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ScorecardBen Duckett was back to his best [file picture]•Getty Images

Ben Duckett made a sparkling century for Northamptonshire and Dieter Klein took six wickets for Leicestershire on the opening day of the pink-ball Specsavers County Championship match at Wantage Road. Northants took the spoils, who, having made 261, reduced their visitors to 61 for 4 by the close.Duckett’s 89-ball century put Northants in a strong position, only for them to collapse from 211 for 3 – including four wickets for one run – as Klein took 6 for 80. But late wickets under the floodlights saw Northants regain the upper hand.Ben Sanderson and Rory Kleinveldt induced edges behind the wicket from both Leicestershire openers before Richard Gleeson, playing his first Championship match of the season, pinned Mark Cosgrove lbw and Azharullah bowled nightwatchman Rob Sayer second ball.It was still a very good one. It began with an extraordinary innings from Duckett, with the advantage of being one of only two players in the game to have previously played against the pink ball.And after he fell for 112, Northants were still in excellent shape through Max Holden’s third Championship half-century and a fifty stand with Rob Keogh. But a superb yorker from Klein took out Keogh’s off stump and it sparked a remarkable collapse.First Chesney Hughes was given out caught at slip having hooked at a bumper he clearly thought had not come off his glove. Then Josh Cobb pushed a ball towards mid-off, set off for a sharp single and was run out by Clint McKay’s direct hit. And when Kleinveldt pushed outside off stump and edged Klein to wicketkeeper Lewis Hill, Northants’ strong position had been sacrificed.Sanderson also edged a hook to be caught at the wicket but Azharullah helped Holden bring up a second batting point. Holden was eventually last man out for a measured 92.Northants were well set for far more after Duckett made a century in the opening session of the match. He has struggled for form so far this season having made just two half-centuries in the Championship but here was back to his best with an breezy ton that featured 20 boundaries.He initially feasted on some loose Leicestershire bowling on a wicket that appeared easy-paced and prompted the introduction of spin in just the 14th over of the day. An early Duckett drive spooned past extra-cover but he soon found his timing and drove Klein delightfully down the ground, cut McKay past point and lifted Sayer over long-on in reaching fifty in just 41 balls. He then twice paddle swept Neil Dexter to the fine leg boundary in going to a first century of the season.But he added only 12 more to his tea time score before sweeping Sayer off a top edge that was splendidly caught by McKay at short fine leg tumbling back. It ended a stand of 136 for the third wicket with Holden and a stand that recovered the innings from a difficult start after Klein had removed both Rob Newton and Alex Wakely lbw.

Players from Pakistan, the West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe were among those who went under the hammer in the highest-profile auction yet for Afghanistan’s domestic T20 league, the Shpageeza Cricket League, in Kabul on Thursday. Among the big international picks were Babar Azam, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Tamim Iqbal and Hamilton Masakadza, who will turn out for six franchises in the fifth edition of the tournament in July. The most-expensive buy was Afghanistan allrounder Gulbadin Naib, who was bought by Boost Defenders for USD 108,000.The other five teams include Band-e-Amir Dragons, Mis Ainak Knights, Kabul Eagles, Speenghar Tigers and Amo Sharks. All the franchises are owned by leading Afghan business groups.Pakistan pacers Sohail Tanvir and Rumman Raees were not far behind the most expensive buy, signed up by Band-e-Amir Dragons and Boost Defenders respectively for USD 105,000 approx. Other notable buys included Bangladesh’s Imrul Kayes and Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams. Salman Butt, who featured in the tournament last year, remained unsold this time.”All matches will be held in Kabul, between July 18 and July 28,” Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) CEO Shafiq Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo. “The ICC has sanctioned this event, and is sending its own match referee to oversee the tournament. In addition, we will have one on-field umpire from the ICC panel.”The league will be broadcast on television in Afghanistan, and Stanikzai said the board is in talks to have it reach a wider audience. “It will be broadcast locally on one channel,” he said. “The production company is Indian, but we are thinking of getting it on air in India and Pakistan as well. We are currently in negotiations, we haven’t finalised the deal yet.”Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan and allrounder Mohammad Nabi, who had earned contracts with the IPL this year and impressed in the league, boosted Afghanistan’s cricketing profile around the world. With Afghanistan now set to showcase its own T20 tournament, they hope it will announce their arrival on the big stage. “This tournament will be a mega-hit and will take Afghanistan cricket to new heights,” ACB chairman Atif Mashal said. “This tournament will prove that we are the new cricketing force in the world.”The ACB tweeted the full squads for all the franchises after the auction, and they are as follows:Band-e-Amir Dragons, full squad•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Kabul Eagles, full squad•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Mis Ainak Knights, full squad•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Speenghar Tigers, full squad•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Boost Defenders•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Amo Sharks•Afghanistan Cricket Board

At Eden Gardens for their match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, captain Suresh Raina told his team that it was time for Gujarat Lions to ‘restart’, with his side floundering at eighth place on the table. He did exactly that, leading the way with a 46-ball 84 which gave his side a four-wicket victory and helped him become India’s leading T20 run-getter.In the previous match between the two teams earlier this season, Chris Lynn’s systematic decimation of Lions’ attack meant that Knight Riders had chased down 184 with ten wickets in hand and more than five overs to spare. Raina believed his team had played well in that game too, and wanted them to feed off the positive morale in the camp.”Right from the moment I won the toss, I was getting a lot of positive vibes. I knew we had done well against them [KKR] in the previous game though the match got over in just 14 overs [14.5] when Chris Lynn hit us to all parts of the ground,” Raina told . “That loss hurt the team and me. I addressed the team and told them this is the game where we restart and go all guns blazing. The team was high on morale when we walked out on the field and the result is there to be seen. I have been getting good support from Brad Hodge and Mohammad Kaif who have been spreading a lot of positive vibes in the team. It was a great team effort.”Lions’ chase of 188 on Friday was hardly an easy one. Despite an aggressive start from openers Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum, the team was struggling at 122 for 5 in the 13th over, and went into the last seven overs needing 64. Raina negotiated the opposition’s most effective bowlers – Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav – over the next few overs, eking out a boundary in every over. Once Sunil Narine’s four overs were seen off, Raina went after Nathan Coulter-Nile, hammering the Australian fast bowler for two fours and a six in a 16-run over that brought the equation down to 17 runs off 18 balls.Raina said that nearly a decade of watching and batting with MS Dhoni, in the India dressing room and at Chennai Super Kings, had helped him pick up lessons on keeping the required rate in check.”I love batting in pressure situations and it is a challenge I relish,” he said. “I have batted with him [Dhoni] for almost ten years now and always admired how he would finish games for the side. I have learnt how to cut down on asking rates from 9 per over to a 7 per over from him. The middle overs in a T20 game is very important and you need to take calculated risks. It is something that I did tonight and have learnt over the years. I was hitting the ball really well and looked to be positive throughout my innings though wickets were falling at the other end.”When you are a captain, you are there to win a game and set examples for your side. It is something that I have learnt from Dhoni while playing with him for India and Chennai Super Kings.”

Misbah-ul-Haq has decided to continue as Pakistan’s Test captain, a decision that has been accepted by PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, who also named Sarfraz Ahmed as the vice-captain in Tests. Misbah’s decision to lead in the West Indies put to end questions over his retirement, which have made news over the last few months, at least for the next two months as Pakistan will play three Tests in the Caribbean in April and May.After returning from Australia, Misbah had said he would take a call on his future after seeing how he would fare in the PSL. During the league, he told ESPNcricinfo that he was “most likely” to go to the West Indies, where they are yet to win a Test series. And once his team Islamabad United was knocked out of the tournament, he said he would meet Shaharyar upon his arrival in Pakistan and inform the chairman about his decision.”Misbah-ul-Haq has conveyed to the Chairman [of] PCB his desire to continue as captain of the Pakistan Test team,” the PCB said in a statement. “Accordingly, the Chairman has approved his appointment for the upcoming West Indies Test series. The Chairman has also approved appointment of Sarfraz Ahmed as vice-captain of the Pakistan Test team.”Misbah, who will turn 43 in May, has been under immense scrutiny having led the team to five successive Test defeats, although it was under him that Pakistan were ranked No. 1 last year. A dip in his batting form and his age added to the drama that reached its peak after the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne last year when Misbah admitted to being unsure about his future as a cricketer.ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB wants to eventually appoint a single captain for all formats, but such a decision will have to wait until Misbah takes a call on his future. The decision to appoint Sarfraz as vice-captain in Tests came after Azhar Ali stepped down from ODI captaincy and later relinquished his Test vice-captaincy as well. The role was vacant since then. Sarfraz is already leading Pakistan in the Twenty20 format.Pakistan will start the West Indies tour with four T20s starting March 26, followed by three ODIs in early April and the three Tests starting April 22 in Jamaica. Pakistan’s selection committee is due to announce a limited-overs squad later this week while the Test team will be announced later.

Sri Lanka batsman Niroshan Dickwella has been suspended for two limited-overs matches after a Code of Conduct breach during Sunday’s Twenty20 win over Australia in Geelong. Dickwella will therefore miss Wednesday’s final match in the T20 series at Adelaide Oval, having been found guilty of showing dissent at an umpire’s decision.Umpire Simon Fry gave Dickwella out caught-behind when the batsman tried to scoop a delivery from James Faulkner over the wicketkeeper during the third over of Sri Lanka’s chase. Replays showed the ball had struck Dickwella’s shoulder rather than his bat.The ICC said in a statement that after he was given out, Dickwella “paused to view the replay, kicked the turf and looked at his shoulder for a prolonged period of time.”The punishment for his Code of Conduct breach was a fine of 30% of his match fee and two demerit points, but those demerit points were enough to bring a suspension.During the fourth ODI against South Africa in Cape Town earlier this month, Dickwella had accrued three demerit points following an incident in which he and Kagiso Rabada made contact on the field, and his five demerit points have thus been converted into a suspension for two limited-overs games.Australia’s wicketkeeper, Tim Paine, has also been fined 15% of his match fee over a related Code of Conduct breach, for what the ICC described as using “inappropriate words” after Dickwella was given out.

A century from Knights captain Theunis de Bruyn and a four-for from fast bowler Marchant de Lange led their side to a 100-run win over Cape Cobras in Bloemfontein.De Bruyn anchored the Knights innings after opting to bat, scoring 132 off 117 balls to lead the side to 308 for 6. Having lost the openers in successive overs with 51 on the board, de Bruyn carried the innings forward by stitching partnerships of 85 and 98 with Pite van Biljon and Diego Rosier for the third and fourth wickets respectively. With de Bruyn falling in the 45th over, Knights scored 37 off the last five as Shadley van Schalkwyk took the score past the 300 mark.De Lange then cut through the Cobras top order, leaving them at 47 for 3 in the seventh over and by the 21st, Cobras were all but out of the chase at 102 for 5. Jason Smith and Aviwe Mgijima struck a 67-run partnership for the sixth wicket, with Mgijima taking the score past 200 before he was dismissed for 51, his second List A fifty and the top-score in the Cobras innings.De Lange, who had returns of 3 for 21 in his first spell of six overs, dismissed Mgijima in the 41st over, to finish with 4 for 35 as Cape Cobras were bowled out for 208 in the 42nd over.

Giles Clarke, president of the England and Wales Cricket Board and chairman of the ICC’s Pakistan Task Force, has cautioned that bringing international cricket back to Pakistan will be an arduous process requiring “a lot of time and hard work”.Clarke arrived in Lahore on Saturday – his first visit to the country as head of the Pakistan Task Force – on a fact-finding mission to inspect security arrangements that can be put in place for visiting teams. During his visit, Clarke met with senior officials of the Punjab government, including the chief minister and the Home Secretary.Addressing a press conference at the National Cricket Academy at the Gaddafi Stadium, Clarke praised Punjab’s government for “significant investment” in safety and security arrangements for potential touring aides. He was quick to point out, however, that these observations were not to serve as a replacement for expert advice.”I have to receive a proper report from my experts,” Clarke said. “But speaking as a non-expert, I was deeply impressed by the size of the investment, and the passion of everyone I’ve met from the chief minister downwards, the desire and determination to see international cricket return to Lahore was absolutely there. It is a goal of the ICC that every Full Member plays international bilateral cricket in their own country. But for us to do that, we need everyone to be safe and secure.”Clarke referred to a bomb blast in a crowded park in Lahore last March that killed over 70 people. The PCB was in talks with the MCC at the time for the latter to send a cricket team to Lahore, but the terror attack put an end to that.”We don’t want to get it wrong,” Clarke said. “We all know one terrible incident can push things backwards again. What happened here in one of Lahore’s parks did make it impossible for us to send a team here last year. So we’re hoping to move forward, but this isn’t an easy road.”There’s a considerable amount of perception that needs to be changed [around Pakistan being an unsafe country] and information that needs to be shared. But I am most impressed by the efforts of the authorities to make Lahore a safe city.”Clarke, who has been on the Pakistan Task Force since it was set up in the aftermath of the Lahore terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team in March 2009, praised Zimbabwe for coming to Pakistan in 2015 to play two T20s and three ODIs, and said it was a “very well organised” tour. “We want to build on that and move forward in a sensible and measured fashion.” Even that tour, however, was the target of an attempted attack.Clarke didn’t comment on a recent statement by the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) that “an acceptable level of participant safety and security cannot be expected or guaranteed” in Pakistan, saying he hadn’t discussed that statement with FICA, or read it in full. “I was far more interested in coming here for myself before I opened that conversation,” he said.That statement had come on the back of the PCB announcing that the final of the second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) would take place in Lahore, whether or not international players travelled to Pakistan. Clarke expressed strong support for the PCB’s endeavours to hold the final of “their own domestic competition” in Pakistan. “I completely understand that desire, and will support their efforts to do that.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Himanshu Rana’s 71 off 79 balls was the highest score of the Asia Cup final•PTI

Half-centuries from opener Himanshu Rana and No. 3 Shubman Gill provided India Under-19s with a total of 273, which they were able to defend successfully thanks a middle-overs squeeze by their spinners Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Chahar. In the end, hosts Sri Lanka were beaten by 34 runs.At one point though, that result had seemed unlikely. With the momentum of picking up six wickets in the last 11 overs fuelling them, Sri Lanka went after the target with great vigour. Captain Kamindu Mendis and R Kelly struck fifties each to take the score to 158 for 2 in the 31st over. That brought the equation down to 116 off 118 balls with eight wickets in hand.India needed to re-establish control and their 16-year old captain Abhishek helped with that, dismissing Kelly for 63. He finished with figures of 4 for 37 in 10 overs of left-arm spin and claimed the Man-of-the-Match award. Sri Lanka had to deal with Chahar’s miserly legspin from the other end. With him bowling his full quota, giving away only 22 runs, and picking up three wickets as well, the chase unravelled. Sri Lanka lost three wickets in five overs between the 38th and 43rd, then another three wickets with the score on 225 and were finally bowled out for 239.It signalled the importance of first-innings runs in Colombo, and India were able to put up enough thanks to Rana’s 71 off 79 balls and Gill’s 70 off 92 balls. While their partnership of 88 for the second wicket was on, it seemed like India would get to a total of 300 or more, but seamer Nipun Ransika, who took two wickets in the 47th over, and left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, who dismissed both the half-centurions, ensured that did not happen. Sri Lanka would later realise that the damage had already been done.

The Lodha Committee has refused the BCCI’s request for directions on the release of funds to state associations despite the board’s warning that domestic cricket could come to a “standstill”. The Committee said the only remedy available to the state associations was to comply with the Supreme Court’s order of October 21.The court had asked BCCI to “cease and desist” from disbursement of funds for any purpose to the state units unless they submitted an affidavit stating they would adopt the Lodha Committee recommendations. Only three state associations – Vidarbha, Tripura and Rajasthan [the last not recognised by the board] – have adopted all the recommendations. The other units have been reluctant and have sought the BCCI’s guidance on the matter.”You have sought the Committee’s directions for release of payments to Associations in connection with players’ allowances, hotels, transport, hosting fees, etc.,” the Committee noted in an e-mail sent to BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke on Thursday. “Paragraph 20(i) of the order dated 21st October 2016 the of Hon’ble Supreme Court mandates compliance by the State Associations concerned before disbursement of any funds by the BCCI. Therefore the question of the Committee issuing any directions in that behalf does not arise.”Shirke had written to the Committee on October 28 stating the BCCI was facing issues with the release of payments to state units, and pointed out that allowances to players, match officials, umpires, hosting fees to states for using their cricket infrastructure, payment to hotels, airlines, ground transport agencies could not be carried out as a result. “The Committee may issue suitable direction in this regard failing which the domestic cricket season shall come to a standstill,” he said.According to Shirke, the state associations of Odisha, Hyderabad, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir and Assam had written requesting funds for their daily operations, failing which they would not be “able to operate and cricket in the region shall suffer and come to a standstill.”The Committee told Shirke that no exceptions could be made for these five states and they had no choice but to follow the court order. The Committee also asked Shirke to submit, within the next five days, the Deloitte report on Project Transformation, instituted by former BCCI president Shashank Manohar when he took over the role in October last year. Deloitte, the accounting firm, was appointed to strengthen “organisational and governing structure” related to accounting and “operating practice”.”With regard to the Associations of Orissa, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir and Assam mentioned by you, you are directed to furnish the Report obtained by the BCCI from M/s. Deloitte on State Associations, as well as any undertakings submitted by the State Associations pursuant thereto. This shall be submitted within 5 days from today,” the Committee said.

Australia’s captain Steven Smith ranked a surprise hiding at the hands of Sri Lanka among the most deflating results of his career, after pledging his leadership would be focused upon improving the national team’s record in overseas territory.The 106-run defeat in little more than three days of actual playing time has put Australia’s No. 1 ranking at risk, being their seventh consecutive loss in Test matches in Asia and first to Sri Lanka in 17 years. Meanwhile a hamstring injury to the left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe means Smith will be relying on the ability of the Victorian spinner Jon Holland to hit the ground running when he links up with the squad in Galle for a match on what is expected to be an even sharper spinning pitch than that seen in Pallekele. A task considered well within the team’s capability ahead of the series now looks exceptionally steep.Familiar Australian weaknesses against spin bowling were laid bare by Rangana Herath and his wrist-spinning offsider Lakshan Sandakan, as they shared 16 wickets between them. At the same time batsmen like David Warner and Usman Khawaja were put to shame by an extraordinarily composed innings of 176 from the 21-year-old Man of the Match Kusal Mendis. Smith, too, had reason for self-recrimination, as his charge down the track at Herath’s first ball on day two had effectively swung the match.”It is disappointing,” Smith said. “I said before the game that we haven’t played well in subcontinent conditions for quite a while now. It’s something that under my captaincy I want to change. There were glimpses throughout this game that we’ve improved in some aspects but I think we just let ourselves down a lot as well.”I generally play spinners quite aggressively. I’ve hit that ball for four or six several times throughout my career. I got beaten on the inside of the bat. It’s just summing it up and making sure I play with a straighter bat if I’m trying to go over the top. I know it looked ugly and it probably didn’t look great. For me, it’s about making sure I still have that intent to score.”In expressing sorrow for O’Keefe’s exit, particularly after he had fought bravely alongside Peter Nevill to try to delay defeat on the final afternoon, Smith also spoke optimistically about the skills of Holland. The pair were fellow academy inductees nearly a decade ago, and will need to find quick rapport as captain and spinner to help bring Sri Lanka’s batsmen to heel.”Galle is the biggest spinning place here in Sri Lanka, or so we’ve been told so it’s going to play a big part again,” Smith said. “Jon Holland is a class bowler, he’s done pretty well in state cricket and having a left-arm orthodox bowler in these conditions is a must. He’s accurate, he hits a good area and hopefully we can see some of the same as what we saw from Steve and Rangana, with some balls spinning and some balls skidding. It’s incredibly hard to play against and I’m looking forward to him getting here and having a couple of days’ preparation with us.”He and I went to the academy together so we know each other reasonably well and I’m sure he’ll fit in well around this group. There’s always challenges when you’re playing international cricket, especially away from home. He’s going to have to get a game plan and the speeds that he needs to bowl together pretty quickly. We’ll be working with him to make sure he gets that in and I’m really excited for him to join us.”Holland for O’Keefe is likely to be the only change to the Australian side, with Smith looking for his team to atone for their missteps in Pallekele.