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Charged with the task of opening the bowling for Bangladesh, and facing up to AB de Villiers in the first Twenty20 international against South Africa on Sunday, Arafat Sunny said he was focused more on bowling to his plans instead of the batsman at the other end. Sunny dismissed de Villiers off the sixth ball of the first over of the match the hosts lost by 52 runs.Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza brought Sunny into the attack at the start to counter de Villiers’ decision to move up the order, only the second time the South Africa batsman has opened in T20 internationals. Off the last ball of the over, de Villiers, looking to make room, chipped a length delivery off the back foot to cover, where Mashrafe took a simple catch. Sunny said the plan was to refrain from bowling full or short at de Villiers and to keep the batsman in check.”It is important not to concentrate too much on the batsman,” Sunny said on the eve of the second game between the two sides, “otherwise a bowler goes under pressure.””I tried to bowl according to my plan and not focus too much on the batsman. I think it helped me. I was told that I cannot bowl too full or even slightly short at him (de Villiers). I was only focusing on a specific length to keep him in check. Luckily he aired one and I got his wicket. I think the pitch was helpful to the spinners, so I could find a bit of turn and try to control the scoring rate.”Sunny also took the wicket of JP Duminy, who fell to an excellent catch by Nasir Hossian at deep midwicket for 18. He kept things tight for most of his three overs in the game, ending with returns of 2 for 19.In his four T20s since January 2014, Sunny has opened the bowling twice and has an economy rate of 6.70 and an average of 11.16, and a strike rate of 10 in the format. His ODI numbers are also promising, with 22 wickets in 13 matches at a strike-rate of 30.7.Bangladesh haven’t played domestic T20s since December 2013 and as one of the more important bowlers in the format – along with Enamul Haque Jnr, Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak – it is important for Sunny to gain international exposure. The bowler, however, knows he could, on occasion, lose his place in the XI, depending on the team combination and conditions. He played one ODI for the side during the World Cup and despite finishing the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in the ODI series against Pakistan, he played only one game against India.”Sometimes the team combination can be different,” he said. “If the opposition has a number of left-handed batsmen in their line-up, it can be different. Pitches vary too. I am always prepared to play, but it is all up to the team management.”Meanwhile, Soumya Sarkar, who opened the innings in the game against South Africa, expressed frustration at his failure to convert starts. He scored 7 in the T20, but in the ODIs against India his scores of 40, 34 and 54 could have been more substantial knocks.”We discussed how we couldn’t play according to our plan,” he said. “The two early wickets kept us on the back foot, otherwise we had planned around 40-45 runs in the first six overs. It would have helped the next batsman. I think everyone, including myself, understand that I am getting out after getting set. I feel disappointed that it is hurting the team. We are discussing ways to get out of this situation.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:06

Arnold: NZ quicks’ variety was the clincher

In conditions where the old ball did nothing and New Zealand’s three first-choice quicks produced innocuous medium-pace, Neil Wagner ran in relentlessly with tremendous stamina, sending down a barrage of short deliveries, harrying the batsmen at around 140 kph and broke Sri Lanka’s resistance. Until Wagner came on, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews had been untroubled and scored freely, but once he broke through his one wicket quickly led to many, and New Zealand completed a 122-run victory after lunch on the final day in Dunedin.Before Brendon McCullum turned to Wagner, Sri Lanka made 45 runs in 15.5 overs, and Mitchell Santner and Doug Bracewell had just begun to control a previously brisk run rate. Wagner immediately resorted to a short-pitched attack from over the wicket – like he had done on the third day – targeting the right-hand batsman’s ribs with men catching close on the leg side.Chandimal had been cover-driving and cutting Trent Boult and Tim Southee, his fierce punishment of anything loose taking him swiftly to a half-century. Mathews had played with softer hands and a straighter bat, batting with calm. Wagner gave them no width, no opportunity to get on the front foot, hustling them with pace, forcing hurried evasive actions and awkward fends off the body.Wagner’s method of attack had become so ingrained in the batsman’s psyche that they expected little else from him. And so Mathews, after moving hurriedly towards the off side to let two consecutive short balls whizz past his ribs, began to play the third delivery in a similar manner. Except that this time Wagner bowled a full length. The ball crashed into the inside of his front pad, shot between his legs and flattened middle stump. Mathews had not even played a shot, and was the first Sri Lankan batsman to not be caught in this Test.Chandimal had to shelve his cavalier approach against Wagner. He had got to 50 off 90 balls – scoring 19 off 26 this morning – but made only eight off his next 41 deliveries. Subdued into a defensive mind-set, he padded up to a ball from the left-arm spinner Santner that went on with the arm, and was adjudged lbw not offering a shot. After a partnership of 56, Mathews and Chandimal had fallen with the score on 165.Wagner now went around the wicket to aim at the ribs of the two left-handers – Kithuruwan Vithanage and Milinda Siriwardana. He pinned them to the crease with his length, and then bowled a fast full-toss at Siriwardana, who was hit on the back pad as he squared up in his crease. The umpire Nigel Llong gave him lbw but Siriwardana successfully reviewed the decision, replays surprisingly suggesting the ball would have missed off stump, perhaps because Wagner had delivered from extremely wide of the crease.Wagner was given the second new ball for the last delivery of his first spell, which comprised eight overs at speeds that did not ebb.Southee took two deliveries to strike with the new ball, swinging it back into Vithanage from over the wicket, hitting the left-hander’s pads. Vithanage had played an enterprising innings, a run-a-ball 38 full of shots.The slide was swift after lunch. Boult struck in the third and fifth over of the second session – drawing an edge from Rangana Herath and having Siriwardana caught at short cover, both batsmen not bothering with defence.Sri Lanka went down swinging, and were bowled out for 282. However, the fact that an inexperienced batting line-up had lasted 95.2 overs after playing 117.1 in the first innings will be some consolation for a team rebuilding from the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

While much of the attention was focussed on the Board of Control forCricket in India’s crackdown on players who have aligned with the IndianCricket League there was another significant development that took place.In order to ensure continuity the BCCI has announced a president-elect tosucceed Sharad Pawar. That office will most likely be held by Chirayu Amin, presidentof the Baroda cricket association, for three months, and then, probably, by ShashankManohar for three years through to 2011.Pawar will become vice-president of the International Cricket Council inJuly 2008, and will then have to relinquish office at his home board. An interim president will hold office for the three-month period from July tillSeptember 2008, when the elections are set to take place.Once the ICC announced that David Morgan of the ECB, and Pawar from theBCCI, would take up office as ICC president in 2008 and 2010 respectively,the BCCI decided to do something similar at home, whereinthe president elect will be chosen a year in advance. This suggestion camefrom Inderjit Singh Bindra, former president of the BCCI and currentpresident of the Punjab Cricket Association. It was suggested that such apractice would ensure that the president elect had a good workingknowledge of the board, and that elections would proceed in a smoothmanner.According to the procedural changes being suggested, the interim president forthat period will be someone from the same zone as the existing president -West Zone – which in this case is Amin. By rotation the next turn, whichwill be for a full three years, from September 2008 till 2011, goes toCentral Zone. The front-runner here is Shashank Manohar, who is thepresident of the Vidarbha Cricket Association and vice-president of theBCCI, apart from being a close aide of Pawar. What this will mean, ineffect, is that there will be no elections for the post of president in2008 and the current regime will continue, unchallenged, till 2011.It is understood that Lalit Modi, the man behind many of the financial andbusiness aspects of the board, suggested that a similar procedure beadopted for other office bearers of the board, apart from the president,in order to ensure some sort of continuity. However, this did not come upfor discussion in the course of the two special general meetings held inMumbai on Tuesday.

John Buchanan’s desire for innovation will result in the Australian players preparing for the Champions Trophy and the Ashes with a challenging three-day camp in the Queensland bush. According to the exercise is designed by the coach, whose contract expires after the World Cup in April, as a back-to-basics experience and it is expected to be approved by Cricket Australia’s Board on Friday.”Buchanan wants to keep it all a bit close to his chest because he wants it all to be a bit of a surprise for them and a challenge when it happens,” the paper quoted an unidentified Cricket Australia director as saying. After the outback camp the Australians are expected to reconvene on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast for more pre-Ashes training.Throughout his seven-year tenure Buchanan has pushed the players to think outside the game and his experiments have included trips to French and Turkish battlefields, writing poetry, introducing the players to by Sun Tzu and hiring a baseball coach. The Champions Trophy in October begins a hectic summer for the team, which also has the five-Test series against England, the VB and Chappell-Hadlee series and the World Cup in the West Indies.

Yuvraj Singh says his century against Zimbabwe is all thanks to the hard work he has put in recently, under the watchful eye of India’s coach Greg Chappell and his assistant Ian Frazer.”I was short of confidence when I went to Sri Lanka,” he told PTI, “and Greg (Chappell) and Frazer worked very hard on me. My footwork improved greatly,” he added, after his 120 bailed India out of a tricky situation against Zimbabwe in a tri-series game on Sunday.”I worked very hard on my first 50 runs but once I got set I chose my bowlers to attack. It never crossed my mind that we could lose the game. I knew that if I could bat till the end, we cannot lose the game.”He said the pressure was definitely on India after an early flurry of wickets. “If you lose four early wickets, whatever is the attack, the pressure is on the opposition,” he added. “Our top order is one of the best in the world and if they were out, they must have bowled good balls.”

Heath Streak has lauded Stuart MacGill’s decision to withdraw from Australia’s tour of Zimbabwe. He told The Melbourne Age “I respect Stuart for the decision he’s made.” MacGill recently pulled out of the tour saying he could not tour Zimbabwe with a clear conscience.”That’s his (MacGill’s) view on what he feels is morally and principally right,” said Streak. “With our stand-off now with the ZCU that’s basically what we feel. Morally and principally we are standing up for what we believe is the right thing.”At the same time Streak warned that the protest of 15 Zimbabwean cricketers should not be misconstrued. “We’ve got to be careful people don’t think we’re trying to encourage Australia and England not to come because that isn’t the case, but we want our issues resolved in a fair and transparent manner… If that doesn’t happen then I’m sure friends of ours that we’ve made during our international careers from all countries, not just Australia and England, will want to know more about what’s going on and how it’s being dealt with.”While newspapers have reported that several other Australian cricketers also have second thoughts about touring Zimbabwe, James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, has said that such a development is unlikely.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming raised the stakes ahead of Friday’s must-win World Cup clash against India by reminding his rivals of the drubbing they received three months ago.Sourav Ganguly’s men were thrashed 2-0 in the Tests and 5-2 in the one-dayers on the tour of New Zealand in December-January amidst complaints of poor wickets heavily tilted in favour of the bowlers.But the Indians put aside the disappointment of that tour to win seven of their eight World Cup matches so far and book a place in the semi-finals alongside Australia and Kenya.The Kiwis, meanwhile, allowed Australia to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at Port Elizabeth and must now beat India at the Centurion on Friday to grab the fourth spot.Fleming, however, was unconcerned about the terrific form shown by the Indians at the tournament.”They’ll be confident but sometimes that can be a weakness. Hopefully we can open up some of the wounds we opened in New Zealand,” Fleming said.His Indian counterpart, Sourav Ganguly, however, refused to worry about the past.”History does not interest me, that’s over, it’s behind us,” he said.Ganguly stressed it was important to win to keep the momentum flowing.”We can’t take it lightly, it’s a World Cup game after all,” he said.”Moreover it would be great to go into the semi-finals with eight wins in nine matches.”India’s New Zealand coach John Wright continued the mind games, saying Kiwi pace bowling sensation Shane Bond will not pose any problems for Sachin Tendulkar.”Sachin can take care of anything,” Wright said.Tendulkar, one-day cricket’s leading batsman, has scored a record 571 runs in this tournament, while Bond scared the living daylights out of the Australians on Tuesday with a fiery burst of 6-23 at Port Elizabeth.”There is no grudge, we just have to play as well as we have been doing in the tournament and get through this game,” Wright said.”From 14 teams, we have made it to the top four because we have played very good cricket.”But we need to concentrate hard because no win is easy.”Ganguly said it was too early to think of the final.”We have to take it one match at a time. For that matter so have Australia. Even they have not qualified for the final yet,” he said.Teams (from):New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Shane Bond, Jacob Oram, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Craig McMillan, Andre Adams, Kyle Mills, Matthew Sinclair, Scott StyrisIndia: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Sanjay Bangar, Ajit Agarkar

BCCI nominates 4 former players as Development OfficersThe Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated fourformer Test players for the post of Development Officers of the AsianCricket Foundation (ACF). National selectors Ashok Malhotra and MadanLal, allrounder Roger Binny and left handed batsman Woorkheri Ramanwere the four BCCI nominees, according to ACF chairman JagmohanDalmiya.The ACF will meet in Kolkata on July 31 and August 1 to finalise thepanel of development officers. The two-day meeting will also discussvarious other issues pertaining to development of cricket in theregion.Pakistan and Sri Lanka had already sent their nominations for the postof Development Officers. While Pakistan’s list comprised formerskippers Mushtaq Mohammed and Zaheer Abbas and medium pacer IqbalSikander, Sri Lanka recommended stylish batsman Roy Dias, former pacerRumesh Ratnayeke and wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon Kuruppu.* CBFS wins defamation caseThe London High Court has passed a judgement in favour of theCricketers’ Benefit Fund Series, Sharjah (CBFS) with regard to theirdefamation case against the “Asian Age” daily newspaper for publishingcertain “libellous statements”, a CBFS release said on Saturday.”The judgement allowed for damages for an amount to be assessed at alater date as well as legal costs for the plaintiff. An injunction nowprevents the Asian Age from publishing similar libels in future. TheAsian Age did not defend the case against it,” the CBFS said in thepress release.The court heard the CBFS case on July 12 regarding the publication ofthe alleged offending matter on February 14, and passed its judgement.When contacted, MJ Akbar, Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director ofAsian Age, said they have not received any notice in this regard.

Toby Bailey saved face for Northamptonshire with a career-best 85 not out against promotion-chasing Worcestershire at New Road.The Second Division champions were deep in trouble at 96 for seven until their 24-year-old reserve wicketkeeper delayed the home county’s march towards their first target of maximum bowling points.Bailey shared in half century partnerships with acting captain Tony Penberthy (48) and Paul Taylor (14) before tea was taken early with the visitors in much better shape at 231 for nine.Needing victory to have a chance of joining Northants in the top-flight next year, Worcestershire gambled that Glenn McGrath would profit from bowling first on a cloudy first day.The Australian fast bowler claimed his 65th Championship wicket of the season with only his second ball and eventually took his total to 68 with figures of four for 69 in 24 overs.Medium-pacers Stuart Lampitt and David Leatherdale added to the morning demolition with four lbw victims, all given by umpire John Steele, but Bailey transformed the situation with 14 fours from 117 balls.

ScorecardJacques Rudolph still hopes to catch a fifth successive win [file picture]•Gallo Images

Glamorgan’s push for what would be a record-breaking victory was held up by a combination of determined batting and rain on the third day of the Division Two match against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.When the weather closed in with 23 overs still to bowl, Derbyshire were 37 without loss following-on, still 121 runs away from avoiding an innings defeat and with a lot of batting ahead of them to deny Glamorgan five consecutive championship victories for the first time in their history.The home side fell nine short of the follow-on target when they were bowled out for 252 with opener Billy Godleman the only batsmen to pass 50 while seamer Ruaidhri Smith returned career-best figures of three for 23 in 11 overs.The leaden skies at the start of play made conditions good for bowling and Derbyshire were soon in trouble as the ball swung for Graham Wagg and Michael Hogan.Derbyshire needed a substantial stand between Godleman and skipper Wayne Madsen but that was ended in the fourth over of the morning when Hogan found some late movement to have Madsen caught at third slip for 24.Godleman’s resistance ended when Wagg swung one back in and when Wes Durston was squared up in the former Derbyshire all-rounder’s next over, the home side had lost three wickets for seven runs in 17 balls.Shiv Thakor and Alex Hughes added 44 in 17 overs but David Lloyd had Hughes taken at second slip and Thakor should have gone on 17 in the next over from Craig Meschede but Hogan spilled a low chance at third slip.Smith accounted for Harvey Hosein and Tony Palladino and when Thakor skied a sweep at Andrew Salter, Tom Taylor tore into Hogan, pulling and driving him for three sixes before the Australian bowled him on the stroke of tea.With conditions unsettled and still favourable for bowling, Glamorgan immediately enforced the follow on but Godleman and Hamish Rutherford were largely untroubled in the 18 overs before bad light resulted in the sixth and final stoppage of the day.It was a frustrating end for Glamorgan, but skipper Jacques Rudolph said: “I thought the way we bowled in those last 17 overs we deserved one or two wickets. They played really well but I still think the game is wide open and if we start well in the morning we can put them under some real pressure.”Madsen said: “I think with the forecast being fair tomorrow we are going to have to bat most of the day which is possible. We batted for 80 odd overs in the first innings and we will probably have to bat for over 110 and get ahead so the realistic objective for us is to try and bat through the day.”