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The Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) has launched an inquiry into the poor performance and alleged discipline issues during Lahore Whites’ campaign in the Haier Mobile T-20 Cup in Rawalpindi. Lahore Whites finished last in the league and had the poorest run-rate of the 12 teams despite having international players such as Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Wahab Raiz and Mohammad Irfan.The inquiry committee comprises former PCB CEO Saleem Altaf, LCCA secretary Shoaib Dar and former first-class cricketer Imran Bucha.”After watching the matches we have realised they have performed poorly,” Khawaja Nadeem, the head of LCCA, told ESPNcricinfo. “We understand there was lack of cooperation within the team and issues related to discipline, so we have formed an inquiry committee to find out why they haven’t performed to their level. We had the best team and this result is not what we expected.”I don’t see any problem with our other team [Blues], and we are only investigating Lahore Whites to bring all the facts in public,” he said. “The first meeting is on Monday and we will have a report to decide what is in our jurisdiction.”Lahore fielded two teams in domestic cricket because the city’s population is over 10 million. Whites were led by Pakistan ODI captain Azhar while Blues were captained by Adnan Akmal. Players like Nasir Jamshed and Kamran Akmal, who were with Lahore for the last nine years, left the team to join Rawalpindi and Multan. Mohammad Hafeez left Faisalabad Wolves to join Lahore two years ago.

Exactly four weeks after Faf du Plessis predicted South Africa would be presented with “the worst”, that is where they find themselves. With the series lost and the certainty they used to have over their best XI shattered, South Africa face the final Test with a different focus than winning: to reignite the confidence of their younger crop, who have come under criticism for the way they have handled conditions.”I’m a senior player and I’m finding it tough because the conditions dictate the way you play and your performances. It’s important for us to try and keep the younger players positive, and we’ve done that,” du Plessis said.Like his captain, Hashim Amla, du Plessis called the Indian surfaces the most difficult he has faced and cautioned against using them as a benchmark to assess performances. “These have been the toughest conditions that I have played under, it’s also been a challenge for the young guys coming in,” he said “It’s a hard task for them because they get judged by playing Test cricket in these conditions where you have found that even our experienced players have found it tough. We have to keep motivating them and to keep the spirits high.”He had particular praise for wicket-keeper Dane Vilas, who was on his first tour as the frontline gloveman after he travelled to Bangladesh as a reserve, and is already facing the chop after unconvincing performances in front and behind the stumps. “I thought that Dane kept really well on a wicket with spin and bounce and with the ball sometimes keeping low,” du Plessis said. “What we have to try and do is to focus on the positives. Coming and facing this in your first Test series abroad is a challenge.”Like Vilas, Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl, and even du Plessis himself have never played Tests in India before. Although du Plessis has been in the national team for longer than the other three, he is looking at this outing as an education. “The good thing about it is you can learn from this and improve your game. Even I have learnt a lot about my game in the last few matches,” he said, adding some advice for the rest. “I’ve concentrated on my defence against spin in the first 20 balls I face.”But soon after that, du Plessis suggests getting a move on, before either the surface or one of the India spinners gets the better of the batsman. “In South Africa, Australia and New Zealand you can take your time, even if you aren’t getting bad balls but the surface here doesn’t allow that to happen. This is a huge learning curve for us and also something we can take forward.”The extent to which du Plessis applied what had he learnt was evident in the second innings in Nagpur when, along with Amla, he ground out the highest partnership of the match and threatened to stage a rearguard action that could have put India under pressure. None of South Africa’s other batsmen have shown that sort of application yet. If they are able to in Delhi, South Africa may feel that they have conquered some of the worst, even though they have been far from their best.

Boucher and Gibbs will be hoping to provide some fireworks in front of the home crowd © Getty Images

Hosts South Africa have named a 30-man provisional squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship to be held in September. The squad will be trimmed down to 15 and sent to the ICC as per its regulations.Graeme Smith returns as captain of the team after missing the trip to Ireland due to injury while Jacques Kallis, who stood in as captain during Smith’s absence, will serve as his deputy.There has been no surprise omissions with prolific hard-hitting batsmen such as Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher, Johan van der Wath and Justin Kemp, who captained an Africa XI against Asia XI, being named in the squad. Gulam Bodi and Neil McKenzie are are selected on strength of domestic Pro20 matches.According to Steve Elworthy, tournament director, “the results and individual performances of the various players were taken into account by the selectors and they have put together a competitive, exciting squad that will add to the hype already created around the tournament.”All 30 provisional squad members have contributed to their teams’ results on the international and domestic fronts.”Squad: Graeme Smith (capt), Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Loots Bosman, Gulam Bodi, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB De Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Paul Harris, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Neil McKenzie, Albie Morkel, Mornè Morkel, Andrè Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Alviro Petersen, Robin Peterson, Vernon Philander, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn, Roger Telemachus, Alfonso Thomas, Thandi Tshabalala, Johan van der Wath, Mornè van Wyk

‘Somehow I’d have to find $500,000, conspire to keep it secret, mislead the public and lie. Why would we want to do that? It just wouldn’t work’ © Getty Images

The chief executive of the ICC, Malcolm Speed, has spoken of his decision to make public Darrell Hair’s email, in which the umpire offered to resign under the condition of receiving $500,000.Speed, who flew to London last week to tackle the ball tampering crisis first hand, spoke of his consternation at Hair’s letter and how he was “shocked and disappointed” at receiving it.”It took a while for the full ramifications [of the email] to sink in,” Speed told Sky Sports. “We held a number of meetings, and I obtained the best legal advice available. I was told that if there were potential issues between ICC and PCB, I’m legally obliged to display them. The other advice was to tear it up, delete the emails and lie about it. I wasn’t prepared to do that.”Yesterday’s dramatic revelations at Lord’s were the latest in what has been a dark and depressing week for cricket. However, Speed insisted that in no way did he, or the ICC, ever consider lying about receiving Hair’s email, or the contents contained within.”[Lying about it] is fine until someone on TV or radio asks me the question. There might be court cases, someone might write a book, somehow the copy might come into the public and I wasn’t prepared to lie about it. We’re in an immensely difficult position.”Speed also emphatically denied the cynical view that he used the email as a “window of opportunity.””Not for one minute. What I always wanted to do is follow the process and have the hearing,” he said. “If the charges are sustained, that’s fine. If it’s overturned, that’s fine. It’s impractical to achieve the solution which Darrell wanted; somehow I’d have to find $500,000, conspire to keep it secret, mislead the public and lie. Why would we want to do that? It just wouldn’t work.”When asked about Hair and Billy Doctrove’s decision to abandon the match, when Pakistan failed to take to the field, Speed was equally adamant that umpires have full authority where on-field decisions are concerned.”The umpires are in control, that’s been the case for 300 years and I’d want that to continue. I can’t judge the on-field situation, or overturn their decision that the match was forfeited. If it’s their decision to forfeit the match, then it’s forfeited. They didn’t believe it was appropriate to overturn their decision – and I can’t force them to do it.”Despite the dramatic events of the past week, Speed was confident in the ICC’s ability to handle sensitive situations, adding that the game is “in robust health”.”We deal with [these situations] as well as we can. I prefer to look at it in another aspect…the news has been on the front pages, not the back. But the game is in robust health. We had the Ashes series last year, and for this winter’s Ashes sponsors are seeking to buy the rights and the broadcasters are buying rights. The game is in great health. We need to put it behind us and get on with the business of cricket.”Earlier today, Speed confirmed the hearing for Inzamam-ul-Haq’s alleged ball tampering would take place in the last week of September.

New Zealand’s opening two-day practice match against a Sri Lanka BoardPresident’s XI petered out into a predictable draw as the visitors battedthroughout the second day.The Kiwi’s, replying to the President’s XI 258 yesterday, scored 396 in107.5 overs before the match was abandoned immediately after the fall of thefinal wicket.Opener Matthew Richardson, who added 88 for the first wicket with Matt Horne(48), top scored with a patient 106 from 117 balls, an innings that included18 boundaries.There were also half-centuries from skipper Stephen Fleming, a brisk 69 from91 balls with 13 fours, and allrounder Scot Styris, who was last man out for64 from 81 balls having hit seven fours and two sixes.Seamer Dinusha Fernando was the pick of the nine bowlers used by skipperRomesh Kaluwitharana, claiming three wickets in the afternoon to finish withthree for 66 from 20 overs.New Zealand will play another two-day warm-up match at the same venuestarting Monday before the first Test on April 25.

Adbul Razzaq: one of the few bright spots for Pakistan© Getty Images

When Bob Woolmer met Javed Miandad for dinner soon after arriving in Pakistan, the man he replaced probably brought him up to date on the problems that afflict the Pakistan cricket team. Given Woolmer’s reputedly meticulous nature, he was probably au fait with them anyway. But, in his third game in charge – and his first real one – it will have come as a relief of sorts for Woolmer, that he witnessed the true scale of the unpredictability that he has been hired to resolve at first hand, and that it happened sooner rather than later during his tenure.The comprehensive defeat Sri Lanka handed to them, on paper, is disheartening. But it may come as small, even perverse, consolation that Pakistan’s complicity in instigating their downfall equalled that of an increasingly ruthless Sri Lankan side. Woolmer will know, for example, Pakistan’s batting – the architects of today’s demise – over the last nine months or so has had more good days than bad, and that days like today are slowly – very slowly – becoming the exception rather than the rule. Against India in March, in fact, there were enough good days for it to divert criticism on to the bowling. But one of Woolmer’s first tasks will be to ensure that the occasions where Pakistan implodes as they did today, and thus become more difficult to beat, are kept to the barest minimum.He still won’t be happy that a batsman with Youhana’s experience and class can embarrass himself the way he did today. And he will now know why – to this day almost five years after his debut – Imran Nazir’s capacity to succeed at international level is still questionable. He will also admit, maybe, that the Shoaib Malik experiment might not work and that it affects, adversely, the combustible nature of the lower order. And he will justifiably squirm at the schoolboy nature of the running between the wickets, if it wasn’t an insult to schoolboys around the world.But he is level-headed enough to know that not every day in the office will be a bad one. He will know that in Yasir Hameed, and to a lesser extent, the likes of Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar and Asim Kamal, he has something tangible to work with. He will also take note of the uncustomary spirit and resistance with which Pakistan bowled and hope that this, unlike the batting, is not a one-off. They have in the past crumbled when defending small totals – Lords in 1999 and 2001 against Australia come to mind immediately – but to take this game beyond thirty overs, and to pick up three wickets will have lessened the pain a touch. But importantly he will have spent another day familiarising himself with Team Pakistan.But if Pakistan’s problems are familiar, then the same cannot be said of Sri Lanka’s form. Sometimes a loss can be good for the soul, and Sri Lanka’s fighting defeat in Australia appears to have re-ignited in them a previously absent clinical competence. Their batting, at home at least, has never been their main concern. It is their bowling that, Murali and Vaas apart, has often looked toothless. But with Nuwan Zoysa and Upal Chandana continuing to build on the spirit they showed in Australia, the bowling has assumed a more incisive guise.Both bowlers have been notoriously inconsistent and Zoysa, in particular, has been prone to injury. How well Sri Lanka do here and in the future depends in large part on these two prolonging their good run. And if it is backed up by the type of electric fielding they displayed today, their victories over the two traditional subcontinent powerhouses might assume a more significant hue than many would admit to.Ultimately, perhaps, to infer too much from either team’s performances is inconsequential. The Asia Cup has been strangely bereft of atmosphere, significance and, worryingly, of consequence. Perhaps, the format is too bloated, and there are too many non-competitive matches. Perhaps it is because tougher one-day challenges lie in wait later in the year for most teams. Perhaps it is because that for some of the participants, winning the Asia Cup, although a pleasant bonus, isn’t the only goal. For some, like India, it is about a little tinkering to find the right balance. For Woolmer and Pakistan, it is more about discovering each other, about accommodating and adjusting to foreign ideas and culture. For Sri Lanka, it is perhaps to build on their combative display against the Australians. In which case, both the hosts and Pakistan will have gone one step further today to reaching their objectives.

Simon Jones suggested he could be back playing cricket in two months time as his recovery from a horrific knee injury continues to make good progress.He had a major operation to rebuild his knee in February after he tore the ligaments in the joint during that sickening tumble in Brisbane on the opening day of the 2002-03 Ashes series.Talking in Cardiff after a brief bowl in the nets with his leg heavily-strapped, Jones said: “Things are going well and I’m happy.”Reflecting on the injury, he said: “It was an absolute nightmare but it’s all in the past and I am looking to the future. I’ve had a chat with the physio and the medical staff around here and maybe I could play again at the end of August.”However, after such a serious operation, an August return might be pushing it a bit, and Jones did sensibly offer a note of caution: “If I’m not right I won’t play, but I’ll be looking to go to Australia for the winter.”

Aminul Islam is one of the stars of the Bangladesh cricket team. Theright-handed batsman, who captained Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup, spoketo CricInfo during their recent tour of Sri Lanka.”It’s a nice place to be and a lovely place to play cricket. My previousvisit was in 1997 and it’s good to be here,” he enthused. “This side is oneof the best in the business and I am glad to be playing against them.”Even though Bangladesh were soundly beaten in the inaugural Test Matchbetween the two countries (as has happened in all the five Test Matches theyhave played in so far) Aminul, who’s popularly known as Bulbul, believestheir cricket is on the right path.”I feel we are heading in the right direction,” says the 33-year-old. “We’vegot a good structure, which is very important. The Board has done well tohire good Sri Lankan coaches over there. We might lose Test Matches bythumping margins, but that doesn’t matter as long as we learn things. Slowlywe’ll draw matches and in five or ten years time hopefully we can regularlywin.”He made his ODI debut in 1988 and from then on Bangladesh has played 40one-games and he’s missed just two of them due to injury. During the longcareer he’s also captained Bangladesh before they achieved Test status,”I have enjoyed my captaincy to the core,” says Aminul. “The two victoriesin the World Cup were so special and so were the wins in the warm up gamesagainst Essex and Middlesex.”And among those wins for this stylish batsman the victory against Pakistanin the 1999 World Cup was the greatest achievement, “The victory againstPakistan was like winning the World Cup for us.”Aminul feels that the win gave him greater self-belief, “Whenever I am downI go back to that moment and it gives me so much of confidence. After all,if we can beat Pakistan then we can beat anyone in the world.”When the country was granted Test status he lost his job to Naimur Rahmanwho had the honour of captaining Bangladesh in the Inaugural Test Match. Butno one could steal the limelight from Aminul as he made a classy 145 againstIndia on debut. That was the third highest score by a player on debut.”That 145 against India was a memorable innings and undoubtedly my bestknock,” he believes. “Firstly, it was a historical Test and secondly I wasout of form at the time. I was lucky to play in that Test and I am glad thatI made the most out of the opportunity.””I now want to play at least 25 Test Matches and then I’ll see how thingsare going for me and retire. When I retire I want to work as a coach in mycountry. This country has given me so much and it’s my duty to givesomething back.”

Scorecard and ball by ball details3:14

‘Still a lot of work to do in India – Borren

A dream start in the field for Netherlands set up a tight chase as the Dutch booked a spot in the ICC World Twenty20 for the third time with a four-wicket win. Namibia held out hope for an unlikely victory after Bernard Scholtz spun through Netherlands middle order with 3 for 14 to leave the them at 103 for 5 in the 15th over, needing 136 to win. However, Max O’Dowd and Roelof van der Merwe put on a 30-run stand before Mudassar Bukhari hit the winning boundary through cover with four balls to spare.Netherlands now to move on to the semifinals against Ireland on Saturday while Namibia will have a second chance to qualify for the World T20 when they take on Oman in an elimination match on Thursday.Namibia’s nerves made for a nightmare in the first two overs, as both openers were gone with only five runs on the board. Gerrie Snyman hared hopelessly from the non-striker’s end on the second delivery of the match and a throw from Bukhari at square leg to the bowler Michael Swart dismissed Namibia’s most explosive player without facing a ball.Stephen Baard skied a short ball from Timm van der Gugten to van der Merwe at cover and the group stage’s leading scorer was out for just 4. Craig Williams and Raymond van Schoor remained positive, though, with Williams striking four boundaries in the Powerplay to take Namibia to 37 for 2 after six overs.The pair added 57 for the third wicket in eight overs before Williams holed out to midwicket for 43 off Peter Borren and at the halfway mark Namibia were 62 for 3. Van Schoor was lured out of his crease pushing forward to van der Merwe and stumped for 16 off 25 balls in the 12th. Borren, Bukhari and Pieter Seelaar continued to tie down the Namibia lineup through the 16th with Gerhard Erasmus caught in the deep off Bukhari for 5.Only 30 runs were added from overs 11 to 16, but captain Nicolaas Scholtz gave Namibia a fighting chance with his late 37 off 23 balls. He struck two sixes over long off against van der Merwe in the 17th and another 13 runs were taken in the 19th off Bukhari. His stand with Sarel Burger ended at 52 on the second-last ball of the innings when Nicolaas was caught behind swishing against van der Gugten.Though Malahide has been a low-scoring ground through the four days of matches so far, 133 never looked like it was going to be enough against a deep Netherlands batting unit. Snyman managed to snag Wesley Barresi on the first ball of the chase as the opener flicked a leading edge up to the keeper JP Kotze on a delivery that had been heading well down leg for a wide if left alone.Namibia needed to take all their chances in the field to keep pressure on Netherlands but the first of three was shelled in the third over off Snyman. Myburgh drove hard to Williams at mid-off on 9 but a lunging effort was spilled. He made Namibia pay in the fourth over by smacking JJ Smit for three consecutive boundaries. He hit his sixth four off Jason Davidson in the fifth, but the tall seamer came back with a slower ball to get Myburgh for 31, making it 45 for 2 after five.Bernard was brought on in the ninth over and his valiant Man-of-the-Match effort was nearly enough for Namibia. He extracted prodigious turn from outside off to beat Ben Cooper through the gate on his second ball to make it 70 for 3 and started the 13th by getting Borren to scoop one to Williams at long off. He should’ve had Swart stumped for 22 three balls later but a regulation chance was fumbled by Kotze. He managed to get Swart in the 15th, though, pushing a low return catch that withstood scrutiny from the third umpire, but with his spell done, Namibia’s attack was out of bullets.A six by van der Merwe to start the 17th over brought the required rate back under a run-a-ball and the Dutch looked certain to get across the line with just three needed off the final over. Van der Merwe tried to end it with a heave but was beaten in flight and bowled by Nicolaas. Bukhari coolly drove the winning runs off the following ball.

England manager Roy Hodgson has stated that he is proud of his players despite their Euro 2012 elimination at the hands of Italy.

With the game going to penalties after a 0-0 draw, Ashley Young and Ashley Cole missed spot-kicks to see the Three Lions crash out of the tournament.

Despite this, Hodgson cannot fault the effort shown by his players.

“I thought the chances were there for both teams. I actually thought we created some very good chances ourselves,” he told reporters, published in Sky Sports.

“But as the half wore on, and extra-time, I thought we were tiring badly and we weren’t able to establish enough good possession in the midfield so they came at us time and time again.

“In some ways, you might have even preferred it if they’d have got a goal in that time when they were playing well as that’s a little bit less of a cruel way to lose than on penalties.

“We’ve gone out but we’ve gone out without actually losing the game and I think we’ve gone out with our heads held high.

“I personally think the lads have done a fantastic job for their country and I also think that people have appreciated it.

“I really can’t fault the players for their effort. Towards the end we had a lot of players out there running on empty really.

“Tired legs, fighting off cramp – but they kept going right to the end.

“But when you go to penalties you have a chance. Unfortunately it was Italy who took that chance and not us.

“The five penalty takers we have are good ones and we’ve been doing a fair amount in training with Ashley Young smashing in penalties on a regular basis so of course you hope.

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“I know everyone in this country has an obsession with penalties and that’s going to get even worse now but the fact is you can’t reproduce the tired legs.

“You can’t reproduce the pressure. You can’t reproduce the feeling of nervous tension. They stood up to it better than we did, (Andrea) Pirlo’s penalty being a classic example,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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