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Australia 207 for 9 (Richardson 44, Sarmad Bhatti 3-33) beat Pakistan 182 (Ghumman 41, Hazlewood 4-30, Doran 3-32) by 25 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Josh Hazlewood stood tall for Australia to finish with 4 for 30•Getty Images

Australia followed the lead of their senior team as they shut down Pakistan’s challenge to claim their third Under-19 World Cup trophy. Pakistan’s top side has lost seven matches in a row in Australia recently and Azeem Ghumman’s boys had a chance to give the country some cheer when they held their opponents to 207 for 9. It proved to be too many as Josh Hazlewood and Australia’s spinners took control to dismiss Pakistan for 182 to end a nervy chase.When Hazlewood finished the match with his fourth wicket Australia added the prize to their triumphs at home in 1987-88 and in New Zealand in 2001-02. They had relied on Luke Doran’s impressive 3 for 32 and Hazlewood’s 4 for 30 to stop Pakistan’s unbeaten run, while Jason Floros’ 1 for 19 off eight was also important.Ahmed Shehzad and Ghumman threatened to take their team to victory but both fell after solid displays to allow Australia the advantage. Ghumman had accumulated cleverly with 41 off 90, willing his team to victory over the second half of the innings, but when he was bowled by the offspinner Floros in the 43rd over the end was near.Shehzad, who has played six limited-overs games for the senior outfit, showed his class with some smart boundaries early in the chase, but he was slow to leave with 38 off 48 after pushing forward to the left-arm spinner Doran and being given out lbw. Babar Azam, the 15-year-old opener, followed for 28 two overs later with an under-edge to give Doran his second and bring the Australians back into the contest. Babar was also unhappy and Pakistan were edgy at 74 for 3, adding five runs in five overs.Rameez Azis, who was mostly cautious in his 23, danced down to Doran and launched him for a six to long off, but grew over-confident and was bowled cutting in the same over. Doran was just as impressive as his slow-bowling opponents, who caused regular doubt for Australia’s batsmen.The fast bowler Hazlewood, who collected the opening wicket, was called back in the middle and had success almost immediately when he dismissed Hammad Azam for 0, the first time he has been out in the tournament. Pakistan were 111 for 5 and had a further concern in the changing weather, with the wind starting to blow hard and disrupting play on a handful of occasions.With Pakistan needing 75 off 15 overs, Mitchell Marsh brought on the medium-pacer Alex Keath and he struck with his third ball when Mohammad Waqas (13) edged behind and the ball deflected from the wicketkeeper’s gloves to Hazlewood at short third man. Pakistan could claim to be unlucky at times but ultimately their batsmen were unable to follow the strong work of their bowlers.After winning the toss, the Pakistani fast men struck some key blows before the spinners suffocated the middle order. Kane Richardson muscled a run-a-ball 44 and Tim Armstrong compiled 37 as they were able to escape towards the end of the innings to post a respectable total that allowed them to take the main prize.Richardson, who was called in to play instead of Nick Buchanan, showed his power with two sixes and three fours, including 16 off five balls from Hammad, before he holed out to long-on. Sarmad Bhatti followed up by bowling Armstrong next ball, missing the hat-trick but picking up 3 for 33.Under sunny skies, Australia fell to 23 for 3 on a brown surface and were relieved when Floros and Keath combined for 57, but those two departed quickly to leave the side at 82 for 5. The spinners were superb as they tied down the middle order, with Raza Hasan, the left-arm orthodox, allowing only six runs from his first six overs on the way to 1 for 21 from 10 as he remained a threat at the death.The legspinners Usman Qadir, who had 0 for 35 off 10, and Shehzad (0 for 22 off seven) added to the confusion before the offspiner Babar was brought on. Babar picked up Tom Triffitt (21) with an edge from an attempted cut, dropping Australia to 127 for 6, but gave up 12 in the last of his six overs when taken for a six and a four by Richardson. In all the slow men delivered 33 overs for 112 runs.Pakistan made an excellent start when Nic Maddinson was lbw to Fayyaz Butt on the fifth ball and in the next over Tom Beaton glided Sarmad straight to Babar, who took a sharp catch above his head at second slip. Australia soon had even more problems following the departure of the captain Marsh (7) after he prodded defensively to a Fayyaz outswinger and was caught behind by Waqas. Each time they were able to hit back and will leave New Zealand weighed down by a coveted trophy.

Scorecard
What a difference an extra day makes. Had this been a four-day fixture, like the previous games in the competition, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited would have been justified in feeling deprived of a victory after sparking a remarkable turnaround. But the additional fifth day gives them an opportunity to take the title that they thoroughly deserve after battling to snatch the upper hand in a game where they had been the underdogs for the first three days.Habib Bank Limited rested in a comfortable position at the start of the third day at the National Stadium in Karachi, leading by 116 on the first innings with all wickets intact. They would have entertained hopes of batting the opposition out of the game, but failed to measure up to the left-arm pace of Samiullah Khan, who nipped out five wickets for just 16 to bowl them out for 105.The trouble began early for HBL, who lost their top order with just 15 on the board. The next stand yielded 31, but that remained the highest of the innings, as seven wickets fell for just 59. Samiullah was supported by opening bowler Asad Ali and fast bowler Imran Ali, who bagged two wickets each, to swing the game SNGPL’s way.HBL finished their innings with a lead of 221, setting a tricky target, but SNGPL’s batsmen were prepared for the challenge. Their openers, Mohammad Hafeez and Naeemuddin, added 87. Hafeez and SNGPL’s top scorer in the first innings, Raza Ali Dar, fell within a space of 12 runs but with Naeemuddin batting on 49 and the experienced Misbah-ul-Haq partnering him at the other end, they will back themselves to pull this one off.

Netherlands, who will be returning to English domestic cricket this year in Ireland’s absence, have finalised venues for their home games in the 2010 ECB 40 League. Six games are to be shared evenly between Amstelveen, Schiedam and Rotterdam.”We are extremely grateful to the clubs for hosting these prestigious fixtures in what will be a very interesting programme of matches,” said KNCB chief executive Richard Cox. “It goes without saying the players are looking forward to playing on the county grounds in the UK but the home venues where Dutch cricket supporters will be able to see their national team are equally as special in a different way.”Netherlands, who finished third in the World Cup Qualifiers, are now in preparation mode for the tournament to be held in the subcontinent in 2011. Netherlands made their first appearance in international cricket in the 1996 World Cup, and the event in 2011 will be their fourth. They are yet to beat a Test-playing nation in the format, however, so their participation in county cricket this summer will provide invaluable experience.”The prospect of the visiting sides containing names such as Ryan ten Doeschate, Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Andrew Strauss and so on is exciting in itself let alone the array of overseas players and young players that the county scene produces.”

Ricky Ponting knows the winning feeling better than any other player in thehistory of Test cricket. But on a day when he broke the records for the mostwins by any Test player and the mostvictories for any Test captain, Ponting called the 170-run triumphover Pakistan one of the team’s best in a long while, and praised his young attackfor as good a bowling effort as the side had displayed in the last two years.When he came in to the team as a young man in the mid 1990s, Australia werejust embarking on a decade of dominance. The list of men to have played inthe mostTest victories is revealing, as the top eight are all Australians ofthat brilliant era. The win over Pakistan took Ponting to 93, passing ShaneWarne’s mark of 92.It also gave Ponting his 42nd success as a Test captain, surpassing SteveWaugh’s world record. But since the retirements of Warne, GlennMcGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden and various othergolden-era colleagues, things have become much tougher for Ponting. He haslost the Ashes for a second time, succumbed at home to South Africa and seenhis team slip as low as fourth on the ICC Test rankings.If nothing else, the dizzying highs and gut-wrenching lows have given himperspective. And so, after his developing side dominated Pakistan for fivedays at the MCG, with career-defining efforts from Shane Watson and NathanHauritz, Ponting was full of praise for his men. He was especially pleasedwith the performance of his bowlers, who have for three years struggled inthe shadows of Warne and McGrath, and are finally becoming their own men.”The bowling through the game has been as good as it’s been in our team forthe last couple of years,” Ponting said. “The way we bowled in the firstinnings in particular was just outstanding. The way we used the new balland we were able to maintain our discipline and execute our skills over sucha long period of time at the start of their first batting innings was a realfactor in the game.”It’s been a great game for us. It’s one of our best Test wins in quite awhile, starting right from the start of the game from the Katich and Watsonpartnership which really set the platform and set the foundation for a verygood Test match for us.”The highlights were many. Watson scored his first Test century on top of93 in the first innings; Ponting, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey and Hauritzall scored half-centuries; Hauritz collected his maiden five-wicket haul;and Mitchell Johnson continued to regain some of the spark he lost duringthe Ashes.Coming after a tightly-contested series against West Indies, the dominantdisplay was well-timed. There’s also a bigger future to consider: Australiahave only six more Tests before they attempt to regain the Ashes at homenext summer. Until then every win, every positive that can be taken froma match, will be seen as a stepping stone.”We are building a squad of players right at the moment that in a coupleof years time are going to be a very dominant team again,” Ponting said.”At the moment it is my job to keep the group together and keep challengingthem and keep helping the younger guys out and keep winning as many gamesof cricket as we can.”Ponting was keen to celebrate the individual efforts from several of hisnewer team-mates at the MCG, but less effusive about his own record-breakingachievements. He said he was proud of the milestones but was unlikely toreally appreciate them until he stopped playing.”They’re things I’ll probably be most of proud of when I’m done,” he said.”We all play to win games of cricket and be involved in a team that is winninggames of cricket. They’re things I’m very proud of, hopefully there are alot more wins around the corner and if we play the cricket that we’ve playedover these five days then we will definitely win a lot more games.”

Mark Lane, the England women’s coach, was named UK coach of the year and high performance coach of the year at the UK coaching awards ceremony in London on Tuesday.Lane, 44, has overseen a memorable year for England, guiding them to the World Cup, the World Twenty20, a 4-0 triumph over Australia in the Natwest Series and a draw in a one-off Test to retain the Ashes.Hugh Morris, the ECB managing director, said the dedication Lane has shown since taking up the position alongside the money put into Women’s cricket has been behind England’s success.”Mark has been working with the England women’s team since April 2008 and his passion for the game and the hard work of all involved have helped the team achieve a huge amount in the last 18 months.”This, coupled with the increased investment into women’s cricket particularly in the last four years, has helped England become the dominant force in the game.”Clare Connor, ECB’s head of England women’s cricket, said that the team were looking forward to building on this year’s success next season.”I know that Mark, the rest of the management and the entire team are already focussed on 2010 and beyond and ensuring that the team maintains its position as the best in the world and continues to inspire girls to play the game.”Cricket received a third accolade at the ceremony, winning the coaching intervention of the year award.This was for ‘cricket’s education offer’ in the form of eight members of the England women’s team working as coaching ambassadors for the ECB’s Chance to shine programme.

Indian forensic officials have given a clean chit to Parvez Rasool, the Jammu and Kashmir cricketer, who was detained for questioning before a Champions League Twenty20 match in Bangalore last month after a private security agency claimed to have detected traces of explosive material in his kitbag.Karnataka-based Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) has submitted a report on the matter to the local Bangalore police which said “there were no residues of explosive substances found (in Rasool’s bag) which is inclusive of RDX”, a commonly used material in terrorist operations.Cricinfo has obtained a copy of the forensic report, and its contents have been confirmed by a senior local police officer. “We have received the report from FSL and the result is negative (for explosive material),” MR Pujar, additional commissioner of Bangalore police, told Cricinfo. “We are closing the case.”The FSL reports states that tests have revealed traces of DIOP inside and in the plastic pouch of Rasool’s bag. “DIOP is a widely used plasticiser, primarily to make soft and flexible PVC for various applications,” the report states. The report also suggests that the detection equipment used by the private security agency may have given a faulty reading.Rasool was delighted to be cleared of the charges. “I always knew that I would get a clean chit,” he told . “I have done no wrong. Initially, I was upset but I knew that the truth would come out. You can never bury the truth; and today everyone knows I am clean.”Today, I have been proven innocent, but I request the police not to let such things happen to anyone else, be it a cricketer or a common man. A small mistake can destroy someone’s life.”I will visit Bangalore again. As I said, I always wanted to visit Bangalore and whatever happened is a thing of the past. The National Cricket Academy is situated in Bangalore and every Indian cricketer wants to play there.”On October 17, the Champions League match between Victoria and Cape Cobras got off to a delayed start after police detained Rasool, an Under-22 cricketer, staying at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) complex in the Chinnaswamy Stadium following an alert from the private agency.Rasool was subsequently allowed to play in a domestic tournament at the stadium after the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association vouched for the cricketer and doubts were raised by local police about the accuracy of the private agency’s findings.However, the incident had no effect on his game, as he found his redemption in compiling runs. “Since I had done no wrong, I wanted to focus on my cricket,” Rasool said. “I even scored a half-century in Bangalore immediately after the incident. In the next match against Mumbai, I scored half centuries in both innings, and also picked up a few wickets.”

Alastair Cook, England’s Test opener, has said he would “love to give the captaincy a go” if Andrew Strauss was rested from the tour of Bangladesh in March 2010. Former England captain Michael Vaughan was among those who felt Strauss needed to be given a break after the tour of South Africa, which ends only a month before the trip to Bangladesh begins.”There has been talk that Andrew Strauss might take the Bangladesh tour off next March,” Cook said at a NatWest coaching session. “Hypothetically, if it was the case, I’d love to give the captaincy a go but it’s not my only goal in cricket. It’s not like I won’t be able to sleep at night if it doesn’t happen.”Cook was appointed England vice-captain after the row between Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores ended in both men being sacked. “I’ve captained Bedford School, county age-group sides, county seconds and Essex, when Ronnie Irani was indisposed,” Cook said. “But I like being at the forefront of making decisions; always have done.”Cook made his Test debut against India in 2006 and scored a century in Nagpur, after which he went from strength to strength and became the youngest England player to reach 2000 Test runs. However, he struggled later on, most noticeably against Australia and will be challenged once again when he travels to South Africa to face one of the best fast-bowling attacks in the world.”It’s a pace attack that has everything and is probably the best in the world,” Cook said. “But I’ve done well against them and bowlers of that type before. I know what to expect and I enjoy the ball coming on.After the Ashes victory in 2009, Cook went back to Essex and worked with Graham Gooch to rectify certain technical issues. “I’ve always had a double back lift so we changed that, though I don’t hold the bat up as much as Goochie used to do when he took guard. I also worked on my body alignment and my footwork, so three major issues to tweak.”My strengths are off the back foot but you have to be careful any changes don’t compromise that. Every batsman in history probably has some technical fault or other. It’s about managing them.”

Start time:
October 13, 14.30 GMTCan Piyush Chawla turn it Sussex’s way?•AFP

This could be the most unglamorous game in the tournament as neither team has any famous name in its ranks – Sussex allrounders Luke Wright and Dwayne Smith being the only one with some international pedigree. But even Wright, who arrived only a day ago, is yet to recover completely from the virus he picked up during the ICC Champions Trophy and playing him may be a gamble. Sussex would hope that their captain Michael Yardy recovers from the severe stomach cramps that forced him to watch the defeat against New South Wales on Sunday from the dressing room.Still the Twenty20 Cup winners could count themselves as favourites in this crucial clash – the winners advance to the next round – based on the Eagles’ toothless display in their 53-run loss against group leaders New South Wales in their first game. Another boost for the English champions came from the New South Wales’ captain Simon Katich who picked them as a favourite when asked for his prediction for tomorrow’s game. Compared to the Sussex batsmen, who at least got starts, none of the Eagles’ batsmen, barring Ryan McLaren, got a look-in on the low pitch.Watch out for:
Dwayne Smith v Thandi Tshabalala: Smith had blasted a 26-ball half-century to help Sussex lift their first Twenty20 Cup and could be a dangerous proposition for the rookie Tshabalala, who already got stick after being wayward the other day against the Australian youngster Moises Henriques, who thrashed him for 15 runs in five balls.Riley Rossouw v Yasir Arafat: Rossouw turned 20 last week and is one for the future for South Africa. The left-hander goes for his shots and he could have an interesting tussle with Arafat, a skiddy customer who maintains a wicket-to-wicket line.Ryan McLaren v Piyush Chawla: McLaren, though an unorthodox batsman, is not shy to step out as he did against in the very first over of the New South Wales legspinner Steve Smith, thumping a six and four. Chawla had recently said that he would attack the batsmen even at the expense of going for runs so this contest could get engrossing if players stick to their guns.

Gautam Gambhir is confident he will recover in time for the Champions Trophy from his injury that has kept him out of the ongoing tri-series in Sri Lanka. He had to pull out on the eve of India’s first match because of a groin strain, which he had aggravated during a nets session.”I am going to get fit before the Champions Trophy for sure,” Gambhir told Cricinfo in Bangalore, where he is undergoing rest and rehabilitation. “It’s a groin strain, so it would have taken me a week to 10 days – and our first game is on the 26th [in the Champions Trophy]. And I want to get fit before that.”His withdrawal from the tri-series was more of a precautionary measure: India already don’t have Virender Sehwag’s services for the Champions Trophy, and didn’t want to risk Gambhir for the big event.”If I had continued playing there, it would have aggravated, and there’s a long season up ahead,” Gambhir said. “I didn’t want to take that risk. The Champions Trophy is much more important.”Gambhir is undergoing rehabilitation under the supervision of the physio-trainer team of Paul Chapman and Paul Close at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, and he could head home to New Delhi sometime next week because he will only require rest. It is believed to be a minor strain. Nonetheless, it will be a tricky decision for India, who risked taking a half-fit Sehwag to England for the World Twenty20 and ended up an opener short. This, though, is a smaller injury in comparison.

David Hemp has been named Bermuda captain for this month’s series against Uganda. He was widely expected to take over from Irving Romaine, who led the side during the dismal campaign in the World Cup qualifiers in April. Steven Outerbridge, 26, was made vice-captain of the 13-man squad announced on Sunday.The side was missing several key players; left-arm batsman Glenn Blakeney was ruled out after injuring his knee ligaments, and medium-pacer Stefan Kelly was also not considered. Delyone Borden was not selected due to personal family reasons while work commitments kept Kyle Hodsoll out.Besides a four-day Intercontinental Shield match, Bermuda will host Uganda for two 50-over matches and a Twenty20.Bermuda squad: David Hemp (capt), Steven Outerbridge (vice-capt), Irving Romaine, Chris Douglas, Terryn Fray, Rodney Trott, Tamauri Tucker, Jekon Edness, Fiqre Crockwell, Justin Pitcher, Malachi Jones, Jordan de Silva, Kevon Fubler***Irving Romaine has “no regrets” about his time as captain after he was sacked as skipper, three years into a reign that has seen Bermuda lose their ODI status as well qualification to the next World Cup.”I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time as ¬captain – I did my best and I have no regrets,” he told . “I’m still in decent shape and I’m looking to play for another year or two as a batsman and ¬enjoy my cricket for a while ¬without having to worry about all the other stuff that goes with ¬being captain.”The man to replace him in the short-term is Hemp, the former Glamorgan captain, but aged 38 he hardly represents the cutting edge of youth. Nevertheless, Hemp remains Bermuda’s best batsman by a country mile, and will at least offer a steady hand as the team try to claw their way back into the international fold.Bermuda lost their one-day status during the World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa earlier this year, a calamitous tournament for them which prompted the coach, Gus Logie, to announce that he wouldn’t be continuing after his contract expires in September. Logie angered his players by venting his fury at their lack of desire in an interview with Cricinfo.It is understood that Logie has recommended Hemp to be captain in the interim, and the batsman himself was keenly aware that he is far from a long-term candidate.”I was fortunate enough to ¬captain at county level in ¬England and to step it up and do it internationally for Bermuda would be a great honour,” Hemp said. “It would need someone who is a bit younger than me that could be an understudy for a few years and hopefully learn from my experience.”Batsman Lionel Cann, allrounder Janeiro Tucker and Dwayne Leverock have all retired in recent months, as Bermuda face an uphill challenge to regain international status.