Pakistan beat Australia by 11 runs in the second Twenty20 international at Edgbaston to wrap up a 2-0 series win.

After Kamran Akmal’s 33 from 25 balls helped Pakistan post 9-162, its bowlers were able to dismiss Australia for the second game running and spark noisy celebrations.

Left-arm quick Mohammad Aamer led the Pakistan attack with 3-27, matching the figures he returned in Tuesday’s 23-run win in the opening match at the same venue.

That win had ended Pakistan’s 12-match losing run against Australia in all formats and the series success should serve to provide a confidence boost ahead of the two-Test series, which begins at Lord’s next week.

Australia’s only real bright spot came in the form of left-arm orthodox spinner Steve O’Keefe who claimed 3-29 on his international debut.

O’Keefe’s selection was one of two changes to the Australian side. He came in along with James Hopes, in place of Shane Watson and Steve Smith, while Pakistan was unchanged.

With Watson out, Clarke moved to the top of the order for his side’s chase. Clarke took 15 from his first eight deliveries before David Warner (one) was trapped lbw by Aamer.

Tim Paine then drove Shoaib Akhtar to Umar Gul for a duck, and while Clarke looked to maintain his belligerence with back-to-back boundaries off Aamer, the captain chopped the next ball onto his stumps.

The right-hander’s 30 from 17 balls silenced some of his doubters, but his departure left Australia in trouble at 3-33 after four overs.

A stand of 50 from 46 balls between Hopes and David Hussey steadied the chase before quick glovework from Kamran ensured the vital breakthrough.

The wicketkeeper whipped off the bails with Hopes barely out of his ground to end his 28-ball 30 and spark the delight of bowler Afridi who celebrated in typically unguarded style.

Afridi then had dangerman Cameron White (seven) caught in the deep before David Hussey (33) offered a simple return catch to Saeed Ajmal as Australia’s batting began to creak against spin for the second game running.

But with Michael Hussey still at the crease Pakistan still feared a repeat of his World Twenty20 semi-final heroics.

The West Australian briefly threatened as he flicked Gul for back-to-back boundaries to leave Australia needing 27 from 17 balls.

Gul struck a vital blow two balls later when he trapped Michael Hussey (25) in front.

The impressive Aamer then pinned Mitchell Johnson in front for a duck and with 19 needed off the final over for last pair Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait, it proved too much.

Pakistan had earlier started badly with the bat when Shahzaib Hasan fell lbw for his second duck of the series as part-timer David Hussey opened the innings with an unlikely maiden wicket.

Kamran and Salman Butt recovered from the early setback in a stand of 61 from 42 balls before debutant O’Keefe struck with the final ball of his first over in national colours.

Salman (31) top-edged a sweep to short fine leg where White took a diving catch.

Kamran (33), having seen David Hussey carry his drive to long-on over the rope, departed from Johnson’s next ball when he skied to Clarke at mid-wicket, but that only brought Umar Akmal to the crease, after his match-winning 64 from 31 balls in Game 1.

The 20-year-old was soon peppering the boundaries alongside Afridi, although the skipper stole some of his limelight when he thrashed Shaun Tait over his head and into the construction site at the old members’ end.

The pair added 30 from 20 deliveries before they fell to back-to-back balls from Nannes.

Umar (25) skied a high steepling shot which Nannes did well to hold onto, before he produced a short ball to catch the gloves of Afridi (18) and fly through to wicketkeeper Paine. Aamer nicked the hat-trick ball through the vacant slip area for four.

Those dismissals began a tumble of late wickets, with O’Keefe finding the stumps of both Gul and Akhtar in the penultimate over.

Aamer was able to supply some late hitting, launching O’Keefe over mid-wicket, to finish unbeaten on 21 from 11 balls in an all-round display.

Source: Cricket Australia

It was a different country but the same result for Australia as they breezed to a six-wicket win over an out-classed New Zealand in the first Twenty20 in Wellington. After an unbeaten home summer the visitors started their tour with another convincing display built on very fast bowling and powerful opening batting.

New Zealand were knocked over for 118 by the speed of Shaun Tait, Dirk Nannes and Mitchell Johnson and their chances of defending the small total were basically extinguished as soon as David Warner and Shane Watson blasted 28 from the first two overs. The openers were dismissed quickly and Johnson’s promotion to No. 4 failed, dropping the visitors to 39 for 3, but the small target allowed them to take their time and the win came with 24 balls to spare.

David Hussey, who hit Nathan McCullum for three fours in a row, was the aggressor in the 67-run partnership with Michael Clarke, who accumulated calmly for 18 off 26. Hussey finished with 46 from 36 balls and left shortly before the end when he drove McCullum to cover. Cameron White ended the game with a four and a straight six off Martin Guptill in a strong sign-off.

Warner didn’t have a chance to try batting right handed, but he made an impact with his usual stance by introducing himself to Shane Bond with a lofted straight four and a six to square leg in the first six balls. The situation was worse in the next over for Daryl Tuffey, who was taken for 18 by Watson’s four fours and a two.

They both left with 19 – and strike-rates of more than 150 – after Warner was bowled trying to slog another six from Bond and Watson was lbw to Daniel Vettori, who brought himself on in the fourth over. Vettori is always a threat against Australia and they got a sign of what life will be like over the next month as he allowed 1 for 13 from four. Bond touched 150kph in his opening spell to join the pace party and finished with 2 for 32.

Johnson’s three early wickets left New Zealand at an uncomfortable 54 for 4 and the intervention of James Franklin, who collected a composed 43 off 42, was required to get them past 100. Only two other batsmen, Guptill (30) and Gareth Hopkins (21), reached double figures as the hosts were over-run.

Johnson, who finished with 3 for 19, joined in a frightening partnership with Tait and Nannes as the trio operated around 150kph. Tait and Nannes collected two wickets while Watson also chipped in with a couple of victims in a comprehensive performance from the attack.

Brad Haddin began the day in spectacular style when he dived to his right for a one-handed catch to remove the dangerous Brendon McCullum from the fourth ball. Johnson, the first-change, bowled Peter Ingram with his opening delivery to have the hosts 13 for 2 in the fifth over and he was also involved when Ross Taylor (9) was unlucky to be given out lbw by Billy Bowden. Taylor, a player who is so important to his side, was hit on the foot well outside off stump and departed at 3 for 33.

Finding the boundary was the hard thing for the home side and Australia’s tight bowling prevented a quick start and a competitive score. Guptill broke free a handful of times but was taken by Johnson after Watson ran back to claim a top edge at midwicket.

A quick stand of 50 in 5.1 overs between Franklin and Hopkins was crucial in gaining some momentum for the hosts, but they quickly fell back and were dismissed on the final ball of the 20th over. They will need to improve dramatically for the second match in Christchurch on Sunday if they are going to end Australia’s winning streak.

Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo.

England spinner Laura Marsh has admitted she can’t wait to be involved in her side’s attempt to win the ICC World Twenty20.

Marsh, who was the leading wicket-taker at the ICC Women’s World Cup earlier in the year, will be hoping to repeat her excellent spin partnership with Holly Colvin, which was one of the key reasons behind Charlotte Edwards’ side triumph in Australia.

“We are really excited. We don’t often get the chance to play in front of big crowds and the chance of playing at Lord’s in the final, and Trent Bridge or The Oval in the semi-final, is a fantastic prospect and we can’t waited to get started,” said Marsh.

“We looked at this year and said it was a massive year with three major titles for us. To win the World Cup was very special but we only have done one third of the job. We are now concentrating on the World Twenty20 and if we win that it would be fantastic and something I would never forget.”

Marsh, who only turned to spin a year and a half ago after previously being a medium-pace bowler, admits that two months after beating New Zealand in the final, the reality of being a World Cup winner has hit her and she has enjoyed being able to inspire more people to play the game.

“The events have sunk in and we are really proud to have been part of a World Cup winning side. It has been good not to have had too much time to look back at the event and all of our focus is now on the Twenty20,” she said.

“Generally people if you ask them about women’s cricket they will know that we won the World Cup and we have put ourselves on the map a bit more.”

“I have just been to a local club for a primary school presentation and everybody was so excited to see an England player and one of the most special things is passing on your knowledge and inspiring young cricketers.”

Zaheer Abbas, the former Pakistan captain, has said his country will be better served with a specialist batting coach rather than a sports psychologist to help them perform better and cope with pressure situations, starting from the World Twenty20 in England next month. The Pakistan Cricket Board had, earlier this week, appointed psychologist Maqbool Babri to work with the team in the pre-tournament conditioning camp at a hill resort in Bhurban.

“I don’t understand what purpose it will serve to have a sports psychologist give lectures to the players,” Abbas told Dawn. “Because it is obvious that the team’s main problem is the batting not clicking consistently as it should. The board should think about having a full-time batting coach with the team. And it is clear their fielding also needs to improve.”

The poor batting was primarily responsible for the ODI series defeat against Australia in the UAE recently. They were bowled out for 207, 171 and 197 in the three games they lost and that cost them the series. They were well-placed for victory in the third ODI but collapsed due to shoddy shot selection and lost ten wickets for only 76 runs. They rebounded in the fifth ODI, winning the dead rubber by seven wickets before winning the one-off Twenty20 international.

Another former Pakistan international, Mohsin Khan, also didn’t support the idea of hiring a psychologist. ‘These players are not small children but professionals and they should know what they are supposed to do on the field,” Mohsin said. “I belong to the old school of thought and I don’t know if having a sports psychologist giving lectures will really help to improve the performance of these players in the (Twenty20) World Cup.”

Pakistan finished runner-up to India in the previous World Twenty20, in South Africa in 2007.

West Indies have stuck with largely the same women’s squad for next month’s World Twenty20 that represented them at the World Cup earlier this year in Australia. The only new face is batsman Juliana Nero, who had been in the original squad for the World Cup but missed out due to a hamstring injury.

Two players who made the trip to Australia miss out: Afy Fletcher, who took two wickets at 36.50 in five matches, and Geneille Greaves, who only got one game.

Merissa Aguilleira continues to be the captain, and Kirbyina Alexander will be her deputy. The pair had led West Indies to a creditable fifth-place finish in the World Cup in March.

The women’s World Twenty20 kicks off on June 11, with West Indies taking on South Africa in Taunton. The other teams in West Indies’ group are New Zealand and Australia.

West Indies squad Merissa Aguilleira (capt), Kirbyina Alexander (vice-captain), Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Cordel Jack, Stacy-Ann King, Pamela Lavine, Debbie-Ann Lewis, Anisa Mohammed, Juliana Nero, Shakera Selman, Danielle Small, Charlene Taitt, Stafanie Taylor

Mumbai, Mar 31 (PTI) Praveen Amre, who guided Mumbai to their 38th Ranji Trophy title earlier this season as coach, has been appointed as the coach of the Mumbai Indians franchise team for its IPL campaign in South Africa.

Former Test middle order batsman Amre has replaced ex-India opener Lalchand Rajput as Mumbai Indians coach and will be assisting the squad’s chief mentor and bowling coach Shaun Pollock, a spokesperson for the franchise told PTI today.

“Amre has joined as coach replacing Rajput. He would be assisting Pollock who is the chief mentor of the team as well as its bowling coach while Jonty Rhodes is the third arm as the fielding coach,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also informed that most of the team’s members, barring the foreigners and captain Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Dhawal Kulkarni, who are set to return from New Zealand after the Test series ends, are to leave on April 7 for South Africa.

“Sachin and the other seniors are set to return on April 9 and are tentatively scheduled to leave on April 13, but the programme is not finalised. All the others, except the four and the foreigners, are to leave on April 7,” the spokesperson added. PTI

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) The Indian Olympic Association wants the Indian Premier League to be deferred till the general elections are over as any untoward incident during the Twenty20 cricket event could raise serious security concerns for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

The second edition of the IPL, starting April 10, has come under a cloud of uncertainity in the aftermath of last year’s Mumbai terror strikes and the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore on March 3.

To compound problems, the IPL coincides with the general elections and the Home Ministry has already made it clear that it cannot provide paramilitary forces for the event during the elections.

“IPL should be postponed till after the elections are over because a lot of state governments have also said it is not the right time and they need paramilitary forces which I think the government can’t give,” IOA President Suresh Kalmadi said today.

“So, if there is a severe incident during the IPL matches, I think it will have repercussions on the Commonwealth Games itself,” he added.

He, however, rubbished claims that the Delhi Games was in jeopardy following the security concerns raised by participating nations after the Lahore incident, saying the security arrangement for the event would be a very tight. PTI

Joseph Hoover

Wellington, Mar 1 (PTI) When Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s legion set sail for the Antipodes 10 days ago they were a confident bunch, pretty much sure they could vanquish New Zealand in their own backyard.

But having suffered back-to-back defeats in the Twenty20 series, the visitors have been riddled with self-doubt, accentuated by the shoulder injury to pace ace Ishant Sharma.

That T20 world champions India lost both their matches here makes them vulnerable against a side which has been playing aggressive and positive brand of cricket.

Though the young Kiwis are in awe of Sachin Tendulkar, they have cared little for India’s record over the last 18 months, hitting it for sixes in the T20 games at Christchurch and the Westpac Stadium here.

The emergence of a new breed of young, exciting players who are positive and bold have done New Zealand a world of good.

They play their natural game and don’t fret about setbacks. The infusion of fresh blood has enriched the Black Cap’s stock, a position from where their international rating can only look up. If they win the five-match series hands down, they could upstage India (third) in the ICC ODI ratings. PTI

Joseph Hoover

Christchurch, Feb 25 (PTI) Smarting from the seven-wicket defeat in the tour opener against New Zealand, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today attributed the loss to the irresponsible batting by his teammates.

The Indian captain, suffering his third defeat in 12 T20 matches, felt that his batsmen needlessly went after the Kiwi attack without proper planning, which led to his side losing too many wickets at the beginning of the innings.

“I think most of the batsmen batted brilliantly but the mistake we committed was that we went with the momentum. Maybe one of the batsmen could have realised that we had got off to a flier and stayed put at the crease,” said Dhoni.

“Throughout the IPL and Twenty20 games we have seen that even if you bat out 20 overs, you don’t score more than 200 runs.

“So you have to realise whether you are happy with a score of 180 or 190. Or whether you look for those extra 25 runs which we don’t actually need and end up getting 160-odd, a total which is difficult for the bowlers to defend in conditions like these and on wickets that are placid,” Dhoni said. PTI

Christchurch, Feb 23 (PTI) New Zealand coach Andy Moles and middle-order batsman Ross Taylor consider India above South Africa and Australia and feel Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team should be rated number one in the world for their consistent performance over a period of time.

India defeated Australia in the Test series and followed it up with another triumph against England in both Tests and one-dayers.

They carried on the good work with a 4-1 victory in Sri Lanka. India are currently on a roll and though they may not have won in New Zealand in 41 years, Dhoni’s team has the ability to put the record straight.

“I think in all facets they are the number one team in the world. You look at the way they have played over the last 18 months, they have gone round the world and at home and they have played very, very good cricket,” said Moles.

India’s dismal away record had very little significance for the New Zealand coach.

The last time India toured here they lost both the Test and one-day series but Moles feels with the talent and experience at India’s disposal, they would prove to be difficult. PTI