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What the key players said after the match:Marvan Atapattu Sri Lanka’s captain
We thought 240 was a good score, but the way we finished was not too good getting just 45 runs in the last 10 overs. We did not plan enough at the end, and if we had concentrated on getting ones and twos we would have got around 270-odd.The [Symonds lbw] decision was made and the umpires decided to call him back and they asked me whether I had a problem with that. Our guys knew it was a wrong decision and we didn’t know what to do but when they asked him I was happy to call him back. It’s only a game, after all, and we have to play the game in the right spirit. I said no because we all make mistakes and it was clearly a mistake. I don’t see anything wrong in that.Ricky Ponting Australia’s captain
It was close and a great game of cricket. I was pretty happy with the way wewent about things today. We were behind the eight-ball early in the gameafter a very good opening partnership, but we fought back really well withthe ball. The batting was pretty good – just two runs shy. The guys will take a lot of confidence out of knowing that we can perform as well as we did today on a very worn Sri Lankan wicket.You are always disappointed when you lose a close game, but we are not goingto point the finger at any individuals. If you look back over the game youcould probably pick up half-a-dozen incidents [that cost us the game].We needed one of us to go on a finish it off, as it was not easy getting astart out there. But I played a poor shot and Matty [Hayden] got caught on theboundary and we did not finish the job. He played really well but we have come to expect that from him as he churns out runs in both forms of the game for us.The venue was good but I was a little disappointed that we used the samewicket today. With there not being a lot of cricket here I would havethought there would have been time for the curator to prepare two wickets.Chaminda Vaas Man of the Match and bowler of the fateful final over
Marvan asked me to bowl the final over and I used my experience and tried tobowl six yorkers, and it went nicely. I have played 220-odd matches but Ithink this was the best one that I have played. I have been playing forSri Lanka for ten years and I know exactly what to do on these wickets.

Matthew Hayden overcame a nagging thigh injury to move level with Don Bradman on Australia’s list of century makers with 29. Hayden’s 123 helped Australia earn a lead of 213 entering the final day and he is confident they already have enough to defeat India and secure a world-record equalling 16th victory.”We’ve given ourselves the best chance of winning,” he said. “We can make up time, we’re in there with a shot, which is great.” Hayden predicted Australia would increase the lead to about 260 before declaring but believed “we’ve got too many runs now”.Hayden will wait to see how bad his leg problem is in the morning before deciding how to prepare for the third Test in Perth on January 16. “I’m pretty sore and I’ll just have to see how I pull up,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever used a runner in a Test. It was ironic that Ricky Ponting, the captain, was running for me, I got a bit of a giggle out of that.”Ponting was called after falling to Harbhajan Singh for 1 and he was offering plenty of advice to Hayden while he batted. “I’m not sure who was doing the most talking, the captain or Michael Hussey,” he said. “But I’d be an idiot not to listen.”Hayden unveiled the reverse-sweep for the first time in Tests as a way of trying to escape India’s restrictive fields and had mixed results. He hit a four with the shot to bring up his half-century but fell when he tried another. Despite getting solid contact, he found Wasim Jaffer behind point to end his 196-ball innings, which included 12 fours.Only Ricky Ponting (33) and Steve Waugh (32) have more hundreds for Australia than Hayden, who also passed Mark Waugh’s career collection of 8029 during the display to become the fourth highest run-scorer in the country’s history. “The Don was an incredible personality in the game and he didn’t play anywhere near as much as we do,” Hayden said. “But it was significant when I passed his runs and it was significant when I passed his highest score. I very humbly accept these privileges and know how privileged I am to touch Bradman.”

KC Ibrahim, who played four Tests for India against West Indies in 1948-49, has died at his home in Karachi. He was 88 and at the time of his death was India’s oldest living Test player.He made his Test debut in the first match of the 1948-49 series at home to West Indies, his sheer weight of runs the previous summer making him an automatic pick. Opening with Vinoo Mankad, he scored 85 and 44, but in his next six innings he made only 40 runs and he had retired by the time England toured in 1951-52.Ibrahim’s Mumbai team-mate, Madhav Mantri, said he was “a solid player and one who believed in staying at the wicket for as long as possible.” He captained the Mumbai side that won the Ranji Trophy in 1947-48 and Mantri described him as “a fine captain, someone who believed in backing his players.”A top-order batsman who sometimes opened, Ibrahim made his first-class debut in 1938-39 and from 1941-42 onwards scored heavily in domestic cricket. He began that season with an unbeaten 230 and ended with 117 in Bombay’s innings win in the Ranji Trophy final.He reached his peak in 1947-48 when he scored 1171 runs at 167.29, including four hundreds, a record that won him the Indian Cricketer of the Year award for the season. He started the season with scores of 218*, 36*, 234*, 77* and 144, a total of 709 runs without being dismissed. In the last three innings of the previous season his scores had been 2, 2 and 4. He moved to Karachi in 1950 and that marked the end of his first-class career.He was in poor health for the last few years of his life. During India’s 2006 tour to Pakistan, a couple of journalists went to visit him. One of them, Jasvinder Sidhu, from the Hindi daily , remembers: “He didn’t want us to photograph him. He said, ‘I don’t want my friends in Bombay and Delhi to see my current state. Tell them I’m fine.'”

ScorecardSri Lanka Under-19 pulled off a convincing six-wicket win over Bangladesh Under-19 in the last match of the series after its opening bowlers shared nine of the ten wickets to restrict the hosts to a modest 123.Opting to bat Bangladesh lost four wickets in the first nine overs of the match as Denuwan Fernando and Chathura Peiris caused plenty of problems. Bangladesh never really recovered from that dismal start and only brief fightbacks, with three batsmen reaching the 20-run mark, enabled them to cross 100. Ashraful Aziz, batting at No. 8, top scored for Bangladesh with a patient 28 as his side was all out in the 41st over.Fernando finished with 5 for 28 while Peiris picked up four wickets. Lokuge Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper, shone behind the stumps by picking up four catches.Sri Lanka never really faltered in a reply and a 68-run opening partnership between Chandimal (28) and Dilshan Munaweera (34). Although both batsmen fell in quick succession, followed by two more wickets towards the end, the target was too small for Bangladesh bowlers to pose serious problems as Sri Lanka completed a consolation win after having already lost the series.

Shane Warne’s recent visit to Sri Lanka, a trip designed to raise awareness of the plight of tsunami victims and raise much-needed funds for rehabilitation, has sparked a controversy that has erupted into the public arena this week after Arjuna Ranatunga, the former World Cup-winning captain, accused Thilanga Sumithipala, the chairman of the cricket board’s Cricket Aid programme, of “bullying” Sri Lanka’s national players into boycotting a special fundraising dinner.The 500-wicket dinner was organised in Colombo at the end of Warne’s brief visit to raise tsunami-relief funds for two local charities, the Muralidaran-Vaas-Gunasekera Foundation and Sahanaya. Funds were raised through the sale of Rs10,000 tickets, and several Sri Lanka cricketers had apparently been keen to show their support by purchasing tickets and attending. However, Muttiah Muralitharan was the only contracted player who eventually turned up.When the board held a press conference on Wednesday to review the progress of Cricket Aid, board officials explained their absence by claiming that players and officials were unaware of the dinner. Sumathipala cast doubt on the charitable credentials of the organisers, and claimed that Muralitharan had told him that he was unaware of the details of the fundraising dinner. “The question is who organised this dinner and where has the money gone to?” he asked. “Do they belong to an organisation with a constitution? When I asked [Chaminda] Vaas about it he said he knew nothing and Murali told me he was out of the country and did not know who organised it.”However Muralitharan, who had personally invited Warne to Sri Lanka and was involved in organising the fundraising dinner, categorically denied this in an article in the newspaper on Friday. “I never told anything like that to Thilanga,” Muralitharan was quoted as saying. “I was highly involved in the project and aware of the function.” Cricinfo has also learnt that Vaas, a new partner in the Muralidaran-Vaas-Gunasekera Foundation, was also aware of the dinner.Ranatunga, a deputy cabinet minister and a long-time foe of Sumathipala’s, claimed that the players were being bullied. “I know that the players are scared to come out and say what they have to say,” said Ranatunga in the . “Several players wanted to attend the dinner, but were warned not to and they were scared to speak up. If the players speak up some of the board officials will not be able to show their faces in public.”Ranatunga continued his scathing attack on the administration. “It’s a dictator who’s running the show now, and not just with one puppet but a whole brace of puppets on board,” he said. “The whole thing hurts the present Sri Lanka Cricket set-up, as Warne refused to do the board’s bidding. During times like this, people are trying to promote their hidden agendas. These petty politics need to stop.”Meanwhile, Kushil Gunasekera, Muralitharan’s manager and the driving force behind the Muralidaran-Vaas-Gunasekera Foundation, a charity which focuses on small community-level projects, reacted angrily to Sumathipala’s apparent slur on their credentials.”We were established two years ago and the charity was incorporated under the Trust Ordinance Act in Sri Lanka,” said Gunasekera. “We are a registered trust with a constitution of which is handled by Sudath Perera Associates. Both Murali and Vaas are signatories. What’s more, we do not have any administration expenses because we all give our time voluntarily. Serving humanity through compassion and serving humanity through compulsion are two different things. The people who are making these allegations do not understand the difference.”Sumathipala was appointed chairman of Cricket Aid soon after the tsunami. The job thrust him back into the public limelight after the immigration scandal last year that led to his being held in police custody, a controversy that had threatened to derail his ambitions to become president of the International Cricket Council. After being granted bail, Sumathipala also took up the post of Sri Lanka Cricket’s “international envoy”, and is now their chief negotiator on ICC issues.

After watching a close encounter between South Africa and West Indies on Sunday night, I had high expectations when I walked into the Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein. Sadly, it turned out to be a one-sided affair, with Sri Lanka inflicting a thrashing defeat on New Zealand.Stephen Fleming is one of the most experienced captains in world cricket. So the Kiwi game plan for this crucial encounter came as something of a shock for me. Given that they are adamant about not going to Kenya and forfeiting the four points which they would have got otherwise, I would have thought that they would have wanted to win this game desperately.But it all went awry for Fleming and his team. Firstly, they left out possibly the best left-arm spinner in world cricket these days – Daniel Vettori. Secondly, Fleming’s decision to ask Sri Lanka to bat first also backfired as the Kiwi pace men struggled to make early inroads.Even from a distance one could make out that the pitch was devoid of grass and that the spinners would have a major role to play in the game. By opting to bat second, Fleming, then, invited the pressure of batting against the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, which effectively meant that he played into the hands of the Sri Lankans.

Experience at the highest level counts a great deal in such high profile tournaments, where the expectations to succeed in every game you play is very high indeed. Sri Lanka were today well served by their experienced campaigners – skipper Sanath Jayasuriya and the evergreen Hashan Tillakaratne. They really made Fleming pay hard for his folly of dropping Vettori, as runs flowed at a brisk rate. Jayasuriya’s century was truly brilliant. The Sri Lankan skipper’s contribution to his team’s success in one-day cricket is simply tremendous to say the least.Even though the Sri Lankan spinners played a major role in squeezing New Zealand into submission, the role of Pulasthi Gunaratne early on should not be forgotten. It was Gunaratne who made the early inroads for Sri Lanka and put New Zealand under enormous pressure.As for Nathan Astle’s dismissal, I just cannot understand what the talented opener had in mind when he took off for that suicidal run. You don’t win a cricket game with such mindless deeds, let alone a World Cup.Craig McMillan’s continued failure might, meanwhile, even jeopardise his place in the team. Thankfully for New Zealand, Scott Styris is turning out to be a revelation. Yet again, he gave his very best, using his feet to the spinners and lashing out at anything loose that came his way. I am quite pleased for him, for it is always nice to see enthusiasm being rewarded. Styris’ hundred today is just a pointer to the more experienced batsmen of the job they failed to do.Congratulations to Sri Lanka. They are now definitely strong contenders to qualify for the Super Sixes from their group. The result must have been double sweet for Jayasuriya, after all the criticism that came his way following the dismal show in the VB series in Australia.The match has yet again showed that the World Cup is still wide open, and as days go by we will see the Super Six emerging. Now that England seems to have almost decided not to make the trip to Zimbabwe, the result of Tuesday’s game between Australia and Pakistan could be a crucial one for India.

“Have a good time while you’re at it. Don’t do anything silly and above all, drive carefully.”No, this is not the advice of a doting father to his errant son. It would have been the gist of coach John Wright’s words to the Indian side before they took on Namibia at the City Oval, Pietermaritzburg.The instructions were carried out to the letter, as India first piled up a mammoth score – 311/2 – and then used spin to tighten the screws on an inexperienced Namibian side, skittling them for 130 and winning easily by 181 runs.When Deon Kotze won the toss and elected to field, he could hardly been prepared for the kind of aggression the Indians inflicted on his side. On the day it was not the carefree devil-may-care thrashing of the ball that Virender Sehwag has made famous the world around, which dominated. Nor did the free-stroking, silky Sourav Ganguly six-fest, or the Sachin Tendulkar every-stroke-in-the-book master class hold sway. Well, at least not for a while anyway.On a wicket that had just a touch of moisture under the surface, Sehwag torched four boundaries in his customary fashion before being dismissed for a run-a-ball 24, pulling Rudie van Vuuren to Danie Keulder at short midwicket. Ganguly decided this was the time to walk out at number three and spend some quality time out in the middle.Tendulkar (152) did the team’s cause and his average no harm as he led the charge with his 34th one-day century, the first by an Indian this World Cup. Ganguly was not far behind, helping himself to an unbeaten 112.India, using this relatively easy fixture to warm up for sterner tests ahead – against England and Pakistan – played to their strengths, working the Namibian bowlers for all the runs they were worth.There was none of the loose strokes, the ambitious slashes or the confused batting that has plagued Indian cricket in recent times. The batsmen, led by their captain, have maintained all along that it would take only one good performance to reverse fortunes.When Tendulkar carefully nudged a full delivery to leg to bring up his fourth World Cup century, he also achieved the distinction of notching up one-day hundreds against ten different countries. It was yet another record for Tendulkar that no other batsman could boast.Until Ganguly reached three figures, that is. He too has centuries against ten countries, only missing out against West Indies of the major teams. Mark Waugh, Herschelle Gibbs and Brian Lara are the three batsmen that come close.But it was not the records that will warm the heart of coach John Wright. The manner in which India kept the scoreboard ticking over with ones and twos would have heartened him too. Until Ganguly decided the time was right for acceleration, and Tendulkar was well past his hundred, hardly any big hits were attempted. Even then, though, the pair concentrated on hitting in the `V’ back down the wicket.It was not until the 40th over that Tendulkar was dismissed, playing an ungainly across-the-line heave against a ball that kept low from Rudie van Vuuren after making a masterly 152 (151 balls, 18 fours).When van Vuuren presented Ganguly with a wide full toss in the 46th over, the left-hander slapped a crisp boundary to move within one stroke of the three-figure mark. Soon after, he reached his 20th ODI century, before forging a last-minute charge, reaching 112 (119 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes).Amid the runfest, Yuvraj Singh chipped in with an unnoticeable seven from as many balls to seal the innings on 311/2.By the time the Namibians came out to bat, India would have been more worried about the weather than the opposition, but the rain stayed away, and India sailed to a comprehensive win.Just as the Sehwag dismissal was a blot in the Indian batting card, Ashish Nehra provided the blemish in the bowling effort. Nehra slipped in his bowling stride while attempting to deliver his second ball. Limping off, he left it to Zaheer Khan to finish the over.But from then on there were no mistakes. Bowling full and straight – something he should consider more often – Khan trapped Stephan Swanepoel and Louis Burger in front of the stumps.Keulder then provided one of those moments that seem to be tailor-made for highlights reels. Keen to get on, he attempted to heave Harbhajan Singh over midwicket and almost succeeded. The ball sailed towards the ropes as Dinesh Mongia lurched, caught, fumbled, then caught again before sliding to a stop just inches in front of the ropes.The television umpire was pressed into service and a reluctant Keulder (4) had to be on his way.Having pulled off a freakishly good catch, Mongia was given a bowl soon after.Jan-Berrie Burger, who gave England a fright with a big-hitting 83, once again proved his worth, top scoring with 29 (30 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) before he was cleaned up by a straight one from Mongia.The spinners then ran through the overs quickly and Namibia, hardly used to playing this much spin, lost wickets in quick succession. Mongia picked up 2/24 from 10 overs, Harbhajan enhanced his career statistics to the tune of 2/34 and Yuvraj bullied the tail-enders to end with figures of 4.3-2-6-4.As the triumphant Indians walked off the field with four more points in the bag, they will know that sterner tests lie ahead in the shape of England and Pakistan.John Wright will smile as he claps his wards into the dressing room. The Indians had a plan, and unfalteringly followed it to the end. With the talent in this side, and some confidence, that is all this team really needs to do.

Pakistani speedster Waqar Younis will touch down at Sydney Airport tomorrow, in time to face University of NSW star and former Test foe Michael Slater this Saturday. The two will go head-to-head at North Sydney Oval, rekindling old rivalries stretching back to Karachi in 1994/95. Younis will be a welcome addition to North Sydney’s bowling strength, but has only claimed Slater’s wicket once in the Test arena. Slater was part of Mosman captain Trent Johnston’s hat-trick last round, and will be looking for some much-needed runs this time out.For all prospective Speedblitz Blues players, only three match days now remain before the State Selectors name their team for the Blues’ first match, on Sunday 26 October in Bowral. This weekend will comprise Round 3’s first day on Saturday, followed by Round 2 of the First Grade Limited-Overs competition on Sunday.On Saturday, Michael Bevan will make a rare Grade appearance for Many-Warringah, against Parramatta at Manly Oval. Bevan will be looking to play himself into form, while team-mate Shawn Bradstreet returns from injury.Speedblitz Blues team-mates Mark Waugh (Bankstown) and Simon Katich (Randwick Petersham) will be attempting to outdo each other at Bankstown Oval. Katich is in white-hot form, with a batting average after two matches of 172.00.At Howell Oval, Australian one-day bowler Nathan Bracken will partner former Australia A paceman Neil Maxwell in UTS-Balmain’s clash with last year’s finalists Penrith. The Panthers are winless after two rounds, and will be hoping that their batsmen can overcome the Tigers’ strong bowling attack.All Round 3 matches (Saturday, commencing 10.00am)- Bankstown v Randwick Petersham at Bankstown; Eastern Suburbs v Western Suburbs at Waverley; Gordon v Sydney University at Killara; Manly-Warringah v Parramatta at Manly; Mosman v Campbelltown-Camden at Rawson; North Sydney v University of NSW at North Sydney 1; Northern District v Hawkesbury at Waitara; Penrith v UTS-Balmain at Howell; St George v Fairfield-Liverpool at Hurstville; Sutherland v Blacktown at Caringbah.All Limited-Overs Round 2 matches (Sunday, commencing 9.30am)- Eastern Suburbs v North Sydney at Waverley; Gordon v University of NSW at Killara; Hawkesbury v UTS-Balmain at Owen Earle; Manly-Warringah v Campbelltown-Camden at Manly; Parramatta v Mosman at Old Kings; Penrith v Northern District at Howell; Randwick Petersham v Blacktown at Coogee; St George v Western Suburbs at Hurstville; Sutherland v Bankstown at Caringbah; Sydney University v Fairfield-Liverpool at University 1.

Scoreboards for 29 NovemberPEARCE CUPNorth City v Karori

KaroriW Sommerville c Kerse b Riley 26S Allen c Quarterman b Riley 40S Murdoch run out 34M Hill c Riley b Bowden 17C Cakebread b Gillespie 31S Pomare c Bowden b Kerse 23L Edwards not out 65B Horsley c Jansen b Riley 21R Wilson c Gore b Gillespie 6A Mercer b Riley 1E Gray not out 0Extras (14lb,9w,2nb) 25Total (for 9 wkts) 289Fall: 75,81,101,151,175,201,267,279,289Bowling: Gillespie 10,1,52,2; Quarterman 10,0,48,0; Bowden 10,1,50,1; Riley 10,3,43,3; Taylor 8,0,59,0; Kerse 2,0,23,1North CityB Jansen b Gray 24D Gore c Allen b Edwards 0C Riley c & b Mercer 8D Bowden c Mercer b Cakebread 25S Mills c Allen b Hill 6M Gillespie c Mercer b Cakebread 4D Opie b Mercer 27D Taylor c Allen b Hill 6D Carey c Wilson b Pomare 8J Kerse not out 0F Quarterman st Allen b Pomare 0Extras (10lb, 9w,2nb) 21Total 129Fall: 1,24,61,74,79,81,96,129,129,129Bowling: Edwards 5,0,35,1; Mercer 9,1,22,2; Gray 8,3,11,1; Hill 7,0,21,2; Cakebread 3,0,17,2; Pomare 4.5,1,23,2Karori won by 160 runsPetone/Riverside v Eastern SuburbsEastsS Golder c Morgan b Taylor 4P Parker c Bonner b Taylor 52C McKenzie c Morgan b Day 10D Houpapa b O’Brien 42T Boyer b Dawson 1R Sewell b Dawson 5L Dry not out 12S Hotter c Patel b Dawson 2J Patel b Dawson 1J Stuart lbw b Dawson 0R Fouhy b O’Brien 3Extras 32Total 154Bowling: Taylor 10,0,33,2; O’Brien 9,1,26,2; Hewson 10,5,20,0; Day 10,1,31,1; Patel 1,0,7,0; Dawson 9,0,27,5Petone/RiversideJ Morgan c Golder b Hotter 3M Rose c Sewell b Hotter 5S Bonner lbw b Hotter 0R Dawson b Stuart 2R Chatfield lbw b Dry 51M Hewson b Stuart 0I O’Brien lbw b Fouhy 25A George c Dry b Hotter 13J Patel not out 40P Taylor not out 1Extras (1b,4lb,9w,2nb) 16Total (for 8 wkts) 156Bowling: Hotter 9.4,3,31,4; Fouhy 10,5,17,1; Stuart 5,0,30,2; Boyer 10,0,38,0; Patel 4,0,25,0; Dry 10,6,10,1Petone/Riverside won by 2 wicketsNaenae v Upper ValleyUpper ValleyM Bell not out 92L Morgan c Crook b Bascand 46C McLauchlan c S Cross b Young 1G Donaldson run out 19D Ruscoe run out 6C Donaldson run out 8S Brockelbank c & b Crook 4P Hutchison not out 5Extras (4b,13lb,15w,3nb) 35Total (for six wkts) 216Fall: 91,95,153,169,189,194Bowling: S Cross 10,1,33,0; C Cross 10,2,29,0; Reeves 3,0,18,0; Bascand 10,0,39,1; Young 7,0,33,1; Hayman 6,0,27,0; Crook 4,0,20,1NaenaeD Crook c Roberts b Cornish 17M Young c Bell b Cornish 8M Hayman c McLauchlan b Billmore 12C Cross lbw b Cornish 1D O’Connor b Brockelbank 0S Cross run out 15L Reeves b C Donaldson 0P Bascand b Hutchison 30J Hatwell b Billmore 1B Smith not out 6G Maher c Bell b Hutchison 0Extras (5b,5lb,19w,10nb) 39Total 129Fall: 30,30,34,39,74,74,88,98,127,129Bowling: Hutchison 10,4,23,2; Cornish 8,1,30,3; Brockelbank 4,0,22,1; C Donaldson 7,2,28,1; Billmore 10,4,16,2Upper Valley won by 87 runsTaita v OnslowOnslowR Morgan b Pegg 9M Parlane st Teepa b F Boyle 48G Bidwell b Webster 57N Parlane not out 81M Pasupati c J Boyle b Little 5Extras (2b,9lb,6w,2nb) 19Total (for 4 wkts) 219/4Bowling: Webster 10,1,41,1; Little 10,1,46,1; Scott 10,2,30,0; Pegg 9,1,46,1; McGavin 2,1,3,0; F Boyle 9,0,42,1TaitaJ Boyle b Penn 0B Seddon c Morgan b Johnson 1D Little b Johnson 6J Peters c Martin b Johnson 13A Crummy c N Parlane b Penn 0S McGavin c Pasupati b Johnson 2S Teepa c M Parlane b Pasupati 2R Webster c N Parlane b Diver 23F Boyle c M Parlane b Diver 4D Pegg b Pasupati 13D Scott not out 0Extras (6lb,4w,3nb) 13Total 77Bowling: Penn 7,0,23,2; Johnson 10,3,16,4; Pasupati 7.1,0,23,2; Diver 4,1,10,2Onslow won by 142 runsPoints: North City 33.98; Karori 33.64; Petone/Riverside 32.48; Eastern Suburbs 26.20; Upper Valley 26.12; Onslow 24.22; Taita 17.98; Naenae 11.80Hazlett TrophyJohnsonville 219-5 (G Powell 50, M Judge 34, L Woodcock 34, B Kropp 3-49) beat North City 66 ( T Antequil 3-14, B Inglis 3-22) by 153 runs.Upper Valley 200 (N Herdman 43, P Arkinstall 38, B Rapson 3-22, S Thomas 3-27, D Eparaima 3-48) beat University 125 ( N Herdman 4-36, C McDonald 3-16) by 75 runsWainui 148-9 (C Foster 40, P Mohan 34, C Stewart 3-30) lost to Hutt Districts 149-4 ( M Jefferson 66, K Lennon 34 ) by 6 wicketsEasts 203-8 (J Cranch 55, L Chrisp 33, G Sutherland 3-48) lost to Collegians 204-8 ( S McHardy 37, J Lampard 32,A Thompson 3-37) by 2 wicketsPoints: Hutt Districts 51.79; Johnsonville 47.18; University 29.91; Wainui 29.83; Collegians 26.80; Upper Valley 21.51; Easts 19.02; North City 12.63

The semi-finals of the Intercontinental Cup have been put back 24 hours following the death of His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates.Both matches were due to start in Sharjah on November 16, but that would be the last day of the official state mourning and so the ICC agreed to the postponement. As a result, the final will now begin on November 21.UAE meet Canada and Scotland face Kenya in the semi-finals.