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ScorecardEven with a winter on Australian pitches, his 138 not out was Chris Rogers’ highest score since last August•Getty Images

Chris Rogers may hold one of the more unusual posts in county cricket but it has made a positive effect on his form with Middlesex’s interim captain of their championship side scoring a defiant century to prevent defeat against Lancashire.Given the responsibility of leading Middlesex in the championship last month following Neil Dexter’s decision to stand down to concentrate on improving his form, Rogers has responded to the bigger role by scoring an unbeaten 138, his first century of the season. Spanning nearly six hours at the crease in sweltering temperatures, Rogers’ innings helped them easily navigate a final day that could have been fraught with problems.Resuming the final day on 29 without loss, requiring a further400 runs for an unlikely victory, the combination of a slow wicket and outfield and Lancashire’s tight bowling ensured Middlesex were never really in a position to push for victory. Although they only lost one wicket in 96 overs during the day, their most productive session was during the afternoon when they were still limited to 95 runs in 33 overs.Australian overseas batsman Rogers’ disciplined and determined innings, which included 13 fours, gave Lancashire little hope of forcing home their first championship win of the summer. Having lost four wickets for 16 runs themselves chasing quick runs the previous day, they were hopeful Middlesex would follow suit and go after the improbable target in the knowledge it would create chances.Having got off to a sluggish start, Lancashire’s attack limiting scoring opportunities and resulting in 84 dot balls from the first 108 deliveries, Middlesex were never able to generate enough momentum to achieve what would have been their highest ever total to win a game. Yet the day could have been so different had Chapple succeeded in his appeal for lbw against Rogers in the first over of the day.Lancashire were also frustrated that Rogers’ edge to slip off the part-time off-spin of Steven Croft when he had reached 112 was also ruled out for over-stepping. Those chances apart, they created few opportunities.”We couldn’t have done much else, it didn’t turn like we hoped it would,” admitted Peter Moores, Lancashire’s coach. “Rogers played very well and the fact we only got one wicket, caught behind down the leg-side, was testament to how well they played.”I thought we bowled ok and put a lot in the right areas but getting Rogers caught off a no ball probably summed up the day. For them to go for it was very difficult. You saw that we lost wickets quickly when we tried to go for it last night.”The only wicket to fall during a day dominated by batsmen was opener Sam Robson, who edged Kyle Hogg’s fifth ball behind as he attempted to flick it off his legs. By then, though, lunch was approaching and Lancashire’s hopes of claiming a dramatic final day victory similar to those secured against Yorkshire and Hampshire last season were fast receding.Rogers survived another lbw appeal on 62 shortly after the lunch interval when he attempted to sweep Simon Kerrigan, Lancashire’s left-arm spinner, but otherwise Lancashire struggled to impose themselves on Middlesex.He progressed to his highest score since hitting 145 for Middlesex against Northamptonshire at Lord’s last August and forged an unbroken 161-run stand with Joe Denly, who finished unbeaten on 61 after over three hours at the crease. It ensured only the second draw at Aigburth in 14 matches, stretching back to 2004.”We were always a little bit under pressure today,” Rogers admitted. “A day four wicket here has a reputation of turning but it was pretty dead and once you got in you could bat for a long time. It worked out well for us, it’s another game we haven’t lost and we’re still competing. We were poor for the first three days but we bounced back well today.”They attacked all day and that was still all the runs we could get. They could have defended at any stage and also a new batsman coming in with the way Kerrigan was spinning it would have been a challenge. We thought that if we could get to the last session with wickets in hand and be relatively close to the target we could have a dip but we were never really in the hunt.”

ScorecardGraham Onions made the most of helpful conditions•Getty Images

Naturally, the focus of most attention here was Andrew Strauss, a captain in need of runs, even in his own analysis. Yet his failure overshadowed the success of the other captain who finds himself in the same rocky boat.Unlike Strauss, Neil Dexter was not out second ball. Indeed he was not out at all, even though he had some luck, and to be unbeaten on 65 at the end of a perilous, if abbreviated day for batting was as much a triumph of note as Strauss’s short innings was a headline-making misfortune.Given that the England captain appeared and disappeared while many in the ground were not settled in their vantage points, the details need not be lingered over for long. As Graham Onions steamed in with intent from the Pavilion End he shouldered arms to the first ball, wisely enough, but the second gave him no such option, swinging in the air and then nipping back off the pitch to beat the left-hander’s tentative push and connect with the top part of off stump.It doesn’t matter that much for Strauss. Weather permitting, he will have five more chances to score some Championship runs before the first Test against the West Indies. It would be a surprise if he did not make the most of one of them at least, but you suspect in any event that he would need to register six noughts for the possibility of dropping him even to be considered.It might matter more for Onions, who is anxious to make it as difficult as possible for the England selectors to ignore him, even though it would probably take an injury to one of the incumbents for him to win back his place. Under the watchful eye of David Saker, the England bowling coach, he took the wickets of Joe Denly and Dawid Malan as well as Strauss.He places himself at about sixth in the pecking order currently, having gone to the UAE as cover for the Pakistan series. “But fast bowlers get injured, they can struggle for fitness and form as well so I just have to make sure I’m ready and bowling as well as I can,” he said. “I ran in quite nicely today and it was fun, I enjoyed it.”Onions, who took five wickets here on his Test debut in 2009, against the West Indies, might still be in command of a place but for the career-threatening back injury he suffered the following year. He stresses, however, that there is no lasting weakness. “I’ve been bowling for the last 18 months and I don’t think about it,” he said.He admitted that it was a helpful pitch but the ball that did for Strauss would have been a peach on any conditions. “It was a decent ball,” he admitted. “It swung a little and nipped back. Andrew is a great player and it was good for me and the team to get him out so early.”Worse was to follow for the home side. Denly was lured to play at a ball that left him at the end of Onions’s third over, edging to first slip, and from the first ball of the next, from Callum Thorp, Sam Robson unwisely went after a widish delivery and nicked to second, at which point Middlesex were 2 for 3.Mitch Claydon dismissed Chris Rogers, the temporary captain, with his first ball at the Pavilion End as Onions took a breather, further reducing them to 28 for 4.Rogers has the reins for the moment because Dexter, with single figure scores in seven Championship innings before this one, wants to focus on his batting without the distractions of captaincy, for which reason he will sleep much more easily.Conditions never became much easier, even in the brief sunny interludes, but after a scratchy start, during which he probably should have been out for 4 when Thorp, in the gully, failed to cling on to a chance off Ben Stokes, he even began to play some shots and even look confident.There was another chance, on 20, when Stokes, at backward point, got a hand to a hard outside edge off Claydon, but it would have been a very good catch and the luck, on that occasion, was deserved.When he reached 50 it was for the first time in the Championship since May last year. He lost a partner when Onions produced another gem to find the edge of Malan’s bat, but their partnership added 55 for the fourth wicket and another 49 have gone on to the total since, with John Simpson steady at one end as Dexter raised his boundary count to 13.The weather may preclude a result in the end but any score above 200 for Middlesex will help team morale, even though it may leave Strauss alone with his thoughts.

A star-studded Lahore Lions batting line-up comfortably overcame Karachi Zebras‘ total of 135 in Rawalpindi, to get their team off to a winning start in the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup. Ahmed Shehzad, who recently topped the run-chart in the Bangladesh Premier League, continued his Twenty20 form, scoring 61 not out off 52 balls to guide the chase. Umar Akmal’s 43 off 26 balls gave the innings impetus after a sluggish start, and though Kamran Akmal, Nasir Jamshed and Abdul Razzaq all failed, Lahore won by six wickets, with 13 balls to spare. Karachi had got off to a brisk start after choosing to bat, but their top-order batsmen did not convert starts and their 135 for 5 was not enough.Ali Waqas held his nerve to give Faisalabad Wolves a win off the penultimate ball of their chase against Peshawar Panthers, in Rawalpindi. Faisalabad needed 128 to win and looked comfortable at 106 for 3 in the 17th over. A collapse of five wickets for 19 that included three run-outs meant they still needed three runs off three balls in the final over. Waqas, who had been at the crease since the fourth over, got the required runs off the next two balls, finishing with 43 not out off 49 balls. Faisalabad’s bowlers had picked up wickets consistently to limit Peshawar to 127 for 8, left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood taking 3 for 11 in his four overs. They gave away 17 runs in wides however, which could have cost them.

Royal Challengers Bangalore 157 for 8 (de Villiers 64*, Bracewell 3-32) beat Delhi Daredevils 137 for 7 (Murali 3-25) by 20 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAB de Villiers scored a well-paced half-century that contained a mix of the orthodox and the unconventional•Associated Press

Royal Challengers Bangalore were without their talisman Chris Gayle, who had an injured groin, but four other overseas players performed roles expected of them to give the campaign a successful start in front of a packed Chinnaswamy Stadium. AB de Villiers prevented Royal Challengers from finishing on a below-par score with a well paced half-century that contained a mix of the orthodox and the unconventional, while Muttiah Muralitharan, in his first game in these colours, confounded Delhi Daredevils’ batsmen during an incisive, economical and match-turning spell.Delhi Daredevils’ major Indian stars also failed, with Irfan Pathan leaking 47 runs in a wicketless spell and Virender Sehwag making a duck in the chase. The visitors were competitive due to Doug Bracewell’s performance with the ball and in the field, Morne Morkel’s pace and bounce, and a cameo from Naman Ojha. That collective effort, however, was no match for the wealth of talent and experience of Royal Challengers’ overseas performers.De Villiers began his innings with Royal Challengers on 46 for 2 in six overs, and watched that platform erode because of regular wickets at the other end. That start had been given by Andrew McDonald, who targeted Irfan and the straight boundary to take 19 runs off the third over. McDonald’s flurry ended when Bracewell sprinted back and to his right from mid-on, watching the ball over his head, and lunged full length to hold stupendous catch with one hand.De Villiers scored at a run a ball for his first 22 deliveries, losing three partners on the way, and then launched Bracewell over extra cover to bring up the team’s 100 in the 14th over. And then he began to turn it on, mixing deft glances and sweeps to the fine-leg boundary with audacious reverse-hits to third man. He hit Irfan for two such boundaries, getting into position early and reverse-swatting full tosses, one over the rope and the other short of it. De Villiers crashed another straight drive past the bowler, Bracewell, in the final over but could not get on strike for the final three deliveries, and so Royal Challengers could not get past 160. Bracewell finished the innings clinically for Daredevils, taking wickets with the final two balls to end on 3 for 32.It was a heartening performance from Daredevils, considering they had lost Umesh Yadav to an injury after he bowled two overs for eight runs.The start of Daredevils’ chase was promising as well, with Aaron Finch threading the first three balls from Zaheer Khan to the boundary between point and cover. Sehwag, however, slapped his first ball to cover point and was caught. McDonald was economical at first change for Royal Challengers but Finch and Ojha steadied the chase, reaching 46 for 1 after six overs.It was at this point that Daniel Vettori and Murali began to bowl in tandem, and peg Daredevils back. Finch was dropped at short third man in Vettori’s first over, and Ojha by wicketkeeper de Villiers off Murali’s first ball. Two balls later, however, Murali had Ojha edging to slip. And in his next over, he had Finch lbw, reducing Daredevils to 68 for 3 after ten overs. Vettori and Murali were so effective that, after scoring 12 runs off his first three balls, Finch was dismissed for 24 off 25.The pressure created by Murali’s first spell of 3-0-11-3 was so much that Daredevils struggled to rediscover their momentum. Irfan struck a few big blows towards the end to spoil some bowling analyses but it had been Royal Challengers’ game since the 13th over of the chase, when the asking-rate inched over 10 while the spinners were being parsimonious.

A review in the penultimate over of the third day’s play sparked another debate about the Decision Review System, with Jacques Kallis saying he “is not convinced by the predictive path” of the delivery shown by the ball-tracking technology. Doug Bracewell said members of the New Zealand squad were also “a bit iffy” about the accuracy of the DRS.The incident under scrutiny was an lbw appeal off Bracewell against Jacques Rudolph which was upheld by the umpire Aleem Dar. After consultation with Kallis, Rudolph asked for a review and the pitch map showed the ball had landed outside leg stump, resulting in Dar’s decision being overturned and Rudolph surviving.Bracewell was surprised by the decision as, to the naked eye, the ball appeared to have pitched on leg stump. “I thought it was pretty dead. I was going for the inswinger and trying to hit him on the pads and I think everyone thought it was out,” Bracewell said. “I think they made a mistake [with the pitch map]. I don’t see how the ball swinging back in can pitch outside leg and hit middle stump.”Kallis said he was prompted to persuade Rudolph to seek a review because he had faced Bracewell for most of the day and noticed that he occasionally delivered the ball from a slightly wider position. “I thought the one thing it might have been was that it could have pitched outside leg, coming from that angle,” Kallis said. “Fortunately, I was right.”Kallis agreed that in asking for the review he brought to light two major concerns about the DRS. Is there a strategic way to use the system and is it performing its primary function, which is to minimise blatantly incorrect decisions? The answer to both, according to Kallis, is yes.Because South Africa were in a dominant position at the time of the appeal, Kallis said they were able to ask for a review of a decision they might otherwise have accepted. “We had two reviews and I thought this [Rudolph] is a big batter so with those 50-50 calls I said to him, it’s worth a call,” Kallis said.”That system is there to take out the shocker. Maybe with your first review, it’s 50-50. Generally captains will say, ‘Let’s take a risk,’ and then the second one you use a lot better. You probably take a little more of risk on that first one.”Kallis also stressed that the main function of the DRS was to eliminate obvious errors, because he remembered playing “in the old time when you got given a bad decision and it can change careers.” He said that he “understands” there was a place for a review system, but remained sceptical on its exactness.”How accurate it is, I don’t know. Have decisions improved? I think they have but we have got to accept that there are probably one or two that, as cricketers, we will think ‘I’m not so sure’, but maybe that’s an improvement on absolute shockers which is what you wanted to take out of the game. We are getting that right to a degree but I am not convinced how accurate it really is.”Like many of his Indian counterparts – who have opposed the DRS in its current form – Kallis said what bothers him and his team-mates is the legitimacy of the predictive path, because of height and line.On day two, South Africa reviewed an lbw appeal which had been turned down off Imran Tahir against Daniel Vettori. The ball-tracker showed that the delivery would have missed leg stump comfortably, which seemed unrealistic because of the amount of turn on it. “A lot of us looked at Dan’s one yesterday and it was closer than what I thought the DRS had it,” Kallis said. “It might not have been hitting or it might have been clipping leg, and the right decision was made in the end but [showing that it was] missing leg by that much surprised all of us.”It is instances like these, where the predicted path differs vastly from what is expected that has caused “plenty” of members of the South African team to be concerned about the system. “Sometimes when it hits the batter and you think that’s close and it ends up being a long way away or vice versa,” Kallis said. “I don’t think there are any guys that are 100% sure that that thing is as accurate as they want to make it out to be. They keep saying it but I’m not so sure and I think 99% of cricketers will say that.”South Africa, including Kallis, accept the system as it stands but Kallis said he believes the players should be allowed to speak their minds about the DRS. “We are still allowed our opinion as cricketers and we are still allowed to say how we feel sometimes decisions go.”Kallis also had a suggestion to improve the system. “Maybe what they can do is have the review system that shows where it pitched and where it hits and let the third umpire make the call from there so you still give benefit of the doubt to the batter,” he said, stressing that the need for the on-field umpires is still there despite the technology at the game’s disposal.”You don’t want to take the umpires’ job away but you do want the right decision. The predicted path, for me, is the worry. The Snickometer and Hot Spot and everything else is pretty decent.”Edited by Abhishek Purohit

After Kevin O’Brien returned home from the 2011 World Cup, a tournament that featured his heroic 50-ball hundred (the fastest in World Cup history) that shocked England on a balmy evening in Bangalore, one of the first calls he received was from the Cricket Ireland bosses. They wanted to let him know that one of the IPL teams, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, had asked if O’Brien could be signed up as a reserve player. “Unfortunately, since I was not part of the initial auction last year, I could not sign up. That was a little disappointing,” O’Brien told ESPNcricinfo. This year, when the IPL opened the window for players to register on the auction list, he did not think twice.What makes O’Brien’s case unique is that among the 144 names on the final list, he is one of only three players representing the Associate countries at the auction. His elder brother, Niall, and Tom Cooper, who plays for Netherlands, are the other Associate players in the auction that will be held on February 4 in Bangalore.”That last year’s performance against England would be hopefully high up on the mind of the bidders come Saturday,” O’Brien said of what he hoped for at the auction. That knock would not be looked upon as a freak innings was made certain by O’Brien: he was signed up by Gloucestershire soon after the World Cup and, last June, playing in the Friends Life t20 match against Middlesex in Uxbridge, O’Brien slammed a 44-ball century, the fastest in domestic Twenty20.The few thousands who were present on the day were in for a double treat. O’Brien had walked in to open with former New Zealand batsman Hamish Marshall (who now represents Ireland) and built a record opening partnership of 192 runs, with both batsmen scoring centuries. “It was a great day for me. I was opening the batting and I really enjoyed it,” O’Brien said. “So now I can not only open, but also play down in the middle order. It is good to have two strings to the bow.”His 113 against England had instantly turned O’Brien, 27, into a national hero. The man from Dublin, who plays for the local Railway Union Cricket Club, became a symbol of pride. A week after returning from the World Cup, O’Brien was dropping his mother off at work when he realised just how popular he had become. “I had a hood on and the [car’s] windows were up,” O’Brien said. We were at a traffic signal. Suddenly I noticed a cab driver jump out of his car, tap on my window and congratulate me on my performance.”Now, O’Brien felt, he could use that popularity to attract more fans for the IPL in Ireland, if he is bought by any of the nine franchises. “If either myself or Niall were to be bought at the auction, it will certainly raise the profile of the game in Ireland. The public will surely have a huge interest in the IPL, if one of us is playing in it.”Cricket, O’Brien said, has been getting bigger in the country since 2007, when Ireland beat Pakistan in the World Cup. Last year’s victory over England has raised the popularity levels of the sport even further. “A lot more people are talking about cricket on the streets,” he said. “A lot more people are coming to our games.”In the four previous IPL seasons, there had been only one player from the Associates to play in the IPL: Ryan ten Doeschate, who plays for Netherlands. Despite not having played regularly with the top-bracket teams, O’Brian felt that all three Associate players in the reckoning this year had played enough competitive cricket to stand up to anyone on the international stage. “Niall has been playing county cricket for twelve years now; Tom Cooper plays first-class cricket in Australia; I have played country cricket for Gloucestershire and previously with Nottinghamshire. So we all have got experience.”O’Brien, who was recently appointed the vice-captain of the Ireland team, decided to skip the Bangladesh Premier League [BPL], even if there was healthy interest in him from the franchises. In fact, Niall was signed by Khulna Royal Bengal for US $80,000. “Unfortunately it [the BPL] clashes with the 2015 World Cup qualifying matches in Kenya, and then qualifiers for the World Twenty20 in March,” O’Brien said. “Hopefully I will be there next year. My contract with Cricket Ireland comes first and everything else next.”As far as the franchises’ interest in him goes, O’Brien could remain optimistic. “He is a good pick. A value for money one, in the way ten Doeschate was for Kolkata Knight Riders,” a franchise official said. ten Doeschate, the 2011 ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year (he picked up the award three times in the last four years) was bought by Knight Riders for $150,000, after having his base price set at $50,000.”Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of players with his [O’Brien’] type of skills. [But] There is no doubt he is a quality player,” said a coach from another franchise. “He and his brother are good players and franchises will definitely consider them during the bidding.” Asked if O’Brien had catapulted himself into the minds of the potential bidders solely on the back of his match-winning performance against England, the coach did not agree. “He is a good hitter of the ball and we have seen it for a while now,” he said.Small wonder then, the O’Brien brothers have planned to spend this weekend together, waiting to see whether either or both of them have earned their IPL ticket. “Niall is coming over on the weekend and we are going to follow the auction on the internet,” O’Brien said. “It is going to be a nervous morning.”

ScorecardThe Strikers succumbed to Brad Hogg, who took 3 for 20•Getty Images

A sprightly Brad Hogg incited panic among the Adelaide Strikers with a consummate spell of left-arm wrist spin to deliver the Perth Scorchers a 42-run victory at the WACA. The Strikers were motoring in pursuit of the hosts’ 5 for 184 until Hogg flummoxed Michael Klinger in his first over, and followed up by dismissing the visiting captain and Tom Cooper in his second.Michael Beer chimed in with the wicket of Callum Ferguson, and by the end of the night Hogg had scooped 3 for 20 from his four overs while also knocking Aaron O’Brien’s drive onto the stumps to run-out Cameron Borgas. Ferguson and Klinger were both stumped adeptly by Luke Ronchi, another key contributor to the Scorchers’ defence.Herschelle Gibbs and Marcus North had made attractive runs to lift Perth to their total, despite the parsimony of O’Brien and two wickets from the young spinner James Muirhead, who has a promising leg break but needs to polish his fielding.Daniel Harris and Klinger had begun the Strikers’ chase in a most intelligent and productive fashion, picking off boundaries with neatly lofted strokes, though never resorting to anything too wild. One Klinger straight drive from Nathan Rimmington was as clean as anything struck in the tournament so far, while Harris earned six when his drive off Nathan Coulter-Nile landed on the rope at wide long off.They had added 48 in less than five overs when Harris played inside a Ben Edmondson delivery that flicked off stump. Adam Crosthwaite followed a charge and drive redolent of Dean Jones with an ill-advised hook and a running catch for Hogg, but Klinger continued to pierce the gaps and keep the run-rate around 10 per over.He was held up for the first time in the innings by Hogg, who began with two perfectly-pitched googlies to beat Klinger’s pressing blade and conceded only four runs from his first over. The pressure told on Ferguson, who stumbled out of his crease when Michael Beer drifted one down the legside and was stumped by a yard.Klinger could not make head or tail of Hogg, and the first ball of his second over slipped past the Strikers captain for Ronchi to complete another fine stumping, this time removing the bails with Klinger’s foot judged to be on the line. Tom Cooper then swung Hogg to deep backward square where Edmondson held the catch on the jog. Hogg’s bowling had turned the innings, and Adelaide would not threaten the target.Gibbs has been providing a decent helping of crisp strokeplay at the top of the order for the Scorchers, and here he pinged three boundaries from Brendan Drew’s first over through midwicket, gully and cover, the third from a free-hit after the bowler had overstepped.Daniel Salpietro’s unassuming offspin was greeted with a Gibbs six first ball, and the South African flayed two further boundaries in the over to lift the hosts to 48 from five overs. Harris’ first over was treated with similar contempt, three full tosses put away, though the third might have been stopped by Muirhead, who was struggling in the outfield and had already dropped North at square leg.As such, Muirhead had some compensating to do with the ball, and he duly found a nicely pitched leg break that landed short of where Gibbs wanted it and drew a skied drive to long-off. North by now was getting into stride, cracking a pair of wonderfully clean sixes from the bowling of Muirhead and Salpietro, but he lost Mitchell Marsh when Drew found some extra bounce outside off stump.Paul Collingwood rattled up 18 runs, all of them from the bowling of Muirhead, before another delivery of useful loop and drop fetched a second wicket from an outfield catch. The final overs were suitably hectic, North’s composed innings ended when he was first dropped at long-on then run-out as Drew recovered to fire in a flat return.The Scorchers are now level with the Hobart Hurricanes at the top of the table, while Adelaide are stalled with three other sides on four points.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsYounis Khan closed in on his second century in two Tests•AFP

Mohammad Hafeez strolled unimpeded to a century, and Younis Khan got to within touching distance of one, as Pakistan subjected Bangladesh to a comprehensive lesson in crease-occupation. After the chaotic batting from Bangladesh on the first day, the action swung to the other extreme on the second morning as Pakistan blunted the minimal threat posed by their opponents, before gradually moving out of their sight.Despite it being the weekend, the home fans chose to stay away as their side took a beating for the second day running. Bangladesh had neither the skill nor the discipline to dent Pakistan’s now customary Test-match resolve. The seamers, Shahadat Hossain and Rubel Hossain, bowled spells of ornamental value, but the spinners – Elias Sunny and Mahmudullah, in particular – tested the rougher patches on the pitch with flight and rip. However, they couldn’t accomplish much against batsmen well-versed in the art of milking spin.While Shahadat bowled pedestrian lines, Mahmudullah resumed his overnight battle with Taufeeq Umar from the other end, and persevered with loop and turn. Having edged several times while leaning out on the first evening, Taufeeq chose to play Mahmudullah off the back foot as much as possible. More than once, he left alone balls alarmingly close to offstump, and looked at his most vulnerable when reaching out. Hafeez stayed put to defend a series of length balls from Shahadat’s end, and Bangladesh strung together five successive maidens to create an illusion of control.Hafeez resumed progress with a languid cover-driven boundary off Shahadat, but Taufeeq needed 23 balls to score his first run for the day. He even summoned the spirit to advance down the track and loft Mahmudullah for a straight four, but the bowler deservedly had him leg-before with a quick, flat offbreak.Hafeez carried on as if he hadn’t noticed his partner’s struggles, steering Rubel past gully before threading Mahmudullah through the covers to reach his fourth Test ton. His celebration was almost mechanical as he pulled off his helmet and kneeled down to perform the , before breaking into a smile.Azhar Ali was uncharacteristically edgy to start off. He repeatedly charged out of the crease to the spinners, and on one such instance barely cleared mid-on. He was also beaten comprehensively by a huge spinner from Sunny, before being pegged on the back foot by an arm-ball that took a thin inside edge onto the pad. Shahadat finally got him to bottom edge a wide ball to the wicketkeeper to leave Pakistan 220 for 2.Younis walked in with his accumulation-mode turned on, and rolled into gear with a smooth cover drive off Sunny. Hafeez thumped a Rubel Hossain bouncer in the 80th over so effortlessly that Mushfiqur Rahim took the second new ball as soon as it was available. Younis should have been run out immediately, but Shahriar Nafees missed the stumps and the two fielders backing up comically let the ball escape for four overthrows. Shahadat kept bowling inexplicably short, without the pace or trajectory to back it up. Hafeez took him for fours on either side of the stumps before pulling uppishly to Sunny, who couldn’t even get his hands to a tumbling chance at midwicket.With the bowlers and the fielders looking helpless, Bangladesh needed a poor umpiring call to get a wicket. Hafeez inside-edged a Sunny arm-ball onto his pad, but Billy Doctrove adjudged him lbw. Misbah-ul-Haq pulled his first ball straight at Nafees who had no chance of holding on at short leg, before edging a drive off Shahadat straight past Nafees at slip, who, like Sunny earlier, didn’t manage to even touch it.Misbah couldn’t cash in, though, and missed a loopy Sunny full toss to be caught plumb in front. The loss of his favoured partner in defence seemed to ignite a spark of aggression in Younis, and he dispatched Shakib through point, cover and fine-leg to reach his fifty. He then skated out of the crease to dump him for a straight six, in the process chugging past 6000 Test runs, as Bangladeshi shoulders began to slump. It was the moment Pakistan were waiting for, after staying cautious for much of the day.Sensing the slackening intensity, Asad Shafiq kicked off by heaving Sunny over extra cover, and launching Shakib straight for sixes. Suddenly, Bangladesh were forced to do away with the extra catchers they had employed through the day. That didn’t stop the run-flow, though, as both batsmen swept and steered efficiently to pick up boundaries. With stumps approaching, Younis made a concerted dash towards his ton, slamming Mohammad Ashraful straight and slapping Shakib to midwicket for boundaries to reach 96. Shafiq couldn’t give him the strike in the day’s final over, though, but Younis didn’t seem too perturbed.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Misbah-ul-Haq have said that a floodlight failure at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong midway through the Bangladesh chase played a significant role in deciding the final ODI.Bangladesh were coasting at 61 for 1 chasing 178 when play was held up when the floodlights failed. After the interruption, Pakistan’s spinners proved almost unplayable as Bangladesh collapsed to 119 all out to hand Pakistan a clean sweep.”We were making runs in the last one or two overs (before the break) and a partnership was in the making,” the Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur said. “A break always can make a difference. Obviously the batsmen need to settle down after every break. You have to adapt to the situation, but unfortunately we could not do this.”Misbah agreed that the blackout affected Bangladesh’s rhythm and allowed Pakistan to reassess their strategy. “I think momentum was with Bangladesh at that time,” he said. “The blackout broke the momentum and we reaped the benefit and got back in the game. We got time to think about our bowling during the break and came back strongly.”Mushfiqur didn’t lay the entire blame for the defeat on the lapse in concentration after the break. “I have said already that technically we have some difficulties,” he said. “But we were also mentally demoralised. When you see batsman score runs like Nasir [Hossain] and Shakib Al Hasan are doing for us, they play differently. You can see it in [Pakistan] as well, players like Misbah and [Umar] Akmal. But when you are not making runs, your shot selection goes wrong. Which is what happening for us.”Mushfiqur praised his bowlers for the job they did throughout the series, but said the batsmen have to learn to spend more time at the wicket. “Even the wicket was not very difficult today. Later on there was some dew which could have helped us, but we had some poor shot selections which got us out. I think we have to be a bit strong mentally and stay a bit more positive in our shot selection.”We have to spent time on the wicket, if we can do that may be we will be able to realise the nature of wicket and build up an inning. It is not happening now.”Misbah backed up Mushfiqur’s assessment, saying he thought Bangladesh had bowled “really well” but that their batting needed work. “They are struggling in the batting department, especially on a wicket like this it is really difficult for the batsmen if they are short of confidence. I think that’s what is happening with them. I think they have to really improve their batting.”

Pakistan in Bangladesh 2011-12

• Twenty20, November 29, Mirpur

• 1st ODI, December 1, Mirpur

• 2nd ODI, December 3, Mirpur

• 3rd ODI, December 6, Chittagong

• 1st Test, December 9-13, Chittagong

• 2nd Test, December 17-21, Mirpur

Pakistan will play two Tests, three ODIs and one Twenty20 between November 29 and December 21, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced. The series was originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan, but the BCB swapped it with a return series that’s scheduled for April 2012.Pakistan arrive in Bangladesh on November 26, and play the one-off Twenty20 on November 29 at the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. The first and second ODIs are at the same venue on December 1 and 3, while the third is on December 6 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. The first Test is from December 9 in Chittagong, and the second from December 17 in Mirpur. There are no tour games scheduled.This is the first full series between the two teams since 2003, and the first time Pakistan will tour Bangladesh since 2001-02.