TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2016 SPORTS

Uncapped Bruce named in New Zealand T20 squad

CHRISTCHURCH: Uncapped batsman Guptill, and Colin de him alongside the likes of Martin, Corey ing and getting near his best,” eye surgery last month. Larsen said he Tom Bruce has been called into New Grandhomme and Corey Anderson, who and the two Colins is an exciting Larsen added. “He has put in a lot of hard was expected to be back for the test series Zealand’s squad for their has been selected solely as a batsman. prospect.” Wheeler played six one day work to get to this point again, so were that begins on Jan. 12 in Wellington. New three-match series against Bangladesh “Tom is one of the cleanest strikers of the internationals last year but not been looking forward to having him back in Zealand Twenty20 squad: next month, while left arm pace bowler cricket ball in the country,” selector Gavin picked for New Zealand since. He has the mix. (), Corey Anderson, , has been recalled to the Larsen said in a statement yesterday. “He been brought into the side with Tim “Ben’s ability to swing the ball at a Tom Bruce, , Martin national side. has averaged 76 at a strike-rate of 174 Southee being rested for the entire decent clip can trouble any batsmen, as he Guptill, , , The right-handed Bruce would pro- this season, so has proven himself to be a series, while Trent Boult will miss the first has shown in domestic cricket this season.” Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Luke vide a powerful hitting lineup for New very dangerous player. “Power is a critical game in Napier on Jan. 3. Top-order batsman was not Ronchi, , , Ben Zealand with the aggressive Martin element to Twenty20 cricket, so to have “Its been great to see Ben back play- included as he continues to recover from Wheeler. — Reuters Bird puts Australia on top against Pakistan

MELBOURNE: Australian seamer Jackson tinue, and when you win the toss and bat Bird claimed two crucial just before you always rationalise that decision against rain stopped play on the opening day of what could happen in the fourth innings. the second Test against Pakistan at the “We think that in the fourth innings that MCG yesterday. it will be tough to score, history says it is... When tea was called early due to rain, we’ve still got a hell of a lot of work to do in the visitors were 142 for four with opener getting some runs and then very Azhar Ali on 66 and first Test centurion well when we get first crack with the ball.” Asad Shafiq on four, and that proved to be Pakistan’s openers Sami Aslam and Ali the stumps score as well. played and missed on occasion but were The rain continued after tea and play able to negotiate the seamers, and it was was abandoned without any more action. not until the introduction of off-spinner After winning the toss and choosing to bat Nathan Lyon that the home side tasted suc- the visitors made a cautious start but only cess. Aslam had batted with great caution Ali was able to build an innings of sub- for nine from 41 balls but was surprised by stance. Bird (2-53) struck twice in quick suc- some extra bounce off the third ball from cession just before the rain set in to give Lyon. It caught the glove and Australian the home team the ascendancy, removing captain Steven Smith took the catch at first experienced duo Younis Khan (21) and slip. Ali survived a confident lbw appeal Misbah-ul-Haq (11). from the bowing of Josh Hazlewood when Khan, who had been given out lbw on he was on six and was comprehensively three but successfully appealed, looked to beaten by the next ball, but steadied to be finding his touch when Bird sneaked a anchor the innings. ball between his bat and pad to bowl him. But Hazlewood (1-15) struck with the Misbah got an inside edge onto his pad last ball of the morning session, with Babar and short leg Nic Maddinson dived forward Azam (23) edging to Smith in the slips. to take a fine catch which was confirmed Smith, who made some rare catching by the third umpire. errors in the first Test, went low to his right However, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur and just managed to cling onto the sharp was comfortable with the decision to bat chance to reward some excellent bowling first, saying the pitch would remain difficult from Hazlewood. to bat on. Australia kept the same side which won “I think the was tough,” Arthur the first Test of the three-match series in said. “It was really tough to bat on for a Brisbane by 39 runs, keeping faith in strug- CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner attempts to catch Bangladesh’s Imrul Kayes during the one-day international cricket match period, if you got the ball in the right area gling rookie batsman Maddinson. Pakistan between New Zealand and Bangladesh at Hagley Park in Christchurch yesterday. — AFP there was just enough there for the made one change, replacing seamer Rahat bowlers. “We’re comfortable that will con- Ali with Sohail Khan. — AFP SCOREBOARD Latham’s ton leads NZ

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa: Scores at close on the first day of the first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka at St George’s Park yesterday. South Africa, first innings Fall of wickets: 1-104 (Cook), 2-105 (Elgar), 3-178 to comprehensive win S. Cook c Chandimal b Lakmal 59 (Amla), 4-213 (Duminy), 5-225 (Bavuma), 6-253 D. Elgar c Chandimal b Lakmal 45 (Du Plessis). H. Amla c Chandimal b Lakmal 20 Bowling: Lakmal 23-6-62-4, Pradeep 17-4-48-0 CHRISTCHURCH: Opener ’s career J. Duminy lbw b Herath 63 (2nb), Mathews 13-5-26-0 (1w), Chameera 14-1- best 137 set New Zealand up for a crushing 77- SCOREBOARD F. du Plessis c Karunaratne b Lakmal 37 68-0 (3nb), Herath 20-4-48-2, De Silva 3-0-12-0. run victory over Bangladesh in their opening T. Bavuma lbw b Herath 3 To bat: K. Maharaj, K. Abbott, K. Rabada one-day international at Hagley Oval yesterday. Scoreboard at close of play in the first between New Zealand and Bangladesh on yesterday in Q. de Kock 25 With Latham in commanding form and Colin Christchurch, New Zealand. V. Philander not out 6 Sri Lanka: A. Mathews, K. Silva, D. Karunaratne, K. Extras (lb3, nb5, w1) 9 Mendis, D. Chandimal, D. de Silva, K. Perera, R. Munro chiming in with a rollicking 87, New New Zealand Innings I. Kayes c Ronchi b Southee 16 Total (6 wkts, 90 overs) 267 Herath, S. Lakmal, N. Pradeep, D. Chameera. Zealand posted 341-7 and the Bangladesh M. Guptill c Sarkar b M. Rahman 15 S. Sarkar c Williamson b Neesham 1 innings closed at 264-9 with Mushfiqur Rahim T. Latham c Rahim b M. Rahman 137 Mahmudullah c Ronchi b Neesham 0 retired hurt. K. Williamson c Rahim b Ahmed 31 S. Al Hasan c Southee b Ferguson 59 It was New Zealand’s highest score in 26 N. Broom lbw b Al Hasan 22 M. Rahim retired hurt 42 matches against Bangladesh and Latham’s 158- J. Neesham lbw b Al Hasan 12 Sa. Rahman c Boult b Ferguson 16 C. Munro c Ahmed b Al Hasan 87 run stand with Munro was a New Zealand record Mosa. Hossain not out 50 L. Ronchi b Ahmed 5 for the fifth wicket against the tourists. For New M. Mortaza c Broom b Santner 14 Zealand, it was the commanding performance M. Santner not out 8 T. Southee not out 7 T. Ahmed c Ronchi b Ferguson 2 they were looking for after their recent 3-0 hid- Extras (b-6 lb-8 w-3) 17 M. Rahman b Southee 0 ing by Australia. But for Bangladesh there were Total (for 7 wickets, 50 overs) 341 Extras (b-1 lb-6 nb-1 w-18) 26 few highlights to launch their New Zealand tour. Fall of wickets: 1-31 M. Guptill, 2-79 K. Williamson, 3-134 Total (for 9 wickets, 44.5 overs) 264 Their talisman topped their N. Broom, 4-158 J. Neesham, 5-316 C. Munro, 6-323 T. Fall of wickets: 1-34 I. Kayes, 2-48 S. Sarkar, 3-48 bowling (3-69) and batting (59) performances, Latham, 7-327 L. Ronchi. Mahmudullah, 4-81 T. Iqbal, 5-144 S. Al Hasan, 6-167 Sa. and Mosaddek Hossain was not out 50 at the Did not bat: L. Ferguson, T. Boult Rahman, 7-242 M. Mortaza, 8-252 T. Ahmed, 9-264 M. Bowling: M. Mortaza 10-0-61-0; M. Rahman 10-0-62-2(w- end, his maiden ODI half century. Rahman 2); T. Ahmed 9-0-70-2; S. Al Hasan 10-0-69-3(w-1); S. Mushfiqur reached 42 before a hamstring Bowling: T. Boult 9-0-43-0(w-3); T. Southee 9.5-2-63-2(w- Sarkar 4-0-25-0; Mosa. Hossain 7-0-40-0. strain ended his innings, but by then Bangladesh 3); L. Ferguson 9-0-54-3(w-5); J. Neesham 7-1-36-3(nb-1 were 219-6 and the required run rate had bal- Bangladesh Innings w-3); M. Santner 10-0-61-1(w-3). looned out to 10.69. But it was always going to T. Iqbal c Santner b Neesham 38 Result: New Zealand won by 77 runs be a big ask for Bangladesh after Latham’s 137 off 121 deliveries. The left-hander had a nerve-wracking personal best, from 61 deliveries. pacer had Mahmudullah caught behind without moment on seven when a Mashrafe Mortaza Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes made a solid scoring and Bangladesh were 48-3 in the 11th sailed just over the off stumps but oth- start for Bangladesh, pushing through to 34 in over. By the 18th over it was 81-4 when Neesham erwise he remained unflustered despite the the eighth over before Kayes was the first to fall removed Tamim for 38. Shakib offered stubborn inability of the top order to stay with him. for 16. With his dismissal, and the introduction of resistance with 59 off 54 deliveries and Mosaddek (15), Kane Williamson (31), Neil all-rounder Jimmy Neesham to the attack, New also batted better than a run-a-ball for his 50. For MELBOURNE: Pakistan’s Younis Khan, right, watches as compatriot Azhar Ali ducks a Broom (22) and Jimmy Neesham (12) all failed to Zealand took control. New Zealand, Neesham took three for 36 and bouncer from Australia’s Mitchell Starc, left, on the first day of their second cricket push on. New Zealand were 158-4 when Munro With his second delivery, Neesham removed Lockie Ferguson three for 54. The second match Test in Melbourne, yesterday. —AP joined Latham and proceeded to smack 87, his Soumya Sarkar and two balls later the medium in the series is in Nelson on Thursday. — AFP SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka fights back, SA 267-6 in first test PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa: Scores at close on the first day of the first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka at St PORT ELIZABETH: Sri Lanka had all its As well as getting rid of the openers, sweep and trapped him in front. Duminy though, and he came unstuck. “You can George’s Park yesterday. success in the afternoon to pull South Lakmal also dismissed Hashim Amla for a failed with a DRS review. get ahead of yourself,” Duminy said. “The Africa back from 104-0 to 267-6 at stumps scratchy 20, continuing the South African Duminy had started in a whirlwind of way that Dean (Elgar) and Stephen (Cook) South Africa, first innings on the first day of the opening Test yester- No. 3’s dip in form and giving the quick attacking shots, eventually hitting 10 started was exceptional. We got quite a day. Seamer Suranga Lakmal led Sri bowler all of the first three wickets - and all fours, most of them blistering cover drives. few starts but unfortunately we didn’t cap- S. Cook c Chandimal b Lakmal 59 Lanka’s revival at St. George’s Park with caught behind by wicketkeeper Dinesh He tried to take the attack to Herath, italize on it.” — AP D. Elgar c Chandimal b Lakmal 45 four wickets and spinner Rangana Herath Chandimal. Herath had Duminy and took two to undo the South Africans’ work Temba Bavuma (3) out lbw and when Du H. Amla c Chandimal b Lakmal 20 in the first half of the day. Plessis, South Africa’s new permanent skip- J. Duminy lbw b Herath 63 A watchful half-century from Stephen per, nicked Lakmal to Dinesh Karunaratne Cook (59) in a century opening stand with at first slip at the end of the day, the Sri F. du Plessis c Karunaratne b Lakmal 37 Dean Elgar (45) and an attacking 63 from Lankans strode off to their dressing room JP Duminy gave South Africa early impe- in the ascendancy. T. Bavuma lbw b Herath 3 tus in the series-opener after winning the They had trudged off at lunch with Q. de Kock not out 25 toss. Sri Lanka persevered after struggling nothing to show for their efforts from the in the morning session. Lakmal removed first session of the three-test series. V. Philander not out 6 both openers in the space of four overs Openers Cook and Elgar began with a Extras (lb3, nb5, w1) 9 soon after lunch before Herath stopped record, with their partnership of 104 the the free-hitting Duminy in his tracks, trap- first century opening stand for South Total (6 wkts, 90 overs) 267 ping him leg before wicket. Lakmal also Africa in Port Elizabeth in nearly 50 years. dismissed captain Faf du Plessis for 37 with The last time two openers put on 100 for Fall of wickets: 1-104 (Cook), 2-105 (Elgar), 3-178 (Amla), 4- the new ball six overs before stumps, sug- South Africa was in 1970 and the country’s 213 (Duminy), 5-225 (Bavuma), 6-253 (Du Plessis). gesting that Sri Lanka’s bowlers had taken last test before a 22-year absence from a little time but had finally found their international cricket because of apartheid. Bowling: Lakmal 23-6-62-4, Pradeep 17-4-48-0 (2nb), range on a pitch that had a good covering Lakmal produced edges by Cook and Mathews 13-5-26-0 (1w), Chameera 14-1-68-0 (3nb), of green grass but didn’t appear to clearly Elgar in the space of four overs straight favor either batsman or bowler. after lunch, though, and continued Amla’s Herath 20-4-48-2, De Silva 3-0-12-0. Lakmal’s 4-62 was a career-best per- lean run. The year started with Amla step- formance for him in tests. “The first two ping down as captain, and making 201 in a To bat: K. Maharaj, K. Abbott, K. Rabada hours didn’t go our way but we came back test against England, but he hasn’t made a Sri Lanka: A. Mathews, K. Silva, D. Karunaratne, K. Mendis, strongly,” Sri Lanka’s Kaushal Silva said. 50 in his last seven test innings and has The Sri Lankans are on a five-test win- gone 10 knocks without a hundred.Herath, D. Chandimal, D. de Silva, K. Perera, R. Herath, S. Lakmal, N. PORT ELIZABERTH: South African batsman JP Duminy plays a shot during the first ning streak but will especially value a Sri Lanka’s 38-year-old spinner, had day of the first cricket Test match between South Africa and Sri Lanka yesterday at Pradeep, D. Chameera. strong start in South Africa, having never arguably the day’s most important break- the Port Elizabeth stadium, South Africa. —AFP won a series in the country. through when he tempted Duminy into a