Pakistan and Sri Lanka will play a three-match ODI series in Abu Dhabi next month, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).According to Nasim Ashraf, chairman PCB, no dates have been finalised yet but the series is expected to be played in the second week of May.”We have to work out some modalities with the Abu Dhabi Cricket Association and it will be done in due course of time before the series is organised next month,” he told reporters in Lahore.While Pakistan has already been eliminated from the on-going World Cup, Sri Lanka are well-placed to reach the semi-finals of the prestigious event. Pakistan are also without a captain and a coach after the resignation of Inzamam-ul-Haq and the death of Bob Woolmer.The ad hoc committee, that held its session yesterday, is expected to name the replacements on May 7.

Ravi Bopara, the allrounder, insists England need to be at their best if they are to win their Super Eights clash against Ireland. “Ireland have been playing some good cricket,” Bopara, 21, said. “I’ve been watching a few of their games and they look a good side.”The neighbouring countries will play for the second time in less than a year when they walk out in Guyana on Friday. “They’ve already proven they can beat some of the top sides in the world and the main thing for us is to be on top of our game when we face them,” Bopara said. “We may be expected to win, but we all know that cricket doesn’t work like that.”Ireland produced a shock by defeating the former champions Pakistan in the first round and tying with Zimbabwe. England, who like Ireland carry no points from the opening stage, qualified with wins over Kenya and Canada and will appear in the second phase for the first time since 1996.Bopara, who played against Canada when Andrew Flintoff was suspended, said England were targeting a place in the semi-finals. “We played well in the last couple of games in the group stages and we are feeling confident going into the Super Eights,” Bopara said. “It’s always a great feeling to go out and play some games and I am feeling good, I am feeling confident and I am just enjoying myself.” Bopara, who has appeared in three ODIs, scored 29 and picked up 2 for 43 against Canada before bowling only one over against Kenya.

Asim Kamal narrowly missed out on a ninth first-class century as Habib Bank Limited were bowled out for 315 by the combined side of North West Frontier Province-Baluchistan on the first day of their Pentagular Cup match at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex in Karachi.Kamal was bowled at 95 by Nasir Jalil who ended the day with 3 for 89 from almost 20 overs. Along with Humayun Farhat who made 56, Kamal added 76 runs for the sixth wicket. Aftab Alam (33) and Sajid Shah (44*) also chipped in with useful scores.Shah contributed with the ball as well giving Habib Bank the advantage when he trapped opener Fawad Khan leg before with his right-arm fast-medium bowling as NWFP-Baluchistan closed at 14 for 1.Through half-centuries by Atif Ali (63) and Rizwan Ahmed (83*) Sind plodded to 281 for 7 against Khan Research Laboratories at the National Stadium in Karachi.Mohammad Irshad, KRL’s right-arm fast-medium bowler, gave his side an early breakthrough when he dismissed Sind opener Agha Sabir with the score at one. But then Wajihuddin and Ali steadied the ship with a 79-run partnership. Irshad got 2 for 38 while Saeed Ajmal, an offbreak bowler, took 3 for 29. Rizwan was batting alongside Tanvir Ahmed who had made 36 when stumps were drawn.

Matthew Hoggard looks set to miss the third Test against West Indies at Old Trafford, starting on June 7, after aggravating his groin injury in the nets ahead of Yorkshire’s one-day fixture against Derbyshire at Headingley.Hoggard, who withdrew from England’s attack after bowling just 10.1 overs in the first Test at Lord’s, had been optimistic about his rehabilitation. He was hoping to play for his club side Baildon on Saturday, as well as today’s match, but with a long international season ahead of England, he will not now be risked.”It’s extremely disappointing for Matthew, but it’s one of those type of injuries that if you rush back before you’re ready it can turn into a serious problem,” said England’s chairman of selectors, David Graveney. “Caution is a by-word for us and hopefully the extra time will help him recover and be back playing cricket sooner rather than later.”The news is a further setback for England’s new coach Peter Moores, who had hinted in the aftermath of the Headingley Test that Hoggard’s injury was more serious than the medical team had first believed.With Andrew Flintoff set to miss the rest of the West Indies series due to further surgery on his injured left ankle, England’s pace attack is down to the bare bones, with the onus yet again on Steve Harmison to locate his best form.In Hoggard’s absence, Ryan Sidebottom, the left-arm seamer who took eight wickets in the Headingley win, is almost certain to retain his place in the side.

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Ireland have announced a severely depleted 13-man squad for their one-dayers against India and South Africa due to get under way on June 23.Though it is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Ireland’s talent, several of their star players are missing through injury. Andre Botha, Dave Langford-Smith and, most disappointingly of all, Boyd Rankin have all failed to recover from their respective injuries in time, though it is expected they will be fit in time for the quadrangular series in July.The batting also lacks depth and, to compound their troubles, both Jeremy Bray and Eoin Morgan have declared themselves unavailable while their allrounder, Peter Gillespie, has decided to call it a day.”There’s no doubt we have been badly hit by injuries,” Phil Simmons, their coach, said. “Langford-Smith has a side injury, and this type of injury can be very slow to heal. Both Andre Botha (elbow injury) and Boyd Rankin (stress fracture of the fibula), are still two or three weeks away from full fitness, but I’m confident all three will be ready for the quadrangular tournament.”Injuries, though unfortunate, are part and parcel of the game but it is Morgan’s case which is a greater concern, as more and more Ireland players pledge their future to England.”Morgan has informed me that he isn’t available for the ODIs because of his commitments with Middlesex,” Simmons said. “He wants to qualify and play for England, and feels that by obtaining a regular place in the Middlesex team is the best way to achieve that.””It’s been a very difficult decision for me,” MOrgan told cricketeurope.com. “I obviously love playing for Ireland and would like nothing better than to be lining out for them next weekend. Unfortunately there is a clash with my Middlesex commitments.”I feel at this stage of my career, it’s best if I cement my place in the Middlesex one-day side, and hopefully through good performances force my way into the reckoning for the four-day championship games. If I had gone away and played for Ireland, Middlesex indicated that if my replacement scored runs, then they would be above me in the fight for places. They weren’t in a position to give me any guarantee about my place.”Simmons added: “Bray asked not to be considered for selection for these matches and Gillespie has decided to retire from representative cricket. The positive aspect to this is that a number of the younger players in the squad will now get a chance to show me what they are capable of. They have the opportunity to firmly establish themselves in the squad. I’m already starting to look ahead to the World Cup qualifiers in the UAE in 2009, and the composition of the team.”Ireland squad Trent Johnston (capt), Kenny Carroll, Alex Cusack, Thinus Fourie, Dominick Joyce, Gary Kidd, Kyle McCallan, Kevin O’ Brien, Niall O’ Brien, William Porterfield, Roger Whelan, Andrew White,Gary Wilson

Major-General Sina Ibn Jamali, head of the interim Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), has extended the contracts of the country’s selectors by a month. Though an emergency meeting has been scheduled for August 1, Jamali took the decision to give Faruque Ahmed and Athar Ali Khan until August 31 in order to name Bangladesh’s Twenty20 World Championship and National Academy squads.Jamali, the chief of general staff of the army, was briefed by Mahmudur Rahman, the BCB’s CEO, on the current situation. Among the priorities of the new leadership is appointing a new coach and physiotherapist.”I met the president this morning to inform him about the situation and he asked me to call an emergency board meeting on August 1. There are a number of pressing issues right now and there is a need for a quick decision about the two selectors,” Rahman told . “Our president has agreed to extend the two selectors’ tenure because we have hardly any time to make a new committee ahead of the ICC’s deadline (August 11) for the final squad for the Twenty20 meet. The most important thing is that now the new committee will not get enough time to think about the new selection panel.”Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, a former Bangladesh captain and one of the members on the ad-hoc committee, added: “I think it’s a good decision and now the new board will get enough time for taking decision about the selection panel”.Rahman said that Jamali expressed interest in the national team and the Twenty20 World Championship. However, he did not have any details on the developments in the search for a new coach. “Everything is not clear to me about the coach selection process,” he said. “We all know there is a shortlist and the board was supposed to invite the coaches for their presentations from the last week of this month but everything has now changed.”As for the standing committees, Rahman said there was no clear guideline in the constitution as to whether they would be abolished once the board was dissolved.

A new coach for the Indian team “will in all likelihood be appointed by the end of September”, according to Ratnakar Shetty, the chief administrative officer of the Indian board (BCCI).Quoted in the , Shetty also didn’t deny that the team could have a manager and not a coach for the Twenty20 World Championship.Shetty also told NDTV that the selection of a new coach could take time since the team was in England and some members of the coach selection panel like Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri were away. “Maybe just after Twenty20 [World Championship] because even our boys are in England. Some members [of the coach selection panel] like Gavaskar and Shastri are also in England during the same periods. Therefore sometime they will have to find out to work on the modalities.”The BCCI continues to be undecided on the selection process even months after the coach hunt began. “If we have to announce and call for names we shall have to have a method of writing to the respective boards like Pakistan did and try to get people to apply.”We don’t know when the committee will meet. But before they meet we shall have to finalise how we go about calling for applications. We will have to set some parameters like what we expect of a coach.”Shetty told that the BCCI was being cautious since they didn’t want “a Ford-like situation to arise again”. Graham Ford had declined the position after being offered the post in June.Shetty admitted that the board had received a few applications – the latest according to news reports from Kepler Wessels, the former South African captain – but no steps had been taken thus far. “We have received some applications but we haven’t yet initiated the procedure.”

Peter Borren, the Netherlands batsman, will replace Jeroen Smits as captain for his side’s Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland beginning on Thursday at Mannofield Park in Aberdeen. Smits, who replaced Luuk van Troost as captain after the 2007 World Cup, is missing the match because of work-related commitments.The Netherlands coach Paul-Jan Bakker, said that they could overcome Smits’ absence and draw confidence from their victory against Canada in June. Borren had scored 105, his maiden first-class hundred, in the second innings of Netherlands’ 45-run win against Canada.”I am sure that the boys will not be affected by this latest setback and will keep the momentum going,” Bakker said. “Peter [Borren] is an excellent batsman and has shown his talent on more than one occasion. But he can’t live on tales and will need to start all over again. While saying this, I am sure he is also looking forward to the new challenge [captaincy] and will try to make the most of it.”Bas Zuiderent and Ryan ten Doeschate both missed the game against Canada and remained unavailable for the match against Scotland. Netherlands were further depleted with medium-pacers Edgar Schiferli and Mark Jonkman and offspinner Adeel Raja pulling out due to injuries.”We can’t have a full-strength team all the time, which means there will always be opportunities for the youngsters,” Bakker said. “Now it is for them to take advantage of this and cement their places.””Scotland are a strong team and we respect them. But I understand that they will also be without some of their key players. I think we both are in a situation where we have to fill gaps and hope that the youngsters will raise their hands, take responsibility and fill those gaps.”Scotland’s Intercontinental Cup opener against United Arab Emirates in Ayr was washed out and the quadrangular series that followed, involving West Indies, Ireland and Netherlands, also affected by bad weather.Scotland captain Ryan Watson acknowledged the importance of the match against Netherlands. “We are keen to do well in this competition so it’s very important, after the UAE match was washed out, that we make the most of our remaining home games and take maximum points.””Obviously, as our preparations are already limited by player availability because of their work commitments, we have been somewhat handicapped of late. But the Dutch also fell foul of the weather [in the quadrangular series] and are in similar circumstances, while they also play a lot on matting.”Scotland recalled fast bowlers Richie Berrington, who has played just one first-class match, and Gordon Drummond, who has appeared in four first-class matches, for the game against Netherlands. Gavin Hamilton, Dewald Nel and Glenn Rogers will return to the squad for the third match against Ireland in Stormont from August 9.Despite their loss to Netherlands, Canada remained on top of the Intercontinental Cup table with 26 points from two games. Netherlands were second with 14 points from one game and, UAE and Scotland have three points from one game each. Bermuda, Ireland, Kenya and Namibia were yet to make an appearance.Netherlands: Peter Borren (capt), Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom de Grooth, Alexei Kervezee, Geert Maarten Mol, Mongesh Panchal, Jelte Schoonheim, Pieter Seelaar, Nick Statham, Eric Szwarzcynski, Somesh Kohli.Scotland: Ryan Watson (capt), Richie Berrington, Fraser Watts, Craig Wright, John Blain, Gordon Drummond, Majid Haq, Omer Hussain, Paul Hoffmann, Ross Lyons, Qasim Sheikh, Neil McCallum, Simon Smith.

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, will miss the first match of the four-nation Twenty20 tournament against Kenya in Nairobi after he injured his finger at practice on Friday.”Shakib has an impact fracture on his right index finger,” Azmal Ahmed, the Bangladesh physio, told tigercricket.com. Whether Shakib will be fit to play in the rest of the matches of this tournament and the Twenty20 World Championship, starting September 11 in South Africa, will be clear over the next few days as Ahmed continues to monitor his situation.The tournament, which Bangladesh, Kenya and Pakistan are viewing as practice ahead of the Twenty20 World Championship, opens today with Kenya taking on Bangladesh and Pakistan playing Uganda.Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangladesh captain, felt the tournament would be ideal preparation for the World Championship as the conditions in Kenya were similar to those in South Africa. “Kenya will be especially tough at home while Pakistan are a world-class team,” he said.The tournament ends on September 4 after each side has played the other three once, following which Bangladesh, Kenya and Pakistan will head to Johannesburg for the big event.

ScorecardA fighting but fluent 95-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Rizwan Ahmed and Test discard Asim Kamal carried Patron’s XI to safety after a mid-innings wobble and ensured the tour match against the South Africans ended in a draw at tea on the final day.Kamal and Rizwan came together after Patron’s XI lost their overnight batsmen to the pace of Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel. Kamal shrugged aside his omission yet again from the Test squad, mixing some delightful drives with a couple of slog sweeps. His timing, particularly square of the wicket, was exceptional but his scoring was curbed by a heavy outfield.He batted with ease, driving the seamers and cutting the spinners, Paul Harris and Graeme Smith, and fell against the run of play. Chasing a wide delivery from Smith, Kamal top-edged a cut to backward point where Hashim Amla took a low catch. He lingered at the crease, his disappointment at another missed opportunity evident.Rizwan, with a first-class average of over 36, punctuated his defensive game with a few classy cover-drives in his 56. He was especially severe on Harris, pulling him to the midwicket boundary and on one occasion smashing him out of the ground.Two wickets in three balls – including that of Rizwan – from Harris caused a brief panic but Sarfraz Ahmed (29*) counterattacked with two boundaries in the following over to ease the pressure.Harris was the pick of the South African attack with Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn going wicketless. Morkel picked up a foot injury earlier in the day and bowled two overs, putting his participation in the first Test in serious doubt.Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, was satisfied with his team’sperformance and said the team was in good shape for the Test. “Ourpreparation was outstanding, we got what we wanted – bowlers having twospells each and batsmen spending time in the middle.”He reserved special praise for Harris who finished with figures of 3 for75. “Harris started off slowly yesterday but improved as the matchprogressed. He varied his pace well and will add a new dimension to theattack that we have not had for the last couple of years.”