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Scorecard
Shahzaib Hasan gave Pakistan fans something to smile about with a matchwinning century•PA Photos

While attention was firmly focussed on the trio of players at the Pakistan High Commission in London, the rest of the squad managed victory against Somerset in the tranquil setting of Tauunton but ended with barely 11 first players.Though hardly a panacea to the ongoing woes off the field, Shahzaib Hasan’s century allowed Pakistan to overcome a difficult start to their innings, and a career-best 122 from Zander de Bruyn, to wrap-up a much-needed win. However, just to add to their problems Umar Akmal suffered a concussion before play after a blow in the nets, Abdul Razzaq pulled out of the match with a back strain and is doubtful for the Twenty20s while both Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz picked up niggles.The victory was built on a 169-run stand for the fourth wicket between Hasan and Fawad Alam, who himself fell three short of a century. They came together with Pakistan wobbling at 43 for 3 but hauled their side into a position of strength before Somerset fought back with England Under-19 bowler Lewis Gregory taking 4 for 49 as Pakistan lost their last seven wickets for 53 runs.The Pakistan batting has been prone to collapses all summer and was weakened further by Umar Akmal being ruled out after taking a blow to the face in practice. But the fight showed by the fourth-wicket pair will do the under-fire tourists no end of good ahead of the upcoming limited-overs series against England.The innings began with Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali lasting just 10 balls between them before Mohammad Yousuf arrested the decline with a flurry of boundaries. Since his return from ICL-inspired exclusion, Yousuf has been unable to convert his undeniable class into substantial scores and having looked well set, he again contrived a way to fall needlessly, attempting a single too swift for his ageing legs to cope with.It left Alam, who made a century in the first of his three Tests just over a year ago, with plenty of time to rebuild the Pakistan innings. In partnership with Hasan the pair began slowly before increasing the rate as the innings went on.Hasan went on to reach his hundred from 117 deliveries to take Pakistan to a commanding 211 with ten overs remaining. However, his dismissal soon after reaching the landmark proved the catalyst for the collapse as Shahid Afridi became Gregory’s first wicket. Fawad then fell for 97 and the remaining Pakistan batsmen could not resist Gregory’s pressure as the tourists were bowled out 2.3 overs short of the allocated overs.Chasing 265 looked well within Somerset’s grasp even in Marcus Trescothick’s absence but Craig Kieswetter, recently dumped out of England’s ODI squad, fell to Umar Gul for 5. After the early loss, Somerset rallied as Shoaib Akhtar suffered a luckless and expensive opening spell.Nick Compton and de Bruyn profited against the pacemen but get bogged down by the spinners and after reaching a patient fifty from 71 balls, Compton offered Afridi a return catch.de Bruyn slowly built his confidence and alongside James Hildreth, the pair threatened to build a matchwinning platform but Afridi struck again to remove Hildreth for 31 and Somerset could not quite recover. Saeed Ajmal picked up three wickets and it was only de Bruyn who kept the home side in the game. He reached a century from 132 balls but could not find the support at the other end to keep the required rate in check.With the off-field issues still unravelling it was a relief for the tourists to get the right result against Somerset ahead of the first Twenty20 against England on Sunday, now their challenge is find an XI to put on the field.

As his sixth, and final, season for Essex draws to a close Grant Flower has the chance to bow out on a high in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition. Essex will go into the tournament semi-final as clear underdogs against an intimidating Somerset line-up that includes the likes of Marcus Trescothick, Craig Kieswetter, Peter Trego and Jos Buttler, and Flower, who has played 195 games for the county since arriving in 2005, is realistic about his team’s chances. “It will be very tough to overcome them,” he said. “But if we get to Lord’s it would be a great way to end.”Essex have sunk without a trace in the County Championship but have fared far better in the domestic one-day tournaments this season. Flower has been key to that success and has been by some distance their leading runscorer, averaging 69.71 with two centuries. His unbeaten 81 against Middlesex in his final home game at Chelmsford sealed their semi-final spot and left Essex fans – some of whom had booed Flowers arrival under the controversial Kolpak ruling – cheering the veteran batsman from the field.”I think over the years I have shown my commitment to the county and to the country,” Flower told . “I could understand it [the booing] and the Kolpak thing was controversial and I was taking an English person’s spot in the side.”But I think good performances and the commitment I have show has helped a great deal. I’m quite emotional about the send off I got, I’m not the sort of person that likes a big fuss, but six years is a long time.”Flower will be returning to Zimbabwe at the end of the season and though there have been several positive developments in the country’s cricket infrastructure recently he describes his decision to take up a position as the national side’s batting coach as “a huge risk”.”You never know what is going to happen in Africa and what the situation will be like and whether or not the contract you sign actually means what it’s supposed to, the organisation isn’t very good.”I was offered the role of second team coach here at Essex and you know that’s a solid job, so going back to Africa is a huge risk, but you have to do that in life, it’s a wrench to leave because I have some great friends here at Essex so there are obviously pros and cons.”

Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, is happy his team will get to play in all three countries hosting the World Cup over the next few months, calling the line-up of matches the “ideal preparation” for the showpiece tournament. New Zealand haven’t played in the subcontinent since a short tri-series in Sri Lanka last year, but have a full series against India and five one-dayers against Bangladesh before the World Cup.”Coming from New Zealand, the pitches are going to play differently but the conditions that we have here and in India and in Bangladesh will be similar to what we are going to experience in the World Cup,” Taylor said at a press conference to unveil the tri-series trophy. “So this experience is going to be valuable for the team and for the youngsters leading in to the selection for the World Cup.”He was also not too concerned about the absent senior players since it will give New Zealand’s bench strength a thorough test. “It’s good, it gives some other players an opportunity and some youngsters the chance to play in the subcontinent as well,” he said. “If we can have a squad of 20-odd to pick from and push each other, I think it will augur well for the upcoming months and for the World Cup.”Taylor had plenty of praise for two of the newcomers, batsman Kane Williamson and 30-year-old Wellington fast bowler Andy McKay. Williamson had a terrific domestic season in 2008-09, with a country-high 621 runs at 77.62 in the one-day competition, which has already led to a central contract. “Kane has been a player that has been earmarked to play for New Zealand for a long time,” Taylor said. “He’s only just turned 20, he’s an exciting raw talent and he is a pretty level-headed guy. He will be making his debut tomorrow, hopefully he will make the most if it. I am excited for him.”McKay has already made his debut earlier this year and was rated by regular New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori as someone whose pace was “on a par with Shane Bond”. A strong start to his international career was quickly followed by a stress fracture which ruled him out for three months. “Andy McKay is our fastest bowler in the squad and after losing Shane Bond through retirement,” Taylor said, “he is going to become a big part of our side and our make-up.”The depleted New Zealand outfit is viewed as the weakest of three teams in the tournament, but Taylor hoped his side’s preparation for the competition would help them perform. “We have come here to win, we won our warm-up games and probably have got an edge over them (India and Sri Lanka) in playing the competition,” he said. “We know it’s going to be tough but we are looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully, we can put some performances on the board.”

Following Zaheer Khan’s withdrawal, the Indian squad in Sri Lanka has been hit by another injury crisis with fast bowler Sreesanth returning home due to a knee injury. He suffered a medial collateral ligament tear in his left knee and has been declared unfit to take part in the Tests. Munaf Patel, who last made an international appearance in November 2009, has been named his replacement.Sreesanth’s availability was in doubt yesterday when he missed the team’s first net session on tour. His team-mate Harbhajan Singh too missed practice as he was down with fever. Though India flew down two rookie bowlers in Umesh Yadav and Jaidev Unadkat to practice with the team, the team management has anyway decided to to call in Munaf for Sreesanth.Munaf and Abhimanyu Mithun, who replaced Zaheer, are likely to compete for a place in the XI as Ishant Sharma’s seam bowling partner for the first Test starting July 18. Earlier, Zaheer pulled out of the tour due to a shoulder injury. The loss of the seam duo will stretch India’s fast bowling reserves even further because that’s the one department in which they have been found wanting in recent months.Sreesanth checked into the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore on Tuesday for an assessment of the injury to his knee. He was examined by the physio Ashish Kaushik and is likely to undergo his rehabilitation process at the academy for a few more days. “I just bowled seven balls there in Sri Lanka! What to do. That’s how it goes, I guess,” Sreesanth said.

ScorecardStephen Peters and Alex Wakely scored a century apiece as they shared a third-wicket partnership of 182 to take Northamptonshire to 280 for 4 in reply to Middlesex’s 347 all out in their County Championship Division Two clash at Lord’s. Peters, who scored a career-best 183 not out in leading Northamptonshire to a six-wicket victory over Middlesex at Wantage Road in April, simply carried on where he left off to make an unbeaten 115 off 231 balls with 13 fours.Wakely was more enterprising on the way to only his second hundred in 26 first-class matches, hitting 15 fours in his 108 off 193 balls. They were together for 54 overs and Middlesex captain Shaun Udal, who had just been off the field for repairs to his left hand after stopping a fierce drive, was wondering where their next wicket was coming from when Wakely chipped him to mid-on to offer Gareth Berg a simple catch.Six overs later, Rob White gave Udal a second wicket when he lofted him to Danny Evans at mid-off but it had been a dispiriting afternoon for Middlesex after they had made a promising start with the ball. Pedro Collins, the former West Indies left-armer, was rewarded for a demanding opening spell when he had Ben Howgego leg-before and Berg, the South Africa-born allrounder who was presented with his county cap at teatime, put Mal Loye out of his misery by having him caught at second slip for a 22-ball duck.Middlesex then ran into an immovable object in Peters, who had scored only 65 runs in his previous seven innings at Lord’s at an average of 9.28 and was obviously determined to put the record straight.Now 31, he has never quite fulfilled the potential he showed when he scored a century on his first-class debut for Essex at 17 and won the Man-of-the-Match award with a hundred in the Under-19 World Cup final in South Africa, but he has become one of the most consistent opening batsmen in the championship with three centuries and three fifties this season.Wakely, 21, has found runs harder to come by since making his maiden hundred against Glamorgan at Cardiff last summer but there were signs of real promise in some of his strokeplay.Earlier, Middlesex added six to their overnight 341 for 9 before Chaminda Vaas, the Sri Lanka left-arm seamer, had Collins caught behind to finish with the excellent figures of 4 for 49 in 21.2 overs against one of his former counties.

Sports Minister CB Ratnayake, despite accusing Sri Lanka Cricket as the third most corrupt institution in the country and slamming the board’s interim committee, retained Somachandra de Silva and Nishantha Ranatunga as chairman and secretary respectively while appointing three new members to the committee on Wednesday.Former cricketer and Sri Lanka rugby player Asanga Seneviratne, lawyer Kalinga Indratissa and Sports Ministry representative Prabath Fonseka are the three new members appointed. They replace Pramodya Wickramasinghe, A. Gunaratne Weerasinghe, Lalith Wickremasinghe and Ranil Abeynaike. Sujeewa Rajapakse continues as treasurer of the six-member interim committee.Ratnayake, who appointed Aravinda de Silva as the head of a new selection panel, in a media conference on Monday, had promised to revamp the way the game is administered, even if it meant replacing the incumbent members. Ratnayake had said he had a problem with the way the interim committee had handled finances and contributed to wastage of resources.

Scorecard
Contrasting hundreds from Durham’s Dale Benkenstein and Ben Stokes ensured that the County Champions reached a respectable 347 for 6 andheld their own against fellow strugglers Kent on the second day in Canterbury.While Benkenstein played the tortoise, as his hundred took almost four hours after he became marooned in the nervous 90s for 14 overs, the England Under-19 prospect Stokes became the hare.Stokes was the star of the U19s’ winter World Cup campaign in New Zealand, and followed his 106 against Nottinghamshire six days earlier with a sumptuous career-best 122 not out to move Durham within 77 runs of Kent’s first innings 424 come the mid-point of the game.While Benkenstein nudged and nurdled, Stokes took on a weakened Kent attack with drives and lusty pulls that earned him 15 fours and a brace of sixes.The first session had belonged to Kent who, through Makhaya Ntini, AzharMahmood and Amjad Khan, bowled tightly and intelligently to limit the visitors to only 67 runs in the 28 overs through to lunch.Ntini trapped Kyle Coetzer (12) lbw with an off-cutter that hit thehim just above the knee roll on his front pad as he pushed half-forward then, four overs later, Scott Borthwick (2) pushed away from hisbody after Ntini attacked around the wicket to steer a catch to second slip.Kent should have had a third victim before lunch when Michael Di Venuto, on 32, edged a turning ball from Rob Ferley to slip only to see Martin vanJaarsveld drop a chance down by his left boot.Ferley finally got his man 19 overs after the interval, but only after he had contributed 67 to a third-wicket stand of 118 in 31 overs with Benkenstein. Pushing at a looping, turning delivery he was bowledthrough the gate.After a breezy 17 Ian Blackwell chopped on to his off stump when aiming aback-foot force against Amjad Khan and at 165 for 4 Kent were seeminglyfighting back, but Ferley lost his length and Stokes came in to make hay.Stokes took toll of two full tosses to lift them over the ropes at midwicket on his way to a 58-ball half-century, as he and Benkenstein posted 143 for the fifth wicket.It took the second new ball to break the partnership as AmjadKhan persuaded Benkenstein to leave his first delivery on length and he lost his off stump and go for a stoic 114 from 179 balls.Durham captain Phil Mustard (10) went soon after, driving at one angled across him to give Ntini figures of 3 for 58, but Stokes ploughed on until stumps to further endorse his status as a Test batsman in the making.

ScorecardHashim Amla’s calm 54 helped Mark Wagh wrap up a comprehensive victory over Hampshire•Getty Images

Mark Wagh’s brutal 131 propelled Nottinghamshire to their third straightvictory in the County Championship, as they condemned Hampshire to a five-wicket defeat to continue their dismal start to the season. Wagh plundered his devastating century off just 158 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes, after Hampshire had posted a gettable target of 246 earlier in the day.Hampshire, who must to contend with the troubling statistic of six defeats in all forms of the game, began the day on 177 for 4 with veteran Nic Pothas and teenager James Vince holding together the fifth wicket. But the partnership added only a further 13 runs before Pothas (30) was trapped lbwby Pattinson.Vince (46) had looked in good touch, clipping three Pattinson deliveriesfor boundaries in one forgettable over, but he then followed as Paul Frankscaught him square on the crease. Dominic Cork (28) and Sean Ervine (45) put on 48 for the seventh wicket but once Cork became Hampshire’s third lbw victim of the morning the collapse was complete.With the tail failing to wag as Kabir Ali and Rangana Herath were bothdismissed for ducks, Ervine then prodded Samit Patel to Bilal Shafayat at short leg three overs after lunch, at which point the visitors looked in total control.Hampshire’s recovery got off to a terrible start as Ali had to be replaced by David Griffiths in the attack following a back complaint, and Nottinghamshire openers Shafayat and Neil Edwards looked to go to work. Michael Carberry’s brilliant diving catch from Griffiths dismissed Edwards for 8 but as Shafayat (12) was dropped by Chris Benham at third slip it looked set to be Nottinghamshire’s afternoon.Wagh progressed to a rapid half-century from just 42 balls as he looked toget the job done quickly and at tea Notts were well-placed at 83 for 1.Benham did eventually hold a catch to dismiss Shafayat but with Ali unable to continue bowling, Hampshire’s attack lacked the bite to claim the vital wicket of Wagh.Wagh duly brought up his century from just 123 balls amid chaotic scenes, as wicketkeeper Pothas fell awkwardly forcing Cork to replace him behind the stumps. Meanwhile at the other end the South African international HashimAmla (54) made his way to a sound half-century before being caught by the substitute fielder Benny Howell off the bowling of Griffiths.Griffiths then claimed his third wicket as Patel (1) struck abouncer straight down the throat of Benham at third man, and then chipped in with a good catch to dismiss Ally Brown (14) off a top-edge from Herath, but it was all in vain as Wagh and Chris Read (7 not out) knocked off the remaining runs with ease.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outR Ashwin was the pick of the Chennai bowlers•Indian Premier League

Deccan Chargers continued to climb up the points table by beating Chennai Super Kings comprehensively by six wickets at their “home” venue in Nagpur to draw level with Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders and the losing side. The win was set up by their bowlers, after MS Dhoni decided to bat on a scorching afternoon, who restricted Chennai to 138, allowing the batsmen to chase at a comfortable pace despite two early jolts and the sapping heat. Deccan struggled against spin initially, losing three wickets to the slow stuff, but rode on another fifty from T Suman and Andrew Symonds’ cool head to seal victory with five balls to spare.The only bit that really went right for Chennai was the toss, which Dhoni won and had little hesitation in choosing to bat. When Chennai accelerated from 21 after three overs to 55 for 1 from six it seemed a run-fest was on the cards. As it turned out, Chennai had little to celebrate thereafter. In the eighth over, M Vijay called for a suicidal second run and that momentary brain freeze changed the complexion of Chennai’s innings. It was another example of the schizophrenic series he’s had, with aborted starts amid some match-winning knocks, and from there Deccan never let the initiative slip.From 65 for 2 in eight overs, Chennai slowed down to reach the half-way stage at 74 for 2 with Symonds and Pragyan Ojha keeping a check with stump-to-stump bowling. Chennai’s predicament had been brought about by their batsmen’s urge to dominate and as wickets fell around him, Suresh Raina began to improvise cleverly. He moved to leg to clip the ball fine and walked down the pitch to upset the bowlers, but also reined in his attacking instincts, knocking the ball in the gaps during the middle overs.Gilchrist put down a tough chance when Raina was 27 and he broke a 38-ball period without a boundary by stepping out and launching Ojha for a straight six and repeated the shot to Symonds in the following over. Raina struggled to keep a partner at the other end, as Michael Hussey pulled Symonds to deep midwicket and S Badrinath fell for 6.When Raina fell for 52, Chennai only had 122 on the board with 16 deliveries to go and no recognised batsman to follow. Deccan never allowed matters to slip their grasp as Harmeet Singh stymied runs and Ryan Harris returned to pick up wickets in the last over. In a team which had more experienced names in their bowling line-up, the hero of the innings was Harmeet, who bowled with excellent control, changing his pace and offering the batsmen no width to score off. His dismissal of Matthew Hayden with his first ball, drawn into a drive, and final two frugal overs were a blow to Chennai’s hopes of getting a challenging total on the board.A target of 139 meant than Chennai had to strike early to have any chance of a successful defense. The very impressive R Ashwin’s dismissal of the Deccan openers in the fifth over, with lovely traditional offspin, gave Chennai a sniff but Suman emphasised how crucial his presence at No. 3 was with a sensible innings. Against Bangalore two nights ago, Suman had batted aggressively because Deccan where chasing 185 but today he focused on staying at the crease.He reined in the big shots and along with Symonds -after Rohit Sharma fell to another aerial shot outside off stump – he stablised the innings, allowing himself to gain confidence against spin. Suman chipped Shadab Jakati for four and swung Raina for six, Symonds launched Jakati down the ground for maximum to negate the pressure, and the equation came to 49 from 36 balls. Dhoni had to turn to Sudeep Tyagi for his first over, the 15th, and Suman greeted him with four and six to cross fifty, the striking point being the use of a straight bat and clean swing. He fell with 32 needed from 24, a task which Symonds made sure was accomplished without too many jitters.Deccan’s win means the match to follow tonight will break up the tie between Kolkata and Bangalore.

New Zealand 115 for 9 (Satterthwaite 42, Perry 3-14) beat Australia 98 (Nitschke 45, Bates 3-24) by 17 runs
ScorecardAmy Satterthwaite’s 42 saved New Zealand as they recorded another important win•Getty Images

New Zealand took their winning streak over Australia to five with a 17-run success in the second Twenty20 in Christchurch. The visitors had a chance to end their drought when they held the hosts to 115 for 9, but they were unable to break free in their reply and were dismissed on the final ball for 98.Australia were a worrying 35 for 3, with Alex Blackwell and Lisa Sthalekar already gone, before Shelley Nitschke and Jess Cameron (16) combined. After Cameron was unfortunate to be lbw trying to sweep Kate Broadmore, Nitschke lifted the pace with a couple of strong boundaries to fine leg and straight down the ground, but they still needed 39 off four overs.The asking rate was too high and Ellyse Perry (6) holed out at long off, giving Sara McGlashan the first of two good catches. Her running take at long-on took care of Nitschke for 45 off 51, ending Australia’s charge, but McGlashan wasn’t finished and her long throw helped run out Rene Farrell. Suzie Bates got 3 for 24, including the final-ball stumping of Julie Hunter, but all the bowlers had kept the pressure on.Amy Satterthwaite, the Player of the Match, revived New Zealand after Perry crashed through the first three batsmen in the opening three overs. Perry was on a hat-trick after having Aimee Watkins lbw from the fourth ball of the day and picked up Maria Fahey to have the hosts 5 for 3 with Blackwell’s sharp catch in the gully.Satterthwaite arrived to save her side and put on 45 with McGlashan (16), who was dropped a couple of times, and was the eighth to fall after collecting 42 from 47 balls. A late push from Rachel Priest (14 off 9) took the team into three figures and gave them a match-winning total.Sthalekar picked up two wickets, including bowling Sophie Devine with a big off break, to support Perry’s 3 for 14. The teams’ next engagement is an ODI at Queenstown before the series concludes with two games in Invercargill.