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ScorecardScotland produced a stunning performance to send Leicestershire crashing to a four-wicket defeat in a nail-biting finish to their Clydesdale Bank 40 clash at Grace Road.Chasing a victory target of 218 the Saltires reached it with two balls to spare, helped by half-centuries from George Bailey and Richie Berrington. But it was Neil McCallum who clinched the victory for the Saltires in their opening game of the campaign, hitting 27 off 19 balls with two boundaries plus a massive six off Matthew Hoggard’s final ball of the 39th over.The defeat was Leicestershire’s third in a row in Group C after they had started the season with an impressive victory over Nottinghamshire. For Scotland the win signalled a welcome return to form after they failed to reach the world Twenty20 finals, losing all three of their group qualifying games.They fully deserved the success over the Foxes, producing a solid all-round team performance after losing the toss. Their bowlers restricted the home side to a below par total of 217 for 7 despite conceding 20 wides in a total of 25 extras.But they still managed to contain the home batsmen with only Jacques Du Toit and James Taylor really finding any form, both of them scoring half-centuries as they shared a second wicket stand of 105. Du Toit reached his 50 off 70 balls with three fours and a six before trying one big hit too many to be caught on the long-on boundary off the bowling of Ryan Watson.Taylor, whose half-century came off 68 balls, was then run out with a direct hit on the stumps from Watson with the total at 141 and from that point on the Foxes were unable to put any real pressure on the Scotland attack.Paul Nixon made a run-a-ball 34 but there was little support for him and with Gordon Goudie claiming three for 45 Scotland could be happy with their work in the field. And they did just as well with the bat, staying up with the asking rate after being given a steady start by Gavin Hamilton and Watson.Bailey and Berrington gave the middle of the innings a boost with their half-centuries with Bailey reaching his off 67 balls and Berrington taking only 51 deliveries for his 50. When both were out in the closing overs it looked as though the Foxes might edge home but McCallum shattered those hopes with his breezy innings at the death.

India’s Rohit Sharma has credited his team-mate Yuvraj Singh for making him a stronger batsman. Rohit had approached Yuvraj for advice after a slump in form led to his axing from the national side, and believed he had returned a mentally tougher batsman after speaking to his senior.”When I was dropped, Yuvi cited his own example and told me that every cricketer has gone through this phase,” Rohit told the . “He advised me to enjoy this period as it can be mentally draining. He is the real force behind my batting.”After being dropped from the Indian side, Rohit did well on the domestic circuit – he was added to the Test squad earlier this year – and finished the 2010 IPL as Deccan Chargers’ second highest run-scorer with 404 from 16 games. Rohit said he picked up tips on finishing an innings from his Deccan team-mate Andrew Symonds and coach Darren Lehmann, but stressed that Yuvraj’s backing was the most influential. “I have [taken tips from Symonds and Lehmann], but majority of my tricks came from Yuvraj. I don’t think anyone apart from Yuvi can help me in my batting. He told me that the most important thing as a finisher is to read the situation of the match. He said that you have to think like an opposition captain.”Rohit also spoke of observing Sachin Tendulkar and learning from him. Whenever I have played alongside Sachin he has always emphasised on the body position. He’d always stress that the head should be still,” he said. “I have noticed in the IPL and even prior to that that whenever he’d hit a big shot, his body position and head would be extremely still. And if it is not then you can not middle the ball. This is what I have learnt from Sachin , how to keep my head and body still.”Twenty20 forces a batsman to try out new ways to score, and shots such as the paddle and reverse-sweep have been successfully cultivated by some of the game’s more audacious strokemakers. For Rohit, though, these came with a fair amount of risk and he preferred sticking to the basics. “I don’t like these strokes, I think they are far too risky for me,” he said. “I concentrate on playing orthodox strokes and so far most of my runs have come through them. Also, if you look at Sachin batting in the IPL you’d realise he played hardly any of these strokes.”Rohit admitted his selection for the ICC World Twenty20 had been a bit of surprise, and hoped that he could play a key role again as he had during India’s run to the championship in 2007. He felt inconsistency was the reason behind in his irregular appearances for India. “I think I’m not consistent enough. There have been patches where I have been good and at times I have been really bad. Having said that I’d also like to add that I was been constantly shuffled up and down the batting order. One day I was batting at 3, 4 or 5 and other days I was batting at 7 or 8 and in between also opening the innings.”The ideal spot for him, Rohit felt, was in the middle order.

A disciplined bowling performance, followed by half-centuries from Mohammad Hafeez and Shahzaib Hasan, helped Pakistan A beat Pakistan by seven wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium to win the Pakistan Day Twenty20 Challenge.Hours after securing victory against the Under-19 side, Pakistan A’s bowlers made inroads into the senior team’s line-up, hampering their momentum after they had chosen to bat. A 65-run association for the second wicket was Pakistan’s best partnership and they slid from 83 for 1 after 11 overs to 151 for 6. Abdur Rehman was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for 18 in four overs, while Mohammad Sami claimed 1 for 23. Khalid Latif, who was Hafeez’s solitary wicket, was the innings’ top scorer with 41.Pakistan A lost Imran Farat, who had scored a century in the first game, cheaply during the chase but were steadied by a 90-run partnership for the second wicket between Hafeez and Shahzaib Hasan. Hafeez was dismissed for 55 and Hasan Raza fell shortly after, with the score on 118 for 3, but Shahzaib Hasan remained unbeaten on 67 to see his side through to the target.Imran Farhat blitzed his way to a 56-ball 103 that lifted Pakistan A to 194, a score that proved 33 runs too many for Pakistan Under-19s, in the opening game of the Pakistan Day challenge trophy, in Lahore. Pakistan A were unstoppable after winning the toss, with Farhat and his captain Mohammad Hafeez putting the Under-19 attack to the sword. They added a mammoth 159 in 15.5 overs, before Ahmed Shahzad finally managed to dislodge Hafeez for a 45-ball 59. Three late wickets ensured that Pakistan A could not reach 200, but thanks to Farhat they already had a monumental score. He spanked 14 fours and 3 sixes, and Usman Qadir who went for 43 in three overs was the main sufferer.Shehzad ensured that the youngsters gave the A side a fight, with a 51-ball 88 that included half-a-dozen sixes and fours each. But, Mohammad Sami returned commendable figures of 3 for 26 to ensure that Shehzad did not have any support from the other end. The Under-19s eventually finished at 161 for 6.

Sussex, the defending Twenty20 champions, have signed Tillakaratne Dilshan for the 2010 tournament. Dilshan, who was the Player of the Tournament at the 2009 World Twenty20, will join Yasir Arafat and Dwayne Smith as the county’s overseas players.The club expect Dilshan to be available for the start of the Twenty20 tournament in early June and Mark Robinson, the Sussex cricket manager, said it was a major boost to be able to secure Dilshan at a time when top-quality overseas players are in short supply due to a packed international calendar.”The recruitment of overseas players is becoming more complex as the international fixture list grows, including the possibility of staging major matches at neutral venues such as the UAE and USA,” said Robinson. “With Yasir Arafat likely to have Pakistan commitments and Dwayne Smith with the West Indies, the signing of one of the world’s leading batsman gives us some exciting options.”We want our main players to have genuine match winning ability and we believe we have that with Dilshan, Yasir and Dwayne. With that bit of luck always required, I feel our 2010 squad can emulate our 2009 success.”Counties are allowed to sign up to four overseas players for the Twenty20 but only two can play in a match. A number of teams have dipped into the international market to secure big-name signings for the tournament with Shahid Afridi heading to Hampshire along with Abdul Razzaq, Adam Gilchrist joining Middlesex and Cameron White going to Somerset.However, it now seems unlikely that the winners and runners-up from the competition will qualify for the Champions League Twenty20 in India as the dates for that event clash with the final two weeks of the domestic season. Last year, Sussex and Somerset were the English representatives at the inaugural Champions League. Sussex begin the defence of their domestic title at home against Somerset on June 1.

Kepler Wessels, South Africa’s batting consultant, was satisfied with what his team achieved during the two-day game against Board President’s XI, their only warm-up match on the tour. “The good thing is our top six had valuable time in the middle so they got enough time against the seamers and some good practice against the spinners as well, which is ideal for us,” Wessels said. “On the whole we’re very happy with the outcome.”Over the last two days, South Africa’s fast bowlers and top-order batsmen impressed, but their spinners struggled and they lost late wickets to the Board President’s XI slow bowlers. Wessels didn’t read too much into losing seven wickets to Piyush Chawla and R Ashwin. “In this particular instance two of our guys [Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla] retired when they probably would have just carried on batting – they were in no trouble at all. The only real problems they caused was right at the end with the tail, which can happen. You never want anyone to do well against you, but clearly it’s not as big an issue as it could have been had they taken out the top order.”Wessels did admit, though, that Johan Botha would push Paul Harris, who looked ineffective with the ball. What compounds the problem for them is that Botha didn’t look far better either. “Well Johan Botha for us is always an option – as a package he’s a good player,” Wessels said. “We haven’t got round to sitting down and thinking about final selection at all. A lot of that will be depending on the conditions.”The big positive for South Africa was both Ashwell Prince and JP Duminy, who had a pretty lukewarm series against England, got a few runs (42 and 39 respectively) under their belts. “Ashwell looked good,” Wessels said. “Pretty solid in his technique, and also his focus in the last couple of weeks has been good. He did well in the domestic stuff and carried that on today so that’s good. The thing with JP was that he came in when the spinners were on – which he’ll probably do in the Tests – with a close-in field and he handled it pretty well. So that was the biggest plus out of the day.”This is yet another cramped tour, which is increasingly becoming the norm rather than the exception. Wessels said much of it would be offset by the fact that South Africa are coming off a pretty tough series, which will have them tuned in. “It (the recent series) flows into it,” he said. “I don’t feel so concerned after the practice we had on Monday, the two days we’ve had here and the two days we’ve got coming up. I think that by the time the first Test starts it will be enough, given that they came out of a tough series so it’s just really a case of adapting to conditions and it’s going to be enough.”

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After the jubilation of their unexpected win over Scotland, USA came crashing back down today as Niall O’Brien’s 84 lifted Ireland to a massive 202 for 4 and set up a 78-run win. Aditya Thyagarajan’s unbeaten 72 saved USA’s humiliation after they had slipped to 25 for 6 in their chase, but the result was already all but guaranteed after Ireland ratcheted up their highest total in Twenty20 cricket.After the promising start in the win over Scotland, USA were badly let down by their bowlers today. William Porterfield and O’Brien stormed to 83 at 10 an over before Saurabh Verma found the edge of Porterfield’s bat for 45, and after he departed Alex Cusack ensured there would be no let-up in the onslaught.O’Brien looked set for a maiden Twenty20 hundred as he entered the 80s with 19 balls remaining in the innings, but it was not to be. He gave Timroy Allen the first of his two wickets to depart for 84, but by then the total had already passed 170. The other O’Brien – Kevin – came and went quickly, and Cusack was dismissed four runs short of a half-century, but Trent Johnston and Gary Wilson’s late hitting took Ireland’s score past 200.Thoroughly demoralised after Ireland’s blitz, USA’s batsmen quickly capitulated in Peter Connell and Trent Johnston’s opening spells. Three top order batsmen fell without scoring – including Captain Steve Massiah, to the first ball he faced – as USA crumbled to 11 for 5. Three overs later they slipped to 25 for 6, and it looked as though USA would struggle to survive past the halfway mark of their innings.With only honour left to play for, the debutant Thyagarajan set about his task with gusto, collecting 11 fours in his innings and adding 99 with Orlando Baker to salvage some pride for USA. He was particularly severe on George Dockrell, the young left-arm spinner, and USA’s final total was an admirable one after the depths of their collapse.Ireland will be pleased with the extent of their victory in this game after their opening loss to Afghanistan, as they are now in strong contention for a Super Four berth. In theory, USA also still have a chance of going through to the next round, although they will have to inflict a resounding defeat on Afghanistan tomorrow which, on current form, looks highly unlikely.

A dramatic batting collapse by Barbados handed Leeward Islands first-innings points in Kingston. Chasing Leewards’ first-innings total of 236, the Barbados openers put on 103 before a spectacular capitulation to 229 all out. The spin duo of Anthony Martin (3 for 38) and Omari Banks (2 for 41) helped themselves to the spoils, bowling well especially in the afternoon session. Opener Dale Richards and top-order batsman Kirk Edwards both scored 60 but were the only ones to show any real enterprise. Edwards struck seven fours and was instrumental in keeping the Barbados innings together. The match was still going the way of Barbados, who were 146 for 3 at lunch. But with Martin accounting for Kyle Hope and Kevin Stoute off successive deliveries, and Gavin Tonge getting Shamarh Brooks caught behind in the next over for a duck, three wickets tumbled for two runs. There was even lesser joy after tea, barring a valuable 33-run ninth-wicket stand between Edwards and Nekolai Charles, as they succumbed in the 77th over of the day. Leewards then safely navigated 15 overs to take stumps at 20 for no loss.Career-best figures from Kavesh Kantasingh spun the Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) into a formidable position against Trinidad & Tobago in Montego Bay. The 23-year-old left-arm spinner captured 6 for 29, as T&T were dismissed for 105 just over an hour after lunch, replying to CCC’s first-innings total of 234. Jason Bennett provided the early breakthrough, when he had Justin Guillen lbw for 10. But just when T&T seemed to be making headway, Kantasingh claimed three scalps in the final half-hour before lunch toleave T&T on 65 for 4. T&T captain Daren Ganga manged the highest score of 44, before the all-spin attack of Kantasingh and Ryan Austin hastened the end. CCC were left wobbling at 97 for 4 in their second essay, but opener Omar Phillips held firm with an unbeaten 51 to carry CCC to 105, before bad light and rain conspired to prompt an early close.Wavell Hinds and Donovan Pagon put in solid batting performances to hand defending champions Jamaica a healthy first-innings lead against Windward Islands in Spanish Town. Hinds top scored with 95 and Pagon managed 56, as Jamaica were dismissed for 335. The Windwards bowlers were made to toil long and hard and sloppy fielding did not help. Pagon, who began the day on 9, kept the Jamaica innings together, in the early stages. He played the anchor role in partnerships with captain Tamar Lambert and Brendan Nash, hitting eight fours during his 115-ball stay. Jamaica had slipped to 151 for 5, when Pagon was stumped on the second attempt by wicketkeeper Lyndon James off Rawl Lewis, but Hinds and Dave Bernard jnr consolidated with a 78-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Hinds though, missed out on three figures after he was bowled by Keon Peters. Andrew Richardson then strengthened the Jamaica’s grip on the match, when he removed Devon Smith for a duck, as Windwards reached 19 for 1 at stumps.

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Thick fog on all four days in Agartala curtailed the match to a draw, with Tripura edging ahead on the basis of a first-innings lead. Resuming on 150 for 4, Tripura progressed to 280 for 7 led by Tushar Saha’s unbeaten 53. He hit eight fours and a six in his brisk knock, which came off 59 balls and he shared a stand of 55 with Timir Chanda. Tripura will now meet Haryana at Rohtak in the semi-final.
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Assam nearly pulled off an innings victory as Vidarbha managed to hang on to a draw after being asked to follow on in Guwahati. Offspinner Arlen Konwar’s six-wicket haul restricted Vidarbha to 240 but Assam opted to push for a win after asking the opposition to bat again. Ranjit Paradkar was the topscorer for Vidarbha with 64. The Assam seamers struck early to leave the Vidarbha top order wobbling at 16 for 3. The middle order resisted before Sairaj Bahutule struck with three wickets. The visitors ended on 99 for 7 at the end of the game. Assam have set up a semi-final clash with Andhra in Guwahati.
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Vineet Saxena and Nikhil Doru completed their centuries to ensure a draw for Rajasthan in Dhanbad. Resuming on 197 for 2, Saxena and Doru went past three figures but after they were dismissed, the middle order stumbled. Rahul Shukla, the right-arm seamer, took five wickets as Rajasthan were bowled out for 375. Arjit Gupta helped himself to a half-century in the process. Set a target of 254, Jharkhand batted out 17 overs.

It isn’t only the crowds that Kevin Pietersen is having to battle in South Africa, but also his own form after a four-month injury lay-off following Achilles surgery. His innings during the one-day series have been unconvincing, but given the career he has already had, expectations were always going to be high as soon as he returned to the England side.His soft chip to midwicket at Port Elizabeth ended a six-ball 3 in which he had already been dropped at long leg off a top-edged hook. At Centurion Park he made 29 off 19 balls in the second Twenty20, his comeback match, but managed just 4 in the one-day international on the same ground. His top score of 45 came in Cape Town but, although there was the odd glimpse of his usual style, he looked like a player feeling his way back.The camp, though, remain unconcerned about Pietersen’s results. Before the fourth ODI, Paul Collingwood said it was only to be expected that he would struggle for a while after such a long time out and now the coach, Andy Flower, has said he it was always going to be a challenge for Pietersen.”I wouldn’t be too worried. I think he’s going to take a little while to get back in form,” Flower told reporters after England arrived in Durban. “Being out for four months – when he’s used to playing all the time – I think is a challenge he’s going to have to overcome.”He’s a high achiever, an outstanding sportsman – and he will be very impatient to get back into his dominant ways again. I think we should be patient with him, because it’s not easy just to walk back in and dominate straight away.”Given Pietersen’s record of performing best when the pressure is on, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him emerge from his early problems during the final one-day international at Durban – his old home ground for Natal and where he first encountered England during the 1999-2000 tour and made his intentions known about switching allegiance.”He tends to want to do it his way,” Flower said. “That’s part of his strength, his make-up – what makes him a different and very powerful player for us. He will score heavy runs on this tour, and maybe Friday is the day. It could be his day.”

Steffan Jones, the Somerset seam bowler, has signed a two-year contract with Derbyshire.Jones, 35, had been on loan to the county – earlier this season he had joined Kent on a month-long loan deal – and they have now signed him full time. He took 30 wickets at 32.33 in nine matches during the second half of the 2009 season with Derbyshire. In addition to his on-field role Jones will help in coaching the Derbyshire bowlers.John Morris, the club’s head of cricket, said: “Steffan has been an excellent addition and we’re delighted to have secured his services on a more permanent basis.”