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Yorkshire have pleaded guilty to a charge of destroying or losing data and documents relating to allegations of racism made against the club.The ECB confirmed this week that Yorkshire had admitted four charges “including a failure to address systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language over a prolonged period and a failure to take adequate action in respect of allegations of racist and/or discriminatory behaviour”.The reported on Wednesday that the specific admissions included a guilty plea to a charge that evidence relating to allegations of racist abuse, made by Azeem Rafiq, had been destroyed.The club confirmed the report on Thursday morning ahead of next week’s Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) hearings, where a panel will hear disciplinary proceedings brought by the ECB against Yorkshire and seven ex-players.”It has been reported in a number of news outlets that, in relation to the Cricket Discipline Commission inquiry, the club has admitted a charge of deletion of data and documents,” Yorkshire wrote to members on Thursday.Related

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“The CDC proceedings are ongoing and, as such, we are limited as to what we can say at this time. However, we are writing to reassure members reading these reports to let them know that no personal data relating to members of the club was compromised.”Yorkshire said that following Lord Kamlesh Patel’s appointment as chair, “it was discovered that emails and documents, both held electronically by the club and in paper copy, had been irretrievably deleted from both servers and laptops and otherwise destroyed.”After a thorough independent investigation it was established that the deletion and destruction of documents date from a time period prior to the appointment of Lord Patel and relate to the allegations of racism and the club’s response to those allegations. The club is not prepared to conjecture publicly as to why this occurred, who was responsible or the motivation for doing so.”The club said that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the ECB were “informed of the position”. The ICO took no action, while the ECB brought a charge “on the basis that the conduct (deletion/destruction) may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket and/or which may bring the ECB and/or the game of cricket into disrepute”.Yorkshire added: “The club has admitted this charge, as there was no viable defence in these circumstances. We wished to let members know the position at the earliest opportunity we were able to and to allay concerns about the integrity of members’ data, which the club believes is secure.”The CDC hearings take place from March 1-9 in London. Gary Ballance has admitted liability in response to a charge of using “racially discriminatory language” while Tim Bresnan, John Blain, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Gale and Richard Pyrah have all withdrawn from the proceedings.Michael Vaughan is the only remaining defendant.

Western Storm 155 for 4 (Knight 62, Wilson 53) beat Thunder 154 for 7 (Lamb 36) by six wicketsHeather Knight and Fran Wilson staged a brilliant partnership of 111 to guide Western Storm to a six-wicket victory over Thunder in a compelling Charlotte Edwards Cup contest at Taunton’s Cooper Associates Ground.Set 155 to win, Storm chased down their target with four balls to spare thanks to superbly-judged knocks of 62 and 53 from Knight and Wilson respectively, the third-wicket pair calling upon all their vast experience to make amends for last week’s defeat at the hands of Northern Diamonds.Thunder won the toss and Emma Lamb top-scored with 36 from 22 balls, dominating an opening stand of 65 with Liberty Heap. But the visitors were unable to maintain their early momentum in the face of accurate bowling and intense fielding and were restricted to 154 for 7.Dani Gibson was outstanding in conceding just 22 runs from four overs and claiming the key wicket of Deandra Dottin, while Storm effected two run outs to cap an impressive display in the field.The Bristolian also contributed a useful 20 runs at the top of the order to give Storm’s reply lift-off before being bowled by Sophie Ecclestone. If Thunder felt they were in the game after reducing the hosts to 27 for 2, they were eventually disabused of the idea by former England team-mates Knight and Wilson, whose partnership initially proved measured rather than spectacular.Wilson was given a life on 17 in the tenth over, dropped on the square leg boundary by Heap off the bowling of Naomi Dattani. How Thunder must have regretted their profligacy as the third wicket stand realised 50 in 6.5 overs, Knight and Wilson slowly applying more pressure as they upped the rate.Although Tara Norris and Mahika Gaur kept things reasonably tight, Ecclestone’s slow left arm represented Thunder’s best chance of victory. But Knight and Wilson safely negotiated the England spinner, raising 100 in the 14th over as they began to accelerate.Knight was first to 50, lifting Dottin over square leg for six and then driving the next delivery into the covers to go to her half century from 35 balls. Wilson went to 50 via 42 balls with her seventh four as Storm closed in on their target, aided and abetted by some ragged fielding from the visitors.By the time Knight holed out in the deep off the bowling of Ecclestone in the 17th over, the hosts were virtually home and dry. Wilson departed in the penultimate over, caught at cow corner off the bowling of Gaur, leaving Prendergast and Sophie Luff to finish the job.Thunder had earlier elected to bat and were quick out of the blocks, Lamb and Heap taking advantage of the fielding restrictions to raise 10 boundaries between them in a useful opening stand of 65 in 7.2 overs.Teenager Heap plundered fours either side of the wicket at the expense of Gibson and afforded Lauren Filer the same treatment in the second over as the Burnley-born teenager hit the ground running. England batter Lamb was on one when she offered an eminently presentable chance, clipping a ball from Filer straight to mid-wicket where Sophie Luff, recently recovered from a broken thumb, uncharacteristically fumbled.Lamb made good her escape, taking the aerial route to plunder the first six of the innings off Orla Prendergast.Thunder’s smooth progress while the restrictions were in place foundered upon the introduction of spin, Chloe Skelton removing the dangerous Lamb with her second delivery to effect the breakthrough Storm so badly needed. Coming forward and over-reaching, Lamb was deftly stumped by Nat Wraith, having accrued 5 fours and a six.New batter Dottin greeted Sophia Smale’s slow left arm by hoisting her over mid-wicket for a huge six, but the visitors lost crucial momentum during the middle overs, Heap chancing her arm in pursuit of a single and being run out for 22 by Niamh Holland’s brilliant pick-up-and-throw from square leg. When Dottin was bowled for 10 by a cleverly-disguised slower ball from Gibson, Thunder had slipped from 65 without loss to 79-3 in the space of 3.5 overs.Dattani and Sophie Ecclestone attempted to repair the damage in a fourth wicket stand of 30 in 3.5 overs, only to fall to successive deliveries in the 15th over, sent down by Filer. Slow to set off for a single, Dattani was run out by Prendergast’s throw from mid-on, while England all-rounder Ecclestone was bowled for 22 as Thunder further subsided to 109 for 5.Needing to pick up the cudgels if they were to regain the initiative, Danni Collins and Fi Morris found themselves effectively shackled by a combination of the wily Gibson, Alex Griffiths and Prendergast as Storm turned the screw at the death. Prendergast accounted for Morris and Ellie Threlkeld during the final over to finish with 2 for 36 and, although Collins scored 15 not out at a run-a-ball, Thunder’s middle order mustered just three boundaries in the final five overs.

Mumbai Indians went second on the WPL points table as they thumped UP Warriorz by 42 runs in their return fixture on Thursday. They posted 160 for 6 on the back of handy knocks from Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr and Harmanpreet Kaur, who then marshalled her troops well to shut out Warriorz with Saika Ishaque and Sciver-Brunt playing leading roles.Mumbai Indians struck three times in the first 25 balls of the Warriorz chase, and they never quite recovered. Deepti Sharma, batting at No. 5, finished unbeaten on 53 off 36 balls, but the task was too much for her after the top order had faltered, Alyssa Healy, Kiran Navgire and Chamari Athapaththu aggregating 13 runs between them.Only net run rate now separates Mumbai from Delhi Capitals, the table-toppers at this stage, but Capitals have a game in hand.Saika Ishaque picked up two top-order wickets•BCCI

Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet take charge

Athapaththu had Mumbai questioning their decision to bat first. She struck twice in her first two overs to dismiss the openers, Hayley Matthews and Yastika Bhatia. That was followed by the first key partnership for Mumbai when Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet got together. Sciver-Brunt used the depth of the crease against the spin of Athapaththu, Grace Harris and Rajeshwari Gayakwad to help the side end the powerplay on 37 for 2.Even after the field spread, she managed to find boundaries with regularity even as Harmanpreet was struggling for some fluency. Harmanpreet broke the shackles only when Saima Thakor, Warriorz’s only fast bowler, came into the attack. Harmanpreet reached out to a wide delivery from her to crack the ball through point before sweeping a full toss off Sophie Ecclestone through backward square leg.Together Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet added 59 off 46 for the third wicket. Importantly, they hit a four on the first or second ball in five of the seven full overs they faced.S Sajana took a stunning catch to send back Sophie Ecclestone•BCCI

Kerr and Sajana add the finishing touches

Sciver-Brunt was done in by an arm ball from Gayakwad that skidded through, while Harmanpreet missed her heave across the line against Thakor. In a matter of 27 balls, Mumbai lost three wickets heading into the death overs. In Kerr and S Sajana, though, they had the batters to finish the innings.Kerr has been in solid touch with the bat and is Mumbai’s leading run-getter this season. She manoeuvred the ball well to pick up boundaries – going deep in her crease to cut length balls, moving across to access the area behind square leg – and kept Mumbai ticking along. But she should have been caught at cover when she was on 34 off 19, but Ecclestone couldn’t hang on.Sajana, who began her WPL career with a first-ball six in the opening game, slogged one through deep-backward square leg for four before a misfield at long-on gave her another boundary. She hit back-to-back fours off Ecclestone in the last over too, as Mumbai scored 38 off the last four overs, their partnership worth 43 off just 26.Deepti Sharma waged a lone battle for Warriorz with the bat, scoring an unbeaten half-century•BCCI

Warriorz no match for Mumbai Indians’ attack

What looked like a fighting total proved to be a winning one. Harmanpreet dangled the carrot to Kiran Navgire by having left-arm spinner Ishaque partner Shabnim Ismail with the new ball. Navgire hit the second ball from the spinner over deep midwicket for a six but ended up yorking herself in the same over. Matthews then got one to stop on Athapaththu, who miscued to cover.Which is when Ismail, who bowled the fastest recorded ball in women’s cricket in the previous outing, delivered perhaps the ball of the tournament. It nipped back sharply from good length at 124kph to cut Healy in half and hit the stumps. Harmanpreet operated with Ismail and Matthews for six straight overs, in which Warriorz could manage only 18 for 2.Harris, who was off the mark on her 15th ball with a six, then fell to Ishaque in the tenth over. In a sequence similar to Navgire’s, Harris hit Ishaque for a six over long-on before being bowled on the next ball. Harris and Deepti consumed 31 balls during their partnership, in which they added only 26. Warriorz’s highest partnership was for the eighth wicket, when Deepti and Uma Chetry added 37 off 26 balls.Ishaque picked up three wickets on the night after starting WPL 2024 with three wicketless outings.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman will play no further part in the 2024 T20 World Cup after a recurrence of the finger injury that kept him out of IPL 2024. Mujeeb played in Afghanistan’s opening fixture of the World Cup against Uganda, but has not featured since because of the injury – a sprain in the index finger on his bowling hand.He has been replaced in Afghanistan’s squad by Hazratullah Zazai, the opening batter. The ICC confirmed on Friday afternoon that their event technical committee had approved the replacement, following Afghanistan’s victory over Papua New Guinea.Afghanistan had a replacement for Mujeeb in their squad in Noor Ahmad, who played in their last two fixtures. Noor bowled one wicketless over in their win over New Zealand but took 1 for 14 in his four overs on Thursday night, trapping PNG’s top-scorer Kiplin Doriga lbw with a googly.6:50

Ganga: ‘Afghanistan are playing like a top-three-ranked team’

“He’s going to be a big part for us going forward, as these wickets continue to wear,” Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan’s coach, said of Noor. “It’s always nice to have the option of him to come into the side, or the left-arm spin of Nangeyalia Kharote, who can come into the side – he did really well in the last [series] against Ireland – and obviously [Mohammad] Nabi, who can bowl spin as well.”Zazai, the left-hand opening batter, is not a like-for-like replacement for Mujeeb but will bolster Afghanistan’s batting options. He has not played a T20I since February but did feature at the last two T20 World Cups, and has the second-highest individual score in a men’s T20I.Afghanistan sealed their spot in the Super Eight stage by beating PNG and face West Indies in their final group game on Monday in St Lucia.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have named Dinesh Karthik as the batting coach and batting mentor of their men’s team.Karthik, 39, was part of the RCB squad until IPL 2024 before retiring from all forms of representative cricket at the end of the season. The wicketkeeper-batter was picked by the RCB franchise at the IPL 2022 mega auction and stayed with them for three seasons. He also had a stint with them in 2015 for one season.Karthik finished his IPL career on a high with 326 runs in 13 innings in the 2024 season at a strike rate of 187.35. Overall, Karthik played 60 matches for RCB in the tournament and scored 937 runs at an average of 24.65 and a strike rate of 162.95. His run tally is currently the second-highest for an Indian player for RCB in the IPL behind Virat Kohli. Karthik also took 36 catches and affected nine stumpings during his RCB career.Related

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“Coaching at a professional level is incredibly exciting for me and is something I’m truly passionate about as a new chapter in my life. Hopefully, the breadth of my experiences as a player can contribute to the development of the group and added value,” Karthik was quoted via a press release.”I believe that cricket success hinges not only on technical proficiency but also on match intelligence and composure. I am eager to coach and mentor our batting group, helping them to not only refine their method but also to develop the keen match awareness needed to excel under pressure. It’s also great that I can continue my association with RCB as the franchise continues to move from strength to strength.”As far as his coaching experience goes, Karthik had more recently joined the England Lions coaching staff when they toured India in January earlier this year. He assisted the England Lions’ preparations after being included in the squad’s coaching set-up for the first nine days of the tour. At RCB, Karthik will work alongside head coach Andy Flower, bowling coach Adam Griffith and director of cricket Mo Bobat.”DK is an excellent addition to our coaching group,” Bobat said. “He was thrilling to watch on the field, and I’m sure he will be just as impactful as a coach. His longevity and track record as a player speaks volumes about his skill and dedication. I know he will bring that same quality and commitment to this new professional chapter.”Karthik is just one of seven players to have featured in every edition of the IPL since 2008. He represented six IPL teams in all, starting with Delhi Daredevils, before moving to Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, Kolkata Knight Riders and RCB.Overall, he played 257 matches in the tournament and scored 4842 runs while averaging 26.31 and striking at 135.36 with 22 fifties. As a keeper, Karthik is second on the list (174) behind MS Dhoni (190) in overall dismissals.Karthik also played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 60 T20Is for India having first turned out for the country in an ODI against England in 2004.

Shakib Al Hasan is among 147 people against whom charges have been filed in connection with an alleged murder during the protests in Bangladesh in early August, an officer at Dhaka’s Adabor police station, where the case was filed, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo.The case, of the death of a garment worker, was filed on Thursday by Rafiqul Islam, father of the deceased Mohammed Rubel.Apart from being Bangladesh’s most famous cricketer, Shakib is a former member of parliament of the Awami League, the party that was in power in Bangladesh until earlier this month. Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of the Bangladesh at the time of the protests, and many former ministers and lawmakers from the party are among the accused.Related

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Shakib is either the 27th or 28th accused in the first information report (FIR), the officer ESPNcricinfo spoke to confirmed.However, Shakib was not in Bangladesh on August 5, or at any time during the protests that led to the resignation of Hasina, following which she fled the country. Shakib was in Canada at the time, leading Bangla Tigers Mississauga at the Global T20 Canada league, being played in Brampton. Prior to that, Shakib was in the USA to take part in Major League Cricket until mid-July before flying to Canada where he played from July 26 to August 9.The reported that “the case statement mentions that the complainant alleged that some of the accused as per instruction directly or indirectly from some others opened fire while hundreds of students including Rubel were protesting at Ring Road in Adabor area on August 5”. Rubel was wounded in the firing and died in a hospital after two days, the FIR said.The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has put the number of deaths during the unrest at over 400 – between July 16 and August 4 – while some reports have put the number at over 650, with many people reported missing. Following the fall of the Awami League, an interim government has been put in place in Bangladesh, and there have been significant changes at the Bangladesh Cricket Board too, where former national captain Faruque Ahmed has taken charge as the president.Shakib became a member of parliament after winning the general elections in January this year from his hometown of Magura. He is currently playing the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan.

Simon Harmer claimed his second four-wicket haul of the Vitality County Championship match as Essex wrapped up an innings victory over Nottinghamshire before lunch on the final day.The South African off-spinner finished with 4 for 93 as Nottinghamshire’s batting collapsed for a second time in double-quick time to lose by an innings and 83 runs.The relegation-threatened visitors folded from their overnight 180 for 2, still needing 184 to make Essex bat again, losing their remaining eight wickets in 38 overs while adding 101 runs in an extended morning session. They had conceded a 364-run deficit on first innings when bowled out for just 93.Harmer, who added two wickets in the morning, was ably supported by Sam Cook and Paul Walter, who took two wickets apiece to condemn Nottinghamshire to their fourth defeat of the season.Needing to take eight wickets to claim their first win in five games, Essex made early inroads. Cook sent back the two overnight batsmen, Haseeb Hameed and Joe Clarke, inside the first 20 minutes to end their 137-run third-wicket stand. Hameed shaped to play the ball down to third man and was lbw after advancing his score by five to 105 from 166 balls.Clarke followed, chasing a delivery outside off-stump for Harmer to take the catch high to his right at second slip.Jack Haynes and Kyle Verreynne weighed anchor, scoring at two an over for a dozen overs before Walter struck twice in the space of three balls. Haynes departed for eight from 48 balls, aiming to play to leg but getting a leading edge back to the bowler. Lyndon James then fell to a spectacular flying catch at cover by Shane Snater.The new ball accounted for Liam Patterson-White slashing at the third delivery from Jamie Porter with Michael Pepper moving across the claim in front of first slip.The new Kookaburra was only six overs old when Harmer returned and with his fourth delivery had Rob Lord lobbing the ball into bat-pad’s hands. Two balls later Luke Fletcher fell for a three-ball pair when he was bowled.With one wicket standing, Essex claimed the extra half-hour but found Verreynne in obdurate mood for his unbeaten 38. Sixteen-year-old Farhan Ahmed was learning on the job before he nicked behind Snater’s second ball of the seventh extra over.

Debutant Archie Bailey led the rout as Gloucestershire’s bowlers sparked a dramatic Middlesex collapse on an eventful day three at Lord’s.Bailey took 4 for 30 as the hosts crumbled from 122 for 2 to 165 all out, leaving Gloucestershire 234 to win on day four.Zafar Gohar chipped in with 2 for 22 as the home side lost their way following Sam Robson’s 50 at almost a run a ball. Wicketkeeper James Bracey took his tally to 11 catches plus a run out in the match amid the carnage.Zafar had earlier made a stylish 86 with a six and 10 fours as the visitors rallied from an overnight 154 for 5 to 309 for 9 declared, a deficit of 68.Skipper Toby Roland-Jones led the wicket quest with 5 for 79, the fifth time in the last nine innings he has taken five wickets or more.Gloucestershire began the day needing 74 to avoid the follow-on and were dealt and early blow when Roland-Jones castled Tom Price with only two added to the score.No other home bowler was able to carry the menace of their skipper and after new batter Zafar got underway with an edge through the slips for four, he and Ollie Price set about reducing the deficit.Price, on his first appearance at Lord’s looked untroubled as he moved to 76 before falling into the leg trap to give Henry Brookes his only wicket of the innings.Zafar played beautifully, mixing sound defence with controlled aggression, sweeping Josh De Caires to raise the 200 before hitting the next ball over mid-off for a one-bounce four. Pace too was summarily despatched, a short one from Brookes pulled to the midwicket fence as he moved to 50 in 108 balls.Zaman Akhter proved a great foil either side of the lunch interval before Roland-Jones returned to remove him in the first over with the new ball to complete his five-fer, though the decision looked harsh with the impact well above the knee roll.Zafar cleared the ropes in his quest for a second first-class hundred five years on from his first but came up short when he pinned in front by Higgins, at which point Gloucestershire declared nine down.Robson quickly avoided a king pair before surviving vociferous appeals for caught behind on 22, Tom Price spreading his arms more than once in a vain attempt to have his cries upheld and all fielders seemingly convinced the ball had been feathered. Robson remained unmoved as the appeals fell on deaf earsBailey immediately replaced the crestfallen Price and the youngster soon had a moment to cherish, his maiden first-class wicket, Mark Stoneman caught by Cameron Bancroft diving away to his left at second slip.A cloudburst prior to tea proved a precursor to a stormy evening for the Middlesex batters.Robson initially forged on, driving and cutting forcefully until nicking Akhter’s first ball through to Bracey immediately after completing his half-century.Max Holden was even more forceful in his quickfire 39, reverse sweeping Zafar to the boundary twice in quick succession, before falling to a catch in the deep. His dismissal sparked the slide as the hosts either couldn’t or wouldn’t reverse out of their all-out attacking mindset.Higgins chopped on before Jack Davies’ hesitation over a second run proved fatal, Bracey intercepting the throw from the deep to turn and flatten the stumps.Bracey would figure in the dismissals of Josh De Caires, Luke Hollman and Roland-Jones as the procession from to and from the pavilion gathered pace while Bailey got the prize wicket of Leus Du Ploy lbw.Zafar completed the collapse by bowling Brookes for a duck to leave the visitors favourites for a successful run chase tomorrow.

Hobart Hurricanes have called up 13-year-old Mia Barwick to their squad for the T20 Spring Challenge to replace Heather Graham who has traveled to the T20 World Cup after Tayla Vlaeminck’s tournament-ending injury.Barwick is a pace bowler who has impressed in the Cricket Tasmania Premier League and has been involved in the Under-16 and Under-19 Female National Championships.She carried the drinks against Perth Scorchers on Monday and has a chance to feature in the closing stages of the new early-season competition which is acting as preparation to the WBBL.”At only 13 years of age, the Hobart Hurricanes are proud to see a Cricket Tasmania pathways athlete given exposure to the professional game early on in Barwick’s career,” Hurricanes said.With leading Australia players involved at the T20 World Cup and WBBL overseas players yet to join, the T20 Spring Challenge has seen opportunities for a number of young players to come into the squads.At Sydney Sixers, 15-year-old allrounder Caoimhe Bray has made her mark following an impressive outing for Australia Under-19s earlier in the month. Bray took 2 for 19 on debut against ACT before claiming the wicket of Laura Harris when facing Brisbane Heat, the day after Harris had flayed a 46-ball centuryThe Spring Challenge was introduced to make up for the reduction of games in the WBBL which will be played across a 40-game regular season. It had initially been envisaged as a state competition but pressure from New South Wales and Victoria led it to being aligned with WBBL clubs.

Sufiyan Muqeem spun a web around Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, registering the best figures by a Pakistan bowler in T20Is as his team crushed Zimbabwe by ten wickets to seal the T20I series.Zimbabwe were skittled for 57, losing their ten wickets over a 20-run period as they fell to their lowest total in T20I cricket. In response, Pakistan coasted to the total with 14.3 overs to spare, marking the biggest win by balls remaining between two Full Members in men’s T20I cricket.

Zimbabwe start well, before collapsing

Difficult to believe in hindsight, but Zimbabwe got off to a flying start. Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani took the attack to Jahandad Khan and Abrar Ahmed, blasting the ball through the infield with superb timing and power on what looked a cracking batting surface – when Sikandar Raza won the toss, he had no hesitation batting first.Even Haris Rauf’s introduction didn’t stanch the bleeding, Bennett showing his deft skills and picking up two boundaries behind point on the off side. By the end of the fourth over, Zimbabwe sat pretty at 37 for 0.But what happened after that was as dramatic as it was ignominious for Zimbabwe.Abbas Afridi had Marumani slash one straight to cover-point, and once that wicket-maiden was complete, Rauf removed Bennett off the first ball of the next over. Zimbabwe needed to rebuild, but never came close to achieving a second wind. Seven balls later came the dagger blow as one snaked back in from Afridi and made a mess of Raza’s stumps.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

When Salman Agha brought himself on, he had Dion Myers plumb in front off just his fourth delivery before Muqeem took over. Using the conventional wristspinner and the wrong’un, he had Zimbabwe’s lower-middle order on a string. Ryan Burl was fooled by a googly that struck his pad in front of middle, while Tashinga Musekiwa had no answer to another wrong’un that knocked back his stumps for a golden duck. Clive Madande survived the hat-trick ball, but Muqeem returned to remove another two in his following over, and eventually finished off the innings when Madande top-edged him. He finished with figures of 2.4-0-3-5.

Easy chase, easily done by Pakistan

There was nothing complicated about Pakistan’s chase, and the openers knew it.Raza bowled the first over but Omair Yousuf took 11 off it to set the tone.Saim Ayub got into the act with a lovely late adjustment that saw him carve Richard Ngarava over the slips for a boundary. Blessing Muzarabani’s poor series continued with both Ayub and Yousuf sending him to the fence, the latter scything him over deep point for six with a shot that oozed confidence.Ayub wasn’t to be outdone, and there was time enough for his signature shot: a whip off Trevor Gwandu off the pads behind square leg for six. It was Muzarabani’s errant line once more that allowed Ayub to pick up two more boundaries that finished the game off.It was telling of how little Zimbabwe had tested Pakistan that, on a blazing hot day in Bulawayo, when the openers took their helmets off and shook hands, there was barely a bead of sweat on their foreheads.