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Brendan Nash, the West Indies middle-order batsman, has said his team is desperate to end its losing run and turn things around for the Test series against South Africa that begins on Thursday. West Indies are yet to win a game on this tour, losing both Twenty20 internationals and being at the receiving end of a 5-0 thrashing in the ODI series.”We’re sick of losing. We don’t like losing. We don’t enjoy it, but it is not something we can just turn around in one day,” Nash told 103 FM ahead of the first Test in Trinidad. “It is going to be a slow process, but we’re trying to do the right thing.”Nobody wants to lose, we’re doing what we can with the resources we have and the structures we have to try and turn things around.”Nash sought inspiration from West Indies’ performance against England in Trinidad last year, when they held on to draw the final Test and win the series. Nash scored a century in that game, his first in international cricket, and has been in excellent form of late. He had a very successful tour of Bangladesh with West Indies A, being dismissed just once in the two four-day games, scoring 202 runs in the process, and notched up two half-centuries in three limited-overs matches.”I hope everyone remembers the series last year against England. It came down to the last match. We were one up and we held on for a draw to win the series,” he said. Hopefully the Trinis put their minds back to that and support us. That’s what we needed at that time and that’s what we need at this time.”We haven’t had the best of runs in the shorter format of the game. (Tests) are different and we showed some good signs against Australia at the end of last year, and this is the next Test series since then so hopefully the fans will come out and support us.”Nash also said training sessions for the teams have been interrupted by sporadic showers. “(Practice has been) a little bit disrupted” he said. “We’ve made the most of it and tried to get on the field [when] we could and get in the indoor nets.”

Scorecard
Zander De Bruyn top scored for Somerset with 89•PA Photos

A Marcus Trescothick cameo helped Somerset maintain their 100% record in this season’s Clydesdale Bank 40 with a crushing 94-run victory over Surrey to stay top of Group A after six matches.Batting first on a magnificent pitch at The Oval, the Sabres posted a massive 303 for five thanks to a whirlwind 69 off 47 balls from Trescothick and a stand of 145 in 19 overs between Zander de Bruyn and James Hildreth – a Somerset record for the fourth wicket in one-day cricket against Surrey.Trescothick was in blistering form, hitting seven fours in the space of eight deliveries at one point, as the visitors raced to 97 without loss inside 12 overs. Craig Kieswetter, who was forced to play second fiddle to Trescothick, was the first man to go when Gareth Batty had him caught at long-on for 21. Two balls later, Trescothick top-edged Matthew Spriegel to deep backward square.After Nick Compton was stumped off a wide in the 19th over, De Bruyn and Hildreth put their side in a commanding position without taking any obvious risks. De Bruyn, whose fifty came off 53 deliveries, lifted Jade Dernbach over wide long-on for sixes in the 33rd and 37th overs. At the other end, Hildreth, playing the reverse sweep to perfection, went to a 47-ball half-century in the 35th.Having taken the batting powerplay at the start of the 32nd over, 102 runs came off the last nine overs of the Somerset innings. Hildreth made 68 before deflecting Chris Tremlett straight to Mark Ramprakash at short fine leg. In the next over, De Bruyn lost his off stump attempting to paddle sweep Tim Linley. The South African finished with 89 off 78 balls, including seven fours and two sixes.Peter Trego and Jos Butler then took their side past 300 with an unbeaten partnership of 24 in just 10 deliveries for the sixth wicket. Surrey lost Rory Hamilton-Brown in the first over of their reply, when the Lions’ skipper lobbed a catch to mid-off off the bowling of Alfonso Thomas. Five overs later, Steven Davies went for 25, caught low down at mid-on off Trego.Jason Roy had a let-off when he chopped a no-ball from De Bruyn onto his stumps in the seventh over. The resulting free-hit disappeared over long-on. But, four overs later, the 19-year-old, sweeping, was caught on the square-leg boundary.A leaden sky prompted the use of the floodlights. But Surrey’s hopes of pulling off a grandstand finish were extinguished when Murali Kartik had Ramprakash caught at long-on for 42 and Stewart Walters taken behind by Kieswetter for a first-ball duck to make it 110 for five with 22 overs remaining. Spriegel contributed a valiant 53 from 59 balls as Surrey were dismissed for 209, with Kartik taking three for 40.

Jesse Ryder has added another chapter to his troubled career after being fined for “intoxicated and rowdy” behaviour at a hotel during an indoor cricket tournament in the first week of July. Ryder, who is currently out of the New Zealand side with an elbow injury, admitted to a serious misconduct charge but is expected to be available for the tour of Bangladesh in September.”I accept that being intoxicated and rowdy during the night put me in a position where I put New Zealand Cricket and my own reputation at risk and I accept this is not tolerable,” Ryder said in a letter to New Zealand Cricket. “The potential consequences of this event have distressed me over the last few weeks.”Ryder said he had apologised to the hotel for his behaviour after a noise complaint was lodged. He had been staying there with his indoor cricket team.”I have put a lot of time into working out a plan to prevent me being in this position again,” he said. “I am committed to making the right changes in my life as I really want a long career as a professional cricket player. I’ve had enough of getting into this sort of trouble and bringing attention to myself.”The most serious of Ryder’s indiscretions came in 2008 when he put his right hand through a glass window during a late-night session at a Christchurch bar. Early last year he gave up alcohol after another incident.”I know the changes I am making do not dismiss the misconduct issue, however I am fully committed to [New Zealand] and I am committed to doing what is necessary to be the best I can be,” he said. “I am grateful to NZC for sticking by me and I want to thank them by performing for many years to come.”Geoff Allott, NZC’s general manger of cricket, said the matter was viewed “very seriously”. “NZC is extremely disappointed in this breach of trust and protocol by Jesse,” he said. “We have seen some positive progress from Jesse in recent times, which makes this incident even more disappointing. Jesse has been fined in line with our serious misconduct provisions and clearly understands we will not tolerate a repetition of this type of behaviour.” He gave Ryder credit for letting NZC know about the incident.Allott told the that although NZC were aware of the incident before Ryder’s fitness test on July 21, which ruled him out of the Sri Lanka tri-series, the issue had “no influence on the decision to keep him back from Sri Lanka”.

ScorecardAndre Adams struck vital late blows for Nottinghamshire•Getty Images

All was going well for Lancashire until the weather, which they customarily regard as the enemy at this time of year, exposed suspect concentration with a capricious burst of late-evening sunshine.Given that rain has been the bane of many a fallen title challenge, there was some irony in this. It looked like some might be coming when, a little before six o’clock, clouds rolled across the sun and the umpires ushered the players off for bad light, at which point only seven overs of the day’s schedule remained.But the clouds parted again, requiring the not-out batsmen to refocus when perhaps they were winding down. It was a sunny interlude of the briefest kind, lasting only four overs, but it was time enough for Nottinghamshire to claim three wickets and for Lancashire, who had been sitting pretty, it seemed, on 291 for 3, to stumble to 300 for 6.The three damaging blows were landed in the space of eight deliveries as Ryan Sidebottom, who had belatedly begun to find some swing before the stoppage to stop Shivnarine Chanderpaul eight short of a hundred, supplemented his gains by having Steven Croft caught at third slip, chasing a ball that moved away.Nightwatchman Gary Keedy was hastened to the middle to protect Mark Chilton, who had shared a partnership of 151 with Chanderpaul. But he was leg before to Andre Adams, who had Gareth Cross caught at first slip off the next ball. It was a just finish for Adams, who had been the best of Nottinghamshire’s bowlers and starts day two on a hat-trick.Chanderpaul was on the winning side as Durham beat Nottinghamshire by an innings at Chester-le-Street last September, one of four players to make centuries as the home side secured the victory that enabled them to retain the Championship.Awkward, ugly and no more ready to give his wicket away cheaply, the West Indian continued where he left off, in a manner of speaking, and while he fell short of another three-figure innings he has already made an impact in a match that, given a positive result, will significantly influence this year’s title race in one way or another.For the leaders, Nottinghamshire, it is the match in which they must maintain their momentum despite having managed, unfortunately, to leave themselves with no overseas player. For Lancashire, it is the fixture that will probably determine whether they are still in the running.Nottinghamshire’s hiatus has occurred because David Hussey has returned to his state side, Victoria, in readiness for the Champions League and his replacement, the Western Australian Adam Voges, could not obtain a visa in time to take on Lancashire, although he will be able to play in their final three fixtures.It may or may not be significant that the last time Nottinghamshire did not field an overseas player, after Hashim Amla rejoined South Africa and before Hussey arrived, they lost at home to Hampshire and were spared a defeat against Essex largely because of time lost to rain.”There are a lot of good batsmen in our side and it’s important they stand up and be counted,” Mick Newell, their director of cricket, said.They will have the chance later. Lancashire won the toss and chose to bat first, despite being presented with a pitch as green as any seen at Trent Bridge this year. The attraction was the short boundary on the Bridgford Road side of the ground, so close that a firm push towards the new stand could easily bring four runs.In the event, despite a lot of rain here in the last few days, the pitch was dry and held few terrors for the batsmen, save for the odd ball that kept low. Lancashire, despite their flap at the end, for the most part looked as though they will not be beaten easily, as has been their strength all season.Their top four all made half-centuries. Chanderpaul was typically steadfast, his stance so square his feet were at much the same angle to the bowler as the wicketkeeper, and mightily effective. Chilton, after one early and expensive (for Nottinghamshire) let-off, was equally resistant, if not quite so productive.With the exception of Adams, who has emerged, in his unfussy way, as Nottinghamshire’s bowler of the season, the home attack for much of the day did not perform. Darren Pattinson had as many no-balls, wides and four-balls in his repertoire as potentially wicket-taking deliveries, although he did produce one to have Chanderpaul at least momentarily in trouble, spitting off a length and forcing him to fend it away with difficulty.Dropped catches did not help. Steven Mullaney, facing his former county, put down Tom Smith on 41 and Chilton on one in consecutive Adams overs.The Kiwi did claim Paul Horton leg before, his 46th wicket of the season, while Sidebottom had Smith caught at first slip, but until Chanderpaul departed at 280 for 3, having looked set for his third century in five first-class matches, it was Lancashire’s day.

Match facts

Wednesday, September 22
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)Davey Jacobs has been in top form for Warriors•AFP

Big Picture

First up the basics: Chennai Super Kings need to win to have any chance of progressing to the semi-finals, while Warriors can make it even if they lose by a small margin. For example, if they are chasing 160, they can afford to lose by no more than 27 runs, while if Warriors score 160 batting first, they’ll have to ensure Chennai take at least 16.4 overs to reach their target.
The presence of two weak teams – Wayamba and Central Districts – in Group A means there’s a chance that a side can get knocked out from the Champions League for losing only one game in the tournament. Warriors have won all their matches so far, but a big defeat against Chennai Super Kings will mean there will be no home teams in the semi-finals. Similarly, Victoria have swept all before them after flopping in their opening game, but still have to nervously watch the Warriors-Chennai match to know their fate.The superb form of Warriors’ captain and opener, Davey Jacobs, is one reason why they are best-placed to progress but the top-order’s effectiveness has hidden a potential weakness – a shallow middle order. Johan Botha looks to be playing a position too high at No. 6 but Jacobs wasn’t too concerned by it. “We have Nicky Boje, who comes after Botha, and has scored couple of ODI hundreds,” Jacobs said. “So I am very confident about my team’s batting. We have done everything we could to get here. We shall continue to do those basics.”For Chennai, the department to worry about is probably the bowling. While they have two world-class performers in Doug Bollinger and Muttiah Muralitharan, their local bowlers, medium-pacer L Balaji and offspinner R Ashwin, need to bounce back from the pasting they received in the previous match.

Team news

One decision Chennai will have to make is regarding which Australian batsman to pick: Matthew Hayden was out of touch in his two outings in the tournament, while Michael Hussey scored at less than run-a-ball against Victoria. Albie Morkel’s fitness is also a source of worry.Chennai Super Kings (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Matthew Hayden / Michael Hussey, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 S Anirudha, 7 Albie Morkel / Justin Kemp, 8 Doug Bollinger, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 L Balaji.Justin Kreusch has had little to do with bat or ball in the previous two matches but his ability to bat should win him a place in a team with a longish tail. Warriors may also toy with the idea of playing Garnett Kruger in place of one of the three frontline quicks.Warriors (probable): 1 Davey Jacobs (capt), 2 Ashwell Prince, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 Craig Thyssen, 5 Mark Boucher (wk), 6 Johan Botha, 7 Justin Kreusch, 8 Nicky Boje, 9 Rusty Theron, 10 Makhaya Ntini, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Watch out for …

Colin Ingram will be celebrating his maiden call-up to the South African team, a reward for topping the run-charts in the Pro20 to lead the Warriors to the title. He has been off-colour in the Champions League, and Wednesday’s crunch match could be the one where he shows off his talent to a wider audience.As the leading run-getter after three seasons of the IPL, Suresh Raina’s importance to Chennai as a batsman is well-known. Against Victoria on Saturday, he showcased his talents as a spinner, taking four wickets and was even entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the tense final over of a tight game.

Key contests

Jacobs v Bollinger: Jacobs’ big-hitting has been pivotal to Warriors’ three consecutive wins, and he has also boldly spoken of how important he can be to South Africa in the Twenty20 format. He has been overlooked for South Africa’s Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. A confident performance against Bollinger, an in-form quick bowler in a high-pressure match, will give the selectors another reminder of his ability.
Makhaya Ntini v Chennai: From being one of the world’s leading bowlers, Ntini has regressed so much that not only does he not get a much of a look-in for South Africa these days, even his IPL team hasn’t given him an opportunity in two seasons. Wednesday’s match will be a chance for him to show Chennai what they are missing.

Stats and trivia

• The match features the two most economical bowlers (minimum five overs) of the tournament: Johan Botha (4.83) and Muttiah Muralitharan (5.38)
• Albie Morkel is mostly known in Twenty20s for his big-hitting lower down the order. With 104 wickets, he is also the second-highest wicket-taker in the format, behind Dirk Nannes

Offspinner K Gowtham’s 3 for 25 restricted Bijapur Bulls to 130 for 8 which the Malnad Gladiators chased down with five wickets to spare in Bangalore.Though Devraj Patil top-scored with 47 off 39 deliveries, he fell to Gowtham in the 17th over to leave Bijapur at 90 for 5. Some late hitting from Jayprakash Shetty and Ravi Kane took their team to 130.Wicketkeeper Chandrushekar Avinash anchored the Malnad chase with an unbeaten 45 off 46. Fittingly, Gowtham smashed the winning runs, remaining unbeaten on 12 off six balls as Malnad won with four balls remaining. Stuart Binny took 2 for 27 for Bijapur.While Bijapur failed to defend 130, Mysore Maharaajas stifled Bangalore Brigadiers to defend the same total by five runs in Bangalore.Offspinner C Raghu’s 2 for 14 kept things tight as the asking rate mounted for Brigadiers. The pressure got to them as they lost regular wickets in the latter half of their innings. With eight needed from nine, Adithya Sagar sent back Munikrishna Vinod who had made 24 off 12 deliveries till then. Nikhil Kashyap was run out in the last over as Brigadiers finished on 125 for 7.Chethan William, the Mysore captain, had earlier top-scored with 37 off 33. However, from 112 for 3, his side lost five wickets for six runs in two overs to end up on 130 for 8 after having looked set for a bigger score.

ScorecardRanadeb Bose finished with four wickets as Bengal won first-innings points against Delhi•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A drawn Ranji Trophy match is usually an exercise in tedium, especially if a television screen close by is showing Virender Sehwag carving up slices of Motera as though it was pizza. Hundreds of kilometers away from Ahmedabad, at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi and Bengal were engaged in a bitter tussle for the better part of a day. While the contest wasn’t gripping, it was between equals. The game was eventually and predictably drawn and it was the unfashionable Bengal team that left Delhi with bruised ego, limb and three points from their Ranji Trophy season opener.Delhi fell 14 runs short of the solace of first-innings points, bowled out for 459 in reply to Bengal’s 473. It was the pursuit which made the cricket watchable. Ranadeb Bose and Ashok Dinda were like determined denists, trying to extract pace and bounce off a wicket as though it were a stubborn tooth. When the wicketkeeper let a few byes go, when fielders over-ran the ball, when singles were conceded, and even when catches were dropped, they refused to flag.Bose had two dropped off his bowling, both equally significant in the moment. Virat Kohli went on to score 93 more after being dropped on 74 on Wednesday. Overnight batsman Sumit Narwal had turned into the attacker in a dangerous century partnership with Rajat Bhatia for the seventh wicket, and was dropped on 47, by Sreevats Goswami at gully. Delhi then, were only 83 behind.Bose and Dinda didn’t give up, though, running in and trying to hurry the batsmen. Dinda hit Bhatia and No. 11 Parwinder Awana with bouncers and gave no concessions after causing damage. He bowled Bhatia, who tried to guide to third man, just before lunch. Delhi were less than 50 behind the Bengal total at the break but Narwal’s departure just after, led to a brain fade, particularly after Nanda’s wicket.Pradeep Sangwan took singles and even went for his shots but Awana was struggling, his arm immobile because of Dinda’s bouncer. An hour after lunch, he cracked and tried to drive Bose extravagantly. The thin edge drew first slip Anushtup Majumdar off his feet into the air, moving left and backwards, tumbling to grab a one-handed stunner. Awana walked, Bengal were joyous around Bose and the electrified fielder. Former Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya walked out of his commentary box laughing at one of the moments that make even dreary first-class games memorable. “All of this tussle, for three points,” he said.Delhi dropped points and Bengal spent the rest of the afternoon pottering around to reach 92 for 3. The home side will grumble about the wicket because it didn’t assist their quick bowlers with generous sprinklings of grass but Bose, who took 3 for 29 in an unbroken second spell of 11.1 overs, put it into perspective.”You have to be disciplined, you have to be patient and expect that no matter what, something is going to happen. Bowlers in the subcontinent can’t complain about wickets any more. You have to expect it.”Bose said what kept him going was on his T-shirt: no slogans from sponsors but Jim Morrison & the Doors. “I’m a fast bowler who thinks like a spinner and I love bowling long spells of seven-eight overs. As long as I’m fit and not hurting, I love bowling. I can bowl 12-13 overs in a row.”Bengal now play Mumbai at home from November 10 to 13. Delhi travel to Chennai for their second-round match against Tamil Nadu. Coach Manoj Prabhakar has asked the selectors to beef up the team’s spin department, because legspinner Chetanya Nanda has a knee injury. Mithun Manhas, the captain, said the game had produced a “lot of disappointment” and a reworking of the combination was bound to happen. When they return home, they will decide on whether the “unresponsive” Kotla pitch will be a part of the remodeling.

What was originally a hastily taken decision proved to be a lifeline for a number of cricketers as this season’s NCL one-day version brought out the best in the World Cup hopefuls. The competition only got going after the weather had conspired to put the first class tournament off track after just one completed round of matches. The BCB then decided that in the interest of preparation for the World Cup, the four-dayers would be put on hold and the limited overs matches finished within a three-week period. Eventually, it was the overall class of Dhaka that triumphed in the final against a spirited Barisal. When curtains fell it was the lasting memories of an exhilarating climax with four teams neck and neck going into the final round, and the continuous domination of national team players that stood out.Phase 1 – Round 4With the 20 top players unavailable for this round because of a preparation camp for Zimbabwe’s tour next month, the runs suddenly dried up. Dhaka collapsed against the steady Barisal attack at Mirpur, and were all out for 170 with Mehrab Hossain Jr. making 59. With such a paltry target unbeaten Barisal must have fancied a fourth straight win, but veteran Mohammad Sharif took a wicket in each of his first three overs, finishing with five for 20, while legspinner Nur Hossain nipped out the middle-order, taking three for 22, as Barisal were shot out for 136.Plagued by injuries to key players and short on spirit, Sylhet were already out of contention for a second phase spot. In a game reduced to 45 overs due to rain at Bogra, they were scuttled for 94 by a ruthless Rajshahi, who won by ten wickets, with makeshift opener Farhad Reza hitting an unbeaten 77.In another rain-shortened match, Chittagong could manage only 121 for eight in 23 overs against Khulna at Rajshahi. At 106 for 8 in the 21st over, Khulna appeared to have made a hash of the chase, before Ziaur Rahman (24 not out) carried them home. With four teams moving into the second phase, Chittagong’s chances evaporated with this loss.Phase 1 – Round 5With qualification more or less ensured for both, the Barisal v Rajshahi clash at Mirpur was more about regional pride. Rajshahi’s innings never took off as they laboured to 221 for nine. Anisur Rahman top scored with 61. Once again Barisal’s bowlers all chipped in. When they batted, openers Hannan Sarker (58) and find-of-the-season Fazl-e-Rabbi (50) promised a hammering for Rajshahi, but once they got out the bowlers tightened the noose, and it took a boundary off the last ball by Arafat Salauddin to ensure victory by three wickets.Paceman Mahbubul Alam blew Khulna away with four wickets in his two opening overs, and despite half centuries from Tushar Imran (53) and Sahagir Hossain (54), the total of 170 was never really going to challenge Dhaka, who crossed the target in the 36.5 overs with six wickets in hand. The big-hitting Anamul Hoque was unbeaten on 64.In the contest of no-hopers, Chittagong finally gave a batting performance where all key men contributed. Nafis Iqbal hit 69, Faisal Hossain 58 and Aftab Ahmed struck 52 in their total of 251 for seven at Rajshahi. After his effort with the bat, Faisal proved even more destructive with the ball as his left-arm spin claimed five for 28. Sylhet went down by 121 runs.Phase 2 – Round 1As the stars returned after a two-round break, so did quality. Mohammad Ashraful’s chanceless 111 not out off 103 balls and Uttam Sarker’s 66 took Dhaka to a seemingly comfortable 271 for six against Khulna at Mirpur. Imrul Kayes (108) and Mohammad Mithun (59), however, kept Khulna in the game with a 140-run stand for the second wicket. When the last power play was on, Ziaur Rahman did what he does best and his unconquered 41-ball 42 saw Khulna home with four balls and four wickets in hand.Mohammad Ashraful was Dhaka’s batting linchpin and earned the player-of-the-tournament award•BCB Media

With Dhaka losing, Barisal had the chance to go atop the points chart at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium. With leading batsman Roqibul Hassan out with a groin injury, Fazl-e-Rabbi gave them the single-innings inspiration they needed as he batted the entire 50 overs in a run-a-ball knock of 148 that had 16 fours and two sixes. Nasiruddin Faruque gave good support with 68. For Rajshahi wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim had put his side on course by sharing 45 for the eighth wicket with Mohammad Sohrawordi. But when Sohrawordi perished for a quick 32 off 25, and Rahim followed an over later for 114, Rajshahi wound up eight runs shortPhase 2 – Round 2The world’s number one allrounder Shakib Al Hasan hasn’t been as awe-inspiring in domestic cricket. But against Barisal he was his usual self. Having taken three for 34 to restrict them to 213 for eight, Shakib was also influential in the chase, making 35, but it was Nazmus Sadat’s 71 that eased the nerves as Khulna secured a three-wicket victory. The win allowed Khulna to keep their hopes of a top-two finish alive.Rajshahi powered to 276 for 8 on the back of Shabbir Rahman’s 74 and Zunaed Siddique’s 60 against Dhaka who floundered against the slow bowlers and were bundled out for 197.The results in this round meant that three teams – Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna were on eight points going into the last round. Barisal were on 10 points, but all four sides were still fighting for a place in the final.Phase 2 – Round 3Khulna were the first team to be omitted from the race to reach the final when they were thrashed by Rajshahi at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium. Mohammad Mithun’s 54 was their only innings of substance, as Khulna crashed to 118. Rajshahi were convincing winners by six wickets, with Siddique making 47.With 10 points and level with Barisal, Rajshahi’s eyes were now on the happenings at Mirpur where Dhaka made a fighting 242. Shamsur Rahman and Shuvagata Hom both scored 54. A loss for Dhaka would have given Rajshahi a berth in the final, but Barisal’s usual tenacity with the bat went missing in this match as they lost the plot and went down by 79 runs. As three sides had 10 points, it was then left to the tournament laws to ascertain that by virtue of head-to-head results Dhaka and Barisal were the finalists.The FinalDrama preceded the final with Barisal’s prolific opener Nasiruddin Faruque getting suspended for the match for showing dissent and abusing the umpires in the game before. Then it was learned that Tamim Iqbal, who had recovered from hand surgery but has not featured in a competitive match for months, had sought a no-objection certificate from his home division Chittagong to play in the final for Dhaka. In the end though, Chittagong decided against giving the NOC as that would have robbed them of their prized batsman for the four-day games later on.Barisal opted to bat, but failed to get a decent run-rate going even though they had wickets in hand. With the openers departing inside 15 overs, Asif Ahmed (48) and Shahin Hossain (40) dug deep but it was left to a 19-ball 35 from Ariful Haque to get them past 200. Fast bowler Shahadat Hossain, another Bangladesh player desperate to impress the selectors with the World Cup clock ticking, returned figures of four for 39 to follow up his three for 23 in the previous game. Set 222 to win Dhaka had five of their top six back in the dressing room with the score on 79 at the half-way point. However, Mahmudullah and Elias Sunny kept their cool and dealt mainly in singles and twos, with the occasional boundary thrown in. Mahmudullah fell for 53 but Sunny, who is more renowned as a left-arm spinner, continued batting like a man possessed. With the lights fading, Sunny found the extra cover boundary off three consecutive balls to seal a third one-day version title for Dhaka.PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT – Mohammad Ashraful (Dhaka)With a hundred, two fifties and a couple of decent cameos, Ashraful was Dhaka’s batting mainstay and for a change thrived in that role consistently. He also backed himself with the ball and made breakthroughs when his team needed them. More than anything it was his calmness at the crease that warmed the heart of his admirers. When he is in that frame of mind it is very difficult to dislodge him and majority of his innings were chanceless.FIND OF THE TOURNAMENT – Fazl-e-Rabbi (Barisal)Only batsman in the competition to score two hundreds and the only man apart from national team players to make a century. With a stand-and-deliver style that brought out a comparison with Chris Gayle from former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud, the left-hander impressed everyone with his aggression and hand-eye coordination. He only took the game seriously in 2005 and had never batted for 50 overs before his epic 148 against Rajshahi. The fact that he is local product of Barisal, where the infrastructure is still in its infancy, and had never received any specialized coaching, speaks a lot about the perseverance and talent of this lad.

Sri Lanka and West Indies have both named squads identical to their World Cup ones for the three-ODI series they will play from January 31. All three games will be played at the SSC in Colombo. The series is the last international assignment for both teams in the lead-up to the tournament, which begins on February 19.West Indies will play two warm-up games in Sri Lanka at the end of the one-dayers after which they head to India and Bangladesh for the World Cup group games.Sri Lanka squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Carlton Baugh (wk), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Adrian Barath.

Scorecard
A disciplined team performance helped India women beat West Indies women in the first Twenty20 by a comfortable six-wicket margin in Ahmedabad. Chasing 90 for victory, India got home with 16 balls to spare, going 1-0 up in the three-match series.Though there was no stand-out performer for the hosts, most batsmen chipped in, contributing to the victory in what was the first-ever Twenty20 between the two sides. West Indies’ new-ball bowler Stafanie Taylor got India opener Poonam Raut early, while her partner Rumeli Dhar was run out for 15. But the next three batsmen – Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur and Priyanka Roy – posted 20s to steer India to victory.It was all about teamwork when India bowled as well, as the wickets were shared around, with only skipper Jhulan Goswami being responsible for more than a single dismissal. She effectively dismissed three batsmen, getting Stacy-Ann King run out off a direct hit without facing a ball in addition to two bowling successes. Only No. 3 batsman Shanel Daley displayed some amount of resistance, scoring 35 off 51 balls. Despite her efforts, West Indies finished on a total of which proved inadequate.The second match will be played on Saturday at the same venue.