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Australia took one look at their worst nightmare and discovered that it felt as real as ever.Michael Clarke could count himself fortunate. He spent much of the match lying face down to the floor as he received treatment on the back injury that threatens to plague the rest of his career. But even from that position, he could not fail to be aware of a familiar story – that of Australian embarrassment whenever they set sight upon India.Back in March, when Australia lost within three days of the fourth Test in Delhi, they consigned themselves to their worst Test series defeat since Graham Yallop’s side, debilitated by desertions to World Series Cricket, went down 5-1 in 1978-79. Their 4-0 whitewash was the worst result by any nation on Indian soil in 70 Test series.Still, they must have told themselves in Cardiff, this is different. This is the Champions Trophy, this is only a friendly, this is the tournament where we are aiming to go three-peat (an American basketball term – trademarked to retired coach Pat Riley – for a third consecutive victory, so certain to enter the worldwide lexicon you might as well get used to it), this is the tournament where we aim to make a statement ahead of the Ashes, this is the format in which we have won our last five matches. All good, heartwarming stuff.Then they took one look at India and lost by 243 runs. To do that after having them 28 for 4 was quite something, but they let them escape to 308 and collapsed to 65 all out in reply. It was as if they were so in awe of MS Dhoni that they bowled to all his favourite shots in turn.Cardiff has been an unhappy ground for Australia. They were beaten by Bangladesh here in 2005 and four years later they failed to finish off England in the first Ashes Test thanks to some last-wicket heroics from Monty Panesar and James Anderson, who clung on for 40 minutes to roars from the crowd.Not surprisingly, the stand-in captain, George Bailey, preferred to imagine that Clarke would be fit enough to lead out Australia in their opening Champions Trophy tie against England at Edgbaston on Saturday. But Clarke is heading for London on Wednesday to see a specialist, and not the hottest show in town, the Pompeii Exhibition at the British Museum, which would have been more appropriate on account of its own obsession with the Ashes.”It is just precautionary with him,” Bailey said. “His back is always going to be the issue with Pup. He has just had some stiffness there in the past couple of days and with such an important tournament we didn’t see fit to risk him in these games, especially with a reasonably big summer coming up as well. It is almost a case of managing him on a day-by-day basis.”Losing him would be a huge blow. There is no doubt he is our best batsman and captain and we look forward to having him in the side. As to whether I am ready to captain, I believe so, yeah. I have the belief that Pup is ready to go Saturday but I’ve enjoyed my time captaining these practice games, we have some good leaders around me.”Umesh Yadav is a skilful practitioner and he gives India hope of fielding a competitive seam attack in English conditions in an era of two new balls. But all he did was have a decent workout and he finished with 5 for 18 in five overs. Bailey was bowled by a good one, but Matthew Wade and Phil Hughes were bowled off the inside edge, pulling, and David Warner slashed at one and registered his second duck in a row. Mitchell March was unfortunate, adjudged caught off the pad.When Shane Watson became the third batsman to chop on, this time against Ishant Sharma, it all began to look brainless. This was the same pitch on which Australia had made 259 for 6 to beat West Indies and it had not changed complexion all that much, but Watson had made 135 of those and others need to step up.”I don’t think it was doing a great deal,” Bailey said. “There was a little bit of swing but nothing unplayable. It was a wicket we played on the other day and I don’t think there were any gremlins in it. It was a good wicket, and a warning, I guess, about what two new balls are going to be capable of.”I think you are going to have good techniques and be more patient than we are used to at the start of the innings in one-day cricket. There was some ordinary shot selection and they bowled quite nicely.”Australia at least deserved recognition for only playing 11, which showed some respect for the game that other nations have abandoned out of convenience, but they must have imagined that India were playing twice that number.”These warm-up games are down to your attitude individually and a team,” Bailey said. “We have tried to take them seriously. Given we have some guys who haven’t played much one-day cricket, it’s important to start to deal with the pressure of knowing your role, and knowing that you might be in at three for ten, knowing you have to bowl four or five overs because somebody is not going to bowl your 10, but it’s not an ideal result knowing that’s the side you might come up against in the semi-finals.”In terms of practicing for bad scenarios, Australia could not have prepared better.

Match facts

May 11, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Mumbai Indians are up against a team that has lost eight consecutive games•BCCI

Big Picture

With a place in the playoffs at stake, Mumbai Indians face the easiest of their next four opponents first up in Pune. Pune Warriors have lost eight consecutive games and have no chance of qualifying and a win against them could lift Mumbai to second place, with 18 points. They come into the game after overpowering Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at home.If Mumbai slip up against Warriors, it will open up the table for at least two other teams vying for the playoffs – Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. They return to the Wankhede for their next two matches – where they haven’t lost a game – but Mumbai wouldn’t want to leave too much for the last minute.With nothing to play for, Warriors can only cause upsets in their three remaining games. Their batting was the biggest letdown against Knight Riders, with only two passing double figures in a tepid chase. Another loss will put them on par with their worst slump of nine consecutive losses, which they suffered last year.

Form guide

Pune Warriors LLLLL
Mumbai Indians WWLWW

Players to watch

It’s to Warriors’ misfortune that their star Indian player, Yuvraj Singh, hasn’t fired in this IPL. Yuvraj averages a shade under 20 in ten games with no half-centuries. At times he has got starts but failed to convert. In his most recent innings, he fell for just 1. Having been overlooked for India’s one-day squads for the Champions Trophy and the tri-series in the West Indies, the coming games will be his chance to get some confidence back.The new responsibility of captaincy hasn’t affected Rohit Sharma‘s batting. He leads the run charts for Mumbai this season with 430 runs at 53.75. Having replaced Ricky Ponting as captain, it appears as if Mumbai are looking to him as their long-term leader.

Stats and trivia

• Since their IPL debut in 2011, Warriors have lost 32 matches, winning just 10. They have beaten Mumbai just once in three attempts.
• Rohit Sharma has hit 25 sixes in this edition, second behind Chris Gayle.
• Kieron Pollard has the most caught and bowled dismissals – 13 – in T20s.

Quotes

“He is very cool on the field. He takes his own decisions. We have a few seniors and as a youngster when a senior says something, there is a little bit of pressure but he handles it very well.”

Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers are the hardened campaigners identified to unify Australia’s Ashes tourists, while the young allrounder James Faulkner’s inclusion in the squad for England has intensified pressure on Shane Watson to earn his place ahead of the series.In a touring party constructed sensibly for the present moment rather than speculatively for the future, Haddin was confirmed as Australia’s vice-captain for the Ashes tour, while the 35-year-old opener Rogers rocketed back into Test contention five years after his only match in the baggy green.Rogers and Haddin added a valuable element of experience and leadership to the 16-man squad, qualities so often lacking on a horrid India tour earlier this year following the retirements of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. John Inverarity, the national selector, left the captain Michael Clarke and the coach Mickey Arthur to devise the batting order, but Rogers appears likely to claim a top-order spot, perhaps as No. 3 behind David Warner and Ed Cowan.”From the players available we believe Chris Rogers was very deserving of selection,” Inverarity said. “We selected seven batsmen and we believe he was one who came into that slot, the other six all went to India.”With Michael and Ricky going there was a gap in experience, and Chris nicely fills that – he’s made nearly 20,000 first-class runs. The first Test starts in 11 weeks’ time, there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge, but Michael as captain and Mickey Arthur as coach in particular will sort that out with batting order and which of the seven are selected. Michael and I have no concerns about any of those batsmen batting anywhere in the top six.”We’re always very mindful of looking forward and selecting accordingly at times, but quite obviously this time it had always been our intention to revert to getting the absolute strongest side for this contest, that’s been uppermost in our minds and that’s the way we’ve selected.”Clarke expressed satisfaction that the squad chosen had an ideal balance of players young and old, in keeping with the profiles of successful teams he had observed or been a part of in the past.”The best teams I’ve seen in any sport have a good mix of youth and experience. I think this squad has that mix,” Clarke said. “I’m confident we have a good group of players that can learn from one another as well as utilise the coaches that we have.Brad Haddin is back as Australia’s vice-captain•Getty Images

“If you look through a lot of players’ careers you go through ups and downs, you have tough tours and that makes you a better player and a stronger person, and I believe we’ve learned a lot from India, as individuals but also as a team. We’re going to be playing in a lot different conditions to what we faced in India, against a completely different opposition, and I have faith that with the learning and experience of India, we’ll have success in England.”Faulkner’s inclusion added fire and versatility to the squad, illustrated by a past summer in which the Tasmanian showed both the nerve to sledge Chris Gayle and the composure to guide the Tigers to the Sheffield Shield. Inverarity described Faulkner as the sort of player who “gets things done”, a phrase that cannot have escaped the attention of Watson, who will be expected to score heavily in the warm-up matches in Taunton and Worcester to retain his place.”James Faulkner has impressed us all in recent months and recent seasons,” Inverarity said. “He’s a very competitive cricketer who gets things done – he’s never long out of the game. His batting has improved significantly, he’s made runs, he’s formed partnerships and he’s always lurking and taking a wicket.”While the India tourists Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Xavier Doherty and Moises Henriques were unsurprisingly left out, Steven Smith was the most unfortunate casualty, having made doughty runs in each of the final two Tests. However it was felt that Rogers and Usman Khawaja provided better batting options in England. Smith had to be content with a place as vice-captain on the Australia A tour that precedes the Ashes.Jackson Bird returned to national duty after leaving the Indian tour due to injury and Ryan Harris was also recalled, having missed most of the Australian home summer as he recovered from shoulder surgery. Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc completed a muscular pace quintet.The incumbent Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was named in the squad, but Inverarity said the intention was for the new vice-captain, Haddin, to be the first-choice gloveman.”In regards to the vice-captaincy, we feel it’s important to have a senior, seasoned player support Michael at this time,” Inverarity said. “When Shane Watson advised of his decision to stand down, the NSP viewed Brad as the exceptional candidate to step into this leadership void. Matthew Wade is a very good cricketer and remains central to our plans for the future.”The selectors also announced an Australia A squad to play in England ahead of the Ashes and including several of the team’s frontline bowlers with the aim of giving them as much time as possible to adjust to the English conditions. Haddin will captain the A team, which includes Nathan Lyon, the only spinner in the Ashes squad, as well as the slow left-armer Ashton Agar. Inverarity said the legspinner Fawad Ahmed, who is unlikely to be eligible to play for Australia until near the end of the Ashes series, was still in Ashes contention.”Fawad Ahmed, those of us who have seen him bowl have been very impressed with him,” Inverarity said. “He’s a very good legspinner and yes he does remain in contention. We’ve selected 16 players and we state now that should the need arise we will add to the squad. We don’t know when he’s going to become eligible, but there’s always that possibility.”Ashes squad Michael Clarke (capt), Brad Haddin (vice-capt, wk), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja, Chris Rogers, Matthew Wade (wk), James Faulkner, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird.Australia A squad Brad Haddin (capt), Steven Smith (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, Ryan Harris, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, James Pattinson, Chadd Sayers, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk.

The peripheral prizes have all been handed out on South Africa’s domestic cricket scene. Both Lions and Titans have confirmed their appearance in this year’s Champions League T20, Lions’ coach Geoffrey Toyana has been rewarded for an outstanding season by being named coach of the South African Emerging squad, Jean Symes, the Lions’ second-in-command will lead that side and Titans have turned around a disastrous defence of their first-class title to stand in line for silverware in the shortest format. Now, the battle for that trophy is what it’s all about.Although the sideshows are more lucrative, especially the CLT20 which guarantees teams a participation fee eight times the amount they would get for winning the local tournament, no value can be put on bragging rights. Both franchises in Sunday’s final are desperate for it which should set the scene for a fitting end to the summer.Those who come down to the Wanderers on Sunday, those who watch from television sets across the country and for the first time in the United Kingdom and Ireland, can expect a clash between the colossal and the courageous.Titans are the former. With national reinforcements like AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel and Farhaan Behardien, T20 heavyweights Albie Morkel, Alfonso Thomas and the newly acquired Herschelle Gibbs, it seems they could field an international quality side. De Villiers and Behardien showed their importance when they ushered a tricky chase in the play-off while Morkel and Thomas took eight wickets between them.As a unit, they are used to winning. Since the franchise system was put in place nine seasons ago, they have won eight trophies and shared one. They produce players who step into the national set-up at will and are known as competitive, confident cricketers who were embarrassed by their last-place finish in the first-class competition which came after failing to win a single match.They missed out on the one-day cup final and hovered near the bottom of the table in the T20s until they surged to the top and were pipped at the final post to force them into the play-off. This is their chance to keep their title average up where it has always been, one a summer, and stamp their authority on South African cricket again.For Lions, there’s a lot more they need to prove. Despite being the most consistent franchise in the country this season – second in the first-class competition, shared winners of the one-day cup and top of the T20 table – they have not won a trophy. In the last calendar year, they have had four opportunities to do so, beginning with the 2012 domestic T20, one which they lost to Titans. Few thought Lions would get as far as that final and when they did, that was considered enough. But they surpassed all expectations when they made the final of the CLT20 before crumbling to Sydney Sixers. Two washouts meant they were joint-winners of the 50-over competition and now, they are tired of settling for second-best.”We need to get rid of just being happy to be in the final,” Alviro Petersen, the Lions captain, said. “It’s time to win trophies now.” The Wanderers’ cabinet has not had reason to be opened since the 2006-07 season when Lions last lifted a cup, also a T20 one.They have been through periods of great strife since with boardroom squabbles leaving on-field activities near forgotten and the team languishing without the right personnel. A period of slow building has changed that. Lions have a potent pace attack and a batting line-up that blends attack with quiet accumulation perfectly.Toyana, in his first season as a franchise coach, has turned Lions’ fortunes around with his relaxed attitude. Matthew Maynard was credited with doing much of the same at Titans. Under him, Faf du Plessis has discovered how to hone the temperament he showed on Test debut and Marchant de Lange has made a full recovery and successful comeback from the stress fractures that robbed him of eight months of his career. The two coaches have already proved their value. Now it’s up to their charges to show theirs when it matters most.

When there are calls to protect the primacy of Test cricket, its newest participant often slips somewhere between the eloquent paragraphs.Bangladesh have entered a phase where some cricketers are subtly, through their actions, sending out a message that Twenty20s are their choice of format. When they face Sri Lanka in Galle tomorrow, it will be their first Test this year, almost three months after their last, and it comes on the back of the Bangladesh Premier League.The initiation of the BPL, the emblematic domestic T20 competition, has brought on the advent of “choice” to the Bangladeshi cricketer. Harsh though it may be, playing for Bangladesh is no longer the only option for a cricketer with above-average skills. The BPL offers enough money to a player and, judging by the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) announcement of enhanced match fees for Tests, ODIs and T20s, sticking to the safety of the BPL has become an obvious option for many cricketers. It has happened in India, West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Given how the importance of the BPL has grown among players and the BCB, Bangladesh could be the next in line to accommodate T20s in every aspect of its cricket.At times like this, the buck stops with the captain. Bangladesh is led by Mushfiqur Rahim, a strong character with a penchant for an occasional emotional outburst. But he has come of age as a wicketkeeper and a batsman, working harder than anyone in the team and gaining respect as a leader. He is a sort of individual who needs to do well to be in the right frame of mind while leading the side. In the last 18 months, Mushfiqur has seldom failed with the bat or gloves, giving him the emotional stability to captain the team. And he can lead the team’s mindset, helping them define their individual Test cricket aspirations.Bangladesh, however, have not done well in Test cricket, not even under the matured Mushfiqur. They pushed West Indies for two-and-a-half days late last year but that form didn’t last very long. Glimpses of brilliance, guts and tenacity were all there but ultimately, the scoreline read 0-2, a sight that Bangladesh fans are now used to seeing at the end of most Test series. Bangladesh need a brilliant on-field performance to lift their image and, if they can push Sri Lanka like they did the West Indies and finish it off, it will only benefit the players.Against Sri Lanka, Mushfiqur will need performances from Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Mohammad Ashraful to make this tour more successful than the four previous ones. Bangladesh have never drawn a Test match in Sri Lanka, losing all eight matches. This is, however, a country that they have enjoyed playing in over the years.The team is without its best cricketer, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur will yearn for his abilities with the bat and ball when the Sri Lankan batsmen get going. The bowling attack is specially thin; offspinner Sohag Gazi can be a threat with his control and flight, but none of the other bowlers have had enough bowling practice to stake a claim as automatic choices in the line-up.The selectors believe the pace bowling department is their blind spot. It is likely that Abul Hasan’s mid-match sickness is related to the sloppy training schedule of BPL teams, and Rubel Hossain’s lack of rhythm can be put down to the limited number of matches he has played between January and February.The BCB president pointed out on Wednesday that there is a trend among players to think twice before playing the longer version of the game, even as they adopt a different attitude towards T20. Just as the buck stops with the captain when it comes to on-field performance (and Mushfiqur will be liable regardless of the team’s result), Nazmul Hassan must himself and his associates within the BCB one very important question: what is more important to Bangladesh cricket?

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the inaugural edition of which is set to begin on July 29, will include six franchises with 90 contracted players in all. Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard have been named ‘franchise players’. Each of these icon players will turn out for one of the six teams, which are likely to be from Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.This was announced by the WICB, alongside Verus International – the Barbados and USA-based company that is funding the Twenty20 league – during a press conference in St James on Tuesday. The CPL agreement between Verus International and the West Indies board stands for a minimum of 20 years. This tournament, the WICB reaffirmed, will replace the existing Caribbean T20 as region’s domestic Twenty20 competition.The financial benefits that the league will offer the players are a big positive, WICB president Julian Hunte said: “The WICB is elated with the agreement, which will allow for regional retainer contracts for a broad pool of players. These contracts will be funded by the CPL to the tune of US$360,000 annually. This significant investment will truly allow for cricketers in the Caribbean to pursue their profession as professionals.”The icon players will not necessarily represent their country in the league. Dirk Hall, managing director of Verus International, said this was to ensure better balance: “The CPL has chosen the top six T20 players in the region based on their stats and performances in this format of the game. Doing it this way ensures that each team is bolstered by a talented, top West Indian player, and that there is balance and fairness across the board on all six teams.”The CPL is also looking to rope in six international ‘franchise players’, one for each franchise. Every franchise will contract 15 players in all, with a maximum of four overseas signings. Of the regional players, at least six must be from the franchise country (in the case of St Lucia, locals will include players from the Windwards Islands and the in case of Antigua, players from the Leeward Islands) and four must be under-23 players. Apart from the appointed icon players, the rest of the squads will be assembled via a draft system, the working details of which are as yet unknown.The WICB confirmed that the tournament’s schedule has been drawn up so that the dates do not clash with any other West Indies international or domestic tournaments, or the IPL. All contracted players will be under an obligation to turn out for their franchises in the tournament.The inaugural edition will include 30 group matches, followed by an eliminator and a final. Each of the franchises will play the other five on a home and away basis during the group stage.The 2014 edition of the CPL is scheduled to be played between July 5 and August 10, while the 2015 tournament will run from June 21 to July 26.

Leicestershire have had their plans for the new season shaken up by Ramnaresh Sarwan’s recall to the West Indies squad and they will seek to clarify his availability.Sarwan had seemingly turned his back on West Indies, claiming he had been “mentally and emotionally” hurt by the coaching staff, when he signed a two-year extension to his stay at Grace Road which began last summer. He was then appointed captain of the County Championship side for 2013 in place of Matthew Hoggard.But he was recalled to the West Indies squad for the one-day series against Australia which begins on February 1, suggesting Sarwan could be part of West Indies’ future series against Zimbabwe in March and India and Sri Lanka following the Champions Trophy.”We will be making contact with Ramnaresh to see where this might lead to,” Leicestershire head coach Phil Whitticase said. “At this moment, the question of how it might affect us during the season is a bit unanswerable.”We are really pleased for him because we know that he has been striving to play for the West Indies again. He still has that passion and drive and we want all our players to play at the highest level. From our point of view, it does leave us a bit vulnerable and looking to come up with a Plan B.”Sarwan had an excellent summer for Leicestershire, helping them avoided consecutive wooden spoons in the Championship with 941 runs at 40.91. He also struck two centuries in the CB40.But he will now add to his 173 ODIs in which he has scored 5,644 runs at 43.41. Although he has endured a poor run of recent form in the Caribbean T20 with a highest score of 19 in seven matches for Guyana.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Aaron Phangiso picked up the big wickets of Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum•AFP

South Africa won the first trophy available to them in their home summer with victory in the three-match Twenty20 series. After piling on the fifth highest score posted in the shortest format (at both international and domestic level) at St George’s Park, thanks largely to an 89-run third wicket stand between Henry Davids and Justin Ontong, Aaron Phangiso and Ryan McLaren ensured South Africa defended it comfortably.All of New Zealand’s bowlers save for Mitchell McClenaghan and Ronnie Hira failed to read the pace of the Port Elizabeth pitch. Against the aggression of Davids and Ontong they gave away too many runs which allowed the pair to lay the launch-pad for take-off.New Zealand did not have the batsmen to do the same. With Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum at the crease, there was some hope. Once the dominoes began to fall, there was no stopping the slide. Still, New Zealand competed with the hosts with more heart than was expected of them to set the tone ahead for the Test matches.As an example of their ability to ruffle feathers, New Zealand had the hosts in early trouble, even in the absence of Richard Levi. South Africa’s opening partnership stuttered again when Faf du Plessis, who was promoted to bat in his preferred top-two spot, was bowled by Ronnie Hira as he attempted to hit through mid-wicket.Levi’s omission also meant Quinton de Kock was given more responsibility at No. 3 but his inexperience showed. Instead of rotating strike while Davids kept going, de Kock tried to loft McClenaghan over long-on and got a leading edge. Corey Anderson ran from mid-off to take the catch at mid-on and de Kock’s series with the bat ended without him living up to the hype.Davids had none of the same expectation but exceeded all hopes. He displayed a range of classical shots, tinged only with some extra intent. The drive off the back foot and the pull shot were his hallmarks but more notable than that was that he scored off almost every ball he faced. Both he and Ontong pushed each other between the wickets and put pressure on the New Zealand fielders.The only chance they offered was when Davids went aerial against Doug Bracewell and lobbed the ball to Martin Guptill at short extra cover. Guptill seemed to lose the ball in the background and although he got fingers to it, spilt the chance. Davids was on 32 and went on to more than double his score.As Davids grew in confidence, so did Ontong, whose assurance swelled against James Franklin. Ontong hit him for back to back sixes: down the ground and then to deep mid-wicket but Franklin won the mini-battle when Ontong was caught trying to send another slower ball over the leg-side boundary. Still, he had taken 16 runs off the five balls he faced in that over and South Africa had 116 runs and seven wickets in hand as they approached the last five overs.Those turned out to the most profitable, even though Davids departed mid-way through. South Africa added 63 runs in the final quarter of their innings, thanks to their big-hitters. Farhaan Behardien and David Miller both struck the ball cleanly against New Zealand’s clueless death bowlers.Contrastingly, South Africa’s attack had a firm grip on what was required. Ryan McClaren had Rob Nicol lbw in the first over when he was struck in line of middle and offstump. Guptill showed glimpses of the form he displayed three days ago when his 101 took New Zealand to victory. He drove with power and was assisted by McCullum, who seemed to finally find his placement.Just as the two settled, Guptill tried to paddle Phangiso over short fine-leg but was caught by Robin Peterson. Phangiso claimed another big scalp in his next over when McCullum thought he had got him over long-off but was caught on the boundary.New Zealand remained in the hunt and after 11 overs had the same score South Africa had posted – 71 – but had lost two more wickets. Colin Munro edged a McLaren short ball and James Franklin swung to long-on to give Phangiso his third. The point of no return was reached when Morne Morkel leapt to his left at short third man to send Jimmy Neesham on his way.The required run rate climbed to over 14 to an over with six to go and only last rites were left to be performed. Rory Kleinveldt took the ninth wicket but Morne Morkel finished without reward as a new South African era made itself known. For New Zealand, there remains much to work on. They were suspected to have bled 20 runs too many but in the end, were almost double that short.

ScorecardThe game between Dolphins and Lions in Durban was abandoned without a ball being bowled.The rain at Kingsmead started soon after the toss, which was won by Dolphins. The match was called off after three hours by the umpires.The teams were awarded two points each. Lions moved to 21 points, holding their No. 1 position in the table, and Dolphins were third. Lions play Titans, and Dolphins play Cape Cobras in their next match, on Friday.

Mushfiqur Rahim is confident Bangladesh will improve on their performance in the Mirpur Test in which they lost key moments, especially during their chase. “We played well over five days against a very good attack and we bowled them out once,” Mushfiqur said at the pre-match press conference in Khulna. “So we have the confidence from the positives in the first Test. It’s not pressure, but we do expect to play well in Khulna.”Tamim Iqbal was recovering from an injury to his left elbow, but passed a fitness Test on the eve of the game and will open. However, given Junaid Siddique’s problems with the short ball, Nazimuddin or Anamul Haque may be given a chance to open with Tamim. Anamul had been called in as a cover for Tamim.With Tamim in the line-up, Bangladesh have an attacking option at the top of the order who is capable of handling short-pitched bowling and pace. His quick runs in the first innings put West Indies on the back foot. When he fell cheaply in Bangladesh’s chase, West Indies were on top. “Playing well in Dhaka and scoring over 500 runs, it was a huge relief because we were playing after 11 months,” Mushfiqur said. “At the same time, we are not taking the loss lightly. It is a mixture of satisfaction and disappointment, what happened in the first and second innings.”The hosts will expect batting-friendly conditions in what will become the seventh Test venue in Bangladesh, but the teams can expect some spin on the last two days. “It is a huge moment for Khulna,” Mushfiqur said. “We would hope to start off well here. I didn’t play here in the NCL, but we have talked to players who’ve played here.”It is a good wicket, helps batsmen, and from the third or fourth day, it helps the spinners. The bounce is good, true, so the pace bowlers will get help.”Bangladesh will again have to prove they can be competitive, and for two Tests in a row. It’s something they have done on a few occasions, but not often at home. The expectations have weighed them down in the past but they are capable of showing more consistency.