Pakistan claimed their 13th title at Sharjah and maintained their supremacy at the venue when they beat Sri Lanka convincingly by 5-wickets in the final of the Khaleej Times Trophy 2001 on November 4. Pakistan’s dominance at this venue is so overwhelming that they have won 65 out of 95 matches played and no other team can boast of such an enviable record at one venue.Reverting back to the events of the match, Waqar Younis led his team from the front and claimed 3 wickets for 31 which also won him the Man of the Match award. However, for Pakistan fans the most cheerful aspect of the Trophy Final was to watch their famous trio of fast bowlers Wasim, Waqar and Shoaib bowling in complete rhythm and with great venom. The trio accounted for 8 Sri Lankan wickets for 84 runs.SriLanka, which perhaps showed signs of early complacency after electing to bat, suffered from a disastrous start being reduced to 21 for 2 after 9 overs. Later, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold tried to restore the innings. But some reckless batting in the middle and down the order continued their slide and Sri Lanka was ultimately shot out for 173 in 44.2 overs.Shoaib Akhtar bowled a much better line and length this time. In fact, his devastating second spell tightened Pakistan’s grip on the match. Keeper Rashid Latif who was also adjudged as the best fielder in the tournament snapped four catches. The new look Wasim Akram was adjudged the best bowler of the series and claimed 2 for 20 in 8 overs. Mahela Jayawardene scored 43 and Russel Arnold made 47.In reply Pakistan achieved the modest total in 43.5 overs with five wickets to spare but not without some hiccups. Shahid Afridi hit 35, Yousuf Youhana made 40 and Inzamamul Haq scored 28. Sri Lankan danger man, Muttiah Muralitharan was once again the pick of their attack claiming 3 for 22 in his 10 over quota. Sri Lanka who were seeking to complete a hat-trick of titles at Sharjah had suffered heavily as their top four batsmen gifted their wickets by slashing at balls outside the off-stump and edging into the safe hands of Rashid Latif. Waqar Younis celebrated his first tournament win as Pakistan Captain and received a Crystal Trophy sponsored by Khaleej Times and a handsome winning team cheque.Pakistan’s record at Sharjah – 1984 to date

Win percentages of other teams at Sharjah

Total No. of Matches Played at Sharjah to date: 181

Colin Miller has been included in Victoria’s team for the Pura Cup cricket match against Western Australia starting in Perth next week.Miller, who has only played three matches for four wickets for the Bushrangers this season, was recalled to cover the loss of promising young leg spinner Cameron White, who is in New Zealand with the national under-19 side.Miller, last season’s Australian Test player of the year, has been included for the match starting on January 18 because of his ability to bowl both medium pace and off spin.Batsman Simon Dart has been included in the 12 and is a chance to make his first-class debut after a couple of promising displays in the ING Cup.Victorian selectors decided not to risk paceman Damien Fleming for the four-day match after just one one-day match back following hamstring troubles.”The selectors felt that with the likely conditions in Perth at this time of the year it would have been a tough ask on Damien, given his limited preparation,” chairman of selectors Shaun Graf said.Fleming has been included in a separate ING Cup team to play the Warriors on Wednesday.Teams:Pura Cup: Paul Reiffel (capt), Matthew Elliott, Jason Arnberger, Darren Berry, Simon Dart, Brad Hodge, Mathew Inness, Michael Klinger, Michael Lewis, JonMoss, Matthew Mott, Colin Miller (12th man to be named).ING Cup: Matthew Elliott (capt), Brad Hodge, Jason Arnberger, Rob Bartlett, Darren Berry, Simon Dart, Shane Harwood, Ian Hewett, Damien Fleming, MichaelKlinger, Michael Lewis, Jon Moss.

The ECB National Academy defeated Victoria 2nd XI by 30 runs in Melbourne,Australia, in the squad’s first match after the Christmas break.Set a target of 404, Victoria were bowled out for 374 with Durham’s SteveHarmison again taking four wickets, so recording an eight-wicket match haul.A third wicket stand of 230 between Jewell (118) and Hussey (112) put Victoria in a strong position but the ECB NCA hit back to take the final eight wickets for 110 runs. Harmison found support from Steve Kirby, who took three wickets, Mark Wagh with two, and Chris Tremlett, who claimed a single victim. Wicket-keeper Mark Wallace took five catches.The ECB NCA earlier declared on 358 for seven, having added a further 39 runswithout loss to their overnight total. Chris Schofield finished on 48 notout, and Mark Wallace was unbeaten on 36.

After England’s five-wicket victory over Northern Districts at WestpacTrust Park in Hamilton, England coach Duncan Fletcher spoke to the press about the two warm-up games and England’s readiness for the One-Day International series against New Zealand. He began by assessing his team’s performance over the weekend.”It was quite a good work out, but I still think that we should have won the first game. [Simon] Doull batted well, but our bowlers didn’t think about what they were doing. They didn’t think about their variations enough. When someone is going like that you’ve got to vary it. It’s all about decision-making.”We had a really good chat with them one-on-one yesterday and they came out today and gave quite a bit of thought to it.”Andrew Flintoff was the first individual to be mentioned after his three for 20 and blistering 25-ball 45 that finished off the match today.”He can change the game in a couple of overs and put the pressure back on the fielding side and that is important in one-day cricket. It’s not always going to come off and we must be careful not to build him up too much. A couple of failures and everyone’s jumping on him. It’s going to be slow progress, but its nice to see the way he’s thinking about putting his shots together.”Work in the nets earlier in the tour has helped Flintoff with his batting.”It is a confidence thing, but we worked something out in India about his set-up and it seems to have paid dividends. At one stage he was a little bit lost with his footwork, but he now seems to have got that right.”Fletcher agreed that Middlesex batsman Owais Shah has impressed in both warm-up matches after missing out on selection in India. Will he come into the selection equation for the ODI series?”We won our last two games in India so it would be pretty strange to suddenly change the side around but it is pleasing to see that we have that depth. Shah batted very, very well today.”Fletcher was asked about the indifferent performance of Andy Caddick in the two games in Hamilton.”Caddy will realise that he’s a far better bowler than those performances, but he’s a good player who will come good on the night.”Was Caddick striving to impress too much on his return to the country of his birth?”Perhaps he’s trying too hard,” Fletcher suggested, “You never know what’s inside a man’s mind.”The coach was pleased with Craig White’s return to the side after missing the series in India because of a knee operation. Will he be fit for the ODI series?”I think that he will be fit enough. He bowled well in both matches, but I think that its important that he gets some runs as well and plays as a genuine all-rounder.”With Marcus Trescothick taking the gloves in the first match here and James Foster still short of living up to his promise, it has been suggested that the Somerset player will take over behind the stumps for the international series. Fletcher refused to commit himself on selection issues, but dropped a clear hint.”Trescothick’s got enough to do opening the batting. We don’t want him to start having to think about his ‘keeping and then take his eye off the ball when he’s opening the batting.”Fletcher assessed the forthcoming series in terms of preparation for the World Cup, which will be under way this time next year.”We’re a very inexperienced side, so every game we play is important. We haven’t played enough ODI cricket, but we have a heavy programme from here on in, which is good. The only trouble is how we pick the side. Do we tinker with it to give everyone a fair chance or do we try to stick with eleven so that they get enough games in before the World Cup?”He agreed that it would be a close series.”New Zealand will be very competitive. They are keen to beat England and always seem to raise their game against us. They have a lot of energy which is important in one-day cricket. They look to be a very tight unit.”The five-match ODI series begins in Christchurch on Wednesday.

Daryll Cullinan served notice that he is ready for a Test match recall with a measured 86 on the opening day of the South African `A’ team’s four-day match against Australia at St George’s Park on Friday.Cullinan shared a 155-run fourth-wicket partnership with Hashim Amla, the South African under 19 captain, as the SA `A’ team reached 288 for seven. There was something of a collapse in the evening, but the pair did enough to suggest that there is still a bit left in South African after one of the gloomiest weeks since readmission.Always a complex character, Cullinan said afterwards that he felt he still had something to offer, particularly against Australia. "Playing against Australia is one of the challenges you look forward to," he said afterwards. "I wouldn’t be playing the game if I didn’t want those challenges and the successes and failures that go with them."As importantly, perhaps, Cullinan, who is captaining this SA `A’, said his team had gone into this match wanting to be at least competitive. "We want to at least leave Port Elizabeth with some respect for the way we played," he said, adding that he was happy with the attitude shown by his team.All of this, of course, took place against the backdrop of last weekend’s humiliating first Test match, won by Australia by an innings and 360 runs. Inevitably there will be changes to the South African Test team, and the most obvious inclusion after just one day in this match is the recall of Cullinan.He averages less than 13 against Australia, but he has been South Africa’s leading batsman for the past 10 years and although he has suffered probably more than many at the hands of Australia, and Shane Warne in particular, it is no secret that he wishes to set the record straight against the world’s best Test team before the end of his career.With him, for just short of three hours, was Amla, still only 18 and playing in only his third first-class game. His contribution to the effort was a wonderfully composed 81 and he played well enough to earn plaudits from his captain.Cullinan warned, though, that Amla should not be rushed into Test cricket. "I’d never seen him play before," admitted Cullinan. "He will play Test cricket, but I hope the selectors don’t rush him. Let him take his own time, but he will play Test cricket."Coming after both Graeme Smith and Jacques Rudolph had played themselves in only to get out, the batting of Cullinan and Amla against an attack admittedly short of Warne and Glenn McGrath saved the day for the South Africans.Smith and Rudolph are clearly high on the selectors’ next-best list, but both will have done their cause little good by failing to build on stars. Smith got himself out, providing Shane Watson with his first wicket for Australia when he pulled an innocuous short one to mid-on for 28.And after batting through the first session, Rudolph twice hit Stuart MacGill for four in the lunch over before jabbing at one to be caught at the wicket for 36. It was hardly the best possible time to get out.Martin van Jaarsveld made only 11 before falling soon after lunch to set the Cullinan-Amla stand on its way and three wickets fell for only three either side of the second new ball before bad light stopped play six overs early.Cullinan said he was a little disappointed by Watson, who picked up two for 40 on debut, saying that he had expected something more. He did want to reserve judgement, though, until he had seen Watson bat.Amla, meanwhile, had had his first sight of Brett Lee. And he was, admitted Amla, every bit as quick as he’d been led to believe.

No fewer than six Otago Volts players have been included in the Otago A side for the first of two matches against Canterbury in February, the games concluding this summer’s Provincial A competition.Mohammad Wasim, Andrew Hore, Jordan Sheed, Marcel McKenzie, James McMillan and David Sewell have been named for the game in Christchurch starting on Sunday, with the majority needing game time. After a fine start to the State Shield, Wasim and McKenzie lost form, mirroring the Volts fortunes, while McMillan has bowled few overs so far this summer.Sheed and Sewell have been regular members of the A side and Hore’s inclusion gives him the opportunity to fight his way back into the Volts team for the remainder of the State Championship campaign.Eric Standfield, a New Zealand Under-19 player this season, has also been included while Chris Gaffaney, the regular captain this year, is not available due to his involvement with the South Island selection in Sunday’s State of Origin match in Auckland.Otago lies just three points adrift of the competition lead in third place with the two games against Canterbury to play while the red and blacks are a more distant fourth.The Otago A team for the match against Canterbury A in Christchurch on Sunday and Monday, February 2 and 3 is: Mohammad Wasim, Andrew Hore, Darin Smith, Jordan Sheed, Marcel McKenzie, Anthony Wilkinson, Tim Weston, Jarrad Waldron, Nathan McCullum, Eric Standfield, James McMillan and David Sewell. Coach: Mike Hesson. Manager: George Morris.

PERTH – Western Australia have secured their place in the ING Cupcricket final with a thrilling 26 run win over Victoria at the WACAGround tonight.After posting a respectable 5-270 thanks largely to a whirlwind MurrayGoodwin innings, WA then had to rely on the experience of Jo Angel(3-45) and Brad Williams (4-34) to get them into their 20th domesticone-day final.The Warriors will play either Queensland or NSW in the final.Chris Rogers and skipper Justin Langer also followed their contributionswith the bat with some inspired fielding – but the result was in doubtuntil the penultimate over.Opener Nick Jewell (60) made a blistering start to his and the Victorianinnings, square cutting successive fours off Williams.Son of Richmond AFL player and premiership coach Tony Jewell, the25-year-old took to both Williams and Callum Thorp with pulls and cutsout of the top drawer.Brad Hodge could not match his partner, and was first to perish as heedged thickly to Mike Hussey off Williams.Jewell ploughed on, pulling Callum Thorp to the boundary twice in twoballs, and then driving Paul Wilson for two fours in his first over tobring up a sparkling 47-ball fifty.The pressure seemed to be getting to Langer, who took umbrage withumpire Bruce Bennett after he called a no-ball for having too few men inthe circle.Langer’s comments in the middle could be heard at the back of theLillee-Marsh stand – but his anger was soon turned to delight by theveteran Angel.After having found the boundary eleven times in his 55-ball knock,Jewell attempted an injudicious drive to a full ball which pegged backhis off stump, and Victorian hopes.Andrew McDonald looked the next batsman likely to dash WA’s finaldreams, racing to 19 off 22 balls, before Angel struck again, nipping aball back to win an lbw decision.Once again, the Victorians fashioned a partnership to keep them well inthe hunt, Brendan Joseland and Michael Klinger finding the gaps and theboundary to compile 50 in 61 balls.But once again, a bowling change by Langer did the trick, with ShaunMarsh’s second ball for the state being lobbed back to him for a sharpcaught and bowled.Four balls later a drive from David Hussey produced a superb full lengthdiving stop by Langer, followed by an accurate throw to Campbell thatsaw Klinger run out by half a metre.Hussey, younger brother of WA’s Mike, did his best to prevent hissibling from appearing in the final, but as the run rate rose so didVictoria’s desperation.After 46 from 45 balls, Hussey was bowled by Williams and when Whitefollowed suit in the next over Victoria’s hopes were dashed.WA will now have to wait on the result of Queensland’s match againstTasmania later today to see who will host the February 23 final.If Queensland lose to the Tigers then the the WACA Ground will host thefinal for the second time in three years.

SAMDA, India, March 1 AFP – For the residents of one small Indian village, it took 15 days of hard work and generous donations to ensure they could see the World Cup cricket tournament.The village of Samda, some 15 kilometres from the state capital Lucknow, did not have cable television until a group of local men took the task of providing it on themselves.Villagers chipped in to raise 30,000 rupees and pulled in a 6.5-kilometre cable wire to ensure telecast of the mega event from southern Africa.”It was a difficult task for us to have such a long wire, but we wanted to make sure we did not miss the match,” said Shambhu Mishra.”It took us 15 days to manage the show. It’s a collective effort and every family of this village donated money for the cause.”Villagers have been gathering in common areas to watch the World Cup – and today offered special prayers to ensure India defeated its arch-enemy Pakistan.Tractors were used as television stands and generators and car batteries put on stand-by in case of power failure during the high-profile match.”After doing so much we had to have a contingency plan,” said Jagdish, who risked his life by connecting a television set to a high-voltage overhead electricity wire when the power went off during India’s match against England.Watching cricket is important for the villagers – even if some did not know the names of prominent Indian players who enjoy nearly godlike status in more developed parts of the country.

A belligerent knock of 139 by Humayun Farhat, who overshadowed Usman Tariq in the opening stand of 244, helped Allied Bank Limited (ABL) trounce Service Industries by 10 wickets in the Pool ‘C’ fixture of NBP One-day Patron’s Cup at Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.Humayun faced just 63 deliveries and hammered 19 fours and as many as six sixes in taking ABl to victory in only 20 overs. Usman, in contrast, struck eight boundaries in his 69-ball 72.ScoreboardSERVICE INDUSTRIES:Rizwan Ahmed lbw b Tanvir 0Kashif Nizami b Wajahat 35Masood Asim c Ata b Tanvir 86Sufian Munir c Taimur b Tanvir 60Bilal Khilji b Arshad 23Shahbaz Butt not out 16Asim Butt b Arshad 0Fayyaz Ahmed run out 1Rehan Rafique c Naveed b Zahid 4Mohammad Irshad b Zahid 0Imran Adil b Zahid 1EXTRAS (LB-2, W-10, NB-1) 13TOTAL (all out, 48.5 overs) 239FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-87, 3-184, 4-202 , 5-230, 6-230, 7-231,8-237, 9-237.BOWLING: Tanvir Ahmed 10-1-66-3; Ata-ur-Rehman 7-1-29-0; Arshad Khan 10-0-46-2; Taimur Khan 9-0-40-0; WajahatullahWasti 9-0-36-1; Mohammad Zahid 3.5-0-20-3.ALLIED BANK:Humayun Farhat not out 139Usman Tariq not out 72EXTRAS (LB-4, W-17, NB-12) 33TOTAL (for no wkt, 20 overs) 244DID NOT BAT: Wajahatullah Wasti, Bilal Asad, Naved Latif, Aamir Hanif, Taimur Khan, Ata-ur-Rehman, Tanvir Ahmed, Arshad Khan, Mohammad Zahid.BOWLING: Mohammad Irshad 4-0-47-0; Imran Adil 4-0-45-0; Asim Butt 3-0-30-0; Rizwan Ahmed 3-0-57-0; Bilal Khilji 3-0-32-0; Fayyaz Ahmed 3-0-29-0.RESULT: Allied Bank won by 10 wickets.MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Humayun Farhat.Results of other Pool ‘D’ matches:*At LCCA Ground, Lahore:Lahore Whites beat Sheikhupura by 19 runs.LAHORE WHITES 232 in 48.5 overs (Musharraf Ali 69, Imran Nazir Jr 54, Adnan Usman 31; Nawaz Sardar 3-31, Saleem Mughal 2-41, Waqas Chughtai 2-45);SHEIKHUPURA 219 in 47 overs (Saleem Mughal 49, Javed Hussain 48 not out, Majid Majeed 44; Mohammad Hussain 4-44, Tariq Rasheed 3-46).*At Lahore Country Club, Muridke:Karachi Blues beat Pak PWD by seven wickets.PAK PWD 248-7 in 50 overs (Faisal Athar 91, Iqbal Imam 50, Ahmer Saeed 35; Irfanuddin 3-49, Nasir Khan 2-68);KARACHI BLUES 250-3 in 48.1 overs (Khurram Manzoor 83, Mohammad Zafar 70 not out, Tariq Haroon 64).Pool ‘C’:*At Saga Ground, Sialkot:Rawalpindi beat Sialkot by 19 run on D/L method.RAWALPINDI 195 in 38.3 overs (Nauman Aman 40; Mansoor Amjad 2-25, Shahid Khan 2-38, Tahir Mughal 2-43, Sajjad-ul-Haq 2-53);SIALKOT 113-6 in 26.3 overs (Mohammad Fayyaz 2-29, Junaid Zia 2-37).*At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi:KRL v Faisalabad, no play because of rain.

FIRST LEAGUEP W L NR Points Net Run RateMutare 9 5 1 3 19.5Universals 9 5 2 2 18Takashinga 9 5 3 1 16.5 0.67Kwekwe 9 5 3 1 16.5 0.48Old Georgians 9 4 3 2 15 -0.05Old Hararians 9 5 4 – 15 -0.45Harare Sports Club 9 4 4 1 13.5Alexandra 9 3 4 2 12Bulawayo Athletic Club 9 1 6 2 6Queens 9 0 7 2 3SECOND LEAGUEP W L T NR Points Net Run RateTakashinga II 11 10 – – 1 31.5Universals II 11 4 2 – 5 19.5 -0.01MacDonald Club 11 5 3 – 3 19.5 -0.05Uprising 11 4 4 – 3 16.5 0.55Kwekwe II 11 4 4 – 3 16.5 -1.28Queens II 11 3 4 1 3 15 -0.01Bulawayo Sports Club 11 2 3 1 5 13.5 -0.95Mutare II 11 2 4 – 5 13.5 0.08Masvingo 11 2 4 – 5 13.5 -0.55Harare SC II 11 3 5 – 3 13.5 -0.93Crescent 11 3 6 – 2 12 0.12Alexandra II 11 3 6 – 2 12 -0.60NATIONAL RESERVE LEAGUE – NORTH ZONEP W L NR Points Net Run RateShamva 11 9 2 – 27Millennium 11 7 3 1 22.5Old Hararians II 11 6 3 2 21Alexandra III 11 6 4 1 19.5Mabvuku 11 6 5 – 18Uprising II 11 5 5 1 16.5 -0.14Glenshire 11 4 4 3 16.5 -0.20Northwinds 11 4 5 2 15Country Club 11 4 6 1 13.5Sunrise 11 3 6 2 12 -0.52Old Georgians II 11 3 6 2 12 -0.57Lords 11 1 9 1 4.5NATIONAL RESERVE LEAGUE – SOUTH ZONEP W L T NR Points Net Run RateByo Athletic Club II 7 4 1 – 2 15 1.72Kwekwe Queens 7 4 1 1 1 15 1.32Bulawayo Development 7 3 1 – 3 13.5Crescent II 7 2 1 1 3 12Gweru 7 2 3 – 2 9Kwekwe III 7 1 3 – 3 7.5 -0.44Masvingo II 7 – 2 – 5 7.5 -3.14King 7 – 4 – 3 4.5