richardson to his tally to give him eight wickets for the match. Feldman then returned to knock over the last two wickets to also finish with eight wickets in the game.

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