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Adnan Ilyas on his way to an eye-catching 113 during Oman’s win over UAE © ICC

Denmark booked a spot in the World Cup Qualifier with a three-wicket win over Argentina at the Wanderers ground. Freddie Klokker (54) continued his strong form as Denmark survived an early wobble at 24 for 3 to chase down 169 with 23 balls to spare. David Borchersen, Bobby Chawla and Bashir Shah took two wickets each as Argentina, despite Matias Paterlini’s 51, couldn’t bat out their 50 overs.In a low-scoring match at the Centre for Cricket Development, Gerrie Snyman took 5 for 36 to bowl Namibia to a 27-run victory over Uganda to book their place in the qualifier. Namibia suffered a rare batting collapse to be bowled out for 145 in 45.4 overs with new-ball partners Danniel Ruyange and Kenneth Kamyuka sharing five wickets between them. Snyman, who is tournament’s leading run-scorer with 517, compensated for his batting failure by taking a five-wicket haul as Uganda was dismissed for 118 and now has nine wickets in the tournament.In the dress rehearsal for Saturday’s final, Oman overpowered UAE by 25 runs at the United ground after Adnan Ilyas’ eye-catching 113 propelled Oman to an imposing 298 for 8. Ilyas faced 112 balls and hit six fours and five sixes. In turn, UAE were dismissed for 273 despite Amjad Javed’s 71 and Arshad Ali’s 64.Argentina and Uganda are now relegated but will have a second chance to book a place in the 2009 World Cup Qualifier when they play in the next Division Three tournament – the top two there will also make the qualifier.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Oman	5	5	0	0	0	10	+0.767	1268/225.3	1214/250.0
U.A.E.	5	4	1	0	0	8	+1.660	1463/229.1	1181/250.0
Namibia	5	3	2	0	0	6	+1.543	1199/211.5	997/242.1
Denmark	5	2	3	0	0	4	-1.113	871/246.1	855/183.5
Uganda	5	1	4	0	0	2	+0.140	927/220.1	979/240.3
Argentina	5	0	5	0	0	0	-2.845	843/250.0	1345/216.2

Rain has forced the third match of the delicately poised women’s one-day series between Australia and England to be abandoned. The game, which was scheduled for Drummoyne Oval in Sydney, was cancelled following the wet weather in the city over the past week, which made it impossible to prepare the ground.England won the first fixture at the MCG before Australia levelled the five-match series in Melbourne on Monday. The final games will be played at the SCG on Sunday and Monday, with the one-off Test to be held in Bowral from February 15.

The Pakistani fast bowler, Mohammad Sami, has signed as Kent’s second overseas player on a two-month contract. Sami, 22, will replace the Australian batsman Greg Blewett when Pakistan complete their three-match NatWest Challenge series against England later this month.Blewett, who has been standing in for his compatriot Andrew Symonds during Australia’s tour of the Caribbean, will continue to deputise for Sami in the short term.Pakistan’s international schedule has enabled Sami to join Kent on aneight-week deal – after which the club will review their overseas player policy for the rest of the season.

Pakistan’s giant© Getty Images

The way he is, he shouldn’t be a batsman. He shouldn’t even be a sportsman. Where other batsmen stride to the crease, Inzamam-ul-Haq lopes and mopes to it, shoulders hunched. He drags his bat along with him like a scolded schoolboy would his satchel. Not for him the bravado entrance of a Mathew Hayden or a Virender Sehwag, chest out, brandishing the bat as weapon. Increasingly when he is dismissed, he loiters despondent for an eternity, not as protest but because of an acute awareness of its implications. Hayden and Sehwag can afford bluster; if they go, they have Ponting, Gilchrist, Sachin or Dravid. But if Inzamam falls, as John Wright’s fist-pumping celebration atKolkata in the second innings suggested, half the battle with Pakistan is often won.As with all his best innings, Inzamam’s 100th Test has crept up on us almost unnoticed. Only three Pakistanis – Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Salim Malik – have played in over 100 tests and it somehow seems right, bearing in mind the larger-than-life personality each possessed, that they achieved the landmark. With Inzamam, it sounds mildly implausible; 100 tests? Really? He will probably end up eclipsing Miandad as the greatest batsman Pakistan ever produced. How, given his inert demeanor, has he managed it?He stretches the traditional confrontation between ball and bat. Not till the very last moment, at which point the ball invariably looks like winning the battle, does he react. By that time, motionless almost apart from an incongruous shuffle here or there, the length is clear in his mind and it remains only for him to bring down his bat, with strength or otherwise, but always, always, with quick hands. Energy conservation is maximised and only as much as necessary is ever spent. You see it in his running and his fielding, especially in the short cover position he lately loves.

Recognise that slim boy-wonder?© Getty Images

It’s not so much a technique as an attitude and with it he has become the most important Pakistan batsman of his time, possibly ever. Two innings in the 1992 World Cup made him, and won it for Pakistan. His undefeated 58 decided the Karachi thriller against Australia in 1994-5, but it has been only since 2000, by which time both Miandad and Malik were gone, that his value has become clear. For much of the time since, Pakistan’s batting has disintegrated, while his, in inverse proportion, has flourished. The most wretched and vivid example of this dependence came at Multan in 2003, where but for his 138 not out, Pakistan’s batsmen would’ve contrived to lose to Bangladesh. In 41 tests since 2000 he has averaged nearly 57, with 12 centuries. How important is he to Pakistan? More than statistics will ever tell you, for they don’t tell you of the thin support and heavy load he has had to bear. Still, they are revealing. Of his 20 test centuries, 15 have contributed to Pakistan wins and he averages over 75 in all their wins since 2000.So what, you say? In a golden age for batting, does he really bear comparison with the greats? Lara, Sachin, Hayden, Ponting, Dravid after all have better figures, players who, when that ludicrous question of having someone bat for your life is asked, would rightly get picked before him. And he won’t be remembered in the same way a Lara or a Sachin will be. Where they have saved their very best for the best – Australia and South Africa of the nineties – Inzamam has average, even poor records against them. No, even though he may not lack their batsmanship, he lacks the drive, the ruthlessness, the sustained pursuit of excellence, the sheer force of will and personality which has marked their greatness.But of course he does; it is a result of the very attitude which pulls us to him in the first place. Despite his apparent insouciance and the pressures on him, his lumbering starts, his unsportsmanlike appearance, he has managed to achieve all that he has; 100 tests, over 7000 runs and an average threatening 50 and that is worth appreciating. Occasions such as his 123 at Karachi last year against the Indians, or his 86 at Mohali last week, when he outshone even the most stellar batting line-up of our time are worth cherishing. These are occasions when everything clicks, when his very casualness suddenly becomes hisredeeming feature and not a glaring hindrance. These are occasions where his genius emerges, where he fleetingly and slyly hints, rather than emphatically asserts, to being the best batsman in the game today.Osman Samiuddin is a cricket writer based in Karachi. He is following the Pakistan team on their tour of India.

All Today’s Yesterdays – May 20 down the years 1944
The Gnome is born. The popular Keith Fletcher was a fine batsman and captain of Essex, and though his Test career was a success, he sometimes struggled to impose himself at the top level. He averaged only 19 after 17 Tests, but then came a steady stream of matchsaving, and occasionally matchwinning, centuries, including 146 at Melbourne as the fraught 1974-75 Ashes tour ended on a high note. The Centenary Test two years later seemed to be Fletcher’s last, but he returned to captain England in India in 1981-82. England lost the first Test and players and spectators were bored to tears as the remaining five snoozed to draws. Fletcher was captain in Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test straight after, but was then dumped, this time for good. India wasn’t a happy place for Fletcher: he began his career as England coach there in 1992-93, and after dismissing the threat of Anil Kumble – "I didn’t see him turn a single ball from leg to off. I don’t believe we will have much problem with him" – saw England spinwashed, the beginning of a difficult two-year reign.1943
In Trinidad, one of West Indies’ finest wicketkeepers is born. Deryck Murray was a soothing presence behind the stumps in 62 Tests between 1963 – when he made his debut at Old Trafford aged 20, and snared 24 scalps in the series – and 1980. When he was left out of the Trinidad Test the following winter, locals boycotted the match and the pitch was vandalised. As well as being undemonstrative, efficient, and totally reliable with the gloves on, the boyish Murray turned himself into a useful batsman. Though he never managed a Test hundred, he made 11 fifties, four of them in Australia in 1975-76 when more illustrious batsmen were being blown away by Lillee and Thomson. He later became a significant administrative figure.1965
A shock for the members at Middlesbrough, as Yorkshire were skittled for their lowest-ever total, a pathetic 23, by Hampshire. The side included some big names: Boycott, Hampshire, Close, Sharpe, Illingworth and Trueman, but after a sound start Yorkshire tumbled from 7 for 0 to 13 for 8. Yorkshire had also been 47 for 7 in their first innings, and only a rumbustious 55 from Trueman got them anywhere near eventual first-innings parity. Hampshire needed just 20 to win; they scraped home in eight overs with 10 wickets to spare.1911
A remarkable day at Hove, where Ted Alletson and William Riley added 152 for Nottinghamshire’s tenth wicket against Sussex. That only tells half the story, though, because when the carnage ended Riley was left on 10 not out. Alleston smeared 189 – his only first-class hundred – in 90 minutes of mayhem.1956
Birth of the Australian opener Andrew Hilditch, a qualified solicitor but one who lacked the IQ to cut out the hook, a stroke that consistently brought about his downfall. Both his Test centuries came in the space of three innings, against West Indies and England in a purple patch in 1984-85, but his penchant for the fatal hook shot soon became a standing joke on that England tour of 1985. He played only one Test after that – and he was out twice hooking Richard Hadlee. Hilditch had no reasonable defence, and was dumped for good as Australia turned to Geoff Marsh and David Boon. It was strangely out of character: Hilditch was generally a composed batsman, and a responsible character – he was made captain of New South Wales after only two first-class games. He was also Test cricket’s second handled-the-ball victim: at Perth in 1978-79, Hilditch was the non-striker when he returned a loose throw to the bowler, Sarfraz Nawaz. Sarfraz appealed and Hilditch was given out.2000
Nineteen-year-old Ramnaresh Sarwan’s classy 84 not out, made in his first Test innings against Pakistan at Bridgetown, led Ted Dexter to predict that he would end up with a Test average of 50.Other birthdays
1947 Gopal Bose (India)
1963 Dipak Chudasama (Kenya)
1974 Sajjad Ahmed (Bangladesh)
1982 Imran Farhat (Pakistan)

Stuart Carlisle has hit out against the Zimbabwean Cricket Union, saying that the move by some of the players to go on strike was prompted by what he claimed were racist and politically motivated policies by the board.Carlisle, who was among 15 cricketers banned by the board, is now part of a 14-man squad called The Red Lions which will tour England for a series of friendly games. Speaking at a fund-raising dinner to launch the tour, Carlisle said: “Our group went through this extremely stressful period not to destroy cricket in Zimbabwe but to try and save it. It did not all start three months ago (with the strike), but in 2001 when the Zimbabwe Cricket Union launched its Task Force.”The Task Force was meant to provide more opportunities for blacks to take to the game, but Carlisle stated that it only ended up alienating the players. “The result [of the Task Force’s actions] was we lost 35 players, both black and white during the last three years,” Carlisle said, according to an AFP report. “At that time the players formed their own association and we were internationally recognised, but not by the ZCU. Had they done so, we would not be in disarray today.”Because of this, players had to try and fix off-field problems individually. And so they were targeted. And when some players actually refused the captaincy or vice-captaincy, it shows how serious the situation became. Past form, performance, statistics, experience and merit are words that have not been in the selectors’ vocabulary for a long time.”And so, when an employer refuses to meet employees about all this, problems inevitably occur. In putting our international careers on the line it was a sure sign we had had enough. It turned out we were all sacked three times in a month. Can that have happened anywhere before?”Carlisle, who played 35 Tests and 108 ODIs for Zimbabwe, will now play for The Red Lions in a week-long tour of England, which starts on July 14 and includes matches against a Lashings XI and a Zimbabwe World XI.

Matthew Walker and Darren Stevens celebrate striking a century each for Kent © Getty Images

Darren Stevens and Matthew Walker each struck centuries to launch Kent into a strong position against Warwickshire on day three at Edgbaston. Stevens struck 163 and Walker 140 as Kent turned a slender overnight lead into a huge one. Replying to Warwickshire’s first-innings score of 252, they reached 569 and Warwickshire were 45 for 2 in reply at stumps, trailing by 272 runs with eight wickets remaining.Walker and Stevens carried on where they had left off on the second day, as they each posted a century. Walker’s knock included 14 fours and two sixes, and Stevens’ was similarly boundary-laden: he smote 22 fours and a six.Andrew Hall also chipped in with a handy 49, and the wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien as undefeated on 21. Hall then turned his hand to the ball, removing both Ian Bell and Michael Powell, the only two wickets to fall so far in Warwickshire’s reply.Bell failed for the second time this match – with the bat at least – as he added a duck to his solitary run in the first innings. Both he and Powell were bowled by Hall. Alex Loudon was Warwickshire’s most successful bowler, with three wickets but they came at a cost of 130, runs that the home side could ill afford in the face of an onslaught. The day belonged to the batsmen – and Stevens and Walker took full advantage.Knocking the champions off the top spot should go some way to soothing Kent’s mood after the ECB confirmed yesterday that they would be docking eight points for the provision of a poor pitch. There’s not much wrong with the pitch at Edgbaston, as today’s run-fest demonstrated, but Kent’s bowlers will nevertheless be hoping to take early wickets tomorrow and complete victory.

The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) today announced a 12-man West End Redbacks squad to take on the Tasmanian Tigers in this Saturday’s ING Cup game at Bellerive Oval.The squad sees just one change from the team which played in Perth last Friday, with 19-year-old Mark Cosgrove coming in to the side for injured Mick Miller.Miller strained his shoulder while bowling during the Pura Cup win against the Western Warriors last week in Perth, and will be unavailable for one to two weeks.Cosgrove, who made his debut for the Redbacks as a rookie in 2002-03, was a member of the winning 2002 Under-19 Australian World Championship team and is a 2003 Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy scholar.The left-handed batsman from Northern Districts also won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 100 not out in the Prime Minister’s XI v ATSIC Chairman’s XI game at Adelaide Oval earlier this year.The Redbacks team is:

Greg Blewett (c)	Andy Flower
Mark Cleary	Mark Higgs
Mark Cosgrove	Ben Johnson
John Davison	Graham Manou
Shane Deitz	Paul Rofe
Callum Ferguson	Shaun Tait

The Redbacks squad is this week in Melbourne playing practice matches against the Victorian Bushrangers, and will arrive into Hobart this Thursday, October 30.The Redbacks also will play a Pura Cup game against Tasmania from Monday, November 3 to Thursday, November 6 in Hobart. The squad for that game will be announced later this week.

Close South Africa 320 (Boucher 72, Kirsten 53 retd hurt, Malik 4 – 42)
Scorecard

Mark Boucher played a plucky rebuilding knock © AFP

The two Shoaib’s – Malik and Akhtar – revived Pakistan and restricted South Africa to 320 on the opening day of the first Test at Lahore. Gary Kirsten (53) showed all the virtues necessary to tackle spin bowling until he was hit by a thundering bouncer by Akhtar. Mark Boucher made a plucky 72 and prevented a batting collapse when Akhtar was running red hot. The other Shoaib, Malik, showed all the subtleties involved in offspin bowling and picked up four wickets on a truly absorbing day of cricket.Yousuf Youhana made his captaincy debut, but lost both the toss and the morning session. His counterpart, Graeme Smith, literally bullied the inconsistent Akhtar in his first four overs when he clattered him with bludgeoning venom. Mohammad Sami was the antithesis of his partner. He bowled a teasing spell, restricting the flow of runs and occasionally flirting with batsmen’s edge. He was rewarded when he pitched a rare one short and wide, and Smith got a top edge while trying to pull him over midwicket (52 for 1).Kirsten then joined Herschelle Gibbs, and the pair continued the swift pace of scoring until Gibbs edged a full ball from Danish Kaneria to Taufeeq Umar at first slip (84 for 2). Kirsten showed his experience, forcing the bowlers to pitch it up as he paddle-swept everything in sight. But as soon as the ball was tossed up, he came down the track and lofted it over the infield, disturbing the bowlers’ rhythm and ensured that his side’s runaway start didn’t fritter away.

Gary Kirsten cops one in the face from Shoaib Akhtar

Kallis began as if performing for a sweeping circus, and he survived a huge appeal for lbw from Kaneria, which was very adjacent. But he gradually showed that there were more shots in his book, rocking back to punch the ball through the covers. However both Kirsten and Kallis had Lady Luck on their side as both escaped regulation catches.Apart from Sami, Pakistan’s bowling in the morning session was pedestrian and the fielding was very close to horrific. Just as a massive total was looming large South Africa were hit by an Akhtar whirlwind of gut-wrenching pace and bulls-eye accuracy.First Kallis faced the bombardment and was beaten three time in one over. He was glued to his crease and his lack of footwork cost him in the next over when he was given out caught behind off Danish Kaneria to a dubious decision. Kirsten reached his fifty with an elegant cover-drive and was all set to pitch tent for the whole day. But all such hopes were literally dashed in the seventh over after lunch, when Akhtar unleashed a well-directed short ball on Kirsten’s off stump. Kirsten tried to pull him away with a swift swing of the bat, but the ball was just too fast and sneaked in through the visor onto his left cheekbone. He was covered in blood within a few minutes and was hurried to the hospital for safety.McKenzie came in to face the death-metal music and received an incisive yorker that started outside off and swung and got him lbw (159 for 4).Boucher walked in amid blood and swing, and played a truly memorable innings. He kept out the yorkers and swept all the spinners. He was aided by some large gaps left in the field and hurried South Africa along to safety. Along with Boetta Dippenaar, and then Shaun Pollock , he rebuilt the innings which was threatening to collapse.And when the game was drifting away from Pakistan, they found the other Shoaib revitalizing them and picking up the crucial wickets of Dippenaar – who was in good touch – and Boucher, both caught at leg-slip. Shoaib then tantalized the tail with looping variation – they were clueless against the `doosra’ – and wrapped up the innings for 320.When Smith was blazing away he might have envisaged a batting mauling, but the two Shoaibs had other ideas – one brutal and the other subtle.

Scorecard
The supposed weak spot in Pakistan’s batting line-up showed no signs of fragility on the second day against Leicestershire as their two openers, Imran Farhat and Salman Butt, put on a splendid 145 opening partnership as Pakistan declared on 304 for 5.Against a depleted attack, the pair were quick to assert their authority with Butt striking 12 fours in his 68, and Farhat launching a six and 12 fours in his 81. However, the introduction of Nicholas Walker – the 21-year-old medium-fast bowler – brought dividends as he bowled Butt, trapped the Pakistan captain Younis Khan in front for 9 before removing the especially dangerous Shahid Afridi for just 13.All of a sudden, with Farhat retiring on 81, Pakistan had stumbled from 145 without loss to 201 for 4 until, that is, Kamran Akmal arrived at the crease. With typical aggression and audacity, he and Faisal Iqbal (40*) put on 103 for the sixth wicket with Akmal finishing on an unbeaten 62 from just 81 balls. Four towering sixes and five fours pinged off his bat, as he took particular fancy to the inexperienced medium-pacer Ryan Cummins.Khan declared with Pakistan trailing Leicestershire’s first innings by just 11 runs. Before the close, they turned a good day into an excellent one with the quick dismissal of Hilton Ackerman and Matthew Boyce to leave Leicestershire in the precarious position of 45 for 2.