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Sanjay Patel, the newly appointed BCCI secretary, has said the Indian Premier League has a place in cricket despite the recent arrests and allegations relating to spot-fixing and betting.”IPL is here to stay. There are external problems in the league and we are going to address each and every element before next year,” Patel told the . “Jagmohan Dalmiya (the interim BCCI president) is known to take tough steps and with so many senior officials around, I don’t think these recent events can stall the league. Cricket is bigger than individuals.”India fast bowler Sreesanth and his Rajasthan Royals team-mates Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested for alleged indulgence in spot-fixing and consequently suspended by the BCCI. Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of the then BCCI president N Srinivasan and a top management official of the Chennai Super Kings, was arrested on charges of betting, fraud and forgery and Raj Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals confessed to betting as well. Treasurer Ajay Shirke, secretary Sanjay Jagdale and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla resigned from their posts and Srinivasan temporarily stepped aside as president at a BCCI Working Committee meeting in Chennai, until a two-man independent committee reached a verdict on Meiyappan and Kundra’s transgressions.”We will initiate a stricter code of conduct for the cricketers.” said Patel, who is joint secretary of the Baroda Cricket Association and member of the IPL governing council. “We stopped the after-match parties a long time ago. The BCCI had nothing to do with the get together that was happening during the IPL season. The BCCI can’t allow anything that is tarnishing the image of the league.”He also directed attention to other aspects of the BCCI and Indian cricket. “Apart from the IPL, everything in the board is functioning well. Our cricket team is doing well in England and there are no worries with the day-to-day working of the board. There is also a probe committee which is looking into the IPL.”The committee’s decision is likely to be announced after the Working Committee meeting in New Delhi on June 10.

ScorecardSimon Katich, pictured playing for Hampshire, scored his first century for Lancashire•PA Photos

Simon Katich scored his first century of the season, and his first for his new club, to guide Lancashire close to Essex’s first innings score with wickets in hand.Lancashire have the luxury of two left-handed batsmen who between them have 122 Test caps and just short of 35,000 first class runs. Ashwell Prince and Katich batted together for 33 overs and put on 110 runs just when the Lancashire innings was looking a little wobbly. The value of their partnership was underlined by the fact that after it ended their side lost five wickets for 57 runs as, while Katich continued on his way, there was a mini-collapse at the other end.It took little time for Lancashire to finish off the Essex innings in the morning. Glen Chapple had bowled beautifully on the first day with little reward but he mopped up the remaining two wickets for the addition of just five runs.Luis Reece, making his County Championship debut, lost his opening partner, Luke Procter, early but set off confidently and his 24 runs contained five boundaries. He was undone when Graham Napier entered the attack. He survived a very confident appeal for a catch behind but two balls later there was no doubt when he edged to second slip.This brought Katich and Prince together, men of contrasting physical stature and batting style. Katich stands tall and straight, and was particularly impressive driving through the off side. The shorter Prince was nimble on his feet and, while looking to get on the front foot, was severe on the short ball. He was missed twice off David Masters, first by Ryan ten Doeschate in the gully, then by Tom Westley at second slip on 49. Off the next ball he survived a huge lbw appeal, then a ball later he had his 50. Masters finally got his man when Prince edged to James Foster.Once he had gone the Essex bowlers took their chance to make more inroads into the innings, though they did have some help from a couple of the Lancashire batsmen. Andrea Agathangelou was skittled by a ball that stayed a little low, and Steven Croft edged to the wicketkeeper. Gareth Cross and Wayne White’s wickets were virtual carbon copies of each other: Reece Topley bowls, the batsman top edges the pull, and Saj Mahmood takes the skier at mid-off.Katich has previous first-class scores of 84, 93, 65 and 96 this season and looked determined to convert another good start into a century. He went to tea on 66 and in the first over afterwards lofted a drive narrowly over mid-off; it was the only time he looked remotely like being out. His hundred came up off 166 balls with 12 boundaries.There wasn’t quite a full day’s worth of play; six overs were lost to bad light. But there is still plenty of time for a result in a match that is very intriguingly poised.

Alice Springs will host an international cricket team for the first time in 13 years after Cricket Australia announced England would play a tour match there during the 2013-14 Ashes. Traeger Park is set to host a two-day game between England and the Cricket Australia’s Chairman’s XI on November 29 and 30 after the original venue, Manuka Oval in Canberra, had to withdraw due to scheduled resurfacing work.The last time an international team played in Alice Springs was when the West Indies side led by Jimmy Adams played a one-day match there against a Northern Territory Cricket Association Invitation XI in November 2000. The England game will take place after the first Ashes Test in Brisbane and before the second Test at Adelaide Oval.”When we were informed that Canberra could not host this year’s Chairman’s XI fixture, we wanted to bring the match to an iconic part of Australia,” Andrew Ingleton, CA’s executive general manager of game and market development, said. “Alice Springs, set against the backdrop of the MacDonnell Ranges, is an iconic part of our great country and an ideal setting for the game.”Matt Conlan, the Northern Territory’s minister for sport and recreation, said it was exciting for the territory to be part of the Ashes battle.”The Ashes is one of the biggest events in Australian sport and for Alice Springs to have a slice of the action in between the first and second Tests of this highly anticipated series is incredibly exciting,” he said. “It’s been 13 years since Traeger Park hosted an international cricket team and I’m delighted this drought we now be broken in November.”

Kings XI Punjab 157 for 9 (Gony 42, Mandeep 41, Kallis 3-24, Narine 3-33, Senanayake 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 153 for 9 (Gambhir 60, Morgan 47, Mahmood 3-21, Praveen 2-26) by 4 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsManpreet Gony: pirate of the Punjab•BCCI

Kolkata Knight Riders dominated possession for about 80% of the match, but conceded goals in the last few minutes of either half. Playing his first match of this IPL, Manpreet Gony won Kings XI Punjab this game out of nowhere. The hosts were dead and buried reeling under a Sunil Narine hat-trick when Gony walked out to bat, but his 18-ball 42 gave Kings XI a target to bowl to. Still, Gautam Gambhir and Eoin Morgan were cruising home when Gony came back for his second spell, but those three overs for six runs – two of them wides – and the wicket of Gambhir caused enough panic for Knight Riders to crumble.Forget the unfathomable – in Twenty20 – spin of Sunil Narine and Sachithra Senanayake, which got Knight Riders the four big wickets of Kings XI’s overseas batsmen for just 13 runs off 15 balls, it was the Indian domestic batsmen’s ineptitude against the bouncer that proved to be the decider. Kings XI lost four of their batsmen to balls pitched short, but crucially, Knight Riders’ Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan were deers in headlights when confronted with accurate bouncers.When Tiwary came out to bat at the fall of Gambhir for a third straight half-century, Knight Riders needed only 52 off 41 with seven wickets in hand. Gony bounced him again and again, and it got uglier and uglier for Tiwary as he faced seven balls for one run, slogged at more than half of them, and left Knight Riders stuck. Yusuf wasn’t much better, except that he lasted longer, and managed a top edge over the keeper in his 13 off 16.The crucial difference between the two innings was that Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra of Kings XI had scored some runs – Mandeep managed a crucial 41 – before they were bounced. And when bounced, they didn’t waste balls, and got out. Tiwary and Yusuf couldn’t get out, and suddenly Knight Riders needed 30 off the last two overs. The problem for Kings XI was that they had run out of the overs from Azhar Mahmood, who took three wickets including that of Jacques Kallis and Morgan.Kings XI had to bowl Parvinder Awana, and they did so in the 19th over. His Delhi team-mate, Rajat Bhatia, got stuck into him, and his two sixes brought it down to 11 off seven. Awana, though, had his own back as he beat Bhatia on the pull and bowled him top of middle and leg before signing off.The canny Praveen Kumar had to bowl the crucial last over, and he nearly lost it with a huge wide down the leg side. Adam Gilchrist might be having a horror tournament with the bat, but dived full length to his left to save four runs. The game kept alive, Praveen bowled a superb final over, making sure that he was about a foot behind the front line for every ball. Whoever says he is not mentally fit for cricket is way off the mark.

ScorecardWest Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira’s unbeaten 34 helped the team clinch a narrow two-wicket win off the last ball against Sri Lanka in the first of the three Twenty20s. In a match in which only four batsmen got into double-digits scores, Aguilleira’s innings turned out to be the difference.Sri Lanka chose to bat, but were in trouble soon as they lost their top five with only 39 on the board. They struggled the most against Shakera Selman, who had figures of 2 for 14, and Shanel Daley, who didn’t get a wicket but gave away only 10 runs in her four overs. Only two of Sri Lanka’s batsmen – Eshani Kaushalya and Dilani Manodara – got into double figures and helped the team crawl to 87.West Indies’ innings followed the same pattern as Sri Lanka’s for the most part. They were reduced to 27 for 4 after Kaushalya picked three wickets in her first three overs. Stafanie Taylor scored a vital 25 and when she was out with 29 runs still needed, the match hung in balance. Aguilleira saw three more wickets go down at the other end, but held her end and hit a boundary off the last ball when they required two runs.

Worcestershire have signed Sri Lanka middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera for the 2013 county season. Since his Test debut in 2001, he has gone on to play 81 Tests for Sri Lanka, the latest being the New Year’s Test at the SCG. He has an impressive average of 48.76, though he was less consistent last year than the four years before that.”Playing county cricket has been one of my long term career ambitions,” Samaraweera said in a release issued by the county. “I am extremely grateful to Steve Rhodes and Worcestershire CCC for giving me the opportunity to fulfill this ambition and I look forward to repaying this faith by making significant contributions on the field this season. I can’t wait to arrive in April and get started with the boys and pull on the Worcestershire shirt for the first time.”Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “We have been searching for an overseas batsman once we realised that Phil Hughes was not going to be available. Thilan’s record of a batting average of 48 in Test cricket speaks volumes for his ability with the bat. His wealth of experience is a big boost for the squad in general, but particularly our young talented batsmen who will benefit from his wily words of wisdom.”

Haroon Lorgat, the former ICC chief executive who is an advisor to the Pakistan Super League (PSL), has said FICA’s warning to players not to travel to Pakistan because of security concerns could adversely impact the tournament. Lorgat, however, said the reality of the ground situation in Lahore was different from common perceptions.”It’s unfortunate, there are many players who will be undecided and when a statement is negative, it doesn’t help,” Lorgat said of FICA’s comments. “It doesn’t help the confidence of some players. Fortunately there are many who have already committed and who are confident … they trust the assurance given by the PCB.”I think the statement is not against the PSL, it’s about the safety situation in Pakistan. While we understand that sort of a statement from the players association, I don’t think we necessarily agree with it. Here I’m sitting again, in Lahore, and I understand the situation on the ground in Lahore. There’s been a very good response across the globe by broadcasters who are keen and interested, and who are currently studying the detailed document. We are confident the league will happen on March 26. There’s a lot of interest from players as well. We know what the challenges are, it’s reality, but we will overcome those challenges.”Tim May, the FICA chief, had said most cricketers would heed the advice not to travel to Pakistan. “The security consultants came back and said that the risk of touring Pakistan in a cricketing sense is unmanageable,” he said. “I haven’t spoken directly to any players but the feedback we are getting from player associations throughout the world is that players are very appreciative and understanding of the advice. We can’t force the players not to go but I think you’ll find the majority, if not all, of current international cricketers will heed that advice and, unfortunately for Pakistan, not participate in this event this year.”The PCB said it did not recognise FICA and would not enter into discussions with them, dealing directly with the member boards instead. However, the Pakistan board did not reveal which foreign players had expressed interest in the PSL and said they would make an announcement once the pool was ready.”Our stated position on FICA is very clear, we don’t recognise them, so when we don’t endorse them it makes no sense to go into discussions with them at any level,” PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed said. “As far as we are concerned we have no direct relationship with FICA.”ICC’s defined process is very clear, whether a player is approached directly or through the board, we have approached various boards but obviously without NOC we will not allow players to come. We have written to various boards and we are confident that players will come to the league.”The PCB has not announced a venue for the PSL but ESPNcricinfo has learned the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is one of the leading options and that the board is already in talks with the Punjab government regarding security. The PCB has also engaged an independent security agency to assist in the arrangements.Pakistan has not hosted international cricket since terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009. Since then they have had to play their ‘home’ matches at offshore venues such as England and the UAE.

ScorecardA 12-wicket match haul from left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz, including a hat-trick, and a strong batting performance led Lahore Shalimar to a ten-wicket victory over Lahore Ravi in the first round of the Super Eights in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. Riaz took nine wickets in the first innings as Ravi were shot out for 153, and took three wickets in their second dig, when Ravi faced an innings defeat after a 169-run first-innings deficit. Some resolve by their batsmen, however, helped them set a target of 87, which Shalimar overhauled on the final day without the loss of a wicket.Ravi’s openers started positively when they batted first, putting on 70, before Riaz had them struggling at 124 for 9. Riaz’s performance was backed up by half-centuries from Shalimar’s opener Imran Butt, Umar Akmal and his brother Kamran, which strengthened their grip on the contest.Ravi’s openers scored half-centuries to help erase their deficit, but no other batsman scored beyond 25 as Ravi were bowled out for 255. Shalimar’s Imam-ul-Haq scored an unbeaten 52 to help seal the victory.
ScorecardCenturies from Shoaib Ahmed and Babar Naeem helped Rawalpindi gain three points against Islamabad in a drawn game. The first day being washed out stole valuable time from the game, and by the end of the third day, when Islamabad scored 123 for 3, the possibility of an outright result was virtually over.After being put in to bat, Rawalpindi lost three quick wickets to be struggling at 42 for 3, before a 177-run stand between Shoaib and Naeem helped them recover. Although wickets fell regularly thereafter, a knock of 59 from Sohail Tanvir helped them get past 350. Islamabad, in reply, stuttered throughout their innings, as besides opener Raheel Majeed, who scored 78, and Imad Wasim, no one put up much resistance. Tanvir and seamer Hammad Azam shared seven wickets between them.With the lead being secured, the rest of the match didn’t have much relevance. Umar Amin scored a half-century to lead Rawalpindi to 187 for 4, before the match was drawn.
ScorecardIn Swabi, the first two days of the Bottom Six match was washed out but an all-round effort from Saeed Anwar jnr helped Multan clinch a first-innings lead and three points against Multan. Left-arm spinner Anwar took 5 for 14 off 14 overs to help bowl Abbottabad out for 131, and scored an unbeaten century as Multan reached a strong 220 for 4 on the final day, before the match was drawn.Abbottabad struggled after they were put in to bat as their top order flopped. No.7 Khalid Usman, who scored 30, was the top scorer as Anwar and fellow spinner Aamer Yamin took eight of their wickets. In reply, Multan lost the first wicket without a run being scored, before Zeeshan Ashraf, Yasir Butt and Anwar led the recovery.
ScorecardQuetta narrowly avoided defeat in the other game of the group of the six bottom teams, against Peshawar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium. With the first day being washed out, both teams forfeited their first-innings to try chase an outright result.A century from Nawaz Ahmed and an unbeaten half-century from Mohammad Rizwan took Peshawar to 322 for 7 on the third day. Opener Bismillah Khan, who scored 58, and No.3 Ali Asad, who scored a century, led Quetta’s strong reply before a collapse had them losing four wickets for 21 runs. But lack of time prevented Peshawar to get the final two wickets.

ScorecardNorth Zone players celebrate their victory over South Zone•Bangladesh Cricket Board

North Zone qualified for the Bangladesh Cricket League final after a 170-run win over South Zone in Mirpur. The game would have shaped into a thrilling finish but it tapered into a one-sided contest after the South Zone batsmen capitulated on the final morning.In fact, the game had been in North’s control after they had bowled out South for 205 runs in the first innings, taking a lead of 86 runs. Saqlain Sajib took 6 for 74, and the impressive left-arm spinner added four more in the second innings as South were skittled out for 278 runs.North had a better second innings than the first, with Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain contributing with eighties while Farhad Reza blasted an unbeaten 75. In the first innings, it was Sajidul Islam and Sanjamul Islam’s 127-run ninth wicket stand that gave North a total to bowl at after they had slipped to 125 for 8 on the first day.
ScorecardMarshall Ayub made the second highest score in Bangladesh first-class history when he made 289 in Central Zone’s drawn game against East Zone in Bogra, which also helped his team to the final of the competition against North Zone. But strikingly, Ayub is now part of the highest-ever partnership in the country by adding 494 runs for the fifth wicket with Mehrab Hossain jnr, the second highest of all-time fifth-wicket stands.Left-handed Mehrab also scored a double-hundred on the featherbed at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium but the pair joined at the crease after Central slipped to 56 for 4 in the 22nd over of their first innings. They slowly batted out the first day, and then the second before falling in the first session of the third day. Mehrab made 218 with 27 fours and two sixes while the right-handed Ayub struck 30 boundaries and four sixes in his 289.Ayub was also part of the 420-run partnership that this pair broke, and has also crossed the 1,000-run mark in first-class cricket this season. Mehrab too has been among the runs, making 500-plus in the National Cricket League and is now second behind Ayub in the scorers’ list in this tournament.Apart from individual records, Central got what they needed from this game – enough points – to make it to the final. East Zone’s first innings did not end as they made 396 for 8 on the final day with Faisal Hossain top-scoring with 92.The final of the tournament will be held after the Bangladesh Premier League concludes on February 19.

When Graeme Smith took his team home from Australia in the summer of 2005-06, he could not see a way to beat Ricky Ponting’s Invincibles. If you had told him then that seven years later, he would have had the better of Ponting twice he would not have believed it. After South Africa’s win in Perth, Smith had done just that and his satisfaction far outweighed any disbelief.”In 2005, it seemed a very long shot to be able to achieve this. I am extremely humbled,” he said. “I hope the people in Australia can respect what we have done and the way we have done it. For us, it means the world.”There are people in our set up that have taken many beatings at the hands of Australia. We know what is required to come here and be victorious. When we get on the plane, I will have a warm feeling to have been a part of something incredible and something special and to have been able to share with guys who have put in an immense amount of hard work behind the scenes to celebrate these moments.”The post-match party began in customary style, as the Australia team went over to the South Africa change-room to share a drink. The visitors, who were also the victors, stayed long after the hosts had left. After 8pm, the South Africa team made their way on to the field, bags and all, to have a celebratory photo session, which reminded team manager, Mohammed Moosajee, of their MCG revelries four years ago. As they walked out to the pitch where they had made history they were snapped along the way.In the privacy of the dressing room there may have been wilder festivities but in the open they were more restrained, even though there was no one but a few journalists watching while they worked. South Africa gathered together for a huddle and sang their team song. The lyrics haven’t been released but the essence of the anthem is about understanding what representing the country means. There might also have been a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ for Mark Boucher.In previous series wins, South Africa have held longer parties on field but this time it only lasted ten or so minutes. Then, they gathered their bags and walked off. Some of the team were able to get on a flight back home tonight, along with most of the management. The rest will follow tomorrow. Having spent almost half the year on the road, returning home has been a priority for the team throughout the year.This time, they go back having achieved more than ever before. The No. 1 ranking is secure and they have enjoyed a year during which they racked up a second successive series win in both England and Australia. That pattern is the “proudest achievement,” of Graeme Smith’s career – and surely every other member of the squad too. As a mark of how rare success in Australia is, consider that before today, only England and West Indies had recorded successive series victories in Australia.Winning in Australia is an achievement purely because of the quality of the opposition and their history of dominance. But for South Africa it is also how they won this series that stands out. “We had to scrap and adapt and our depth was tested,” Smith said. “At times, we didn’t bowl well. We hit our straps in this match and we got everything together. This was the performance that I have got used to in our guys over the years and it’s important not to take that for granted.”Now, Smith believes South Africa are on course to create their own period of hegemony. They have already overcome one of the toughest hurdles and with assignments against New Zealand and Pakistan to follow at home, they see an opportunity to hold on to the mace for longer than some of their predecessors have. “This series was going to be the challenge for us to give ourselves the opportunity to lengthen that gap [at the top of the rankings] and create that legacy,” Smith said.The era may have already begun. South Africa have played ten Tests in 2012, nine away, and have not lost one. “I am extremely proud to be a part of the last nine matches. For us to win back-to-back Test series in England and Australia is an immense effort. You just have to look back and see how long it took us to get here. Now to be able to take that and play in front of our home fans will be great.”