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Michael Yardy, the Sussex allrounder, has stepped down as the county’s captain in four-day and 40-over cricket, although he will continue to lead the T20 side for their appearance at FLt20 Finals Day at the end of August. Ireland batsman Ed Joyce has been named as Yardy’s successor and will take on the captaincy for the Championship match against Worcestershire, starting on Wednesday.Yardy, 31, who has won 42 caps in limited-overs cricket for England, has relinquished the role in order to focus on his game. He succeeded Chris Adams in 2009, with Sussex winning both the Pro40 and Twenty20 Cup in Yardy’s first season as captain, despite being relegated in the Championship. He also led them to the Division Two title the following season.He has been an ever-present for Sussex in the Championship this year, scoring 367 runs at 24.46. In T20 cricket, he has scored just 17 runs to go with seven wickets, with Sussex losing just once on their to way a scheduled semi-final against Yorkshire.A key part of England’s successful 2010 World Twenty20 squad, Yardy was forced home from the 2011 World Cup after suffering with depression – a problem he has spoken about openly in the past. His last international appearance came during the group stage win over South Africa at the tournament.”I have decided to step down as captain in order to concentrate on my own game,” Yardy said. “There are many things I still wish to achieve as a player which will also hopefully help contribute to the team winning more silverware. I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone for all the effort they have put in over my time as captain and I look forward to leading the team at t20 Finals Day.”Mark Robinson, Sussex’s Professional Cricket Manager, added: “Michael has been an incredibly dedicated captain who has worked tirelessly and selflessly for the good of the club. I know he is still incredibly ambitious both for the Club and himself and we wish him all the best in fulfilling those goals. Ed Joyce will now take over the captaincy duties until the end of the season.”

Boyd Rankin has admitted feeling guilty about ending his Ireland international career but insisted that he had little option but to cut down his playing commitments if he was to have any hope of sustaining a career in the game.The door for a return is open, however, with Rankin allowing himself two or three years in which to fulfil his ambition of playing for England before considering a return for Ireland.Rankin, described by Marcus Trescothick as among the best bowlers he faced in 2011, came close to an England call-up during the winter tour of the UAE. With Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan both forced to return home due to injury, the England management were considering sending for Rankin, then on the Lions tour of Sri Lanka, only for injury to scupper his chances.Such episodes have been far from uncommon in Rankin’s career. When fit, the 6ft 7in Irishman has the pace, bounce and hostility to trouble the best but his progress has been hampered by a series of injury setbacks, the latest of which – a stress fracture in the foot – proved to be the catalyst for a review of his obligations.Finally, after much reflection, Rankin came to the conclusion that if he was to fulfil his ambition of playing the game to the highest level, he had to give up an Ireland career that has seen him play 37 ODIs and 12 T20Is and concentrate on representing England in Test cricket.”I’ve been thinking about the decision to retire from Ireland for three months,” Rankin told ESPNcricinfo. “It had just become difficult to play that amount of cricket. The injury I had – an injury that I probably picked up from playing so much cricket – had really set me back. It made it all hit home: I can’t physically keep playing the amount of cricket I’m playing or I’ll end up not playing at all. This decision should prolong my career.”It only takes a glance at Rankin’s record to understand both his potential and his problems. He has an outstanding strike-rate of a wicket every 45.7 deliveries in first-class cricket – a record that places him high among contemporary fast bowlers – but, aged 28, he has been limited to just 51 first-class matches in his career, with injury interrupting his progress at regular intervals.Such were Rankin’s injury problems that he faced the prospect of losing his county deal if he refused to turn his back on Ireland. Warwickshire offered a lucrative three-year contract but only on the condition that Rankin retired from Ireland duty. Several other counties made enquiries into his services, but all of them were similarly concerned by his long-term fitness issues.”There were a few other clubs interested,” Rankin said. “But the first question that kept cropping up was, ‘Are you still going to play for Ireland?’ I think I would have been in the same situation wherever I went. I would have had to retire from Ireland to give England a good shot.”Ireland tried quite hard to keep me. I guess there aren’t too many other fast bowlers available for them, are there? We are on retainers with Ireland but they’re not that much. They tried to increase it, but this decision was not about the money. It was about trying to play cricket to the highest level I can. They weren’t happy, but they understood.”Ideally I would love to play Test cricket for Ireland, but I can’t see them gaining Test status during my playing career and I think everyone understands that any sportsman will want to play the game to the highest level they can.”I do feel a bit guilty. I’ve always loved playing for Ireland – it’s helped me hugely – and I know I’m not helping their cause by doing this. But it got to the stage where I just didn’t feel I could keep playing. Ireland have so much cricket planned for the next couple of years and so do Warwickshire. Something had to give.”Coming so close to the England Test squad in the UAE was another catalyst for Rankin. The frustration of being denied by injury once again brought home to him how important it was that he gave himself the best chance of fulfilling his ambition. So, after much soul-searching and despite the attempts of his Warwickshire and Ireland team-mate William Porterfield to persuade him to continue, Rankin concluded that the logical thing to do was end his Ireland career.”I know I was close and that was a factor in my decision,” he said. “I’ve feel I probably have a two-year window to break into the England side and, to give myself the best chance of doing that, I had to give up playing for Ireland. I know my body can’t take all the cricket it was being asked to play and I know I couldn’t bowl at my best if I was tired or injured.”Those comments from Marcus Trescothick were a huge boost to me. It really helped me understand that I could go on and play at the next level.”I hope that, if I do play Test cricket for England, it reflects well on Ireland. It would show that the country can produce the players like Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan who can go on and play for England. It’ll strengthen their claims for Test status.”William Porterfield is the Ireland captain and he tried to persuade me. He tried to keep me but I think he understands. Everyone wants the best for me, really. They know that, in an ideal world, I want to play for Ireland, but in terms of my body and the amount of cricket I was playing, it was impossible to keep everyone happy.”And, if it doesn’t happen with England, I can always go back in three years. They said the door is always open to go back.”Rankin faces an uneasy wait ahead of the announcement of Ireland’s World T20 squad, however. He was hoping to make the tournament his last for Ireland, but now fears the selectors, either in pique or with a view to the future, may omit him from it. “Hopefully I’ll be selected,” he said, “but you can understand they may want to look to the future.”For the time being, Rankin is happy focusing on helping Warwickshire try to claim their first Championship title since 2004. In the longer term, though, the continued leaking of talent from Ireland is an issue that only the ICC can stop. Rankin is a symptom of a problem without an easy solution and another example of Ireland being a victim of their own success.

ScorecardAdam Voges was dropped on 11 and punished Middlesex by adding a further 94•Getty Images

Middlesex have pleasantly surprised most of their followers by making an encouragingly good start to life back in the first division. Indeed, but for bad weather during the match against Somerset at Lord’s a month ago they might well have ended the first half of this season as Championship leaders.Reality has now kicked in. Having been rolled over for just 98 on Thursday, through a combination of tricky pitch, fine bowling and some over-ambitious batting, they needed to keep Nottinghamshire on a tight rein. Instead, catches were missed and two former internationals – Adam Voges, of Australia, and England’s Chris Read – made them pay a heavy price.Voges, now in his fifth season with the county but a late starter this year because of IPL duties, scored a grafting century while Read, who continues to make important runs when they are most needed, contributed 71. Both were dropped before reaching 20 but by the time they parted company 143 runs had been added for the sixth wicket and Notts, top of the table by a single point from Warwickshire starting this round of matches, were well on their way to what should be a decisive first innings lead of 231.Rain arrived at tea to prevent the visitors from getting stuck in to Middlesex for a second time – and the forecast for Saturday is far from good. But with another day after that to come there is still every chance of an away win.”The game is set up nicely for us,” Voges said. “We’ve got a pretty handy lead and hopefully we can bowl as well as we did during their first innings. I know Andre Adams [who took 6 for 32 on day one] is licking his lips with so many left-handers in their line-up to bowl at.”Thanks mainly to Adams, Notts had more than their noses in front when play resumed. But at 114 for 4, they were only 16 ahead and, in theory at least, Middlesex had kept themselves in the contest despite dropping a couple of catches on the first evening.Three more chances were to go to ground, however, and challenging spells of bowling from Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh failed to receive the support that was needed.Voges survived on 11 when he edged Roland-Jones into the slip cordon where Ollie Rayner – diving left in front of Andrew Strauss – reached but failed to grasp a knee-high opportunity. Only seven runs had been added to the overnight score at the time but that was by no means the end of Middlesex’s fielding woes.The chance offered by Read, on 15, was more difficult but, at 177 for 5 and with the cat almost out of the bag, it badly needed taking. Instead, a fierce drive against Corey Collymore was parried by Gareth Berg, leaping at point, but fell to ground.”They came at us pretty hard during that morning session and we had a bit of luck, but I think you need it on a wicket like that,” said Voges, who ought to be a candidate to add to his 15 one-day international appearances for Australia but may be considered yesterday’s man at nearly 33.”This was certainly not my best hundred: it was a real graft but I’m very pleased with it,” said Voges. “I really enjoy batting with Chris Read. We run well together between the wickets and he just keeps churning out the scores for Notts. He is a terrific player.”Even when Read departed, Middlesex experienced a bit more misery before the second new ball accounted for Nottinghamshire’s tail. Adams, clearly keen to get bowling again, threw the bat at all four balls he faced – hitting Roland-Jones for six and four, then being dropped at slip by Gareth Berg before playing on.According to the statisticians, Middlesex have already dropped more catches this season than they did in the whole of last year’s Division Two-winning campaign. Now they may need to bat like kings to get out of this contest with a draw.

Match Facts

May 25-29, Trent Bridge
Start time 11.00 (1000GMT)Tight call: Steven Finn is desperate to regain his Test place but may not squeeze out Tim Bresnan•PA Photos

The Big Picture

England were forced to work hard for their victory at Lord’s but ultimately had too much depth for West Indies. The visitors showed the resourcefulness they displayed against Australia – especially on the fourth day with the bat – but too many familiar failings emerged at crucial times to allow England to wrestle back control.It may have been West Indies’ best chance because now England have got a foothold in the series. With two of England’s favourite venues to come it will be a tough task to keep the series alive. Trent Bridge offers help for swing bowling – even now the sun has emerged after a cold, damp start to the season- which will provide another examination of West Indies’ top order, the area that remains their weakest link.England, though, are on message that they cannot lose focus. Kemar Roach gave them a fright in the run chase while Shivnarine Chanderpaul was only dismissed after 425 deliveries at the crease. West Indies were not the pushovers of 2009 by a long way and the contest was all the better for it.Inevitably, however, when West Indies are playing, it is off the field issues that continue to take the headlines. Chris Gayle is a constant source of questions but certainly will not be here for this Test at least. Then there are the slightly differing issues surrounding Ramnaresh Sarwan and Jerome Taylor. Meanwhile the captain Darren Sammy is again under pressure to justify his place in the side. Given all the distractions it is commendable that West Indies are being competitive.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
England WWLLL
West Indies LLDLD

Watch out for…

Kevin Pietersen had a quiet match at Lord’s but that is not the same as being out of the news. He has been fined for his Twitter remarks about Nick Knight, and during the net session on Thursday was giving the ball a fearful smack. A frustrated Pietersen can be dangerous if he can channel his feelings into motivation. If he scores a hundred it is just a shame Knight is not on the commentary roster for this Test to interview him afterwards.He is not confirmed in the team, but Shane Shillingford‘s absence was keenly felt at Lord’s and he is pushing hard for a recall. One of the by-products of his omission was West Indies’ awful over-rate which cost them financially and he is also a bowler who can provide control for Sammy. England have struggled against spin in recent times – albeit away from home – so it is surely worth a punt from West Indies.

Team news

As at Lord’s, England’s only decision revolves around the third quick bowler. Tim Bresnan now has 12 wins in 12 (and last year he hit 90, then took 5 for 48 against India at Trent Bridge) but had a limited impact at Lord’s with one wicket and duck although, for long periods, did an important holding role with the ball. The question remains: Could Steven Finn do the same job and also provide an additional cutting edge? Finn is frustrated at being on the sidelines. He may have a bit more time there yet.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 James AndersonWest Indies will need to make one enforced change to their bowling attack after Shannon Gabriel was ruled out of the tour. Sadly, from an entertainment point of view, that is likely to mean a recall for Ravi Rampaul, who has now recovered from his neck problem, rather than Tino Best who has recently arrived from the Caribbean. They will also give serious consideration to playing Shillingford and he could replace Fidel Edwards after a disappointing display at Lord’s.West Indies (probable) 1 Adrian Barath, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Kirk Edwards, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Marlon Samuels, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Shane Shillingford

Pitch and conditions

Typically in the UK the first sign of warm weather has made front-page news and it is expected to last throughout the Test. It could offer the batsmen a chance to prosper although Trent Bridge is rarely flat even in the best of conditions.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have never lost a Test at Trent Bridge. However, they have not played there since 1995 when Mike Watkinson helped save the match for England
• England have won their last three Tests at the ground and by huge margins: 319 runs against India, 354 runs against Pakistan, and an innings and nine runs against New Zealand. There has not been a draw since 2002 against India.
• This will be the last Test for the old, traditional-style, scoreboard at Trent Bridge which is due to be replaced by another electronic version.
• James Anderson is back on a happy hunting ground where he has taken 33 wickets at 17.45 in five Test, while last year Stuart Broad claimed a hat-trick against India.

Quotes

“It’s all about keeping our feet on the ground and making sure we’re willing to do the hard graft necessary to get on top of the side ahead.”
Andrew Strauss will ensure England do not get carried away“There is a good chance that Shillingford might play in this Test match. Ravi is fit for us again. He has been the guy taking wickets with the new ball, so probably we would go back to two hard fast bowlers and myself, and a spinner.”

Durham MCCU have been bowled out for 18, the lowest innings total in first-class cricket anywhere in the world since 1983. It equals the tenth lowest score in first-class cricket since 1900.In a scoreline that will renew the debate over whether such encounters should retain their first-class status, Durham UCCE, missing the injured allrounder Luke Blackaby, were bowled out by Durham in just 101 deliveries. Having been set an improbable 392 to win, it meant the students lost by 373 runs.The entire game was something of a mismatch. Durham MCCU had been 18 for 6 in their first innings before a late rally lifted them to 117, while Durham declared in both their innings. Ben Stokes, the allrounder who made his debut in England’s limited-overs teams last summer, claimed four wickets for three runs in Durham MCCU’s second innings as the students collapsed from 15 for 3 to 18 all out.”It’s the worst day we’ve ever had,” Graeme Fowler, the Durham MCCU coach and former England opening batsman told ESPNcricinfo afterwards. “It was dreadful. But, while we’ve had a nightmare, I hope people remember the good we do for the game. You know Michael Schumacher has the odd car crash: he’s still a pretty good driver.”Don’t get me wrong: we were not good enough today. The pitch couldn’t have been designed to help the Durham attack any more than it did – the ball was moving all over the place – but we played some soft cricket and the guys have left under no illusions that they have not performed well enough. They are mortified by their performance.”Durham MCCU has an outstanding record of producing cricketers. Their former graduates include Andrew Strauss, James Foster, Ben Hutton and Will Smith and, since their formation in 1997, 53 players have passed through their system and into the professional county game.Nor are they funded by the ECB. Instead the six MCCU sides – Oxford, Cambridge, Loughborough, Durham, Cardiff and Leeds/Bradford – are funded by the MCC, with each receiving around £75,000 per year. Around 20% of current England-qualified county cricketers have passed through one of the six centres of excellence, with Durham accounting for 8% of them.”At the time we started, I never thought we should have been given first-class status,” Fowler admitted. “It just seemed like we were producing a rod for our own back to judge us by first-class results. That is not really what we are about. I wanted us to play against the counties – that is important – but I didn’t see why those games had to be defined as first-class.”There was already debate about whether Oxford and Cambridge should have first-class status but then they added us to the list and last winter they added Leeds/Bradford and Cardiff, too. I’m not convinced that is the right approach.”The problem is that if we lose the first-class status we may well lose the funding, too. I just hope that, because of one nightmare performance, people don’t forget all the good things we have done for England cricket. Give us half a chance and we’ll keep producing players, really good players, and we’ll do it on a pretty small budget. Days like this don’t help but they shouldn’t obscure the bigger picture.”

ScorecardJonathan Trott made 101 before retiring as England declared their first innings 159 runs behind•Getty Images

Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott both made centuries as England’s top-order warmed-up for their Test series against Sri Lanka with an impressive performance against a Development XI in Colombo.It was, perhaps, a particularly important innings for the England captain. Strauss has scored just one Test century in his last 46 Test innings and none at all since November 2010. While a century in a warm-up game will count for little in the grand scheme of things, this was an innings that suggested Strauss’ form is returning. It will also ensure he goes into the first Test, which starts in Galle on Monday, with renewed confidence.Strauss welcomed the arrival of slow left-armer Sajeewa Weerakoon into the attack by lofting his second delivery over long-off for six. He did enjoy one moment of fortune when, on 95, he edged a delivery from Vishwa Fernando that failed to carry to the wicketkeeper, but went on to register his first century for England in any format since his 158 in the World Cup tie against India in February 2011, and his first in first-class cricket for England since the first Test of the 2010 Ashes.Trott also looked solid. Clinical off his legs and quick to latch on to anything short or overpitched, he drove sweetly and took a particular shine to the bowling of Weerakoon and Isuru Udana. Both men reached their centuries from 140 deliveries and promptly ‘retired out’ to enable their colleagues to gain some time at the crease.”We declared in the hope of getting a target set for us tomorrow and making a game of it rather than bat another 20 overs and let the game peter out,” Trott said. “It’s always good to keep things competitive so we are putting ourselves under pressure.”You have to manage yourself, your dehydration and stuff like that, if you want to score here. To score a hundred or a double-hundred you’ve got to be able to bat for long periods of time. We are training very hard in the heat early in the morning or late in the afternoon testing ourselves and hopefully we can benefit from it.”While England’s top three will go into the Test series with runs behind them – Alastair Cook also scored a century in the first warm-up match – concerns linger over the form of Ian Bell. Bell, who endured a wretched tour of the UAE, got off the mark with a six over extra cover, but soon clipped one to short midwicket for 14. Bell’s previous innings on the tour lasted only two deliveries and he averaged 8.5 in the Test series against Pakistan.Kevin Pietersen also impressed for a while, striking a four and a six in a run-a-ball 26, but fell to left-arm spin once again when he was drawn down the pitch by Weerakoon, beaten by turn and stumped.Declining the opportunity for the likes of Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Matt Prior to enjoy a prolonged period at the crease, England declared 159 runs behind. That not only increased the opportunity for Bell and Pietersen to benefit from another bat on the third and final day, but also allowed the England management to see how their bowlers reacted to another spell in the hot and humid conditions. A potential batting stand-off between Patel and Bopara, however, for the right to bat at No. 6 in Galle, was stillborn.The Sri Lankan Development XI stretched their lead by 44 – to 203 – before stumps. Stuart Broad was the only successful bowler, bouncing back from being hit for boundaries from his first two deliveries by trapping Malinda Warnapura leg before wicket.At the start of the second day, the Development XI had batted on for almost an hour. They added 55 in ten overs, with Kaushal Lokuarachchi making a fluent half-century and Angelo Perera reaching 85 before he upper-cut Steven Finn to third man. That was the only wicket England took in the session and Sri Lanka declared after 100 overs, as was agreed by both sides before the game.Edited by David Hopps

Morne van Wyk’s 58 off 53 balls was the only innings of note in a rain-affected game in which the Knights beat the Dolphins by eight runs at Kingsmead, Durban. Knights won the toss and made an impressive start with the bat, getting to 58 for 1 by the end of the Powerplay. However, the batsmen then struggled against the spin duo of Imraan Khan (4 for 21) and Prenelan Subrayen (2 for 13) to finish on 130 for 9. In reply, the Dolphins had scored 77 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the 14th over when the rains came. With no further play possible, the Dolphins were left eight runs short as per D/L calculations.The Lions consolidated their position at the top of the points table, trouncing the Warriors by 115 runs at the New Wanderer’s Stadium in Johannesburg, to earn their third bonus point of the tournament. The platform was laid by Gulam Bodi’s belligerent 90 off 51 balls. Bodi slammed five sixes and seven fours, and was ably assisted by Quinton de Kock (46 runs off 26 balls). The Lions, eventually, piled up 199 for 6 in their 20. Any chance of a fight from the Warriors was immediately quashed by Lions’ bowlers early on – they reduced the Warriors to 28 for 4 in the first six overs. With scoreboard pressure mounting, the batsmen that followed kept losing their wickets and the team was all out for 84 in the 15th over.The Titans completed a six-wicket win with a bonus point against the last-placed Impi at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Impi, who chose to bat, were not allowed to get away at any stage. Some tight bowling by Titans was led by Roelof van der Merwe (2 for 11) and Impi finished with a below par 126. In the chase, the Titans top order all contributed, ensuring that Impi were left still waiting for their first win in the tournament. That the total was chased in 15 overs was mainly due to a hard-hitting 35 by Martin van Jaarsveld, which included 19 runs off Paul Collingwood’s third over.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMartin Guptill continued to haunt Zimbabwe with his fifth consecutive fifty•AFP

A 54-ball unbeaten 91 from Martin Guptill – his fifth straight half-century on tour – made light work of Zimbabwe’s first fighting total in New Zealand, as the hosts sauntered past Zimbabwe’s 159 with more than three overs to spare at Eden Park. Guptill and Kane Williamson combined to add 137 from 89 balls for the third wicket, to trump Hamilton Masakadza’s half-century and Elton Chigumbura’s finishing salvo, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.Zimbabwe removed Rob Nicol and Brendon McCullum early, but couldn’t shake Guptill out of his imperious run of form, as he continued to torment them with an array of sweet legside hits punctuated by the odd short-form innovation. A long, languid strike over long-on off Kyle Jarvis in the fourth over was followed by a cute cut that beat third man four balls later, as Zimbabwe failed once more to trouble a batsman whose new confidence and expanded stroke range has dogged them throughout the summer.Brendan Taylor introduced spin in the fifth over, but the slow bowlers bothered Guptill no less than the wayward seamers who had conceded five wides in the first four overs. Prosper Utseya’s fifth ball was launched into the southern stand, before Ray Price was slapped straight for six, then pulled for four off successive balls in the next over.Zimbabwe’s woeful fielding did them few favours. Williamson, who was content to turn over the strike for much of the chase, collected his first boundary through Forster Mutizwa’s feet. Malcolm Waller then hoofed one across the rope in the next over, while misfields and overthrows gifted ample runs Zimbabwe could ill afford.Guptill’s third Twenty20 fifty came in 27 balls, as the pair progressed unflustered. A six and a four off Keegan Meth in the 15th over put the hosts on target, and though Williamson was dismissed attempting a short single on 48, Guptill hit his sixth six and a two to end the game, as debutant Colin de Grandhomme watched on from the non-striker’s end.Though New Zealand cruised to victory in the end, Zimbabwe’s innings had been a spirited one, as they put on their best batting performance of the tour. Masakadza became the first Zimbabwe opener to breach double figures in New Zealand, with a 36-ball 53 that proved their launching pad.A heave over cow corner ignited his knock, as two early wickets fell at the other end, before Tatenda Taibu joined him in a 62-run partnership to steady the innings. Masakadza had a reprieve on 36 when McCullum fluffed a stumping chance, but his aggressive intent and busy running advanced the total rapidly before his dismissal brought a mini-collapse in the middle order, as New Zealand’s quartet of spinners kept a lid on the run rate.Elton Chigumbura was on hand to pick up the slack towards the close however, in a 24-ball innings that yielded 48. He combined with Shingi Masakadza to launch the seventeenth over for 20 runs, as Doug Bracewell missed his length on a small ground that affords bowlers little mercy.Two successive sixes in the final over pushed Zimbabwe beyond 150, but with Guptill in as spectacular form as he has ever been, Zimbabwe’s first decent batting outing proved far too little.This is what Guptill tweeted after the game:

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A positive start by Michael Klinger and a late surge by Tom Cooper helped Adelaide Strikers beat Brisbane Heat by 31 runs at the Gabba. The win took the Strikers to second place while Heat are languishing at the bottom. Captain Klinger led the way with an unbeaten 53, building useful stands with opener Daniel Harris followed by Callum Ferguson. He batted steadily, striking seven fours in his 53. He fell in the 13th over with the score on 91, and Cameron Borgas followed in the 16th over with the score on 124. Cooper, though, gave the innings more impetus at the death, in the company of Johan Botha. The pair added an unbeaten 42 in 25 balls to take the Strikers to 166.Matthew Hayden got the chase going with a couple of early boundaries but the Heat chase never really threatened, as the Strikers picked up wickets at regular intervals. Seamer Kane Richardson dismissed the openers, going for just two runs in his two overs, while Brendan Drew and James Muirhead also took two wickets each. The highest score in the innings was 35, and that came from No.8 Steve Paulsen. It took 18 overs for Strikers to bowl out their opponents.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsYounis Khan’s 19th Test ton was a mostly flawless affair, and he motored from 100 to 200•AFP

Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq killed the last embers of Bangladesh’s spirit with a 259-run stand, before Misbah-ul-Haq gave them temporary respite with a declaration. The relief proved to be a mirage, though, as Pakistan’s spinners skimmed through Bangladesh’s top order to leave them facing a heavy defeat with two days to play.Younis finished with an unbeaten 200, and along with first-time centurion Shafiq, administered Bangladesh a lesson in crease-occupation. The hosts, however, did not seem to have taken away too many learnings; their batsmen betrayed poor skills and a lack of patience for the second time in three days. On a wearing wicket, Pakistan’s multi-dimensional spin attack made a breach apiece, while Aizaz Cheema also contributed to leave Bangladesh 134 for 4 at stumps.Tamim Iqbal’s approach in the six-over phase leading up to tea suggested he wasn’t going to change his style following the first-innings implosion. He escaped twice, missing a kamikaze on-the-up drive off Cheema, and a heave against the spin of Mohammad Hafeez, his bugbear. Hafeez dismissed him for the third time on the tour soon after tea, hitting the stumps with a harmless offbreak that Tamim inexplicably chose to leave. Shahriar was clumsy while pulling and loose while driving on his way to 28, before missing a sweep against Saeed Ajmal.With the pitch taking prodigious turn after staying benign through the day, Abdur Rehman probed away with four men around the bat in addition to the extra-chirpy Adnan Akmal. Mohammad Ashraful duly exited for a duck, clueless against a Rehman delivery that drifted towards leg before spinning across to take a thin edge on the way to the slips. Nasir Hossain had batted out time while facing a tall target in the second ODI, but opted for flash ahead of graft today in a situation where the draw was both acceptable and viable. Faced with a Cheema bouncer, he went for a pull instead of the leave, and Mohammad Hafeez held a smart catch in the outfield to make it 80 for 4. Shakib Al Hasan counterattacked with a series of shots for the gallery, and Nazimuddin showed promise for the second innings in a row, but his effort once again only served to highlight the recklessness of his colleagues.Earlier, Bangladesh’s seamers produced pace and bounce to show the first signs of spirit in their ranks, but the fielders were too sloppy to make it count. Three balls into the day, Younis got to his 19th Test ton, glancing Shahadat Hossain through fine-leg for four. Shahadat promptly offered him a couple of freebies – one too straight, and the other too wide – and Younis looted boundaries to suggest the overnight break in play hadn’t diminished his touch or appetite. Shahadat hit his straps quickly, though, and summoned an extra yard of pace to test Shafiq’s technical flaws.In his second over, Shahadat whipped down a bumper that reared up at Shafiq, who fended it uncomfortably off the glove. Shahadat persevered, and eventually elicited a top-edged hook with another menacing bouncer. The ball swirled towards Rubel Hossain at fine leg, who made an apology of an effort running in. Shahadat applauded Rubel’s attempt, and it wasn’t clear if he was being sarcastic or genuine. Shafiq capitalised and marched past fifty.Rubel also worked up impressive speeds – at times touching 145kph – from his round the wicket angle. He set up a leg trap for the bouncer, and had Younis pulling without control on two occasions. The first top-edge spiralled towards Shahadat at fine-leg, who returned the favour to Rubel by backing out of a tough chance. The second one looped straight to deep midwicket, and Bangladesh surprised themselves by holding on, but it was a no-ball.Thereafter, Bangladesh looked incapable of taking a wicket unless it was gifted. Shafiq creamed Rubel square, and drilled him straight for fours, forcing Mushfiqur Rahim to fall back on spin. Younis prospered with his trademark mix of shuffle-and-dabs and lean-and-sweeps to go past 150. With lunch around the corner, he swivelled back to smash Ashraful for six, and Shafiq shredded Shakib through the off side for boundaries.Bangladesh took the third new ball as soon as it was available, but it only hastened Pakistan’s progress. Shafiq was once again hurried by a bouncer – a weakness he will need to address before facing quality opposition – before reaching his century with a tuck off Elias Sunny. Shafiq perished soon after, testing the spread-out fields with an inside-out loft that ended in long-off’s hands. Younis was unstoppable, though, punching Rubel Hossain for four, before slog-heaving Sunny over midwicket for a six. He reached his double-ton with a nudge through square leg. His second hundred had come off only 132 balls, and Misbah-ul-Haq seemed pleased as he applauded from the dressing-room, even as gestured for Younis and Adnan Akmal to come in. The declaration gave his bowlers 39 overs to make a mess of Bangladesh’s reply.