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ScorecardA half-century for Gareth Rees and an all-round contribution from Jim Allenby helped Glamorgan to a comfortable Clydesdale Bank 40 Group B victory over Scotland in Cardiff.Scotland, who had beaten Bangladesh in a T20 international on Tuesday, were restricted to 151 for 9 in their 40 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat. Glamorgan then reached their target of 152 without too many scares and with 12 overs to spare.Rees finished on 60 not out from 81 balls and Allenby, who also recorded figures of three for 16, hit the winning runs to end on 39 not out.Allenby and John Glover (3 for 34) were the main destroyers as the Saltires struggled to recover from being reduced to 54 for 5 in the opening 16 overs. They made a decent enough start through their openers Josh Davey and Calum MacLeod, who put on 27 for the first wicket.But when Davey was caught low down by wicketkeeper Mark Wallace off Simon Jones the wickets began to tumble on the slow pitch. Three wickets fell in the space of 23 balls including the key wicket of Jean Symes, who was caught one handed by Allenby off his own bowling.But just when the visitors feared they might be bowled out for less than 100, skipper Preston Mommsen and Ewan Chalmers did their best to rebuild the innings. The sixth-wicket pair added 60 in 19 overs as they tried to get Scotland to a respectable score.Glover returned to take two wickets in three balls, bowling Mommsen middle stump and trapping Ryan Flannigan leg before. New-ball bowler James Harris returned at the end to take the wickets of Ewan Chalmers and Craig Wallace.Glamorgan’s openers – Rees and Wallace – made their intentions known as they raced to 63 within the first eight overs. They were helped in their task by Davey, who conceded 30 runs in his opening two overs.The momentum was halted briefly when Wallace was caught at midwicket from Richie Berrington’s first ball. Berrington then struck again to remove Chris Cooke, who made a century in a losing cause against Somerset yesterday.That left Glamorgan 91 for 2 in the 14th over, but there were no more blemishes as Rees and Allenby saw their side home with 72 balls to spare.

News that Leicestershire’s captain and chairman are to throw themselves out of a plane might, at first glance, be suspected as a response to the desperate financial position in which the club finds itself after a Twenty20 campaign officially described as “gruesome.”As it happens Matthew Hoggard and Paul Haywood are not jumping out of a plane as an act of despair, but as an attempt to raise money for an impoverished club which is fighting to remain solvent in increasingly testing times.The pair, plus Greg Smith, Michael Thornley, Josh Cobb and his father, former Leicestershire player and coach Russell Cobb, will undertake a sponsored parachute jump at Langar Airfield on Monday September 17 as part of a benefit year for the club itself.Leicestershire have endured a Friends Life t20 campaign that their chief executive, Mike Siddall, described as “gruesome.” Not only did their defence of the title never really get off the ground – they won just two of their 10 qualifying games and finished bottom of the group – but spectator numbers were hugely disappointing. The club fears that it achieved only around 40% of its budget from the competition.Such figures will only increase the clamour for a change to the domestic T20 schedule. Siddall, for one, endorses the view of Richard Gould, the chief executive of Surrey, that the competition should be spread across the summer and played, where possible, at a regular time so spectators are able to predict forthcoming games.”Without a doubt, we need to be playing T20 over a longer period,” Siddall told ESPNcricinfo. “We need to have an appointment to view on Friday nights, with one or two midweek games to keep the broadcasters happy.”We all understand the reasons behind the short window, but they haven’t worked. It leaves us at the mercy of the weather and the idea that we might be able to attract the most exciting overseas players has not been borne out by experience.”Leicestershire’s problem this year was not that games were abandoned. Had they been, insurance payments would have covered the club for their losses. Instead, it was that matches took place in the sort of gloomy conditions that deterred spectators from attending.”A typical example came in our game against Derbyshire,” Siddall said. “It rained until 2.30pm and, while we eventually had an 8-over a side game starting at 7.35pm, no-one had hung around to watch it. It’s hit our catering budget, it’s hit our sponsors and it has left us with some very difficult budget decisions to make in the coming weeks. Times are very tough and they’re not getting any easier.”After a terrible 2010, when Leicestershire lost over £400,000, they returned to profitability in 2011 with a surplus of nearly £300,000. Much of that was built on some exceptional items: £135,000 in donations; £43,000 in extra hospitality income thanks to their T20 success; £60,000 thanks to a sell-out T20 game against India and an increase in £282,000 from the ECB. There is little prospect of a repeat this year.”We have little prospect of making up the T20 losses,” Siddall admitted. “We have three CB40 games and four championship games to come. All the CB40 games are at a weekend or on a Bank Holiday, which is good for general spectators but not good for corporate hospitality.”The club at least have a fine record of producing players – Stuart Broad, Luke Wright, James Taylor and Darren Maddy are among those to have developed through the club’s youth system – and spirits have been buoyed by the recent selection of Ben Collins in England’s U19 World Cup squad. Test-hosting clubs such as Hampshire, Middlesex, Surrey and Yorkshire were all without representatives in the squad.Long term the club have “embryonic plans” for a ground redevelopment that might revolutionise their business plan. In the meantime, however, Leicestershire are overly reliant on the continuing goodwill and generosity of their supporters and initiatives such as this parachute jump. It is not a comfortable position.

Kevin Pietersen has sensationally opened the door for an England comeback in limited-overs international cricket, admitting he would “love to play for another three or four years in all forms of cricket.”It is understood that Pietersen’s representative privately met ECB officials to discuss a return on Thursday night. Pietersen is also thought to have met Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, earlier in the week.Asked whether negotiations into his England return in all three forms of the game were ongoing, Pietersen replied: “I think so.”Pietersen did not disguise his discontent with the way he has been managed by England, matters that would surely have to be resolved if he was to make a smooth return into the England side.He complained that he had “never been looked after” by the England management and insisted that his schedule would have to be eased before he consented to a return.Pietersen, speaking moments after he finished the third day of Surrey’s Championship match at Guildford unbeaten on 234, reiterated his desire to be included in England’s World Twenty20 squad in Sri Lanka in September.The selectors meet this weekend to pick a 30-man preliminary squad for the tournament and must submit it to the ICC on July 18. England enter the tournament as defending champions.Pietersen retired from limited-overs international cricket at the end of May. While he wanted only to retire from the 50-over game and to continue to play T20 cricket, the terms of England central contracts state that for a player to be considered for either format of limited-overs cricket, they must be available for both.”I’ve always said I want to play in the T20,” Pietersen said. “But I needed to get away from the schedule. I cannot keep playing every single day’s cricket. I’ve never been looked after. I cannot keep playing every warm-up game, I cannot keep practising every single day. There comes a time when I know what I need to do to be successful. I’ve got a young family and I cannot be on the treadmill all day every day.”I’ve said before that, if the schedule was right, if they could sort my schedule out, I would love to play for another three or four years in all forms of cricket. But the schedule at the moment is a nightmare.”Morris was an influential figure when Pietersen lost his job as England captain more than three years ago after a breakdown in his relationship with England’s coach at the time, Peter Moores, broke down. Moores was also sacked.England’s unease will be all the greater because Andy Flower, England’s director of cricket, has referred to similar tensions in balancing his professional and personal life because of the proliferation of international cricket.

ScorecardThis should make for an unexpectedly cracking finish. For Glamorgan, having not gained a Championship victory thus far this season and having amassed just 21 points before this match, the final day’s play could well define their season. They need a further 210 to win, eight wickets intact. A victory, with Marcus North now in their side and bowlers to return following injury, could kick start their summer. Another defeat and they will remain well below the salt in the hierarchy of county cricket.If they are to win this match, in all probability North will have to play another significant innings. He is quite clearly their leading batsman. Needing 263 to win, Glamorgan lost Nick James, caught at third slip fencing at Kabir Ali, and Will Bragg, held at second slip off James Tomlinson. There is still some assistance for the quicker bowlers, although the initial rather sickly lime-green appearance has been discoloured by wear and indentations, and, as Kabir and David Balcombe demonstrated in extending Hampshire’s second innings to 273, having been 225 for 8, runs can be made all the way down an order.Hampshire had resumed on this third day with an 11-run lead and all wickets intact. Jimmy Adams played the significant innings of the morning, reaching a half century with eight fours in his characteristically undemonstrative way. His value to his county will probably not be properly appreciated until after he has retired. He had lost his opening partner, Liam Dawson, caught off a glove as he made to hook Will Owen, and then Michael Carberry, who pulled Jim Allenby to long leg where Owen himself took a good, tumbling catch.Simon Katich, outshone by North, his fellow Australian left hander, prodded forward at John Glover and edged to Mark Wallace: 124 for 3. Another innings of substance was required and this was forthcoming from James Vince, who has been short of runs this season.The constant comparisons with Michael Vaughan do not seem to have done anything for his game, yet now, he drove crisply in partnership with Adams, who had made 72 by the time he played on to John Glover, and Sean Ervine, who was run out by James from midwicket.Michael Bates was bowled for a duck by a shooter from Mike Reed, one of few balls that have been truly unplayable, and Chris Wood edged Allenby to second slip. That was 210 for 7. When Vince was taken at the wicket, also off Allenby, having made 48, his highest score of the season, Hampshire appeared notably short of runs. Some competent hitting from Kabir Ali (25) and Balcombe (26) enabled them to reach a competitive total.It was as well for Vince that he did make runs, for during the day’s play Hampshire announced they were signing Bilal Shafayat on a one-year contract. He impressed the club when scoring 93 for them in his first match against Derbyshire two weeks ago, but then, even when he was batting with Kevin Pietersen in their Nottinghamshire days, he always looked impressive. “Rolling stone Bilal is ready to settle again,” read one headline, and, given he is only 27 and presumably not yet at his peak, this might just prove an inspired signing. Better than one or two South Africans Hampshire have gone for in the recent past.”I think I am a better player now,” he said. Last season he was playing league cricket in Birmingham. “I didn’t know when my chance would come but I knew one day it would, whether it was this year, next year or in two years.”

Match facts

Thursday, May 10, 2012, Jaipur
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Super Kings are not finishing well, says their bowling coach Andy Bichel•AFP

Big Picture

Neither team is certain yet of a place in the playoffs, but the team under greater pressure is Chennai Super Kings. The two-time champions have 11 points, with six defeats and five wins. They could so easily have had 13 points, had it not been for the freakish last over against Mumbai Indians when Dwayne Smith hammered 14 from the last three balls. Perhaps most daunting for Super Kings is that their four remaining games include two against the current table leaders Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils. A defeat against the Royals could jeopardise their chances of qualifying.Their batting looked over-dependent on Faf du Plessis but against Mumbai there were encouraging signs as the others chipped in. Du Plessis, though, has been down with a virus and remains doubtful for this game. But Super Kings have shown in previous editions that they are most dangerous when the pressure piles up. In 2010, their bowling was in shambles until Doug Bollinger arrived jet-lagged and transformed their fortunes, coincidentally, against Royals. Bollinger, who missed the last game, is reportedly fit and available for selection. However, du Plessis isn’t so sure of being. He tweeted about being down with a virus, which he hopes will disappear soon.Royals have also played 12 games and are just a point ahead of Super Kings. However, two of their remaining games are against the bottom-placed Deccan Chargers and Pune Warriors, and three of them are at home in Jaipur, where they have a sound record. On paper, Royals have a better chance of qualifying. They are also bolstered by the arrival of Shane Watson, who plundered the Warriors with an unbeaten 90.

Form guide

(most recent first, completed games)
Rajasthan Royals: WWLLL
Chennai Super Kings: LWLLW

Players to watch

M Vijay had been in woeful form, scoring only 45 runs in 59 balls until the game against Mumbai Indians, when he smashed 41 off 29 balls. That innings included three sixes and showed signs of his form from the previous season. He has struggled this time and that has contributed to Super Kings’ wobble this year. Vijay doesn’t have too much time to turn things around but at least he’s made a start.As significant as Watson’s 90 was the three-wicket haul by Shaun Tait against Warriors. The unpredictable Australian fast bowler silenced Sourav Ganguly and Michael Clarke with accuracy, pace and swing. The pitch was slow but Tait extracted life out of it.

Stats and trivia

• Royals are clearly ahead on the batting front with nine fifty-plus scores to just four for Super Kings.
• Super Kings have a 6-4 win-loss record against Royals.
• Super Kings dropped just five games in total in 2011. This season, they have already lost six.
  

  Quotes

  “If you look at a team like the Delhi Daredevils, you will find guys like Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen finishing off matches for them. We need someone to finish the games off.”
  “With a couple of teams in contention it looks like 18 points will be needed (to make the playoffs) but we must not worry about what is needed but just play good cricket.”
  .

Ricky Ponting has effectively resisted overtures from Somerset this year, declaring that county cricket is not on his radar at the moment.Although he has not officially retired from ODIs, Ponting is now effectively a Test-only player for Australia and after the series in the West Indies in April he will have no cricket on his schedule until the home summer starts in October.That means a five-month break for a man used to life on the road with the national team and Somerset, who privately make no secret of their admiration for his talents, harbour ambitions to tempt him into county cricket before he retires. But Ponting, who has two young children, has said that rest will be a preferable option over the Australian winter.”It [county cricket] doesn’t really fit into what I’m looking at doing,” Ponting said in Melbourne. “I’m looking forward to having a bit more time pre-season with the Tasmanian Tigers this year back in Hobart and spending a bit of time with the family so county cricket is probably out of the question.”Ponting finished the 2011-12 season captaining Tasmania while the regular leader George Bailey was on international duty in the West Indies and although he failed to reach double-figures in the Sheffield Shield final, his state form was generally very good. Despite not being part of Australia’s ODI side any more, it has still been a hectic few months for Ponting,”I’ve got to look at what my best preparation is, post the West Indies, and that will probably be to have a couple of months off. It’s been a hard 12 months for me personally and around my cricket.”With things not going as smoothly as I wanted at the start of the year, I had to train harder and work harder on my game and think more about my game than ever before. It’s taken its toll a little bit, so I need to have a chance to refresh and recharge my batteries and get a solid pre-season under my belt before the Australian summer.”

Fidel Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, has joined Dolphins for the remaining league matches of the MiWay T20 tournament.Edwards is Dolphins’ second signing from West Indies following Chris Gayle but Gayle has yet to feature in the tournament having picked up a groin strain during the Bangladesh Premier League. Edwards has been involved in the current West Indies domestic season where he has taken eight wickets at 15.25 in two four-day matches after collecting eight scalps at 9.12 in the Caribbean T20 where his economy rate was 4.86.”We are really excited to add Fidel Edwards to our bowling unit,” Jesse Chellan, the Kwa-Zulu Natal chief executive, said. “Fidel is a proven performer and will add significant strike power in our quest to qualify for Champions League.”Edwards has also played T20 for Deccan Chargers at the IPL and Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League and overall has 34 wickets in 34 T20 matches at an economy rate of 7.36.Dolphins are currently fourth in the table on 12 points, four behind leaders Knights, and Edwards will add a cutting edge to the bowling attack. The leading wicket-takers for Dolphins after four matches are Robert Frylinck and Mthokozisi Shezi with six wickets each. His first match will be against Warriors, in Durban, on March 2.The team that tops the MiWay table at the end of the league stage goes straight into the final while those in second and third place play off against each other to join them with the two finalists earning a spot at the Champions League in October.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Hafeez followed up his 89 with two wickets, off consecutive balls, in the second innings•Associated Press

Pakistan built, nearly self-destructed and counterattacked with the bat. Bangladesh built, nearly self-destructed and counterattacked with the bat. Pakistan’s base was strong enough to weather the near-self-destruction. Their counterattack proved sharper in the end as they stopped hosts Bangladesh short of what would have been their highest successful chase at home.Bangladesh produced most of the unexpected passages in the game. They reduced Pakistan to 198 for 7 from 135 for 0. They recovered from 135 for 5 to become the favourites towards the closing stages of the game. But when it came to the critical moments which decided the match, Pakistan proved superior.Umar Gul smashed his highest ODI score of 39 from 25 deliveries to convert 198 for 7 into 262 for 8. With Bangladesh requiring 39 off 40 with five wickets in hand, Gul and Saeed Ajmal took 5 for 17 between them to ensure that Shakib Al Hasan’s heroic innings ended in frustration and disappointment.Shakib had induced the Pakistan batting collapse, along with Shahadat Hossain. Like a fighter who has resolutely accepted the fact that he will always have to battle more than his fellow soldiers, he brought his side back into contention after they threatened to implode in the chase.Young Nasir Hossain matched his former captain stroke for stroke in an 89-run sixth-wicket partnership at a run a ball. Shakib drove, Nasir pulled, Shakib slashed, Nasir pulled harder, and Bangladesh hoped.When Nasir took consecutive fours off Gul in the 44th over, Bangladesh seemed to have moved decisively in front. Gul is made of sterner stuff, though. He found nip off the pitch and movement in the air with a 21-over old ball and bowled Nasir for 47. Ajmal, who had gone for 11 in the previous over, stepped in now.With the asking-rate under six, Abdur Razzak decided to slog at a full delivery only to get bowled. Mashrafe Mortaza saw the flight but did not read the doosra. Bowled again. Shafiul Islam had two deliveries to keep out in the next over, the 46th. Gul hurled in the inswinging yorker first up. Gone leg-before.A shocked Shakib steadied himself and squeezed the first ball of the next over, bowled by Ajmal, for four past point. With last man Shahadat at the other end, Shakib was forced to play out most of the over to keep strike for the 48th.He tried to take two off the the first ball of the 48th but managed one. Shahadat blocked out the next five. The equation had rocketed to 22 off 12 by now. Shakib had no choice. He tried to slog Gul but only managed to play on. Game over.Gul had earlier rescued Pakistan with the bat after they lost 7 for 63. He showed that his ODI batting average of 9.28 did not reflect his flicking and pulling capabilities. He savaged Mortaza for 16 runs in the 49th over, hitting the bowler for three consecutive boundaries in his lone counterattack.Pakistan’s innings could be summed up as accumulation, panic and aggression. After Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed put on 135, Shahadat and Shakib brought Bangladesh back with a flurry of wickets before Gul hit back.Pakistan would have never thought that they would need Gul to bail them out after the start given by Hafeez and Jamshed. Hafeez put his lean run against England behind him with a patient knock – his first fifty in ODIs in four months – and along with his latest opening partner, Jamshed, gave Pakistan a strong start to their Asia Cup campaign. Jamshed justified his selection ahead of Azhar Ali with a busy innings that afforded Hafeez the space to overcome his scratchy beginning. Shakib apart, Bangladesh’s attack was steady at best and allowed Hafeez to work himself into some form.As Hafeez and Jamshed brought up their fifties, Bangladesh’s decision to bowl on the flat pitch seemed set to hurt them further, until Jamshed’s slow response to a call for a single gave them an opening. Bangladesh barged into it whole-heartedly as Pakistan’s batting crumbled without warning or justification.Younis Khan succumbed to a leading edge off Shahadat after playing his flick early. Shahadat, who had been average till then, immediately found some menace and produced two sharp bouncers to lure Hafeez and Asad Shafiq into fatal pulls.Umar Akmal, never one to change his hit-everything style, slog swept his wicket away to Shakib, who was to get more reward for being the bowler who troubled Pakistan the most. Shahid Afridi did not get the time to display his brand of hit-everything, as he bunted a return catch to Shakib first ball.Drama has a way of somehow squeezing itself into everything Afridi is involved in. Shakib fumbled the catch on the first attempt, prevented the ball from touching the ground on the second, lobbed it up into Misbah-ul-Haq’s helmet and still had enough balance left to take the rebound on the third attempt. Misbah himself did not get the opportunity to use his crisis-recovery skills as he was soon bowled through the gate. Bangladesh were on top at that stage but would not have accounted for Gul the batsman.Afridi had lasted one delivery with the bat but struck in successive overs to leave the new cautious avatar of Tamim Iqbal and the Bangladesh middle order with a climbing asking-rate. The hosts’ chase was on course at 90 for 1 in the 21st over when Afridi bowled Jahurul Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim in the space of five deliveries. Till Afridi’s strikes, Bangladesh had gone about the chase with unusual calm. With Tamim clearly looking to anchor the innings, Nazimuddin and Jahurul did the attacking.Both batsmen were well-set when they gave away their wickets. Nazimuddin slashed a wide delivery to third man while Jahurul was bowled as he missed a slog off a flighted Afridi delivery. Afridi dealt a bigger blow to Bangladesh when he bowled Rahim who tried to cut his faster one.At the other end, Tamim went on accumulating serenely, finding the boundary every now and then to keep the required-rate in check. He got to his fifty off his 75th delivery, but Hafeez further dented Bangladesh with a double strike. Tamim dinked an innocuous delivery onto his stumps, and Mahmudullah was adjudged leg-before first ball, though replays showed the ball would have missed leg stump.At 135 for 5, Bangladesh were staring at a familiar ending, but Shakib was determined to swim against the tide. His misfortune was that, in the end, he was the only one with that resolve.

James Taylor, captain of the England Lions side beaten in Bangladesh, has admitted that his squad has shown the same frailties as the England senior side struggling against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates – a lack of runs on Asian pitches.England Lions had the consolation of a comfortable 32-run win against Bangladesh A in the first of two Twenty20 contests in Mirpur on Sunday, but whatever the outcome of the Twenty20 series they will head to Sri Lanka smarting over a 3-2 defeat in the ODIs. Taylor himself, who was regarded as the likeliest stand-by for the England side, should injuries strike them in the Middle East, has also yet to make a convincing case for promotion.”Throughout the series, the batsmen haven’t quite performed as they’d have liked,” Taylor said. “We did a little bit better today. Bowlers have generally bowled well and we’ve fielded well as a unit. We just haven’t fired with the bat yet. But I’m sure that’ll come in Sri Lanka.”The quality is good over here but the wickets couldn’t be more different from England. It is all a new experience for us. It’s been a tough tour but playing here at a young age will definitely help us in the future.”Bangladesh have changed their personnel so much that after six matches even the England Lions captain sounds no closer to learning the names of his opponents. “I don’t know the individual names,” he conceded, “but the slow left-arm bowlers have bowled considerably well. Different personnel coming in every match makes it hard to plan. They’ve got some talented players in Bangladesh that’s for sure.”

The uncertainty around Ishant Sharma’s ankle remained as he didn’t bowl during India’s training session on the eve of their three-day match against the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI. He was present with the team at the Manuka Oval, though. He played the football game that India play before their training sessions, and took part in light fielding drills too, but did not bowl.Ishant has been advised two-days’ rest by a specialist in Canberra, and is a sure non-starter for the tour game that begins on December 19. But the match is not a first-class fixture, which means he can be drafted in on for the second or third day if he recovers.Ishant bowled only 5.3 overs in India’s first tour game, walking off twice during that brief spell. The Indian camp said that day that Ishant was anyway going to bowl only six overs, and when the strapping on the ankle came loose with three deliveries left in the quota he felt no need to come back. Zaheer Khan and Rohit Sharma later said the injury wasn’t serious. It has now emerged that Ishant saw a specialist and has been prescribed strengthening exercises and rest.There is a possibility that the Indian team management might ask for a cover, just in case Ishant can’t make it for the Boxing Day Test. However, that decision is not expected until late on Sunday or Monday.Ishant had originally hurt the ankle in England. It was earlier suggested that he would need surgery on the ankle, but found out that it healed with physiotherapy at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.India have had a horror run with fast bowlers’ fitness on overseas tours. New Zealand 2008-09 was the last time they didn’t have to deal with an injury to fast bowler. In Sri Lanka 2010, Zaheer was ruled out before the start, and Sreesanth was injured during training on the first day of the tour. Later that year, in South Africa, Zaheer missed the first Test. This year Zaheer got injured on the first day of Test cricket in England, and didn’t bowl further in the series. India lost all three first Tests. They managed to come back and level series in Sri Lanka and South Africa, but were whitewashed in England.