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Hamilton Masakadza fired Zimbabwe off to a rapid start, held the middle order together and remained unbeaten till the last over of the innings. A few hours later he was named Man of the Match and Man of the Series having played a big part in his team coming from behind to level the T20 series against Bangladesh 2-2.Masakadza’s unbeaten 93 in Khulna on Friday sealed a hat-trick – the top three scores for Zimbabwe in T20s belong to him. He also holds the record for most runs in a bilateral T20I series, and in the second game became the first from his country to complete 3,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket. Zimbabwe will hope his form continues with the World T20 coming up in just over a month.Masakadza needed only 58 balls to almost score a T20 century thanks to five sixes and eight fours, most of which came on the leg side. But there was beauty in his brutality as well.He used singles to feed an 80-run partnership with Richmond Mutumbami, but let the big-hitting Malcolm Waller take most of the strike during their 61-run third-wicket stand. Then when he saw Elton Chigumbura miss a few, Masakadza took the lead in their unbroken 31-run fifth-wicket stand to power Zimbabwe to 180 for 4.”I thought [my innings] went almost exactly like I wanted it to go,” Masakadza said. “We started off playing quite a few shots in the Powerplay. Then, just tried to support the guys in the middle and play some more big shots in the death overs.”Masakadza’s regret was more about failing to get a bigger total for Zimbabwe than missing out on a hundred. “I think I didn’t get as many as I would have liked to in the end overs. I didn’t clear the ropes as much as I wanted to. Other than that it set up the team quite brilliantly. I was more disappointed at not getting 190-odd. We were in a good position to get to the score.”In the first two T20s, Zimbabwe made good starts with the bat but their middle order gave it away at crucial stages. That shortcoming was addressed in the third T20 with Waller playing finisher. Zimbabwe had laid the foundation today as well and a set batsman was able to make sure they got to a formidable total.Masakadza said all the team needed to win was the middle order to take advantage of a fast start, and their self-belief had shot up after winning the third T20.”We were always confident, especially the way we played in the first game. We lost after posting 160 on the board but I thought the way the batsmen had gone, especially to start with, we just needed the middle order to click. We knew we could get over the line.”The momentum definitely helped after the third game. Obviously the guys got more confident with what they were doing. They had a little bit more belief after getting the first victory.”Masakadza said the 2-2 result would go a long way in helping the side overcome their 2-0 loss to Afghanistan earlier this month.”I thought the guys showed a lot of character to come back from 2-0 down. It is a big positive for us. We needed to put what happened against Afghanistan behind us. I think the guys showed good will power to make this comeback. It was very good for the team.”

Eight Ranji players belonging to Bihar Players Association (BPA) protested in front of the Indian board’s office demanding that Bihar be allowed to take part in the domestic cricket season.The cricketers sat on a hunger strike at the BCCI headquarters where its working committee meeting was on, but were taken away by the police.”We have met BCCI chief Sharad Pawar twice. He assured us that the matter will be resolved in a month’s time but nothing has happened,” said Mrityunjai Tiwari, BPA president. Sunil Kumar, Dheeraj Kumar, Raju Vals and Nikhil Ranjan were among others who took part in the protest.The Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) became defunct in 2000, when the previous BCCI regime under Jagmohan Dalmiya granted affiliation to Jharkand, a new state carved out of Bihar.The present regime under Sharad Pawar took the decision of restoring the affiliation to the BCA. But the implementation of the decision was subject to approval by the Jharkhand High Court where the JCSA has filed a suit on the matter. “The matter is in the court but what is our fault,” Tiwary said. “All we want is to play cricket.”

If Tendulkar and Sehwag can revive the chemistry at the top of the order, evenAustralia’s famed bowling line-up could be in for a struggle © Getty Images

The three teams taking part in the DLF Cup will be hoping that historydoesn’t repeat itself. The last time they played each other in athree-cornered contest, way back in 1991-92, Australia went on to beatIndia in the World Series final. Yet, none of the teams went on to makemuch of an impression at the World Cup that followed, shunted out of thesemi-final places by the likes of New Zealand and the new boys, SouthAfrica.Some sections of the Australian media are already querying the value ofthis tournament. The spectre of injuries, with the Ashes just two monthsaway, and skepticism over the BCCI’s plans to promote the game innon-traditional centres had much to do with that. India and West Indieswill, however, see it as a tremendous opportunity to test themselvesagainst the very best. And with the exception of the rested AdamGilchrist, Australia have arrived here with as strong a team as they couldhope to field.Rustiness could well play a part. India and West Indies last played inearly July, and their one-day series – won 4-1 by the rejuvenatedCaribbean outfit – was as far back as late May, while Australia last gottheir flannels dirty on their tour of Bangladesh in April.Shortly before that, they had suffered the humiliation of being unable todefend 434 against South Africa, an eventuality that would have beenalmost unthinkable had a certain GD McGrath been in the line-up. Australiaremain a formidable side without him, but even at the ripe old age of 36,he’s the X-factor that can never be discounted. McGrath’s presence willalso give Brett Lee even greater freedom to let rip, and it will also beinteresting to see how the lanky Stuart Clark – impressive in his role asMcGrath’s replacement – goes against the shot-happy Indians, both East andWest.The batting is intimidating on paper, with the likes of Ricky Ponting andAndrew Symonds capable of turning a match in the space of a few overs. Andfor Michael Clarke, who launched his Test career so memorably againstIndia two years ago, it’s another chance to rediscover the sort of formthat made him one of the game’s most exciting young talents.India also have a couple of young ‘uns on the road to redemption. Aftersome stellar displays with both bat and ball last season, the wheels cameoff for Irfan Pathan in the West Indies. So too Suresh Raina, who caughtthe eye with some superb knocks before it all went awry in the Caribbean.India will be hamstrung in the initial exchanges by the illness that hasruled Yuvraj Singh out of at least one game. Yuvraj was in resplendentform last season, going from mercurial talent to genuinely consistentmatchwinner with some sublime efforts in pressure situations.His absence will be offset by the return of Sachin Tendulkar, the mostsuccessful batsman in the history of the white-ball game. If he andVirender Sehwag can revive the chemistry at the top of the order, evenAustralia’s famed bowling line-up could be in for a struggle. Tendulkarmay also play his part with the ball, as India explore their options aheadof the Champions Trophy on home soil. If Brett Lee’s assessment that theball will swing is correct, then India are likely to have Munaf Patel or SSreesanth sharing the new ball with Pathan, leaving the newly consistentAjit Agarkar to operate as first change.With so many part-time slow bowling options, Ramesh Powar may struggle toget a game in tandem with Harbhajan Singh, except in the unlikely event ofLes Burdett, the Adelaide curator, preparing a square turner.For a team that has always prided itself on its array of fast-bowlingtalent, West Indies also have one of the one-day game’s better slowbowlers in Chris Gayle, whose height and accuracy makes him so hard to getaway. Gayle though will be a second line of attack, with Fidel Edwards andJerome Taylor expected to provide shock value with the new ball. IanBradshaw and Corey Collymore form a steady support cast.With the last hurrah not far away, Brian Lara will also be keen to imposehimself with the bat. Gayle’s destructive capabilities in that regard areperfectly complemented by the maturity with which Ramnaresh Sarwan andShivnarine Chanderpaul bat these days. Their game-breaker, though, couldbe the ebullient Dwayne Bravo, whose allround skills and composure insweaty-palm moments had much to do with the pasting that India got in theCaribbean.If the rankings are any guide, it should be a tussle between Australia andIndia, with West Indies providing the nuisance value. Yet, as Bravo andhis mates showed not so long ago, rankings don’t count for much when youtap into the inspiration that can elevate your skills to a higher plane.And what better way to ambush Australia than to catch them cold, comingstraight out of a hibernation that would put a hedgehog to shame.

Michael Vaughan has an unchanged squad for the second Test against Australia © Getty Images

England have named an unchanged squad for the second Test against Australia, starting on Thursday at Edgbaston. Despite their comprehensive 239-run defeat at Lord’s the selectors have resisted the urge to tinker with the 12-man squad, instead sticking with the policy of continuity which has served the team well over the past two years. Chris Tremlett, the Hampshire seamer, retains his place in the squad but is again likely to be the paceman to miss out on the final XI.Despite all the pre-match optimism England were soundly beaten at Lord’s, with only Steve Harmison and Kevin Pietersen performing to their best. There had been speculation that Paul Collingwood, the Durham allrounder, would be drafted into the squad following three consecutive hundreds in county cricket but England will retain the same balance to their team as they had at Lord’s.David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said: “The selectors met on the Monday after the Lord’s Test and looked at the way we played and identified the obvious plus points including bowling Australia out twice, Harmison’s bowling, and Pietersen’s batting.”Obviously there were areas we needed to improve on in order to win the game, but the conclusion of the selectors was that we wanted to stick with the same squad for the second Ashes Test.”We don’t believe that there’s any need to change the team, clearly we are disappointed that the result of the first Test went against us, but we still have strong belief in the squad that was selected.”England squad Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan (capt), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Ashley Giles, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Chris Tremlett.

This was a day as historic for India as it was disappointing for Pakistan, and predictably it led to a chaotic and emotional press conference, attended by Inzamam-ul-Haq and Javed Miandad. All manner of speculation on Shoaib Akhtar’s injury, his disruptive influence in the team, the ineffectiveness of the bowling, the poor fitness levels of the team and everybody’s favourite chestnut, the need for specialist coaches came in for questioning.

‘There is nothing wrong between Shoaib and me but I was also surprised at the way he batted today’ – Inzamam© AFP

Inzamam-ul-Haq
On the series defeat
After Multan we came back well to win at Lahore where, for the first time, the bowlers performed close to their potential. But injuries to our bowlers really wreaked havoc with the line-up. Umar Gul’s loss in particular was a crucial blow.On the non-performance of big players and the line-up for Pindi
If a player does not perform he should not be playing for the Pakistan team. It is as simple as that. I wanted to change the team for this game but in the end I had no choice at all, because there were so many injuries. Even some of the players in the team were not 100% fit. Changing the bowling attack made the difference for us.On the bowling
Our bowlers didn’t perform at all and they have been generally poor throughout the series. We had bowling pitches to help us but to let the Indians pile up 600 runs on this track was a very poor effort. No bowler could take more than 7 wickets over the series for us. Bowlers win you Test matches and it just didn’t happen for us here.On the excessive injuries
There were too many injuries in the camp for such a crucial series, and the bowling attack was never settled at all. It is worrying that our fitness has been so poor and I have identified this before and do so again now – we simply have to work hard and concentrate on this aspect.On the batting in Pindi
It just wasn’t very good. We should have been much more responsible. Even though the ball was seaming around on the first day, we could have scored above 300 if we had batted a bit more cautiously .On the pitches
The pitches that offered some help to the bowlers, as the Indians showed, throughout the Test series. We just didn’t bowl well on them. We all believed that the bowling was our strength and even the media hyped our attack up.On Shoaib Akhtar’s injury and differences between him and Inzamam
There is nothing wrong between us, but I was also surprised at the way he batted today.On Shoaib Akhtar’s alleged phone call to Rashid Latif regarding differences with Inzamam
If something like this has happened then we will take action against it. This sort of behaviour can cause disruption within the team. I think this series has highlighted the lack of professionalism in our side and action will be taken against something like this. There will be an inquiry into the matter and action will be taken.On reports that the team doctor was not happy with the excessive bowling in the nets
There were contradictory reports about this but I will say one thing. Over the last two or three series none of my fast bowlers have been able to complete a whole series. They keep breaking down at some point. And there was a big fuss everywhere about the number of no-balls and wides that they were bowling in the one-day series. Now if I am not going to fix that during the nets then when I am going to do it? In their rooms while they are sleeping?

‘Obviously when you are facing totals of 600-plus then the pressure plays a big factor and so we failed a couple of times’ – Miandad© AFP

Javed Miandad
On his alleged statement about Irfan Pathan
I denied it at the press conference in Karachi [before the first one-dayer] and I am doing so now again. I never made any such statement.On the bowling
Most of the frontline bowlers have been performing well for us until recently. They just didn’t perform well enough here.On the lack of strategy and planning
Of course we always plan before we play a match and we keep to a strategy. But every player knows what type of wicket he is playing on and what he should do to benefit from that wicket, as a bowler or as a batsman. They are all Test players with a fair bit of experience now, and to tell them how to play all the time should not be necessary. We had a plan for Lahore and we went out and executed it well; in Multan and Pindi we didn’t. We just didn’t perform as well as we are capable of in any department.On the batting throughout the series
No one, and especially the media, expected our batting to do well, but it performed better than the bowling. Mostly the batting was okay – obviously when you are facing totals of 600-plus then the pressure plays a big factor and so we failed a couple of times.On the opening partnership and Imran Nazir’s non-inclusion
I don’t think Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat had that bad a series. Imran [Farhat] got a century so you couldn’t keep him out of the team and even Taufeeq looked good on a couple of occasions before getting out. Imran [Nazir] is still in our broader plans, obviously. Neither I nor Inzamam can exclude him from the team – if he performs, he will come in and if he doesn’t then his performance will take him out of the team.On comparing this Indian team to past teams
Past Indian teams have also been very good. But this team has played together for a couple of years and is doing really well now. They have a very mature batting line-up and their bowling, which sometimes let them down in the past, is now much better. They have six or seven batsmen who average over 50 in Test cricket so that says a lot about their team. They are not invincible but they are very good. Their attitude is good, but a true marker of any team’s attitude is when they are losing or not doing well.On specialist coaches
This is a matter for the board but I have no problem with it at all.

When the World Cup fixture list appeared and Pakistan saw they had a match against the Netherlands in the delightful surroundings of Paarl, they would have welcomed the prospect with relish. Now, however, they will be approaching the game with rather more anxiety after their thrashing at the hands of England on Saturday just down the road in Cape Town.Group A was always going to be tight, with Australia the favourites. Then it was thought that Pakistan, India and England would battle it out for the other two places in the next stage of the tournament. When England forfeited four points to Zimbabwe the equation took on a new element, for presuming that Zimbabwe pick up another eight points from matches against the Netherlands and Namibia, one more win would put them right in the shake-up.The fact is that Pakistan’s batting has taken on a fragile appearance that was ruthlessly exposed by England. They might have an impressive hand of match-winning bowlers, but the batsmen have to back them up and that has not been case recently.It is perhaps fanciful to imagine that Pakistan’s batsmen will fail to prosper against the Dutch collection of medium pacers but, given a receptive pitch, it is possible that they could make it very difficult for a side lacking confidence.The problem for the men in the dazzling orange kit is that they will find it extremely hard to score enough runs to put pressure on the Pakistani batsmen. That will be a consoling thought for Pakistan, but there will be another fear lurking in the back of their minds. The weather.Should rain prevent Pakistan from taking the expected four points from this match, and prevent them from enhancing their run-rate, their fate would rest with others as well as themselves. They would have to beat India and Zimbabwe in their remaining matches, and hope against hope that England can do to India what they suffered themselves.They will be encouraged to know that the forecast is fine for the Winelands area of the Cape, but forecasters have been known to get it wrong. Just as Pakistan did on Saturday. At least the Pakistanis can take heart from the fact the Dutch will want to play whatever the weather. Against Australia, there would have been every reason for Roland Lefebvre, the Dutch captain, to take a look at conditions and claim the two points for an abandonment. He decided not to do so but gain the experience from playing the game.Even so, Pakistan must hope that there is a bright blue sky and that this is not the day for the bright orange flags to be waving in celebration at the end.

Four applications have been received to date for the position of coach of the Northern Districts Knights this year.Applications close at the weekend.Overseas interest has been expressed in the position which will be a fulltime position. It is the first time ND will have had a fulltime coach.”There is such an extensive off-season programme now,” ND chief executive John Turkington said today.”I’m very happy with the quality of the applications,” he added.Interviews for the position will be conducted by a member of the ND board, operations manager for ND Pat Malcoln and Turkington.It is hoped the position can be filled quickly after the interviews.ND also has its long awaited resource consent hearing for floodlights at WestpacTrust Park with the Hamilton City Council from Tuesday to Thursday next week.Turkington said he was feeling quite positive about the hearing and that most people had been supportive of the ND initiative which will allow One-Day Internationals to be played at the revamped ground.Some issues raised during the protest process had been worked through and Turkington said he was 99% confident the lights would be approved.

Celtic midfielder Ben Doak is on the verge of sealing a move away from Parkhead.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Scottish Sun, who claim that, despite Ange Postecoglou’s best efforts to convince the 16-year-old to remain at Celtic Park, the Scotland U17 international is now set to join Liverpool in a six-figure deal.

In recent comments made regarding the youngster’s potential departure, the 56-year-old Hoops boss said: “I’ve said all along that for me, this football club is everything that a young player should want. Particularly at the moment.

“I really want to bring young players into our first team and give them an opportunity as we have already. But they’ve got to be invested in our football club. They’ve got to want to be here and they’ve got to want to be here long-term.

“If they see their futures elsewhere or they’re not certain then I have total respect for that. Everyone has the right to make their own decisions. But I’m going to invest time and opportunity into the people who want to stay at our football club.”

Postecoglou can replace Doak with Scott

While the impending departure of a player as talented as Doak will undoubtedly come as a gutting blow to Celtic, should Postecoglou go on to replace the 16-year-old with Bayern Munich’s Christopher Scott – with whom the Bhoys have been heavily linked – it would rather significantly ease the loss of the Scottish youth international.

Indeed, a recent report by the Daily Record revealed that, after the 19-year-old made it clear he would like to secure a move away from the German champions in a search for regular first-team football, Bayern are now set to trigger a one-year extension in the attacking midfielder’s contract – in order not to lose the teenager for nothing at the end of the current campaign.

According to the report, a source close to the negotiations said: “Bayern Munich has the option of extending Christopher’s contract by one more year and this is one-sided on the club’s part. Munich won’t let him go for free because he’s one of the biggest talents in Germany and it would cost around €300k to €400k (£250k to £340k) for him.

“It’s about finding the best solution for a young player. The option for his contract is at the end of May and that will be taken up by Bayern Munich. Bayern, at the moment, aren’t well known for bringing players into the first team and Christopher is looking for a new challenge.

“It’s clear that Glasgow Celtic would be a massive option for him and they have been in talks but the English Premier League is also an option for someone who is a massive talent. Celtic are serious contenders because they are a massive club and they are very serious about trying to sign him.”

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As the source suggests, the £1.08m-rated starlet is indeed an incredibly exciting prospect, something that is proven by the forward’s record in youth and reserve team football – with Scott scoring 43 goals and registering 11 assists over 103 appearances for the likes of Bayer Leverkusen U17s, Bayer Leverkusen U19s, Bayern Munich U19s and Bayern Munich II.

As such, while Doak – who Brian McLaughlin dubbed an “infectious” talent – is certainly an extremely promising young player, the 16-year-old’s move south of the border will be quickly forgotten should Postecoglou go on to seal the Germany U20 international as his replacement.

AND in other news: The Scotsman drop huge 14-word Celtic update, unforgivable error may be inbound

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Shahzad’s 131* became the highest score for an Afghanistan batsman in ODIs•Chris Whiteoak

Afghanistan’s batting can be a bit like a teenager. Impulsive and reckless, with a tendency to play to the gallery when they should play the situation. But 2015 has witnessed their coming of age and they signed the year off with a victory that was built on a level-headed chase and their ability to withstand pressure when it came. Afghanistan ran down 254 with 14 balls in the bank and a top-order batsman out in the middle as Mohammad Shahzad recorded the highest score for his team in ODIs – 131 not out off 133 balls.Afghanistan will savour going 2-0 up, but they suffered a bit of stage fright as they came near the target. The Sharjah fans had begun thinking of an early finish and a lengthy party. Zimbabwe had been pushed to the limit and nothing had worked. Elton Chigumbura, who had bowled only twice since March 2015, was forced to bring himself on. It was a last throw of the dice.Four balls in, Mohammad Nabi was run out. First ball of Chigumbura’s third over took out Asghar Stanikzai and the last ball of his fourth over trumped Samiullah Shenwari. Afghanistan had cobbled together only 30 runs in nine overs until the 40th, and they went into the final 10 without the big-hitting Najibullah Zadran, yet another Chigumbura victim.A scoreline that read 169 for 1 became 198 for 6, but Shahzad was still there and he proved the difference. He has mirrored Afghanistan’s growth as a batting unit. The brain freezes of the past gave way to an innings of poise and control. His power was hidden away until he was well set enough to minimise the risk in those heaves over the leg side. He trundled through the Powerplay and emerged from the first 10 overs with only three fours. He reached his fifty with a six, but was still accumulating at less than a run a ball. The problem for Zimbabwe was that he had been out there for 19 overs – ample time to understand a slow and low Sharjah pitch and assess the opposition’s biggest threats.Shahzad got into the nineties having taken 41 runs off his last 39 balls. He finished with seven fours and eight sixes, the most by a batsman from an Associate nation in ODIs. The path to his hundred was painstaking – he spent almost six overs getting the final six runs and burst into a memorable celebration full of fist pumping and bat waving.Zimbabwe’s bowlers had done well to keep him quiet in that time, but they needed to take him out and the good work they themselves had done with the bat went in vain. They had to tackle the same pitch on which they made the lowest total by a Full Member against an Associate nation in ODI history. There were two marked differences from the record-breaking events of Christmas Day, though.Zimbabwe were chasing when Afghanistan’s spinners bundled them out for 82. Today, Chigumbura called correctly at the toss and helped his team avoid scoreboard pressure and the complication of batting under lights. And given the best conditions to bat in, Zimbabwe’s 11th opening pair in 31 ODIs made a promising start.In Peter Moor and Richmond Mutumbami’s care, only two of the first 10 overs did not feature a boundary. They took the score to 71 for 0 with sound planning and skillful execution. Moor for example, harvested half of his runs through and over mid-off, including two of his three sixes, to secure his maiden ODI fifty at a strike rate of 100.But the ball began to age after 15 overs and it was stopping on the batsman off a good length. Afghanistan picked up on that and trusted the experienced Nabi to turn things around. He did so with a beautifully crafted trap that turned the batsman’s strength against him. Moor had been eager to drive all day, so Nabi tossed the ball up wider, Moor lunged forward and his back leg left the safety of his crease, Nabi beat the outside edge, Shahzad completed the stumping.Five balls later, debutant left-arm spinner Rokhan Barakzai had Mutumbami caught and bowled and Afghanistan had effectively reset the match. Zimbabwe were up for it thanks to Ervine’s resourcefulness and helpful cameo from the returning Hamilton Masakadza.They were able to keep up the pace simply by using the pace offered to them. Ervine was so prolific at it that he found 39 of his 73 runs behind the wicket. And as an added bonus, his use of sweeps and reverse sweeps kept the pressure on the Afghanistan spinners. Masakadza was also quick to understand that his power game has a lesser chance of success of a slow, low Sharjah pitch. So he found 29 of his 47 runs through singles, and in doing so ensured Ervine took a lot of the strike. Their third-wicket partnership put 98 risk-free runs, barring one occasion when Williams could have been stumped on 43, and gave Zimbabwe’s lower order the freedom to play without worrying about wickets falling. In the end, they were still 20 runs short.