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New Zealand’s rescheduled cricket tour of Pakistan ended prematurely when the second and final Test was called off , barely hours before it was scheduled to start here at the National Stadium, after a bomb blast less than 50 metres from the team hotel.The blast, that killed 14 and injured 22, went off on the road adjacent to the hotel between 7:40am and 7:50am. Both the teams were scheduled to leave for the stadium at 8:00am for opening day’s play.None of the players from the two teams nor the officials were injured. But they were naturally anxious, distracted and horrified with whatever they saw or heard about the gruesome incident.As the New Zealanders preferred to take `shelter’ in open air and spent rest of the morning at the pool side, match referee Mike Procter officially called off the Test at a hastily arranged press conference at 11:30pm.”In consultation with Brig Munawwar Rana (director of the PCB) and Jeff Crowe (New Zealand team manager) and because of security reason, this Test match has been called off. So the tour is over,” Procter said.The Black Caps left for Singapore on their way to Christchurch by Singapore Airlines flight No SQ418 that took off at 7.25pm Wednesday evening. The match officials – Procter, Rudi Koertzen (both South Africans) and Steve Bucknor (West Indian) – also departed for Johannesburg and London respectively via Dubai on the same evening by Emirates flight No EK610 that flew 10.30pm.The New Zealanders were escorted to the airport with heavy security that was considerably strengthened after the blast. There were no less than 50 gun-totting commandos occupying a dozen or so police vans and motorcycles.It was the worst incident in the history of Pakistan sports that led to the cancellation of a foreign team’s official tour.In 1984, India returned home after the assassination of their Prime Minister Indra Gandhi in New Delhi. The second One-day International, which was in progress at Sialkot was immediately abandoned along with the remaining part of the tour. But New Zealand’s decision to abort the tour is not the only thing that is worrying the PCB. The dilemma now facing the PCB is that future events in the country are now in serious jeopardy.Pakistan are to host New Zealand and Australia for a tri-nation one-day series between Aug 27 and Sept 7 and then are scheduled to take on Australia in a three-Test home series between Oct 1 and 24.”We have hardly recovered from this morning’s shock and haven’t really thought what would happen in days to come. But I agree that security issues and foreign team’s future visits to Pakistan will surface,” Munawwar said.In a broad setback, the Pakistan government and PCB’s assurances and guarantees to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Test world about players security, were also proven wrong.”I feel let down and low after today’s incidents. I had made big claims on the ICC platform that Pakistan was as safe as any country for cricket. But today, I feel sad, depressed and upset,” Munawwar said, adding: “I want to express my deepest regrets to New Zealand for the unfortunate incident.”The PCB spokesman further said that it would now require greater effort to convince the world to change their views on players security in Pakistan.Munawwar said the PCB did whatever it could for the smooth running of the tour. “But we are now the victim of circumstances.”Procter, Crowe and NZC’s security manager Reg Dickson endorsed the PCB official’s statement. “It has been an excellent tour until today. We got the security that was promised and we have no complaints against the Pakistan board,” they said.Crowe said it was a devastating blow “because both the PCB and NZC had tried their best to make the tour happen.” But he rejected claims that he had proposed to the PCB during the Lahore Test to shift the second Test to either Faisalabad or reschedule it in the Punjab metropolis. He also said the decision to cancel the tour was taken by the NZC and none of the players was consulted.”For NZC, players’ security is paramount and that was conveyed to the PCB who understood our position,” Crowe said, adding: “We feel sorry for the PCB who did their best and provided us the best hospitality.”

The race for the Norwich Union title is hotting up after the defeat of leaders Worcestershire Royals. It means they now lead by just four points from Warwickshire Bears who have played a game more, and their conquerors at New Road, Glamorgan Dragons, who have played a game less.Dominic Ostler scored an unbeaten 103 to help Warwickshire Bears record a seven-wicket win over Leicestershire Foxes at Edgbaston. Earlier Iain Sutcliffe had fallen narrowly short of a well-deserved century as he put on 107 for the third wicket with Michael Bevan (32). The stand came to an end when Sutcliffe was caught short attempting a tricky run, but Phil DeFreitas (44*) batted until the end as his side made 250 for seven five off their 45 overs. Warwickshire got off to a miserable start in reply. Nick Knight was dismissed early by DeFreitas (two for 36) who then claimed his second wicket when Ian Bell edged to wicket-keeper Neil Burns. Ostler and Jamie Traughton (66) then ploughed into the bowling as they put on 139 to reach their revised target of 203. The home side finished on 206 for three to move into second place in Division One, trailing Worcestershire by four points.Glamorgan Dragons recorded an unlikely win after rain brought an early end to their clash with Worcestershire Royals. The Welsh side were 108 for three when play was interrupted. Earlier Australian Shane Lee, making his debut for the home side, top scored with 41 on a bowler-friendly pitch. Stephen Peters (29) and Ben Smith (25) were the other main contributors as their side made 202 for nine. Adrian Dale (three for 32) was the main wicket taker. Robert Croft (15) again began brightly in reply but was bowled by Australian-born Matthew Mason (two for 27). Mason took his second wicket when Michael Powell (4) was caught by Lee. Matthew Maynard (32*) and Steve James (41*) led the recovery but then the heavens opened with Glamorgan requiring 95 for victory. When play was called off after persistent rain the Duckworth/Lewis method denied Royals their eighth Norwich Union win, as Glamorgan were crowned victors by seven wickets.In Division Two, 22-year-old opener William Jefferson scored an unbeaten 111 as Essex Eagles’ batsmen were unable to overcome Middlesex Crusaders’ bowling at Lord’s. Abdur Razzaq (two for 51) and Chad Keegan (two 42) both made early breakthroughs as Essex collapsed to 131 for seven. Essex were 194 for eight when the rain came down. After the interruption, the home side needed 74 off ten overs for victory. Then came pure nail-biting cricket. Ashley Cowan (two for nine) bowled Razzaq for four. Graham Napier took three wickets in his first over to remove dangerman Shah (25), Aaron Laraman (11) and Simon Cook (0). Jamie Middlebrook (two for five) then dismissed Ed Joyce (8) with his first delivery and bowled Jamie Dalrymple (16) with his fourth. Andrew Strauss (5) had his stump uprooted by Cowan in the final over as did Sven Koenig (0) who was run out. Paul Weekes (5*) hit the winning boundary with a ball to spare.Darren Cousins (three for 36) and Graeme Swann (two for 14) helped Northamptonshire Steelbacks dismiss Hampshire Hawks for 133 at the County Ground as they recorded a ten-wicket win under the Duckworth/Lewis method in yet another rain-affected match. Earlier wicket-keeper Nic Pothas (34*) and John Crawley (33) had been the main run-makers as the visitors put on a poor batting display. Rain intervened with the home side on 54 without loss, well ahead of their required 37 for victory. The Steelbacks lie in second place after their second win in two days and their third in succession.

An attritional day of cricket at Lord’s on the third day of the rain affected CricInfo Championship match took Middlesex, with five wickets standing, into a one run lead over Worcestershire.Middlesex’s left-handed opener, Andy Strauss scored 125, his highest first-class score and was the common factor in two substantial partnerships, the first of them being an opening stand of 129 with Mick Roseberry, who made 63.Theirs was Middlesex’s first three-figure opening stand since Strauss and Mark Ramprakash put on 102 against Northamptonshire in the opening match of last season.After Roseberry departed, dollying a catch with a mistimed pull at Matthew Liptrot, Strauss and Owais Shah added 97. Again Worcestershire could manage to capture only one wicket in the session.Half way through it, Strauss, who had been in for 281 minutes and faced 253 balls, was caught behind cutting at Graeme Hick, bowling off-breaks. Shah, 30 at the time of his dismissal, got hopelessly bogged down and could scrape together only nine more runs in 17 overs before tea.Middlesex’s overseas player, Stephen Fleming, New Zealand’s captain, scored twenty of the 36 runs added in this time.He eventually fell for 42, providing the first wicket of overseas player Andy Bichel’s season as Middlesex stuttered in the final session. Shah fell just short of a painstaking half-century and Hutton, who hit the first first-class century of the season last week, found the going harder in the Championship, succumbing to Rawnsley for four.

Chris Harris’ selection for the Test team recognised all he has done for Canterbury, his coach Michael Sharpe said today.”It’s hard for us but good for Harry,” Sharpe said. He takes his team into the ninth round State Championship game against Auckland tomorrow still with a chance of taking the trophy.Warren Wisneski (hamstring strain) and Harris are replaced by Cleighten Cornelius and Marcel McKenzie in the Canterbury squad.”It’s an important game and we need to keep working hard,” said first year Canterbury coach Sharpe, who has seen his side win three times in the Championship this season after a two year spell without a win.”It looks a good deck (at Christchurch’s Village Green) and there should be a lot of runs. The Championship, which requires Canterbury to win its last two games and for other results to go its way is “definitely” still on, “but we need things to happen,” said Sharpe.Meanwhile, Auckland have been forced to make several changes from the team which beat Central Districts in Palmerston North last week.Chris Drum, Lou Vincent, Matt Horne and Mark Richardson are on Test duty while Sam Whiteman is still recovering from a back injury.Into the team come Tama Canning, Bradley Nielsen, Sanjeewa Silva, Rob Lynch and Nick Horsley. Nielsen, from the Howick Pakuranga club, and Lynch (Cornwall) make their debut for the State Auckland Aces.The teams are:Canterbury: Gary Stead (captain), Shanan Stewart, Robbie Frew, Michael Papps, Peter Fulton, Aaron Redmond, Marcel McKenzie, Gareth Hopkins, Paul Wiseman, Ryan Burson, Wade Cornelius, Cleighten Cornelius.Auckland: Brooke Walker (captain), Andre Adams, Tama Canning, Nick Horsley, Llorne Howell, Tim McIntosh, Rob Lynch, Bradley Nielsen, Rob Nicol, Gareth Shaw, Sanjeewa Silva, Reece Young.

Made his QCA first grade debut in 1995-96. He represented Queensland Under-19 in 1995-96 and 1996-97 and has since appeared for Queensland Colts and Queensland Academy of Sport. In 2000-01 he made his one-day debut followed by his first-class debut for Queensland. Schools – various primary in Perth and Cairns; Kooralbyn International (one term); Nudgee College.

ScorecardKaushal Silva and Janaka Gunaratne hit eighties to lead Sri Lanka A’s strong reply to South Africa A’s 419 on the second day. The hosts ended the day only 166 runs short with six wickets in hand.Resuming on 339 for 5, South Africa went past the 400 mark thanks to the well-set Heino Kunh who made 87 and stayed till the very end. Sachithra Senanayake, the offspinner, was the main wicket-taker for the hosts in the morning, not allowing the overnight pair to run away to a bigger score. He finished with 3 for 74 as Kuhn ran out of partners. Seekkuge Prasanna, the legspinner, ended the innings with the wicket of Kuhn, caught by Dimuth Karunaratne.The South African seamers struck early, taking the first two wickets for 35 by the tenth over. Gunaratne and Silva came together at the fall of the fourth wicket, at 120. Gunaratne scored at a quicker rate, hitting 13 fours and two sixes in his 89, off 103 balls. Silva remained unbeaten on 81, off 156 balls. Their unbroken 133-run stand ensured the hosts stayed on top on the second day.

The uncapped legspinner Todd Astle has been named in New Zealand’s Test squad for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. Astle will have a strong chance of making his debut in the spin-friendly conditions, given that Jeetan Patel is the only other slow bowler in the squad, with Tarun Nethula having been axed and Daniel Vettori ruled out after suffering an Achilles tendon problem during the World Twenty20.New Zealand have named a 15-man squad for the two Tests, in Galle and Colombo in the second half of November, and a 15-man group for the one Twenty20 and five ODIs that precede the Tests. Three members of the World T20 squad have not been included for the limited-overs games: the injured Vettori; the fast bowler Doug Bracewell; and the opener Martin Guptill, whose workload is being managed.The Test squad features the batsman Rob Nicol, who played two Tests against South Africa in March before he was dropped and treated as a limited-overs specialist for the next few months. But the only uncapped player in the group is Astle, the Canterbury legspinner, who has picked up 127 first-class wickets at an average of 34.79 in a career spanning seven seasons.Astle, 26, was the second-leading spinner in the Plunket Shield last summer, with 31 victims at 38.35, and the national selection manager Kim Littlejohn said his all-round skills gave him the edge ahead of other bowlers.”He has the ability to contribute in all three facets of the game and deserves his opportunity after a putting in consistent performances over a number of seasons,” Littlejohn said of Astle. “Tarun Nethula has missed out on selection this time. We think he would benefit from a return to regular first-class cricket where he can get some overs under his belt and stake his claim for reselection.Littlejohn also said the wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling was not included in the Test squad as it was considered better for him to be given some game time in the Plunket Shield. “BJ Watling will return to New Zealand after the one-day matches,” Littlejohn said. “He has spent a lot of time touring but has had limited opportunities to play and we believe it is best for his development if he’s made available for the upcoming Plunket Shield fixtures.”Trent Boult, Andrew Ellis and Tom Latham were all named in the squad for the T20 and ODIs, having not been part of the World T20 group. Littlejohn said the decision to leave Bracewell out had been made to allow him to work on some technical problems ahead of the Test series.”Doug Bracewell will miss the short-form matches so he can spend some time working on a few minor technical issues with his action,” Littlejohn said. “The best approach is to spend time getting things right in domestic four-day cricket ahead of the Test series.”Ronnie Hira and Adam Milne have been included in the ODI squad having previously being selected in T20 sides. We have been impressed by the development of both players and they offer the side something a bit different.”It has been a demanding period for the Black Caps, especially for the players who compete in all three forms. As part of the on-going management of player workload we have decided to rest Martin Guptill for the T20 and ODI matches so he can refresh for the upcoming international commitments.”The tour begins with a T20 on October 30 in Pallekele, before five ODIs from November 1 to November 12. The Test series runs from November 17 to November 29.Test squad Martin Guptill, Rob Nicol, Daniel Flynn, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor (capt), Kane Williamson, James Franklin, Kruger van Wyk, Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Todd Astle, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin.ODI and Twenty20 squad Rob Nicol, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor (capt), Kane Williamson, BJ Watling, James Franklin, Jacob Oram, Tom Latham, Nathan McCullum, Andrew Ellis, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Ronnie Hira, Adam Milne.

Kent 260 (Key 134, Harmison 59) and 418 for 8 (Stevens 205*, Northeast 70, Ball 69) beat Lancashire 284 (Prince 134) and 393 for 5 dec (Prince 108, Horton 106, Agathangelou 51) by two wickets
ScorecardDarren Stevens flayed a double-century to complete Kent’s second-highest fourth-innings chase•Getty Images

Darren Stevens hit a sumptuous unbeaten 205 to edge Kent over the line for a two-wicket Championship win and condemn champions Lancashire to their first defeat of the campaign. Chasing an improbable 418 for victory, Kent eased home with 14.2 overs to spare to record their maiden win on Kentish soil this summer and the second-highest successful fourth-innings pursuit in the club’s first-class history.Stevens, who faces an ICC hearing in the new year for failing to report an illegal approach during this year’s Bangladesh Premier League campaign, proved unstoppable to a Lancashire attack without their three leading wicket-takers. Stevens’ 218-ball innings included 21 fours and three sixes and was his fourth three-figure score in the Championship this year – and it helped Kent avoid an unwanted record of not securing a Championship win at home.Resuming on their overnight total of 32 for 1 – which was effectively two wickets down after Rob Key fractured his left thumb whilst in the field on day three – their position soon worsened when they lost Brendan Nash to the ninth ball of the day, caught behind after an attempted push-drive against Kyle Jarvis to make it 39 for 2.Five overs later Kent’s second top-scorer of the first innings Ben Harmison went back only to offer no shot to a Tom Smith offcutter that trapped him leg before.With little to lose, Sam Northeast went for his shots to post an attractive 54-ball 50 full of rasping drives and with eight fours. Stevens, Kent’s player of the season, marched in to follow Northeast’s lead as the fourth-wicket pair added an eye-catching 82 in 17.1 overs before Northeast (70) was trapped leg-before on the back-foot by a Luke Procter inswinger.Stevens reached a 60-ball 50 before lunch and moved through the gears after the break to add 71 in 17.1 overs with Sam Billings (24) before the understudy keeper edged a back-foot drive against Smith to be caught behind.Adam Ball, playing only his second game of the season, joined forces with Stevens and notched a career-best 69 as the pair posted 148 in 34.2 overs for the sixth wicket. Having reached a 55-ball 50, his first in Championship cricket, Ball perished to the second new ball, leg-before when playing back in defence to Smith.Home skipper James Tredwell went soon after when nudging one to second slip off Oliver Newby and the alarm bells rang for Kent supporters when Mark Davies followed without scoring when Newby trapped him lbw on the back foot. The injured Key then sidled in to add a vital three runs from 11 balls, allowing Stevens to hit the winning boundary off Newby.

Misbah-ul-Haq and Pakistan’s batting have come under severe criticism from the former players with the team’s loss in the second Test against Zimbabwe being termed as “embarrassing and shameful”. Pakistan dropped two places to sixth in the ICC Test rankings and became the first team other than Bangladesh to lose a Test against Zimbabwe in 12 years.Ramiz Raja, who has been Misbah’s vocal supporter, said his captaincy was bereft of fresh ideas. “Misbah contributed to a change of environment and gave stability to the team,” he said. “He has given all he could to Pakistan cricket as captain but there is now a predictability and staleness in his captaincy and our brand of cricket.””He seems to have ran out of ideas, so we need someone with fresh ideas,” Raja said. “I think Misbah’s shelf-life is over and with these ideas we will stand nowhere before South Africa (in UAE). It seems excitement and aggression is at the lowest point in our cricket, we want to avoid defeat and this hot-and-cold, up-and-down performances must change.”No one likes to back a losing side, we need to rethink our priorities and set a new direction or else people will stop following cricket. This is the right time now to have a new captain and introduce some new players. The defeat is embarrassing, frustrating and shameful.”The month-long Zimbabwe tour was one of Pakistan’s easier assignments this year and was thought of as preparation ahead of the upcoming tour against South Africa in the UAE. But Pakistan lost the first ODI and in Tests, crossed 300 just once in four innings.Shoaib Akhtar said that Pakistan have “hit rock bottom as a cricketing nation” and they must address “the batting woes as they were letting the team down”.”Misbah is leading the worst-ever Pakistan team,” he said. “We don’t have good bowlers, we don’t have good batsmen and if Misbah is prominent amongst the batsmen then it shows because, with due respect, Misbah is not world class.”Inzamam-ul-Haq declined to comment on the team’s performance as he has stopped watching them play.However, the interim chairman of the PCB, Najam Sethi, took a more balanced view and said that the Pakistan team is in a rebuilding phase. “So what if we lost against Zimbabwe,” Sethi said. “Winning and losing is part of the game and even Australia are down these days, so it’s a pattern of ups and down. Pakistan had fallen in depths of disgrace over fixing issues, but things are stable now and they have started respecting us back.”They talk about Misbah and Younis being an older player but Misbah is holding the team, Younis scored double hundred that day. I know where are the problems, if I am able to last longer in the PCB, I will work to make the team (better). But you can’t do it at once.”

Sri Lanka Cricket has approached other cricket boards to look into the possibility of organising a tour to the country after receiving a request from Zimbabwe Cricket seeking postponement of their scheduled series. Sri Lanka are to play two Tests, three ODIs and two T20s in Zimbabwe between October 6 and November 4.According to SLC secretary, Nishanth Ranatunga, SLC has approached the West Indies Cricket Board, New Zealand Cricket, Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board, to possibly host a tour in the period scheduled for the Zimbabwe series, in case the tour is postponed.”We have written to a few countries that are without any international fixtures in October-November and are awaiting a response from them,” Ranatunga said. “We have to first know of the availability of the countries before deciding on the tour schedule. We are looking at three weeks in October.”Of the teams approached, New Zealand are scheduled to travel to Bangladesh between October 2 and November 7, after which they will tour Sri Lanka. Australia will be touring India for a limited-overs series. England will be preparing for the Ashes in Australia, starting in November, while West Indies are scheduled to tour New Zealand in December for three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s.Earlier this week, Ranatunga had confirmed that Zimbabwe Cricket had written to the board asking to postpone the tour, due to some “challenging issues” that the host board was facing. The e-mail has been circulated among the members of the SLC executive committee and a decision on it will be taken next week.”If Zimbabwe cannot accommodate us at the moment and are seeking a postponement we will have to communicate with them and find out when it is suitable to play the series in the near future,” he said.If the Zimbabwe tour is postponed, it is likely to be a setback to Sri Lanka as they try and improve their Test ranking. Sri Lanka are currently seventh in the ICC rankings for Test teams, above New Zealand and Bangladesh. The board had already postponed two scheduled Tests in the Caribbean and three Tests against South Africa at home. Sri Lanka last played a Test series against Bangladesh in March and their next scheduled Test, after Zimbabwe, is a three-match series against Pakistan in the UAE in December.