Stephen Fleming had been looking forward to winning in Benoni on Sunday, hesaid, “to give the wicket some”. Grumbling about the pitch after losing, hesuggested, always sounded a bit like sour grapes. But he went on and had amoan anyway.The New Zealand captain had good cause for complaint anyway in spite oflosing the second Standard Bank one-day international at Willowmoore Park inBenoni on Sunday by six wickets to South Africa and because of the defeat.By any reasonable standards, it was not a pitch suitable for internationalcricket. “It looked like a wicket that was going to deteriorate,” saidFleming. “We didn’t think it was going to deteriorate after the secondball.”Winning captain Shaun Pollock was slightly less damning. “I don’t think itplayed as bad as it might have looked,” he offered, and then immediatelyseemed to contradict himself. “The odd ball kept a bit low and sort of heldback and came through a bit slow,” noted Pollock, before adding that Benonicould be a good ODI venue “once they get a wicket that’s more conducive tostrokeplay.”Allowing for the vagaries of the pitch, then, it has to be said that theSouth Africans picked the better-suited team for the conditions and thenexploited them more capably than New Zealand.The tourists sprung something of a surprise by resting Geoff Allott andleaving out Shayne O’Connor and choosing spinners Paul Wiseman and BrookeWalker instead. The South Africans had a five-man seam-up attack at Pollock’s disposal and they all bowled straight, just short of a length and allowedthe pitch to do the work.New Zealand never really got going in making 194 for eight. Nathan Astlelaboured away for nearly 40 overs for his 58, but no one managed to staywith him as wickets fell at regular intervals. The first six wickets to fallall went either bowled or leg before and with Roger Telemachus, back in theside after a one-game suspension, near impossible to get away (10-5-16-1),the New Zealand innings failed to gather momentum at any stage.Still, they had them. South Africa had to get them and the home team neededa decent start. They got it from their second-wicket pair, Gary Kirsten andNicky Boje. Kirsten has a wealth of experience and his 57 was his 34thone-day fifty, but it is Boje who is in the best form of his life.On Friday he hammered out an unbeaten 105 at better than a run-a-ball, andon Sunday he simply picked up where he left off in Friday’s washout.As in Potchefstroom, Boje was a little scratchy to start with, but he’sfinding the gaps unerringly at the moment and he rode his luck until he cameto terms with the wicket.”I’m probably a bit like a cat with nine lives at the moment,” he grinnedafterwards.Together Kirsten and Boje put on 111 for the second wicket and althoughneither was able to see it through, they had batted New Zealand out of thematch. Boje went a little tamely in the end, chipping Chris Harris to mid onfor 64, and although Daryll Cullinan could manage no more than a 14-ballduck, Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes took South Africa home at a canter.The series moves on to SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday and to apitch that usually throws up scores of around 280 as par. Not just NewZealand will be hoping for a better pitch than Benoni.”On the whole we were disappointed with the quality of (the pitch),” saidFleming. “All concerned were disappointed. It wasn’t conducive to sportsentertainment which is what one-day cricket is all about.”Most people will agree with him.

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Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla will miss the Championship clash with Millwall at Elland Road at the end of the month after picking up a one-match ban for the red card he received against Sheffield United on Saturday, and it gives Bailey Peacock-Farrell an unexpected chance.

On the chalkboard

Despite being Marcelo Bielsa’s first-choice between the sticks in the first half of the season, the 22-year-old was cast aside almost immediately to accommodate former Real Madrid man Casilla following his arrival during the January transfer window.

The experienced 32-year-old had played every minute of league action since January 26 – until he saw red late on against the Blades at the weekend that is.

Peacock-Farrell looked as though he would be spending the run-in sat on the substitutes’ bench, but he now has a massive opportunity and he will know he needs to take it.

What could he do?

Despite what happened with the 6ft 4in stopper at the beginning of 2019, Bielsa has shown previously that he is willing to stick with a player in the starting XI if they are performing well.

Should the Northern Ireland international get the nod against the Lions – as expected – and puts in a stellar performance and gets a clean sheet for example, there is no reason why he may not keep his place the following weekend.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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If that happens and continues to happen in the remaining fixtures of the campaign, he could well be the Yorkshire outfit’s unexpected hero as they look to secure a top-two finish and a return to the Premier League.

The goalkeeper’s role in the team is vital, and if Peacock-Farrell can pull off saves and keep the ball out of the net, he could be the hero in May – that’s something he wouldn’t have thought was possible prior to last weekend.

Brendon McCullum and Tim Southee have been rested for New Zealand’s limited-overs tour to Zimbabwe and South Africa. Ish Sodhi has been included for the Zimbabwe leg, while Doug Bracewell will replace the legspinner in South Africa. Adam Milne and James Neesham have made comebacks after long injury lay-offs in the 15-man squad to be led by Kane Williamson, with Colin Munro also recalled.

New Zealand squad

Kane Williamson (capt), Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ross Taylor, Ben Wheeler, Doug Bracewell (South Africa only), Ish Sodhi (Zimbabwe only)

“We think Ish will be useful on pitches which tend to be slow and take turn, and against a Zimbabwe team stacked with right-handers”, said Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach and selector.”But we’re unlikely to need a third spinner in South Africa, which is why we’ve opted for another seamer in Doug.”Sodhi has represented New Zealand in 11 Tests and two T20Is but is yet to play an ODI, while the last of Bracewell’s seven ODIs came in June 2013. Milne had been out since the World Cup quarterfinal against West Indies with a heel injury, and Neesham has not played international cricket since the Basin Reserve Test against Sri Lanka in January.Corey Anderson and Trent Boult were not available after pulling out during the England tour with stress-related back problems. Hesson said that while the absence of several frontline players meant opportunities for the others, it would not reduce the sense of expectation around the squad.”There are chances there for batsmen such as Tom and Colin, for Ish and for a handful of bowlers. And, not least, it’s another good opportunity for Kane Williamson to continue upskilling in terms of leadership.””This is a team which has built up an impressive record on the international circuit in recent times and the expectation is that we continue to perform, regardless of who might be missing.”We were also without some key players on last summer’s away series against Pakistan, and still managed to win 3-2 thanks to other players stepping up.”Our focus is on continuing to produce strong team performances, rather than be distracted by the presence or absence of specific individuals.”New Zealand play three ODIs and a T20I in Zimbabwe starting August 2 before travelling to South Africa for two T20Is and three ODIs. The majority of the squad will assemble at a training camp in Potchefstroom before heading to Harare.

ScorecardGlenn Maxwell struck a century off 70 balls•Getty Images

Thirty miles south of Australia’s troubles in the Edgbaston Test, countryman Glenn Maxwell made 111 from 76 balls in Yorkshire’s emphatic 133-run win against Worcestershire at New Road in the Royal London Cup.The 26-year-old allrounder, a World Cup winner only four months ago, powered Yorkshire to 345 for 6, the highest total on the ground by a visiting county in List A competitions. To have got anywhere near the target, Worcestershire would have needed to break their own chasing record but despite Ross Whiteley’s third score of 50 or more against Yorkshire in 15 days, they were dismissed for 212 in the 42nd over.Whiteley romped to 77 from 51 balls, hitting six fours and five sixes after knocks of 91 not out in a NatWest T20 Blast victory at Headingley and 101 in a Championship defeat at Scarborough. The left-hander was last out, caught on the midwicket boundary to give Steven Patterson 5 for 24 after he took four wickets in 15 balls in a second spell.The two sides came into the 50-over competition on the back of contrasting performances in T20. While Worcestershire are through to a home quarter-final, Yorkshire failed to qualify from the North Group.Maxwell was way off his potential in scoring only 229 runs from a dozen innings but the switch to the longer format seems to be suiting him, with a half-century against Surrey on Wednesday followed less than 24 hours later by his fourth List A hundred – his second 50 coming in 25 balls.The stage was set up for him when Andrew Hodd, opening instead of the injured Andrew Gale, established momentum in a partnership of 61 with Alex Lees. Hodd made 18 before edging to slip in Ed Barnard’s first over in List A cricket.England Under-19 allrounder Barnard finished with a creditable 3 for 59 – including the dismissal of Maxwell – but no one entirely escaped the Australian’s systematic rather than spectacular destruction of the bowling.Lees was close to matching him until beaten in the air by Saeed Ajmal and easily stumped by Ben Cox for 67, but from then on it was the Maxwell show as Yorkshire made 216 in the second half of their innings. The only blip came when Gary Ballance, mishitting to mid-on after making 28, and Will Rhodes, caught behind, fell to successive balls from Barnard.By then Maxwell had completed his hundred and even when he was out – attempting to reverse paddle after hitting four sixes and eight fours – Jack Leaning (58 not out) and Adil Rashid (41) put the game out of Worcestershire’s reach. Leaning’s 50 took only 36 balls and they put on 102 in 11 overs before Rashid gave Cox his fourth dismissal.Worcestershire could ill afford the mix-ups that saw openers Richard Oliver and Daryl Mitchell run out by direct hits from Patterson and Lees. Brett D’Oliveira played tidily for 42 before he was caught behind off Liam Plunkett and Patterson wrapped it up for Yorkshire, just as he did when taking 5 for 11 in a Championship win over the same opposition in April.

Saturday’s ICC town hall in Chicago has received high praise from many of those in attendance at the day-long affair aimed at developing a strategy to take USA cricket forward in the wake of the USACA’s suspension by the ICC.”I think this meeting achieved what it had in mind from the organizers and from the expectations of the attendees,” former USA player Usman Shuja, a member of the ICC’s seven-man local advisory group in the USA, told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a very constructive and necessary meeting. It was excellent and we could not ask for anything more from a process-launch perspective.”What was positive was the ICC’s commitment, from community engagement, a real desire to listen to the people who came out, and at the end of the day getting a consensus of different stakeholders to agree on something that is universally for the good of US cricket. It was extremely encouraging and served its purpose of clearing the air. Overall it was a good first step but there’s still a long way to go.”Tim Anderson, the ICC head of global development , was also very optimistic about the outcomes from both the Saturday town hall as well as a seven-hour meeting on Sunday that was held between the local advisory group and ICC officials. Anderson described Saturday as “tremendous” for USA cricket.”People were largely focusing on the future and solutions as opposed to maybe the past and why things had become the way that they had become,” Anderson said. “It was a really mature attitude and there was an understanding after David Richardson spoke about the process that the ICC was taking with USACA – it was a very factual analysis of what had happened and where things currently stood – but at the same time most of the day was spent talking about future strategy and what were the important things that needed to be focused on moving forward.”A discussion about the way forward, rather than the past, may have been facilitated in part by the USACA board’s conspicuous absence at the town hall, an indication that they are defiantly digging their heels in to defend their position rather than engage with the ICC and other local stakeholders to be a part of the solutions to fix USA cricket. Anderson confirmed that though there were several USACA member league administrators in attendance, no one showed up from the 11-man executive board, including Central East representative and former USACA president Masood Chik Syed, who is based in Chicago.”They were invited to attend,” Anderson said. “They decided not to. That’s their choice.” According to several sources, the USACA’s absence was a result of a decision to boycott the town hall meeting, though USACA officials did not respond when asked to confirm or deny this by ESPNcricinfo.In contrast, the entire nine-man executive board of the American Cricket Federation (ACF) was in attendance at the meeting, as well as Cricket Council USA chief executive Mahammad Qureshi and other CCUSA staff. Former ACF chief executive Jamie Harrison was also one to give the meeting high marks.”Affiliations and past conflicts were put aside for the good of cricket,” Harrison said. “It was as close to a display of an administrative spirit of cricket as one could imagine. This is especially significant when one considers the potentially divisive issues that the group was asked to discuss, issues that have crippled the development of cricket in America for decades. Opinions were frankly offered and debated, but always in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation.”The day featured several discussions from various speakers, starting with ICC chief executive David Richardson. Shuja said that the “most impactful” speaker was Dan Migala, co-founder of Property Consulting Group. PCG has a large presence in sports marketing around the major USA sports leagues, but Migala has also had a heavy influence in cricket by working on projects with Cricket Australia, most significantly with the Big Bash League. His understanding of cricket and how it can fit into the US sports landscape as a thriving business struck a chord with those listening.”A lot of the people who were at the town hall meeting who are heavily involved in USA cricket in their respective regions are so passionate about cricket that sometimes their reasons behind decision-making can become too emotional,” Shuja said.”What was great about Dan Migala is that his presentation provided a very rational set of guidelines for what has been proven to be successful in cricket, both in the USA and elsewhere, and areas where cricket in the USA is ahead of other sports. When people heard the way he laid these things out, I think it made a lot of sense for everyone and they could envision progress.”In line with Migala’s insights, Shuja also commended the survey that the ICC sent out to stakeholders to complete ahead of the meeting. Respondents were asked to prioritize key issues in USA cricket, and the results of the survey made for solid discussion platforms during the town hall.”One person might think one thing, another person might feel another way,” Shuja said. “But it’s always interesting to look at the data, especially when you put it directly in front of folks. It helped with the debates and it was a great way to have a debate. So from that standpoint it was a very good approach that the ICC took. Sunday we spent a lot of time reflecting on what people had to say and prioritizing feedback from people. Now it’s about how we achieve a strategy.”Anderson said that based on the survey results, most of the time on Sunday was spent discussing youth and women’s development as the cornerstones of the strategy moving forward. Out of the 85 people in attendance, less than 10% were female and Anderson said it was a reflection of the current state of the women’s game in USA. Even the men in attendance rallied behind the discussion points offered by the women who were there.”There’s a major gap in the USA cricket system around youth development and women’s development and that the community at large needed to concentrated more attention in that area,” Anderson said. “That was a really honest appraisal and a really mature conversation about both of those points, as well as attracting a broader spectrum of the American public to cricket, both in terms of participation but also in terms of fan engagement. There was some discussion about high performance and obviously that’s an important area too.”As for what the exact strategy will be going forward, Anderson said that Migala will be working alongside the local advisory group and the ICC over the next several months to formulate it. More town hall meetings may also be organised around November in different cities.”The resourcing, administration and governance of it, we see that as a secondary point,” Anderson said. “Get the strategy agreed and then we’ll look at the way that its implemented but it is a strategy for USA cricket.”Although the ICC is going have a role in helping it become implemented, ultimately it will be the USA cricket community and the governing body of USA cricket that will be responsible for making those things happen, hence the reason why we’re talking to everybody throughout this process to make sure they agree and share in the information that’s going to be put forward in the strategy in the first place.”

Despite a career overshadowed by Imran Tahir, and the possibility of soon being overtaken by a younger crop of spinners, Aaron Phangiso still has a lot to offer South African cricket, according to his provincial coach. Monty Jacobs, who was in charge of Phangiso at North West and will reconnect with him this weekend at the Africa Cup, sees the left-arm spinner as a “complete package”, who could play a major role in the upcoming tour of India, if selected, in any or all formats.”People tend to get boxed in easily and Phangi has got this label as a limited-overs bowler but that’s not exactly the case,” Jacobs told ESPNcricinfo. “The season before he got selected for South Africa, he was playing a lot of first-class cricket for me and that is what got him going. He has a lot of skill with the red ball.”Phangiso first played for South Africa in December 2012, in a Twenty20 against New Zealand and has since been a regular limited-overs squad member, although an irregular in the starting XI. In the two summers prior to his debut, Phangiso had his best returns in first-class cricket, taking 15 wickets at 25.13 in 2010-11 and 16 wickets at 28.50 in the 2011-12 season. Those figures were achieved at the provincial, semi-professional level, not franchise cricket where Tahir edged Phangiso out of the Lions side.A slew of spinners, including Eddie Leie, have since kept Phangiso on the fringes of the franchise first-class XI – he last played for them in the format in October last year – but the national selectors knew of Phangiso’s longer-form ability. He was selected in the Test squad which toured Bangladesh in July but did not play either of the two matches. He will be back in contention for the India series and Jacobs said he would not be surprised if Phangiso is picked across all formats, not just the limited-overs’ ones.”Coaches look for consistency and that’s what Phangi offers, especially in the longer format,” Jacobs said. “In one-day cricket, you tend to bowl with a flat trajectory and target the pads but Phangi is skillful enough to get the ball past the bat as well. He is a good fielder and has even done well with the bat. He is actually the complete package.”Phangiso has seven first-class fifties to his name, more than Dane Piedt (5) or Leie (1), but half that of Simon Harmer, who has 14 and a century. All three are likely ahead of Phangiso in the queue – Piedt and Harmer at Test level, and Leie as a T20 option. This could mean that even if Phangiso travels, as he did at the World Cup, he may not play. And that, according to Jacobs, will be South Africa’s loss.”I do feel a bit sorry for him because sometimes he is more of a tourist and deep down there may be that hurt of not playing but when you see him, Phangi is a happy guy,” Jacobs said. “He is a real character and a great guy to have in any team.”

Where they finished last seasonFinished the league stage with 24 points in Group B, tied in third place with Gujarat. Thanks to a better run quotient, Vidarbha qualified for the knockouts, where they succumbed to Tamil Nadu in the quarter-finals.Big PictureFor most of the last two decades, barring an odd successful outing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vidarbha was known for a plush stadium, an organised state academy and the rise of Shashank Manohar as an able administrator. But when it came to the big-ticket tournaments in domestic cricket, Vidarbha were merely making up the numbers.Things changed last year. In an endeavour to take the team’s performance to the next level, Vidarbha signed Paras Mhambrey as coach, and imported established players like S Badrinath, Ganesh Satish and Rakesh Dhurv. The move worked wonders as Vidarbha made it to the Ranji knockouts for the first time in 19 years.Come 2015-16 and Vidarbha will be hoping to continue from where they left off last season. They have further bolstered their professionals’ strength by roping in Mumbai stalwart Wasim Jaffer, in place of Dhurv. Jaffer is expected to not only continue piling on the runs but also groom young local batsmen, most of whom struggled last season.Dhurv’s exclusion will mean Akshay Wakhare will lead the spin attack. The offspinner impressed on turning tracks towards the end of the league stage last season. If he can be consistent even at the start of the season, the seam-bowling duo of Shrikant Wagh and Ravi Thakur will be relieved.Players to watchWasim Jaffer, who is the highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, is no stranger to being in the limelight. But it will be interesting to see how he fares while wearing the logo of a team other than Mumbai. That too on the back of the most disappointing season of his career, primarily due to injuries.Shrikant Wagh has been the most consistent Vidarbha player over the past half decade. The left-arm seamer has been leading the charge of their bowling and has also made the cut for India A in the past. Wagh, unsurprisingly, was the highest wicket-taker for his team last year. He will be gunning to repeat the feat this season too.Coaching StaffParas Mhambrey and his team of support staff remains unchanged. Mhambrey, the coach, will have Suhas Pawar (trainer), Dr Ashish Agrawal (physio) and Aniruddha Deshpande (analyst) at his disposal.PreparationVidarbha, sans Mhambrey who was with the India A squad, qualified for the knockout stage of the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s pre-season meet. Even though their own preparatory tournament, the Bapuna Cup, was affected by inclement weather, Vidarbha ensured a decent level of preparation by playing a match against Saurashtra’s probables in Rajkot.Team newsVidarbha were one of the first teams to be announced, finalising their squad for the first three games on September 15. Jaffer is the big addition. Besides, the team has three new faces in Aditya Shanware, Aditya Sarwate and Yadvendra Tembhare. All the three newcomers have played in limited-overs tournaments for Vidarbha but are yet to make their first-class debuts.SquadS Badrinath (capt), Faiz Fazal, Ravi Jangid, Aditya Shanware, Amol Ubarhande (wk), Swapnil Bandiwar, Ganesh Satish, Wasim Jaffer, Aditya Sarwate, Jitesh Sharma, Shalabh Shrivastava, Yadvendra Tembhare, Ravikumar Thakur, Shrikant Wagh, Akshay Wakhare.

Baroda

The expectations on Hardik Pandya will be higher after his breakthrough IPL season this year•BCCI

Where they finished last seasonFifth in Group A, with one win and five draws in eight matches.Big pictureThe 2014-15 domestic season was a disappointing one for Baroda, as they failed to make it to the knockout rounds of the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Some part of their mid-table finish in the Ranji Trophy was down to luck – the games against Railways and Madhya Pradesh were affected by weather – but the greater disappointment was their inability to win a single home game.”In home games, on turning tracks we didn’t bat well – that was a major area. We asked for a turning track and it didn’t turn much but we could have batted well on the turning track, specially against Tamil Nadu and Mumbai,” Baroda coach Tushar Arothe told ESPNcricinfo, stressing the side was keen on a fresh start.A positive for them, however, was the performance of the younger players. Allrounder Deepak Hooda, who played the Under-19 World Cup in 2014, pacer Sagar Mangalorkar and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh were the pillars of Baroda’s campaign. They will be expected to match those performances again this season and Hooda will also have to juggle the responsibilities of vice-captaincy.Players to watchOne Baroda player who will be keenly followed this season will be allrounder Hardik Pandya. He made his first-class debut in the 2013-14 season, and played four matches in the next season, but it was his blitzkrieg innings in the West Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the IPL that put the 21-year-old cricketer in the limelight. Pandya has scored 285 runs in six first-class matches so far and with the possibility of a first full season ahead of him, his adaptability and temperament will be watched closely.Sagar Mangalorkar began his first-class career with a match haul of nine-wickets against Jammu & Kashmir, and in the next four matches he took another 20 wickets to finish as the side’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament. His performances included a six-for in his debut game and a seven-for in a low-scoring match against Tamil Nadu which, but for a batting failure, Baroda had a good chance of winning. It was the sort of performance that fit Arothe’s description of last season being one where, “the youngsters did the hard work and the seniors chipped in”.Coaching staffTushar Arothe is the head coach and will be assisted by Sukhbir Singh, with Afzal Khan as trainer.PreparationBaroda’s pre-season participation in the Nimbalkar Trophy in Pune was marred by bad weather but Arothe said the side played friendlies within the squad and local district games to gear up for the season.Team newsThe team for the first two games does not include pacer Munaf Patel and allrounder Irfan Pathan because they are recovering from injuries. Irfan is suffering from a niggle in the back, while Munaf has back spasms and needs three to four days to recover – there is a chance of him playing the second game. While Munaf played the first part of the 2014-15 season for Baroda, Irfan was available for the second. Neither bowler has played competitive cricket since then. Also missing is Ambati Rayudu, who is part of India’s T20 squad that will take on South Africa between October 2 and 8. Their uncapped players include opening batsman Hitesh Solanki and wicketkeeper Bhargav Patel. Batsman Monil Patel, allrounder Murtuja Vahora and Babashafi Pathan have also been picked. While Monil has played only T20s for Baroda (the last one in March 2012), Vahora did not play first-class matches in 2014-15. Pacer Babashafi played his only first-class game in November 2013.SquadAditya Waghmode (capt), Deepak Hooda, Bhargav Bhatt, Kedar Devdhar, Gagandeep Singh, Sagar Mangalorkar, Hardik Pandya, Bhargav Patel (wk), Monil Patel, Babashafi Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Pinal Shah (wk), Hitesh Solanki, Swapnil Singh, Murtuja Vahora.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt took until the final day of the final Test but Pakistan at last managed a reprise of England’s 2012 nightmare against spin. They needed less than half of the overs available to polish off victory in Sharjah, Yasir Shah taking the first and last wickets to fall as Pakistan skipped home by a 127-run margin for a 2-0 win that will lift them to No. 2 in the ICC Test rankings.Alastair Cook resisted almost until the end, ninth man out for 63, but his team had been cut adrift during a dizzying first hour when they lost 4 for 11 in five overs. England were competitive for all but two sessions in the series but on both occasions, here and in Dubai, Pakistan were ruthless enough to seize the prize.The conditions were perhaps not as treacherous as England’s batsmen made them look but Yasir and Zulfiqar Babar did not need encouragement to prey on the slightest hesitation or indecision. They collected six of the eight remaining wickets, evoking the damage inflicted by Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman last time around, not to mention their own exploits against Australia and New Zealand 12 months ago.With Shoaib Malik completing his final Test appearance by taking a seven-wicket haul, it meant Pakistan’s spinners had collected 9 for 101 in England’s second innings. That was nearly half as many wickets as England’s trio of Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel managed in the entire series. With 15 from just two Tests, Yasir reigned supreme.Defeat by a two-Test margin means England will slip to No. 6 in the rankings, another UAE comedown after the euphoria of Ashes victory during the summer, though they were handicapped in their efforts to level the series by the injury to Ben Stokes on the first day. He came out to bat at No. 10 in the second innings, despite the forlorn match situation and a strapped-up shoulder, before a leg-side stumping off Yasir ended England’s pain.Pakistan’s legspinner had trained with Shane Warne before the match and this was a final-day dismantling of which the Australian would have been proud. Joe Root, the No. 1-ranked batsman recently referred to by a team-mate as one of the best players of spin in the world, was lbw to Yasir’s fourth ball of the morning, back when he should have been forward, and it caused a detonation as brutally effective as pulling the pin from a grenade.Yasir Shah removed Joe Root in his first over and finished with 4 for 44•Getty Images

England have shown plenty of guts against Pakistan this time around but here they were swiftly disembowelled. A target of 284 was well beyond anything they had previously managed in Asia but their displays of resilience on tour had encouraged some to think they might get close.That hope disappeared quicker than a lizard darting under a rock. Root was pinned in front of leg stump by a delivery that kept low in the second over of the day, plumb enough not to bother with a review, and James Taylor only lasted long enough to bring up England’s 50 before he was drawn fatally forward by a flighted delivery from Babar that turned to kiss the edged of a slightly crooked bat and end up at slip.Pakistan had wasted their reviews on the previous day but they need not have worried. Before their final innings in Sharjah, England had been on the receiving end of just three lbw decisions, but the problem of playing the ball with their pads returned on the most exacting surface of the series and that total was more than doubled, starting with Moeen’s dismissal on the fourth evening.Jonny Bairstow and Patel fell in such fashion in successive overs, the latter for a golden duck, as England’s slide became terminal, losing 3 for 2 in 12 deliveries. Bairstow was hit on the thigh pad in front of middle stump trying to sweep his way out of trouble, England’s final review burned in the process, and Patel succumbed to the contagion by missing a straight one from Babar that would have clipped leg.From 59 for 6, and with visions of Abu Dhabi three years ago – when they imploded for 72 chasing 145 – swimming through addled English minds, Cook and Rashid did a respectable patch-up job, adding 49 for the seventh wicket and briefly bringing a sense of calm to proceedings. Rashid has demonstrated a propensity for fifth-day heroics but this was beyond even him and Rahat Ali brought the ball back to defeat a loose drive shortly before lunch.Cook alone weathered the desert storm, maintaining his focus even as the ball beat the bat or rapped the pads and Pakistani appeals tore the air. He narrowly avoided falling to Yasir’s leg trap again on 20 and a top-edged sweep off Malik landed a yard short of deep square leg having made 44. He remained defiant, gallumphing down the pitch to loft Babar for a one-bounce four over long-on and reverse-sweeping another boundary off Yasir.He was joined on the burning deck by Stokes, after Stuart Broad had miscued a sweep off Yasir to square leg. Stokes would never willingly shirk a battle and he looked to be moving a little more freely after his collar bone injury, taking on Wahab Riaz’s bouncers and betraying only a wince when sweeping Yasir powerfully for four.That was the most encouraging sight of the day, as far as England were concerned, and with the pips thoroughly squeaked Cook walked past a delivery from Malik to be stumped for only the third time in his Test career. Cook faced more than 900 balls in the series, another half-century taking him clear at the top of the run-scorers’ list. But such an outstanding individual contribution could not compete with Pakistan’s collective brilliance.

For the second consecutive game the Zimbabweans will go into the last day of the match with their backs to the wall and a draw their only realistic goal. Having gained the upper-hand in this match after bowling out the Sri Lankans for just 212 and then progressing to 142-4 in reply, they collapsed to 173 all out. Grateful for the lead, the Sri Lankan’s then extended it to 117 with an unbroken opening stand of 78.Spurred on by a May Day crowd of at least 38 locals, the Sri Lankan opening bowlers struck immediately in the morning. Suresh Perera, who is making his comeback to first class cricket after a layoff of 5 months due to a stress fracture, trapped Neil Ferreira (0) with the forth delivery of the day. Four balls later Gavin Rennie (1) chipped an easy return catch back to Dinusha Fernando and Zimbabwe were precariously placed on 2-2.The early wickets gave Aleser Maragwede (7) and Douglas Marillier (81) their first chance of a bat on this tour and an opportunity to push for their inclusion in the test side. With Andy Blignaut still suffering from a back injury and Mark Vermeulen having a wrist injury there could well be some changes for the match in Galle.It was an opportunity that Douglas Marillier didn’t waste. His presence on this tour a remarkable triumph in itself after a horrific car accident a few years ago, he compiled a fluent and entertaining half century. Unfortunately for his team only Craig Wishart (26) was able to give him support.Craig Wishart joined Marillier in the 26th over after Dion Ebrahim (18) was caught behind off the impressive left arm spin of Dinuk Hettiarachchi. After the lunch break the pair took the attack to the Sri Lankan bowlers, scoring 69 runs in an hour. However Wishart’s obvious skill and power was eventually undermined by some poor decision making. Immediately after cutting Priyanka Wickramasinghe to the point boundary he was caught at short cover trying to drive a ballfrom the same bowler that was too short in length.Having made the breakthrough the Sri Lankan spinners then applied the pressure with some miserly bowling, 11 runs being scored off nine overs. Stuck in the 80’s Douglas Marillier was then deceived by some extra bounce from Priyanka and was caught behind. Greg Lamb (10) walked straight in front of his stumps and was uncontroversially adjudged LBW and Peacock (2) popped up a simple catch to Suresh Perera just on the stroke of tea.Despite Angus Mackay’s attempt to launch something of a counter attack the tailenders cold offer little resistance. Dinuk Hettiarachchi (3-25) finishing off the innings with two quick wickets. It was just reward for a fine spell of bowling by the left arm spin. An energetic spinner of the ball he was prepared to give the ball and vary his pace. On the evidence of today he is currently Sri Lanka’s best left arm spinner.The Sri Lankan openers wasted no time in extending their small lead and were rarely troubled by the Zimbabwean bowlers. Shantha Kalavitigoda was the more attacking of the two: hitting eight fours and one six in a fine 49 not out. Ian Daniels (25*) looked equally impressive but nevertheless content to leave the acceleration to his partner.

By making their second highest score of the season against Glamorgan atSouthgate, Middlesex underlined their own appeal against the deduction ofpoints for the perceived poor condition of the pitch.The appeal will be lodged on Monday. Whereas 18 wickets fell on the first day since then Glamorgan have scored 219 to which Middlesex have replied with 374. The Glamorgan’s first-wicket partnership has remained unbroken with 69 runs to their credit. Justin Langer (61) was out soon after Middlesex started the day at 130-1.Andrew Strauss and Mark Ramprakash started the fight back but did not last long. Owais Shah and Paul Weekes came together before lunch but afterwards both were soon out. Tail-enders Angus Fraser and Richard Johnson showed that the pitch had no real terrors in adding 82 untroubled runs.Johnson was the more aggressive and hit a huge six off Adrian Dale. Matthew Elliott and Steve James took the cue for Glamorgan and were batting comfortably when rain ended play.