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ScorecardShandre Fritz broke the record for the highest score in women’s Twenty20 International cricket as South Africa won the second of their two matches•International Cricket Council

Pakistan slid to heavy defeat against Sri Lanka in one of the the first-round games from the ICC Women’s Cricket Twenty20 Challenge at the North-West University No. 2 Ground in Potchefstroom.After being asked to bat first, Pakistan had reached 33 for 1 in the sixth over before their top-order was blown away in 16 deliveries. Top-scorer Marina Iqbal was stumped off Lasanthi Madushani for 16 before three wickets fell for six runs to leave Pakistan reeling at 39 for 5. A 24-run ninth-wicket stand between Asmavia Iqbal and Sania Khan pushed the total to 80.Sri Lanka’s openers added 56 inside 10 overs before Chamari Polgampola was trapped in front for 18. Inoka Galagedara stood firm and steered her side to victory, ending unbeaten on a run-a-ball 42 and picking the Player of the Match award.West Indies Women 101 for 4 (Nero 39, Ismail 1-18) beat South Africa Women 98 (Chetty 43, King 3-19) by six wickets
ScorecardSouth Africa lost eight wickets for 20 runs to slide to defeat to West Indies at the North-West University No.1 Ground in Potchefstroom.The hosts were favourites after winning the one-day leg of the ICC Women’s Cricket Challenge but their batting collapse left West Indies needing just 99 for victory. They suffered a batting scare of their own when they were wobbling at 35 for 3 in the 9th over but a 33-run stand between Juliana Nero and Deandra Dottin steadied the chase.Fittingly it was Stacy-Ann King who finished proceedings with a run-a-ball 17, completing a fine all-round game after her 3-19 ushered South Africa’s collapse.Having been asked to bat first, South Africa reached a steady 78 for 3 in the 14th over before collapsing. Trisha Chetty top-scored with 43 from 47 balls but she could not find much support after Anisa Mohammed picked two wickets in two balls with her offspin. King took two more in quick succession as the home side were bundled out for 98.Sri Lanka Women 127 for 6 (Galagedara 28, Delany 2-16) beat Ireland Women 116 for 7 (Joyce 37, de Alwis 2-21) by 11 runs
ScorecardSri Lanka claimed their second win of the day when they held off Ireland in a hard-fought contest at the North-West University No. 2 Ground.Having eased past Pakistan earlier in the day, they were given a much stiffer test by a spirited Ireland side thanks mainly to the all-round effort of Isobel Joyce.Joyce, whose brother Ed has a ODI hundred for England against Australia, first took two wickets to restrict Sri Lanka to 127 and then spearheaded a bright start to the chase with a fluent 37 but it wasn’t enough.Batting first after winning the toss, Galagedara picked up from where she left off against Pakistan, stroking six boundaries on her way to a breezy 28 from 23 balls. She received able support from the rest of the middle order with Dilani Manodara ending unbeaten on 26 to set Ireland 128 for victory.While Joyce was motoring along, cracking five boundaries in her innings, Ireland seemed to be well placed. She carried the score to 60 for 2 off 8.3 overs before falling to Shashikala Siriwardene’s offspin. Thereafter Laura Delany was the only Ireland player to find any fluency, finishing unbeaten on 24 as Sri Lanka’s bowlers ensured victory.South Africa Women 205 for 1 (Fritz 116* Chetty 55) beat Netherlands Women 90 for 7 (Wattenberg 22, Nell 2-12) by 115 runs
ScorecardShandre Fritz blazed a world record 116 off 71 balls to lead South Africa to a crushing victory over Netherlands at the North-West University No. 1 Ground.South Africa lost their earlier game against West Indies after a batting collapse but there was no mistake here as Fritz shared a 170-run opening stand with Trisha Chetty who made 55.All the Netherlands bowlers suffered as Fritz cracked 12 fours and two sixes to bat through the 20 overs and beat West Indies batsman Deandra Dottin’s 112 not out against South Africa, which was the previous record. Fritz fell one short of equalling Chris Gayle’s 117, the record in the men’s game.Chetty at the other end was no slouch either, smiting six boundaries in her 41 deliveries. It took a run out to separate the pair but the arrival of Jana Nell did nothing to halt the run-rate as South Africa powered on past 200.It was always going to be too tough a chase for Netherlands but after Masabata Klaas struck twice in her first two overs the game was as good as over. Nell added two wickets to her contribution with the bat, removing Esther Lanser and Denise Hannema, but Netherlands’ lower order managed to bat through the 20 overs.

A back stress fracture has ruled the allrounder Scott Styris out of New Zealand’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh. Styris, who played in the tri-series in Sri Lanka last month, faces up to eight weeks of strength work for the lumbar problem before resuming training.”I was looking forward to the Bangladesh tour and am disappointed to be unavailable,” Styris said. “I’m aiming to be ready for action by the start of the Indian series [in India in November]. Of course this decision will be made along with the New Zealand Cricket medical team.”Styris, 35, remains a key figure in the country’s limited-overs teams and will hope to stay in contention for the World Cup squad early next year. The team’s medical staff hopes to start him on a bowling plan in the middle of October. New Zealand leave for Bangladesh at the end of the month.New Zealand leave for Bangladesh at the end of the month to prepare for five one-day internationals. Martin Guptill has been dropped from the squad and will tour Zimbabwe with the A team instead after being told by the selectors to regain his form. Jesse Ryder is back from an elbow injury, which ruled him out of the Sri Lanka tri-series, while Hamish Bennett, the uncapped fast bowler from Canterbury, is also in the 15-match outfit.”Hamish has been included in the squad on the back of a solid NZA tour and multiple successful domestic seasons,” the coach Mark Greatbatch said. “He is an exciting fast bowler and we are sure he will make the most of this opportunity.”New Zealand squad Daniel Vettori (capt), Hamish Bennett, Grant Elliott, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Andy McKay, Kyle Mills, Jesse Ryder, Aaron Redmond, Tim Southee, Shanan Stewart, Ross Taylor, Daryl Tuffey, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.Itinerary
1st ODI, 5 October, Mirpur
2nd ODI, 8 October, Mirpur
3rd ODI, 11 October, Mirpur
4th ODI, 14 October, Mirpur
5th ODI, 17 October, Mirpur

ScorecardGeraint Jones played fluently but fell one short of a century•Getty Images

Injuries to Ravi Bopara and Maurice Chambers gave Kent a slightly unfair advantage on the opening day in Canterbury where the hosts closed on 360 for 6.A fourth-wicket stand of 176 in 41 overs helped Kent recover from a sticky start and the loss of their captain Rob Key in only the eighth over, by which time Bopara had already limped off clutching his back only to be followed soon after by Chambers who succumbed to a side strain.Having elected to bat first after winning the toss, Key, playing his first game since fracturing a little finger at The Rose Bowl three weeks ago, got off to a positive start with boundaries in each of the opening two overs.But with his score on 13 Key turned one off his pads from Chambers only to see Jaik Mickleburgh pocket a reflex catch at forward short leg that made it 26 for 1.Kent promoted Sam Notheast to bat at No. 3, the berth occupied hitherto this year and last by Jones, and the youngster responded with four stylish boundaries in a cameo 25 before tossing away his wicket to Essex debutant Bryce McGain.Advancing down the wicket to drive, Northeast failed to get to the pitch of it and simply lofted a catch to long off where substitute fielder Grant Flower took a fine running catch. Three overs after lunch Australian leg-spinner McGain, a 38-year-old one-Test wonder, accounted for Joe Denly by finding a thin outside edge through to James Foster.With both Bopara and Chambers out of action, experienced fourth-wicket partners Jones and van Jaarsveld took advantage by posting Kent’s second best stand of the Championship campaign over the best part of three hours. Van Jaarsveld, suffering his worst season since joining Kent from Northamptonshire in 2005, went on to post his first championship hundred of the campaign from 148-balls and with 13 fours and a six.He celebrated with another boundary of McGain, but the wrist spinner then enticed the South African to miscue an attempted on-drive to mid- off where former Kent player David Masters took a comfortable catch.Geraint Jones was a single shy of his second hundred of the summer when he too, needlessly got out to McGain. Looking to loft over the bowler’s head, Jones mistimed to mid-on to end his 155-ball stay on a disappointing note. McGain finished his 30 overs for the day with figures of 4 for 135.With two of their bowling department out of action and undergoing treatment, Essex delayed taking the second new ball for 10 overs, but it finally did the trick in the penultimate over of the day. Having garnered an attractive 34 from 65 balls Darren Stevens aimed an ambitious drive ‘on the up’ only to edge to Tim Phillips at second slip and give Masters his first wicket of the match.

Paul Delany has announced that he will step down as coach of the Ireland women’s team after the European Championships in Scotland next month. Delany has had a successful stint with the team, guiding them to victories in both the ICC European Championships and inaugural Twenty20 tournament in Ireland last year. Cricket Ireland hasn’t yet named his replacement.”I have decided to stand down as coach of Irish Women’s team after the European Championships. The reason is that over the past couple of seasons I believe that I have done as much as I can do to bring the team forward and it is now time for Cricket Ireland to entrust the development of the team to new hands,” Delany said. “There is an important tournament coming up in South Africa for the 5th to 10th placed teams, and I want to give my successor time to prepare the side for what is essentially the first step to the Women’s World Cup qualification, and help the stated aim of being the 6th ranked team by 2015.”He also praised the contributions of the captain Heather Whelan and the team. “Their dedication to training especially during those cold winter days in North County’s indoor facilities will stand them in good stead in the future,” Delany said. “I wish them all the best of fortune for the future and I shall soon retire to the sidelines where I shall continue to follow and support the team.”Whelan was hopeful of giving Delany the perfect send-off. “On behalf of myself, Isobel Joyce and the rest of the squad I would like to thank Paul for his hard work over the past 18 months and wish him well in his future endeavours. We hope to send Paul off on a high by winning the European Championships next month in Scotland.”

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, whose nomination for the post of ICC vice-president was rejected by six countries last week, has questioned the validity of such a move given the rotational policy currently in place to put forward candidates. Also, reacting to the suggestion that the BCCI may have had a considerable influence in his rejection, Howard stressed India’s enormous value to world cricket but at the same time emphasised that “no one country should dominate”.According to the ICC’s rotational policy, Australia and New Zealand were supposed to nominate a candidate for vice-president this time. New Zealand had initially proposed John Anderson, a former chairman of NZC, as their nomination before Howard was picked over him. “They’ve got to pay regard to what’s happened, given that we had apparently put in place a procedure for choosing by rotation the president and vice-president of the ICC, and that appears to have been pushed to one side in the last week,” Howard told Channel Nine. “But equally they’ve got to look at the future of the game.”India’s possible role in blocking his nomination has come in for much criticism in the media. Howard, while urging caution in singling out India, called for greater parity among the members of the ICC. “We have to be careful of making India some kind of target of disdain in world cricket,” he said. “There is one part of the world where a sport at the present time remains transcendent over soccer and that is the Indian subcontinent. The fanaticism for cricket among the 1.5 billion people in the entire region … is unbelievable and we’ve got to see that in a positive light.”I think it is very important we understand there’s got to be a fair sharing of responsibilities and no one part of the world, no one country, should dominate.”People in the past criticised the fact it was dominated by England and Australia and now we don’t want to replace one perceived domination with another.”That in a way is why the ICC put in place this rotation system and that’s one of the issues CA have got to take into account when it responds to what has happened.”Howard said he was still interested in the job, but left it to CA to decide the next course of action. “I’d like the job but at this stage it’s hit a roadblock, and what happens from now on is really CA’s call, it’s not about me, it’s about the future of the game,” he said. “I went into this because I love cricket very much and I had the time to devote to it and the energy and the commitment, but what happens from now on CA and New Zealand Cricket have been asked to re-nominate and they obviously separately and together will meet and talk about the situation.”

Thanks to the unsettlingly quick rise of Twenty20s, the one-day format has increasingly looked like the ugly sister of the cricket family, seemingly possessing neither the glamour and fast-paced action provided by the shortest form, nor the traditional appeal and scope-for-narrative that underpins Test cricket.Critics also point to the amount of fluff associated with one-day cricket: the game itself has the monotonous middle overs (which Cricket Australia is trying to get rid of with a 40-over two-innings concept at domestic level), while its calendar is packed with soon-forgotten bilateral series and barely-followed triangulars.The ICC’s buzzword for the keeping the five-day game relevant has been ‘context’, but the one-day format is arguably in more urgent need of a booster shot of context. The Asia Cup, with four Test nations participating, could provide just that if it is nurtured into a credible continental championship.That isn’t going to happen without proper scheduling. The crowds cold-shouldered the previous edition in Pakistan since it was staged in the sapping heat of June and July, not traditional cricket months in the country. This time, the 10th edition, all matches are in the small central Sri Lankan town of Dambulla, and not in the bigger centres like Colombo, at least in part because Dambulla is spared the brunt of the monsoon in June, a month in which Sri Lanka has hosted only one one-day tournament before – the rain-ravaged Singer Akai Nidahas Trophy in 1998.Also, unlike the quadrennial World Cup, the Asia Cup is an ad-hoc event, sometimes put to bed for four years, and sometimes revived after a two-year gap. The recent five-year television deal with Nimbus should at least ensure a biennial event till 2014.

Past winners

• 1984: India

• 1986: Sri Lanka

• 1988: India

• 1990-91: India

• 1995: India

• 1997: Sri Lanka

• 2000: Pakistan

• 2004: Sri Lanka

• 2008: Sri Lanka

This year’s competition, though, could clearly do with a spot of marketing. The sports fan’s gaze and the newspaper columns are already concentrated on the football World Cup in South Africa, and the lack of buzz in the build-up to the Asia Cup is not helping turn their focus to Dambulla. A case in point: No international cricket match spells box-office jackpot as much as an India-Pakistan encounter, especially since the two sides have faced off only once in nearly two years, but hardly anyone seems excited about Saturday’s marquee clash.On the plus side, the tournament has been streamlined and the absence of lightweights like Hong Kong and UAE will reduce the number of mismatches which marred the previous edition. And the organisers will be happy to have got all four major Asian cricketing countries to play, something which has not always happened in the past to a tournament that has long been hostage to the fractious political relations in the region – India refused to play in Sri Lanka in 1985-86 and Pakistan cited safety concerns for withdrawing in 1990-91 in India.The previous two editions were won by Sri Lanka, who are slight favourites this time as well. They have proven performers at the top of the order, and the likes of Thilina Kandamby and Thilan Samaraweera who aren’t big hitters will be under less pressure to manufacture strokes in bowler-friendly Dambulla, where the highest total posted so far is only 289. Add to that their varied spin threats – Muttiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv and Rangana Herath – and they should prove difficult to beat.Their most familiar opponents over the past two years are India, who were champions the first four times they played the tournament but have now gone 15 years without winning it. They have been patchy in one-dayers this year, but have a superb recent record in ODIs in Sri Lanka – winning their previous two bilateral series and a tri-series as well. With the World cup eight months away, India are using the tournament to experiment on their combination, particularly after their bench strength was shown up in the recent series in Zimbabwe.Pakistan have had their regular cocktail of suspensions and fines, climbdowns and U-turns to turn up with something resembling their full strength team. How Shahid Afridi and coach Waqar Younis will unite a team riven by serious dressing-room trouble remains to be seen. So too the form of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, whose career has a zombie-like ability to repeatedly return from the dead.Rounding out the competition is Bangladesh, who remains the kid brother among the big boys of Asian cricket. They have a couple of world-class players in Tamim Iqbal and captain Shakib Al Hasan, and their phalanx of spinners will prove a handful on the slow Dambulla surface.

Tim Bresnan has been ruled out of the second Test against Bangladesh at Old Trafford on Friday, after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot during England’s eight-wicket win in the first Test at Lord’s. Ryan Sidebottom has been drafted in as a replacement to an otherwise unchanged England squad.Bresnan was one of England’s star performers during the recent World Twenty20 triumph in the Caribbean, but his effectiveness was reduced during the first Bangladesh Test, with Andy Flower hinting midway through the match that he might benefit from a return to county cricket to reacquaint himself with red-ball bowling.That will not now happen in the immediate future, and a further assessment on Bresnan’s injury is scheduled for this week before a recovery timeframe is established. Ajmal Shahzad, who was omitted from the final XI at Lord’s, could stand to make his Test debut at Old Trafford this week, although Sidebottom’s impressive form for Nottinghamshire, coupled with his role in the World Twenty20, could tip the scales in favour of his left-arm offerings.”It’s very unfortunate that Tim Bresnan will miss the second Test through injury,” said England’s national selector, Geoff Miller. “His bowling benefitted from five days of Test cricket during the Lord’s Test and he would have been looking forward to getting more overs under his belt at Old Trafford.”It does, however, provide Ryan Sidebottom with an opportunity to push for Test selection following his outstanding performances in the World Twenty20. The entire bowling unit will be better for the overs bowled during the first Test and looking to further build on this in Manchester.””We can be very pleased with a number of aspects from the first Test at Lord’s,” added Miller, “resulting in a comprehensive win against Bangladesh.”England squad Andrew Strauss, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott.

Scorecard
Half-centuries from Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hasan and Asad Shafiq set up a comfortable win for Sind Leopards over Federal Areas Leopards in Karachi. Khurram and Shahzaib added 97 for the opening wicket, and Shafiq contributed a patient 52 to put the Dolphins in control of their chase of 272. Hasan Raza and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed took over after they were dismissed to add an unbeaten 36 and seal victory, Dolphins’ third in a row, with nine balls to spare.The Leopards, after choosing to bat, put in a decent show, setting a competitive total. Umar Amin’s unbeaten 85, including seven fours, was backed up by 49 from opener Raheel Majeed. It seemed at one stage that the Leopards would struggle to get to 271, but wicketkeeper Naeem Anjum and No.9 batsman Imad Wasim, who made a run-a-ball 30, added 71 to give their bowlers a good target to defend. But in the wake of a combined batting display from the Dolphins, their effort was inadequate.

Match facts

Wednesday, March 31
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Kevin Pietersen returns to bolster an already formidable Bangalore outfit (file photo)•AFP

Big picture

Chennai Super Kings have lost four matches in a row, but what would havebeen most disappointing in their most recent defeat – to RajasthanRoyals – will be the manner in which they were outplayed. In each of theirthree previous reverses, Chennai were in with a chance for a good chunk,but they hardly ever looked like controlling the match against Rajasthanafter the opening burst from Michael Lumb and Naman Ojha.The bowling remains a massive source of concern, with playerslike L Balaji and R Ashwin, who impressed early this season, provingexpensive in the past few matches. The batting is less of a worry, butChennai will toy with the idea of sending the big-hitting Albie Morkelslightly higher up the order – many of his chances this season have beenwith the match already gone.Their opponents, Royal Challengers Bangalore, have lesser concerns, after asuperb start to the campaign has lifted them to second spot and a healthynet run-rate. They are coming off a week’s break, during which KevinPietersen and Cameron White have joined the squad. They have alreadydefeated Chennai once this season, and will aim for a repeat to distance themselves from the mid-table pack (four other teams have either thesame points or two less than Bangalore).

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai Super Kings LLLLW
Royal Challengers LWWWW

Team talk

Only two bowlers look certain picks for Chennai: Muttiah Muralitharan andleft-arm spinner Shadab Jakati. Seamer Thilan Thushara also had a goodmatch against Rajasthan and could get another game. A slew of injuries hasreduced the options for a team whose policy was to sign on free-strokingallrounders, which means Morkel could be persisted with. MS Dhoni will have ahard time choosing the Indian quick bowler from one of Balaji, JoginderSharma, Manpreet Gony and Sudeep Tyagi.Bangalore have been a settled side, making no changes since the secondgame. The arrival of Pietersen, though, means Eoin Morgan is going to makeway. One argument against that move will be that if Morgan is left out,Bangalore are likely to be a team with 11 right-hand batsmen.

Previously.

Bangalore 4 Chennai 2The latest encounter between the two teams was last week at the ChinnaswamyStadium, where Chennai’s bowlers did well for most of the inningsuntil Robin Uthappa’s fireworks powered Bangalore to a winning total.

In the spotlight

Kevin Pietersen was Vijay Mallya’s big-ticket signing in 2009 togalvanise Bangalore from a ‘Test’ team into a dynamic Twenty20 outfit.Bangalore were uninspiring under Pietersen in the early part of the IPLlast season, and their transformation into a capable IPL side came onlyafter his departure for England duties. The coming weeks present him achance to show Indian crowds his Twenty20 skills.Dale Steyn v Matthew Hayden: When the two teams met last week,Hayden had the confidence to walk down the track to take on Steyn, who wasregularly crossing the 150kmh mark. Wednesday will be another chance towatch the imposing batsman take on the top-class fast bowler

Prime numbers

• Matthew Hayden is only 24 runs short of becoming the third batsman(after Adam Gilchrist and Suresh Raina) to make 1000 runs in the IPL
• Anil Kumble’s winning percentage of 68.75 as captain is the highestamong all players who have led in at least 10 matches

The chatter

“True, the momentum has had a negative impact on us, but Twenty20 is very fickle. The momentum can quickly change. It all boils down to individual players challenging themselves to lift their game.”
Matthew Hayden“As a captain, it is a tough job for me with KP (Pietersen) and White having joined us. We need to take a different approach from here on and also have to decide how to fit in these two players.”
Anil Kumble

The 2010 Asia Cup will be held between June 15 and 25 in Sri Lanka, a release from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) said.The tournament will be contested by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, playing each other in a league format after which the top two sides will meet in a final. The competition will begin with Sri Lanka taking on Pakistan on June 15, with the final scheduled for June 25. There is also a provision for three reserve days during the league phase, as well as one for the final.Sri Lanka are the current holders of the Asia Cup, having beaten India by 100 runs in the final of the 2008 tournament in Karachi.