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Bangladesh Under-19 captain Mahmudul Hasan has set his sights on a last four finish at the World Cup, beginning in New Zealand from January 15. “You can’t go into a mission without setting a target,” he said. “Our target is to make it to the last four in the World Cup, which we are capable of.”Mahmudul said the main difference between the previous U-19 squad and the present one was that there wasn’t a visible age gap between players, with the current team comprising players all around the same age. “We have been given the opportunity to grow as a team and therefore the team spirit is excellent,” he said. “We know each other really well and there is great camaraderie.”We have a strong fielding side. The batting has come together nicely. If I have to comment on the weaknesses, I guess we have a lot of room for improvement in the pace bowling area.”The Bangladesh U-19 managed impressive performances in 2009, winning home series against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and England and clinching the ODI series against England in July. Coach Minhajul Abedin believed even though they were unfamiliar with conditions in New Zealand, the trip to England should hold them in good stead.”For the last one month or so the conditions at home have been similar,” Abedin said. “It has been chilly and the teams have struggled with dew in the ongoing tri-nation tournament. In the last tournament we played in Sri Lanka, the wickets had grass although the weather was really humid and sultry.”Our goal is to reach the last four. We have not managed to do that in past events and therefore it is not a bad target to set and something we can achieve. I say this because from what I have seen so far we are probably at the standard of the top four teams in terms of strength. There is not a big difference.”He picked out Mahmudul, opener Anamul Haque and legspinner Shabbir Rahman as the key performers, who could help them book a semi-final berth. “The three will do well at any level. I am also excited with the fact that we are taking two specialist legspinners to New Zealand (Shabbir and Nur Hossain). As a part of the strategy, we may even open the bowling in New Zealand a la Dipak Patel in 1992. I have a lot of faith in this team.”The core group has remained together and we have had some very impressive performances along the way. If I have to be critical then I would say that we are 90% there.”Bangladesh will look to improve on their U-19 World Cup record, having finished Plate winners in 1997-98 and 2003-04. They have been paired alongside Papua New Guinea (PNG), Pakistan and West indies in Group D, and begin their campaign against PNG on January 16 in Palmerston North.

The members of the pitch and ground committee of the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) have put in their papers after taking responsibility for the pitch fiasco which led to the abandonment of the fifth and final ODI between India and Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah Kotla today. Chetan Chauhan, the committee’s chairman and former Test player, convener Sunil Dev and curator Vijay Bahadur Mishra were among those who resigned after a meeting of top DDCA officials.”At a meeting of senior officials of the DDCA , the chairman and members of pitch and ground committee, including the curator resigned owing moral responsibility after the abandonment of the India-Sri Lanka ODI,” SP Bansal, the DDCA secretary, said in a statement.The BCCI had also disbanded its grounds and pitches committee with immediate effect, following Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara’s refusal to play on a dangerous pitch after 23.3 overs in the day. The visitors were tottering at 83 for 5 when batsman Thilina Kandamby complained to the on-field umpires, which led to an on-field conference involving match referee Alan Hurst, India’s captain MS Dhoni, Sangakkara, the respective coaches – Gary Kirsten and Trevor Bayliss – and the Kotla curator.DDCA officials, including Chauhan, who is also the vice-president, proposed that the match be played on a secondary strip, but Hurst “deemed it impractical” as it was not adequately prepared..The recent history of the Kotla track had done little to recommend its hosting of another international fixture. The curators, both at the ground and the BCCI’s head of pitches committee Daljit Singh, have on more than one occasion said that this is a freshly relaid pitch and will take time to settle in. Despite that, the ground hosted the Champions League T20 on low and slow tracks, and an ODI between India and Australia in October.

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has predicted a “great future” in international cricket for debutant Umar Akmal, who rescued his team with a brazen century after the top order had collapsed on the third day in Dunedin. Umar began his innings after Shane Bond and Chris Martin had reduced Pakistan to 85 for 5, trailing by 344 runs in the first innings. He dominated a 176-run partnership with his older brother Kamran and helped Pakistan avoid the follow-on.Umar has acquired a reputation of being a dasher with a cool head in the limited-overs formats and he began his Test career by cutting Bond for four off his first ball. He raced to his century with three consecutive boundaries off Iain O’Brien, eroding New Zealand’s advantage with aggression: Umar hit 21 fours and two sixes in his innings of 129.”He is something very special and a very exciting player,” Intikhab said after Pakistan’s recovery. “He is a very hard working, dedicated young person [and] a very exciting cricketer. We are lucky to have him in the side and I think he’s got a great future for Pakistan.”The good thing is that he never gets under pressure. He played his own natural game [today]. His mother said she would be praying for him and she hoped he would score some runs. She told him to just relax and take it easy but he didn’t listen to her.”While 19-year-old Umar was making his first splash in Test cricket, 34-year old Shane Bond was making his comeback after two years of ICL exile and just how much his team missed him was immediately evident. Bowling with the wind, Bond gradually cranked up his pace from 140 kmh to close to 150 and accounted for three top-order batsmen. He ended the day with figures of 4 for 93 and was “pretty happy to come through” after bowling 24 overs in a day.”My body felt pretty good the whole day and it’s always nice to get wickets. I really enjoyed it,” Bond said after his performance. “I was pretty keen to try and get that tonight. I’ll want the ball first up tomorrow morning to try and finish that off.”Despite his success, Bond was surprised at how flat the University Oval wicket was. “We just had to make a conscious effort to run in hard and bowl aggressively on that wicket. Sometimes you leak a few runs doing that but I think you give yourself the best chance of taking wickets.”New Zealand are ahead by 122 runs with two days to go and Pakistan have only a couple of wickets in hand, a position Bond was happy with. “I think it’s important we clean up those wickets tomorrow morning then we’ve got a good lead hopefully. Then the game is ours to set up. We could still lose the game if we bat poorly but if we play well then we can set the game up and hopefully be the only team that can win it.”

Tasmania 4 for 272 (Bailey 81, Birt 71*) beat New South Wales 8 for 271 (Smith 81, Drew 3-56) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Michael Clarke’s return from a back injury didn’t last long as he was run-out for 8 in New South Wales’ disappointing loss•Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

New South Wales’ star-studded line-up suffered a surprise defeat by Tasmania in a disastrous afternoon for the state at North Sydney Oval. Michael Clarke and Brett Lee got through their first games following injury without making much of an impact and Phillip Hughes picked up a hand problem as the Blues slumped to a six-wicket loss.The hosts boasted eight internationals in their line-up next to Tasmania’s two, but the big names failed with the bat before George Bailey, the visiting captain, set up the win with 81 from 76 deliveries and Travis Birt joined in with 71 off 51.Lee had two catches dropped by Hughes in his first spell, and the opener soon left the field for x-rays. That injury may have an impact on Australia’s first Test squad to face West Indies next week and followed a similar scare on Saturday for Marcus North, who escaped with a bruised wrist from a fielding mishap.Lee was coming back from an elbow complaint and went wicket-less in a nine-over tune-up for Tuesday’s Sheffield Shield game against the Tigers at the SCG. Stuart Clark removed Ed Cowan (36) and Bailey after Josh Hazlewood earned his first wicket on debut when he gained Michael Dighton’s edge on 40. The opener Rhett Lockyear was unlucky to drop his bat just as Simon Katich’s throw from mid-off hit the stumps, but the dismissal was not costly.Bailey and Birt joined forces at 3 for 138 and soon gained control during an aggressive stand of 97 in 13.1 overs before Bailey miscued. Both batsmen cleared the fence of the small ground, with Bailey lifting Steven Smith and Clark for clean sixes. Birt showed his strength with five sixes and also had to receive treatment for a cut finger when hit by a throw going back to his crease.It took a brutal innings from a 20-year-old to revive New South Wales after their A-list order failed to fire. Smith launched five sixes and seven fours – five of which came in the same Brendan Drew over – as he was responsible for improving his team’s position from 5 for 108 with 81 from 58 deliveries.David Warner (36) and Hughes (30) did not really recover from the sight of the offspinner Jason Krejza opening the bowling and Clarke’s return from a lengthy lay-off due to a back injury lasted 23 balls. He struggled for touch and on 8 was too eager in taking a single to mid-off and was just beaten by Cowan’s direct hit.”The back is okay,” Clarke said during the game. “I didn’t do it too much harm today. Fingers crossed I can play in the four-dayer on Tuesday. I’d also like to play in the Twenty20 all-stars match [on Sunday] to lead into the Test match. I feel very short on batting, I’m a little bit scratchy at the moment.”After Phil Jaques glided behind to Birt, Brad Haddin chose a poor time to chase a six off Xavier Doherty and his short stay was ended by Cowan’s stunning leap for a one-handed take at long-off. Katich (34), who entered at the unfamiliar position of No. 6, looked up to see an inexperienced team-mate walking out and they saved the side from a mediocre total during an 83-run stand from 76 balls.At the start of the batting Powerplay Smith, who picked up his maiden half-century, swiped Luke Butterworth for two sixes to midwicket in the same over, with one landing on a grandstand roof. Another ball from Doherty had suffered the same fate and Smith really lifted when he took the previously impressive Drew (3 for 56) for 21 in an over. Smith’s mistake was to premeditate a sweep off Brett Geeves and glide the ball on to his stumps, but by then he had given his side a chance that they didn’t take.

Bad weather, in the form of a cyclone over the Arabian Sea near Mumbai and continuous heavy rains in the city over the past 24 hours, washed out the seventh and final ODI between India and Australia on Wednesday.With this, Australia win the series 4-2 and have the double bonus of Shane Watson declared Man of the Series.That the match would be called off was clear in the morning, which broke grey and wet; though the rain abated, and by afternoon had become an occasional drizzle, it had done enough to turn the DY Patil Stadium into a pool of water. The match was officially called off at 5 p.m.Two other top-level matches in the city were also affected; the first day’s play of Sri Lanka’s tour game against the Board President’s XI was washed out and the Ranji game between Mumbai and Orissa is yet to see a ball being bowled into the second day.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outEoin Morgan made a confident 62 against Sri Lanka’s formidable attack•Getty Images

Sometimes you just have to get away from it all to find what you are really looking for. After embracing embarrassment throughout a lamentable one-day series against Australia, England’s cricketers travelled 6000 miles south from Durham to Johannesburg, where to the astonishment of players, spectators and pundits alike, they atoned for their shortcomings by toppling the tournament pace-setters, Sri Lanka, in their opening match of the Champions Trophy.Dossier-compilers across the cricketing world will doubtless enquire exactly how England passed the time during their 11-hour long-haul flight on Monday, but if their performance stopped short of being sexy cricket, it did at least last rather longer than most of their recent efforts. An ecstatic new-ball onslaught from James Anderson and Graham Onions set England on course for victory as early as the sixth over of the match as Sri Lanka slumped to 17 for 4, and though Thilan Kandamby and Angelo Mathews responded manfully with a pair of well-paced half-centuries, Sri Lanka’s eventual total of 212 was chased down with something approaching assurance, with 30 balls to spare.After the early loss of both openers, including the potentially devastating dismissal of Andrew Strauss for 9 via a stunning one-handed interception by Kandamby at midwicket, Paul Collingwood lifted England’s intensity with a bullish 46 from 51 balls that included three leg-side sixes, before Eoin Morgan sealed the deal with his highest score in ODIs for England. In between whiles, Owais Shah put his recent jitters behind him with a calm and comfortable 44 that drew the sting of Sri Lanka’s spinners, particularly the off-colour Muttiah Muralitharan, before Matt Prior partnered Morgan to the close with an aggressive unbeaten 28.It truly was an upset of the highest order, because the two teams could hardly have come together with their form and fortunes more polarised. In Sri Lanka’s opening fixture at Centurion on Tuesday, they racked up the small matter of 319 for 8 as they routed the hosts and tournament favourites, South Africa, in a rain-curtailed contest. England, on the other hand, sloped belatedly into the country with their morale at their bootlaces and their form under a cloud, after the humiliations of their 6-1 trouncing by Australia.This time, however, being under a cloud suited England perfectly. On a green-tinged surface that might have been imported from Uxbridge in April, Strauss won his seventh toss in eight ODIs, and was delighted to unleash a seam-heavy attack in which Onions had been chosen in preference to Tim Bresnan, despite having played only one previous 50-over international. Sure enough, his faith was quickly repaid, as Onions extracted the out-of-form Sanath Jayasuriya with his fifth delivery, caught behind nibbling outside off for a second-ball duck.Four balls later, and Anderson extracted the prize scalp of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka’s centurion against South Africa, who had been frustrated for 11 probing deliveries in which his only scoring shot was a prod down to third man. He fell to a scything slash to point off the fullest delivery of Anderson’s spell, whereupon Mahela Jayawardene – who seemed to have decided to go down swinging from the outset – was pinned lbw for 9 as he attempted an over-ambitious flick across the line.Kumar Sangakkara endured a torrid mini-innings – he was struck amidships first-ball by a wicked inducker from Onions, but then chased a ball that might well have been called wide, had he not connected with his edge and flashed a high chance to Andrew Strauss at first slip. At 17 for 4 after 32 deliveries, Sri Lanka were staring at the sort of humiliation that West Indies (47 for 7) encountered on this same surface against Pakistan on Wednesday.But Anderson and Onions could not continue indefinitely, and the arrival of Stuart Broad loosened the shackles enough for Sri Lanka to wriggle free. From his second delivery, Samaraweera drove an indifferent length ball through the covers for four, before following up with a handsome slash through point for a second boundary, and before long, England had truly lost the plot. In total, they served up an unforgiveable 21 wides, as they searched for killer deliveries in a bid to skittle the Sri Lankans inside 30 overs, whereas the more patient approach adopted by the Sri Lankan batsmen would have been far more appropriate.Broad took a while to gauge the pace and length for the surface – often his biggest failing as a bowler seems to be his inexperience – while his indiscipline spread to Onions’ bowling as well, who beat Samaraweera with a vicious bouncer that almost knocked the batsman off his feet, only to squander that surprise element by beating the life out of the middle of the wicket, instead of pitching it up and inviting the ball to swing. Samaraweera followed up two overs later with back-to-back fours off Onions, before guiding another Broad bouncer over the slips and away through third man.Thilina Kandamby helped rescue Sri Lanka from 17 for 4•Getty Images

But, just as England were beginning to strain for inspiration, Broad rediscovered a good length outside off, and Samaraweera’s enterprising innings of 30 from 48 balls came to an end thanks to a sharp catch from Paul Collingwood in the gully. Collingwood then followed up with an eight-over spell of accurate cutters that didn’t realise any wickets, but conceded just 24 runs in the process – almost half the rate at which Onions and Luke Wright were dispatched.It took a run-out for England to truly regain their control of the contest, as Kandamby set off for a second run from a push into the covers, only to find Mathews rooted to the crease at the striker’s end. Two overs later, they claimed their second run-out … but Strauss, with visions of Collingwood’s vilification in a similar situation against New Zealand last summer, asked the umpires to reverse the decision. Mathews had turned Onions into the leg-side, and set off for an intended two, only to collide with Onions, who had tracked back towards the non-striker’s stumps, and with no apparent intent in his actions, was standing right next to Mathews as he turned blind on completing his run.Mathews was visibly unimpressed with the decision, and gesticulated as such as he left the crease, but it wasn’t until he was in the pavilion tunnel that Strauss called him back to the crease. Three balls and one run later, his generosity was repaid, as Mathews nibbled outside off, and edged Wright low to Prior behind the stumps. As he left the crease for the second time, he acknowledged Strauss’s sportsmanship with a wave. Cricket was the winner, and several forests-worth of newsprint were spared.Muralitharan cashed in with an enterprising slogged 18 before he and Malinga had their stumps demolished in consecutive deliveries from Broad, but at the halfway mark, Sri Lanka appeared to have a more-than-competitive total on the board, especially when Kulasekera struck to remove Denly and Strauss inside his first four overs. But the dewy conditions did not play to Sri Lanka’s strengths in the slightest. The same, however, could not be said for England, who have now stormed to the top of their group. Wonders truly will never cease.

Match abandoned
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outJoginder Singh, playing his first BCCI-recognised match, and captaining BSNL against a much stronger Air India Red, almost had a dream night before it literally rained on his party. Joginder’s late hitting provided impetus to a good start provided by Arindam Das, Biswa Mohapatra and Varun Kumar, before he took a wicket with his first ball in List A cricket. Incessant rain, though, meant BSNL could not make further inroads and only 2.5 overs of Air India innings were possible. The two teams will share two points each for the match.Before Joginder came in to bat, Das, the stodgy Bengal opener, was solid in getting his highest List A score, and Mohapatra, who last played a List A game in 2007, and Varun Kumar (last List A game in 2004-05) were forceful around him, helping BSNL to a competitive total. Varun, too, got a career-best 49.It was an unconventional start to the 2009-10 domestic season, with Joginder walking out for the toss with Yuvraj Singh. Put in on a slow track, BSNL overcame a slow start, at first through Mohapatra’s exploitation of fielding restrictions. From 10 for 0 in five overs, BSNL moved to 70 in 13 overs, with Mohapatra targeting left-arm-spinner Ankeet Chavan, whose first two overs went for 25. By the time Mohapatra got out for a run-a-ball 41, Das had moved to 25 off 38.In Varun, Das found Mohapatra-like company, and he didn’t feel the need to take any risks. Yuvraj brought on his spinners to try and slow down proceedings, a ploy that worked for a while with offspinner Ajit Chandila and Yuvraj exercising some control. The next 11 overs produced just 35 runs, but then Varun cut loose. Chavan, again, was at the receiving end, going for 11 in his third over. Das, too, picked up the pace as the two kept turning over the strike with ease. Chandila, who went for 13 in his first five, was welcomed back with a four and a six by Das and Varun.Varun was denied a maiden fifty when he came back for a second run in the 33rd over, but the two had added 90 in less than 20 overs to set the innings up for a big finish. That assault was to be delayed as Das missed out on a maiden century, leaving BSNL at 188 for 3 in the 39th over, also the first over of the batting Powerplay.Joginder, though, made sure that the Powerplay was made to count, hitting three sixes in his 24-ball 27, and helping BSNL take 42 in the Powerplay. But 17-year-old left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar and Mun Mangela, the right-arm medium-pacer, made a good comeback, making the big hits hard to come by. They altered their lengths and pace smartly, and kept taking regular wickets in the final few overs, as BSNL – 235 for 3 in 44.5 overs – could manage to add only 23 in the last five.Read the reports from the other matches of day one of the Corporate Trophy here.

Stuart Clark feared his Test career was over after an extended stint on the sidelines coincided with the rise of a new generation of Australian pacemen. Clark claimed figures of 3 for 18 from ten precise overs in his first Test outing in nine months on Friday, but conceded he had wondered whether he would ever again wear the baggy green cap after the likes of Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus led Australia to victory in South Africa at a time when he was recuperating from elbow surgery.”There were a few of them,” Clark said, when asked if there were moments when he thought his Test career might have passed him by. “When you’re injured there is a lot of speculation: would I play again or could I play again? When the guys did so well in South Africa there was always a little bit of talk. I have to learn to deal with it, so do all the guys on the sidelines. Brett [Lee] is in the same position at the moment. When the guys bowl well there’s nothing we can do about that.”Clark showed no ill-effects from the elbow surgery on Friday, resuming his strangle-hold on England’s batsmen from the Ashes series two years ago. On that occasion, Clark played a leading role in Australia’s 5-0 whitewash, sezing a series-best 26 wickets in an Australian team that contained Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. He bowled with equal precision at Headingley, seldom allowing England’s top-order respite with a disciplined line, subtle out-swing and awkward bounce.Clark’s absence from the first three Tests of the Ashes series has been a point of great contention, and his performance on Friday will cast the spotlight on the selectors’ move to omit him to this point.”They wanted to go down a different path and show some faith in the guys who did well in South Africa,” Clark said. “With Siddle, Hilfenhaus and Johnson and the make-up of the team, I didn’t fit the plans. It was no more than that.”There’s no secret I was disappointed. I thought I was a really good chance to play in conditions I’ve played in before. If you take the Cardiff game, the boys bowled well and … it’s pretty hard to change a team that’s done well from that game. I was disappointed, but I’m a realist. I understand the selectors have a tough job as well.”

Steve Davies, the wicketkeeper batsman, has decided not to renew his contract with Worcestershire at the end of this season.Davies, 23, informed the club of his decision to leave New Road earlier this week, after several months of speculation.”Having been involved with Steve’s development since the age of 11, I am quite naturally disappointed he won’t be part of the club’s plans in the immediate future,” said Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket.”We respect his decision and hope that he has a very successful cricketing career with his new county and with England. He will always be welcome at New Road and will remain an integral part of our plans for the remainder of the season.”Davies has 26 dismissals so far this season, and averages 38.37 with the bat. He had a brief taste of international cricket during England’s tour of West Indies earlier this year when he played a Twenty20 international, but has been overlooked this season.He is likely to be followed out of New Road by a number of other senior players with Stephen Moore and Gareth Batty also expected to leave at the end of the summer. Moore is attracting plenty of interest from other counties after his consistent form of recent seasons, while Batty has become unhappy with the director of the club and is being tipped to head to Surrey, who are also interested in Davies.

Shridath Ramphal, the mediator in the bitter dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), welcomed the appointment of a facilitator by the board to settle the issue amicably. Gerard Pinard, an industrial practitioner, is representing the board and Shridath was pleased with the early meetings.”This I think is a very positive step forward,” Shridath told . “Using a facilitator is a technique of mediation that you use to try to draw back from the more hostile exchanges. It helps develop the processes towards reconciliation through facilitators chosen by the parties, being persons in whom they have confidence, to speak for them and to agree for them, to do adeal for them if you like, to make the compromises.”Shridath was hopeful of settling the dispute by the end of August. The next meeting is scheduled for the forthcoming week.Ramphal, a former commonwealth secretary-general, was appointed to mediate after the first-choice West Indies players refused to play in the ongoing home series against Bangladesh, citing pay and contract issues as their main grievances. West Indies lost both the Test and the ODI series and the same weakened squad was named for the Champions Trophy. The players ended the strike but their availability for international cricket will depend on how soon the dispute is resolved.