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Jamaica posted their first win in the WICB competition, and sealed their place in the semi-finals, as they trounced Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) by a whopping 207 runs at Kensington Park.Jamaica were in danger of being knocked out of the tournament after their loss to Windward Islands and a no-result game against Trinidad and Tobago, but gained a bonus point against CCC to finish second in the Group A points table, a point ahead of T&T.Their total of 285 was powered by an opening stand of 138 with captain Chris Gayle and Xavier Marshall both hammering half-centuries. Gayle, who was axed as West Indies captain for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, was particularly belligerent as he raced to 72 off 73 balls with four fours and four sixes. Jamaica lost their way after the opening stand as they stumbled from 175 for 3 to 230 for 7, but a late-order flourish from Andre Russell, who blasted 46 from just 22 balls, pushed Jamaica to 285.Jamaica’s bowlers, led by David Bernard, who picked up 3 for 33, then ran through the CCC batting line-up. Miles Bascombe (37) and Gilford Moore (16) were the only batsmen to reach double figures, as CCC were bowled out for a paltry 78 in the 31st over to give Jamaica a win with a bonus point.Defending champions Trinidad and Tobago were not so lucky as they were knocked out of the WICB Cup after an eight-wicket loss to Windward Islands at Sabina Park. T&T were bundled out for 133 in 40.1 overs, which Windward chased down with ease in 33.2 overs.Electing to bat, T&T never got going as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. At 38 for 4 after 15 overs, it looked like they were in danger of being bundled out for less than 100. However, Dwayne Bravo’s 29 off 25 balls with three fours and two sixes, and an uncharacteristically sedate 39 of 69 balls from Kieron Pollard, pushed T&T up to 133. It was an allround effort from Windward’s bowlers as Mervin Matthew, Shane Shillingford and Nelon Pascal picked up two wickets each.Winward got off to a steady start as their openers Devon Smith and Johnson Charles added 38 for the first wicket. Offspinner Sherwin Ganga then picked up two quick wickets – that of Charles and Andre Fletcher – and at 48 for 2, T&T might have hoped for a collapse. But Smith, who was recalled to the national side for the Sri Lanka tour, anchored Winward’s chase with a steady 51. He and Keddy Lesporis, who made 45, ensured there was no collapse as Windward, captained by Darren Sammy, who was named the captain for the Sri Lanka tour, raced to their third straight win in the competition.

New Zealand’s first warm-up match on their tour of Bangladesh has been cancelled because of unplayable ground conditions at the Bangladesh Krira Shikka Protisthan Stadium (BKSP) near Dhaka.”The region has been hit with 15 days of heavy rain and the outfield is completely sodden,” New Zealand’s manager, Michael Sharpe, said. “Groundsmen had the super sopper out but could only go a few metres before it needed emptying. The officials had no choice but to call off the match with the match on Sunday, October 3, also in doubt.”The BKSP stadium is two hours from the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, where the five one-day Internationals will be played. The two 50-over games against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI are New Zealand’s only warm-up matches ahead of the first ODI against Bangladesh on October 5.

Bloemfontein likes to claim Colin Ingram as its own. He was born in, schooled in and discovered cricket in the Eastern Cape but he actually became a cricketer in the City of Roses. Ingram moved up country to the Free State academy when he was starting university, six years ago. He stayed in Bloemfontein to complete his studies and blossomed as a young cricketer.”It’s my second home,” said Ingram with a nostalgic smile. Many cricket-lovers in this part of the world were wishing he would make it his permanent home after the abundant promise he showcased in his academy days, but Ingram returned to his roots. After graduating, he went back to Port Elizabeth to play for the Warriors.He knew that there would always be the occasional trip back to the Free State. One of those visits was Ingram’s twenty-over debut. He was out for a third-ball duck. Subsequent journeys have been more successful, such as the 80 not out he hammered off 65 balls in the MTN40 in January this year. In fact, the whole of the 2009-10 season was a success for Ingram, who was the highest run-scorer in the MTN40 with 600 runs at 60.00 and the Standard Bank Pro20 with 282 at 47.16.Ingram is not a numbers man though and admits he “wasn’t aware of any of the statistics” involved in his performance in the opening ODI of the series against Zimbabwe. His eyes grew wider as he was told of the landmarks he had passed in this match. First, he surpassed Shaun Pollock’s 66 as the highest ODI score by a South African on debut, then, he became just the sixth player in history to score a century on ODI debut and the only South African.What he was concerned about was making an impression. “I haven’t does as well as I would have liked in the recent months, especially coming off the back of the Champions League,” he said. Ingram scored 122 runs in six matches in that competition. He started off trying to rectify that scratchily and only 16 runs came from his first 28 balls. “I was actually a bit nervous when I was on about 20 and started thinking that I should score quicker.”Who better than to help him get his confidence back than a man who is overflowing with it? “Batting with Hashim Amla was absolutely wonderful. He is one of the guys that I have basically grown my game around. He told me to just bat with him, get my feet moving and enjoy my time at the crease.” While following the instructions of a man who had raced to his third ODI century of the year, Ingram found that he got his groove back and was able to maintain it even after Amla departed.He shared a 76-run fifth-wicket stand with David Miller, a sign that the new-look South African middle order is developing into a formidable force and answering the captain’s calls for the younger team members to take on major roles. Graeme Smith said he hoped performances like these would allow the players to “answer the question themselves” about who will be picked in the next year’s World Cup squad.Ingram will face an enormous challenge for the No. 3 spot from Jacques Kallis but he is happy for it to remain that way for now. “I am still a relative junior and if the situation demands that Jacques comes straight back in, I am happy with that. I am here to learn, grow my game and take any opportunities I get with both hands.”In this match, he grabbed full hold of that opportunity and throttled it for all it was worth. “He remained calm and stuck to his game plan throughout, he had a good training week and a lot of belief in himself,” said Smith. There won’t be the luxury of that much time for preparation before Sunday’s match in Potchefstroom. But he’ll have happy memories of the place having made an unbeaten 125 in the MTN40 the last time he was there.

Group A
India Cements marched into the semi-finals with their second successive bonus-point win, trouncing All India Electricity Board by seven wickets with 22 overs to spare in Vishakapatnam. AIEB were tormented by pace and spin alike after being invited to bat, and eventually stuttered to an inadequate 128 in 41.2 overs. Manoj Tiwary was the only batsman to come to terms with the situation, scoring 43, but there was no support forthcoming from his colleagues. R Ashwin and Shadab Jakati spun their way to combined figures of 6 for 47 in 18.2 overs, while seamer M Raja chipped in with 2 for 29.India Cements’ reply ran into rough weather early with Tiwary scalping three big wickets under the lights to reduce them to 25 for 3 in the 11th over. However, their hopes of an unlikely win were scuppered by contrasting fifties from Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik. The pair added 109 in 17.1 overs to ensure there was no twist in the tale. Karthik was unbeaten on 62 off 57 with two sixes and five fours, while Mukund had 58 when the winning runs were scored.Group B
Indian Oil Corporation‘s middle order lost their nerve in a tight chase as Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited emerged victorious in a contest that was reduced to 21 overs a side in Chennai. Despite the defeat, IOC edged ahead of BPCL at the top of the table on the basis of net run-rate and qualified for the semi-finals.Chasing 135 for victory, Ravikant Shukla and Rohit Sharma put IOC on course, after early impetus from Wasim Jaffer, by adding 56 in 10.4 overs. With 27 runs needed from 25 balls, Rohit was bowled by Avishkar Salvi and thereafter panic set in. Four wickets fell in quick succession, three of them run out as IOC lost the plot under pressure. Shitanshu Kotak bowled a nerveless couple of overs in the death, including the last over of the match. IOC needed three off the last two balls, but lost wickets off both to fall short.Earlier Rajesh Pawar and Vikrant Yeligati led a strong comeback in the second half of BPCL’s innings, to reduce them from 95 for 2 in the 13th over to a final score of 134 for 9. However, IOC’s batsmen were unable to make their efforts count.Group C
Naman Ohja, the captain, led from the front as a clinical Air India side comprehensively outplayed State Bank of Mysore in Hyderabad. The win gave Air India a clean sweep of their three group matches and put them in the semi-finals.Ohja pummelled 84 from 58 balls, with nine fours and five sixes, as Air India raced to their target of 145 in less than 20 overs, losing one wicket along the way. Ohja and Chandan Madan put on 125 for the first wicket, off 14 overs, and were particularly harsh on Sreenath Aravind, whose four overs went for 54. Madan remained unbeaten on 54.State Bank of Mysore were bowled out for 144 in 39.2 overs, with Air India’s bowlers sharing the wickets around. Left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan was the pick of them, taking 3 for 30, while seamer Dhawal Kulkarni finished with 3 for 44.M Vijay’s century and Rajagopal Sathish’s late-overs heroics helped Chemplast chase down a target of 289 with relative ease and consign Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to a five-wicket defeat in Hyderabad. The result had no impact at the top of Group C, with Air India qualifying after winning all their three games.Chemplast’s decision to field came unstuck immediately as Monish Mishra launched into their attack with gay abandon in his 63-ball 80. Arindam Das was more sedate at the other end, scoring 43 off 60 balls in a stand worth 97. After the early damage, Chemplast checked BSNL in the middle overs through the trio of Piyush Chawla, R Jesuraj and Syed Mohammad, who accounted for seven wickets in all. Kuldeep Diwan lashed around for 26 off 11 balls to lift the score to 288.Chemplast’s chase was a perfect example of how to go after tall targets, with the batting line-up supporting Vijay, who ensured he scored a century. Most of the bowlers took some tap, barring Salil Yadav, who picked up 3 for 40, the third of his scalps being Vijay for 112 off 114 balls. With 81 required off 11 overs, BSNL sensed a chance to snatch victory, but Sathish had plans of his own. He smashed four sixes and nine fours in a dazzling display of strokeplay that ended the game with 25 balls to spare.Group DIncome Tax (India) qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament with a comprehensive six-wicket win over MRF in Bangalore. Set a target of 284, Income Tax got a flying start from openers Hiken Shah and Ameya Shrikhande, and raced to victory in under 36 overs, to finish top of the group and qualify for the semi-finals.The opening pair put on 78 in less than eight overs, with Shah making 50 off 28 balls with eight fours and two sixes. His dismissal did not slow Income Tax’s progress, with Shrikhande and Amol Ubarhande adding a further 76 in 7.2 overs. Ubarhande was eventually out for 76, the top score of the innings.MRF’s innings was built around a solid 82 from Venugopal Rao, who put on 96 with Umashankar Sushul for the fourth wicket. Sridharan Sriram chipped in with 58. Parag Khanpurkar was the best of the Income Tax bowlers with 2 for 48.Oil & Natural Gas Corporation bowed out of the tournament with a six-wicket win against State Bank of Patiala, with 27.3 overs to spare, in Bangalore. ONGC’s bowlers stuck to their task after winning the toss, striking at regular intervals to ensure SBP never got going. Munaf Patel began the slide, dismissing openers Ravi Inder Singh and R Rehni in his opening spell. Praveen Kumar kept the pressure on at the other end with a nagging spell before Sumit Narwal and Amit Mishra scythed through the middle order. Late resistance from Sarabjit Ladda took SBP past 100, but it was nowhere near sufficient to trouble ONGC.Despite the early losses of Virat Kohli and Sandeep Sharma, the chase stayed on course thanks to Tanmay Srivastava and Gagan Khoda who struck forties take their side to the brink of victory. Ladda picked two wickets towards the end, but by then the result was in no doubt.Semi-final line-up
Air India v India Cements on September 5
Income Tax (India) v Indian Oil Corporation on September 6

Scorecard
India Emerging Players prevailed over Australian Institute of Sports in a tense low-scoring contest to qualify for the tournament final. Left-arm spinner Jaidev Unadkat grabbed four wickets and Manish Pandey held his nerve in the chase to steer India home.The hosts’ decision to bat backfired as the first six wickets were shot out for 48. Unadkat’s early burst was supported by his pace partner Vinay Kumar, who got rid of Luke Pomersbach and Callum Ferguson, while Dhawal Kulkarni chipped in with two wickets as well to mark an excellent outing for the seamers.Australia, however, counter-attacked through Glenn Maxwell, who smashed four fours and two sixes in his 50-ball 63. He added 31 with James Pattinson for the seventh wicket and just as many with Michell Starc for the eighth. However, he ran out of partners in his unbeaten knock, as Unadkat – who finished with 4 for 8 in 5.2 overs – returned to mop up the tail and bowl out Australia for 127.India began on a steady note in the chase before experiencing a scare. Openers Abhinav Mukund and Shikhar Dhawan added 37 while Cheteshwar Pujara chipped in with 32. But Australia’s seamers, led by Josh Hazlewood, soon struck to reduce India to 95 for 5. Peter George and Starc grabbed two each and India were 121 for 8, having lost three wickets for eight runs. But Pandey held firm amid the tension and helped knock off the remaining runs to seal a two-wicket win.
Scorecard
South Africa Emerging Players booked their place in the tournament final, overpowering New Zealand Emerging Players by five wickets in a comfortable win.South Africa’s chase of 224 suffered an early setback with the dismissal of opener JJ Smuts for a duck, but there were significant contributions from the others to ensure the win was secured with ease. Dane Vilas struck a quickfire half-century, striking nine fours in his 65, while Ryan Bailey took the team home with an unbeaten 72. The pair added 74 for the fourth wicket to put the game firmly in South Africa’s hands and victory was achieved with more than ten overs to spare.New Zealand’s innings had been anchored by Dean Brownlie, who made 82, but he was short of support from the rest. The next-highest score in the line-up was from Shanan Stewart, who chipped in with 26. At 140 for 3 it had seemed New Zealand would reach a more competitive total, but Craig Alexander struck to finish with a five-for. The last six wickets fell for 55 – Brownlie being the ninth – before the final pair took them to 220, but their efforts were to be in vain.The final will be held on August 20. New Zealand and Australia will face off for the third place on the same day.

Sussex 253 (Brown 58, Thornely 56) beat Bangladeshis 104 (Panesar 3-21, Anyon 3-27) by 149 runs
ScorecardMonty Panesar picked up three cheap wickets as Bangladesh were rolled aside at Hove•PA Photos

Bangladesh made an inauspicious start to the one-day leg of their tour of the British Isles, as a second-string Sussex side hammered them by 149 runs at Hove. Chasing 254 for victory following fifties for Michael Thornely and Ben Brown, Bangladesh stumbled to 85 for 7 in the 22nd over, before being bowled out for 104.With a busy schedule looming – including three ODIs against England, two against Ireland and a one-off match against Scotland – Bangladesh will need to improve on this performance if they are to trouble any of their international opponents on this trip. Raqibul Hasan, back in favour after his “retirement” during England’s recent visit, top-scored with 23 from 45 balls.In the absence of the recently deposed captain, Shakib Al Hasan, and with their star batsman, Tamim Iqbal, making just 17, Bangladesh lacked direction for much of the game, although the new man at the helm, Mashrafe Mortaza, did lead from the front with 2 for 32 in his nine overs. He struck early in his spell to remove Matt Machin for 10, and when Abdur Razzak made it 42 for 2 after 10 overs, there was the prospect of an evenly fought contest.But Thornely – captain for the day in the absence of Michael Yardy – joined forces with the wicketkeeper, Brown, to add 83 for the third wicket in 12.5 overs. Brown provided the impetus with 58 from 52 balls before falling lbw to Faisal Hossain, while Thornely’s contribution was a solid 56 from 73. Ollie Rayner and Will Adkin kept up the momentum with 20 and 30 respectively, although Bangladesh did at least have the satisfaction of bowling Sussex out inside their allotted 50 overs.In reply, however, the Bangladesh innings never really got started. Tamim made 17 from 21 balls before being caught behind off James Thorpe, and then it was over to James Anyon, who ripped out the middle order with three wickets in as many overs. Monty Panesar then got in on the act to mop up the tail, claiming 3 for 21 in 7.4 overs, to put the seal on a thumping victory.

Match Facts

Saturday, June 12 and 13, 2010
Start time 1300 (1100 GMT)
Spin with the new ball could be India’s answer to Brendan Taylor•AFP

The Big Picture

So far this tour has been a misadventure for India. The experiment with rotation went awry during the tri-series, with the selectors sending a squad unbalanced in both experience and skill. The manner in which they lost their games, especially against the hosts, has led to doubts over the quality of India’s next line of cricketers.
The visitors have two games to salvage the tour, and build some confidence for the players headed to Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup. Can their batsmen shrug away their inhibitions and hit out in IPL-like conditions that won’t test their vulnerability against the short ball? Can their inexperienced fast bowlers pull one back on the Zimbabwe top order that bullied them in the ODIs?The hosts go into the series with fewer doubts. In the Twenty20 format, against this second-string India outfit, they will believe they are favourites. From the time they shocked Australia in the inaugural World Twenty20, Zimbabwe have been regarded with caution in the shortest format.Their army of spinners has perfected the art of asphyxiation, and in recent times they have surprised West Indies, followed by victories in 2010 World Twenty20 warm-up games against Australia and Pakistan. Despite being thumped by Sri Lanka in the tri-series final, the hosts are on the ascendancy following their strong show in the league games. If they can trump India again, it will be a major boost to their ongoing quest to reclaim past glory.The forecast promises clear skies on Saturday, which also plays into Zimbabwe’s hands: their batsmen struggled in overcast conditions during the tri-series, and their spinners are most effective when it is dry. Things could get interesting on Sunday though, with a 40% chance of showers.

Form guide (most recent first)

Zimbabwe LLWWL
India LLLWW

Watch out for…

Rohit Sharma‘s twin hundreds in the ODIs have silenced some of his critics, but doubts remain over his temperament, fitness and consistency. Runs in this series could go some way in addressing them and in sealing a spot in the starting XI for the Asia Cup.Brendan Taylor was unstoppable in the tri-series, and will look to loot some more runs over the weekend. The protagonist of Zimbabwe’s finest moment in the Twenty20 format has taken a liking to India’s inexperienced fast bowlers, so the visitors may open with a spinner against him. R Ashwin was impeccable with the new ball in the IPL, and may well be India’s answer to Taylor.

Team news

Somehow, the selectors have managed to make India’s squad even more unbalanced, by including Piyush Chawla at the expense of a fast bowler. India now have four spinners to choose from, in addition to two spinning allrounders, of whom Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha will expect to make the cut. The seamers were uniformly unimpressive in the ODIs, and it could be a toss-up between Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda and Pankaj Singh for two spots. Lack of options could force the side to field Dinesh Karthik and Yusuf Pathan, both notable exclusions for the Asia Cup.India (possible) 1 M Vijay, 2 Dinesh Karthik/Naman Ojha (wk), 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Pragyan Ojha, 10 and 11 Two out of Ashok Dinda, Umesh Yadav and Pankaj Singh.Zimbabwe may decide to bench Chris Mpofu and resort to their spin-heavy strategy. In that event, they will like to have Andy Blignaut’s back in the scheme of things.Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Brendan Taylor, 3 Tatenda Taibu (wk) 4 Charles Coventry, 5 Andy Blignaut, 6 Craig Ervine, 7 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Greg Lamb, 11 Ray Price.

Stats and trivia

• This will be the first clash between these two sides in the Twenty20 format. So far India have 12 wins and 11 defeats, while Zimbabwe have only played ten games, winning three of them.
• Suresh Raina is one of only four centurions in T20Is, the others being Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene. Of the four, only Raina’s did not come from the opening slot.
  

  Quotes

  “We haven’t looked good throughout the tournament. We were unconvincing and I am not happy at all.”
  
  “It is very satisfying to get where we have, the guys have worked hard. Everybody did well in the series and we expect to move forward step by step from here.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss was in destructive mood against some inviting Scottish bowling•PA Photos

A lightening 117-run opening stand between Andrew Strauss and Craig Kieswetter rocketed England to a seven-wicket victory with over a quarter of their innings to spare against Scotland in a sun-drenched Edinburgh.Against some inviting medium-pace bowling, England were able pick up from where they left off in the World Twenty20, hitting 21 boundaries in the first 13 overs with Craig Kieswetter and Strauss matching each other stroke-for-stroke as they registered rapid half-centuriesComing into the game there were murmurs that Strauss may not quite fit into the big-hitting opening approach England had adopted so successfully in his absence in the Caribbean. But that charge was unfair, it was under his leadership that England first put the ‘no-fear’ cliché into practice, and here he emphatically made the point, stoking 12 fours in his 43-ball innings.It made light work of Scotland’s hard-fought total of 211 but Gavin Hamilton, who earlier in the day had profited against the England new-ball bowlers, paid the price for ignoring the lesson of Scotland’s innings where the spinners dominated. Instead he opted for an array of equally ineffective medium-pacers.Dishing up a combination of half-trackers and half-volleys there was no pressure until the introduction of offspinner Majid Haq in the 14th over. Haq is Scotland’s best bowler and one of their few full-time professionals and his showing today glittered with nous and plenty of nerve.He accounted for Strauss in his first over, luring him into a mistimed sweep-shot that sailed comfortably down to the deep midwicket fielder and thereafter he controlled all the England batsmen.Kevin Pietersen was first suffocated and then defeated by Haq’s teasing bowling. It was the sort of genteel occasion that was never going to get Pietersen’s juices flowing and he was dropped twice before miscuing a sweep and skying a catch to midwicket.It left Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan to calmly knock-off the total with 16.2 overs to spare. England could have chased a lot more and at one stage it looked as though they could well have to.Kyle Coetzer and Hamilton had put on 86 after the early loss of Ryan Watson to leave Scotland well placed until Swann and Michael Yardy threw sand into their wheels. Left out of Durham’s Clydesdale Bank 40 team, Coetzer sent a clear message by hitting eight crisp boundaries during a 59-ball half century.On a good pitch it may have been too much to expect a rout from the England bowlers, but the ease at which the pacemen were dealt with was telling. Broad, suitably beefed-up after his ‘strength and conditioning’ break from the side dropped short too often and was merrily punished by all the batsmen and James Anderson, despite his early wicket, could not exert much control either.It was the spinners who first restricted the scoring and then made the breakthroughs. Once Coetzer fell tamely to Yardy, chipping back a return catch, the Scotland top order folded. Hamilton had worked his way to 48 but was drawn out his ground to end up stumped off Swann. It wasn’t until Douglas Lockhart’s enterprising 46 at the end of the innings that Scotland offered any more resistance.Still, having allowed Scotland to cross 200, England had not quite managed emulate the spark that took them to the World Twenty20 title by the halfway stage but Strauss and Kieswetter soon changed that. England will face a sterner test against Australia on Tuesday but they can head into it brimming with confidence.

Scorecard
Jonathan Trott made a timely return to form with an unbeaten century which frustrated Lancashire’s push for victory in their County Championship match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.Trott’s 102 was his first since he made a century in his Test debut in last August’s Ashes decider at the Oval and came a day before the selectors meet to name their squad for next week’s first Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s.There has been speculation that Trott’s Test place might be under threat after his indifferent form during the winter and an inconsistent start to the domestic season which had seen him make three half centuries but five single figure Championship scores before today.But Trott came good with a determined and unflustered innings, his 21st first-class century, on a pitch of variable bounce and against a strong Lancashire attack which included his England team-mate James Anderson.Thanks to Trott and Rikki Clarke (42), Warwickshire took the game into a fourth day but Lancashire are still well-placed to complete a swift double over them. Warwickshire were set 441, which would be the highest fourth innings total in their history, for victory and they closed on 263 for 6, still 178 short of victory, having slipped to 119 for 4 at one stage.Once again it was Glen Chapple who caused them most problems with Lancashire’s captain following up his five wickets in the first innings with four more including an opening burst of 3 for 12. Chapple had Darren Maddy leg before wicket and then had England batsman Ian Bell caught behind as he tried to leave alone a ball that bounced and followed him.Warwickshire slipped to 30 for 3 when Ian Westwood nibbled another one from Chapple that bounced but Trott began the repair work with Jim Troughton in a fourth wicket stand of 89 in 24 overs. Chapple had to recall himself to break the stand which he did in his second over back when Troughton edged to first slip playing defensively.Anderson bowled two short and economical spells but was more expensive when he was brought back for a third as Trott and Clarke counter-attacked either side of tea. Trott struck seven fours in a 78-ball half century and added eight more in completing a responsible 184-ball century.Clarke, who added 86 in 26 overs for the fifth wicket with Trott, went lbw playing back to slow left-armer Simon Kerrigan and Lancashire scented a three-day win when Tim Ambrose gave a return catch to Tom Smith. But Trott, helped by Neil Carter, continued to blunt Lancashire’s attack and denied them the chance to claim the extra half-hour.

Scorecard
The Bangladesh A batsmen failed to measure up to a determined South Africa A, who thrashed the hosts by an innings and four runs in the first unofficial Test in Mirpur.Bangladesh began at 148 for 3, and it appeared Nazimuddin and Faisal Hossain, the two overnight batsmen, were in a position to lead a stronger resistance. The pair, who came together with the score on 94, added 115 for the fourth wicket before Thandi Tshabalala ended the partnership. Faisal fell for 51, but Nazimuddin went on to add a further 42 with wicketkeeper Saghir Hossain, who struck six fours in his 44. But that proved the last obstacle in South Africa’s way and once Naziumuddin felt for 82, South Africa were in a good position to wrap up the game.Allrounder Dean Elgar grabbed three wickets and was supported by Tshabalala and Vernon Philander, who bagged two wickets each. Bangladesh captain Junaid Siddique was absent hurt, and the innings folded for 326.