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ScorecardFile photo – Peter Moor stood out with 157 in Zimbabwe A’s strong first-innings batting performance•AFP

The first four-day match between Pakistan A and Zimbabwe A ended in a draw at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, as the hosts got some valuable match practice ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka.Zimbabwe A, fielding a full squad of Test players, opted to bat first and were reduced to 193 for 5 before Peter Moor took charge of the game and scored 157, studded with 11 fours and eight sixes. Contributions from Richmond Mutumbami (38) and Graeme Cremer (54) helped Zimbabwe put on 251 for the last five wickets and reach 444. Legspinner Shadab Khan took 4 for 114 and left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar took 3 for 112 for Pakistan.Pakistan’s response started with the loss of two quick wickets, but opener Zain Abbas scored his second first-class century as he set up partnerships with Shohaib Maqsood (54) and Saad Ali (62) to take them out of trouble. He scored 137 before falling to Cremer, who ended with 4 for 82. Allrounder Fahim Ashraf scored an unbeaten 61 to take Pakistan to 358.Malcolm Waller scored an unbeaten 87 in the second innings that lasted 75.2 overs before Zimbabwe declared on 219 for 5. Sikandar Raza (40) and Craig Ervine (38) managed to get some time in after veteran Hamilton Masakadza got out without scoring. Asghar had an impressive outing once again, taking four of the five wickets that fell.Fakhar Zaman (40*) and Zain Abbas (39*), the Pakistan openers, took them to 72 for no loss before play ended.

Middlesex 242 and 63 for 0 lead Warwickshire 172 (Westwood 81, Rayner 5-49) by 133 runs
ScorecardIan Westwood top-scored with 81 but his run out precipitated a collapse•Getty Images

At 122 for 2, with a second consecutive century seemingly well within the grasp of Ian Westwood and Ian Bell supporting him with dogged vigilance at the other end, Warwickshire might have quietly fancied themselves to defy Middlesex’s spinners and claim a first-innings lead.Then came a controversial run-out, which changed the course of the day, perhaps the match and may yet be seen as a critical moment in the destiny of this season’s Championship.Westwood was the victim, denied his just deserts in almost comical fashion. Bell drove towards mid-on, Ollie Rayner, the bowler, dived to his right in an attempt to cut it off and failed, but in doing so presented himself unwittingly as an obstacle to Westwood, who had answered Bell’s call for a single.Though stumbling, Westwood managed to stay on his feet, but by now Toby Roland-Jones had fielded at mid-on and was preparing to release the ball underarm towards the non-striker’s stumps. Bell changed his mind about the run and Westwood spun round but with Rayner still prostrate instinctively stopped in his tracks, by which time Roland-Jones had hit the target and the stranded batsman was cursing his luck.Back on his feet again, Rayner shrugged apologetically, while Bell spread his arms appealingly, looking in the direction of his opposite number, James Franklin, who quickly sought the counsel of the umpires. A discussion followed, prompting Westwood to delay his departure, but if consideration was given to withdrawing the appeal it was rejected and Westwood was sent on his way.The word from the officials later was that since there had been no wilful attempt to obstruct the batsman there was no reason to turn down the appeal. Inevitably, there were mutterings about the spirit of the game but in this instance there was no onus on Middlesex, for whom a win here could go a long way towards clinching a first title in 23 years, not to accept a slice of good fortune.Rayner admitted he was happy it was not his call to make as to whether Westwood should have been invited to remain.”I’m glad it wasn’t my decision but it is a bit of a funny one because if it had gone for one nothing would have been said,” he said. “As it is the ball was hit back at me and I tried to stop the one, and if you look at it on the camera it is after that has happened that they decide to take the run.”It is a shame when something like that makes such an impact on the game but a wicket is a prized thing in cricket, the umpires seemed okay with it and as far as we are concerned it is a legitimate run-out.”Westwood himself, though disappointed, regarded himself as a victim of misfortune – for the second day running, after being hit by the ball at short leg on day one – rather than anything more sinister. He had the consolation of another solid score and the prospect of a much better end to the season than its beginning, when a paltry 15 runs in his first five matches saw him dropped.”It was just one of those things,” he said. “Ollie was lying in front of me so it was impossible to get back, but I think the rule is that unless Ollie is deliberately impeding me, which he wasn’t, then the umpires have to give it out. Then it down to the opposition captain as to whether to uphold the appeal.”In any event, it could hardly be argued, as Warwickshire collapsed to 172 all out, that the next seven wickets were a matter of luck. Within four more overs, Ravi Patel, the left-arm spinner called in for his first match of the season, had dismissed Sam Hain and then Bell via catches by first slip and the wicketkeeper, and then Rayner, who is enjoying an excellent season, took five off the reel.He trapped Rikki Clarke in front, playing back, before Keith Barker gave him the charge and was stumped, then turned one sharply to bowl Jeetan Patel through the gate. Sam Robson took a fine catch at short leg to remove Chris Wright and Harry Podmore held on to a steepler on the run at mid-on as Josh Poysden completed the five.The haul takes him to 40 for the season, in sight of the 46 wickets he accumulated in 2013, his best year so far. “It has been a good year, the pitches have been a little bit better and I think I know my game a bit better but I’m not trying to get ahead of myself,” he said. “I’m just trying to get the ball in good areas. If you bowl a lot of overs there is a fair chance of getting a few wickets and that’s what has happened.”Rain is forecast for Saturday, but after Robson and Nick Gubbins added 63 to the lead for no loss, Middlesex have an advantage of 133 and a productive morning would see them well placed to advance the match before any bad weather arrives.

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has warned the PCB to stop hosting its “home” series in the UAE or it will damage Pakistan cricket.”Playing on the flat and low-bounce pitches of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai has already affected our cricket and our players, and if we don’t stop organising our series there it will eventually damage our cricket,” Yousuf told PTI.He said that playing in the UAE for the last six or seven years had an adverse effect on the skills and technique of Pakistan batsmen. “If it is all about creating records, fine. But it is not helping our cricket in anyway and we will stop producing players capable of playing on any surface in a few years’ time if we continue playing our home series in UAE.”Yousuf said that it was a point of concern that against Australia in two Tests in the UAE in 2014-15, Pakistan batsmen had scored nine centuries while in the first two Tests in England there was only one century.”And let us be straight, so far we have not encountered any typical English pitch in the ongoing series,” he said.He backed any move by the PCB to try to organise its home series at some other neutral venue. “Sri Lanka or Bangladesh are far better options as conditions there are more suited for cricket,” he said.The PCB has been forced to organise its home series at neutral venues since the attack by gunmen on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

Towards the end of India’s practice session at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Monday, Rohit Sharma ignored a teasing legbreak outside his off stump. Cheteshwar Pujara, the deliverer of that legbreak, grinned. Someone behind him – possibly R Ashwin – yelled out: “Bowled, Yasir!”In the first half of 2015, Pujara versus Rohit was a batsman-against-batsman contest, a selection headache for India’s Test-match team management. Now, things were a little different. Pujara was bowling to Rohit. No matter what Rohit did, Pujara was yelping excitedly, whether it was a defensive push into the off side – “caught at silly point!” – or a leg-side slog – “caught at midwicket!”Pujara had already finished a long batting stint, as had M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. In pairs, they had rotated through three different nets – seamers, spinners and throwdowns.Rohit had not batted with that group. He was now batting against Pujara, Ashwin – who continued bowling despite a long spell against the first set of batsmen – and a pair of net bowlers. At the other two nets were Wriddhiman Saha and Stuart Binny.Binny, by then, had bowled a lengthy spell, and had looked particularly sharp against Dhawan, swerving the ball past the left-hander’s outside edge on a couple of occasions. Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami had bowled alongside Binny at the seamers’ net, and had both looked to hit fullish lengths, with Ishant sending down the odd bouncer for variety.Concurrently, Ashwin, Jadeja and Amit Mishra had been in operation at the spinners’ net. When the first set of batsmen had completed their sessions, Mishra had bowled to an empty net with head coach Anil Kumble keeping close watch. With the toe of his shoe, Kumble had drawn a line extending down the pitch from leg stump, and seemed to instruct his legspinner to try and pitch the ball within the stumps, perhaps in order to keep the lbw and the outside edge in play.Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur only came out when the core batting group had finished its session, and bowled solely to Rohit, Saha, the allrounders, and the lower order.Watching the first half – or three-quarters, in terms of time – of the net session, it seemed as though India had narrowed their squad down to 13 for the first Test in Antigua. Rohit, Umesh, Bhuvneshwar and Thakur did not seem to be among the 13.It also looked like India were planning to play five bowlers – or four specialists and an allrounder – leaving them two major calls to make on the eve of the match: whether to pick Dhawan or Rahul to partner Vijay at the top of the order; and whether to pick a seam-bowling allrounder in Binny, a spin-bowling allrounder in Jadeja, or to pick both and leave out Mishra.With three days to go for the Test match, not too much could be gleaned from looking at the pitch, straw-coloured and glowing in the afternoon sun, except that there was hardly any grass on it. The pitches in St. Kitts, where India played their two warm-up matches, were on the slow side, and Ashwin had reckoned his team would need to be patient in order to take 20 wickets given similar conditions in the Test series. “I’m sure I’ll have to be as boring as possible in terms of trying to plug away all day long,” he had said.On Monday, Rahane reinforced that point, from both batting and bowling perspectives.”Patience will be the key as a batting unit but once you get set it is important to [make] each and every session [count] because we will have to give time for our bowlers,” he said. “It is not easy to take 20 wickets on this kind of pitches, especially on the slower tracks. As a batting unit, we will have to take responsibility and I think one or two batsmen will have to get set and score big here.”And that, he said, might mean a guarded approach from the batsmen.”You cut out certain shots because, technically, I don’t think we will have to change anything really. But we will have to cut out some shots initially, in the first or second session, and after that when you get used to the conditions you will play your shots. But initially, it is important to take time for yourself. If you are used to getting 100 in 150 balls, maybe here you will have to get 100 in 200 balls. So as a batsman it is important to play at least 200-plus balls here.”It will be even more vital for India’s specialist batsmen to spend time at the crease if there are only five of them. The trade-off, of course, is an extra bowler, another body to share the workload of taking 20 wickets in sluggish conditions.

ScorecardLiam Dawson caused Somerset’s collapse•Getty Images

Tom Alsop crashed his highest NatWest T20 Blast to help Hampshire thrash Somerset by 83 runs – to condemn the visitors to the South Group wooden spoon.Alsop, on just his eighth Twenty20 appearance, timed and slapped his way to his first format half century.Stand in captain Liam Dawson bagged his first Blast five-for with figures of five for 17 as Somerset’s chase never got going.Alsop started as he meant to go on, after Liam Dawson won the toss and batted, stroking two boundaries through mid-wicket in the first over.Hampshire, who were already resigned to playing youngster after long being knocked out, were further hindered when captain Sean Ervine was injured in the warm up and Adam Wheater was struck down by an illness.Those absentees meant there was a place for teenager Jake Goodwin to make his senior debut, and he took his chance opening up with Alsop.The pair put on a platform building 83 for the first wicket, with the promising Goodwin scoring 32 before he was stumped off fellow Blast first-timer Dominic Bess.Meanwhile, Alsop was clattering everything coming his way, two maximums sailing over the ropes on his way to a maiden format fifty, the seventh of his senior career, off 34 balls.Pakistani Shahid Afridi, on his last Hampshire performance, entertained in a 12-ball cameo, where he bagged 21, but drilled a full toss straight to short extra cover.Another 50 partnership between Alsop and Dawson, standing in for stand in Ervine with James Vince on international duty, followed.Alsop was closing in on three figures but was running out of time to reach it, and with 14 balls left in the innings he opened up – firstly he was dropped at deep mid-wicket but a ball later he departed for 85.The hosts setting Somerset 182 to win, and it did not start well as Adam Hose was caught behind in the second over off Ryan McLaren.South African McLaren was back in the wickets when Peter Trego skied to Gavin Griffiths at mid-on and the Lancashire loanee bowled James Hildreth an over later as the chase faltered.Tom Abell was next to fall, the first of the evening to spin, as Dawson tempting him to cut to a fine diving Alsop.Dawson took two in two balls, Ryan Davies bowled and Josh Davey stumped, and then Afridi joined in when Jim Allenby – a rare positive with 40 – swept to short fine leg.England T20 star Dawson had Bess bowled and Max Waller snaffled deep on the leg side to complete his best analysis in twenty over cricket.Brad Taylor ended the annihilation by castling Oliver Sale, giving Hampshire their fourth win of the campaign as both sides bowed out.

Nottinghamshire admit they face a fight to keep Alex Hales after two other clubs made approaches for the player.While Hales may appear an unlikely target in some ways – as an England opener in all three formats, his availability for county cricket is limited – such is his ability in white ball cricket, in particular, that he could prove a huge asset in a relaunched T20 competition which might well, sooner or later, become the centrepiece of the domestic season.That has quickened the interest of Essex, for one, a county with sharpened ambition under the cricket chairmanship of Ronnie Irani.Hales is out of contract at Nottinghamshire at the end of the season and, as things stand, the club have not opened contract talks with the player.”We want Alex to stay,” Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. “But we haven’t wanted to clog his mind with contract talk when he is trying to earn an England contract. We have had a couple of approaches for him from other clubs but, as an England player, people may wonder how much they are going to see of him.”His game has matured. He has come to terms with practice. His general approach has improved through being around guys like Alastair Cook and Joe Root and he has learned a lot about how to prepare.”It was a brave decision not to play at the start of the year. I admire that. He gave others the chance to perform and Sam Robson and Adam Lyth did that. But apart from England, he has played pretty much non-stop for three years with the Big Bash and Notts and he felt he needed a break. It was a ballsy decision.”With Hales largely unavailable to Nottinghamshire anyway, the club have made moves to find a replacement batsman. As well as confirming they had made an approach for Warwickshire’s Varun Chopra. Essex are interested here, too. Newell also hinted they had interest in the Durham pair of Scott Borthwick and Mark Stoneman.”We have put in a 28-day approach for Chopra,” Newell said. “And we have put in 28-day approaches for the top order batsmen who are available. We’ve made contact with those counties.”Meanwhile, Newell rated Warwickshire as “the best team” in Division One of the Championship and said they had “every chance” of lifting the trophy at the end of the season. Accepting that his side were “on the wrong end of the game” he admitted he had some relief when rain saw the final day abandoned at around lunch time.”Warwickshire have so much experience and they don’t have the same injuries as Yorkshire,” he said. “Rikki Clarke is an outstanding bowler these days and Boyd Rankin is bowling very quickly. And with Trott and Bell available all the time… I think Warwickshire might be the best team.”Newell also said he hoped that Stuart Broad, who is keen to return to the England white ball teams, would be released by England to play in Nottinghamshire’s T20 match against Durham on Friday – and suggested that Jake Ball should also feature.Hales is already confirmed to play in the Championship match that starts at Trent Bridge on Sunday and has expressed his desire to play in both. Imran Tahir, who lands on Friday morning – having flown from the Caribbean – is also expected to play on Friday night.Ball did not reappear on the third day of Nottinghamshire’s Championship game at Edgbaston having carried a heavy workload on the second day. Although he reported a sore elbow, Newell said he would have been fine to bowl had a couple of wickets been required for victory.”He’s been in the 12 for the last three Tests,” Newell, who is also an England selector, said. “There are question marks over Jimmy Anderson so Ball has to have a fine chance of being in the 12 and possibly making his debut.”He surpassed what we even expected from him here. He bowled with exceptional pace; as quick as I’ve seen from him. He’s up to mid to high 80s, I think.”I was a bit concerned before this game as he hadn’t bowled much over the previous few weeks, but he’s done very well. He has a lovely action, he has worked hard in the gym and he feels ever more confident in the England environment. I’m sure he’ll play Test cricket.”With a Test debut at Lord’s highly likely – England look resigned to being without Anderson or Ben Stokes – Ball may well be rested from Nottinghamshire’s next Championship game with an eye to keeping him fresh for his Test debut. They will have Broad, Tahir and Harry Gurney back for that game.”If Jake is going to get a Test call, we want him going into the best shape possible,” Newell said. “We will look at Jake’s workload with the prospect of giving him a rest. He has bowled an awful lot.”

Match facts

Saturday, May 21, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

After a stop-start season that has been difficult to gauge, Mumbai Indians’ playoff hopes are mostly in their own hands. A win against Gujarat Lions in Kanpur will take them through; a defeat could consign them to the ranks of also-rans.They have been here before – sort of. In each of the last two IPL seasons, Mumbai required a late charge to make it to the playoffs. Last season, that late charge extended into the playoffs and earned them the title. This time around, the early slump was not quite as pronounced, and there hasn’t been much of a late charge to speak of. Nevertheless, as the defending champions treat their last league match like a knockout, they will seek to draw as much inspiration as they can from their late-season heroics in 2015.Lions will be buoyed by their big win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday, but they cannot afford to relax yet. A loss to Mumbai could possibly leave them as one of five teams with 16 points, in which case their poor net run-rate of -0.479 would probably see them squeezed out. They will be keen to seal their qualification with a win, all the more so because it would assure them a top-two finish on the points table.

Form guide

Gujarat Lions WLWLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians WLWLW

In the spotlight

Dwayne Smith’s 4 for 8 ripped through Knight Riders and, while his returns with the ball will be a welcome bonus, it is a return to his early-season form with the bat that Lions will crave more. After Lions’ middle order got a useful workout against Knight Riders, Suresh Raina would love his opening batsmen to rediscover their rampaging best.With the season approaching its climax, Rohit Sharma has yet to find a reliable opening partner. However, Martin Guptill showed in the previous match that he might just be the man. He weathered some early struggles to play a composed knock of 48. Given Mumbai’s poor opening partnerships this season, a firing Guptill would be pretty high on their wish-list.

Team news

Lions’ top seven, including their four overseas players, virtually select themselves at this stage. Local boy Eklavya Dwivedi did not have much to do in the previous game and may get another chance on Saturday. All in all, an unchanged XI looks likely.Gujarat Lions (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum , 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 5 Aaron Finch, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Eklavya Dwivedi, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Shadab JakatiMumbai Indians may be tempted to bring Hardik Pandya back into the playing XI, in which case he might just take R Vinay Kumar’s place. The rest of the XI is unlikely to change.Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Nitish Rana, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 R Vinay Kumar/Hardik Pandya, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

Thursday’s match at Green Park, the venue’s IPL debut, saw seam, swing, a bit of grip off the surface, but fundamentally no real demons for the batsmen. A different strip will be used on Saturday, but it is likely to play in much the same manner. The ground’s small boundaries may make for a boundary-leaden encounter. The weather is expected to remain clear but sultry.

Stats and trivia

• Lions have won seven out of nine matches when chasing, but just one out of four when batting first.
• Rohit Sharma scored five fifties in his first nine innings this IPL, but has a tally of only 76 runs – with a best of 31 – in his last four.