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The two Barbados sides scheduled to participate in a T20 competition against six English counties have pulled out just hours before the event was due to start.Six English counties – Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and Northamptonshire – are currently in Barbados preparing for the new county season, but their preparations have been hit by the withdrawal of both local sides from what was to have been the showpiece event of the trip.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Barbados side made a late request for payment in the region of BBD 3,000 (just under GBP 1,000) and, after this was declined, refused to play. As a result it was decided that the other local side, the Combined Campuses and Colleges team, should also withdraw from the competition in order to allow the six county sides to contest between themselves.The location of the games has also been changed. Organisers originally claimed that the two-day competition, on March 16 and 17, would be played at the Kensington Oval but the first day has been rescheduled for the Three W’s Oval on the University of the West Indies, Barbados campus.The reputation of pre-season tours to Barbados was increased greatly by the subsequent success of the counties that travelled to the country in March 2012. Warwickshire, who went on to win the County Championship, Hampshire, who won the limited-overs double, and Derbyshire and Yorkshire, who both won promotion in the championship, were among the counties who attended.

ScorecardSouth Africa Under-19s held their nerve in another close finish to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. England again fell marginally short in their chase, despite a 48-run partnership in less than five overs for the ninth wicket that threatened to snatch them an unlikely victory.Josh Shaw, England’s No. 9, hit a 46-ball 52 but England needed 18 to win off the final over and Shaw was run out trying to get back on strike. The 17-year-old, who also took three wickets during the South Africa innings, helped Jonathan Tattersall lift England from 154 for 7 in the 37th over and continued to carry the fight when Tattersall fell for 83.Early strikes had left England floundering at 51 for 4 in pursuit of 270 and South Africa captain Yaseen Valli took 3 for 33 with his offspin to make further dents in the chase.South Africa had recovered from a tricky position themselves, adding 115 from the last 12 overs, a burst which was to prove crucial. Both scorecards had a very similar shape to them, as Greg Oldfield’s 82 from No. 5 provided the base after they had been 48 for 3 and Jason Smith made a run-a-ball 49 to help trampoline the hosts to an imposing total.

Brad Hodge became the first batsman inTwenty20 cricket to reach 5,000 runs when on 25 during Barisal Burners’ BPL match against Chittagong Kings in Khulna. Though he reached the milestone on a day when his side lost by 21 runs, it pleased Hodge as it was a testament of his class in this format.”I am just very happy,” Hodge told ESPNcricinfo. “I have made 10,000 plusruns in Sheffield Shield and 5,000 in T20s, means that I have performedwell over the course of my lifetime.”Hodge achieved the milestone with a cover drive off West Indies allrounder Kevon Cooper, but stayed away from a celebration even though he was made aware of the impending record by one of the commentators.”I got told by Russell Arnold that I needed 25, but I didn’t think about it at the time,” he said.Hodge has played 171 T20 games (including eight internationals) over the past decade after making his debut on June 16, 2003, playing for Leicestershire against Yorkshire in the first-ever tournament of this format. He made 97 in that game.Overall, he averages 36.29 with an impressive strike-rate of 129.13, and has scored 34 fifties and two centuries. The Barisal Burners is Hodge’s 14th Twenty20 team in all levels including Australia and Australia A. He has played for three IPL teams while he has also turned up for Auckland, Basnahira Cricket Dundee, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Northern Districts, and his home side Victoria.His first century came against New South Wales in the 2005-06 final when he hit 106 off just 54 balls and hissecond century came against Nottinghamshire three years ago.David Hussey is a close second behind Hodge with 4,821 runs while there are three others – Chris Gayle, Brendan McCullum and Owais Shah – who have scored more than 4,000 runs in T20s.

Brisbane Heat coach Darren Lehmann has been charged with breaching Cricket Australia’s Code of Behaviour when he questioned the legitimacy of Marlon Samuels’ bowling action after his side’s loss to the Melbourne Renegades at Etihad Stadium.Lehmann is charged with breaching Rule 9 of CA’s code which states that that a player or official must not “denigrate or criticise another player or denigrate or criticise an official, umpire, referee or team against which they have played or will play, whether in relation to incidents which occurred in a match or otherwise; denigrate or criticise another player or official by inappropriately commenting on any aspect of his or her performance, abilities or characteristics.”Samuels delivered four overs for just 18 runs in the Renegades win. He has the fourth-best economy rate of any bowler with 12 overs or more in this year’s Big Bash League to date. “I’ve spoken to the umpires about it,” Lehmann said after the game. “I just want something done.”He couldn’t bowl in the IPL (Indian Premier League) last year, yet he can bowl in the BBL.”We’ve got to seriously look at what we’re doing. Are we here to play cricket properly or what?”If he’s deemed legal, I’m totally understanding of that. But from my point of view from 20 years’ of cricket, I’ve got a problem with 120km/h off no steps.”Samuels was reported for a suspect action in the IPL in April by on-field umpires, Aleem Dar and Bruce Oxenford, and the third umpire Vineet Kulkarni while playing for the Pune Warriors against the Chennai Super Kings.It was not the first time Samuels had problems with his action. He was reported for a suspect action in the third Test between South Africa and West Indies in Durban in January 2008. On field umpires Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar and third umpire Brian Jerling reported their doubts over his action, especially with respect to his “fast” deliveries. Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, subsequently informed both the ICC and the West Indies team management of the report, as per the ICC regulations governing the reporting process.In September 2011 the ICC cleared Samuels’ action after an independent test found his action to be legal. Cricket Australia did state out its policy on suspect actions, saying, “CA has a Doubtful Bowling Action Procedure and according to this policy, any bowler mentioned by three different umpires in the same season is reported. Umpires also have the option to bypass the mentions process and lodge a report directly if they feel it is warranted.”Lehmann’s breach of CA’s Code of Behaviour is now placed before a Commissioner for a hearing. CA said the date and time of the hearing is yet to be determined. It is not the first time Lehmann has found himself in trouble with cricket authorities. Whilst playing for Australia in January 2003 he was suspended for five One-day Internationals for breaching the ICC’s racial vilification code.

Match facts

December 28, 2012
Start time 1700 (1130 GMT)Bhuvneshwar Kumar: One-off showcase performance or the start of something special?•BCCI

Big Picture

A fabled rivalry was renewed after a five-year hiatus with a cracking match in Bangalore. The track wasn’t the usual Twenty20 bowler-killing slab, having enough spice to interest the quicks. There were collapses, fightbacks and some heated moments, before Shoaib Malik enhanced his reputation for raising his game against India with a half-century that was topped off by a match-winning six in the final over. Ahmedabad fans will hope for similar thrills, but a different result, on Friday.The IPL is regularly put forth as one of the reasons for India’s Test decline. While that argument has divided opinion, the IPL doesn’t seem to have done much to improve India’s Twenty20 performances either. Their previous three World Twenty20 campaigns have been lacklustre, and while the batting is more or less settled, no bowler has yet nailed yet his place in the XI. The one spinner who had done that, R Ashwin, was surprisingly left out of the first T20, a move that Mohammad Hafeez suggested helped Pakistan.In contrast, Pakistan have a plethora of bowling options, with Hafeez playing as a genuine allrounder, and Malik and Shahid Afridi able to contribute with both bat and ball. They also have two of the most successful T20 bowlers in Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul, who combined to trigger India’s astonishing late-innings slide in Bangalore. The home side’s batting needs to find a way to negotiate them, if they are to stand a serious chance of levelling the series.

Form guide

India LLWWW (Completed games, most recent first)
Pakistan WLWLW

Players to watch

A noisy Chinnaswamy Stadium became even more deafeningly loud when debutant seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the ball to snake both ways, castling two Pakistan batsmen and having another caught behind. It was not just the swerving deliveries that excited the fans but the manner in which he set up the dismissals. It was a dream start for Bhuvneshwar, but can he repeat the magic or was it a one-off? Ahmedabad will give us a clue.Another new-ball bowler who didn’t just catch the eye but demanded attention with his towering frame was Mohammad Irfan. He was regularly around the 90mph mark, troubling the India batsmen with his pace and bounce. He was much quicker than in his previous international outings – a couple of ODIs against England in 2010 – and drew high praise from Wasim Akram.

Stats and Trivia

• Umar Akmal’s zero in the first T20 was the fifth of his career, leaving him one behind four players – including Shahid Afridi – for the most ducks in T20s
• Virat Kohli needs 29 runs to break Martin Guptill’s record for the most T20 runs in a calendar year*

Quotes

“The way we played the last match, our morale is quite high… I will give credit to the bowlers and fielders. They [India] were 70 for no loss and after that we came back. Bowling has always been our strength and in the last match, even after a bad start, the comeback was outstanding. As a captain I am very pleased with that.”
“The conditions here are different. The one [pitch] in Bangalore was seaming and over here, it will be slow and offer turn. There is no pressure on us.”
*03.37GMT December 27: The stat had earlier incorrectly included Umar Akmal. This has been changed

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUmar Amin’s all-round show earned him the man-of-the-match award•PCB

In a tight contest, Karachi Dolphins, requiring 26 to win in the final over, lost by five runs to Rawalpindi Rams at the Gaddafi Stadium in front of a crowd of 5000. Middle-order batsman Fawad Alam, who scored an unbeaten 40 off 17 deliveries, smashed 20 runs off five deliveries through two sixes and a boundary, before being beaten by Sohail Tanvir off the final ball.Umar Amin scored a half-century and bowled an economical spell to be adjudged Man of the Match.After having chosen to bat, Rawalpindi started briskly, with the openers adding 64 runs in 44 deliveries. Each of the top four batsmen outscored the other, with No. 3 Babar Naeem and Amin consolidating on the solid platform laid by the openers. Karachi captain Shahid Afridi was expensive, giving away 49 runs in his four overs, as Rawalpindi scored 188.Karachi suffered an early blow in their chase, when opener Shahzaib Hasan was dismissed for a duck off the second ball of the innings. His partner Khurram Manzoor kept Karachi in the chase with two productive partnerships of 51 and 49 respectively for the second and the third wicket. With the required run rate climbing steadily, Alam and Tanvir Ahmed added 53 in five overs to keep them in the hunt, but Karachi fell just short.
ScorecardSialkot Stallions captain Shoaib Malik scored a half-century and took four wickets to help his team to a 72-run triumph in the opening match of the day in Lahore. Chasing 150, Quetta Bears lost wickets regularly, and were in trouble at 50 for 6, before Jalat Khan provided some resistance by scoring 17. But the target proved beyond them.Sialkot, after being asked to bat first, began positively with their openers putting on 21 for the first wicket. They wobbled when Haris Sohail was run out for 11 but Malik, who scored 51, and Shahid Yousuf laid the anchor for a strong total with a 57-run partnership. For Quetta, Nazar Hussain, the left-arm seamer, took his career-best figures of 3 for 16.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKamran Akmal’s aggressive half-century and Mohammad Hafeez’s four wickets drove Lahore Lions to a 30-run victory against Abbottabad Falcons in Lahore. Chasing a stiff 187, Abbottabad were off to a brisk start, with a 45-run opening stand between Yasir Hameed and Mir Azam. Hameed, who scored 45, added a further 54 with captain Younis Khan. But quick wickets pegged them back thereafter and they fell 31 runs short.Lahore had also made a strong start in their innings, with openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad scoring 51 in 7.2 overs. KamranAkmal scored 59 off 33 deliveries to push them to 148 before falling in the 17th over. His younger brother Umar scored a quick 22 to take them to 186.Lahore took their first wicket in the seventh over, when left-arm spinner Mustafa Iqbal dismissed Azam. From 99 for 1, Abbottabad lost three wickets for six runs. Although middle-order batsman Khalid Usman scored a quick 27, it wasn’t enough.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKamran Hussain’s crucial unbeaten 23 and Kashif Siddiq’s three wickets helped Bhawalpur Stags to a comfortable 29-run victory against Peshwar Panthers at Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore.Batting first, Bhawalpur slipped to 22 for 3, but a fourth-wicket partnership of 63 between Usman Tariq and captain Bilal Khilji repaired the damage. Wickets fell regularly thereafter, but Kamran’s quick knock helped set a target of 135.Peshawar were never in control of the chase. Besides opener Iftikhar Ahmed and No. 3 Mohammad Rizwan, who put on 26 runs for the second wicket, only wicketkeeper Gauhar Ali scored in double digits. Peshawar lost their last seven wickets for 32 runs to lose by a fair margin.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLahore Eagles, after scoring 224 against Hyderabad Hawks on Saturday, were bowled out for 103 by Faisalabad Wolves in Lahore. Faisalabad mildly stuttered in their chase as Mohammad Khalil and Raza Ali Dar took two wickets each to give them a scare. But opener Farrukh Shehzad, who scored 47, steered Faisalabad to a five-wicket win.Lahore, after being put in to bat, lost wickets regularly. Imran Farhat top-scored with 20, but Lahore were bowled out quickly as they lost their last eight wickets for 52 runs.
ScorecardAn aggressive 34 by lower-order batsman Imad Wasim took Islamabad Leopards to within five runs of victory against Karachi Zebras. Karachi were in control throughout their opponents’ chase, as a combined bowling performance helped them reduce Islamabad to 76 for 8 in the 17th over. Wasim changed the course of the contest, but couldn’t give his side the win.Islamabad’s Iftikhar Anjum claimed four wickets to peg Karachi back when they batted after winning the toss. No one scored more than 36, but there were four other batsmen who struck crucial partnerships and help them go past the 120-run mark. It proved to be enough in the end.

ScorecardKeith Barker’s counterattacking 44 helped Warwickshire survive to a draw•Getty Images

Chris Woakes’ defiant 80 ensured Warwickshire warmed up for their bid to complete a double by holding off a late Nottinghamshire charge and claiming a draw in the final match of their campaign.The Bears – already confirmed as Division One champions going into their final match at Trent Bridge – take on Hampshire in the Clydesdale Bank 40 final at Lord’s and were at times struggling to avoid going into that clash on the back of a defeat as Paul Franks with 4for 47 and Luke Fletcher, 3 for 58 starred.But Woakes held their second innings together after an early slump to 32 for 3, as they were set an unlikely 421 to win from 90 overs, putting on 57 with Ian Westwood, who made 46 and then 89 with Ian Blackwell, 44 as the visitors recovered to 224 for 5.Franks’ three wickets in eight balls threw the game back up in the air before Keith Barker’ 44 not out and Chris Wright with an unbeaten 19 batted out the final 12.5 overs to deny the hosts a win that would have lifted them up to third in the Division One table.With a 395-run overnight lead, Notts strangely chose to bat on for four overs, during which they added 25 runs but declared on 469 for 8 before Franks, who finished 86 not out and Fletcher, on 42, had had the opportunity to reach their respective milestones.Fletcher quickly hit his straps with ball in hand as Varun Chopra nicked behind to Chris Read. The same combination then worked to good effect twice more as Darren Maddy was undone by extra bounce and left-hander Jim Troughton fended at one angled across him.Rikki Clarke began the Warwickshire fightback as he and Westwood shared a partnership of 46 until his leg stump was removed by Paul Franks soon after lunch, while Westwood’s resistance was eventually ended by spinner Graeme White, who induced a catch at slip.However, Woakes, who smashed two sixes into the new stand off White to reach fifty and hit 12 fours in his 139-ball knock, found another able partner in Blackwell either side of tea.At that point, there appeared little likelihood of a result until Franks first had Blackwell, who had struck three fours and two sixes from 85 balls, brilliantly caught at slip by Mullaney and then pinned Richard Johnson lbw next ball. When Woakes was caught at short cover, also off Franks, the tension grew but Notts could not ram home their advantage, even with the use of the new ball for the final 10 overs.

Richard McInnes’ first assignment as head coach of Bangladesh’s National Cricket Academy will be to oversee a week-long training camp starting August 8. Ten cricketers have been selected to take part in the camp.Batsmen Fazle Mahmud, Tasamul Haque and Myshukur Rahman, allrounders Mahmudul Hasan and Sabbir Rahman, left-arm spinners Shaker Ahmed, Sanjamul Islam, Nazmul Islam, leg-spinner Tanveer Haider and seamer Kamrul Islam Rabbi are the available cricketers in the country since Bangladesh A and the Under-19s side are currently playing abroad.All ten selected cricketers were part of the Academy squad that toured South Africa last year under McInnes’ predecessor Ross Turner.”He [McInnes] will work with ten players of the Academy who are currently available for a week,” BCB’s game development manager Nazmul Abedin said. “Later when others from the A team and the Under-19 team arrive, whoever is selected will join the Academy squad.”The Academy’s first assignment of the year will be a four-day game against the touring West Indies High Performance team from September 16 to 19 in Khulna’s Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium. The visitors will also take on Bangladesh A in another four-day match, three one-day games and two Twenty20s thereafter.

The Pakistan board is satisfied with the ECB’s disciplinary hearing against Danish Kaneria and has no objection to the sanctions imposed on the legspinner, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The PCB’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi was present at the five-day hearing as an observer and had access to the charges and evidence against Kaneria, who was found guilty of corruption in relation to the spot-fixing case involving former Essex pace bowler Mervyn Westfield and subsequently banned for life from any cricket under the jurisdiction of the ECB.The PCB is seeking a detailed judgment from the England board, which is expected next week, but it is understood that it will, in principle, stand by the ban imposed on Kaneria, who has already been barred from playing for Pakistan since 2010. Kaneria has continued to play domestic cricket in Pakistan but that is also likely to stop now.Although his punishment was handed out by the ECB, the ICC’s anti-corruption code states that decisions based on a domestic board’s regulations should be upheld by boards around the world, including the PCB, which will now complete its own integrity committee hearing. Kaneria has said he will appeal against the ECB disciplinary panel’s findings and has 28 days to do so.Kaneria was also due to appear before the PCB’s integrity committee but he had refused. “We asked Kaneria to discuss with the PCB about his case but he refused to co-operate so we let him on his own then,” PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf said. “Pakistan cricket has suffered enough and we don’t want to take any further chances. We have a strict zero tolerance against the corrupt element.” The integrity committee is now expected to complete its hearing into the Kaneria issue.

ScorecardPaul Collingwood was unbeaten on 43 at the close•Getty Images

Durham adopted a cautious approach in their search for a first Championship win of the season against Warwickshire at Chester-le-Street.The patience shown by Ben Stokes (66) and Will Smith (47) in a stand of 109 helped the hosts recover from 23 for two after opting to bat. The experienced pair of Dale Benkenstein and Paul Collingwood then put on 78 for the fifth wicket, with the former England man remaining unbeaten on 43.The day was interrupted by three showers, though, and with even more forecast for the rest of the match Durham’s improved application may be in vain.Four of the five batting points they had previously accrued came at Taunton, where Benkenstein had a top score of 31 in eight innings. He made 40 before surprisingly lobbing an attempted pull to mid-on four overs from the close to give Chris Woakes a second wicket.Both Benkenstein and Collingwood survived edges off England Under-19s allrounder Tom Milnes, making his Championship debut. He came in for Warwickshire’s out-of-form captain Jim Troughton, who was ruled out by a back spasm. With Rikki Clarke playing purely as a batsman because of a stomach muscle injury, Milnes was one of six bowlers used before lunch by Varun Chopra, captaining the side for the first time.The visiting bowlers showed the discipline which has helped to make them strong contenders for the title. Darren Maddy had bowled 14 overs for 16 runs when Collingwood cut him for four then drove him down the ground.Stokes threatened to follow his century against Lancashire last Friday with another, only to depart for 66 when he tried to withdraw his bat from a ball by Chris Wright, who was bowling around the wicket, and got a bottom edge into his leg stump.Smith battled on until the 55th over before he walked into a straight one from Wright, aiming for midwicket, and was lbw. Keith Barker and Woakes took the early wickets, with both Mark Stoneman and Gordon Muchall edging low to second slip, where Clarke made the catches look much easier than they were.