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JP Duminy, South Africa’s middle-order batsman, has returned home and will miss the third and final ODI against India in Ahmedabad. Duminy, who has had a torrid time with the bat in recent times, sustained a hand injury in Gwalior, where India took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series.Kepler Wessels, the batting consultant of the South African team, feels that the injury-break is a blessing in disguise for Duminy, who is looking to regain confidence. “We mentioned a few technical and psychological aspects that we would like him to work on. It’s a good thing that he will now go and play in the Indian Premier League where the pressure is not so intense and he will be able to regain his confidence,” Wessels told .After a dream start to his Test career, including a fifty and a hundred in his first two Tests during South Africa’s successful tour of Australia, Duminy’s form has dropped alarmingly. In his last eight international innings he has managed 58 runs, with only one score in double-digits and four first-ball ducks. In particular, he has struggled to counter offspinners, such as Graeme Swann and Harbhajan Singh, early in his innings.But Wessels sees no reason why the youngster cannot regain his form. “It is not unusual for young players to start struggling after early success once opponents start making plans for them. In that case it’s the young player’s task to find a counter. JP has the world’s talent and I believe he can fight back,” Wessels said.

Zimbabwe Cricket’s nationwide campaign to unearth pace bowling talent, which began with trials in Bulawayo on March 23, before moving to Kwekwe, Kadoma and Masvingo, has attracted attention from an interesting variety of fast-bowling hopefuls.Among the high turnout of regional club players at the Bulawayo trials were an uncoached young bowler with a slinging action reminiscent of Lasith Malinga, a forty-year-old left-arm seamer who was inspired to revive his cricket career, and a member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police who turned up for a chance to exhibit his fast-bowling credentials.When the selection team travelled to Kadoma, not traditionally known as a hotbed of cricketing talent, they were surprised to find two very tall and strongly built young men who apparently showed great potential. “Kadoma is quiet town with not as much competitive cricket being played as compared to Harare and Bulawayo and it is a huge eye-opener to discover these boys and I hope they will make in the final selection in Harare on April 10,” said selector and judge Kevin Curran.When the trials moved to Masvingo, people travelled from all over the province to audition, but none came from further away than four young cricketers who journeyed more than 200km from Chiredzi to have the opportunity to fulfil their cricketing dreams. Through their sheer determination and a display of raw talent at the trials, two of the boys were selected to progress to the final selection.”It is amazing how well some of these guys bowl so naturally without any special training or expertise,” commented Curran on the indomitable young bowlers. “Some of them are already bowling at an average speed of 120km/h with just the natural instinct of pace bowlers. From the looks of things Chiredzi will be the next resource for fresh talent.”Other noteworthy participants at the Masvingo trials included five members of the grounds staff at Masvingo Sports Club, who had been watching the session while going about their duties and were delighted to get an opportunity in the nets. The men have a daily lunchtime backyard cricket ritual, where they play impromptu cricket matches on the club’s sand tennis courts using the balls that the Southern Rocks franchise, who use the ground as a home base, no longer need.”Anyone can become the next fast bowler and you never know who it may be, this an open invitation to all aspiring cricketers out there,” added Curran. “Wasim Akram from Pakistan was picked up by scouts in the most unexpected place and in a space of just under four months, he was opening the bowling for his country. We believe it can happen anywhere and I would not be surprised if one of the players we select will do the same.”The final round of trials will be held at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday March 31. The most promising candidates will then be invited to the final trial at the same venue on April 10, when the selectors will narrow the search down to 12 boot-camp candidates.Those that make the final cut will be rewarded with a year at Zimbabwe’s High Performance Centre. The national and fast-bowling campaign selectors will then decide which of the candidates will be awarded a rookie contract with a franchise, a possible first step in selection for the national side.

The IPL’s third season continues to be dominated by events off the field, with income-tax officials conducting an eight-hour operation – ending at 3 a.m. on Friday – in the league’s offices and the residence of Lalit Modi, its commissioner, and a team also visiting the office of the Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. In the Indian Parliament, Shashi Tharoor, the junior foreign affairs minister, made a statement – it was tabled after Opposition members prevented him from speaking – defending his role in the Kochi franchise auction bid and denying any conflict of interest.Later on Friday, the IPL top brass – which includes most top BCCI officials – gathered in the northern town of Dharamsala for a league match and is reported to have held informal discussions on the situation. There has been speculation over Modi’s future role in the IPL, with some reports suggesting a senior board official could be made co-chairman of the league, but there was no official word on this.Ironically, while the Kings XI Punjab was playing host in Dharamshala, its offices at the Punjab Cricket Association – of which Modi is a vice-president – in Mohali were paid a visit by income-tax officials.It appeared a continuation of Thursday’s exercise, which began simultaneously at the IPL office in the BCCI headquarters, Modi’s own office in another part of town – where he was – and his suite of rooms at a luxury hotel.Modi emerged in the early hours of Friday and spoke briefly to reporters. “They have taken documentation in regard to the bidding, I am sure they will be satisfied with the documents they have got,” Modi said. “If they are not satisfied, we will provide them with more information. We are a public body, we have nothing to hide.”They were given documentation details, they verified the documents and went through the entire process of bidding. The questioning was over in a few minutes, but it took them longer as they had to go through the documents.”Modi said the officials saw the documents related to bidding by the new franchisees, owned by Sahara and the Kochi consortium, as well as those related to other IPL franchises.In his statement to the Lok Sabha, Tharoor repeated his stand – that he had acted in good faith as an MP from Kerala and that he had not gained financially from the deal.”I have neither benefited nor received a single rupee from my association with the consortium,” Tharoor said, reading out his statement to reporters in front of Parliament House. “”This allegation is particularly wounding because I’ve had a three-decade career in public service and those who know me are aware that money has never been a motivating factor.”My role in mentoring was within the bounds of appropriate conduct of an MP and a minister….there was no misuse of my official position or ministry…my official position gave me no advantage. It was irrelevant to the bid.”The allegations involving Tharoor point to his close relationship with Sunanda Pushkar, a marketing professional who has been given a 4.7 per cent stake in the consortium as sweat equity. The allegation is that she is a front for Tharoor, a charge the minister has consistently denied. “Whatever money that accrues by way of sweat equity is for their work in the future and is not connected to me,” he said, adding that he perceived a gender bias to be against this allegation.

Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, has backed his county colleague Steven Finn to live up to the hype and expectation that his impressive home Test debut against Bangladesh has generated. Though he cautions against expecting too much too soon, Fraser does not believe that Finn would be overawed at the prospect of leading the attack in Australia this winter.Finn was the outstanding player in the recently concluded first Test, in which used his height and accuracy to claim match figures of 9 for 187, including a second-innings haul of 5 for 87, his first five-wicket haul in any first-class match at Lord’s. His uncomplicated method has led to inevitable comparisons with Fraser’s own career, which was also launched on the true surfaces of Lord’s, and which culminated in 177 wickets at 27.32 in 46 Test appearances.”Steven has been very complimentary about me in the last few weeks, but where he’s at is all down to himself,” Fraser told Cricinfo’s Switch Hit podcast. “He’s got a bit extra on me in a couple of areas – he’s a bit taller and a bit quicker – but if he combines that with a bit of accuracy and some perseverance, he’s going to have a long successful career ahead of him, because as you saw in the Bangladesh game, he’s a very capable young man.”As Bangladesh demonstrated in their attritional batting displays, wickets can be hard to come by on a Lord’s surface that rarely assists the bowlers, except in overcast conditions. But as Fraser recalled from his own playing days, it is surfaces such as these – and the deathly-flat decks that Finn encountered on debut in Bangladesh in March – that can turn promising young bowlers into the finished article.”When I was young, playing at Lord’s, and playing on good pitches in general, really helped, because you’ve got to learn to be disciplined,” he said. “If you’re not, you can leak too many runs. Sometimes you can kid yourself that you’re bowling better than you are, on pitches that are nipping and seaming around everywhere, and then you get to a higher level and play on flat ones and you get exposed.”He’s had to develop that discipline to be successful, and it ingrains the skills you require to exploit pitches that are helpful,” Fraser added, having watched Finn carve Worcestershire apart in a 14-wicket haul on a juiced-up New Road track in April. “He played exceptionally well in that match, and that showed what he can do when conditions are in his favour. Bangladesh are not the strongest team in the world, but he’s shown he can be effective on pitches that aren’t offering assistance.”Finn’s performance was impressive not merely for the wickets that he collected but the level-headedness that accompanied them. In the aftermath of the contest, for instance, he acknowledged the fact that that he had conceded too many boundaries – a total of 24 in 49 overs. “One of his strengths is his self-analysis,” said Fraser. “He sets himself high standards, and he wants to be better than he is each day. He can walk off having taken 9 for 37, but still thinking about a couple of poor balls that he bowled, rather than the nine wickets that he took.”If we’re being honest, there have been games for Middlesex this season where he’s bowled better [than at Lord’s],” added Fraser. “If you want to give him a bit of criticism, he pushed the ball in a bit, whereas this year he’s shaped the ball away from the right-handers a little bit, and he conceded maybe four an over, which is something he’s not keen on.”On the subject of the Ashes, which seems destined to remain the hot topic of the summer, Fraser was happy to endorse Finn’s credentials. Although he guarded against the comparisons with Glenn McGrath and Curtly Ambrose that have already come Finn’s way, Fraser did not believe that such a high-profile campaign would prove too much too soon for a 21-year-old in his first full season of international cricket.”We’re expecting a lot from someone at a very early age, but he is a very capable young man,” said Fraser. “By Brisbane, he might have played eight Tests, so his Test career will be well on its way. Playing there would be another step forward in his progress towards being an international bowler, because he’s got assets that are worth sticking to. When he does get it right he can be a real handful, and he’s got the potential to be a fine bowler.”I do think you can get carried away,” he added. “Names like McGrath and Ambrose are being bandied around, but they are all-time greats who took their Test wickets at under 22. England have not had many bowlers in the last 20 years who’ve taken their wickets at under 27 or 28. He knows and we know at Middlesex that he’s young and he’s going to have the odd bad day and bad game, because youngsters do that. But he’s his own man, and he’ll bowl in his own way, and I think everyone at Middlesex has taken a huge amount of pride at Steven’s progress.”

Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, offered no excuses after his side crashed out of the World Twenty20 following defeat in a must-win match against Pakistan. Seamer Charl Langeveldt took a career-best 4 for 19 to restrict Pakistan to a moderate total but the powerful South African batting misfired to end up 11 runs short.”I guess you run out of excuses,” Smith said. “We were just not good enough again. It’s very, very disappointing.”Only three boundaries were scored in the first ten overs of the chase, putting a lot of pressure on the batsmen who came in during the second half of the innings. AB de Villiers was the top-scorer with 53, but there was little support or big-hitting from the rest.”Today we got strangled a bit with the bat,” Smith said. “We bowled pretty well to restrict Pakistan, but we were tense with the bat and lacked fluency and positivity. AB was the only one who really played. That’s been the story of our tournament. We’ve struggled to get all three disciplines together in one game.”Smith also hinted that South Africa might need to rethink their Twenty20 squad after the under-par performance in the Caribbean. “There is a new selection panel and they must look and make the best decisions for South African cricket – that’s what it comes down to,” he said. “The team is more important than any individual really and it is about getting the right players involved to be successful – it is up to that selection panel to make those decisions.”South Africa had been knocked out by Pakistan in the previous World Twenty20 as well, but that defeat came after a hugely impressive unbeaten run to the semi-finals. “Going into that tournament last year we had played a lot together as a team, we were coming off one of our most successful seasons,” Smith said. “The confidence in the group was good, players were playing well, everyone knew their role really and here we have come out of eight weeks of not being together and haven’t really gelled in terms of performing our roles and the confidence doesn’t seem to be there.”The early exit follows the first-round elimination in the ICC Champions Trophy at home last year. “You always say you’ve got to learn your lessons. You have to say, with the talent in South Africa, it’s not good enough to perform at this level.”Gerald Majola, the president of the South African board, also expressed his disappointment at the poor display from a team which was highly rated coming into the tournament. “The hardest pill to swallow now is that the squad was not marginally beaten on any of the finish lines, but faltered well short of their targets in the early stages,” Majola said. “We now await an explanation for this from the team and management.”The Pakistan camp was much happier after the victory set them up for a semi-final spot. The star with the bat was the promising youngster, Umar Akmal, who smashed a counter-attacking half-century after Pakistan got off to a horror start. He had support in the form of quick cameos from brother Kamran and captain Shahid Afridi.”The boys performed really well,” Afridi said. “In the beginning it was not a good start, but then Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal and myself, those partnerships were good and 140-150 is a good total on this track.”After the match Afridi started praying for an England win in the second game of the day. It worked and Pakistan went through to the top four.

ScorecardMarcus Trescothick’s first half-century in the competition this season guided Somerset to a seven-wicket Friends Provident t20 win over South Division leaders Sussex Sharks at Taunton. A crowd of more than 6,000 watched the visitors score 159 all out after losing the toss – Chris Nash top-scoring with 44 and Matt Prior making 36. Kieron Pollard took three wickets for 16 runs for the hosts and Alfonso Thomas 3 for 29.Somerset always looked favourites to reach their target in perfect batting conditions and did so with eight balls to spare. Trescothick led the way with 50, while Peter Trego prepared for England Lions duty by contributing 41 to a second-wicket stand of 82.Trescothick has been short of runs in t20 cricket – but he produced some trademark power shots in a 31-ball half-century, which featured eight fours and a six. Four of the fours came in one over from Dwayne Smith, a feat repeated by Trego off Yasir Arafat as he made the most of promotion to number three to also hit his competition best of the season.James Hildreth (37) and Zander de Bruyn (30) ensured there was no way back for the Sharks with an unbroken stand of 60 as Somerset made it three wins in succession, without big-hitter Pollard having to bat.Sussex had made a whirlwind start to their innings as Mark Turner went for 25 off the opening over, which included a no-ball for overstepping. Prior hit him for two fours and two sixes, going on to make his runs off just 13 balls and helping to take the Sharks to 57 for 1 in the fifth over.But amazingly five wickets then fell for 10 runs as Pollard and Zander de Bruyn both found themselves on hat-tricks, Pollard almost completing a lap of honour after dismissing fellow West Indian Dwayne Smith first ball.Nash and Arafat repaired some of the damage with a stand of 47 in 5.3 overs before the latter, on 24, lofted a catch to long-on off Ben Phillips. Chad Keegan helped Nash add a further 26, but the Sharks had lost too many wickets to really hit out in the closing overs. Even so, Nash launched two sixes in holding the lower order together.It was the fifth successive game in which Thomas had taken three wickets and his tally in the competition is now an impressive 19.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTamim Iqbal top scored for Bangladesh yet again•Grameenphone

After a disappointing show in the first game, Bangladesh’s bowlers hit back with a disciplined performance to restrict Ireland to 189 and set up a six-wicket win to draw the series 1-1 at Stormont. Bangladesh held the upper hand from the beginning, nipping out early wickets in overcast conditions and preventing Ireland from recovering to a challenging score. Tamim Iqbal led the chase with a half-century and his presence ensured a safe passage to the target.Morning rain forced the game to be reduced to 46 overs, but surprisingly, Ireland opted to bat. The captain William Porterfield was soon made to regret that decision as he departed in the fifth over, slashing Mashrafe Mortaza to Jahurul Islam at backward point. Shafiul Islam struck the next over when he sent back the other opener, Paul Stirling, for 6 edging a wide delivery.A flurry of boundaries by Niall O’Brien off Shafiul calmed the nerves for the hosts but the excitement was shortlived as Alex Cusack, struggling at the crease, nicked Shafiul to Mushfiqur. Ireland couldn’t break free, with the spinners bowling in tandem, and they were further dented when the fluent Niall was trapped lbw by Abdur Razzak.At 62 for 5, Ireland were desperate for a big partnership and that’s when Gary Wilson showed some initiative. He chipped down the track to Razzak and launched the ball to long-on, breaking a boundary drought that lasted 12 overs. He and Andrew White added 44 for the fifth wicket before White was trapped lbw by the third member of the left-arm spin trio, Faisal Hossain.John Mooney and Wilson cranked up the pace with some innovative boundaries against the spinners. Mooney also attacked Shafiul, hitting two fours and a straight six – the only one of the innings – in one over. Wilson had earlier reached his fifty, with a single to long-off, but he fell soon after, caught at short third man. His 60 came off 64 balls and included four boundaries.A late double-strike by Shafiul prevented Ireland from scoring over 200 and he finished with 4 for 59 to set up a chase which was well within Bangladesh’s reach. He went on to pick up the Man-of-the-Match award.Ireland had some success early on when Trent Johnston had Imrul Kayes edging to second slip in the sixth over. Tamim dumped Stirling for a big hit down the ground and his partner Junaid Siddique attempted a similar shot but couldn’t clear Johnston at deep midwicket, off Kevin O’Brien. The bowling change, in the 11th over, halted a 31-run stand.Jahurul Islam then joined Tamim as the pair scripted the most productive stand of the match, one that put the visitors firmly on course. Tamim brought up his fifty with a glance for four to third man off Alex Cusack. Though the boundaries were occasional, the pair kept rotating the strike, not playing out any maidens. Jahurul Islam moved patiently to 34, but perished while trying to pull Andrew White, top edging to short third man. The pair had added 84 for the third wicket.Shakib Al Hasan sought to finish things early with fluent boundaries through the leg side. Tamim cracked Johnston over mid-off but fell spooning a catch to Mooney at cover. The opener had scored a fluent 74 off 91 balls with six fours and a six. Bangladesh needed just 18 off 13 overs when he departed, and Shakib and Mushfiqur sealed the game with plenty of overs to spare.Bangladesh now head to Scotland to play two one-off ODIs against Scotland and Netherlands in Glasgow.

ScorecardDisciplined bowling followed by a strong batting performance enabled Gujarat Cricket Association XI to defeat Baroda Cricket Association XI by six wickets in the Nairobi tri-series final.Electing to field first, Gujarat’s bowlers led by Salil Yadav and Siddharth Trivedi struck regularly to leave Baroda struggling at 133 for 6, including the wicket of Yusuf Pathan for 31. It was only due to a 67-run seventh-wicket stand between Jyot Chhaya and Arvind Chauhan that Baroda recovered to 235 for 9. Chhaya top-scored with 45 off 61 deliveries, including three boundaries and a six. Yadav took 4 for 39 while Trivedi took 2 for 31.Gujarat began their chase on a poor note as both their openers were run out for single-digit scores. Captain Niraj Patel and Pratharesh Parmar then combined in an 88-run stand for the third wicket. Parmar was more aggressive, taking only 83 balls for his 78. However, two quick wickets brought Baroda back into the game, with Gujarat still needing 94 runs at that stage. However, Patel and Bhargav Merai ensured there were no further hiccups for Gujarat as they shared an unbroken 94-run stand for the fifth wicket. Merai was unbeaten on 58 off 65 deliveries while Patel played a patient knock of 80 off 110, as Gujarat were comfortable winners after losing to Baroda twice in the league stage.

ScorecardAn unbeaten half-century from Terry Duffin lifted Tuskers to 185, a score that their bowlers defended successfully to earn a 17-run victory against the Mountaineers at Queens Sports club.Tuskers won the toss and elected to bat, but the Mountaineers seamers Tendai Chatara and Silent Mujaji proved to be a handful against their batting line-up. Chatara picked up the wickets of debutant Tinashe Mhora, caught for three, and Gavin Ewing. Keith Dabengwa steadied proceedings to an extent before he was stumped off Natsai Mushangwe for 39 runs.Duffin held the Tuskers’ crumbling middle order together and ensured his bowlers had something to defend. His 54 off 66 balls featured three fours and some smart running between the wickets and, despite the lack of support from the tail, Tuskers finished with 185.Chasing an asking rate of 4.65, Mutare’s big-hitting giants came a cropper against Chris Mpofu’s seamers. Former Mountaineer Njabulo Ncube was the first to strike, removing Tinotenda Mawoyo in the second over. Mpofu then removed Bernard Mlambo before trapping Mark Vermuelen lbw wicket for just 12 runs. Prosper Utseya and Timycen Maruma followed soon after and, at 92 for 5, it was anybody’s game.Hamilton Masakadza sparked a fightback, striking 71 runs off 88 balls with six fours and a six. However, the tail-enders once again failed to support the set top-order batsman. Mpofu eventually ended Masakadza’s stay, ninth down in the 36th over, effectively killing Mountaineers’ hopes, as the Tuskers joined the Rocks at the top of the table with four points.

ScorecardSomerset’s bowlers did an impressive job on the second day at Chester-le-Street•PA Photos

When Charl Willoughby removed Phil Mustard in mid-afternoon at Chester-le-Street, Somerset went top of the Championship table but it is still far too early to tell who will finish in that prized position. The visitors, though, aren’t going to die wondering with Marcus Trescothick’s free-flowing 75 leading a quick-scoring reply as Somerset reached 226 for 4 at the close and within sight of a useful advantage.With Nottinghamshire having lost so much time at Old Trafford they are facing an uphill task to secure the 22-point win that gives them the title regardless, so Somerset may not need a maximum bonus-point victory here, either. Their best chance is to bat positively, following Trescothick’s lead, and then hope that Durham’s fight diminishes as the season draws to a close. The scoring rate of 4.77 shows that is their plan as James Hildreth and Peter Trego continued to unfurl their shots despite three quick wickets falling for 48 in seven overs.Trescothick’s fifty came from 65 balls and he was doing as he pleased with some friendly bowling, although the West Indian Ruel Brathwaite bowled an energetic spell on his Durham debut. It was Trescothick’s attacking instincts that brought his downfall as he drove at Ben Harmison – the brother of Steve who, like a host of Durham bowlers, is injured – and edged through to the keeper.Arul Suppiah had pushed a return catch to Liam Plunkett to end an opening stand of 48, but Nick Compton added 84 with Trescothick for the second wicket. Compton played some superb off-side shots, but immediately after hitting his ninth boundary was given lbw against Harmison. Somerset continued to lose their way when Craig Kieswetter played a horrid shot across the line at Chris Rushworth to leave them 180 for 4. There is a fine line between aggression and recklessness, but neither Hildreth or Trego went into their shells. It made for compelling cricket.Yet, this title race could still come down to the autumn weather. The North East was certainly the place to be on Tuesday as a bright and breezy September day meant valuable playing time, with only a brief shower during the evening session. The irony probably wasn’t lost on Somerset, either, that Nottinghamshire walked off at Old Trafford with the sun shining.On a flat pitch it was a commendable effort from Somerset’s attack as their seam bowling is in the workmanlike rather than fearsome bracket. Steve Kirby’s arrival from Gloucestershire for next season will boost their resources considerably. Here, though, Ben Phillips collected four, Willoughby three and Trego a important brace shortly before lunch.Alfonso Thomas bowled without any luck on the opening day but claimed a deserved wicket in the third over of the morning when Dale Benkenstein’s fine innings ended as he pushed away from his body and edged low to Trescothick at first slip. It gave Somerset their first bonus point and closed the gap on Nottinghamshire to just one.Gordon Muchall’s almost three-hour vigil ended with a thin edge to the wicketkeeper off Phillips. Harmison continued his promising finish to the season with an obdurate innings as he and Ian Blackwell added 57 in 16 overs for the fifth wicket. Blackwell, whose average this summer is a modest 32, lived dangerously with a wild, end-of-season, swipe against Willoughby and also drove short of cover before playing around one from Trego to depart lbw.Trego, a valuable cricketer who could find himself on the Lions tours this winter, then delivered Somerset their second bonus point, lifting them level with Nottinghamshire, when Harmison’s resistance ended with a weak pull that looped to square leg.Trescothick employed the twin spin attack of Suppiah and Murali Kartik to reach the second new-ball quickly and the move paid off when Scott Borthwick edged low to first slip against Phillips’ first ball back. Plunkett was lucky to make 11 as Willoughby beat him three times in a row before an edge flew to second slip, then the Championship lead was secured when Mustard inside-edge into his stumps. It was still Somerset’s advantage at the close, but it remains a three-way fight for the trophy.