Barbados, Jamaica make the final

Jamaica entered the finals of the Regional Four-Day Competition by beating Guyana by 133 runs in three days at Sabina Park. They took control of the game after the first day, on which they were dismissed for 196 after choosing to bat. Donovan Pagon and Tamar Lambert scored half-centuries but Jamaica collapsed from 131 for 3, losing seven wickets for 65 runs. Three Guyana spinners - Veerasammy Permaul, Devendra Bishoo and Narsingh Deonarine - took three wickets each.

Guyana, however, were shot out for 126 in their first innings, conceding a lead of 70. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, unbeaten on 47, was the only batsman to pass 20. Nikita Miller claimed 3 for 16 for Jamaica, while David Bernard took 3 for 35. Jamaica could not improve on their first-innings performance in their second, though, getting dismissed for 189. Bishoo took 5 for 62, and Permaul added three more to his match haul. Xavier Marshall top scored for Jamaica this time with 59. Their lead, however, ensured Guyana would have to make the highest total of the match to reach the finals.

Chasing 260, Guyana were dismissed for 126 once again. Miller took 4 for 28, and Odean Brown had figures of 3 for 42 for Jamaica, ensuring the match did not enter the fourth day.

Sulieman Benn took 9 for 63 in the match to help bowl Barbados into the final with a 227-run victory against Trinidad & Tobago at Queen's Park Oval. Having chosen to bat, Barbados made only 223 in the first innings. Most of the top-order batsmen got starts but nobody carried on, and Jonathan Carter's 47 was the top score. Ravi Rampaul and Kavesh Kantasingh took four wickets each for T&T.

The Barbados bowlers, however, gave their side a huge lead by dismissing T&T for 84. Benn bowled with the new ball and took 5 for 28, while Carlos Brathwaite had figures of 4 for 12. T&T were 63 for 3 at one stage and then lost seven wickets for 21 runs.

Barbados made 216 in their second innings, setting a target of 356. Carter once again top scored with 52, and Brathwaite followed his success with the ball by making an unbeaten 45. Shannon Gabriel was T&T's best bowler, taking 5 for 78.

The target was always likely to be out of T&T's reach and they fell massively short. They collapsed once again, from 79 for 2, and were dismissed for 128. Benn took 4 for 35 in this innings; Javon Scantlebury-Searles contributed 3 for 22.

Wade guaranteed a baggy green

Matthew Wade has a week to contemplate his receipt of a baggy green cap after the national selectors guaranteed his place as Australia's wicketkeeper for the first Test against West Indies in Bridgetown.

In naming the team for a three-day fixture against a West Indies Board XI at the Three Ws Oval from Monday, the national selector John Inverarity rested Wade, David Warner and Michael Hussey - all three tagged for major roles against the hosts in the three Tests to follow. Peter Nevill will take the gloves in the tour match and thus walk his first steps in the national team uniform, but short of a bad training accident it will be Wade who dons the gloves at Kensington Oval from Saturday in the absence of Brad Haddin.

Though he was always the next man in line once Haddin was forced home by personal reasons to be with his family in Sydney, Wade's displays in the limited-overs matches have oscillated between the capable and the awkward. However he will gain confidence from the knowledge that his Test place is now certain.

The match offers the returning captain Michael Clarke and numerous others a chance to get acquainted with Caribbean cricket. Ed Cowan, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris and Michael Beer will all play their first active part in the tour, Beer allowed to bowl though nominal 12th man for what is a non-first-class engagement.

There is a buoyant mood around Barbados about the prospects of Darren Sammy's team following tied ODI and Twenty20 series, in which Australia's cricketers were confounded by opponents who demonstrated far more resilience than may have been anticipated. While three Tests promise to offer a much more complete examination of a team, the Australians have grown rather more guarded about the battles to be fought across the next month in Bridgetown, Port of Spain and Roseau.

Ponting, who first toured the West Indies in 1995 and has witnessed both memorable victories and stunning defeats in the region, said the team had spoken frankly of the task ahead following the undulating path followed during the limited-overs leg of the tour.

"[It is] hard to make judgements on them after just one-day cricket and Twenty20 cricket," Ponting said. "The thing that always tests out countries without great depth is Test match cricket. The Kiwis are probably a really good example of that, In Twenty20 and one-day cricket they're always very competitive but once the longer version of the game comes around they find it hard to win games.

"You've got to give the Windies credit for what they did in the one-dayers and T20s here, but I guess by the end of the Test matches we'll have a better idea of where they're at. We spoke yesterday about how competitive they'll be and we have to be prepared for that.

"We're definitely not taking them for granted or taking them lightly. I guess that's a big part of my job in the next few days, to make sure we don't get too carried away with things and preparing as we would for one of the powerhouse nations in world cricket."

Led by the wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh, the WICB President's XI is dotted with players of Test match ambition and potential, alongside a few experienced heads including Fidel Edwards, Devon Smith and Baugh himself. Johnson Charles and Kieran Powell have the chance to follow up on their appearances in the limited-overs matches, Powell in particular wanting to make a better impression in creams.

"I am very much looking forward to the game," Powell said, having also shrugged off illness since he was dropped from the ODI team following three slim scores. "It is a wonderful opportunity not only for me, but the other players on the team to go out there and do well.

"I have done some technical work with the coaches to help overcome some of the errors I have made, but I was sick over the last week, and did not train too much. I think things have been coming together nicely over the last few days and I believe I am in a much better place now."

WICB President's XI squad Carlton Baugh (capt, wk), Ryan Austin, Nkrumah Bonner, Johnson Charles, Kyle Corbin, Fidel Edwards, Jason Holder, Delorn Johnson, Nelon Pascal, Kieran Powell, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas.

Australians Ed Cowan, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Peter Forrest, Peter Nevill (wk), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Lyon, Michael Beer (12th man but can bowl).

Hasan, batsmen shine in Sialkot triumph

ialkot Stallions 170 for 2 (Malik 62*, Sohail 55*) beat Karachi Dolphins 167 for 8 (Latif 81*, Hasan 4-33) by eight wickets

After eight action-packed days at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, it was the favourites, Sialkot Stallions, who came out on top. Sialkot, the six-times national Twenty20 champions, recovered from a shaky beginning with the ball to limit Karachi Dolphins to 167 and then knocked off the runs with eight wickets to spare to lift the Faysal Bank Super-Eight trophy for the first time.

It was Karachi who won the toss and elected to bat, and the decision seemed to have paid off when they powered past 60 in the Powerplay. Their attack was led by opener Khalid Latif, who carried his bat through the innings to finish with 81 off 59. The main support was provided by Shahzaib Hasan and Asad Shafiq, who made scores in the 30s.

Karachi, though, failed to make the best use of their fine start, as the in-form left-arm spinner Raza Hasan ran through the lower middle order. Hasan began the slide with his fielding, running out Shafiq with the score on 153 for 2 in the 18th. Off the remaining 14 balls Karachi managed 14 for 5.

Chasing 168, Sialkot lost Shakeel Ansar early but took control thereafter. Imran Nazir scored a rapid 41, before an unbroken stand of 119 at close to nine an over between Shoaib Malik and Haris Sohail sealed the game in the 19th over.

For the final, 20,000-odd people thronged the Rawalpindi stadium, with its newly-renovated stands. There were a further 15,000 fans outside the stadium, doing their best to catch glimpses of the action. Adding to the importance of the occasion, was the presence of Pakistan's selectors and coach, Dav Whatmore. With the World Twenty20 being scheduled for later this year, the officials were at all the Super-Eight matches, keeping an eye on the talent on offer.

Ashraful chopped from central contracts list

Mohammad Ashraful has not been awarded a contract by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for 2012. The BCB announced contracts for 15 players after the meeting of its board of directors on Sunday, with a salary hike of 10% from last year.

BCB's list of contracted players for 2012 Grade A+ - Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza Grade A - Mahmudullah, Imrul Kayes Grade B - Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain Grade C - Nasir Hossain, Jahurul Islam Rookie Grade - Nazimuddin, Shuvagata Hom, Elias Sunny

The contracts were divided into five categories, with A+ being the highest grade. Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Abdur Razzak and Mashrafe Mortaza retained their A+ grading from last year. Imrul Kayes, with a grade A contract, and Shafiul Islam, with a grade B contract, received upgrades.

Ashraful missed out after a woeful 2011, in which he was in and out of both the Test and one-day teams. He had averaged just 5.28 in seven one-dayers, and 28.25 in two Tests. He was not a part of the squad that impressed in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

Nasir Hossain, who has averaged 42 for Bangladesh in 14 ODIs with a hundred and three half-centuries, was included for the first time in the list with a grade C contract. Batsmen Nazimuddin and Shuvagata Hom, and left-arm spinner Elias Sunny who claimed a six-for on debut against West Indies in October, were awarded rookie grade contracts.

Shahadat Hossain, Junaid Siddique, Syed Rasel, Raqibul Hasan, Naeem Islam and Suhrawadi Shuvo missed out on contracts this year.

We need to get some answers from Amir: PCB

KARACHI: Pakistan cricket authorities plan to question banned pace bowler Mohammad Amir following his return home on Sunday from Britain after serving a jail sentence for corruption.    
Amir, 19, was released from prison this month after serving a three-month sentence for his role in a spot-fixing scandal during the 2010 test against England at Lord’s. He had been banned for five years by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“Obviously we will be meeting him to find out the root cause of the spot-fixing issue in Pakistan cricket,” Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad told Reuters.
“We will talk to him to find out how and why he got involved in this corruption. Initially he was not very honest with us so we need to ask him questions. We also want to discuss his rehabilitation with him.”
Amir and his team mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were banned by the ICC last year for arranging for deliberate no-balls to be delivered in the Lord’s test. Butt and Asif are still serving jail sentences.

India facing must-win ODI against Australia

SYDNEY: India must beat Australia in Sunday’s one-day international in Sydney to retain any hope of reaching the tri-series finals, and they must do it while denying claims of changing room unrest.
The World Cup champions are four points adrift of second-placed Australia ahead of two crucial ODIs in three days. It is likely they will have to win both if they are to play in next month’s best-of-three finals.
India have slipped behind after back-to-back losses to Sri Lanka and Australia following their tie with Sri Lanka in Adelaide on February 14.
If India lose on Sunday they will fall at least eight points behind Australia and will need a bonus-point (five points) win over Sri Lanka in their last match next Tuesday to Hobart to have any chance of reaching the March 4-8 final series.

India’s big showdown comes after Indian media reported differences between captain M.S. Dhoni and two senior batsmen, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and the continuing slump in form of Sachin Tendulkar.
Dhoni, who was suspended from India’s 51-run loss to Sri Lanka in Brisbane last Tuesday denied Saturday there was any rift within the team over the rotation policy of the opening batting positions.
“Will play like a unit against Australia,” said Dhoni, adding that the team was looking forward to building momentum after their recent losses.
All-rounder Irfan Pathan also downplayed talk of differences in the team.
“Everyone is working hard. There is no difference of opinion in the team,”he told reporters on Saturday.
“I have been hearing things, but it’s nothing like that. Things are pretty good.
“It’s a matter of winning big games. Once we start winning the big games, these things are going to vanish,” he said.
There is concern over the form of Tendulkar, the greatest run-scorer in ODIs and struggling in his pursuit of his elusive 100th international century during the tour of Australia.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has said Tendulkar needs to reconsider his decision to continue playing one-day cricket.
“Sachin has to ask himself whether he is good enough to play one-day cricket day in and day out,” Ganguly said this week.
“Whether it’s helping him missing tournaments and playing a one-day series after eight-nine months, whether it’s helping him as a one-day player or if it’s helping the Indian one-day team.
“If Sachin can’t get an answer to these questions, he has to go.”Tendulkar has scored just 90 in five bats in the tri-series and is 19th in most runs scored among all the three competing teams.
Tendulkar, who took a sharp knock to his shin off an edged stroke from Peter Forrest against Australia in Brisbane last weekend, batted in the Sydney nets for an hour on Saturday.
Sunday’s game could also feature the international return of Australia allrounder Shane Watson after his lengthy injury spell, with out-of-form opener David Warner under pressure to hold down his spot.
Forrest, who scored the only century in the tournament with his 104 in Friday’s three-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Hobart, said the challenge of keeping a spot with Watson waiting in the wings was one the whole batting order needed to rise to.
“It puts all the batsmen on notice to make sure they’re scoring runs,” he said.
Skipper Michael Clarke is looking for an improvement from his Australia team in Sunday’s sellout match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
“There’s no doubt our death bowling needs to improve, that’s for sure,” he said.
“We’ve tried plenty of guys and we’ve got the right crew, we just have to execute better than we have in this series.”

Mohammad Amir to return on February 26

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Mohammad Aamer will return to Pakistan on February 26 after getting his passport from the British government, Aamer’s brother Saleem confirmed.
Aamer, who was convicted of spot-fixing and given a sentence of six months, also faces a ban of five years on playing cricket from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The former fast bowler will be appealing his ICC ban with assistance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Two other Pakistani cricketers, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt were also convicted of spot-fixing last year and are still serving their jail terms.