After Round 2, Khan Research Labs (KRL) is at the top of the point’s table after winning both their matches in Patron’s Trophy Grade-I First Class Tournament.

KRL – SGCP
In the 1st round match played at the KRL Ground Rawalpindi, KRL beat Sui Gas Corporation (SGCP) by 9 wickets. KRL won the toss and elected to bowl first. SGCP scored 201 runs in their 1st innings, the main performers were Sohail Idrees and Saleem Mughal with 40 runs each. For KRL Shoaib Akhtar took 4 wickets. KRL scored 410 runs in their 1st inning to take a big 209 run lead. Skipper Ali Naqvi hit 68 runs. SGCP’s Abdul Rauf took 4 and Wasim Khan grabbed 3 wickets. SGCP scored 253 runs in their 2nd inning with the help of Mohammad Hafeez’s 112. Shoaib Akhtar (3) and Jaffar Nazir (4) were the key bowlers for KRL. Batting last KRL easily reached the target of 45 runs losing only one wicket.KRL – WAPDA
In their 2nd round match, KRL overcame WAPDA by an innings and 21 runs. WAPDA

won the toss and elected to field first. KRL scored 423 runs in their 1st innings with Mohammad Wasim top scorer with 79 while Faisal Irfan (4) was WAPDA’s most successful bowler. Then the KRL bowlers restricted WAPDA to 199 and forced a follow-on. Yasir Arafat and Ali Naqvi took 3 wickets each. In their 2nd innings WAPDA was bowled out for 203 runs. Yasir Arafat was the main destroyer and took 5 wickets.While HBL and PIA are at the 2nd position in the table with 15 points each. All three teams won their 1st round matches.Custom – WAPDA
Customs met WAPDA on their 1st match and won by an innings and 111 runs. Customs won the toss and elected to bat first scoring 577 with the loss of 9 wickets, both the openers Shadab Kabir and Kashif Siddiq scored centuries. In reply WAPDA managed only 221 runs and had to follow-on despite Tariq Aziz’s 103. Tabish Nawab took 5 wickets. WAPDA came short in their 2nd innings scoring only 245. Salman Fazal and Tabish Nawab took 5 and 4 wickets each.

HBL – PWD
In their 1st match HBL defeated PWD by 227 runs. PWD won the toss and decided to bowl and restricted HBL to 273. Atiq-uz-Zaman was HBL’s top scorer with 80, while PWD’s Rajesh Ramesh took 4 wickets. PWD only managed 144 in reply and Danish Kaneria and Kabir Khan took 3 wickets each. HBL scored 235 runs in the 2nd innings and set PWD a target of 365, but PWD were bowled out for 137.NBP – ADBP
NBP won their 1st match against ADBP by 10 wickets. ADBP won the toss and invited NBP to bat. NBP scored 405 runs in their 1st innings with the help of Sajid Ali and Naumanullah centuries. ADBP was bowled out at the score of 150 in their 1st innings and made to follow-on. Mushtaq Ahmed and Waqar Younis took 4 and 3 wickets. In their 2nd innings ADBP reached 291 to set a 37 run target, easily achieved by NBP without any loss.PIA – ABL
Star-studded PIA beat ABL by 5 wickets in their 1st match. PIA won the toss and

decided to bowl and did bowl out ABL for 186. ABL’s main scorer was Naved Latif (80). PIA’s Abdur Razzaq took 4 and Azhar Mahmood took 3 wickets apiece. PIA mustered only 224 runs in their 1st innings due to Aqib Javed and Aamer Nazir who took 3 wickets each. ABL scored 214 runs in their 2nd innings and gave PIA a target of 177 runs. Usman Tariq (94) was the top scorer. Azhar Mahmood grabbed 7 ABL wickets. PIA achieved the target but lost 5 wickets. Yousuf Youhana was PIA’s top scorer in the 2nd innings.ABL and PWD are lying at the 3rd position after winning their 2nd round matches.

ABL-ADBP
ABL beat ADBP by 9 wickets. ABL won the toss and decided to bowl. ADBP scored 166 runs in their 1st innings while Naved-ul-Hasan and Aamer Nazir took 4 and 3 wickets each. ABL scored 231 runs with the help of a century by Ijaz Ahmed jr. ADBP was bowled out the score of 163 in their 2nd innings and could only set a 99 run target. ABL only lost one wicket and Naved Latif scored a fine half-century.PWD – SGCP
PWD overcame SGCP by 6 wickets. PWD won the toss and decided to field first. SGCP scored 316 runs in their 1st innings. Sohail Idrees was top scorer with 60. PWD were all out for 388 runs in their 1st innings, Afsar Nawaz scored 156 runs while Mohammad Hussain took 5 wickets. In the 2nd innings SGCP managed only 135 runs and Tanvir Ahmed took 5 wickets. Now, PWD had to score only 64 runs, duly achieved with the loss of 4 wickets.ADBP, SGCP and WAPDA with 0 points are at the bottom of the table having lost both round matches.KRL, currently the top team, has yet to play the stronger sides as there is an obvious disparity between the various teams due to the appearance of Pakistan test stars in some of the teams. However, the experience to be gained by the weaker teams will be of great benefit. The cancellation of international tours to Pakistan has allowed the test stars to take active part in Pakistan’s domestic FC tournaments.

England chairman of selectors David Graveney has nsisted that security would have to be “A1” for the winter tour of India to go ahead.Graveney was speaking ahead of this week’s International Cricket Conference summit in Kuala Lumpur.The situation should be clarified next week, when a decision could be made on whether England go to India for the three-Test series, followed by the one-day tournament in the new year, or tour somewhere else before the New Zealand leg gets under way in February.Graveney said: “The situation is no different from Zimbabwe in terms the priority of safety of the players, that is paramount.”At the present stage we are obviously waiting for what happens in Kuala Lumpur.”The PCA would never compromise their position about player safety, it’s thecrucial thing.”We would never send anybody into an area where their safety could ever be put at risk, how could you expect them to play and do their best, and what about their families?”But we would second guessing until we know what comes out of Kuala Lumpur. The security would need to be A1, it would have to be on any international sporting occasion.”The ICC meeting will also discuss the West Indies’ concerns about their imminent tour to Sri Lanka. Should the world situation rule out both tours, a logical outcome could be an England tour of the Caribbean.Another alternative might be to re-locate England’s two Tests in the north of India to southern cities, more distant from the troubled area.Meanwhile Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has said: “As far as I am concerned the tour will go ahead.”Graveney was also upbeat about England’s recent 5-0 one-day whitewash of Zimbabwe which ended a run of 11 consecutive defeats, as well as giving younger players valuable experience.”I think we got everything out of it that we needed to do,” Graveney said. “Weworked on the basics of the younger guys taking part, which has been good.”They would have extended their experience so it’s been a good trip. I’ve spoken to the coach Duncan Fletcher who really did feel we are heading in theright direction.”We’ve learned a bit more about some of the younger guys and we’ve won somegames.”England’s one-day squad for the rest of the winter will be named tomorrow morning.

Rain before lunch and after tea again slowed West Indies’efforts to square the three-Test series against Sri Lanka onthe third day of the second cricket Test yesterday.West Indies were 39 for one, in reply to Sri Lanka’s firstinnings total of 288, after heavy overnight rain saturatedthe Asgiriya Stadium outfield and forced a delayed start bythree-and-a-half hours.West Indies needed a little under four overs to draw thecurtains on the Sri Lanka first innings after the hostresumed from their overnight position of 273 for eight.Pedro Collins broke through the overnight pair when hebowled Nuwan Zoysa for 23 in the third over of the day,ending a ninth-wicket stand of 32 with NiroshanBandaratillake. He ended with four wickets for 84 runs.Mervyn Dillon had Muttiah Muralitharan caught at mid-off forfour to bring the innings to a close and give the WestIndies fast bowler his third wicket.Zoysa then condemned Daren Ganga to a first-ball duck whenhe had the West Indies opening batsman caught at third slipwith his first ball on return to Test cricket.Chris Gayle, with four fours in an undefeated 25, andRamnaresh Sarwan, unbeaten on 12, carried West Indiesthrough to the rain-induced close with little or no alarms.Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0 after their ten-wicket win inthe opening Test at Galle.

Set a target of 177 to win the match, Andhra Pradesh hung on to drawtheir Ranji Trophy league match against Kerala at Cochin.Kerala, reeling overnight at 131/7, miraculously made it to 259, withKN Ananthapadmanabhan making a sterling unbeaten 74, coming in atnumber 10. Sreekumar Nair, the other overnight batsman, made 83 off390 minutes and 279 balls. For Andhra Pradesh, Mohamad Faiq picked uphis second five-wicket haul of the match.Andhra Pradesh never looked to go after the target, preferring insteadto pick up their five points by virtue of a first-innings lead. At theclose of play, Andhra Pradesh were 78/2, with skipper MSK Prasadunbeaten on nine off 102 minutes and 66 balls.

Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson was back in his office for the first time today after the Christmas break.I spoke to the Chief Executive shortly after he had met with Richard Johnson, who was back at the County Ground after returning from India just before Christmas.The Somerset paceman was drafted into the squad after his county colleague Andy Caddick had withdrawn, and gave a good account of himself in the warm up match that he played in. However he was not selected for any of the matches in the three Test series.Richard, who celebrated his twenty seventh birthday at the end of December, has also been overlooked for the forthcoming England tour to India and New Zealand which starts later this month.Mr Anderson told me, “The club feels very disappointed for Richard Johnson who has been left out of the New Zealand trip.”The Chief Executive continued, “Coach Kevin Shine has been in touch with Duncan Fletcher to discuss his England prospects, but as is always the case all Richard can do is to keep bowling and produce the goods.””For Richard Johnson you have to feel disappointed, but from a Somerset point of view we gain,” Mr Anderson said.He continued, “Whilst Johnson will be doing his best next season for Somerset, the club are disturbed by Marcus Trescothick’s announcement that he may only be available for one game in 2002 on the basis that the workload for international cricketer’s is so great.”Mr Anderson went on, ” Undoubtedly the workload is great, but the England players seem to be obsessed by the amount of time that they are spending away from their homes and their loved ones.”He continued, “Some would say they are very well paid to put up with the inconvenience, and nobody forces them to go away and play for England.” The Chief continued, “Marcus’s suggestion is that player’s partners should have lengthy holidays at the E.C.B expense. If individuals miss their loved ones so much they can pay for it themselves.”Mr Anderson concluded, ” Somerset hope that Marcus’s fears are not realised and that he is available for more than one game in 2002.”

Teams in the northern part of the country will be hoping forbetter luck with the weather when the fourth round matchesin the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I cricket competition startSunday.The third round clash between Rawalpindi and Peshawar wasabandoned without a ball being bowled at the Pindi CricketStadium after pre-match rains left the square in pools ofwater.The other match in Rawalpindi, saw play starting late onthird afternoon at KRL Ground between Islamabad and Rest ofNWFP.Karachi Blues chalked up their first win of the season whenthey crushed Rest of Sindh by innings. Sargodha were theother side to win in the third round, inflicting inningsdefeat on Hyderabad.Both Karachi Whites and Lahore Blues, who head theirrespective pools, had to contend with draws againstBalochistan and Rest of Punjab respectively in the thirdround.Karachi Whites, led by ex-national skipper Moin Khan, facetheir first major challenge in the shape of Gujranwala hereat the National Stadium.Lahore Blues, the defending champions, take on Islamabad atKRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.Karachi Blues, meanwhile, meet Faisalabad at Iqbal Stadium.Both Faisalabad and Sheikhupura, who play Rest of Punjab atGaddafi Stadium, will be fresh after being not involved inmatches last week.Fourth round schedule (Jan 20-23):*Karachi Whites v Gujranwala at National Stadium, Karachi(Umpires: M. Akbar Khan and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee:Raees Ahmed).*Faisalabad v Karachi Blues at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad(Umpires: M. Nazir Junior and Iftikhar Malik. Match referee:Ishtiaq Ahmed).*Hyderabad v Rest of Balochistan at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad(Umpires: Athar Zaidi and Sadiq Mohammad. Match referee:Munawwar Agha).*Bahawalpur v Rest of Sindh at Bahawalpur Stadium. (Umpires:Shakeel Khan and Riazuddin. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi).*Lahore Whites v Peshawar at LCCA Ground, Lahore (Umpires:Salim Badar and Feroz Butt. Match referee: Ali Zia).*Rawalpindi v Rest of NWFP at Pindi Cricket Stadium(Umpires: Siddique Khan and Asad Rauf. Match referee: JavedAkhtar).*Islamabad v Lahore Blues at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi(Umpires: Islam Khan and Afzaal Ahmed. Match referee:Khateeb Rizwan).*Sheikhupura v Rest of Punjab at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore(Umpires: Aleem Dar and Sajjad Asghar. Match referee:Ehteshamuddin).

Centuries from opener Connor Williams and skipper Jacob Martin saw defending Ranji champions Baroda call the shots on day two of their encounter against Hyderabad at the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation Ground, Baroda. The home team had reached 327 for three in reply to Hyderabad’s first innings score of 290 when stumps were drawn.Baroda, who began the day at 21 for no loss, lost opener SS Kale and No. 3 Nayan Mongia in the space of ten overs. At 70 for two, Hyderabad were still in the game. But Martin and Williams, the men at the crease, proceeded to take the game away from the grasp of the visitors. The two batsmen put on 245 runs before Williams was out for 157, an innings that included 22 fours and one six. Martin, who was unbeaten on 116, in the company of night watchman Valmik Buch ensured that his team played out the remaining few overs without the losing another wicket.

West Indies selectors have preferred the promise of the future rather than the experience of the past in the five players they named yesterday as back-ups for their already chosen World Cup squad of 15.The five will participate in the two-week preparatory camp starting in Antigua January 12, prior to West Indies leaving for the tournament in South Africa and will be on call in case injury or illness eliminates any one of the original players before or during it, Michael Hall, West Indies Cricket Board chief cricket operations officer, explained.Left-hand all-rounder Ryan Hinds, 21, right-hand utility batsman Daren Ganga, 23, and fast bowler Darren Powell, 24, were all on the recent tour of India and Bangladesh and have played both Tests and One-Day Internationals.Left-hand opening batsman Devon Smith, 21, of Windward Islands, and wicketkeeper Keith Hibbert, 22, of Jamaica, toured England and Canada with the "A" team last July and August but are yet to appear at senior international level.All could realistically look forward to being involved in the next World Cup in 2007 in the West Indies. The older alternatives cannot.Fast bowler Cameron Cuffy, opening batsman Sherwin Campbell and wicketkeeper Courtney Browne, all 32, left-hand middle-order batsman Floyd Reifer, 30, and leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo, 27, were the more seasoned options.All have played Tests and One-Day Internationals, Cuffy and Nagamootoo as recently as the series in Bangladesh last month. But the new selection panel under former captain Sir Viv Richards is clearly looking ahead.Unless required further, the five back-up players will return to their regional teams for the start of the annual first-class tournament January 31.

As a batsman, it’s never advisable to have a predilection for one stroke.The fielding team will set the trap, the bowler will produce the bait andthe batsman’s eyes will light up only to be dismissed.Pavlov’s Dog never had it this bad.There have been celebrated cases such as current Australian selector, AndrewHilditch who was known as the ‘Happy Hooker’ because of his indulgence forthe notorious stroke which often caused his downfall.If the fielding side does their homework they can turn the oppositionbatsman’s strengths into weaknesses. Stephen Fleming displayed that lastyear with much success against the Australians when he had a different fieldfor every batsman.So what about Nasser Hussain and the sweep? It seems as though this is theonly shot he can play when he is facing the spinners.In the first VB Series game against Australia at the SCG, Hussain was doinghis best to allow the sweep to get him out; either via lbw, bowled, topedging one or being caught on the fence.It is a low percentage shot for just one run. With there being only four men inthe circle, singles are on offer everywhere. He would be better advised topush through the vacant mid-on, mid-off area for the easiest of singles thantrying to be too clever by half.Hussain scored 52 from 81 balls. Against Shane Warne he scored 13 runs from 23balls. From Darren Lehmann, 11 runs from 29 balls. The spinners had him boggeddown, or rather is it that he had himself bogged down?Against the bowling of Warne and Lehmann, his highest single scoring shotoff either was two runs, which he managed once off each.Fifteen times he played the sweep for a return of five singles. He playedthe dreaded reverse sweep three times to Lehmann. He did not score a runfrom the stroke and twice had to survive vociferous appeals for lbw.The sweep is an interesting stroke. Many a batsman has had a fondness forit and it has been the downfall of as many.Jonty Rhodes utilised it to geat effect in 1994 at the SCG when it was theone and only plan he could muster to escape the clutches of Shane Warne.Steve Waugh has his ‘slog-sweep’, but the major difference between the shothe is employing and the one Hussain is doing, is that Waugh is hitting theball in front of square. By not having to turn his wrists with the stroke,he is able to gain maximum power and uses the shot for scoring boundariesand sixes.Hussain is scoring singles with the shot. Is it worth getting out for onerun?Then there is the reverse sweep……..Australian cricket has never looked kindly on the shot because basically itshould never be played. It is one of the lowest percentage strokes thereis, with the batsman able to get out in far more many ways then he can scoreruns from the shot.It was the shot which caused Mike Gatting’s infamous demise in the 1987World Cup final and a day doesn’t go by when he is not reminded of this.There is no way John Buchanan, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and theAustralian cricket brains trust are unaware of Hussain’s love of the shot.Warne and Lehmann will be bowling many balls to be swept and it will be upto Hussain to play the shot without getting out or devise an alternate wayof run scoring.If the batsman are going to improvise against spinners, it should be withtheir feet and not with the bat. Use of their feet allows them to turn theball into the type of delivery they wish to face. This also createsuncertainty in the mind of the bowler because they are now unsure as towhich length to bowl.Time will tell if Hussain is one of those who can “resist everything buttemptation”.

The farcical run out of Sanath Jayasuriya for 99 proved to be the turning point as England won their crucial triangular series match with Sri Lanka by 19 runs. England’s bowlers kept their nerve to apply irresistible pressure on the remaining Sri Lankan batsmen and win a compelling encounter.England’s triumph in defending their total of 279 owed much to Andrew Caddick, who took two early wickets and two more coming back to bowl his last two overs at a crucial stage of the innings. Michael Vaughan and Ian Blackwell also played telling roles with the ball, keeping the scoring rate down when Sri Lanka desperately needed to accelerate.The fly in the ointment for England was an injury to Steve Harmison, who after being taken out of the attack for costing 27 runs in just two overs, was forced off the ground after turning an ankle in the field.Jayasuriya, once again, was magical to watch. Most of his runs came on the off-side, with his trademark cover drive to the fore. He lost Marvan Atapattu (12) playing on to Caddick in the third over after an explosive start, and Hashan Tillakaratne (9) brilliantly caught off Caddick by Alec Stewart, leaping like a spring salmon to hold an edge high to his left with both hands.Aravinda de Silva was also the victim of fine wicket-keeping, as Stewart, standing up to Paul Collingwood, clung on to a thick outside edge. That was 119 for three, but with 31 overs still remaining Sri Lanka were still very much in the hunt.Mahela Jayawardene looked in no trouble at all until, on 19, he played an inexplicable paddle to leg off Ronnie Irani and the ball looped up for Vaughan at mid-wicket. Disaster followed as Jayasuriya, having reached 99 off just 83 balls, called Kumar Sangakkara for a straightforward single to mid-off. Sangakkara somehow managed to get in his captain’s way, and Jayasuriya was left short of his ground as Nasser Hussain hit the stumps direct.Sangakkara attempted to atone for his glaring error by settling down to build a partnership with Russel Arnold that revived Sri Lanka’s hopes of victory. Boundaries were hard to come by, however, and Blackwell and Vaughan managed to apply relentless pressure.It took the return of Caddick to open the floodgates. First Sangakkara (56) lashed to Blackwell at mid-wicket. Chaminda Vaas then swung Vaughan hard and high for Collingwood to take a fine catch in the deep. When Arnold followed for 35 in the next over the game was effectively over. It took another excellent catch to do it – Blackwell at deep mid-wicket hanging on to the ball as he fell on his back.England’s total was set up by another weighty contribution from Nick Knight, who featured in successive half-century partnerships with Marcus Trescothick and Vaughan. Knight kept his position as Trescothick’s opening partner, while for Sri Lanka Chamila Gamage replaced the injured Muttiah Muralitharan.It was Gamage who made the first breakthrough after Hussain chose to bat first in extreme afternoon heat. Trescothick (39), who produced a booming cover drive to post England’s 50, lost his off stump looking for a leg-side boundary.Vaughan was missed on one by wicket-keeper Sangakkara, who couldn’t hold on to what would have been a fine one-handed catch to his right off Gamage. Vaughan looked to pick up from where he left off in the Ashes series, with boundaries off de Silva and Dilhara Fernando, but when he had reached 28 he skied a pull at Fernando to Vaas at mid-wicket.Much as they had done in Sydney, Jayasuriya and de Silva kept the run rate within reasonable bounds before Hussain (18) was bowled via inside edge and pad by Jayasuriya.Knight soldiered on, providing some relief with a swept six off de Silva, but on 88 he played loosely at Vaas for Sangakkara to hold on to the resultant edge. Knight has made 440 funs in his last seven one-day innings for England. Blackwell was then lbw first ball to leave England teetering at 206 for five.As he has so often done before, Stewart recharged the innings. He and Collingwood added 54 in eight overs to revitalise England, taking 16 off one over from Fernando, including a Collingwood six over square-leg. By the time Stewart (51) and Collingwood (18) were dismissed, England had scored enough.England will now go through to the finals unless they lose to Australia in Adelaide on Sunday without claiming a bonus point, and Sri Lanka take all six points from their final match against the hosts.