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Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, has offered his services to help restore Pakistan’s status after their shocking exit from the World Cup in a three-wicket defeat against Ireland.”I am ready to sit down with the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board [PCB] and see what we could do to bring the nation out of this cricketing crisis,” Imran said in a television programme.Imran blamed captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for the debacle after Pakistan lost both their group matches – against the West Indies and Ireland – to become the first team to exit the World Cup.”His captaincy was timid,” Imran said. “Inzamam himself said before the World Cup that he would bat at No.4, but when the tournament began he came out to bat at No.5. This built pressure on the team and we simply collapsed against medium-pace bowlers of Ireland,” he explained.After the untimely death of the Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, Imran advised the PCB to bring in two coaches – one for the bowlers and other for batsmen.”I would suggest Aaqib Javed should be the bowling coach because he had coached Pakistan to win two Under-19 World Cups,” Imran suggested. He added, without offering any names, that the PCB also should look for a good batting coach.Imran backed Younis Khan as the future captain. “It’s not the time to take drastic measures,” he said.Domestic cricket, in Imran’s opinion, also had to be streamlined in the manner in which domestic competitions were run in Australia and South Africa. “I have played in Sheffield Shield and I know they have the best system of just six teams in first-class cricket,” Imran said. “That’s the only way we could also produce quality cricketers,” he explained.

Brisbane Heat defended superbly at the death to overcome Adelaide Strikers in a gutsy victory after a knee injury to quick Shaheen Shah Afridi.Debutant Thomas Balkin stepped up and claimed two wickets in the final over to ensure Heat claimed their second win of the season.It was the first game played at the Gabba since Heat and Scorchers combined for a record 515 runs on December 19. While the same surface was used, this nerve-jangling match was more of an even contest between bat and ball.Heat struggled for fireworks in the first half of their innings, shackled by a disciplined and versatile Strikers attack. Quick Hasan Ali bowled well during several difficult phases to finish with 2 for 36 from 4 overs, but Heat did recover from 98-5 thanks to Max Bryant’s 63 off 32 balls.Chasing 180, Strikers were pinned down early with Shaheen conjuring swing and unleashing several menacing yorkers. Shaheen’s opening two-over burst underlined his improving form, having started his BBL career with just two wickets from three matches and a grisly economy of almost 12.Having seen off Shaheen, Matthew Short put the foot down and smashed consecutive sixes in the fifth over to speed past a scratchy Chris Lynn.Lynn could never get going and his 24-ball 22 ended when he skied a return catch to Xavier Bartlett, who two balls later dismissed Mackenzie Harvey. Bartlett then found himself under a high ball from Liam Scott as he gleefully took the catch at long-on off Matthew Renshaw’s part-time spin bowling.Short remained the key and brought up his half-century in risky fashion when he almost fended a return catch to Shaheen, who undid his earlier good work to concede 19 runs in the 12th over.Shaheen then limped off the field after the 14th over with a knee injury having pulled up gingerly when a blow from Jamie Overton thumped past him at mid-on.It meant Shaheen, who finished with 0 for 26 from 3 overs, was not available for the final over of the power surge where he had been entrusted to bowl in previous games. Jerrssis Wadia, playing his second BBL game, turned the game on its head in the 15th over when he whacked 22 runs off his first four deliveries.Strikers appeared to be cruising to the target until Short hit Bartlett to long-on, ending his fine 63 off 39 balls, as they lost 4 for 12. With Strikers needing 10 runs off the final over, Balkin calmly closed it out and dismissed Harry Nielsen on the penultimate ball to trigger scenes of jubilation.Heat showcased their prowess of defending a total, having batted first in their first three games. After being sent in to bat, Jack Wildermuth stepped on the turf where he became a Heat hero following his astounding century against Scorchers. But Wildermuth lasted just four balls after holing out to Scott in the second over.Left-arm quick Luke Wood, who started his season well with a three-wicket haul against Sixers, struggled to find the right length but did rattle the stumps of Colin Munro with the last ball of his opening two-over spell.The pressure was on Renshaw, who entered in a rich vein of form highlighted by his brutal ton against Scorchers. While the spotlight shines on several of Australia’s underperforming Test batters, Renshaw had an opportunity to make another statement and his confidence was underlined by swatting Wood down the ground.Having whacked nine sixes against Scorchers, Renshaw nailed his first in the fifth over when he climbed into an innocuous short delivery from Hasan.Short reverted to spin and it did the trick with legspinner Lloyd Pope dismissing Hugh Weibgen to halt Heat’s push. Renshaw, however, loomed large as he effectively shuffled across his stumps to power through the legside.But Short stepped up and his useful offspin tempted Renshaw into a miscue to extra cover as Heat soon found themselves in major trouble. Bryant started relatively slowly before launching consecutive sixes off Overton in the 14th over and the momentum carried over into the power surge overs, where Heat clubbed 30 runs.Bryant powered to his half-century, dominating a 52-run stand with Jimmy Peirson, before being beaten for pace by a fierce short ball from Hasan.

Dale Steyn and Brett Lee, who won the Man-of-the-Series awards in the recent clean sweeps for South Africa and Australia, have broken into the top five in the ICC player rankings for Test bowlers.Steyn dismantled the New Zealand batsmen with 20 wickets in two Tests, and has skyrocketed to third place in the list – he was ranked 28th before the start of the series. Lee is two places behind him in fifth, having finished with 16 wickets in the two Tests Australia played against Sri Lanka.Steyn’s team-mate Jacques Kallis is now one point away from Lee’s compatriot Ricky Ponting at the top of the list for Test batsmen. Kallis followed up his three hundreds in four innings against Pakistan with two more in three innings against New Zealand.The other mover in the top ten Test batsmen is Kumar Sangakkara, who jumped to third place – ahead of Mohammad Yousuf – on the back of his 57 and 192 in the second Test against Australia.

New Zealand 213 for 6 (McCullum 77, Sidebottom 3-51) beat England 242 for 7 (Wright 47, Mills 4-36) by 34 runs (Duckworth-Lewis)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Last week, Brendon McCullum was the surprise package in the IPL auctions – today he batted like a cricketer with a million-dollar price tag. His superlative 77 from 43 balls ensured that New Zealand finished their five-match one-day series against England as they had begun it; with a thumpingly impressive victory. Had it not been for a late collapse of 3 for 1 in seven balls, and the even later invention of rain, this result would have been as comprehensive as New Zealand’s first two victories at Wellington and Hamilton. It really was that one-sided.England were off the pace throughout. They batted too slowly, bowled too naïvely, and fielded like a side resigned to defeat – four chances of varying degrees of difficulty were shelled while the game was still live, including a howler by Stuart Broad at third man when McCullum had made 31. New Zealand were led superbly in the field by Kyle Mills, who took 4 for 36 with two wickets in an eight-over burst with the new ball and two more with his offcutters in the death overs, but none of England’s bowlers seemed willing to follow his lead.James Anderson, once again, was especially culpable. He unleashed the Kiwi beast in his third over by serving up another diet of short wide long-hops that McCullum bludgeoned up and over the covers for two fours and a six. When he returned for a second burst at 75 for 0 in the tenth over, with his side in dire need of wickets, he was clobbered for three massive sixes in a row – the first, which was spectacularly caught in the second tier of the grandstand, took him to his fifty from just 27 balls.McCullum’s form in this series has been nothing short of sensational. He finished with 261 runs from 203 balls faced, and only once, at Auckland, did he fail to reach 40 – not surprisingly, that was the only game that New Zealand went on to lose. Once again he compiled a century stand with his new opening partner, Jesse Ryder, but on this occasion Ryder was little more than a bystander. By the time he was lucklessly run out for 24 from 32 balls, his partner had pummelled his way to 72 from 34.It was England’s captain, Paul Collingwood, who eventually ended McCullum’s stay. One ball after dropping a regulation return chance, he knocked back the off stump as McCullum attempted another heave through midwicket. But Jamie How, in the form of his life, responded with two sumptuous drives before the new batsman, Ross Taylor, got off the mark with consecutive edges for four. It was clear that nothing was going to stop New Zealand now.Well, almost nothing. Just as at Napier, England found a second wind at precisely the moment that everyone else had given up on them. Scott Styris was once again the unwitting catalyst, as he wellied an attempted pull to cover off the undeserving Anderson, before Ryan Sidebottom – very much in the zone – removed the debutant Daniel Flynn and the dangerous Jacob Oram with consecutive off-stump legcutters. At 198 for 6, there was a glimmer for England and they were convinced that Vettori had edged Anderson but Billy Bowden disagreed. Then came the mandatory ball change at the end of the 34th over, and the venom went out of their challenge as the rain began to fall.In truth, England scarcely deserved to get so close to victory. Batting first, their innings had been a mishmash of partially formed anchor roles, and all-too-brief cameos. Phil Mustard never got going, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen played themselves in then gave their wickets away in crass fashion – Bell to a lofted drive, a shot he had been playing exquisitely, and Pietersen to a second-ball mow off the spinner, Jeetan Patel.Alastair Cook seemed set to drop anchor for the full 50 overs when he missed a quicker one from Daniel Vettori, who also served up the ball of the innings to have Collingwood stumped for 14. Owais Shah was scratchy in a rare lengthy opportunity, and in the end England owed every ounce of their competitiveness to Luke Wright and Dimitri Mascarenhas, who belted six sixes between them as 81 runs were added in the final eight overs.Unfortunately for England, Wright and Mascarenhas’s ease of strokeplay was the norm for this wicket, not the exception. By the time McCullum was into his stride, there was no doubt about the outcome. England had done well to recover their poise after the humiliations of the opening two games, but the 3-1 series result still flatters them. There is much for Collingwood and his team to work on before the return one-day series in June.

The ICC has received a copy of the match referee’s report on the Kanpur pitch and is now waiting for a response from the Indian board on the same. But the BCCI played down the issue of what Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, called a “poor cricket wicket”.”It’s a normal process where the match referee submits a pitch report to the ICC at the end of the match, a copy of which is also given to the board,” said Ratnakar Shetty, the board’s chief administrative officer.South Africa beat India by an innings and 90 runs in Ahmedabad on a bouncy track but lost the Kanpur Test by eight wickets after their batting line-up crumbled on an under-prepared surface. Both matches ended in three days.”This is not the first time that a match ended in three days,” Shetty said. “Definitely there were suggestions for some corrective measures but I don’t think it was a notice to the BCCI.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said a letter had been sent to the BCCI seeking an explanation on the pitch.

Former West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh and renowned American fielding guru Mike Young have signed on to be a part of the coaching staff at the ICC Americas selection combine to be held at Indianapolis World Sports Park in September.”I’m really excited by this opportunity to help identify and work with some of the best talent in the Americas,” Walsh said in an ICC press release. “It’s great that the ICC and the WICB are working together on this initiative that can only help cricket develop in the region.”Applications for players who are eligible to play for countries within the ICC Americas region were due to close on Friday, but the deadline has been extended an additional week through to July 24. Up to 100 players from around the region will be invited to phase one of the combine from September 18, as they compete for spots in a regional squad to participate in the WICB 50-over domestic tournament next January.A select group of players from phase one will then be invited back to phase two from September 24, where they will join pre-selected players based on performances from the ICC Americas championship in May, and the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier currently taking place in Ireland and Scotland. After the conclusion of phase two, a final squad will be chosen and top-performing players may also receive invitations to trial for teams in the 2016 Caribbean Premier League.Walsh is currently a WICB selector and bowling coach for the Jamaica Tallawahs. In 2011, he served as tour manager for the West Indies U-19 team in Florida where they swept the USA U-19 team in a four-match 50-over series. Young, a Chicago native, has been a specialist fielding coach serving on and off with Australia for the last 14 years, including at the 2015 World Cup.

South Africa has tied the inaugural Super Challenge 2000 series at Melbourne’s Colonial Stadium at one match apiece with a eight run win in the third and final match of what has proved to be a very innovative and enjoyable series.There were several heroes for the visitors, in particular the underrated left arm spinner Nicky Boje, who took 2/29 from ten overs of very accurate left arm spin and was awarded the Man of Series award. He proved difficult to get away in the mid to latter stages of the match and along with skipper Shaun Pollock (2/36 off eight) did some valuable damage during the run chase. Pollock proved again his great ability with the new ball getting the first two wickets while Adam Gilchrist (63 off 67 balls) powered away in the opening stages of Australia’s innings.Curiously right at the death Andrew Hall, who kept very well in the absence of the finger knife slicing Mark Boucher, was called up to bowl the second last over, with 22 needed. He started with a nervous wide but held up well under the pressure to concede only eight off the over and this left the Aussies needing 14 off the last.Jacques Kallis took the ball and after a smiling conversation involving he and skipper Pollock, South Africa wrapped up the match with a bit to spare.Earlier, South Africa were in desperate trouble at 4/19 in the seventh over, after great opening spells by Glenn McGrath (3/26 off ten overs) and Brett Lee (3/56 off ten).McGrath was first to strike, finding the edge of Andrew Hall’s (1) bat and Mark Waugh accepted the hot head high chance at second slip.At the Latrobe Street end, Brett Lee, who started to find his rhythm after an early speight of no balls, struck twice in his third over, having Kallis edge a lifting ball through to Gilchrist for three and then Daryl Cullinan went, bowled between bat and pad by a very sharp in dipper for a fourth ball duck. The veteran right-hander will come away from his Colonial Stadium experience was little fondness for it after a pair of noughts in the last two matches. South Africa were now 3/19 as Neil McKenzie walked out to join the experienced Kirsten.McGrath knocked over Kirsten (9) thanks again to the safe hands of Mark Waugh at second slip and at 4/19 the 15,000 odd that had bothered to make it for the 10am start were facing a free afternoon.South Africa have come from the depths of these positions before to win matches and today the men who rose to the challenge with the bat were Neil McKenzie (45) and Lance Klusener (49) who added 98 for the fifth wicket in 26 overs. They were the initial heroes with the bat, with Shaun Pollack (34) and Nicky Boje (28 off 28 balls) ensuring South Africa got past 200 after falling to 7/150 in the 43rd over after the initial recovery. The pair added an unbeaten 56 in seven and a half overs and with the Australians slow in bowling their overs and subsequently having their innings reduced to 48 overs, the South African total reached a level of respectability.This reduction to 48 overs was a real surprise, given the fairly liberal interpretation of the rule in the previous two matches.In Game one, South Africa were 21 minutes over time and on Friday Australia were around a quarter of an hour but neither were penalised in any way. Admittedly though on Wednesday, South Africa’s bowlers were continually cleaning their sprigs giving the damp nature of the surface.In the Australian reply, Shaun Pollock picked up the first wicket, with a fairly straight ball which Mark Waugh played around as he came forward to drive. Waugh went for a single and Australia were 1/21 in the seventh over.Adam Gilchrist was making the job of batting look very easy as he opened his shoulders to eventually hit nine fours and a pulled six over square leg off Roger TelemachusRicky Ponting would have been disappointed with his dismissal as he played an impatient shot which brought about his downfall, attempting to loft Pollock over the on-side on the up. The result – a catch to Makhaya Ntini at mid on and Australia were now tottering a little at 2/31.Gilchrist continued to make batting look easy but his batting partner Michael Bevan was doing anything but, as he struggled to find a gap in the field with thirteen balls being needed before he could get off the mark.Gilchrist’s entertaining hand came to an end on 63 in the 20th over as he attempted a pull shot off Ntini and top edged it as high and as close as any ball had been near the roof, to be caught by Neil McKenzie at backward point.Ntini, who had been working up some pace during his first spell, struck the Aussie skipper Steve Waugh on the left arm with his next ball which was a sharp, rising delivery. Waugh rubbed his arm vigourously and Ntini returned to the top of his bowling mark, intent to try and put his side on top in the match.The eventual loss of the Australian captain, was a big blow for South Africa, as Waugh lofted Lance Klusener to mid off after making 17 and in the 29th over Australia were reduced to 4/114.Bevan had now started to find the gaps but when he reached 33 off 80 balls, he was brilliantly run out by Neil McKenzie from backward point in the 35th over and Australia now needed right on a run a ball if they were to win the match and clinch this series.Shane Warne was elevated up the order and lofted a few deliveries to various points of the arena without being able to pick up a boundary.Damien Martyn eased the tension somewhat as he found the first boundary for nine overs by charging and lofting South African skipper over mid wicket to the fence but in the 38th over Warne attempted to take on Nicky Boje and holed out to a great catch by Gary Kirsten at a widish long-on for seven.Shane Lee played rebustly as the run rate required found its way to over six and he and Damien Martyn added 28 in six overs before Lee hoisted a ball to deep mid wicket where a good catch was taken by Neil McKenzie, Australia were 7/171.What eventually broke the back of the chase was the demise of Damien Martyn, who after making 31 off 42 balls, was bowled by a Telemachus yorker in the 45th over at 8/176, this left Australia needing 31 off three and a half overs and this, unsurprisngly proved too much for the remaining batsmen.

Jason Gillespie has escaped with only minor injuries after an alleged assault outside a nightclub in the Victorian country town of Traralgon. Gillespie was part of the South Australia team that lost to Victoria in a one-day match in the town on Sunday and police said the incident occurred at about midnight that night.”Jason was on his own walking … it appears a couple of people targeted him,” the South Australia coach Mark Sorell told the . “But it seems like an isolated incident.”The paper reported that Gillespie might have suffered a fractured cheekbone, however the South Australia Cricket Association said he was not expected to miss any matches. Gillespie was treated in Melbourne and must now decide whether to pursue charges after reporting the matter to the police.”I can confirm we had an assault reported to us but we can’t confirm who may or may not be involved,” senior constable Eamon Leahy, of Traralgon Police, said. “The investigation is in its very early stages. At this stage the victim has asked that no information be released.”

If you go down to the SCG on Saturday you’re sure of a big surprise (unless you’re already a women’s cricket follower). Because on show will be the Australian captain Karen Rolton, the vice-captain Lisa Sthalekar… in fact, most of the Australia players, who will be facing off in the state final, the highlight of the domestic season. And they’re promising exciting cricket.”The women’s game is changing now, you have to be stronger. Scores of 230, 240 aren’t going to really cut it, you have to keep striving to keep pushing for scores over 250,” says Sthalekar, the New South Wales Breakers captain who is aiming high against South Australia Scorpions, who are in their first final for a decade and hunting their first title since 1995.Rolton was playing then and is keen to win once more. “It’s been quite a while,” she smiles. “It would mean a lot to win, there’s been a lot of hard work over the years. It will be quite exciting, it will mean a great deal, and most of the girls haven’t been in a final so it’s all very exciting.”The Breakers, meanwhile, have been in every final for the last 11 years, winning nine of them. This year, they were defeated just once in the tournament, and are a well-oiled unit, beating the Scorpions twice in the opening round back in November at Bankstown Oval, by seven wickets and 25 runs. They secured a home final by coming top of the pile again.Despite sweeping all before them – their future looks bright too as they regularly scoop all the junior titles on offer, too – they remain motivated, focussed and committed. “There’s a culture of always winning and always striving to dominate but also raise the bar in women’s cricket,” says Sthalekar. “Our goal this year has been to play exciting cricket which we have done.”They’ve set the pace as the women’s game has developed well over the last few years, offering more entertainment in the form of hitting over the top and a few hostile bouncers – watch out for Ellyse Perry’s firebolts – alongside the usual skills of finesse.And a prediction for the weekend? Sthalekar believes that while the Scorpions have five match-winning players – Australia’s Rolton, Shelley Nitschke, Kris Britt and Emma Sampson, and England import Jenny Gunn (who actually plays for Sydney) – the Breakers will have the edge through strength in depth. “I was hoping we would meet them because I think they’re the two best teams. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us to get on top of them. I think we might have the depth and hopefully that will get us across the line. If we can stay with them ball-by-ball hopefully our talent will come across.””They may just have the edge,” Rolton concedes. “They’re a good all-round team and we’re developing into that, and our batters are on form. They’ve definitely got more experience but that doesn’t always mean a lot in the final. We’ve had our chances over the years and this is the best year we’ve had. We deserve to be there and we will give them a good run for their money.”Indeed, don’t write the Scorpions off. In Rolton they have the competition’s only centurion of the season, while Sampson is one of the fastest bowlers in the world. South Australia have maintained the side which beat Victoria in the last group round to seal their final spot, while adding Tegan McPharlin.The game, then, promises to be a tight one after some impressive showings from South Australia in their recent state matches, and they will be backed by a vocal band of loyal supporters. “It’s great,” says Rolton. “Our support is pretty good out of all the states. To get people over means a lot to us. It will be great to have some red tops on in the crowd, everyone appreciates the support.”Breakers head coach Richard Bates, in his first year in charge, said the team had prepared well. “The key has been making sure that the players are ready to go, mentally and physically, on Saturday morning and ready for the challenge,” he says. “It is going to be a terrific game. There are so many great players on both sides who are capable of match winning performances. No doubt it will be case of who puts their hand up when it matters and maybe who has a bit of luck too!”As for Scorpions’ preparations, “We’ve done nothing differently,” says Rolton. “The preparations have gone quite well. It’s been hard because last week was full-on, so we’ve had a bit of cricket. Everyone’s prepared well.”Get there if you can.New South Wales Lisa Sthalekar (capt), Alex Blackwell, Sarah Andrews, Charlotte Anneveld, Sarah Aley, Kate Blackwell, Leonie Coleman, Rene Farrell, Alyssa Healy, Lisa Kuschert, Ellyse Perry, Sharon Millanta, Leah Poulton.South Australia Julie Woerner, Karen Rolton (capt), Shelley Nitschke, Kris Britt, Leanne Davis, Jenny Gunn, Alicia Dean (wk), Cara Fiebig, Neisha Iles, Fiona McDonald, Stephanie Morrison, Emma Sampson, Tegan McPharlin.

Cricket Scotland’s competitions committee has docked RH Corstorphine 16 points after the club breached two rules of the Lloyds TSB Scotland League.First, RH Corstorphine registered Pallav Kumar before the start of this season as an amateur player despite the fact that he had been paid to play cricket within the past three years at Durham during 2004, thus breaching Rule 8(e). Kumar has played nine games in the league before the committee on June 14 granted him permission to play as an amateur player for the rest of the season. Secondly, on seven occasions this season, the club has fielded more than the allowed maximum of four non-Scottish-qualified players, in breach of Rule 8(b).One point will be deducted for each game in which Kumar played prior to his being granted permission to play as an amateur. In applying this sanction, the committee has taken into account the fact that Kumar has not played as a paid player since 2004 and has accepted that the club did not deliberately breach this rule but had failed to carry out the necessary checks prior to registering Kumar.For breach of Rule 8(b), one point will be deducted for each player over the allowed limit, such deduction to apply to each game in which the offence was committed. In this case, there were seven games in which the limit was exceeded by one player and therefore seven points will be deducted. The committee accept that the club did not intend to breach this rule but had made an honest error, and have taken this into account when applying this sanction.