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Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, has said that Bangladesh’s two-Test series against Zimbabwe, scheduled originally for January 2016, will be shelved to keep the team’s focus on T20Is. Hassan did not mention when the series will be now be held, but said the period after the World T20 was in discussion.”It is necessary for us to prepare for the Asia Cup T20 and the World T20 which are two important tournaments,” he said. “Many of our T20 players aren’t in the T20 squad so if we play Test cricket at that time, they won’t be able to prepare.” The BCB, however, is yet to announce any international or domestic T20 tournament between the end of the BPL and the start of the Asia Cup, which they will host.The two-Test series was part of Zimbabwe’s full tour to Bangladesh, but after Australia postponed their Test series in October, the BCB forwarded the limited-overs matches from the Zimbabwe series to November. Bangladesh won the ODI series 3-0, and the two teams shared the two-match T20I series 1-1.Back in August, the BCB had already cut one Test from this series to prepare for the World T20. In October, the two Tests scheduled for January were forwarded to November, but a week later, the BCB changed the format of the series to include just ODIs and T20Is.

Scorecard

Even a battling 91 from Lance Klusener couldn’t halt the undefeated run of the Lahore Badshahs as the Kolkata Tigers failed to surmount an imposing target of 183.Klusener’s 91 made for half of the Badshahs’ total of 182, but a remarkable spell by Shahid Nazir thwarted the efforts of the South African as the Badshahs sealed their place in the final against the Hyderabad Heroes with a seven-run win.The Tigers’ openers raced away while hunting down 183. Klusener, who’s been opening the batting in the 20-over format and not the finishing role he primarily played for South Africa, combined with Deep Dasgupta as 60 runs came off the first six overs, including 18 off one from Azhar Mahmood.Just then, Inzamam-ul-Haq brought on Shahid, who was drafted back into the side, and he did the job, by removing Dasgupta and conceding only two runs off his first over to peg back a run-rate that seemed out of control.Thirty-four runs came off the following six overs, and two wickets fell – including that of the dangerous Craig McMillan – as the required run-rate climbed up to over 12. Shahid had done the damage, stymying the run-flow in the middle overs with 12 coming from his four, and two wickets as a bonus.Klusener stepped on the pedal soon, and the Tigers kept in touch with the asking-rate in the next four overs. Mohammad Sami suffered the bulk of the onslaught, giving away 29 in two overs. However, only eight came off the 17th bowled by Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, leaving the Tigers with 31 required off the final two.Not comfortable with trying any of his part-timers, Inzamam threw the ball back to Sami. When five wides were frittered away off the first ball he delivered, Klusener perhaps sensed the kill, and a four next ball brought the equation down to 22 off 10. However, Rohan Gavaskar squandered four balls for just three runs.Klusener managed a six off Azhar Mahmood, but he too couldn’t pull off what he’d done many a time in his international career, falling for 91 off the final delivery sent down.Inzamam had decided to bat at the toss, but the Badshahs suffered an early blow when Andre Adams had Imran Farhat trapped in the first over. Humayan replaced brother Imran, and along with Imran Nazir, resumed the Badshahs’ dominance witnessed through the tournament.South Africa’s pace bowlers may have floored India in Ahmedabad, but Nantie Hayward had no such luck as he was hammered for 27 off his first two overs. It was Klusener who finally got the breakthrough in the tenth over, Humayun Farhat top-edged one to short fine leg.Shibsagar Singh dismissed Hasan Raza for a duck in the next over, and suddenly the Tigers had clawed their way back to slow down the rampaging Badshahs – from 82 for 1 in nine overs to 95 for 4 in 13.Naved Latif hit three sixes to gain lost ground, before he was snapped up by Klusener. Mahmood then smashed 24 off just eight balls as Hayward was carted for 20 off the 20th over. Inzamam occupied one end with a sedate – by Twenty20 standards – 28-ball 33 as the Badshahs finished at 182 for 7.Shibsagar took 2 for 19 off his four overs. Klusener scalped two as well, but that, besides his two catches and 57-ball 91, could only earn him the match prize, as the Tigers missed out on a chance to win the big prize.

Azhar Ali has said he and Mohammad Amir had “moved on” from the complications that beset Amir’s reintegration to the Pakistan team, in the approach to the New Zealand tour. He said he would focus on captaining Amir, and helping create an environment in which the bowler could thrive.The first ODI on Monday will be the first occasion in which the two will play together, since Amir’s return to international cricket. “He bowled well in the T20s I think,” Azhar said. “As the captain my job is to take the best out of him. Hopefully we will all be united and with Mohammad Amir, and we will allow him to bowl really well and get wickets for Pakistan.”

Elliott credits diligence for bowling contributions

New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott said his recent effectiveness with the ball in T20s was thanks to “hard work”. Elliott took nine wickets on the four occasions he bowled in the recent T20 series, against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“As an allrounder sometimes your batting’s not going as well and you want to be able to get into the game,” Elliott said. “I always think about what I wouldn’t want to face, when I’m bowling. For me in T20s, it’s about taking pace off the ball. In the one-dayers it’s slightly different. I want to try and swing the ball and hit the back of the length.”
New Zealand are without Ross Taylor in the ODI series, after the batsman sustained a muscle injury in his side during the final T20. Brendon McCullum is also injured, but Elliott said the team had enough skill and experience to cope with the absences.
“It’s unfortunate what’s happened to Ross, but that always creates opportunity for guys to step up. We’ve got a lot of experience in this team. I think what we’ve seen in the past is that guys have come in during the recent tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe, filled gaps and done pretty well.”

Four weeks ago, Azhar had been among two players who sought to avoid a pre-tour conditioning camp, stating: “I will not attend the camp as long as Amir is there.” He had also attempted to resign the ODI captaincy over Amir’s inclusion, before the Pakistan Cricket Board intervened. He struck a more philosophical tone in Wellington.”Whatever my stance was, my job is to lead this side and keep harmony in the dressing room,” he said. “We are all united and keen for this challenge.He did not want to be drawn on what has allowed his position to change since December. “We should not discuss more about it. We’ve moved on.”In the event Azhar is the passive-aggressive type, the Basin Reserve does present him with a unique opportunity. Bowlers who have upset their captains sometimes find themselves bowling into the stiff wind that is a feature of the Wellington climate. A strong northerly breeze is forecast for the day.”We already discussed it and we’re practicing in this wind,” Azhar said. “So everyone is prepared for that.”In addition to Amir, Azhar has a legion of left-armers in the squad. Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan and Rahat Ali are likely to play at some point in the series, and left-arm spinning allrounder Imad Wasim has also been effective with the ball since making his debut last year.”A lot of the good bowlers that are coming in – most of them are left-armers, in Pakistan,” Azhar said. “Sometimes it’s an advantage because not every team has left-armers. They bowl at good pace as well, so we’re lucky to have them.”With bounce and pace expected in the Basin Reserve surface, Azhar said he hoped Irfan could trouble opposition batsmen. New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott said Irfan’s height and pace made him an “exciting” bowler to face.”I think I made the comment that playing Irfan was like batting on a trampoline,” Elliott said. “The height that he comes from is very different. It takes a little bit of getting used to – the first couple of balls. He’s another great player for the crowd to see bowl. He’s seven foot and bowls at 140 clicks.”

Scorecard

New Zealand may only have three-quarters of their squad assembled in England, but their new opening batsman, Aaron Redmond, got his tour off to a useful start with a solid 72 against MCC in the traditional opening match at Arundel. Rain interrupted the game throughout the day, and it dribbled into a draw after nine overs of MCC’s run-chase.Jamie How, New Zealand’s stand-in captain in place of Daniel Vettori – who is on leave with the Indian Premier League – shared in an opening stand of 91 with Redmond. How smacked 10 fours in his slick 46 from 56 balls before he was caught off Chris Cairns, his former team-mate, who was captaining MCC. Redmond, who played for Wigan in the Lancashire League last year, fell to a brilliant one-handed catch by Paul Nixon for 72.New Zealand’s innings fell away thereafter, not helped by frequent rain interruptions, but Tim Southee clattered two huge sixes to lift their total to a challenging 239 for 7 from 47 overs. Mark Gillespie nipped out the MCC openers in quick succession before the final rain break terminated the match, and attention now turns to New Zealand’s first proper warm-up against Kent at Canterbury tomorrow.New Zealand have always struggled to find a reliable opening combination, and Redmond, 28, is their latest. He was once a middle-order batsman but reinvented himself as an opener when he joined Otago in 2004, and was awarded with a contract with New Zealand two weeks ago.”I was a little bit nervous at the start because it’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to play for a New Zealand side, but it was great to find my feet,” Redmond told PA. “It’s a great opportunity and the best thing I can do is keep performing and training hard. I thought it would give me a better chance to play for the Black Caps and I tried to work on my game and make it nice and tight and it’s worked for me.”Redmond is the son of Rodney who played one Test for New Zealand and was highly successful, scoring 107 and 56 against Pakistan in Auckland in 1972-73. However, he then struggled to adjust to new contact lenses on the visit to England later that year and managed only 483 runs at 28.41 and had to settle for being remembered as a one-Test wonder.The first Test gets underway at Lord’s on May 15.

Ishan Kishan forced his way back into the T20I conversation with a dominant 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign, finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer and the most prolific six-hitter. The icing on the cake, however, was a stunning match-winning 49-ball 101 in the finale as Jharkhand beat Haryana by 69 runs in Pune to clinch their maiden T20 title.Put in to bat, Jharkhand bludgeoned their way to 262 for 3 – the highest total ever in a T20 tournament final. The onslaught was built on a breathless 177-run second-wicket stand between Kishan and Kumar Kushagra, who smashed a 38-ball 81. Their dismissals five balls apart after the monumental partnership offered Haryana their lone moment of relief in an innings that featured a staggering 20 sixes.In reply, Haryana lost their top three inside the powerplay but kept going as Yashvardhan Dalal and Nishant Sindhu played blinders to keep their hopes flickering. But when they both were dismissed to leave them at 104 for 5 at the halfway mark, the contest swiftly drifted into little more than a formality. Haryana were eventually bowled out in the penultimate over for 193.Kishan’s powerplay blitzHaryana had an ideal start when Anshul Kamboj had an advancing Virat Singh toe-end a lofted hit to mid-on in the first over. Thereafter, the rest of the powerplay – as well as the match – was the stuff of nightmares for Haryana. Kishan launched six sixes in the powerplay, raising the half-century stand with Kushagra off just 27 balls, as Jharkhand raced to 69 for 1.Kishan’s range of strokes were astonishing. He latched onto anything short against pace, like Kamboj found out when he was imperiously pulled in front of square. When a nervy Ishant Bhardwaj bowled full, he was tonked down the ground.In a bid to shake things up, Haryana turned to spin early. With Yuzvendra Chahal missing due to chikungunya and dengue, the pressure of arresting the run-torrent fell on Amit Rana’s right-arm everything, who only two nights ago had taken 3 for 14 in Haryana’s semi-final win over Hyderabad in similar conditions.In his very first over on Thursday, Rana was tonked down the ground twice as he pitched up to Kishan; his three overs would eventually end up costing 48. Kishan’s six tally in the powerplay alone helped him surge past Salil Arora’s tally of most sixes in the tournament (28).Kushagra joins the partyOne of the key reasons for Jharkhand’s surge to the final courtesy three back-to-back half-centuries, Kushagra came into the final having missed out in his two most-recent knocks: 8 and 17 against Madhya Pradesh and Andhra respectively.But right from his first ball, there was a keenness to take the attack to the bowlers. He stepped out to hit Sumit Kumar, one of Haryana’s most-accomplished seamers, for three fours in his first over – the seventh of the innings – to ensure Jharkhand never had even an inkling of post-powerplay lull. Sumit’s first two overs would cost 25.Where Kishan was all about clean backswing and imperious pulls, Kushagra was aesthetically pleasing in playing his cover drives and was quick to pick length early to access areas behind square on both sides. A neat little help over fine leg to a short ball raised his half-century off just 29 balls.File pic: Kumar Kushagra was aggressive from the very first ball•PTI

Minz and Anukul deliver grandstand finishHaryana had an opportunity to stem some damage when Kishan top-edged Sumit. Having beaten Kishan for pace with the bumper, Sumit then nearly ran across 30 yards towards square leg but couldn’t hold on to the return catch. On 71 off 35 then, Kishan would soon raise his century off 47 balls before perishing.Despite losing both Kishan and Kushagra, Jharkhand were able to sustain momentum and end up with a grandstand finish courtesy the ever-reliable Anukul Roy and Robin Minz. Anukul, whose incredible 58-ball 95 against Karnataka earlier in the group stage set the campaign up for Jharkhand, muscled 40 off 20 balls, while Minz walloped three sixes in his 14-ball 31 not out as the pair added 75 off the last 29 balls.Yashvardhan, Sindhu flicker brieflyAt 3 for 2 in the second over, Jharkhand may have hoped for a smooth sail. But Yashvardhan, the left-hander, used his long levers to unlock a sensational burst of powerplay runs to make a 19-ball half-century. Sindhu matched him stroke-to-stroke in hitting six fours in his eye-catching 31 before Anukul’s change up with his left-arm spin had him holed out in the deep.That Anukul was able to get some purchase from the surface was largely down to a 4.30pm start that greatly negated the effect of dew, ensuring toss wasn’t as massive a factor as it would’ve been in a day-night game. Anukul aside, left-arm seamer Sushant Mishra too impressed, hitting hard-lengths and hustling batters to finish with 3 for 27. Bal Krishna, the 27-year-old, who also picked up three wickets delivered the winning moment when he dismissed fast bowler Bhardwaj to trigger wild celebrations in the Jharkhand camp.

South Africa will stick to their aggressive bowling strategy of drawing India’s heavyweight batting line-up out of the comfort zone, and will take a call on a second spin option only after having a look at the Kanpur pitch on Wednesday, revealed Mickey Arthur, the team’s coach.Arthur told Cricinfo that India would be committing a blunder if they prepared a pitch for the third Test that would crumble because “nobody in the world would want to face our bowlers at 150 kmph on a surface where the ball would go through the top from day four”.”We have our bases covered either way,” Arthur said. “If India are gambling on working on a pitch that will crack, as media reports suggest, they might be in for a shock. We could be looking at uneven bounce then on the fourth and fifth days, and fast bowlers could prove quite a handful. But we have not closed out options yet, we also have another option in the left-arm spin of Robin Peterson.”Arthur, who is currently in Ahmedabad with the team, said he didn’t believe that the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) had distracted the Indian team. “Look, when things go badly, the media pin the blame somewhere. If things had gone well for India, this issue would not have come up at all.”Looking back on the second Test in Ahmedabad, where South Africa won by an innings and 90 runs, Arthur said Rahul Dravid’s dismissal was the turning point on the first day when India were embarrassingly bowled for 76 runs, their second lowest total ever at home. Dravid lost his off stump to a Steyn special that pitched on middle and swerved just that bit to beat the bat.”It was an unbelievable ball, wasn’t it?” said Arthur. “It was really an important wicket because Rahul is the kind of batsman who could have stayed and thwarted us on this wicket. He has so often done that before, so when that wicket fell, we knew we were through.”Arthur said that some credit for the Ahmedabad win would go to a bowling strategy that was quickly revised after the first Test in Chennai ended in a dull draw.”The mistake we committed in Chennai [where India replied with 627 to South Africa’s 540] was we focused on swing,” said Arthur. “After that game was over, we spent a lot of time with the bowlers to work out the best way forward. We realised we needed to be a lot more aggressive, we spoke about really hitting the deck at the right length, over after over. We talked about roughening up the Indian batsmen with short deliveries, and more importantly, the follow-up deliveries after the bouncers.”The key, or rather the theme of the revised strategy, Arthur revealed, was to get Indian batsmen out of their “traditional” comfort zone. “We realised after all those discussions that the crucial aspect was to force India’s batsmen to play outside their comfort zone, which is the front foot. We decided we will never allow them to settle down in that forward zone, but instead force them back with aggressive bowling. Hit the deck, hit the deck in the right area – that is what we kept repeating to ourselves.”Arhtur admitted he was “happily surprised” by the pitch that was on offer at Motera, which contributed significantly to the South African gameplan. “I would say a lot of credit would go to Vincent Barnes [the assistant coach] because of the hard work he has put in with all the bowlers, especially Makhaya Ntini.”Even though Steyn walked away with five wickets, it was a pacy Ntini who forced the door open for South Africa with the wickets of opener Wasim Jaffer (9), VVS Laxman (3) and Sourav Ganguly (0) to leave India reeling at 30 for 4 in the first hour of the Test. “In fact, if you look back, Makhaya had started regaining his rhythm on the fourth day of the Chennai Test [when India lost their last eight wickets for 146 runs]. Here, he has finally got it just right with that special bounce that hits the top of off stump,” said Arthur.

Umaid Asif picked four wickets in two overs•PSL

Pace trio Waqas Maqsood, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Umaid Asif took nine wickets between them to skittle New Zealand A for 65, before the batsmen shrugged off the paltry target with more than seven overs to spare, as Pakistan A romped to an eight-wicket win in the first unofficial T20I in Dubai.New Zealand lost three early wickets to the opening combination of Maqsood and Afridi, finding themselves at 11 for 3, with the latter on a hat-trick at one stage. First-change Asif then tightened the noose, snaffling five in quick time to finish as the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 20, his best T20 figures. Only captain Corey Anderson and wicketkeeper Tim Seifert offered a modicum of resistance. But once they were separated by Asif, with a slower ball that Anderson dragged on to his stumps, the innings went into a steep nosedive again. Despite Seifert’s 26, which included five fours, the visitors folded up inside 13 overs.In response Pakistan lost their openers early, Sahibzada Farhan run out for 1 and Umar Amir hit wicket for 20 off Kyle Jamieson. But there were no hiccups thereafter as the third-wicket pair of Iftikhar Ahmed and Hussain Tallat stitched together a partnership of 44 off 51 balls to see the hosts home.

Match facts

Saturday, July 11, 2015
Start time 1000 local (0430 GMT)A young Sri Lanka side will be boosted by the presence of Lasith Malinga and Tillakaratne Dilshan•Getty Images

Big picture

Pakistan have recently been whitewashed in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka’s last ODI outing was that traumatic Sydney World Cup quarterfinal against South Africa. Both teams have lost key men. Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi have stepped off the one-day planet. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have disappeared over the horizon. These teams are not so much waging high-octane battle in the five-ODI series, as conducting experiments. Is Kusal Perera a viable long-term opener, for example? Or can Sarfraz Ahmed learn to transplant his knack of playing vital Test innings, into his ODI game, and where should he bat? What is each team’s top attack? Which batsmen will take the middle order into the future.The stakes are much higher for Pakistan, though. Presently ninth in the ODI rankings, they must defeat Sri Lanka to displace West Indies, and move up a spot. A proposed ODI triangular in Zimbabwe has added uncertainty to Champions Trophy qualifications, but a healthy margin of victory in this series would put a small buffer between them and the next team.The hosts are coming off a dispiriting Test series, but have often rebounded in the limited-overs formats. Lest we forget, Tillakaratne Dilshan still plays one-dayers, and Lasith Malinga leads the attack. Along with Angelo Mathews, they are capable of rallying a young team to at least present a challenge to transitional Pakistan.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)Sri Lanka: LWLWWPakistan: WWLLL

In the spotlight

With Rangana Herath omitted from the squad, Mathews said Sachithra Senanayake was Sri Lanka’s premier limited-overs spinner. Senanayake appeared to have returned successfully following the remodeling of his action, in the series against England at home last year. His returns in Australia and New Zealand, however, were less encouraging. With Nuwan Kulasekara’s experience also overlooked for this squad, pressure mounts on Senanayake to prove he remains a high-quality one-day bowler.Who else but Yasir Shah? They tried to attack him in the Tests, and Yasir took wickets. They tried to block him in the Tests, and Yasir still took wickets. They tried a mix of both, Yasir’s wickets still came. In the end, Sri Lanka only succeeded by tiring him out, at Pallekele. They will not be able to do that in an ODI. Even the batsmen who made big scores in the Test series didn’t have him worked out. He is the hosts’ top threat.

Team news

With Tillakaratne Dilshan back at the top, Upul Tharanga and Lahiru Thirimanne are likely to slot in at No. 3 and 4.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Upul Tharanga, 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 6 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga LakmalAsad Shafiq suffered a groin strain in the third Test, but has now recovered. He will likely face off with Babar Azam for his middle-order spot however.Pakistan (likely): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Azhar Ali (capt.), 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Mukhtar Ahmed, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Babar Azam/Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Anwar Ali, 10 Mohammad Irfan, 11 Rahat Ali

Pitch and conditions

With a little bit of rain around all across the island, there is likely to be a little seam movement at Dambulla. This doesn’t mean the spinners are out of it either. The weather is expected to be fine.

Stats and trivia

• Sarfraz Ahmed’s average as opener is 43. This is roughly twice his average in the middle order.
• Pakistan were blasted out for 102 the last time they played in Dambulla, in August last year.
• Angelo Mathews averages 53.69 from 42 innings at no. 5. This is again much higher than his average in other positions.

All doubts over the nature of the surface were dispelled when Harbhajan Singh coined a sweet term for it. is a term used to describe a benign, flat surface with very little in it for the bowlers but Harbhajan felt it right to call the pitch provided for the first Test as a super . So dopey was the track that WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] might send a few officials to Chennai soon.”It was a first-day wicket and you can’t rely on the patches [on the pitch]. You have to vary your line and length according to the wicket,” Harbhajan said. “Let me tell you one thing. The wicket is very, very flat and it is hard for the bowlers to keep running in with the same intensity in this heat.”The irony about India preparing such tracks for home Tests is that their recent successes abroad have all come on bowler-friendly surfaces. Spiced up pitches in Kingston and Johannesburg have produced Indian wins; so have swing-fests at Headingley and Nottingham; so has a sporting pitch in Perth. It’s high time someone realised that India’s best chance of winning is on a track with some life.The Chennai ground staff point out to the lack of preparation time. As recently as February 27 a Ranji Trophy one-dayer was played on this ground and 12 days of rain in between meant there was little time for producing a quality wicket. They probably have a case but the earlier India start putting some life into their pitches, the more advantageous it could be. Through the 1990s India relied on their spin formula to torment visiting teams but this is an era when their strength lies in seam and swing. Even their spinners thrive with a bit of bounce on the surface.”I think it was very important to win the toss,” Harbhajan said, “but the Madras [Chennai] wicket has always been like that. It has always been good for the batsmen for the first two-three days and then the spinners come into play. You can’t really keep complaining.”The moment the toss plays such a big part in fortunes, you know something is amiss. Which brings us to the kind of bowling attack India choose for such death-beds. The conditions were always going to be hot and humid, the batsmen were bound to apply the pressure, and the bowlers were expected to tire. Neither Sachin Tendulkar nor Sourav Ganguly were given a bowl [the former was off the field for an extended period] and it meant long spells for the frontline bowlers. With 14 days to go in the series, it could well turn into a long and tiring one.Choosing Irfan Pathan would have probably been one seamer too many and going with Piyush Chawla would have required one of the middle-order batsmen to sit out – a possibility which might have been pushing it too far. So in a way India probably had their hands tied but there should be a thought given, in the long-term at least, for playing five specialist bowlers. Even if one of them has an off day, the others could share the responsibility.Where India really lost out was the amount of boundary balls they gave through the day. Forty- five fours on the first day of the match is probably twice as much as they would have targeted. Even more interestingly they managed 400 dot balls out of 540. So while they did the right things for most of the day, they kept taking off the pressure with the loose deliveries. Handcuff the batsmen for a while before opening the back door at exactly the wrong time.Harbhajan agreed. “I think we have given a lot of boundary balls,” he said. “In the first session we gave around 60-70 runs in boundaries. The first session is always important in a Test match and they dominated it. We did very well in the last two sessions and got those four wickets. It would be nice to have got one or two more wickets, but they batted well today.”I think we have given around 20-30 runs in our fielding and that makes a big difference. I hope tomorrow we put in a good performance in bowling, batting and fielding. It would have been nice to stop those 30 runs and see the scoreboard at the end on 270 for 4.”

Mike Smethurst and Peter Martin hit back for Lancashire after Kent’s MartinSaggers had plunged them into trouble as bowlers dominated the first day atOld Trafford.Lancashire looked set for a big score on a good pitch after John Crawley won the toss, chose to bat and steered them to 94 for one.But they then slumped to 236 all out with Saggers claiming four for 54 and Min Patel picking up three wickets, although many of the Lancashire batsmen had only themselves to blame.They were rescued, not for the first time this season, by their bowlers. Martin, playing his first Championship match since breaking his thumb onMay 31, had Rob Key lbw and David Fulton caught at second slip by AndyFlintoff.And Smethurst trapped Rahul Dravid lbw and had Ed Smith caught behind withconsecutive balls to leave Kent on 14 for four before Matthew Walker deniedhim a hat-trick and linked up with Alan Wells to steer Kent to 41 for fourat the close.Wells was leading Kent with Matthew Fleming ruled out by a calf injury,leaving them missing no fewer than eight seam bowlers. They looked set for a long hard day, especially when Flintoff was racing to 29 with five powerful boundaries including a straight six off Patel.But he was the first of Saggers’ four victims and with Sourav Ganguly goingfor a duck, only Crawley and Neil Fairbrother of the recognised Lancashirebatsmen threatened to make a half century.Crawley was a bat-pad victim for Patel in the last over before lunch for apatient 42, and Fairbrother, who was dropped on one, batted for most of theafternoon session until edging Saggers to first slip, where Fulton took thelast of his three catches.