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Under the bright lights of the Sharjah Cricket Association stadium Pakistan captain Waqar Younis held aloft the Khaleej Times Trophy 2001 after beating Sri Lanka by five wickets. It was the kind of performance that was more sensible than heroic, more calculated than sensational. After being asked to take the field Waqar and his men shot out the Sri Lankans for 173, thereby making their task so much easier.Easy or not, the Pakistan batting has a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. And it did almost capitulate in the face of some fine spin bowling from Muthiah Muralitharan. Showing off his complete repertoire, Murali ended with the figures of 10-3-22-3. An outstanding showing from Murali with a very small total to defend.The rest of the Sri Lankan bowling however, lacked the experience, skill and imagination needed to make a miracle happen. The same attack would certainly have looked completely different had there been another fifty odd runs on the board.A sensible steady knock of 35 from Shahid Afridi, followed by 40 from Yousuf Youhana and a sprinkling of cameos saw to it that Pakistan reached their target with more than five overs to spare.But it was really the Sri Lankan batting that set the tone of the match.It was a keen contest between two explosive openers and two experienced fast bowlers. While Sanath Jayasuriya, the man known for his hitting at the top of the order, and Avishka Gunawardene attempted to get Sri Lanka off to a good start, the Pakistanis did everything in their power to stop them. The first casualty of the twin W’s was Gunawaradene, who simply could not break the shackles. The pressure exerted by Waqar forced Gunawardene to go after a delivery that would have normally sailed harmlessly through to the keeper. Fending at a ball that shaped away from the left-hander, Gunawardene only managed to present Azhar Mahmood at slip with a low catch. Gunawardene managed just 2 off 11 balls as Waqar struck in the fourth over.While Jayasuriya adjusted to the circumstances very quickly and adopted a defensive, wait-and-watch approach, his partner out in the middle, Marvan Atapattu was dealt a cracker of a delivery by Akram. The left-arm seamer softened up Atapattu with a few short deliveries before pushing one through a bit quicker. Trying to play at the ball, Atapattu tickled it through to stumper Rashid Latif.Atapattu did not trouble the scorers.The initial breakthroughs coupled with the fact that runs dried up made things very difficult for the Lankans. The fact that none of the Sri Lankans made even a half-century is telling. Jayasuriya (34) was not his usual self and did his best to keep one end steady. Mahela Jayawardene (43) batting with great flair took one risk too many and was cleaned up by a pumped up Shoaib Akhtar.Russel Arnold soldiered on manfully while the wickets fell around him. Chipping the ball into the gaps and accumulating the runs, Arnold helped himself to an almost run-a-ball 47, the highest score of the Lankan innings.For Pakistan the wickets were spread around – Waqar and Akhtar had three each while Akram and Afridi bagged two apiece.

South Australia should be feeling positive about the approaching season and at least things can’t go much worse than last summer. The Redbacks have a new coach and a new captain and it’s hardly surprising they are looking forward rather than back. Sensibly, they are also making no wild predictions about 2007-08.”I’m not focusing too much on outcomes and results at this stage,” the new captain Nathan Adcock said. “We need to get our backyard in order and then let the outcomes take care of themselves.”Getting their backyard in shape has been such a lengthy and ongoing process that not even Jamie Durie could make it an overnight job. South Australia were on the bottom of the Pura Cup table throughout last season and their only win came in the final game. They fared a bit better in the one-day competition where their five victories placed them fourth.Off-field problems were equally worrying in 2006-07. There was concern from within the South Australia camp that a partying culture existed when the players were on the road and questions were raised over the squad’s leadership. Jason Gillespie was upset the team’s administrators mentioned the problems in the media and while all this was happening the Redbacks kept losing.This year they have expanded their squad to 29 including rookies and Adcock expects that to help the team’s drive. “The boys have been immaculate in their pre-season preparation,” he said. “With the competition that’s on for places, people know that they can’t let themselves down on or off the field.”Mark Sorell has taken over as the head coach and Kym Harris is overseeing the batting department. Harris’ role presents a particular challenge as only three Redbacks scored Pura Cup centuries last season. Adcock said the coaching changes had already had an impact with more individual attention fore each player.”We’ve been doing a great deal of batting volume work with real purpose,” he said. “The other thing we’ve tried to implement after that is a very intense competition scenario. So whether it’s in the nets or centre-wicket, it’s a really competitive situation between the batsmen and bowlers. We’ve tried to make it as close to a match situation as we can.”Bowling has been less of a concern in recent years, with Shaun Tait and Gillespie carrying the pace burden and Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey making a handy spin duo. Tait could see more national action in 2007-08 and there is also a chance Bailey or Cullen will be called up, but Adcock is confident with the attack’s depth.”It’s fair to say our bowling record in the previous years has been a strong point for us,” he said. “I couldn’t be more excited if we have to delve deeper into our bowling stocks because guys are playing for Australia.”

The newly-retired Greg Blewett and the fast bowler Trent Kelly, who transferred to Western Australia, were the only departures from last year’s senior list. Peter George has been added to the fast-bowling group while Tom Plant and Jason Borgas will boost the top order.The major on-field change is the captaincy handover after nine years of Darren Lehmann’s leadership. Adcock has no intention of copying Lehmann’s style but is pleased his predecessor will be on hand to bounce ideas off. He also knows that after such a lean 2006-07 the Redbacks cannot expect things to turn around immediately.”I’d really like to measure [our success] on two things,” Adcock said. “If we can be seen to have improved, individually and as a group, that’s a step forward. And if we’re really competitive and neck-deep in four-day games on the last day, then we can hopefully get things going our way.”Captain Nathan Adcock
Coach Mark Sorell
Squad Nathan Adcock, Cullen Bailey, Cameron Borgas, Jason Borgas, Ben Cameron, Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Dan Cullen, Shane Deitz, Matthew Elliott, Callum Ferguson, Peter George, Jason Gillespie, Daniel Harris, Ryan Harris, Darren Lehmann, Graham Manou, Tom Plant, Gary Putland, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait. Rookies Jake Brown, Andy Delmont, Jason Donnelly, Jake Haberfield, Simon Roberts, Chadd Sayers, Ken Skewes, Jamie Smith.2006-07 results Pura Cup 6th, FR Cup 4th, Twenty20 4th.

Match abandoned
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Australia were denied a certain victory in the third match of the DLF Cup, as the wet weather played havoc for the second match in a row at the Kinrara Oval. After Australia mustered 244, India, set a revised target of 170 in 29 overs, were decimated by an outstanding spell of fast bowling by Mitchell Johnson, who ripped out the heart of the Indian batting in two hostile overs. He returned magnificent figures of 4 for 11 to have the Indians reeling at 35 for 5 in eight overs, before the rains returned to save India the blushes.Already having lost a rain-affected match to West Indies on Thursday, India were lagging in third place on the points table, but their bowlers put in a fine show after Australia won the toss, recovering from an early battering to restrict them to 244. Shane Watson, promoted to open the innings for the first time in his ODI career, rode his luck early on and bludgeoned some fine blows en route to a career-best 79 while Michael Clarke made a controlled 64. But the Indian attack, led by the irrepressible Harbhajan Singh (2 for 24) hit back in fine style, ensuring that India needed an asking rate of less than five an over to get their first points of the tournament.Sachin Tendulkar versus Glenn McGrath was the big contest everybody had been waiting for, and their tussle, though brief, lived up to the hype. McGrath rattled Tendulkar on the helmet off the first ball he bowled to him, and then kept Tendulkar guessing with excellent variations in length and seam movement. Tendulkar hit back with an audacious down-the-pitch hoick over midwicket before the rains sent the players scurrying back with India on 16 without loss after five.The three overs of play after resumption was the most dramatic passage of the entire day. Johnson has been touted as the next big thing in Australian fast bowling, and he showed just why he is so highly rated, destroying the famed Indian line-up with pace, swing and seam. The revised target of 154 in 24 overs clearly meant the batsmen had to up the pace instantly, and the pressure told, as Dravid scooped a drive to cover. Irfan Pathan walked out, and was greeted with a jaffa – the ball pitched on middle and off, and took off stump even as Pathan shaped to get into line.Virender Sehwag briefly provided respite with an upper-cut off Stuart Clark for six, but then succumbed to a misunderstanding with Tendulkar, who himself was next out after surviving the hat-trick ball. When Yuvraj Singh edged a catch to slip, India had lost five wickets for 19 runs in three overs, and were staring at a humiliating defeat, before they were rescued by the rain.The Australian innings was split into two parts – the first one was all about their batsmen – especially Watson – dominating completely, while the second part belonged to the Indian bowlers.

Watson and Phil Jaques, his opening partner, got the innings going in fine style after a circumspect first six overs, which fetched only 23. The next four overs produced 41, though, and the Australians were well and truly underway, as both batsmen launched into Ajit Agarkar and Munaf Patel – the Indian new-ball pair – with a series of pulls, lofted straight-drives and punches through the off side. India had one chance to stop the rot before it had even begun, when Watson – then on 13 – got a leading edge off Agarkar, but Harbhajan made a mess of the chance at cover.The first wicket added 64, and though Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn didn’t contribute much, Australia were rollicking along thanks to Watson. Plonking his front foot down the pitch, he took full toll whenever the bowlers pitched it up, thumping fours down the ground and through cover. And when they pitched it short, Watson unleashed some fierce pull shots, none more destructive than the one off Munaf in the eighth over – the ball soared over midwicket for six. Irfan Pathan, still woefully short on confidence, was taken to the cleaners too, as he leaked four fours in an over. Then Harbhajan was introduced into the attack, and the momentum shifted completely.Controlling his length, pace and flight superbly, Harbhajan immediately commanded respect from the batsmen. The pitch afforded him some turn, and he used it perfectly, turning it in from outside off, and keeping the batsmen guessing with the occasional doosra. He soon got the vital wicket of Watson – who clipped one to midwicket – and then rode on that success. Mark Cosgrove didn’t have an answer to his guile either, and with Sehwag offering fine support at the other end, Australia were suddenly on the defensive.With Australia losing the momentum, it was left to Clarke to play the role of sheet anchor. His approach too changed as the wickets fell, and fluent strokeplay gave way to nudges and pushes as he sensibly reined himself in. He finally fell trying to force the pace, as Agarkar and Munaf returned with accurate second spells. A brief spell of rain forced the players off the field with seven deliveries left, but, on resumption, they needed only three more to take the final Australian wicket and wrap up the innings.Dravid woud have been looking forward to four points at the halfway mark, but by the end of the game, he would have been mightily relieved to get two.

Phil Jaques c Sehwag b Munaf 25 (64 for 1)
Ricky Ponting c Tendulkar b Pathan 19 (92 for 2)
Damien Martyn c Dhoni b Singh 4 (113 for 3)
Shane Watson c Raina b Harbhajan 79 (157 for 4)
Mark Cosgrove c Dravid b Harbhajan 1 (167 for 5)
Brad Haddin run out (Sehwag) 16 (200 for 6)
Michael Clarke c Raina b Munaf 64 (230 for 7)
Mitchell Johnson c Dhoni b Agarkar 1 (232 for 8)
Stuart Clark c Singh b Munaf 7 (243 for 9)
Hogg c Dhoni b Agarkar 12 (244 all out)
IndiaRahul Dravid c Martyn b Johnson 6 (20 for 1)
Irfan Pathan b Johnson 0 (20 for 2)
Virender Sehwag run out (Clarke/Haddin) 8 (34 for 3)
Sachin Tendulkar c Haddin b Johnson 12 (34 for 4)
Yuvraj Singh c Hogg b Johnson 0 (35 for 5)

Zambian cricket was thrown into chaos with the news that the Zambian Cricket Union has been dissolved, the latest move in a long-running dispute between various members of the board.The dissolution was announced by Absalom Mwansa, the chairman, along with his own resignation. He explained that as there was nobody able to take over from him, he had no choice but to take that course of action. “I want to uphold my personal integrity and respect that I command in cricket circles,” Mwansa wrote, “and I also want the sport to be run in a transparent manner.”But the act was criticised by Moffat Mbewe, the board’s general secretary, who said the suspension was unconstitutional. “A body such as ours can only be dissolved by the National Sports Council of Zambia and not the chairman,” Mbewe explained. “If he had consulted before making such an erroneous decision, we would have guided him.”Until an extraordinary general meeting can be called, the country’s cricketing affairs will be controlled by the ZCU’s two affiliates, Midlands Cricket Association (MCA) and Copperbelt Cricket Association.Mwansa’s resignation came in the same week that Musa Zulu, the ZCU’s treasurer, announced that he was stepping down.

The issue of chucking divides opinions, but a clear verdict emerged from apanel of former cricketers instituted by Wisden Asia Cricket: five out ofseven members came out in favour of handing the matter back to the umpires.To the question whether a throw should be called by an umpire, there wasonly one categorical no and a conditional one.Eleven questions covering a range of issues relating to chucking were putto a panel comprising Greg Chappell, Peter Roebuck, Bob Woolmer, SidathWettimuny, Rameez Raja, Sanjay Manjrekar and a current international batsman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The answers, published in the June issue of the magazine, are amixture of the radical and the expected.Chappell, Manjrekar, and the current player were clear that if the transgression was obvious, the umpireshould call, whereas Wettimuny, while agreeing that “the umpire should beable to call a bowler who is clearly and purposefully breaking the law bythrowing”, said that the umpire should have access to technology todetermine a throw.Woolmer was categorically against the umpire calling. “The umpire has too muchelse to do,” he said and went on to suggest: “The bowler should be takenthrough a testing protocol [after being reported by the umpires] using adigital camera in the middle without his knowledge.”Chappell felt that there was a need to have a broader definition of whatconstituted a throw. Using an inverted argument Chappell said, “It may bebest to define what constitutes a fair delivery rather than what is athrow, and move forward from there.” While Woolmer agreed with Chappell, Roebuck and Wettimuny felt that thelaw was fine at the moment. “Unless there is any scientific evidence to thecontrary,” said Wettimuny, “there is no need for a change.”All barring Chappell were happy with the current reporting structure butmany felt that the rehabilitation process needed to be tightened. Accordingto Woolmer, “Rehab of older bowlers is tough and time-consuming, and oftenit falls down when the bowler resorts to his old action in the effort to geta wicket.” The current batsman was against the matter being reported to thehome board and said, “Home boards have a vested interest. It should go to acentral authority.”The question regarding whether the umpire must call the throw also evoked mixedreactions. Rameez was the only one who felt that itwas unfair to report the bowlers based on naked-eye judgement. “Technologyis there to be used. The technology saved Shoaib Akhtar because it spottedhis hyperextension. It showed that there was a problem with Shabbir Ahmed’saction.” But Manjrekar felt that a goodumpire would be able to spot a bowler taking unfair advantage.The panel was also asked what its take was on the number of bowlers shieldedby medical alibis. The current batsman said that having a physicaldeformity was no excuse. “If a batsman has defective eyesight, you don’tmake a special rule for him.” But Woolmer and Rameez were willing to make anexception for the cases that involved hyperextension. “I have no problem asthe arm bends back past the vertical. In the case of a thrower it is clearlydifferent, where the arm is jerked through.”Notwithstanding all the differing opinions, there were a few common threadsthat spanned the survey. All recognised the limitations of the currenttechnology for testing and were also critical of the law which allowed different tolerance limits for different types of bowlers. Chappell commented: “I would expect that the forces on the bowlingarm are not dissimilar for most bowlers so the tolerances should be thesame.”Wisden Asia Cricket

The first half of an exclusive interview with Graeme Smith, South Africa’s youngest-ever Test captainWhat are your first memories of captaincy?
I captained at under-13 aged group when I was 12. I always played a year younger than most of the other boys. I captained every team from then on until inter-provincial at under-19 level. I don’t have very much experience of not being captain, I’ve always done it.First conflict?
At under-19 level I had a little run-in with Jacques Rudolph. We’d played against each other all the time for years, and then at under-19 level he captained Northerns and I captained Gauteng. It was a pretty heated exchange, my first taste of what can happen when the adrenalin is flowing during a big game. It was the key game of the tournament. We had always got on, and still do, but it was war at the time!Clash with a team-mate?
That hasn’t really happened. You only get problems if you leave things undecided, if you leave people unsure about what they should be doing and what is expected of them. If everyone knows how the captain wants to run things then they are more likely to respect you – and if a guy steps out of line then you can pull him back in.But most of your experience has been captaining players your own age?
Most of my teams have been a year older than me, but otherwise it’s been limited to the last 12 months when took over at Western Province for a couple of games and took South Africa A to Zimbabwe. And my first couple of Test matches, of course.Any discomfort with leading older, more experienced players?
No, not all. Some people said captaining Steve Elworthy was like captaining your dad, but he was fantastic and later, had some very kind things to say about me. I’ve always got on very well with older players, I don’t know why. I have lived my life a bit “older” than some guys, and most of my best mates are older than me.Most satisfying conflict resolved?
I’m not sure the conflict was resolved, but it was comforting to know I was backed up. It happened in Bangladesh during a one-day international against India. I caught Sourav Ganguly scuffing up the pitch with his studs and I took him on, I had a real go. The satisfying aspect for me was the way my team backed me up when they saw me getting involved. I knew we were fighting together and backing each other up. I’d been told about Sourav’s tactic of being really “nice” and over-friendly when confronted about something he’s done and, sure enough, he started trying to be best buddies with Mark Boucher and some of the other guys – but they were having none of it. In fact, they went at him as hard as I had.You enjoy that confrontational side of the game?
I enjoy it because of the passion and determination involved. You are representing your countrymen, every one of them, against another nation, it’s huge. It’s massive.What about the South Africans who want to be represented by a well-mannered gentleman who does not point his finger and be aggressive on the field?
I believe the sport has gone past that gentlemanly era. It’s still right, and important actually, to have respect for your opponents and the people who play the game, and there is definitely a standard of behaviour to be maintained. Ugly clashes between players should be avoided and, in some instances, punishment is necessary. But it’s the job of a batsman representing his country to dominate the bowler and vice versa for the bowler. You’ve got to do all you can to get the upper hand. There’s going to be tension and aggression, there’s a pile of emotion. People are going to crack now and then – people must try to understand that.So the old traditions of the game have overtaken by the modern era?
No, that’s not what I’m saying – not at all. The traditions of the game are vitally important. That’s why I’m so excited about playing in England where the traditions and heritage of the game are greater than ever. All I’m saying is that a balance must be found where the modern edge, the competitive hardness, of international cricket can still fit in with the great history created by all the men who’ve played cricket for the last couple of centuries.Is there enough appreciation of the sport’s history in South Africa?
I think we’ve lost a bit of that. There’s a specialness about playing for your country that should give you goosebumps every single time you are lucky enough to be selected. It’s not an everyday thing.What will you do to help restore the pride?
It’s an ongoing process – selecting people with a natural sense of pride and honour helps! Little things help, too – little but important. I’m arranging for personal cap bags to be made for each player, embroidered with their name and Test number. Your cap is special – I’d like everyone who has one to treasure it.Are you ever daunted by your own place in history?
I’m not daunted by being the youngest captain, or one of the youngest. That sort of thing goes over my head, it doesn’t scare me or affect me. It’s hard to describe – you see yourself in the newspaper and it’s like someone else. You almost don’t realise what’s happening to you, but that’s partly intentional because I focus and concentrate only on what I can influence. So much of what happens to me is beyond my control! I’m also so excited about this team, and so convinced we can do something special together, that maybe that helps me to stay away from the peripheral stuff. “Who was South Africa’s youngest Test captain?” might come up in a pub quiz but it’s hardly important, is it? Naturally I’d prefer to be judged on my record in the years to come.

Matthew Hoggard won the the man-of-the-match award as England coasted to victory over Zimbabwe with more than 12 overs to spare to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Zimbabwe have now lost eight successive matches.And the England captain Nasser Hussain believes Hoggard’s emergence as an international force will act as a spur to his more senior bowling colleagues.”He’s a very good white-ball bowler,” said Hussain. “If you look at his figures in England they’re very good, and he should come into his own in next summer’s triangular series.”He’s putting pressure on Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick, and that’s the wayit should be. We have three very good white-ball bowlers now and we will have tosee if we’ll be able to play them all together.”Hussain also paid tribute to Nick Knight, with whom he added 112 in only 24 overs to make an England victory virtually certain.”I do like batting with Knighty. I always have even going back to the time wewere both at Essex,” said Hussain.”We’ve opened together well and we have a lot of chats and enjoy each other’scompany. I was pleased with the way we set about it today.”Hussain himself made his fifth half-century in his last seven one-day international appearances.

The rejigging of the senior selection committee, and the announcement of six new Test centres – Pune, Ranchi, Indore, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam and Dharamsala – were among the major cricket-related decisions made at the BCCI’s AGM in Mumbai. While former India wicketkeeper MSK Prasad replaced Roger Binny as the South Zone selector, Gagan Khoda was drafted in place of Rajinder Singh Hans from Central Zone.The BCCI president Shashank Manohar felt the shake-up was necessary as he did not want Binny’s son, Stuart, to be done “injustice”.

November 17 deadline for DDCA to host SA Test

The Delhi & District Cricket Association has been given a deadline of November 17 to keep Feroz Shah Kotla ready to host the fourth Test between India and South Africa starting December 3. BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said if the DDCA missed the deadline, newly-announced Test venue Pune would host the match.
“The DDCA has to give us the requisite permissions [from civic bodies and security] by the 17th, if we don’t have the permissions from the DDCA by the 17th, the match will be given to Pune,” he said.

“As I said, the perception [of conflict of interest] has to change. I said there should not be injustice on Stuart Binny also,” Manohar said. “If he is a deserving player he should not get not flak from media that because he is Roger Binny’s son he is playing. We can’t destroy his career also.”Prasad’s candidature, on the other hand, was strongly backed by his home body, the Andhra Cricket Association, and the only other person said to be in the running was former Tamil Nadu and India batsman WV Raman. The TNCA, it is learnt, did not aggressively push Raman’s case as Manohar had already zoomed in on Prasad. “[TNCA president] N Srinivasan was very clear that no favours should be sought from anyone at the AGM,” a TNCA source said.Prasad had put in his papers as ACA cricket operations director – a position he has held for six years now – close to a week ago to ensure that his nomination did not violate any conflict-of-interest norms. Prasad felt his elevation would “give hope to all those players coming from nooks and corners of the country”.”I am a representative of the minnows of Indian cricket,” Prasad told ESPNcricinfo. “When somebody from some state can rise to this position, then as a player also anybody can rise to that position.”On how he would approach his new job, Prasad said he would look to replicate what he had done in Andhra: “I am very clear that the systems we have adopted in Andhra – the clarity of selection policy – which if I can place in front of you or anybody, it will be appreciated.”The inclusion of Khoda, the former Rajasthan and India batsman, was a bit of a surprise. Manohar explained the decision to drop Hans in characteristically pithy fashion: “Looking at his performance we decided to go for a new one.”The decision to grant Test status to six new centres, Manohar said, was because of the glut of home Tests India were set to play in 2016. “Next year we are going to have about 12 Test matches in India and each stadium has all the facilities of hosting international games,” Manohar said.There was little discussion, however, on whether the NCA would stay in Bangalore or be moved out. Niranjan Shah, the newly appointed chairman of the NCA board, told ESPNcricinfo that a decision on this would be made after the committee was fully constituted. “We didn’t discuss this at the meeting,” Shah said. “After Diwali, our committee will meet and discuss the future course of action. The whole committee has to be formed.” Shah also confirmed that the BCCI did not discuss the issue of DRS.There was also no discussion on the Cricket Advisory Committee that includes Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. However, the board secretary Anurag Thakur confirmed that “all the three will remain”.Thakur also formally announced the introduction of contracts for women cricketers. “The women have also come under the contracted players. There will be two categories: category A and B. And they will paid Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh each,” he said.

Yorkshire 144 and 44 for 1 trail Lancashire 517 (Law 206, Horton 149) by 329 runs
Scorecard

This was a day of records at Headingley, none of them favourable to Yorkshire. The most notable were the highest partnership for Lancashire in first-class matches against Yorkshire, and the highest individual innings for Lancashire in Roses matches.Perhaps in the end Yorkshire did rather well to dismiss Lancashire for 517, after they were 383 for two at one stage. The batsmen chiefly responsible for Lancashire’s position of virtually overwhelming strength were the two Australian-born players, opener Paul Horton (149) and the former international Stuart Law (206). Their contributions enabled Lancashire to pass 500 and finish the day 329 runs ahead, with one already Yorkshire wicket down.Horton and Law began the day in possession of the crease, and stayed in control until well into the afternoon session. They used the well-tried method of laying a firm foundation before attempting to build. Horton, 82 not out overnight, took 48 minutes to reach his second first-class century, and was stuck on 99 for quite a while, but he refused to be flustered and finally turned a ball from Jason Gillespie towards long leg to reach three figures; it took him 186 balls.Horton continued to play the anchor role while Law now began to play his strokes. He reached his century off 139 balls shortly after lunch, and altogether scored 125 runs during the afternoon session as he thrashed an innocuous attack. He overtook Horton in the 140s, and their partnership was worth 258 runs, beating the previous Lancashire best against Yorkshire for the seventh wicket of 247 by Graham Lloyd and Ian Austin in 1997.The stand was finally broken when Younis Khan took a fine diving catch at slip off Tim Bresnan to remove Horton for 149, his highest first-class score. Andrew Flintoff played an innings of mixed quality, 24 off 37 balls, while Law reached 201 at tea. He had now beaten Reggie Spooner’s best of 200 not out for Lancashire against Yorkshire. He failed, however, to reach Maurice Leyland’s record of 211 for this fixture, being run out for 206 in a mix-up with his partner.Lancashire’s tail had little to offer, and the last eight wickets went down for 134 runs. The top Yorkshire bowler was Adil Rashid, with three expensive wickets. Yorkshire lost the wicket of Craig White before the close and face a major task even to avoid a three-day innings defeat.

Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been retained in Pakistan’s 16-member one-day squad for the five-match series against England after recovering sufficiently from his elbow injury. Shahid Yousuf, the 20-year old right-handed batsman from Sialkot, is the only new face in the squad.Wasim Bari, the chairman of selectors, said that Yousuf was included based on the merit of his performances with the Pakistan A side in Abu Dhabi and Australia. Akhtar, who has not played for Pakistan since February, was expected to play the final Test at The Oval but was eventually not risked. Bari confirmed that he had now recovered well enough.”We have decided to retain Akhtar for the one-day series as he has recovered well from his ankle injury,” Bari told Reuters. “Yousuf is a fine batting prospect who has done well for the A side in recent months in two major tournaments.”Shoaib Malik, the allrounder, has also been included, after he was cleared to play by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s medical panel. Malik missed the Tests owing to an elbow injury and will join the squad later this week.Faisal Iqbal, the middle-order batsman and pacers Mohammad Sami and Shahid Nazir will return home after the Test series.Squad Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Imran Farhat, Shoaib Akhtar, Rana Naved, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria.