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England make perfect start through Potts and Anderson before suffering late batting collapse

Alan Gardner02-Jun-2022If the mantra of this England Test side, coached by Brendon McCullum and captained by Ben Stokes, is about “moving the game forward”, then the first day of the opening Test of the summer could scarcely have gone better. But after a flying start with the ball, England went back to old habits as New Zealand exposed familiar failings with the bat. Seventeen wickets went down on an apparently true Lord’s surface, and come the close it was far from clear which side was on top.The game began in fast-forward, New Zealand sliding to 12 for 4 inside the first hour, but gradually settled on to a more even keel. James Anderson, playing the 170th match of his Test career, and Matthew Potts, in his first, shared eight wickets between them as the tourists were rounded up in two sessions following Kane Williamson’s decision to bat first; they were in dire straits at 45 for 7 only for Colin de Grandhomme to marshal some lower-order resistance.After an encouraging opening stand of 59 between Zak Crawley and Alex Lees, England then shipped seven wickets during the evening session to bring New Zealand roaring back into the contest. Even after Kyle Jamieson produced the initial breakthroughs, they were still well placed on 92 for 2 and with thoughts beginning to turn towards consolidation. But Joe Root, in his first Test since resigning the captaincy, steered de Grandhomme to gully and England promptly lost 5 for 8 to revive memories of the grisly collapses that have disfigured their red-ball cricket over the last year.Related

• 'We're going to throw our punches,' says Matthew Potts after action-packed England debut

• 'Still felt like we were in the game' – Kyle Jamieson on New Zealand fightback

• England's entertainers get carried away with new-found Test zest

• Williamson relishing return, insists elbow will stand up to the Test

• Stokes wants 'blank canvas' – but not 'reset'

Crawley was the first to depart, having produced a number of eye-catching shots in his 56-ball 43. But after stroking Jamieson through the covers for four, he attempted another lavish drive off his next ball only to produce a thin edge through to the keeper.Ollie Pope’s maiden outing in first-class cricket at No. 3 did not last long, feathering behind off a rising Jamieson delivery, but it was the dismissal of Root that really shook England’s resolve. Tim Southee struck twice in the space of consecutive overs, trapping Lees lbw shuffling across his stumps after another dogged-but-insubstantial innings, before Stokes edged behind with just a single to his name. The slide gathered momentum as Trent Boult, straight into the side after his late dash from the IPL, claimed two in three balls, Jonny Bairstow dragging on to his stumps and Potts bounced out to conclude an eventful start to his Test career.In true McCullum style, England charged headlong into their new era – literally, in the case of Jack Leach, who suffered a concussion when throwing himself full length over the boundary rope to prevent four and had to be substituted from the game. Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner, was called in as Leach’s replacement for an unexpected Test debut, although New Zealand’s first innings was over long before he had completed his journey from Manchester to Lord’s.England ran rampant during an exhilarating morning session that saw New Zealand totter in at lunch on 39 for 6, as Potts, the Durham debutant, struck with his fifth ball and added two during an impressive first spell in Test cricket, going on to finish with 4 for 13. If England began the series with, in Stokes’ words, a “blank canvas”, they were soon daubing pretty pictures for an expectant crowd – and such a rousing start might help squeeze a few more in through the gates in the days and weeks to come.Only two of New Zealand’s top six made it into double figures, a grim sequence which included Williamson scoring 2 from 22 balls before edging behind off Potts, Ben Foakes swooping to his right for his maiden dismissal behind the stumps on home soil. Daryl Mitchell struck three retaliatory boundaries only to play on in Potts’ fifth over, and the new boy had a third shortly before lunch when bringing one back up the slope to clatter Tom Blundell’s off stump.Ben Stokes walks back after falling early•PA Images via Getty Images

New Zealand’s position worsened when Jamieson was out hooking to fine leg in the first over after lunch, and they were grateful for a counterattacking hand from de Grandhomme, who helped eke out 87 runs for the last three wickets.For all the buzz around England promising a fresh approach to Test cricket, it was the familiar sight of Anderson and Stuart Broad that greeted the New Zealand openers, the new-ball pair back in harness after being dropped for the tour to the Caribbean. Stokes, who wore a one-off shirt in tribute to the hospitalised former England batter Graham Thorpe at the toss, confirmed that he too would have opted to bat, but was able to settle straight into his new role orchestrating proceedings from mid-off.It took Anderson, playing his first Test since helping to secure a draw at the SCG in January, a mere seven balls to find his groove once again. Will Young was lured into pushing outside off but might have got away with a fast, low edge had it not been for a fantastic one-handed catch from Bairstow, throwing himself to his left from third slip. Anderson bagged the wicket of Latham in his next over, with Bairstow again the catcher – this time throwing himself for the rebound after dropping the initial, chest-high chance.Broad did not have to wait long to get amongst it either, luring Devon Conway into a hard-handed prod that again provided catching practice for Bairstow in the slips, leaving New Zealand deep in trouble at 7 for 3 in the eighth over.Their woes were deepened by the impact of Potts, handed his cap before play by Steve Harmison after being backed by Stokes – another Durham and England man – for his debut. Potts had never played a first-class match before at Lord’s, but walked off at lunch with figures of 3 for 8 after living up to his billing as a deck-hitting catalyst of a fast bowler.He was on the money from the outset, and his first victim could scarcely have been more illustrious, as Williamson was drawn into pushing at one in the channel. Mitchell looked more comfortable than most of his colleagues, but was undone by some extra bounce as he looked to defend from the crease, before Blundell also fell cheaply to Potts, whose relentless line left the New Zealand wicketkeeper uncertain of his response, and fatally late on an in-ducker.Jamieson threw the bat at four of his five deliveries after the break, before picking out Potts in the deep, but Southee was more successful in pushing England back, striking four boundaries in 26 off 23 balls. He fell in identical fashion to Anderson, and the removal of Ajaz Patel by Potts with the first ball of his second spell left both seamers contemplating a spot on the honours board. Potts limped off with cramp shortly after, replaced mid-over by Stokes, and the new captain finished the frivolity – at least until England’s madcap final hour.

Also reiterates why he may miss the entirety of the New Zealand tour

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2021Shakib Al Hasan has said that the Bangladesh team has the ability to bounce from adversity, after their first series whitewash at home in nine years. The home side lost the Dhaka Test by 17 runs against West Indies, after already losing the game in Chattogram by three wickets.It led to stinging criticism led by BCB president Nazmul Hassan who didn’t mince his words in a press conference shortly after the Dhaka defeat.Related

• Russell Domingo: 'Bangladesh need players who are hungry for Tests, can guts it out for five days'

• Kraigg Brathwaite toasts 'amazing achievement' by West Indies: 'The future is bright'

• At no point did I think we would lose the game – Mominul

• BCB chief slams Mominul, Domingo

• Bangladesh fall 17 short as West Indies seal 2-0 win

Shakib, who missed part of the first Test and the entirety of the second Test due to a thigh injury, said that Bangladesh has come out of similarly difficult situations in the past.”It is definitely a difficult time for us, but we have had such times before,” Shakib said at a private event in Dhaka on Monday. “We have worked together in the past to get out of such situations, and I believe we can do it again. I believe we have the ability. We have got out of such situations before. A couple of good results will change the scenario. We wouldn’t be talking about anything if we had scored the 17 runs yesterday.”Nobody wants to lose in any sport. We didn’t think it would turn out like this. We beat their full-strength side in the previous tour. Everything was okay till the fourth day of the first Test. Our bad phase started from the fifth day.”Shakib said that like all team managements, the Bangladesh one also takes winning decisions but it sometimes doesn’t work out. “There’s no right or wrong decision in cricket. Every decision is taking by players, captain and the team management thinking of a win,” he said. “If we would’ve won, you wouldn’t have asked these questions, but you have a job to ask questions even then. I think everyone has a responsibility,” he said.Shakib also explained why he needed the break for the tour of New Zealand, which he said was partly due to his injury and partly because his wife is giving birth to their third child.”It will take me six to eight weeks to recover from the injury, which means there’s a good chance that I will miss the New Zealand tour. If it takes me six weeks, I might make it to the T20I series, but there’s a personal reason for asking for the leave.”We are going to have our third child, which is exciting for both of us,” he said. “I must be next to my wife. More importantly, the Covid-19 situation in the US is pretty bad. Only the husband is allowed in the hospital, so I must be with her.”

New Zealand spinner to fill vacancy left by Keshav Maharaj and the injured Adil Rashid for last two games of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Sep-2019Ajaz Patel, the New Zealand spinner, will play the final two games of the County Championship season for Yorkshire, replacing Keshav Maharaj as the club’s overseas player.Patel, who took nine wickets in New Zealand’s 1-1 draw in their Test series in Sri Lanka last month, has spent most of the English summer playing club cricket as Cranleigh’s overseas professional.Yorkshire can mathematically still win the Championship – though would be reliant on Essex and Somerset suffering a severe downturn in form if they were to win the title.”I came over to play at Cranleigh CC this winter, hopefully with the opportunity to pick up some county cricket while I was over here,” Patel said. “But I obviously got called into the New Zealand squad for the Sri Lanka Tests while I was over there. It all happened pretty quickly from there, I got the call and jumped at the opportunity really.”It’s exciting and Yorkshire are in with a chance of winning another County Championship. It’s a club with a lot of history and one that’s been pretty successful in the championship in the past. I’m coming for two games and hope to contribute as much as I can and to try to do as much as I can to help Yorkshire into the best position to be able to win the competition as they approach the end of the season.”I’ve had a good tour of Sri Lanka, where I was quite successful in their conditions. Confidence-wise I’m feeling good and the ball is coming out really nicely.”Yorkshire have been without Adil Rashid for the entirety of their Championship season due to international duty and injuries, while Josh Poysden has missed the second half of the campaign due to a freak head injury after being struck during a nets session.As a result, they have had to recruit from elsewhere to find a spinner. Dom Bess played four games on loan from Somerset, while Maharaj is the same number of games into his stint as an overseas player.Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, said: “Ajaz has had a good last two or three seasons in domestic cricket and he’s currently in the New Zealand Test squad. We feel he’s well qualified to come in and be available for the last two games for us, when hopefully we can continue our push to finish as high as possible in the County Championship.”We want to finish as high in the County Championship as possible; mathematically it’s possible that we can still win it and we want to give ourselves the best possible opportunity. We looked at the options to fill Kesh’s shoes and we think Ajaz is the best to do that.”We’ve spoken to those that know him well and he has been one of the most consistent performers in domestic cricket and he has done well in Sri Lanka for New Zealand recently.”

Bumrah has undergone surgery for his broken left thumb in Leeds and has returned to India

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2018Fast bowler Shardul Thakur will replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah in India’s ODI squad for the three matches against England.Bumrah had already been ruled out of the ongoing T20I series in England, having broken his left thumb during India’s 76-run win in the first T20I against Ireland on June 27.On Friday, the BCCI confirmed that the fast bowler would miss the ODIs too, stating that he had undergone surgery in Leeds on July 4 before returning to India.This is the second injury to hit India’s ODI team before the series, with spinner Washington Sundar being ruled out earlier with an ankle problem and replaced by Axar Patel.Shardul, 26, last played for India in the Nidahas Trophy T20I series in Sri Lanka in March, and hadn’t been picked for the T20I or ODI squads for England. He is already in the UK though, and was an important part of the India A squad that won the tri-series involving England Lions and West Indies A.Shardul took eight wickets in four matches at an average of 21.37 and an economy rate of 5.02. He was on standby to replace Bumrah, with India A coach Rahul Dravid praising his performance for the A side.Despite Bumrah’s absence, India have several pace options to call on in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Siddarth Kaul and Hardik Pandya, with Shardul now added to the mix.

Either Shakib Al Hasan or Trent Boult is likely to replace the Australia fast bowler as Kolkata Knight Riders look to reclaim the top spot

The Preview by Sreshth Shah25-Apr-2017

Match facts

Rising Pune Supergiant v Kolkata Knight Riders
Pune, April 26, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)3:56

Hogg: Tahir at his best with old ball

Form guide

• Rising Pune Supergiant (fourth): defeated Mumbai Indians by three runs, defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets, defeated RCB by 27 runs

• Kolkata Knight Riders (second): defeated RCB by 82 runs, lost to Gujarat Lions by four wickets, defeated Delhi Daredevils by four wickets

Head to head

OverallKolkata Knight Riders chased 66 (D/L adjusted target) and 161 to win both at home and away against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016.

In the news

Knight Riders will be without Nathan Coulter-Nile, who in their previous game took three wickets to bowl Royal Challengers Bangalore out for 49, which is the lowest total in IPL history. The 29-year old seamer has not travelled with the team to Pune, with captain Gautam Gambhir citing workload management as the reason.Coulter-Nile’s absence means either Shakib Al Hasan or Trent Boult could return to the team. Colin de Grandhomme hasn’t fired with the bat but his three-wicket haul on Sunday has boosted his chances of retaining his place.

The likely XIs

Rising Pune Supergiant 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Ben Stokes, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Dan Christian, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Jaydev UnadkatKolkata Knight Riders 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa (wk), 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Yusuf Pathan 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Trent Boult/Shakib Al Hasan, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

Strategy Punt

• Overall in the IPL, Sunil Narine smashes spin at a strike-rate of 233 but pace at only 126. But this season, with his promotion to opener, he has smashed fast bowlers for 93 runs off 53 deliveries. So perhaps there is a case for Rising Pune to take pace off the ball and use Imran Tahir or Washington Sundar against him.

Stats that matter

• MS Dhoni has struggled against Sunil Narine in T20s. He has managed only 27 runs off 54 balls.
• Manoj Tiwary has scored 139 runs off 82 balls, at a strike-rate of 167.07. He has been dismissed only three times in his last nine T20 innings, and has been hitting a boundary every four balls.
• Ajinkya Rahane has smashed Umesh Yadav for 54 runs in 38 balls without ever being dismissed in the IPL.
• Knight Riders have taken 28 wickets between overs 7 and 15, ten more than their closest rivals Sunrisers Hyderabad. Six KKR bowlers have taken three or more wickets during the middle overs, with Woakes’ tally of six being the highest.
• KKR’s quicks have been the most productive in the league. They have taken 34 wickets at an average of 19.82. On the other hand, Rising Pune’s seamers have managed only 24 wickets at an average of 32.54.
• Spinners have been more effective than seamers at MCA stadium this season. They have given away only 6.97 runs per over, taking a wicket every 19.42 runs. Seamers have leaked 9.50 runs an over, taking a wicket every 42.61 runs.

Central Zone lifted the Bangladesh Cricket League title – their second after their triumph in the inaugural edition in 2012-13 – following their drawn game against North Zone in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam17-Mar-2016Central Zone sealed their second Bangladesh Cricket League title, following a drawn game against North Zone in Mirpur.Central Zone had won the inaugural BCL tournament in the 2012-13 season, before South Zone won it in the following two seasons – 2013-14 and 2014-15.Central Zone, who were on top of the points table at the start of this game, became champions despite ending the match with nine points as opposed to North Zone, who collected 11.North Zone were bowled out for 378 batting first, with Farhad Hossain making 131. Mohammad Sharif took 6 for 105.

List of BCL champions

• 2012-13: Central Zone

• 2013-14: South Zone

• 2015: South Zone

• 2015-16: Central Zone

In reply, Central Zone were bowled out for 306, with Raqibul Hasan (63) and Shuvagata Hom (51) scoring fifties. Left-arm pacer Shafaq Al Zabir, right-arm medium pacer Ariful Haque, and offspinner Mahmudul Hasan took three wickets each.North Zone declared their second innings on 293 for 8. Nazmul Hossain Shanto made 55, while Jahurul Islam was unbeaten on 83. Tanveer Haider took 4 for 66.Marshall Ayub finished off the first-class season with an unbeaten 101 as Central Zone made 257 for 2 on the final day. Ayub finished as tournament’s highest run-getter with 562 runs at 56.20.East Zone, who were second on the points table, ended up drawing their game against South Zone.Alok Kapali’s third hundred of the tournament lifted East Zone to 442 after they elected to bat. Liton Das, Mominul Haque, the captain, and the No. 10 Iftekhar Sajjad struck fifties. Moynul Islam took 4 for 83.South Zone replied with 601, with Mosaddek Hossain’s 152, and a power-packed 146 from Sohag Gazi, leading the charge. Opener Shahriar Nafees missed out on a century by 10 runs, while Farhad Reza made 72. Kapali took 3 for 63.In the remaining 41.3 overs, Liton struck an unbeaten 103, while Irfan Sukkur made 75 not out as East Zone ended the game on 189 for no loss.

Faf du Plessis, who captains South Africa’s Twenty20 side, believes he is not yet ready to lead the team in ODIs

Firdose Moonda27-Aug-2013Faf du Plessis has admitted that his ODI form must improve if he hopes to take over as the ODI captain in the future. Du Plessis already leads South Africa’s Twenty20 side, and has been widely tipped to eventually succeed AB de Villiers, who has been burdened with the role of skipper, senior batsman and wicket-keeper. However, du Plessis does not see himself as a suitable candidate just yet.”My performances need to be better if I want to be considered as ODI captain. In Sri Lanka, I was under pressure to score runs and I knew that,” he told ESPNcricinfo.In the last 12 months, Du Plessis has managed only two half-centuries in the 21 matches he has played – an unbeaten 62 against Netherlands in May, and a 72-ball 57 against New Zealand in January.His lean patch extended to the shortest format of the game as well, but du Plessis ended the drought with an assured 85 in the last T20 on South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka last month. “It meant a lot for me to score runs in that last T20,” he said. “I needed them badly.”His own showings aside, du Plessis achieved something bigger when he became the first captain to take South Africa to a series win in Sri Lanka. After a below-par ODI showing in which they were defeated 4-1, South Africa clinched the three-match T20 series 2-1. A notable difference in the two series was in the leadership. While de Villiers struggled in his decision-making and was often behind the over-rate, du Plessis made crucial bowling and fielding changes, appeared in control most of the time, and admitted that he was enjoying his job.”I love captaining and adding value in that way,” he said. “I like giving the talks that a captain gives and dealing with the high pressure times. I even like taking the flak of making decision myself, like when it comes to bowling changes. The captain needs to make tough decisions and I don’t mind making them.”Du Plessis was a captain at school level and occasionally in the domestic set-up. So despite his relatively young age when he was promoted to T20 captain in November last year, he was deemed to have had the required skills to cut it at the top. He had only played four T20s when he was handed the role, but immediately set about trying to establish a style of leadership and earn the confidence of his team.”If you’re honest with players, they respect you,” he said. “Everybody knew we were experimenting a bit and we will try a experiment a little more because we need have our best combinations.” The World T20 and 2015 World Cup are only six and 18 months away respectively, but South Africa are still toying with new combinations and strategies under the new coach Russell Domingo.Through the process of settling on a line-up, du Plessis is hopeful that his own ODI showings will get better, if only because he will have some stability to get into a rhythm. Currently, he has been stationed at No.4 in the line-up, between JP Duminy and de Villiers, and Domingo has indicated he will keep those positions, even as Jacques Kallis makes himself available for more ODI cricket.Du Plessis, for one, can see the benefit of a definite plan. “It’s nice to have a more stable role because before I was batting everywhere and now I am able to get used to a role,” he said. The only person du Plessis thinks can float is de Villiers who he said “has to bat at the most crucial part of the game,” because “he is just the best in every situation.”With de Villiers identified as South Africa’s gun player, it would not be too surprising to see him relieved of the extra duty of leading in the near future, although du Plessis would not be drawn on how his long-time friend feels about leadership. “AB and I are different captains and we use each other, when it comes to discussing things. I’d love to captain the ODI side but I know it’s not going to happen at the moment,” he said. “The captain needs to be the first name on the team sheet, so I have to make sure I am there.”A format du Plessis feels he does not have to worry about his place in is the longest one, which South Africa will resume with two Tests against Pakistan in the UAE in October. After his match-saving hundred in Adelaide against Australia last November, du Plessis thinks he has “done enough,” to be a certainty in the starting XI despite JP Duminy, the man who du Plessis replaced, returning to fitness.Duminy has made a full recovery after rupturing his Achilles’ on the tour Down Under, and has been reintroduced into first-class cricket through South Africa A in order to force a Test comeback. He was the top-scorer in last week’s unofficial Test against India A and also contributed with three wickets, to show his value as an all-rounder.Du Plessis expects Duminy to make a comeback, but not at his own expense. “JP has done brilliantly since coming back and having him in the team only makes it stronger,” he said. “He would slot right back in.”That implies Dean Elgar, who has played in six Tests since Perth last year, would find himself out in the cold. “But if Graeme (Smith) does not recover in time, Dean can just slot in at the top,” du Plessis said. Smith is expected to be fit for the series after a lengthy time out of action with an ankle problem but if there is a setback in his rehabilitation, South Africa may have to turn to Elgar, who is an opener by trade.There’s no doubt that the management will do everything they can to ensure Smith is part of the squad, as South Africa will play the Tests in conditions that have already got the better of England. Although South Africa beat Pakistan 3-0 at home earlier this year, du Plessis expects the going to be much tougher in the Emirates.”You just have to look at England and how easily they were beaten to know it won’t be easy,” he said. “Spin will obviously be the biggest challenge and that’s what we will be working on.”

Wayamba United roared back after a poor start to record their second win in as many matches in the SLPL, beating Uva Next by 20 runs in Pallekele

The Report by Andrew Fernando17-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUva’s Jacob Oram, bowling at the start of the Wayamba innings, finished with figures of 3 for 6•Ron Gaunt/SPORTZPICS/SLPL

Wayamba United roared back after a poor start to record their second win in as many matches in the SLPL, beating Uva Next by 20 runs in Pallekele. Kamran Akmal’s 32-ball 36 helped Wayamba United recover after they had slipped to 44 for 4 from 5.3 overs, before late hitting from Milinda Siriwardene and Kaushal Weeraratne lifted them to 147 for 9 from their 20 overs. The Wayamba United bowlers also overcame a poor start, to strangle the Uva Next innings after the opposition openers had made a rapid start.Wayamba United stacked all four of their overseas players in the top five, and the move almost backfired when Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Akmal were all dismissed cheaply, with Mahela Jayawardene also contributing only 9. Kamran Akmal rebuilt alongside a unhurried Dinesh Chandimal however, taking runs to the outfield rather than attempting a counterattack – though the big shot did come occasionally, usually to the square boundary on the off side.At their demise at 82 for 5 and 90 for 6 Wayamba United were still threatening a small total, but entertaining 20s from Siriwardene and Weeraratne ensured the bowlers would have something to defend, as the exploited poor lengths from the opposition bowlers to put on 41 from 24 balls.In the chase, Dilshan Munaweera clobbered three fours and a six in his 26, and he alongside Shivnarine Chanderpaul took Uva Next to 30 from 2 overs, but none of the other batsmen were able to eclipse his score as they continued to lose wickets in close proximity.Akila Dananjaya was again impressive for Wayamba United, conceding only 20 from his four overs and taking two wickets in the process. Batsmen were not always fooled by his variations, but his turn and flight remained a threat throughout his spell and ensured few risks were taken against him. Isuru Udana also bagged two cheap scalps, while Chathuranga Kumara took three wickets for 33 from his four.

Pakistan’s season-opening domestic Twenty20 tournament has been shifted to Lahore after the stadium at Rawalpindi was deemed unfit to host the event

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2011Pakistan’s season-opening domestic Twenty20 tournament has been shifted to Lahore after the stadium at Rawalpindi was deemed unfit to host the event. The tournament was scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi from September 16, but after the local authorities could not complete renovation on the dilapidated stadium in time the event has been shifted to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, where it will begin on September 25.After the huge success of the Faysal Bang Super Eight T20 Cup in Faisalabad, the PCB had said they would host their next domestic Twenty20 tournament in another small city. However, with Rawalpindi unable to host the tournament, Twenty20 cricket will return to the bigger centre of Lahore, which hosted last year’s edition of the tournament.The delayed start means the players in the national side will have returned from their tour of Zimbabwe and will be available to participate for their local teams. The Twenty20 tournament will feature 14 teams as opposed to last year’s 13; a team from Afghanistan will take part in the tournament for the first time, meaning the format may be shifted to two groups of seven teams.The other teams participating are Karachi Dolphins, Karachi Zebras, Lahore Lions, Lahore Eagles, Sialkot Stallions, Islamabad Leopards, Abbotabad Falcons, Rawalpindi Rams, Multan Tigers, Quetta Bears, Faisalabad Wolves, Peshawar, Panthers and Hyderabad Hawks.

Azhar Ali, one of the rookie Pakistan batsmen selected for the tour of England, is hoping to make his Test debut at Lord’s

Cricinfo staff08-Jul-2010Azhar Ali, one of the rookie Pakistan batsmen selected for the tour of England, is hoping to make his Test debut at Lord’s where they face Australia in the first of two Tests starting July 13. The right-handed batsman from Lahore was in the reserves for the Asia Cup and this is his first tour with the senior team.Azhar is among three new faces in the Test squad and if picked for the first Test, he could be the first Pakistan batsman to debut at Lord’s after Shadab Kabir in 1996.”I have always dreamt of making my debut for Pakistan at Lord’s and as luck would have it, our opening Test is at Lord’s,” Azhar told . “I really hope that I am given the opportunity to debut at Lord’s, as it’s a ground steeped in tradition and history.”Azhar, 25, believes his patience and willingness to occupy the crease for long periods will help his cause.”I like to play long innings and have no problems in being patient at the crease,” Azhar said. “I know the opposition will be tough in England, but I am confident that I can provide Pakistan with stability and a degree of calmness and assurance at the top of the order. I have experience of conditions in England having played league cricket over here, so hopefully I can use that experience to my advantage”.Azhar added that he got useful advice on batting from former captain Javed Miandad during a camp last month. “Javed was watching the batsmen at the emerging players camp and he came over and talked to me about the importance of crease occupation, not letting the opposition bowlers force you out of your comfort zone and playing each delivery on merit,” Azhar said. “I think he liked what he saw in my batting and I will always be grateful for the advice he gave me”.Azhar was picked after scoring 445 runs in ten games with a personal best of 153 for Khan Research Laboratories in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.