In the final analysis, Alastair Cook’s tenure as England captain has been a job well done

Andrew Miller in Dhaka24-Mar-2010In the final analysis, Alastair Cook’s tenure as England captain has been a job well done. With due respect to a Bangladesh opposition that, he admitted, “surprised us all”, the weightiest burden coming into this series was the fear of failure. After four Test wins out of four dating back to October 2003, and eight ODI victories without reply, anything less than a England clean sweep was destined to attract opprobrium.But now, despite more than a few scares along the way – and notwithstanding a sizeable umpiring rumpus – Cook can proudly present a 100% record in his debut series as skipper. Come the return series in May, he will slip quietly back into the role of Andrew Strauss’s sidekick, and feel that little bit older, wiser, and better prepared for whatever challenges are put his way in the future.”The captaincy had its moments,” said Cook. “I now know how I need to get better as a captain, especially my leadership in the dressing-room, and other areas like that. But I couldn’t ask for anything more. We were expected to win 3-0 and 2-0, and it’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of credit goes to Bangladesh for the way they’ve made us work, especially in the last 10 days. But it’s a very satisfying feeling.”There were times in his debut series when Cook looked horribly out of his depth, not least on the first two mornings of the Dhaka Test, firstly when Tamim Iqbal was smashing his way to 85 from 71 balls, and then during that grizzly hour on day two, when the tail belted Bangladesh past 400 against a field that resembled a series of flapping stable doors. But to his immense credit, Cook kept his composure when it came to his day-job – and two centuries in four innings was the reward for his focus.”One aspect that’s really pleased me is how I’ve dealt with batting. When I’ve batted, I’ve been able to concentrate on that,” said Cook. “But in that first hour [at Dhaka], I’ve never experienced anything like it. Full credit to the way Tamim batted – we didn’t have much option there – but thankfully he got out and everything calmed down. But bowling them out for 400 on that wicket was actually a really good effort. We knew that, however long it took, we had to get up past them. Once we did that, we knew we were in with a shout in the game.”Bangladesh have got some very talented players, and they showed that,” he added. “What surprised us most was how flat the pitches were. We knew there wouldn’t be much for the seamers, but there was not much spin at all, the wickets stayed together very well and it was hard in the field. We deserve a lot of credit for the way we stuck at it. We couldn’t roll sides out on that wicket, any sides, so a lot of patience was required, and we got our rewards at the end of it.”England’s Man of the Series was their star spinner, Graeme Swann. His 16-wicket haul included a career-best 10 for 217 at Chittagong, with which he was elevated to the No. 2 bowler in the world, and though he was critical of the surfaces on which the Test matches were played, he was more than content with the results he had extracted from them.”For Test cricket to survive it needs pitches that deteriorate as they go on,” said Swann, “but you can only bowl on the pitches you are given, and it’s been a source of pride for me that I’ve managed to take wickets out here. And the seam bowlers [should be proud] as well. Apart from a brief glimpse in the 2005 Ashes, we’ve not been great at reverse swing, but the young seamers really bought into it on this tour and worked on the ball, and that stands us in good stead.”I think Cookie’s done an exceptional job,” he added. “Coming here to Bangladesh, there is a pressure to win every match, and win convincingly. I think that’s something that goes back over the last decade, from playing against teams that were weaker in the past. They are not a pushover anymore. You have to play good hard cricket, you have to have a strong leader, and you have to have a cohesive unit. I think Cookie has been an exceptional leader under those circumstances.”The team now fly to England for a month-long break, and then it’s straight into home series against Bangladesh and Pakistan. But already the side’s focus is shifting towards next winter, when Australia await with the Ashes at stake once again. The contrast between Mirpur and the Gabba could hardly be more stark, but Cook is confident that important lessons have been gleaned from this trip.”I think it’s done us a world of good,” he said. “We’ve had to work for results here, and while bowling on the subcontinent will be different to bowling in Australia, for this side to come here, under expectation to win, and deliver when it matters in hard conditions in terms of the heat and flat wickets, can only bode well when it comes to playing in Australia.”Cook’s final comment was perhaps the best compliment that Bangladesh could have been offered at the end of a tour in which their margins of defeat in the two Tests – 181 runs and nine wickets – gave no indication whatsoever of the challenge they were able to pose, particularly in the middle five days of the series, from their fightback in Chittagong to their flyer at Mirpur.After all, when England routed Bangladesh in the build-up to the 2005 Ashes, Michael Vaughan declared that it had all been “too easy”. Nothing about this trip has been remotely simple, regardless of the scoreline.

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. – in the league’s offices and the residence of Lalit Modi, its commissioner

Cricinfo staff16-Apr-2010The 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.

Less than a year ago Cameron White wasn’t considered among the best 15 Twenty20 cricketers in Australia. Now he can quite comfortably stand among the best 15 in the world

Andrew McGlashan at Kensington Oval10-May-2010Less than a year ago Cameron White wasn’t considered among the best 15 Twenty20 cricketers in Australia. Now he can quite comfortably stand among the best 15 in the world. His career-best, unbeaten 85 against Sri Lanka was easily the highest score by a No. 6 in this format of the game and transformed a match that threatened to go wrong for his team into as comfortable a Twenty20 win as there is.Looking from the outside it is strange that White hasn’t always been one of the first picks in the Twenty20 outfit, however a closer look shows his average for Victoria is a modest 22.36. His two hundreds came while playing for Somerset (and he will return there for the English Twenty20 Cup this summer) so he wasn’t always picking his moments to impress. Few players, though, hit the ball as hard and a recall was only a matter of time.White did eventually earn a place at the World Twenty20 in England, but only after Andrew Symonds’ final indiscretion led to him being jettisoned from the trip in a move that ended his international career. This time White is here by rights, and is so well entrenched that he is the team’s vice-captain. Symonds’ departure may just have eased the path slightly.He returned to the side in the post-Ashes Twenty20 series against England began with 55 at Old Trafford while continuing to establish himself in the 50-over team. Then, in February, he produced a brutal 26-ball 64 as Australia tied a run chase of 214 against New Zealand before losing on the Super Over. This innings, though, was in a world tournament and the pressure doesn’t come much greater.Nothing better sums up the depth in this Twenty20 outfit than having White and Michael Hussey coming in at six and seven and their stand of 101 was a record for the sixth wicket. Few teams would recover from 67 for 5, but Australia did it with ease having produced a similar fightback against Bangladesh when they were 65 for 6.”With the strength of our squad we believe whatever position we get into we can win,” Michael Clarke said. “It didn’t matter how many runs we got today we were confident in those conditions that if we bowled well and held out catches that we would definitely win the game.”On one hand two similar collapses in the space of three matches might cause concern in a tournament where the games come thick and fast, but on the other it allows different players to produce match-winning roles. White often has to come in and swing from ball one in the closing overs but this time he walked in during the fifth over and, in terms of Twenty20, had time to build an innings. Shane Watson and David Warner had their moment against India, but they won’t always come off. For this Australia team that isn’t a problem.”One of the benefits of losing a few wickets early from my point of view is that you have time to get yourself in,” White said. “It was nice to contribute the win and I’m glad we got to a good score and were able to put them under pressure. Our bowlers did a great job after that and it was a good all-round result.”Ajantha Mendis joined the list if players to drop costly chances in recent days as he missed White at short fine-leg on 23 and although he removed Clarke in the same over Sri Lanka’s grip on the match was loosened from that moment. After 28 deliveries he’d made 39, an impressive rate considering the trouble he faced at 30 for 4, then in the next 21 he added another 46.”Even under pressure the guys have still played their natural games,” Clarke said. “Whitey has come out and backed himself and when he’s in good nick there’s no one better in the game.”A word, too, for Hussey, who has bailed Australia out of many Test and ODI holes and is now doing the same in Twenty20. When he was left out of the squad for the matches in New Zealand before this tournament it looked like the end for him in this format but he was given a reprieve, and how grateful Australia have been.”It’s the side we thought would do best in this tournament and it gives players above Mike Hussey freedom to play,” Clarke said. “He doesn’t bat seven every game but I think it’s the strength of our team that we have a lot of part-timers who can bat and bowl which allows us to have a specialist batsman at seven and we’ve seen how important that is.”However, this was White’s day and just to prove it he flung himself low and left at backward point to take a stunner that removed Tillakaratne Dilshan. He was never going to drop it.

The BCCI has announced that it will not send a cricket team from India, both men and women, for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China

Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2010The BCCI has announced that it will not send a cricket team from India, in both men and women categories, for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. The board said the teams will not be available for the global event between November 12 and 27 because of the international schedule.”We would not be able to send our team, both men and women, for the Asian Games in China because of international commitments,” the BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said in Mumbai. “We have communicated the same to the Indian Olympic Association.”Twenty20 cricket was formally approved for the Asian Games at the Olympic Council of Asia’s General Assembly in Kuwait recently. India will be busy hosting New Zealand for a Test and ODI series in November. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are expected to send teams for the Asian games.The contentious ‘whereabouts’ clause in the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) had also threatened to affect India’s participation in major events like the Asian Games. The Indian players are yet to fall in line with the code because the BCCI sees the clause as an infringement on privacy. When asked if India’s participation in the Asian Games was in jeopardy, David Howman, the WADA director general, said it would be up to the Olympic Council of Asia to take a call.

Andrew Gale and Jacques Rudolph both hit half-centuries as Yorkshire Carnegie raced to a crushing nine-wicket win over Leicestershire Foxes in their Friends Provident t20 clash at Grace Road

20-Jun-2010

ScorecardAndrew Gale and Jacques Rudolph both hit half-centuries as Yorkshire Carnegie raced to a crushing nine-wicket win over Leicestershire Foxes in their Friends Provident t20 clash at Grace Road.Having restricted the Foxes to 148 for 8, Yorkshire knocked off the runs with 17 balls to spare to claim their third win in the competition and send the Foxes to their fourth defeat and their third in a row at home.Yorkshire captain Gale hammered an unbeaten 65 off 42 balls, while South African Rudolph slammed 53 off 37 balls, with two sixes and four other boundaries. They took the game beyond the Foxes’ reach with an opening stand of 103 in 12 overs, setting the tempo by scoring 64 off the six overs of power play.It was a blistering exhibition of stroke play against some mediocre bowling from the home side. Rudolph, having already hit left-arm spinner Claude Henderson for a six, repeated the dose to reach his fifty off 34 balls before finally falling to a leg-side stumping by Paul Nixon off the bowling of James Benning.But that brought in Herschelle Gibbs, who joined Gale in another free-scoring partnership that took Yorkshire to victory with time to spare. Gale, having reached fifty off 34 balls with seven boundaries, hit the winning runs with a cut to the boundary off Wayne White, while Gibbs contributed a quickfire 29 that included a trademark six off Jigar Naik plus four other boundaries.It was a comfortable victory for Yorkshire, who had bowled tidily after the Foxes had won the toss.Only Brad Hodge, with 43 which was his best score of the competition so far, and James Taylor, who hit a sparkling 60 off 42 balls, provided any real resistance as the Foxes lost four wickets in the final two overs of the innings, scoring just eight runs.Tino Best claimed 2for 26, and Richard Pyrah took 2 for 19 as the Yorkshire attack kept a firm grip on the match. There was also an impressive four overs from Tim Bresnan, who finished with one for 21 to confirm his readiness to join up with the England one-day squad for the forthcoming series with Australia.The only black mark for Yorkshire was a three-point penalty imposed on bowler Steven Patterson who had to be taken out of the attack in his final over after being no-balled twice for head-high bouncers.

Leading up to their respective tours of England, Bangladesh remain a struggling outfit with their incompetent batting, giving Pakistan an excellent opportunity to end a nine-match losing streak

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya20-Jun-2010

Match Facts

Monday, June 21, 2010

Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)
Imran Farhat has a chance to secure that opening slot•AFP

The Big Picture

For a tournament whose worthiness has been questioned, two back-to-back dead rubbers are a potentially damaging prospect. But despite the sparse crowds and complaints about the floodlights, this Asia Cup has thrown up a considerable amount of entertainment, offered largely by the contender knocked out after two close defeats. While Bangladesh continue to provide further ammunition to their critics with dispiriting performances, Pakistan, recovering from another period of adversity, have fought hard. Shahid Afridi lit up the opener with a stunning century against Sri Lanka, and the nail-biter against India on Saturday reaffirmed the rivalry as among cricket’s most exhilarating. For the time being, they have comfortably shrugged off questions over team unity and focused on issues on the field.Leading up to their respective tours of England, Bangladesh remain a struggling outfit with their incompetent batting, giving Pakistan an excellent opportunity to end a nine-match losing streak.

Form guide (most recent first)

Pakistan: LLLLL
Bangladesh: LLLLL

Watch out for…

Mohammad Ashraful will again be under scrutiny. His reputation, talent and ability have been his saving grace in times of repeated failure, and with the squad for the ODIs in England yet to be announced, a place in the side is far from guaranteed. Imran Farhat played his first ODI in three-and-a-half years, opening against India, and was part of a solid opening stand with Salman Butt. A stylish left-hand batsman with plenty of flair and flourish, Farhat will be hoping to stave off competition from the rest, including Kamran Akmal, to make that opening slot his own on the tour of England.

Team news

Bangladesh have the untested batsman and wicketkeeper Jahurul Islam in their squad, and could consider handing him a debut in place of Naeem Islam.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Jahurul Islam, 8 Mahmudullah, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11Syed Rasel.Afridi said Shoaib Akhtar will be rested against Bangladesh, which means Mohammad Asif is likely to take his place. If Pakistan choose to rest Saeed Ajmal, left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman could be given a chance.Pakistan: 1 Salman Butt, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Shoaib Malik, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Umar Amin, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Mohammad Aamer, 10 Mohammad Asif, 11 Saeed Ajmal/ Abdur Rehman.

Stats and trivia

• Bangladesh and Pakistan have lost all their ODIs in 2010. Bangladesh have lost 12, Pakistan 7.
• Tamim Iqbal is currently No.10 in the list of top run-getters in ODIs this year, with 437 runs at 36.41.
  

  Quotes

  “There is some tough cricket coming up, we will be playing Test cricket after a while, the problems of the past are not there anymore, and we are playing as a unit, let’s see how it goes.”
  “There is lack of footwork and poor decision making. Mohammad Ashraful is out of form. We need our middle order to support Tamim Iqbal and our fast bowlers should do the job and support Shakib Al Hasan.”

Fortunes ebbed and flowed on the third day with India sneaking ahead by the close. The hosts undermined a blistering knock by Virender Sehwag with early wickets before Suresh Raina and VVS Laxman launched an Indian recovery

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya05-Aug-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Amit Mishra frustrated the Sri Lankan bowlers with 40 to help India gain a slender lead•Cameraworx/Live Images

Fortunes ebbed and flowed on the third day with India sneaking ahead by the close. The hosts undermined a blistering knock by Virender Sehwag with early wickets before Suresh Raina and VVS Laxman launched a recovery. Their departure, in quick succession, saw spirited batting from India’s lower order to scale Sri Lanka’s first-innings total, and Sehwag’s double-strike just before stumps set up a fascinating face-off over the next two days amid encouraging conditions for the bowlers.The game was on even terms when Sri Lanka began their second innings but their attempts to set India a sizable target had to stand the test of a track offering some turn and extra bounce. The left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was introduced as early as the seventh over and Tharanga Paranavitana and Tillakaratne Dilshan set about trying to unsettle him immediately, playing the pull, the sweep and even charging out. Paranavitana swung and missed and survived a close shave when he played one just wide of short leg.MS Dhoni opted for the offspinner at the other end, and Sehwag made an immediate impact. He slipped in a quicker one on a length to which Paranavitana erred by playing back and edged to Dhoni. Dilshan was fortunate to survive an lbw shout off an arm ball by Ojha but was caught superbly the next over by M Vijay at forward short leg, as he inside-edged a turning delivery from Sehwag. The two wickets underscored the importance of India’s lower-order resistance where the last three wickets accumulated 86 runs.Abhimanyu Mithun has shone down the order in each of the three Tests, and Amit Mishra joined him in a stand that tilted the scales after Sri Lanka had clawed back with three quick wickets. The intention in the previous two games was to purely block but their approach this innings was infused with a bit of urgency. Mithun played some powerful drives while Mishra stepped out and even used the paddle to improvise. Lasith Malinga gave them a hard time with a barrage of short deliveries that struck their fingers, but they were determined enough to preserve their wickets, taking the bottom hand off and fending wide of the close-in fielder.The foundation for the lead, however, was provided by a fighting stand between Raina and Laxman, who batted positively to narrow the deficit at a steady rate. The tempo of India’s innings, though not as frenetic as when Sehwag was blazing away, was healthy enough to ensure their bowlers had a fair go at the hosts in the second innings.Raina batted with determination and helped India rebuild – just as he had in friendlier conditions on his way to a debut century at the SSC. Though a touch vulnerable against Suraj Randiv, who got the ball to spit and troubled him with deceptive turn, Raina avoided getting bogged down, working the singles with Laxman who was a little more composed at the other end. Raina defended assuredly, met the length deliveries with a forward stride and improvised with minimal risk. He pulled, swept and drove Ajantha Mendis, and picked Dilshan for boundaries through the leg side. He looked far more at ease after lunch, slashing Malinga for consecutive boundaries, bringing up his fifty and charging out to Randiv to launch him over extra cover.Laxman picked Malinga’s deceptive slower ones early and dealt well with deliveries that were pitched short. He cut and pulled Randiv for boundaries early in his innings, punched Chanaka Welegedara through the covers and inflicted the same treatment on Malinga. Laxman was on the lookout for scoring opportunities, often opening the face to deliveries flung just outside off and reached his half-century, guiding Malinga past the keeper.However, the pair were separated when Mendis attacked from round the wicket. He found plenty of turn with his legspin from that angle, getting the ball to grip. Laxman’s dabs outside off produced a couple of edges, the second of which was snapped by Mahela Jayawardene. Raina was done in by the bounce of a carrom ball that he punched straight to short midwicket. Malinga soon snared MS Dhoni, who gloved an attempted pull before the tail stepped up.A combination of some attacking bowling and reckless batting had given Sri Lanka a couple of early breakthroughs. India suffered a setback with the departure of Sachin Tendulkar in the first over of the day, and Sehwag’s ill-conceived attempt to loft Randiv over cover – shortly after reaching his century – landed safely in the palms of Welegedara. Those two wickets had marked the first change of fortunes on an eventful day, but Sehwag ensured he compensated before stumps by turning the game India’s way.

Sri Lanka Under-19 took a 2-1 lead in their five-match one-day series against England Under-19 as opener Ramith Rambukwella’s industrious half-century set up an 11-run win in the fourth match at Canterbury

Cricinfo staff13-Aug-2010
Scorecard
Sri Lanka Under-19 took a 2-1 lead in their five-match one-day series against England Under-19 as opener Ramith Rambukwella’s industrious half-century set up an 11-run win in the fourth match at Canterbury. Set 222 to win, all but one of England’s top-order batsman got off to starts but none could push on, and the hosts were eventually bowled out for 210 after 49 overs.Sri Lankan captain Chathura Peiris opted to bat first at the St. Lawrence Ground but his side were soon in trouble, losing Rumesh Buddika and Bhanuka Rajapaksa inside the first seven overs to slip to 28 for 2. The visitors fought back through a 94-run partnership for the third wicket between Rambukwella (68) and Kithuruwan Vithanage (45) to reach 122 in the 29th over before Rambukwella was dismissed by England captain Paul Best.Although none of the lower order were able to make a significant contribution Sri Lanka managed to post 221 before being bowled out with five balls remaining. Left-arm seamer David Payne led the way for England with 3 for 46, and Best put in yet another good performance to pick up an economical 2 for 35 and take his series wicket tally to six.Openers Joe Root and Jack Manuel got England off to a decent start with a partnership of 36 but wickets then fell at regular intervals and the hosts soon got behind the required run rate. Luke Wells top scored with 47 but when he was caught behind off Lahiru Jayarathne England still needed 40 to win from 30 balls with three wickets in hand. The target proved too much for the lower order batsmen and England were bowled out for 210.

Veteran Dominic Cork and youngster Liam Dawson rescued Hampshire with a 62-run unbeaten stand for the seventh wicket as Warwickshire’s bowlers caused problems

13-Sep-2010
ScorecardVeteran Dominic Cork and youngster Liam Dawson rescued Hampshire with a 62-run unbeaten stand for the seventh wicket as Warwickshire’s bowlers caused problems for the home side on a rain-shortened first day at the Rose Bowl as the visitors battled for Division one survival.Dawson and Cork’s dogged resistance came after Hampshire had been reduced to a paltry 85 for six – largely thanks to a three-wicket burst from former England international batsman Darren Maddy, who took 3 for 25.Openers Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams had got Hampshire off to a slow but steady start and they had reached 29 before Chris Woakes had Carberry caught by Rikki Clarke. Adams fell just two runs later when Maddy – exploiting cloudy conditions ideal for swing bowling – trapped him lbw plumb in front.Australian Phillip Hughes and Dawson combined briefly to steady the innings, but in bowler-friendly conditions every other ball looked capable of breaching their defences. Hughes was next to depart when Maddy, bowling at probably half the pace of some of England’s pace attack who troubled Hughes so much last summer, clean-bowled him with another well-directed cutter.Better was to follow for Maddy just two balls later when Hampshire hot prospect James Vince departed, snared by a neat catch from Ian Bell. Despite the chaos around him in front of a sparse home crowd, Dawson remained a picture of calmness at the non-striker’s end as the wickets tumbled.But while he coped admirably as Chris Woakes, Andrew Miller, Clarke and Maddy found extravagant movement, boundaries remained in short supply and he was forced to deal predominantly in scampered singles.Sean Ervine was the next Hampshire batsman to give Dawson temporary company, working his way to a 21-ball 15 before Maddy was once again in the action, taking a good catch off Clarke’s bowling. With Warwickshire smelling blood as Michael Bates’ dismissal to Keith Barker’s left-arm swing left Hampshire six down and still shy of 100 runs on the board, veteran Cork stepped to the crease.He not only provided a sturdy presence but showed the increasingly cautious Dawson that quick runs could be made, finding the boundary with a regularity beyond his team-mates.With Cork blasting his way to 41 from just 38 balls and seemingly set to bludgeon his way to a quick-fire half-century, the rain – which had threatened to settle in for the afternoon – finally arrived, bringing a close to proceedings.

Kenya will host United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a four-match ODI series in the coastal city of Mombasa beginning this Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2010Kenya will host United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a four-match ODI series in the coastal city of Mombasa beginning this Sunday.Kenya are hoping to visit UAE early next year for a series of warm-up one-day fixtures to prepare for the World Cup which begins in February next year in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The UAE team arrives in Mombasa on Friday ahead of the first match on Sunday at Mombasa Sports Club and will be led by Mohammed Tauqir during the eight-day tour.The teams last met in the ICC World Twent20 qualifying tournament earlier this year when UAE sprung a surprise to win by 15 runs.UAE squad Mohammed Tauqir (captain), Arshad Ali, Saqib Ali, Amjad Javed, Ahmed Raza, Shadeep Silva, Amjad Ali, Salman Farooq, Qasim Zubair, Shoaib Sarwar, Arfan Haider, Tahir Javaid Butt, Swapnil Patil, Rohan Mustafa