The inexperience of an Eastern Province bowling attack missing Mornantau Hayward, Meyrick Pringle and Garnett Kruger was ruthlessly exposed on Monday as Easterns cantered to a five-wicket victory in their Supersport Series match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni, their second in as many weekends.The win virtually ensures that Easterns will campaign in the Super Eight phase of the competition next year, while EP must be fearful of being the side to miss out from Pool B, which also includes KwaZulu-Natal, Western Province and Border.Easterns’ target of 276 had seemed like a tall order on Monday morning, when they resumed on 40 for one, having lost Brad White for 15 overnight, and it looked beyond them by the time Mike Rindel was caught behind for 14, to leave them reeling on 93 for four. Considering the home side’s brittle display with the bat in their first knock, the men from Port Elizabeth had a strong sniff of victory in their nostrils.It would have been even stronger had Dave Callaghan caught Pierre de Bruyn at second slip when he had 12, but the veteran allrounder grassed the chance. As it turned out, sadly for Callaghan, De Bruyn and Derek Crookes went on to add all but six of the 183 runs still required for victory when they had come together.Crookes was the chief aggressor, going to lunch on 40 to De Bruyn’s 14. But the sharing out of the runs mattered far less than the fact that they proved an ideal pairing, with good communication and speed between the stumps ensuring that numerous tight singles were safely negotiated.The Willowmoore Park pitch had been expected to hold a few terrors for the batsmen and it certainly contributed to captain Deon Jordaan’s dismissal, when he played back to a delivery from slow left-armer Robin Peterson which stayed low and shot through under his bat to bowl him.However, Crookes showed the value of a positive approach when the pitch is not entirely trustworthy as he raced towards his century. The introduction of the new ball after 80 overs, when Easterns had 197 for four, was the visitors’ last throw of the dice, but far from halting the home side’s run spree it contributed to its acceleration as youngsters like the highly ratedMfuneko Ngam and strapping debutant Dewald Senekal failed to get the basics right, bowling far too many balls wide outside the off stump.In the second over with the new ball, Ngam saw himself cut square for six by Crookes and in his next over, after a fielding error had gifted Easterns three overthrows to give Crookes an all-run four, the right-hander cut him to the boundary backward of square to go to his ton.Without three of their pace kingpins, EP’s attack was proving desperately short of penetration and it was no surprise that the only other scalp they managed to secure came from a run out. Crookes and De Bruyn eventually attempted one sharp single too many at a time when it had become unnecessary and Graham Grace dispatched an irritated Crookes for 117 with a direct hitfrom cover point.Just six more were needed and De Bruyn got the lot off the first two balls of the next over, from Peterson, to take his team to exactly 276 for five and his own score to an unbeaten 71, ensuring Easterns picked up 15 points for the victory.

Malaysia, Guernsey and Fiji were the victorious teams on the opening day of the World Cricket League Division Six in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.Adverse weather conditions meant one of the three games was shortened and the Duckworth-Lewis method applied after the rain clouds arrived in the late afternoon bringing thunder and lightning. No re-calculations were required for Fiji’s match against Nigeria, or Guernsey’s against Jersey, while hosts Malaysia had their game abandoned against Kuwait but not before D/L was imposed.After a delayed start at the Selangor Turf Club cricket ground, Malaysia’s Suresh Navaratnam dismissed Irfan Bhatti with his second delivery as the hosts made a spirited start against Kuwait. Watched by a small crowd of supporters at a venue that is surrounded by the Selangor Turf Club racetrack on the south-side of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia then removed Aamir Javed five overs later when the 22-year-old was bowled by Hassan Ghulam, while Navaratnam dismissed Sibtain Raza not long after for just one run.Captain Hisham Mirza briefly steadied the innings but the slide continued when he fell for 22, with six wickets being lost before the score had passed 100. After a series of sloppy shots Kuwait were bowled out for 151 in the 47th over, Navaratnam collecting figures of 4 for 15.Faris Almas had his stumps rearranged by Abdullah Akhunzada as Malaysia’s chase suffered some early blows, but captain Suhan Alagaratnam and Ahmed Faiz added an unbeaten 54 for the third wicket and put their side ahead of the required rate before the rains arrived. After a lengthy stop in play, the match was called to a halt and Malaysia won by 38 runs after D/L was calculated.”I am very happy to have won,” said Alagaratnam. “One win and we’re building momentum. I was surprised Kuwait chose to bat, the wicket was a bit sticky early on. Our bowlers, especially Suresh [Navaratnam], did really well and the spinners played a big part. It’s a little disappointing not to have finished the match but we know our strengths and I was glad to see how fast we were to the ball when fielding.””We’re very disappointed to have lost,” added Kuwait captain Hisham. “Our batsmen couldn’t cope with the early swing. If we win the toss tomorrow, I will think hard about bowling first.”We’re missing Mohammad Murad, he’s the kind of bowler that gets early breakthroughs and he works well with Saad Khalid. Nevertheless we’re looking forward to the rest of the tournament. One strong team would have lost today. We can bounce back.”At Kinrara Oval, Jersey took on local Channel Island rivals Guernsey in the sides’ hotly anticipated first round game. Stuart Le Prevost’s side won the toss and elected to bat against Peter Gough’s bowling attackGuernsey’s star allrounder Jeremy Frith made his intentions for the tournament clear after the 33-year-old smashed his way to 80 runs to be the cornerstone of the side’s innings. Frith departed after being caught by Jersey’s Ben Stevens off the bowling of Gough.Ross Kneller ably assisted Frith for some time, with the 28-year-old right-hander hitting a half-century, while after their departure Le Prevost and David Hooper added important runs. Jersey’s bowlers shared the spoils with captain Gough the pick of the attack with 2 for 11.Jersey initially looked like making light work of their target of 252, knocking off 131 runs before a wicket was lost. The fortunes began to change after a passing rain shower forced the teams from the field. Dean Morrison had been run out for 59 before the brief interval, and when the teams returned to the field Ben Stevens departed without a run to his name after being bowled by Jamie Nussbaumer.Nussbaumer then dismissed in-form batsman Ed Farley who dragged the ball onto his stumps to depart for 64, gathering thunderclouds adding to the drama at Kinrara. Corey Bisson added a hard-fought 29 but Jersey captain Gough managed just 17 runs.As thunder and lightning struck around the ground and the rain clouds converged, Jersey began to lose wickets and at six down in the 44th over, it began to look as though the threatening downpours might end the match. Jersey moved ahead on D/L after a 19-run over off Stuart Bisson, but the rain held off and a reinvigorated Guernsey bowling attack fought their way back into the game.Jersey fell just short despite Edward Farley’s half-century•ICC/Peter Lim

With two overs remaining, Jersey needed 14 with just one wicket in hand, and after some tight bowling the target was 10 from the final six deliveries. Tim Ravenscoft bowled James Faudemer with the second ball of the over to secure a nerve-wracking win.”Obviously gutted about today with the fact we couldn’t score a victory but to keep them down to 250 on such a good batting track was good,” said Gough. “I was really pleased with the way our two young lads worked out in the middle. Corey Bisson and Sam de la Haye both worked really hard and now it’s about improving for tomorrow.””I think we were 15 to 20 short of runs on the board and then we didn’t bowl well to begin with which didn’t help us,” added Frith, who was named man of the match. “I am a little disappointed that I didn’t make it to a hundred and got us to 270 but fundamentally today got us two points. Jersey played fantastically and all credit to them, they probably deserved to win. It was a tough game out there but it’s good to walk away with a win and take the two points.”Fiji got their tournament off to a flying start at Bayeumas Oval, beating the promoted Nigeria by 63 runs. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Fiji lost wickets early on but the Rika brothers, captain Joe and his brother Colin, came together and were soon batting fluently in the morning sunshine.Their fightback was cut short when the Fijian captain was removed by Kunle Adegbola, but Colin Rika’s 40 helped his team pass 100 before the lower order took up the challenge. Wicketkeeper Maciu Gauna made an unbeaten 37 from just 35 deliveries while No. 10 Mohammad Khan’s quickfire cameo helped Fiji reach 203 for 8.In reply the Nigerians simply could not handle the veteran Iniasi Cakacaka’s canny offspin, the 43-year-old dismissing key batsmen Ramit Gill and Sean Philips on his way to 4 for 27. Despite the best attempts of Oluwaseun Odeku, who reached 29, Nigeria were bowled out for 140 in 41 overs.the side was on its way to be all out for 140 when Lomani took two bottom order wickets and the victory was sealed for Fiji when Joshua Ogunlola was run out.”It was great to start off with a win and the boys are feeling good,” said Joe Rika. “Iniasi [Cakacaka] did really well to come back after making a duck with the bat, to come back and take four wickets was a great effort. The boys are really happy and we’re looking forward to our next match tomorrow.”

ScorecardFidel Edwards impressed on his return from the Caribbean Premier League•PA Photos

International bowlers Jackson Bird and Fidel Edwards sliced through Middlesex as Hampshire cruised to a ten-wicket win in the Royal London Cup.Bird and Edwards made sure the Middlesex top order came and went in a constant flurry – leaving them 34 for 5 after 10 overs – as the visitors could only muster 117. Legspin talent Mason Crane continued the annihilation with a mature four-for to blast out the tail before Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry knocked off the target without a fuss.After Middlesex captain Eoin Morgan elected to bat at the Ageas Bowl, it did not take long for the hosts to strike. Edwards flew back on Wednesday after stint in Caribbean Premier League but overcame his jet-lag in just three deliveries – former England Test opener Sam Robson edging behind.Australian Bird – on his Hampshire List A debut – struck in the next over, having another former England star Nick Compton leg before, and Morgan was out in the same way three balls later as Hampshire left the visitors floundering on 5 for 3 by the end of the second over.Dawid Malan gave Middlesex a 25-ball respite, the batsman scoring two boundaries, before he loosely drove to Chris Wood at mid-off off Edwards. And the Barbadian had Nick Gubbins caught at first slip by James Vince the very next ball to leave the score on 22 for 5 before John Simpson left the hat-trick ball alone.Both Edwards and Bird – with first-spell figures of 3 for 15 and 2 for 19 respectively – came out of the attack but there was no respite for the timid Middlesex batsman.Wicketkeeper Simpson was the next to fall, driving a simple catch to Adams in the covers to give Wood a wicket with his fifth delivery. And spin, in the shape of 18-year-old Crane, worked as well as pace when James Franklin – who patiently scored 18 amongst the onslaught – was pinned lbw.James Harris and Ollie Rayner added some semblance of respectability to the innings with a 55-run stand for the eighth wicket. The pair took the score to 100 before Harris swiped to Will Smith close in on the off side for 32 to give Crane his second. And he bagged a third two overs later as Rayner’s resolve ended on 24 when was lbw sweeping.Last-wicket duo Toby Roland-Jones and Junaid Khan had some fun slogging three quick boundaries but Crane ended with a four-for as the Pakistan international picked out Smith – Middlesex reaching a well below-par 117.Adams and Carberry got stuck into the chase with vigour, the openers making the pitch look less of a minefield with some crisp boundaries. Carberry in particular played the short ball with his trademark power – middling a pull to launch a six over square leg before a sumptuous cut for four.Carberry reached a carefree fifty from 42 balls, including eight fours, brought up with a single down the ground. Adams also scored a half-century – his first since making 61 against Middlesex in the Championship in May – to boost his confidence as Hampshire successfully chased down their target with over 27 overs to spare.

Ian Bell has confirmed that he wants to continue playing Test cricket despite suggestions that he was considering retirement. The 33-year-old batsman is one of the most experienced members of England’s Test side but has endured a difficult year, averaging 24.29 with one century.Bell said that he had discussed his future with the team management and his family after England’s Ashes victory and decided he still had the “hunger and desire” to play on. He has confirmed his limited-overs retirement, however. Bell is England’s leading ODI run-scorer but has not been involved since the World Cup.”I’ve decided now is the right time to officially stand down from international one-day cricket and put all my focus and attention on my Test career,” Bell wrote in his newspaper column. “I’ve a huge amount still to give in the Test arena and still have so many ambitions left to achieve, both from a personal and a team perspective.”I spoke with Trevor Bayliss, Paul Farbrace and Alastair Cook in the aftermath of the Oval Test. We had a really good talk and I was as honest as I could be. Deep down though, I think I probably knew I wasn’t ready to call time on my England Test career. I still have that hunger and desire. The day you don’t, is the day you step away.”Since then I’ve sat down with the people whose opinions matter most to me, like my wife and my dad, and it became clear pretty quickly that I still have plenty I want to achieve in Test cricket. The words of encouragement I’ve received from so many people and the few days of rest I’ve had have already emphasised to me that I’m in no way ready to finish.”Ian Bell made 215 runs during the Ashes at an average of 26.87•Getty Images

Bell moved up to No. 3 in the batting order during the Ashes, after Gary Ballance was dropped, but despite scoring a brace of half-centuries in England’s win at Edgbaston he only averaged 26.87. His last Test hundred came in Antigua in April, after which he endured a run of single-figure scores – Bell has made 0 or 1 eight times in 2015.Despite some indifferent form since he topped the averages during the 2013 Ashes, Bell has been a mainstay of the side under Cook. He is England’s joint-fifth most-capped player in Tests and on course to overhaul Michael Atherton, David Gower and Graham Gooch over the next few months; with 22 hundreds, only two England players – Cook and Kevin Pietersen – stand above him.England face two tough tours over the winter, with three Tests against Pakistan in the UAE followed by four in South Africa. The last time England were in the UAE, they lost 3-0 and Bell averaged 8.50 but he has set his sights on playing another Ashes series in 2017-18 and the possibility of an English record for wins against Australia.”I’ll say it now, I would love nothing more than to go to Australia in two years’ time and right the wrongs of our last Ashes tour there,” he said. “I’ve also been asked if I would like to become the first ever English six-time Ashes winner and the answer is yes, absolutely. If I’m playing well and feeling fit, that is without doubt my goal.”

Former USA vice-captain Timroy Allen and fast bowler David Pieters were the standout players during Sunday’s trial matches at the ICC Americas Combine in Indianapolis. Allen top-scored in the first T20 trial match, which was played on the main turf wicket at the Indianapolis World Sports Park, before following it up with a fiery opening spell as his team defended a total of 102 to win by six runs.”In every trial scenario, they’re always going to look at techniques and all that but on the other hand you have the match situation and the position you have been put in. You have to do whatever it takes to get your team through,” Allen said.Allen also spoke highly of the talent at the trial and was impressed with the level of competition on display. “There’s a lot of potential here. For there to be these many guys here, and the amount of cuts they’re making, there’s going to be a lot of potential that get bypassed.”Pieters, who hails from San Diego, was the leading wicket-taker in the opening match with 3 for 15 in his four overs and also executed a run-out in the field. He gave credit, particularly, to being able to work with Courtney Walsh on Saturday during the skills assessment rotations.”That was amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Just being in that personal space with him and having him actually challenge you. He wasn’t an easy coach. He wasn’t taking it easy on us at all. He wanted to push and get the best out of us and that’s exactly what he did. Just the way I ended with that session yesterday, hitting the cones that he wanted me to hit and getting a clap from him, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”The 66 players will have another day of trial matches on Monday before final selections are made for phase two beginning on Friday.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:12

By The Numbers – Six on the trot for Pakistan

The second T20I between Pakistan and Zimbabwe more or less followed the same script as the first. Having chosen to bat, Pakistan scraped to 136 again, and the Zimbabwe batsmen were never on course during the chase. Umar Akmal struck a busy 38 to lend the visitors late boost after a regular fall of wickets, and the target was made to look bigger with the Pakistan bowlers dismantling the Zimbabwe top order inside five overs. The asking rate continued to rise and the hosts eventually fell short by 15 runs.Chamu Chibhabha was given out lbw in the third over of the chase despite the ball pitching outside leg stump, Hamilton Masakadza made room and carved Mohammad Irfan to third man, while some sharp fielding from the tag team of Shahid Afridi and Sohaib Maqsood ran out Craig Ervine. Imad Wasim then struck in his second over when Richmond Mutumbami, scoreless for seven balls, was bowled through the gate. The Pakistan fielders cranked up the intensity, cut down runs and ably backed their bowlers up.Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza offered some resistance with a 60-run partnership, using nudges and bunts while occasionally attempting reverse-sweeps and slogs. Just as Zimbabwe looked to find a higher gear, Raza was dismissed by a canny slower ball from Imran Khan for his maiden international wicket. At that point, the equation read 53 runs from 23 balls.Elton Chigumbura, though, gave Zimbabwe an outside chance when he hit two sixes off Imran over long-off in the 17th over. The first one was palmed over the fence by Ahmed Shehzad, and the second cleared him comfortably. The returning Irfan, coming in for Wahab Riaz, snuffed out Zimbabwe’s slender chance by having Chigumbura caught at long-on for 17 off 8 balls. Williams and Luke Jongwe fought it out but could only reduce the margin of defeat.While Irfan generated typical extra bounce even on a slow pitch, Imran was impressive with his assortment of slower cutters. They finished with combined figures of 8-0-60-4 as Pakistan claimed their third straight T20 series win.The match-winning target was set up by Akmal, who came in at 72 for 4, and boosted Pakistan’s innings. He began with a brace of fours before he launched the first six of the game off the penultimate ball of the innings. Akmal was also adept in finding gaps and Wasim managed a couple of fours as Pakistan took 14 runs off the last over.The start too had been bright before the middle order botched it up. Mohammad Hafeez, the other change in Pakistan’s XI, did not take much time to find his bearings, playing a handsome drive and two pulls.However, Tinashe Panyangara dismissed Shehzad for seven in the fourth over, and two overs later Hafeez was undone by the slowness of the pitch when he tamely chipped Jongwe to short midwicket.The Shoaibs – Malik and Maqsood – threatened to mount a recovery but were foiled by the spinners. Their 30-run stand ended when Malik dragged Graeme Cremer to long-on. Instead of going back to rebuilding mode, Maqsood advanced down the track the following over and played an injudicious shot: skewing one into the lap of backward point. Rizwan and Afridi also failed but Akmal lifted Pakistan, despite good variations from Panyangara and Jongwe at the death.

ScorecardAlex Ross made a career-best 97 not out•Getty Images

Three weeks ago, the Matador Cup squads changed dramatically with the influx of Test players after the cancellation of Australia’s tour of Bangladesh. South Australia, without any players in the national side, were the only team whose squad was unaffected. But the young Redbacks group has defied the odds to see off a much-fancied Victoria and book a place in Sunday’s final.It is quite an achievement for a team featuring only two players – Callum Ferguson and Kane Richardson – who have played for Australia in any format. Their final opponents, New South Wales, have at times in this tournament had 11 international players in their team. But in the elimination final it was the young batsman Alex Ross who set up the victory with his unbeaten 97.Victoria’s line-up was so imposing that Cameron White was made 12th man, but chasing 251 their batting order failed to fire. A direct hit from Jake Lehmann had Aaron Finch run out for a duck in the second over and the No.3 Marcus Stoinis laboured for 102 deliveries for his 56 before he was bowled trying to slog sweep the spinner Tom Andrews.Rob Quiney had plenty of luck on his way to a half-century. On 47 he was given two reprieves, when Daniel Worrall’s delivery clipped the off stump but the bail stayed on, and when he skied a chance that the South Australia captain Travis Head put down at mid-off. Quiney moved on to 71 but when Adam Zampa got rid of him, South Australia were on top.The required run-rate kept ballooning and Victoria’s decision to send Peter Handscomb in ahead of Glenn Maxwell failed, when Handscomb checked his shot and was caught at mid-off from the bowling of Richardson for 6 off 16 balls. Maxwell had to go hard and was caught at deep point off Joe Mennie; Richardson picked up two more wickets as Victoria were dismissed for 194 in the 47th over.The final margin was 56 runs; Mennie and Ross had compiled an invaluable 64-run stand late in the South Australian innings after the top-order batsmen failed to go on with their starts. Mennie struck 33 at a run a ball and Ross struck 10 fours and one six in his unbeaten 97 off 104 deliveries; he missed the chance for a maiden century but did enough to get his side into the final.Ross had taken his time and did not get off the mark until his 20th delivery, but he had come in at four down in the 17th over so some caution was advisable. Once he was set he made the most of it; his half-century came from 70 deliveries and he was still there at the end. Tom Cooper (32) and Head (29) had made top-order contributions, but Ross was the key.Regardless of what happens on Sunday, reaching the final has been a fine achievement for the Redbacks, in the first season under the leadership of captain Head and new coach Jamie Siddons.