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Greg Blewett completed his third century of the season in the CricInfo Championship as Nottinghamshire achieved an historic seven-wicket victory over Worcestershire.Making 461 for 3 to clear a target of 458 with more than two sessions to spare, they achieved their highest fourth innings total to win a match in more than 100 years as members of the modern Championship.While Notts surpassed their previous record of 419 for 6 in beating Leicestershire at Trent Bridge in 1926, the home side lost to a 400-plus total for only the second time in their history. They had been beaten by an Essex fourth innings score of 405 for 6 in 1994.Notts went into the final morning at 367 for 2 on the back of successive century partnerships involving Darren Bicknell (104), John Morris (94), Blewett (99 not out) and Usman Afzaal, unbeaten on 63.With only 91 more runs required from the last eight wickets, their first task was to see off the new ball which represented Worcestershire’s last hope of redeeming a depressing bowling performance on the third day.But this threat was dismissed as Afzaal carved into anything loose from Alamgir Sheriyar and Andy Bichel. The left-hander added 25 in half-an-hour before he was lbw to Sheriyar for 88 in a stand of 145.Blewett continued at a steady pace until closing on 134 when Paul Johnson rounded off a brisk knock of 22 by pulling Philip Weston for four. The remaining runs were scored in 65 minutes today to wrap up a remarkable win in a game which began with 20 wickets on the first day.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball-details1:06

Pakistan spin trio clean up Zimbabwe

Pakistan cruised to a 131-run win over Zimbabwe in the first one-day international at Harare Sports Club, the match following what has become a familiar script during this tour. Pakistan’s lower middle order rallied their side to a good score, and their spin attack, led by Yasir Shah’s 6 for 26, then systematically dismantled Zimbabwe’s line-up. Yasir’s haul was the second best by a Pakistan spinner, and the best ever by a spinner in Zimbabwe.Asked to bat first, Pakistan’s top order stumbled against a spirited Zimbabwean bowling effort before Mohammad Rizwan’s career-best 75 not out and Imad Wasim’s 61, which was his maiden international fifty, boosted the visitors to a challenging 259 for 6. Rizwan and Wasim had added 124 for the sixth wicket, but no Zimbabwean partnership came close to matching them as the hosts crumbled under sustained pressure.Once again, the batsmen struggled to rotate the strike and then inevitably offered Pakistan chances as they sought to ease the pressure with a big shot. The 35-run stand between Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza was the most substantial of the innings, and legspinner Yasir collected his first five-for in ODIs with Zimbabwe having no answer to his combination of turn, bounce and guile.Pakistan had been reduced to a wobbly 35 for 3 in the morning as Zimbabwe’s new-ball bowlers found seam and swing on a slightly resher wicket before Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik combined to take the score to 100. When they were both dismissed attempting to attack spin Zimbabwe surged once again, but Rizwan and Wasim weathered their best efforts.Rizwan marshalled Pakistan’s effort from the halfway mark of their innings, starting watchfully against Zimbabwe’s spinners before he broke free with what was perhaps the shot of the day; a checked loft off offspinner John Nyumbu that soared over long on. With Nyumbu, Graeme Cremer and Sean Williams all included in Zimbabwe’s XI, Rizwan faced spin for much of his innings. He certainly showed that he had the aptitude to counter these bowlers in helpful conditions, milking the gaps and finding the boundary with a sweep off Cremer and a deft late cut off Nyumbu.A particular feature of Rizwan’s stand with Wasim was their running between the wickets: something which had been highlighted as an area of concern for both teams after the Twenty20s. Eight twos came off Rizwan’s bat during their stand, while Wasim added seven. This ensured that the score kept ticking over even when boundaries were not forthcoming, and set the platform for Pakistan’s charge at the death.Pakistan added 88 runs in the last ten overs as the big hits became more frequent, with Rizwan bringing up a 61-ball fifty in the 46th over. Wasim brought up a maiden international fifty of his own two overs later, reaching the mark with a superb reverse sweep off Tinashe Panyangara. Wasim had been given a life thanks to Williams’ drop at long-on earlier in the over, and there was a ragged edge to Zimbabwe’s effort at the death. Tempers also flared in Panyangara’s final over, from which Pakistan plundered 22 runs, as the bowler took offence to what he saw as Rizwan’s intentional obstruction of his fielding efforts. The batsman stood his ground as Sikandar Raza played peacemaker, and closed the innings on an emphatic note with his second six, straight over the bowler’s head.Pakistan carried that bellicose attitude into the field, and both Zimbabwean openers were given a thorough working over with the new ball. Yet all 10 wickets fell to spin. Chamu Chibhabha averages 19.72 in matches in which he has been dismissed by a left-arm spinner, and has collected more ducks against this type of bowler than any other – three. He had opened his account by the time Wasim was brought on in the ninth over, but then fell immediately, trapped in front by the left-arm spinner’s first ball.Yasir then took centre stage, nipping one through the yawning gap between debutant Brian Chari’s bat and pad and skittling Hamilton Masakadza with a ball that kept a touch low and rushed on. Raza and Elton Chigumbura fell on the drive, failing to cover Yasir’s prodigious spin, while Richmond Mutumbami’s dismissal came via a stunning reflex catch, low to the ground, by Hafeez at slip. When Panyangara gloved one to slip Yasir had his sixth, and Zimbabwe had crashed from 101 for 4 to 128 all out.

ScorecardHamish Bennett’s seven-wicket haul helped dismiss Wellington for 188 on a rain-affected third day at Basin Reserve and gave Canterbury a slender 27-run lead in the first innings of the State Championship final. Canterbury ended the day on 10 for no loss.Rain delayed the start until 3.15 pm local time and when play resumed Brandon Hiini broke the 48-run stand for the seventh wicket by having Dewayne Bowden caught behind by Kruger van Wyk for 22. The innings folded quickly thereafter – the last three wickets fell for 11 runs – with Bennett taking the three remaining wickets to add to his four on the second day. Luke Woodcock remained unbeaten on 35.Canterbury’s openers, Todd Astle and Michael Papps, batted for seven overs and remained unbeaten on 3 and 6 respectively.

Send us your viewsNearly three months after the ICC charged West Indies with the responsibility of helping to resolve the bitter infighting which led to the USA Cricket Association being suspended from world cricket, Cricinfo can reveal that no progress has been made.With the ICC’s AGM due at the end of June, a mere six weeks offers scant time in which to make any headway into resolving the situation, leaving USA facing an indefinite period in international isolation.”We’ve had some preliminary discussions with some people in USACA and a meeting with the president a few days ago,” Bruce Aanensen, WICB’s chief executive, told Cricinfo. “We have come up with what we feel is the best approach to [help] the United States. While we have been given this mandate by the ICC, we can’t simply walk into another country if they don’t want us there. And therefore we are trying to break some ice, to find out the best way to find a resolution to this problem.”The ICC suspended the USACA at the beginning of March after hotly-disputed elections and a controversial new constitution left two factions claiming to control the game. In one corner USACA, headed by Gladstone Dainty, in the other the rival Council of League Presidents.The ICC asked the WICB to intervene and the USA will not be considered for readmission to the fold until the West Indies board are satisfied all is well. But, as Aanensen implies, there is little they can do until the USACA become more transparent.”Gladstone Dainty is merely [on] one side of the fence; the USA factions and leagues are on the other, and we just want to get both parties to agree,” Aanensen admitted. “We have been asked by the ICC to help. We would like to come in and hear [from] all parties concerned to understand the issues involved, and then move to help them resolve them.”It is actively on our agenda,” Aanensen said. “We are trying to sort an agreement, within a month at the latest, to talk to all parties to see how we can help.”

The battle for the National League ends this weekend when Midlands square up against Manicaland at Kwekwe Sports Club on Sunday.Manicaland, with an unbeaten record from the qualifiers, remain favourites to lift the 2006 National League Championship. In Tinotenda Mawoyo and Paxton Chatora, they have the best opening-bat partnership in the league. Their right hand-left hand combination has been a nightmare to bowlers. But they will have to face the young and vicious pace attack of Mike Chinouya and Alex Mavhiko. Legspinner Remembrance Nyathi, who had a dream semi-final against Matabeleland 2 at Queens Sports Club, taking 6 for 15 in 8.5 overs, could prove to be a handful for the Manyikas.Mawoyo is currently leading the National League batting rankings with an average of 173.50 after five matches. His best is 138, scored in the semi-final against Uprising Cricket Club from Mashonaland.Alongside Mawoyo, the former Zimbabwe Under-19 captain, will be the three Soma brothers- Leon, Andre and Daniel. The Soma boys are capable of doing damage with both bat and ball.Although Midlands carry the underdog tag, they are capable of producing Houdini acts as they have done so twice during the qualifiers. Against Masvingo, Midlands were reeling on 21 for 4 after seven overs, but went on to make 230 to win the match. In the other escape act, while defending a paltry 121, the Midlands managed to dismiss the Matabeles for 92.Inspired by player/coach Walter Chawaguta, who is also the Zimbabwe Under-19 coach, the Midlands have in their ranks a wealth of experience coupled with their never-die-spirit. Friday Kasteni, who served his country with the bat at the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka earlier this year, also stars for the Midlands. However, he is still to show what he is capable of after following up on a good century in the opening game with a string of disappointing performances.The Midlands track, always known to be a batting paradise, is likely to offer a high-scoring match.

Retribution is expected to be swift and bloody tomorrow, when Australia take on the side that humbled them so dramatically at Sophia Gardens last weekend. Bangladesh’s magnificent victory – only their third against senior Test opponents in almost twenty years of trying – will live long in the memory for both teams, not to mention their incredulous supporters. But, with an emphatic victory against England to their name, it will be a renewed and improved Australian unit that steps out onto the pitch at Old Trafford for the sixth match of the NatWest Series.”That win changed everything,” admitted Bangladesh’s captain, Habibul Bashar, as he addressed the press ahead of the rematch. “We have had a lot of calls since last weekend, the people back home are really happy.” Bashar has been a mainstay of the side throughout their first five years as a Test nation, but there has been nothing to compare to the glory of that afternoon. It was in the early hours of the morning in Bangladesh when the game finished, but the result prompted spontaneous celebrations in the streets.The downside of the victory, of course, is that it galvanised Australia into some serious action, and Bangladesh’s coach, Dav Whatmore, was particularly wary of what might lie around the corner for his squad. “You can almost feel their spark and improvement,” he said after watching Australia’s 57-run win over England at Chester-le-Street. “Being on top of your game all the time is not easy, especially when you have suffered a couple of losses and we can now expect a rampant opposition team.”Australia’s competitiveness was hiked up several notches by the return of two of their key performers, Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee, and Symonds was particularly eager to make amends for his absence at Cardiff. He was withdrawn on the morning of the game when he turned up drunk after an all-night drinking session, and Australia felt his absence almost as much as he felt it himself.”It’s the worst I’ve ever felt sitting out that game in Cardiff,” admitted Symonds while receiving his Man-of-the-Match reward at Chester-le-Street. “It felt like I’d had my insides ripped out – but on the flip-side of that it’s a great feeling to be back.”Symonds top-scored against England with a measured 73 out of Australia’s total of 266 for 5, then followed up with seven probing overs of medium-pace and offspin, picking up 1 for 37 in the middle overs. But, with England having set the benchmark for the competition by rattling up a vast total of 391 for 4 in their last match against Bangladesh, one can expect Symonds to be a rather more free-scoring mood at Old Trafford.Nevertheless, Bangladesh’s batsmen aren’t exactly in a shy and retiring mood at present. Mohammad Ashraful has clobbered 194 runs from 153 balls in his last two innings, including an astonishing 94 from 52 against England after surviving a freak let-off from his first delivery, when the ball landed on top of the leg bail but failed to dislodge it.With Aftab Ahmed in a similarly carefree vein of form, and Javed Omar providing a steady presence at the top of the order, there is no guarantee that Australia will be given a completely stress-free ride. But, then again, Bangladesh have yet to come up against anyone with quite the same pace and point-to-prove as Lee.Lee is currently languishing outside the first-choice Test XI, but his venomous showing against England on Thursday was ample proof that he wants his baggy green back. Bangladesh have been warned. On this occasion, once bitten is unlikely to be twice shy.

John Dyson, Sri Lanka’s coach, has praised his team for pulling off a nailbiting one run victory against Australia, a result which he believes will be a major confidence-booster for the rest of the series.He said, “All along I’ve said that if we play as well as we can, we can beat theAustralians. To come out on top on Sunday, when the Australians had at onestage looked like finishing off the match, is just a great confidencebooster.”Dyson was all praise for Chaminda Vaas, who kept his cool in the dying moments. “The bowlers stuck to their task beautifully and were well supported on the field. Vaasy’s last over in particular will go down as a textbook over. He showed us how to finish off a final over under pressure.”The main thing in one-day cricket is not to lose heart, but to keep the fielding performances as high as you can possibly can. I thought that if you get a wicket and it happens quite often that when one wicket falls not long afterwards another goes and all of a sudden you are back in the game. That’s what happened yesterday [on Sunday]. We got a couple of important wickets Damien Martyn, Matt Hayden and all of a sudden we were right back into the game. The boys stuck at the job. They didn’t throw it away and go through the motions. They kept fielding and bowling well and kept looking for opportunities.”About the Australians, Dyson had this to say: “I don’t think Australia lost focus of where they were going. We just played well enough to stop them achieving it. They worked out their batting plans very well. At various times in the past, someone like Bevan has been there towards the end to get the runs for them. He was there again and in the second last over he hit a six off Murali. There aren’t many who could do that. And all of a sudden they were back in the game. It came down to a tight last over and Vaasy showed his class with his experience bowling the perfect over.”Dyson was all praise for the Sri Lanka’s effort and said, “I thought the boys played extremely well. There was this terrific opening stand between Sanath [Jayasurya] and Marvan [Atapattu]. Then Mahela [Jayawardene] and Sanga [Kumar Sangakkara] did a good job. There was a little bit of disappointment in the rest of the batting. It is because they haven’t played many one-day matches in the past six months or so. We’ll have to talk it out.”He spoke about two turning points in the match which caused it to swing towards Sri Lanka – the dismissals of Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden. “All dismissals were important because they slow the run-rate straight away and puts extra pressure on the next guy coming in. To me Ponting and Hayden’s dismissals were very important or we could have been in trouble.”Dyson also praised the pitch on which the two matches were played on. “The wicket was very good on both days. Brett Lee got a ball through Sanga and hit him on the helmet. The ball carried all day and it didn’t spin viciously.”He said that it was a gamble to go with only one fast bowler but added, “but on this occasion it paid off. It does not mean that in every game we are going to do that. We took the decision to suit the wicket.”

Paceman Stephen John razed Lahore Greens with seven for 54 on Wednesday sending the visitors crashing to 132 all out as Islamabad gained the advantage in their Cornelius Trophy match at KRL Stadium.Islamabad batsmen Ashar Zaidi and Hammad-ul-Haq then took centre stage helping their side to a healthy 246 for one, a lead of 114 by the close of the first day of this three-day game.In a ruthless display, Ashar scored an unbeaten 112 off just 88 balls, his marvellous innings comprising 14 boundaries and two sixes.Hammad, no less impressive, was closing in on his century and stood at 96 when play ended for the day. His knock was also laced with 14 hits to the ropes. But had it not been for John’s excellent show with the ball, the complexion of the game may well have been quite different. He tore Lahore Greens batting apart, three of his victims going for nought.The tourists were in such hopeless form that their top scorer, not surprisingly, was Mr Extras with 30.Summarised scores:*At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi:LAHORE GREENS 132 (Imran Qadir 29; Stephen John 7-54; Muhammad Altaf 2-28);ISLAMABAD 246-1 (Ashar Zaidi 112 not out, Hammad-ul-Haq 96 not out).At Nawabshah Stadium, Nawabshah:NAWABSHAH 142 (Nasir Khan 28, Shahid Hussain 21, Abid Ali 20; Ariz Kamal 3-28, Zeeshan Essa 3-28, Faraz Ahmed 2-14, Adeel Malik 2-29);KARACHI GREENS 173-3 (Rashid Ali 73, Mir Rashid 60, Ariz Kamal 27 not out).*At PCB Regional Academy Ground, Karachi:QUETTA 331-8 innings closed (Javed Iqbal 123, Naseem Khan 110, Abdul Rehman 25, Abdul Wali 20 not out; Mohtashim Ali 3-73, Shahbaz Bashir 2-49); SIBI 19-1

A fluctuating day’s cricket left the crucial CricInfo Championship game between Surrey and Lancashire at The AMP Oval evenly-poised at stumps on the second day.Surrey had time to face one over at the end of the day as they began their second innings 28 runs in arrears after fighting back throughout the afternoon; possibly a vital contribution with the pitch taking spin and the world’s best off-spinners on either side.Lancashire had begun the day in determined mood in reply to Surrey’s first innings total of 248. They reached lunch on 82 without loss after 29 overs in a rain truncated morning session.With Tudor and Bicknell bowling to an aggressive field of four slips and a gully, the Lancashire openers concentrated on survival, but grew in confidence as the partnership wore in.First to go was Jamie Haynes. Having justified his inclusion in the side in the absence of Atherton (on England duty) and Chiltern (injured), the former second team ‘keeper played back to Saqlain and was given out lbw having completed his second first-class half-century.It was a crucial breakthrough. The opening stand between Haynes and his captain, John Crawley, had yielded 100 but Surrey soon struck again. Crawley misjudged a Bicknell delivery and was dismissed lbw shouldering arms, while Fairbrother swept Saqlain to Ramprakash at deep square leg.Scuderi was deceived by the infamous Saqlain mystery ball and could only top-edge the ball to gully and Graham Lloyd could not keep down a short ball from the swift Tudor.Andrew Flintoff was in forthright mood, and benefited from a let off when Butcher put him down at slip off Tudor. Eight cracking boundaries followed before Butcher made amends as Flintoff snicked another ball from Tudor.Warren Hegg proved to be more obdurate. His 74 not out helped guide the tail into vital partnerships that eventually earned a lead of 28 runs. He hit three boundaries in a row off Bicknell and reiterated his worth to Lancashire following his recent century at Northampton.No-one else could find an answer to Saqlain who finished with 6-89, trumping Muralitharan, who took five wickets in the Surrey innings.Afterwards John Crawley admitted that the game was evenly poised and suggested that both teams should have scored more runs.”Having won the toss they would have hoped for more runs but at 110 for no wicket we would have hoped for the same,” Crawley reasoned.”It’s the kind of wicket if you get one or two then a few more follow but if you get in on it there are runs to be had. The pitch is a good four-day pitch, there is a bit in it for everyone but the spinners have had to work for their reward.”If it continues to play well and it doesn’t disintegrate we would be hopeful of scoring somewhere around 240 on the final day. Our game plan for tomorrow is to attack them early on and see if we can bowl them out cheaply.”

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Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller took seven out of the 18 wickets to fall on the second day in St Elizabeth as Jamaica crushed Windward Islands by 10 wickets to win the 2008 Carib Cup.Miller had remarkable figures of 4 for 6 off 8.2 overs as Windwards collapsed for 61 in the first-innings, surrendering a lead of 171. He took 3 for 60 during Windwards’ follow-on as they were dismissed for 187, despite Andre Fletcher’s unbeaten 103, leaving Jamaica a target of 17 to win the championship. Jamaica’s openers Chris Gayle and Brenton Parchment knocked off the runs in the third over. The win gave Jamaica a regional double, and the 12 points they gained against Windwards took their tally to 58, which cannot be overtaken by any other team.”It is a great feeling to end this game within two days and to take thetitle with such authority,” Gayle told reporters after the match. “I have to say well done to the team.”
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Rain curtailed play on the second day between Guyana and Leewards Islands but Ramnaresh Sarwan’s unbeaten 89 and Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 82 helped Guyana move on to 299 for 6, with a lead of 95.Guyana resumed their innings on 138 for 4, 66 runs behind Leewards’ 204 in the first-innings. Chanderpaul and Sarwan steadied the innings with a 145-run stand for the fifth wicket, which gave Guyana the lead. Chanderpaul attacked offspinner Steve Liburd, hitting him for a four and a six, before edging to Runako Morton at first slip. Derwin Christian joined Sarwan and had scored 13 when offspinner Anthony Martin trapped him leg before wicket at 279 for 6. Sarwan was on 89 and Esuan Crandon on 15, when rain halted play.
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Simon Jackson and Chadwick Walton scored half-centuries to lead Combined Campuses & Colleges’ (CCC) fightback against Trinidad & Tobago on the second day in Bridgetown. Having conceded a massive first-innings lead of 240 after being dismissed for 97, CCC’s batsmen regrouped to post 185 for 3 in the second innings and trail by only 55 runs.Jackson scored 11 fours during his 83 off 173 balls while Watson struck seven fours and a six, during his unbeaten 52 off 74 balls.Earlier T&T had secured a sizable lead after resuming on 224 for 5. they were eventually dismissed ten minutes before lunch after Ravi Rampaul took advantage of some mediocre bowling to score his second first-class fifty.T&T’s wickets were shared by offspinner Kevin McClean and captain Shirley Clarke, who took 4 for 54 and 4 for 53 respectively.