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Leeward Islands’ Wilden Cornwall took only his third five-wicket haul in more than a decade at the first-class level to knock over Trinidad & Tobago for 176 in St Philip. In his first match of the season, Cornwall made an early double-strike to remove the openers, and T&T sunk to 63 for 5 by lunch. Captain Daren Ganga and Imran Khan were the only batsmen to put up a fight, making half-centuries while none of the rest made it past 20. The pair ensured that only one wicket went down in the post-lunch session, that of Ganga shouldering arms to an incutter from Cornwall. After that, T&T lost their final four wickets for 21. Leewards lost opener Mali Richards as they moved along to 30 for 1 in the 13 overs they had to face before stumps.Shane Shillingford’s late strikes restored the balance in Bridgetown after Barbados’ robust top-order performance against Windward Islands. Barbados lost three wickets for one run to slip to 250 for 7 shortly before stumps, undoing the good work done earlier in the day. Medium-pacer Keon Peters sparked the mini-collapse, when he held a return catch to dismiss Kirk Edwards for a four-hour 55, which had only two boundaries. Shillingford then had Sharmarh Brooks caught at leg-gully for 30, and Patrick Browne caught at forward short leg for one. Earlier, each of Barbados’ top three batsmen made half-centuries and No. 4 Ryan Hinds also chipped in with 40 to justify their decision to bat first.Solid batting efforts from the Crandon brothers put Guyana in charge against Combined Campuses and Colleges in Bridgetown. Guyana have had a horror start to the season, stuck at the bottom of the table after two matches, and the day began on a similar note, as they quickly slipped to 49 for 3. Left-hand batsman Assad Fudadin and Royston Crandon then took Guyana through to lunch without further damage, but when the partnership reached 58 Fudadin slapped offspinner Ryan Austin to cover point. Royston Crandon carried on, slamming two sixes and a four in Kavesh Kantasingh’s over to move past 50. With a determined Derwin Christian for company, he guided the total towards 200. Christian fell shortly before tea, after which Royston was also dismissed, becoming Austin’s third victim, six short of a century. His older brother, Esuan, shepherded the tail cleverly, contributing 48 to take Guyana to 271. He then had CCC opener Omar Phillips nicking to the wicketkeeper in the first over, and with two more quick wickets, CCC stumbled to 16 for 3.

Bangladesh’s plans for the first Test against England have been thrown into disarray after Raqibul Hasan, the 22-year-old middle-order batsman, retired from international cricket on the eve of the series.Cricinfo understands that Raqibul is angered by his omission from the preliminary 30-man World Twenty20 squad as well as the recent one-day series against England and has decided to make a stand, but there was also a disagreement between the board and the selectors over his original place in the Test squad.He informed his team-mates of his decision on the team bus after practice on Wednesday. “We tried to tell him that it was a bad idea,” a team insider told Cricinfo. “He’s very young and we tried to talk him out of a rash decision. “The board had wanted Raqibul to be dropped for the Tests against England along with Mohammad Ashraful, who was omitted from the squad having also missed the one-day series. However, he impressed for Bangladesh A against England in the warm-up match when he followed his first-innings unbeaten 107 with 51 and was duly named in the Test party.”The selectors were told by the board to drop Raqibul and Ashraful from the Test squad,” a BCB insider told Cricinfo. “The selectors refused to drop Raqibul after he scored a century and a fifty in the warm-up game at Chittagong and Raqibul has returned to Dhaka feeling that his position in the team is compromised.”Raqibul was inked in for a middle-order slot against England, ironically as a replacement for Ashraful, having previously been dropped following a lean series against India in January. He has played seven Tests with a top score of 65 against West Indies and averages 19.14.”He wrote a letter to us this morning, withdrawing himself from the Test series against England. He also announced his retirement from all forms of cricket,” Bangladesh cricket board director Jalal Yunus told AFP. “It has stunned us. He is a brilliant cricketer and played two superb knocks against England just days back. Coach Jamie Siddons and Raqibul’s parents tried to change his mind. But he is adamant.”Cricinfo understands that Jahurul Islam, the uncapped 23-year-old batsman, has been called into the squad following an impressive performance in the National Cricket League final, which finished on Wednesday, where he scored 59 and 117 for Rajshahi Division who took the title against Chittagong Division.

The signs aren’t promising for a Queensland victory in this week’s Sheffield Shield final. The MCG has treated the Bulls poorly over the past couple of seasons, the hosts haven’t lost there in 13 first-class games and the visitors’ batting has been inconsistent. On top of that they have to win outright on the toughest pitch in the country to force a result.Chris Simpson and his developing team know what they are up against and instead are looking at building on a season in which they have over-achieved. Reaching the final, which starts on Wednesday, is a satisfying result for a Shield squad that lost Martin Love, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson and Ashley Noffke after it was runner-up in last year’s decider.”Throughout the whole season we’ve had a side without much experience and we’ve performed fairly well, making in-roads in the short forms, and now being here in the final for Shield cricket,” the captain Simpson said. “We’ve got a good team, this time last year we were in the same situation, this year we’re minus a couple of our greats, so too are they. I think it will be an even match.”The venue has changed from 2008-09 when the game was squeezed to the Junction Oval and ended in a soggy draw. However, being back at the MCG makes it even more difficult for the Bulls as they attempt to be the sixth visiting team in 28 finals to upset the home side. A drop-in pitch doesn’t break up as much as a traditional surface, meaning the bowlers have to frustrate the batsmen into mistakes.Simpson expects to deliver a lot of overs of offspin while James Hopes’ medium pace will also be called on to tie down the local run-makers. It is a change in focus for the attack after Ben Cutting and the swing bowlers, Chris Swan and Luke Feldman, created so much damage on Brisbane’s green surfaces over the past month.In November the Bulls were at the MCG for a Shield game and were dismissed for 195 and 133 on the way to an innings loss. And last year they were worn down in the week before the final when Victoria scored 8 for 806 declared.”We’ve also got good memories of winning the one-day comp [there last year],” Simpson said. “It’s undoubtedly the most difficult place to win in domestic cricket, as the last few years have shown. As we’ve also shown, if you’re in a final pressure can play a handy part, that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”Victoria-Queensland contests are often spicy, especially in deciders, and the latest clash occurred last month when Andrew McDonald was unhappy to be given out caught at short leg. Queensland went on to win by a wicket after a 56-run stand between the final pair.Greg Shipperd, the Victoria coach, believes the rivalry of the past decade is overplayed. Stuart Law was a target during Queensland’s win in 1999-2000 and the tension increased four years later when Victoria brought up 710 in their first innings at the MCG. Jimmy Maher didn’t forget the experience and led Queensland to 6 for 900 before declaring in their 2005-06 success.”It’s an on-going thing for the past 10 years,” Simpson said. “We’ve ended up against each other in finals, and if you’ve got the two best teams doing that, there’ll be little phases where different incidents will happen. Run-ins may occur to spice things up. It adds a little bit of character to our rivalry.”What Queensland need most is a big first innings to keep them in the match and Simpson is looking to the openers Wade Townsend and Ryan Broad to play a major role. Townsend scored a competition record of 311 not out for Toombul in a Brisbane grade semi-final on Saturday and was being pushed along by his batting partner Maher.”The most important thing about that is Wade got to spend time in the middle with Jimmy a few days out from a final,” Simpson said. “I don’t think you could ask for a better preparation than that.”The Bulls have two uncapped players in their 13-man squad in Ben Dunk and Jason Floros. Unless there are injuries the young duo are there for the experience. Given the history between the teams, it will be a memorable week.Queensland squad Ryan Broad, Wade Townsend, Lee Carseldine, James Hopes, Chris Lynn, Chris Hartley (wk), Ben Dunk, Jason Floros, Chris Simpson (capt), Cameron Boyce, Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Chris Swan.

MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, could be sidelined for a few days after picking up an injury during his team’s victory against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Tuesday. Suresh Raina has been named captain in his absence.Dhoni was hit on the arm by a rising delivery from Shane Bond during Chennai’s innings but continued batting, scoring an unbeaten 66 off 33 balls to lead his team to a match-winning 164. He kept wickets as well during Kolkata’s unsuccessful chase but was seen wearing an ice pack during the post-match presentation ceremony.”Dhoni has been advised rest for a few days. The physio will assess him again on March 21 in Chennai and take a call on his return,” a team official confirmed.Chennai will face Delhi Daredevils in their away match on March 19.

Essex have revealed an interest in staging Twenty20 cricket at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, East London, after the 2012 Games have been completed.The club’s chief executive, David East, has met representatives of Newham council and West Ham United football club, who have also expressed an interest in the stadium, to discuss how a joint bid might work. If it is viable, it will be submitted to the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) who are inviting proposals for the stadium’s use after the Games.In a press release, Essex declared they were looking at “the feasibility of turning the stadium in Stratford into a vibrant centre of sport, culture and education that could feature football, cricket and athletics as well as community uses.””We are very much looking forward to exploring this with Newham and West Ham,” said East. “Our home ground will remain at the Ford County Ground in Chelmsford, but it would be fantastic to be able to play some of our expanded Twenty20 cricket tournament at the Olympic Stadium. We have a very active development programme in the east end of London, and this would give us an ideal opportunity to extend our community work even further with a centre of excellence in the borough.”Graham Gooch, who is still heavily involved with coaching at Essex, was fully behind the idea. “I’m a big Hammers supporter as well as an Essex supporter,” he told Sky Sports. “It absolutely makes sense that Essex, West Ham and Newham Council join forces to use the Olympic Stadium for sport to have a legacy for more than one sport on that stadium.”I come from exactly that area. It would be good for sport in that area. It would raise the profile of cricket in east London, especially with the Asian population. It’s a multi-dimensional, ethnic population there. We’ve raised a lot of players from there – Varun Chopra, Nasser Hussain [another ex-England captain] and others on our staff.”We’re not talking about it being our headquarters for Championship cricket – that’s at Chelmsford. We’re talking about playing limited-overs, Twenty20 cricket there. The timescale for us – June, July, August – is when West Ham wouldn’t be using the stadium.”West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady said: “It’s about realising the full potential of the Olympic Park. If achievable it is the ideal answer for those who, rightly, demand a sustainable legacy from the 2012 Games and not a white elephant.”Chief Executive of Newham Council, Joe Duckworth, said: “The last thing anyone wants is for the Olympic Stadium to lay idle. We were concerned about this when London successfully won the bid to host the Games. The only realistic solution is to make it work for a range of sports and community uses.”

Umar Gul is unlikely to be part of Pakistan’s Asia Cup campaign in Sri Lanka as a result of a lingering shoulder injury. He should, however, be fit in time for the tour to England later this summer. Gul injured his right shoulder when he fell awkwardly during a training camp for the World Twenty20 and subsequently missed the tournament.Though the shoulder has gotten better, doctors have advised him not to risk it so soon and instead aim to be back for the longer, arguably more important England tour later, where Pakistan meet Australia as well. “I had an MRI done on it a few days back and compared to the first one I had immediately after the injury, the shoulder has 80-90% healed,” Gul told Cricinfo.”But the doctor has advised me not to take a chance at the Asia Cup because I might aggravate a healing injury,” he said. “I have been resting completely since the injury and haven’t bowled, so getting match fit and then bowling will take some time to get back to my full sharpness.”The Asia Cup is due to begin from June 15 in Dambulla. The PCB have announced a list of 35 probables for the two assignments of the summer in which Gul’s name has been included. A short training camp will be held in Karachi in the first week of June after which a 15-man squad will be announced for the Asia Cup. Gul might still be a part of the training camp so he can start working with the team trainer David Dwyer and the team’s physiotherapist again.”I am trying to find out whether it is ok for me to attend the camp because I can at least start training with David and other members of the fitness team,” Gul said.Though his form has dipped in the last year, Gul remains a key part of Pakistan’s pace attack in all three formats of the game. He remains at his most lethal in the shorter forms of the game, but it was his comeback on the England tour in 2006 that sparked the most productive phase of his Test career. And in a summer where Pakistan will be heavily reliant on their pace attack, Gul’s presence and experience will be vital alongside Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif.Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s new Test captain, knows how important it is for Gul to be right in time for a tour which takes in six Tests, five ODIs and four T20Is. “Gul is one of our key players and we want him to get fit as soon as possible,” Afridi told the . “It’s unfortunate that he is unlikely to play in the Asia Cup but I’m sure that he will be fully fit for the tour of England. I’ve told him that he should take his time to recover from the injury because we want him to be fully fit for the matches against Australia and England.”The England tour begins on June 28.

Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, has said the damage caused to the team by the turbulence of the last few months was the worst Pakistan had suffered in the last few decades. Waqar, however, hoped the influx of young talent into the team for the Asia Cup would help the side move on and be ready for future competitions.”I think what has happened in the last three months, it has damaged the team more than it did in the last 25-30 years,” Waqar told reporters in Lahore. “Now is the time to look forward and see how we could perform well and win international matches.”The recent problems in the Pakistan team surfaced after their winless tour to Australia, following which the PCB conducted an inquiry and punished several players. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were banned indefinitely, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan for a year, while Shahid Afridi, Kamaran and Umar Akmal were fined. No reasons for the penalties were forthcoming from the PCB at the time, but a leaked video later revealed the extent of discord within the team. However, all the players apart from Yousuf, who retired from international cricket, appealed against their punishments. The bans on Malik and Younis were overturned by an arbitrator; Afridi’s fine was removed while those of the Akmals were reduced.The selectors then included Malik, who had been slated for his attitude during the inquiry, in the squad for the Asia Cup, and recalled injury-prone fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. The 15-man list, though, also includes three uncapped batsmen in Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Amin and Asad Shafiq, and Waqar predicted a bright future for them.”They [experienced players] are great players,” Waqar said. “But I think it’s the right time to indulge new players, and I believe Umar and Asad are no doubt very talented and have a bright future. We have not won anything significant over the last two-three years, but with youngsters in the side we have a hope to get back on a winning track.”Waqar also said he wouldn’t be rushing Shoaib, who last played for Pakistan in May 2009, back into action. “He is fit, but I know it’s not easy to make a comeback because I have gone through this when I used to play international cricket,” Waqar said.Pakistan depart for Sri Lanka on Saturday and open their campaign against the hosts on June 15.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has reiterated that Younis Khan’s experience will be crucial for the side’s upcoming Test matches against England and Australia. Younis is the only batsman in the 35-player list of probables for the England tour with an average touching 50. He was banned indefinitely by the PCB in the aftermath of a winless tour of Australia, but the punishment was revoked by the one-man tribunal that heard his appeal on Saturday.”I don’t think it is a big problem that Younis has not been picked in the one-day squad but we definitely need him for the Test matches,” Afridi told . “I am sure he will be ready for a Test comeback in England.”Shoaib Malik, whose ban was reversed during his hearing, featured in the one-day squad for the Asia Cup and Afridi hoped Younis would make a similar comeback in time for the Tests.Younis has been short on international match-practice, having sat out of Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand and the Tests in Australia. He returned for the ODI leg of that tour, after which he was banned for disciplinary reasons by a PCB inquiry committee. He is set to turn out for Surrey in the English domestic season, and Afridi hopes that will help him prepare for the Tests.”I just hope that Younis is able to score runs for Surrey in England. It will be good for us because he is already playing there and would have got used to the English conditions by the time we go there,” he said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKamran Akmal gave Pakistan a good start, and they kicked on from there•PA Photos

If Pakistan are a confidence team, their Twenty20 efforts over the past two days augur well for next week’s first Test. A day after they ended their 12-match losing stretch against Australia across all formats, Mohammad Aamer helped them begin their own winning streak with an 11-run victory that brought 2-0 series triumph. Tests are a very different story, but their Twenty20 form has given the group a spark.There was a distinct sense of déjà vu after Monday’s game; again there was a big crowd of Pakistan fans, again Pakistan scored around the 160 mark and again Australia’s batsmen were tied down and couldn’t lift their tempo for a successful chase. The last pair was left needing 19 from the final over and despite a six from Dirk Nannes, they came up short.Aamer made important late runs and then removed Australia’s openers, but Pakistan had useful contributions from all their key men. Shahid Afridi made a quick 18 and grabbed two wickets, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt and Umar Akmal all chipped in at the top of the order, and Shoaib Akhtar and Saeed Ajmal were hard to get away.The Rawalpindi Express was out of steam on Monday but had gained momentum 24 hours later. Akhtar has been driving around Birmingham in a red Ferrari over the past few days and perhaps the speedy number inspired him, for he was comfortably the quickest bowler in the match and hovered around 95mph.A couple of sizzling bouncers whizzed past the faces of Australian batsmen but the only man to fall to Akhtar was Tim Paine, who skewed an ugly swipe to mid-off. Akhtar had begun by conceding a pair of fours in his opening over as Michael Clarke showed the sort of Twenty20 form he has not displayed in recent times.Australia had rested Shane Watson, so Clarke took it upon himself to open the innings, finding the gaps and clearing the infield several times with well-judged chips and drives. Clarke had motored to 30 from 17 deliveries when he played on to Aamer, and the bowler was so pumped at his success that in his follow through he leapt in celebration and crashed into the departing Clarke.Aamer immediately apologised and the men exchanged a friendly pat on the arm, but Clarke was frustrated with himself for failing to push on. It was Aamer’s second wicket – he had already trapped David Warner lbw for 1 – and he went on to finish with 3 for 27. James Hopes (30) and David Hussey (33) worked the ball around through the middle overs but boundaries were few and far between, and too much work was left too late.Australia had set themselves a task by allowing Pakistan to reach almost the same score as won them the game on Monday. A late 20 not out from Aamer was especially valuable and included a pair of sixes off the debutant spinner Steve O’Keefe and David Hussey. The spinners bowled well, and O’Keefe finished with 3 for 29, which was an impressive return for a man who hadn’t played a Twenty20 for his state for nearly 18 months.Afridi and Umar Akmal provided a key partnership for Pakistan; their 30-run stand included one monstrous six from Afridi, who slapped Shaun Tait straight back over the bowler’s head. The ball cleared the construction area, put a cameraman at risk, and exited the stadium to the roars of the Pakistan fans.Nannes (3 for 30) collected them both in consecutive balls in the 17th over, Umar (25) caught and bowled when his top edge flew so high that almost any member of the infield could have run in and claimed it, and Afridi caught behind for 18. Already, Butt and Kamran Akmal had given them a strong start with a 61-run combination.The left-arm spinner O’Keefe struck in his first over when Butt top-edged a sweep and was caught at short fine leg for 31. Kamran followed soon afterwards for 33 when he skied a pull off Mitchell Johnson and was caught by Clarke running back at midwicket. O’Keefe had helped give Australia a way into the middle order, but they couldn’t make it count.If Pakistan were surprised by the selection of O’Keefe, they must have been even more taken aback at Clarke’s choice of opening bowler. David Hussey sent down the first over – the first time Australia had opened with a spinner in a Twenty20 international – and it was a success, a wicket-maiden that included Shahzaib Hasan lbw trying to slog-sweep.The day began in triumph for Australia; it ended in jubilation for Pakistan. It has also set the scene for a fascinating Test series.