Pakistan 348 and 242 for 6 (Taufeeq Umar 71, Inzamam-ul-Haq 60) drew with South Africa 278 and 371
Scorecard

The South Africans threw in everything they could, but they fell just short of achieving a series-levelling win, as Pakistan drew the second Test at Faisalabad and wrapped up the series 1-0. When Inzamam-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq were dismissed off successive balls with 14 overs still left, South Africa sniffed an improbable series-levelling win. But Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan hung on grimly under fading light, surviving with resolute defence and a generous slice of luck. In the end neither team could claim a distinct advantage: Pakistan were 60 runs short of their target, while South Africa were four wickets away from victory.Taufeeq Umar (71) and Inzamam (60) led the way for Pakistan, while the South Africans were let down by their spinners and – more surprisingly – their catching, usually the most reliable aspect of their game. Mark Boucher dropped Taufeeq and Herschelle Gibbs spilled Inzamam, but the drop which perhaps cost them the match was Gary Kirsten’s missed chance off Malik towards the end of the day.Pakistan saw off most of the first two sessions with scarcely any alarms, but the second new ball – taken after tea – paid immediate dividends for South Africa. Inzamam, who had motored along to a half-century after a tentative start, inexplicably shouldered arms to a Makhaya Ntini indipper which was heading towards middle and leg. Simon Taufel had little hesitation in ruling in favour of the bowler (209 for 5). That was the last ball of Ntini’s over. Off the first ball of Shaun Pollock’s next over, Razzaq (10) showed that he had learnt nothing from Inzamam’s shocking lack of judgment, shouldering arms to a Pollock delivery which nipped in slightly and took the off stump.From a position where they were fighting to save the Test, South Africa were suddenly pressing for a win. Then came the crucial dropped catch: a short ball from Ntini took the shoulder of Malik’s bat and, incredibly, went all the way to Kirsten at fine leg, who ran around to get to the ball, and then spilled a regulation chance. With that miss went South Africa’s hopes of victory.

In the first two sessions, there was little to suggest the drama that happened towards the end. Pakistan’s batsmen were intent on survival before lunch, an attitude which resulted in just 55 runs from 30 overs. Imran Farhat and Yasir Hameed fell during that period. Farhat made a painstaking 8 before he was adjudged lbw off Ntini, when replays suggested that the ball would have missed off (18 for 1).Hameed (17) started off in positive fashion, flicking Kallis for two fours, but the South Africans soon switched to short-pitched bowling, and Hameed fell for the bait, pulling Ntini straight to Boeta Dippenaar at square leg (46 for 2).Then came the best passage of play for Pakistan, as Inzamam and Taufeeq stitched together a 79-run partnership. Inzamam started tentatively, but grew in confidence, unleashing some powerful cover-drives off either foot. With Taufeeq playing some trademark drives down the ground, Pakistan scored 92 in the afternoon session. Though Taufeeq was dismissed in that session, caught by Graeme Smith at mid-on when he failed to time a lofted shot off Robin Peterson, Pakistan had laid the foundation to make a serious assault on the target. The South Africans had other ideas, though, and in the end, it needed some gritty batting from the lower order to ensure that Pakistan saved the Test.

The Pub Charity Youth Cricket draw on Saturday is:Please note:This is the final round of the competition before the Christmas break.The Christmas Club Competition will begin on Saturday, December 13.Youth Cricket will restart on Saturday, February 7 next year.**All matches are 1-day matches**U18 (1-day):STAC v St Bedes Black St Bedes 3,Midd G v CBHS Straven 2,PK v Sydenham Parklands Dom 1,Pap HS Bye.Colts (1-day match):Section 1:CC v Syd CC 1,STAC v CBHS STAC 1,St Bedes v SBHS SBHS 4.Section 2:St Thom Yellow (Win by default),Pap HS v St Thom Red St Thom 2.U-16A (1-day):CBHS v CC CC 2,SBHS v STAC STAC 2,Syd v St Bedes St Bedes 5a.U-16B (1-day):Ricc HS v NB Ricc HS 2,LPW v Hornby CC Hornby HS,Upr v CBHS Ricc Dom 1,OC Bye.U-15A (1-day):Burn HS v SBHS Burn HS 2,STAC White v STAC Blue STAC 3,CC v Sydenham Cash HS 1,CBHS Bye.U-15B (1-day):CBHS v PK Parklands Dom 2,CC v St Bedes CC 3,Pap HS v Burn HS Pap HS 1,Upr v STAC STAC 4a,CBHS Black Bye.U-14A (1-day):Linc/Elles v STAC Tai Tapu Domain,SBHS v CC CC 5,Burn HS v St Bedes Burn HS 3,Syd v CBHS Blue Straven 3,CBHS Black Bye.U-14B (1-day):CC v STAC STAC 5,LPW v SBHS Hansen Park,Ricc HS v CBHS Blue Ricc HS 3,Pap HS v CBHS Black Straven 6,Rang HS v Syd Rang HS 1,St Bedes v Nb South Brighton Domain.U-14C (1-day):CC v SBHS CC 6,BWU v CBHS Black Straven 7,St Thom Bye.

Craig Spearman, the former international opening batsman, has made himself available for the State Central Stags in their State Championship campaign. It was originally thought he would only be available for the State Shield limited overs season.His availability is a vital boost for the side as it contemplates building on its efforts in recent seasons. The only newcomer to the side announced today for the opening game of the season against Wellington at the Basin Reserve, starting on Monday, is Nelson fast-medium bowler Richard Sherlock.Sherlock, a member of the New Zealand Under-19 team at the Under-19 World Cup held in Christchurch in the summer of 2002, has been a member of the New Zealand Academy this year. He will take his place in the attack alongside two recalled players, Ewen Thompson, who is back after a one season absence, and Regan West, who returns to the side after five seasons.Unavailable for selection due to injury was Andrew Schwass while Mathew Sinclair, Jacob Oram and Michael Mason are with the Black Caps in Pakistan. The side announced by Mark Greatbatch (convener), Scott Briasco and David Hadfield is:Glen Sulzberger (capt), Bevan Griggs, Lance Hamilton, Brent Hefford, Jamie How, Peter Ingram, Jesse Ryder, Richard Sherlock, Craig Spearman, Ross Taylor, Ewen Thompson, Regan West.

The Western Australian Cricket Association is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Victorian Bushrangers Coach David Hookes.The WACA sends it deepest condolences to the Hookes family.WACA CEO Mrs Kath White said the senseless loss of Hookes is a tragedy that will be felt around the nation and the cricketing world."On behalf of the WACA can I say that our thoughts and prayers are with David’s family and all at Cricket Victoria and the SACA. David was one of the true characters of the game," Mrs White said."He earned the wide respect and admiration for his contributions to the game as a player, coach and commentator."David bought joy to millions of Australians with the way he played cricket. This was a senseless tragedy that has taken one of our sporting heroes."Retravision Warriors Coach Wayne Clark said that Hookes’ death was a tragic loss for Australian cricket."David was a tremendous person and I am deeply saddened by his untimely death," Clark said."I played and coached against Hookesy and he was a tough-as-nails character that was still the first person into the rooms for a beer after the game."He was respected by all who met him for the way he played the game. He gave so much to the sport as a player and then as a Coach, he will be sorely missed."The Warriors will wear black armbands during their ING Cup match against NSW on Wednesday as a sign of respect for Hookes.

John Howard, the Australian prime minister, has named Steve Waugh as the Australian of the Year for 2004.Currently playing for New South Wales in a Pura cup match against Western Australia, Waugh could not be at the awards, but expressed gratitude for the title.”Simply, thank you for the honour,” he said. “In accepting I hope the award will help the focus on me to be about more than just cricket. If it is meant as a recognition in some way of the other work I’ve done in the community in Australia and in India then I’m grateful indeed.”Waugh’s role in humanitarian causes was recognised, as well as the influence he exerted in Australian cricket, as the award was conferred to him. With this award, Waugh joins Allan Border and Mark Taylor as the only cricketers to be named Australian of the Year.Earlier this month, Waugh announced his retirement from international cricket, ending an eventful 18-year old career. With him in the one-day team, Australia won two World cups, and reached the finals of another. Under his captaincy, the Test side became a dominant force, and set the benchmarks in international cricket.

Pakistan 171 for 5 (Tariq 45*, Fawad 43*) beat India 169 (Uthappa 33, Qadir 2-27) by five wickets
Scorecard

Fawad Alam held his nerve when Pakistan were in a precarious position and his decisive partnership with Tariq Mahmood propelled them into the final of the Under-19 World Cup in Dhaka. India had their batsmen to blame, who could muster only 169 in the face of some very disciplined bowling. Yet India’s bowlers did their bit by picking up early wickets, but the undefeated 88-run partnership between Fawad and Tariq was an ideal lesson in pacing a run-chase.Fawad and Tariq came together with the score on 83 for 5. Abhishek Sharma was fizzing his legbreaks and Rudra Pratap Singh was zeroing in on the corridor. Scurrying between the wickets, deftly gliding and nudging, they slowly uncorked the pressure valve. And when the target looked within striking range, they did just that. Out came the ballistics and the ball soared like a rocket in all directions.India needed an exceptional effort if they were to have any hope of defending 169. But Gaurav Dhiman and Rudra Pratap Singh provided them with an ideal start – Dhiman swung the ball both ways and generated some alarming seam movement. He struck in his second over, when Khalid Latif (1) missed a straight ball that pitched on leg stump, deviated towards middle and trapped him right in front (3 for 1). Jahangir Mirza (9) was undone by a swinging yorker, from Rudra Pratap, that crashed into his boots (20 for 2).But Adnan Zaheer made sure that the scoreboard kept ticking along with some confident shots and he wasn’t prepared to let any bowler settle into his rhythm. He added 28 with Usman Saeed, and while Zaheer was completely in control, the other looked very uncertain in his 63-ball stay. Ironically it was Zaheer who fell first, as a thick edge lobbed up to short third man (48 for 3). Zaheer made 18.Salman Qadir, although flummoxed by some zipping legbreaks from Sharma, cashed in on the loose deliveries and kept the asking-rate well in control. Usman (19) tried to break the shackles by cutting a straight ball from Sharma and predictably lost his off stump (68 for 4). Qadir (24) showed a few powerful shots, before he tamely prodded at one from Rudra Pratap. Dinesh Kartik, who was captaining the side in the absence of the suspended Ambati Rayudu, completed the simple chance and Pakistan were hobbling at 83 for 5. Over to Fawad and Tariq.Apart from the brief moment when Kartik called the coin right, India had a poor first session. The Pakistan’s bowlers showed exceptional skill and control and tightened the noose from the first ball. They were also helped by some poor shot selection and weak nerves.Shikhar Dhawan took strike with 497 runs to his name already at a Bradmanesque average of 99.4. But today he learnt that even Eric Hollies can have his day. Dhawan (8) miscued a pull off Ali Imran and found Latif at mid-on (23 for 1). Just one run later Praful Waghela was back in the hutch for a first-ball duck, trapped in front of the stumps by Riaz Afridi (24 for 2).Robin Uthappa didn’t take any undue risks and held his end up well, but Rakesh Solanki (21) soon became the next casualty, run out after he played the ball straight into the hands of short third-man and set off for a nonexistent single (73 for 3).Uthappa departed soon after when he flicked Qadir uppishly to square leg. He made 33 with 3 boundaries. Karthik got out in similar fashion and Suresh Raina was soon out in a freakish manner. He played an extravagant pull off Tariq only to inside-edge the ball towards the keeper. Zulqarnain Haider fumbled the ball, but it lodged in his pad and he was able to claim the catch (113 for 6). Qadir, who is the son of the legendary legspinner Abdul Qadir, ended with 2 for 27 from 10 overs of high quality offspin.But, the best passage of play came in the 39th over. Mansoor, bowling his legspin with phenomenal control, tempted Sunny Singh into a big drive. The third ball of the over was dispatched to the boundary – the first in 114 balls -and a hint of a smile spread across Sunny’s face. Two balls later, he had the look of a man who’d seen a ghost. A perfectly flighted delivery enticed him forward. The ball ducked in at the last moment, a googly, turned in just enough to beat the bat and clipped the top of the off stump. It’s hard to imagine how any legspinner could have bowled that ball better.The fast bowlers then cleaned up the tail with minimum fuss and India folded for a meagre total. India’s opening bowlers gave them a chance, but they were left as clueless as Sunny was, when the two unbeaten Pakistan batsmen began to turn it on.

Daryl Tuffey has pulled out of the third Test against South Africa, which starts at Wellington on Friday (March 26), because of a large bruise on his left upper thigh. Lindsay Crocker, New Zealand Cricket’s general manager, explained that the injury occurred while Tuffey was fielding on the first day of the ongoing second Test, at Auckland.”Daryl injured himself in the field when he was attempting to prevent a boundary,” said Crocker. “He dived and landed very awkwardly, and has been having ongoing difficulties with his leg since then. Unfortunately, the bruising has become quite severe and it has got to the point where it is unlikely he will participate further in this match.”The injury will require physiotherapy, and Tuffey will go into a rehabilitation programme under the direction of NZC’s medical panel. “Daryl will also receive treatment for the injury to his left knee which has been aggravating him for some time,” said Crocker. “The programme he will undertake is intended to enable him to be fit for consideration for selection for the team for the UK tour, which departs on April 27.”The team for the third Test will be named on Monday.

And the show moves on to the second destination where more column inches will be spent on security than cricket. The Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar will decide which team takes the lead in this five-match series that is deadlocked at 1-1 after two close, high-scoring matches.Peshawar conjures up images of bazaars, carpets and of course Afghan connections. It’s a bustling, crowded mini-city, complete with Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, four-wheel drive Landrovers and mobile phone towers. And it’s hot. At half past noon it was a touch under 40 degrees centigrade.India’s players had always planned to spend as little time here as possible and they flew in just before noon on the day before the match. One key difference in the security levels between Peshawar and the rest of Pakistan is that no-one here seems to bother with pistols – the smallest gun around seems to be a double-bore pump action shotgun, and AK 47s are the rule rather than the exception.In some ways, the complete lack of time and freedom to explore the place willhelp the Indian team concentrate on the task at hand. They need to tighten uptheir bowling in the face of some fine hitting on tracks that are such featherbeds, an insomniac would drop off to sleep. They need to make sure they are at the top of their fitness, so that they can hang on to every half-chance and chase down every ball even in trying conditions. As for the batting, they need to continue doing what they have done so far, just do it better.Ashish Nehra’s injury means that Lakshmipathy Balaji stays in the side despite going for 103 runs in 16 overs. Amit Bhandari, Nehra’s replacement, is expected to join the team before the last two games in Lahore and it is difficult to see the Indians going into the third one-dayer with two spinners for the simple reason that the ground is a small one. The longest boundaries are barely 65 yards and this means that batsmen will be able to clear the ropes even if they don’t hit the ball perfectly. Not that too many deliveries have missed the middle of the bat in this series. “There will be absolutely no margin of effort for the bowlers,” agreed Sourav Ganguly. “The wickets so far have been outstanding, and the trend in one-day internationals these days is to make them as bare as possible.”Pakistan’s team in the second one-dayer was bolstered by the return of ShahidAfridi, who contributed with the ball after slamming a 58-ball 80. For the thirdone-dayer, Taufeeq Umar, another attacking batsman, returns to the fold, but isunlikely to make the final cut. The Pakistan bowling line-up is as strong as ever. Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Sami showed in the last game that they have the pace required to get away with bowling just short of a good length.It is this fast bowling strength that will pose a tantalising question to Inzamam-ul-Haq. The pitch, though flat, has a green hue to it. If the conditions are overcast and cool, there might be some benefit to be reaped in bowling first. That, however, is not an option Ganguly will be considering, after the manner in which his bowling attack has been battered in the first two matches. In short, expect a run-fest, but hope for something less brutal on the bowlers.Pakistan (likely) 1 Shahid Afridi, 2 Yasir Hameed, 3 Yousuf Youhana, 4Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Younis Khan, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Moin Khan (wk), 8 ShoaibMalik, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammed Sami, 11 Shabbir Ahmed.India (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 VVS Laxman, 4Sourav Ganguly (capt), 5 Rahul Dravid (wk), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Mohammed Kaif, 8Ramesh Powar, 9 Irfan Pathan, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Lakshmipathy Balaji.

Stuart MacGill has been left out of Australia’s 13-man squad to play Sri Lanka next month and Shaun Tait brought in, with the selectors putting their faith in pace to unsettle Sri Lanka’s classy top order.MacGill had received assurances from Cricket Australia that his decision to stand out of last month’s Zimbabwe tour because of moral concerns would not count against his future selection prospects. But Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, said the nature of the pitches in Darwin and Cairns meant that there was no room for either him or the Victorian legspinner Cameron White, who went to Zimbabwe in MacGill’s stead.”Considering the type of wickets we’re likely to get in Darwin and Cairns it was highly unlikely that we’d play two spinners, which ruled both White and MacGill out of consideration,” Hohns said in an official statement.As expected Glenn McGrath, despite being publicly advised to pull his socks up, is one of an extravagant line-up of five fast bowlers. He is likely to lead Australia’s attack alongside Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne, who – depending on whether or not Muttiah Muralitharan makes the trek to Australia’s tropics – might be chasing the all-time Test bowling record.Warne is currently sitting on 517 wickets, behind Muralitharan (527) and the retired West Indian pace great Courtney Walsh (519). Should Muralitharan tour, their encounter shapes as a classic to rival their most recent battle in Sri Lanka three months ago.Tait was selected as cover for Brad Williams, who was included in the squad despite coming home early from Zimbabwe with a sore back. “With Williams under an injury cloud and with McGrath still to play under Test match conditions, Tait’s selection will add significant depth,” said Hohns. “Should he play, he will give our attack that extra edge.”Zippy, raw and only 21, Tait previously filled in for Brett Lee – who is still recovering from ankle surgery – on the tour of Sri Lanka. In 14 first-class matches he has taken 53 wickets at 26.56.The first of the two Tests will begin in Darwin on July 1. The Sri Lankans will play one warm-up match against a Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI, expected to be named later today. Australia’s squad
Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath, Brad Williams, Shaun Tait.

Scorecard

The wonder of Jeff Thomson’s twisting, frenetic, slingshot bowling action was never so much how Thommo did it. The wonder was why almost nobody else did. Well, the world need wonder no longer. Lasith Malinga, a 20-year-old debutant fast bowler with a Thommo-like action, today put fear into the minds of Australia’s batsmen for a brief while, before three late Sri Lankan wickets left this first day under cloudless Darwin skies firmly in the balance. At stumps, they were 3 for 43 in response to Australia’s disappointing 207.If it was Malinga who upset the Australians, shooting out Darren Lehmann and Adam Gilchrist in a nasty post-tea spell, it was Chaminda Vaas who finished them off via more conventional means. Curving the ball menacingly away from the left-handers – and there are six of them in this Australian top seven, which is surely unprecedented – Vaas produced a masterful exhibition of old-style swing bowling.Sometimes he swung it big and early, sometimes late and subtly, which is what accounted for the two Matthews – Hayden and Elliott – and most of the tail. By the end Vaas had 5 for 31 and Australia had lost last their seven wickets for 30. It was only the second time in three years that they had been kept to under three runs an over, and the repercussions for Sri Lankan cricket looked significant indeed. Here was proof, at last, that there is more to them than Muttiah Muralitharan.The Malinga-Thommo comparison should not be exaggerated. Thomson’s action had an epic, slow-motion quality to it. At the peak of his run-up he would tail away from the stumps, his back arched and his feet criss-crossing in mid-air, his left leg following through with daredevil have-a-go-yer-mug intent.Malinga’s style is altogether more modest. If Thomson was a human catapult, Malinga is a windmill, a frenzied flurry of arms. He bowls from closer to the stumps, with barely a jump let alone a leap, and clocks in at around 15kph slower than Thommo.Still, that is invariably fast enough. Vaas had warned that his new partner was more dangerous with the old ball than the new, and so it proved. In his nine overs before tea Malinga looked slippery without threatening. Then, just before the break, he cuffed Lehmann on the shoulder with a challenging bouncer. Lehmann appeared not to see it. Just after the break, he fired an even sharper one at his throat, a no-ball, which Lehmann spooned helplessly to gully. Moments later, Lehmann tiptoed extravagantly across his crease – a curious untextbook habit of his, this – only to belatedly square up to the ball and watch it thud incriminatingly into his right pad.Malinga’s third ball to the new man, Adam Gilchrist, was a wild inswinging bouncer on leg stump. Gilchrist – half-evading, half-hooking – paddled it tamely through to Kumar Sangakkara, which is when the Malinga-Thommo comparison broke down statistically too. Thomson was carted for six runs an over on debut against Pakistan, didn’t take a wicket and wasn’t sighted again for two years. Malinga, 32 years later, unnerved the world champions.

This day never followed a predictable course. Marvan Atapattu elected to field in pristine – if muggy – batting conditions and on a drop-in pitch guaranteed to get lower, slower and ever more alluring to Shane Warne. “It’ll never never leave you,” beckoned the boundary-side advertising boards plugging Darwin as a tourist destination, and you got the same feeling about Hayden in the first session.The 4595 locals in attendance downed warm beer and wore their best thongs, their senses stiffened by the faint smell of frangipani. This is the second time Darwin has staged a Test and, as was the case last year, it has the air of the annual race-day at a dusty country town. Hayden’s batting, grinning and heaving and swinging across the line, is usually in keeping with such a mood. But this was Hayden without the rough edges: upright in defence, purposeful in attack; circumspect one minute, clobbering Thilan Samaraweera over his head the next.Langer was less finely chiselled. He almost fell without a run on the board, making a late decision to leave Vaas and edging a low chance to slip. Mahela Jayawardene seemed to think he’d scooped a finger under it, Langer seemed less than eager to take his word for it, and the TV replays – as always at moments like this – seemed peculiarly unhelpful.Langer was unsettled ever after, frequently mistiming before eventually drilling an implausible sweep to backward square leg (72 for 1). As he trudged off, he may have wondered whether the new old boy Elliott might come back with a bang and put his own position – never entirely rock-solid – under fresh scrutiny.He need not have worried. Elliott, who put the phone down and screamed with excitement when told he was back in the side, calmly re-opened his Test tally with a single. Then he shaped loosely to drive at Vaas, failed to get near the pitch of it, and edged to second slip (73 for 2). The comeback that took five years to arrive was over in seven minutes.When Hayden fell after lunch Australia had lost three wickets for eight runs. Lehmann, dabbing his first ball from Vaas defiantly past gully, responded with a mini-classic. Big, bald and beer-swilling, he described himself recently as the last of the old-style Australian cricketers. This afternoon, he was a throwback of a different kind – a David Gower or Neil Harvey, maybe – as with sure feet and soft hands he alternately nudged and thwacked Sri Lanka’s part-time spinners.His vigour briefly awakened something in Damien Martyn. Marooned in his teens, the Darwin-born Martyn suddenly cut loose with successive boundaries off Samaraweera – one thanks to a bumbling full-toss, the other courtesy of a fumbling misfield on the fence. He had crashed five boundaries in 15 minutes when, on the stroke of tea and with startling recklessness, he crunched Sanath Jayasuriya straight to gully (177 for 4). From there, Australia’s batting wilted fast.This day of surprises had one last twist. Glenn McGrath, playing his first Test in a year and with the vultures hovering, fizzed one back to rap Atapattu’s middle stump. Jason Gillespie trapped a flat-footed Sangakkara lbw for his 200th Test wicket, then McGrath nailed Jayasuriya in similar fashion (33 for 3).At this point, you had to stop yourself jumping to conclusions. All McGrath had done was take two wickets; to say he was back to his best would be premature. But he did look sharp. There was a hint of zip. He landed the ball on the spot, jagged it this way or that, and snarled. It is what McGrath has always done. The wonder is why nobody else has ever done it quite like him.