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The Wellington Firebirds have been grounded by fog that has forced a one-day postponement to their State Championship match against Otago Volts at Queenstown. Wellington’s airport was closed today due to the conditions that forced the abandonment of the first day of the second Test at the Basin Reserve, and the side will instead travel from Palmerston North tomorrow for the round-eight four-day match, which was rescheduled for Sunday.Tim Murdoch, the New Zealand Cricket administration manager, said it was the best solution after a difficult day spent hoping for the weather to clear. “They have been waiting long enough at the airport so everybody has agreed that the best way forward is to delay the match for a day,” he said.

A push to give umpires access to Hawk-Eye to help their decision-making has won support from an unlikely source, with Geoff Boycott insisting the ICC make the move as soon as possible. Boycott believes at the very least the game’s governing body must allow umpires to see basic information such as whether the ball pitched in line with the stumps.The ICC is set to discuss Hawk-Eye at its Cricket Committee meeting in Dubai next week and a trial in Winchester on Wednesday was intended to give the members hard proof of whether the system works. However, rain meant the testing had to be postponed, possibly in favour of another trial at Lord’s following the England-New Zealand Test in a fortnight.But Boycott hopes it will not be long before umpires are allowed to use the technology. “We seem too reticent to try things, we’re taking too long,” he told Cricinfo. “As a player, all you ever want is as many accurate decisions as possible. If I make a mistake and I’m out, well so be it, that’s my fault, but you don’t want to be given out when you feel you’re not out.”Boycott is a member of the MCC World Cricket Committee and there is strong support within the group for greater use of Hawk-Eye. If the ICC agrees, it must decide whether to give umpires unrestricted access to all of Hawk-Eye’s data, including the predicted flight of the ball, or limit it to more clear-cut information such as where the ball pitched and where it struck the batsman.Although Boycott believes in the accuracy of Hawk-Eye’s predictions he thinks a gradual introduction of the technology would help appease the doubters. “These line decisions – I think we can get them into the game straight away,” he said. “The lbws [predicted ball path] – there’s too much doubt at the moment to convince the ICC.”He hopes the on-field umpires can remain in charge by simply asking the third official for specific Hawk-Eye information, much like the video-referee system in rugby. Boycott believes the proliferation of new tools being shown to viewers means umpires are being hung out to dry.”Umpires make mistakes – they’re human, we all make mistakes – but today with television as it is and so good, they show the replay and it shows up any errors. I don’t like seeing umpires embarrassed or made to look foolish but you can’t tell television not to show it because television now pays all the money to keep the game alive.”There should be a way of doing it, like other sports, where the umpire on field is still in charge and makes the final decision. We need to get rid of blatant mistakes but also accept line-ball decisions. Unless it’s clearly not out we should go with the decision of the umpire on field.”If Hawk-Eye is adopted by the ICC, the spotlight will almost certainly move to other devices like the snickometer and the infra-red Hot Spot camera. While Boycott is uncertain whether those tools should be used by umpires, he believes it would be foolish to deny the officials any hard facts available to viewers.”I’m more concerned at the moment about things that are quite easy to tell – pitching outside leg stump, that should be quite straightforward,” Boycott said. “Television is getting so good you’ve got super slow-mo, it shows inside-edges when people are given out lbw. You’ve got to find ways to open your mind and some people have closed minds to change.”

Division One

Middlesex completed a thrilling two-wicket win over Northants off the last ball. Ed Joyce made 74 from 78 balls to put Middlesex on course, along with Jamie Dalrymple who hit 76 from 76. However, Joyce’s wicket prompted a tense finish as Johann Louw and Damien Wright squeeze the tail-end batsmen. But Melvyn Betts held his nerve to scamper the winnings runs. The result was harsh on Martin Love and Usman Afzaal, who both hit unbeaten centuries, adding 227, as Northants amassed 283 for 1.Nottinghamshire won their first National League match of the season as they beat Lancashire by 61 runs. Lancashire’s top-order failed to fire as they slumped to 94 for 6 in the face of some accurate bowling for the Notts seamers. Mark Ealham was the best of them, bowling his nine overs for 33 and dismissing Brad Hodge. He earlier played a major role with the bat, hitting 35 from 32 balls and added 86 with Chris Read as they managed to score 95 runs in the final 10 overs. Notts struggled in the initial part of the innings and from 77 for five, so their victory represented a fine turnaround.

Division Two

Kent’s powerful batting performance, led by another century for Martin van Jaarsveld, condemned Somerset to a heavy 75-run defeat at Bath. van Jaarsveld made his runs from 106 balls and was well supported by Robert Key (67) and Matthew Walker (56 from 39 balls). Darren Stevens rounded the innings off in style with 28 in 10 balls. While Ian Blackwell was hitting 57 from 42 deliveries Somerset had an outside chance, but Justin Kemp cleaned up the tail with 4 for 52.Leicestershire earned a comfortable seven-wicket win against Yorkshire after a tight bowling and fielding display. Despite reaching 102 for 2 Yorkshire could never really find proper momentum against an impressive attack. Dinesh Mongia removed Craig White first ball while Darren Maddy and David Masters were economical and took two wickets each. Mongia then guided Leicestershire home with 46 in 38 balls to complete another excellent, personal, National League match. Tom New anchored the the chase with a solid 47 at the top of the order.

ScorecardA splendid spell of bowling by Avinash Yadav and an unbeaten 66 from Raviraj Patil helped the Champs to their first win after three matches of the current Indian Cricket League tournament.The Rockets’ openers, whose powerful stand knocked the wind out of Chandigarh Lions in the first game of the tournament, gave their team a steady start after Damien Martyn decided to bat against the Champs. Sachin Dholpure was trapped by Michael Kasprowicz for 29 after he and Wavell Hinds had put on 61 off 9.1 overs, and although they were slightly off the pace, the platform given was ideal for a run-fest in the remaining overs.However, Avinash Yadav wrecked any such hopes with his 4-0-14-4. He first removed Hinds in the 12th over. Saman Jayantha effected a run-out of Sridharan Sriram in the 14th; in the same over he caught Martyn off Yadav’s bowling. The left-arm spinner went on to make it four for the match by dismissing Reetinder Sodhi and Rakesh Patel in the 18th.The Rockets struggled to 131 for 9, and though it was an improvement on their 107 for 6 against the Delhi Giants, the score was not likely to be enough.Subhojit Paul fell early during the Champs’ chase, and Jayantha wasn’t too impressive in his 22-ball 13, but Raviraj Patil went at a brisk pace to keep the Champs on course.His 66 off 46 balls contained six fours and three sixes. Patil’s fiery 52 against the Kolkata Tigers in their previous match had all but sealed victory, but this time he stayed till the end as the Champs reached their target with two balls to spare.

Pool AShoaib Malik’s stellar allround performance helped Sialkot Stallions to a comfortable eight-wicket victory against Rawalpindi Rams. After being asked to bat, Rawalpindi collapsed spectacularly after Mohammad Wasim had clobbered 74 off 48 balls. From 129 for 1, Malik ripped through the line-up with 5 for 13 from three overs to restrict them to 163 for 7. Chasing 164 to win, Malik scorched 50 from 31 balls with four sixes and three fours, and Shahid Yousuf hit 68 off 42, to lead Sialkot to 165 for 2.Karachi Zebras won their match against Peshawar Panthers by virtue of having lost fewer wickets after both teams were tied on 160 at the end of 20 overs. Half-centuries from the openers, Khurram Manzoor and Ashraf Ali, and Hasan Raza’s 29-ball 46 boosted the Karachi’s score to 160 for 3 after they had won the toss. Rafatullah Mohmand top-scored with 49 off 29 in Peshawar’s chase but even though they drew level on 160 for 7, the fact that they lost more wickets cost them the match.Mohammad Hafeez hammered 59 off 29 ballsas Faisalabad Wolves overhauled Multan Tigers’ total of 122 in just 7.3 overs at Karachi. Imran Khalid took 2 for 12 in four overs and Saeed Ajmal chipped in with 3 for 33 as Faisalabad dismissed Multan for 122 in the 19th over. Hafeez clubbed four sixes and six fours as Faisalabad’s chase began in explosive fashion. Asif Hussain’s 37 included three sixes and four fours as they galloped to 123 for 2 with 12.3 overs to spare.Pool BMaking their Twenty20 debut this season, Abbottabad Rhinos won their second consecutive match with a seven-wicket victory against Quetta Bears. After winning the toss, Quetta were restricted to 142 for 5 of which Shoaib Khan contributed 67. Shakeel-ur-Rehman was the best of Abbottabad’s bowlers, taking 3 for 30. Ali Naqvi sealed the victory with a 27-ball 41 as Abbottabad coasted to 144 for 3 in the 17th over.Riding on quickfire top-order contributions, Karachi Dolphins completed a five-wicket win against Islamabad Leopards. Bilal Asad top-scored for Islamabad with 51, as they posted a sizable total of 183 for 6. Irfanuddin bowled superbly for Karachi, taking 4 for 20 in four overs. In the chase, Faisal Iqbal blitzed 42 off 25 balls and received support from Khalid Latif (30) and Fawad Alam (32 not out) as Karachi edged home with four balls to spare.Lahore Lions’ bowlers restricted Hyderabad Hawks to just a 110 for 9 and allowed their batsmen to complete an easy seven-wicket win. Imran Tahir took 2 for 11 from four overs and together with Ali Azmat (3 for 15) and Taufeeq Umar (2 for 12), strangled Hyderabad to a below-par score. Kamran Akmal struck an unbeaten 47 to lead Lahore to 111 for 3 in the 18th over.

Scorecard
A sensational spell of bowling from Paul Wiseman for Canterbury resulted in the second-best haul in an innings in New Zealand cricket history. Wiseman took nine for 13 off 16.4 overs as CD slumped to 122 all out, and defeat by 343 runs. Only AE Moss, who took 10 for 28 for Canterbury in the summer of 1889-90 on his first-class debut, has done better.It was a stunning performance in a match where the bat had dominated the ball, but Wiseman said afterwards that it was an ideal pitch for spin bowling because of the bounce it possessed and the footmarks left by Central Districts’ two left-arm medium-fast bowlers.What was expected to be an all-day battle for CD was over before lunch with Wiseman joining three other bowlers in New Zealand to have taken nine wickets in this country, not forgetting Sir Richard Hadlee’s nine wickets in an innings at Brisbane in 1985-86.Chris Martin was the only other wicket taker in the innings, having taken Jamie How’s wicket, the first to fall in the innings. CD were two down overnight and then Wiseman struck, as eight wickets fell for 24 runs.
Scorecard
Otago needed to bat well into the second session to be in a position to deny Northern Districts an outright win at Gisborne’s Harry Barker Reserve but they were unable to prevent an eight-wicket defeat. Craig Cumming, the Otago captain, achieved his 10th first-class century after being 99 not out overnight, but could add only seven more runs before being dismissed. The end came all too quickly, with the last five wickets falling for 12 runs as Joseph Yovich and Graeme Aldridge cleaned up the innings. Yovich took 4 for 42 and Aldridge 3 for 55.This was a remarkable win, with the highlight being four young players making their debuts in the same game. One of them, Brad Wilson, who just missed a century on debut in the first innings, was unfazed by the importance of the job ahead of him as ND chased down the 186 they needed for victory. Wilson scored another 35, while BJ Watling, who debuted earlier in the season, scored 64. Matt Hart, the side’s old hand, was there when the winning runs were scored.
Scorecard
Wellington head into the last day of their match with Auckland in danger of undoing the chance they have of beating the home side at Eden Park. Having achieved a 99-run lead on the first innings, Wellington slipped to 97 for six by stumps, as Kerry Walmsley (3 for 23) and Andre Adams, with two for 24, pinned them down. It was the first time in the series that Auckland had been denied first-innings points.Auckland struggled through the latter stages of their innings. Aaron Barnes scored 75 and at 310 for 6, they were looking competitive. However, they lost their last four wickets for only 18 runs as James Franklin, who took four for 64, and Iain O’Brien, with four for 76, did the damage.Wellington then set out to build an unassailable position only to find the Auckland bowling shut them down. Neal Parlane’s innings typified this as he top-scored with 41, painstakingly compiled in 132 minutes. Matthew Bell also laboured 108 minutes for 17.

India A 269 for 6 (Rohit Sharma 62, Uthappa 52, Dhawan 52) beat Pakistan A 235 (Bazid Khan 87, Umar 51) by 34 runs
Scorecard

India A outplayed Pakistan A in all departments of the game to secure a convincing 34-run win in the EurAsia Series in Abu Dhabi.After producing a powerful batting performance to post a challenging 269 for 6, the Indians dismissed Pakistan for 235 in the day-night encounter at the Sheikh Zayed stadium. The win meant India topped Group A after the first phase of the league stage with two wins from as many matches. They will now play the second and third placed teams of Group B – hosts UAE and Ireland – in the second phase.Bazid Khan stood tall among the ruins with 87 for Pakistan, who had the consolation of gaining a bonus point from the match.Earlier, India A’s top order batsmen fired in unison to to prop up the Indian total.After Robin Uthappa and Shikhar Dhawan put up a century opening stand, captain Venugopala Rao (45) and Rohit Sharma (62) consolidated with another strong partnership. Uthappa and Dhawan each made 52, but the latter at a quicker rate.Their left-right combination kept the Pakistani attack at bay while stitching 100 runs for the first wicket from inside 17 overs. The stand was broken when Dhawan tried to step out to offspinner Mohammad Hafeez (2 for 46) and was beaten by a wide delivery to be stumped in the 17th over.Uthappa went back five overs later, the umpire belatedly upholding a leg before appeal by leg spinner Mansoor Amjad (2 for 49).Rao and Sharma added 86 runs for the third wicket with the captain making a composed 45 off 74 balls.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out – New Zealand
How they were out – Kenya

New Zealand had few problems securing their place in the next stage as they gave Kenya a reality check with a 148-run victory in St Lucia. An injury-hit Ross Taylor struck an elegant 85 and Craig McMillan a brutal 48-ball 71, as the Kiwis compiled their highest World Cup total. Kenya’s top order then fell in a heap and Ravi Shah’s determined 71 only delayed the inevitable.With a view to the greater challenges ahead this was a useful workout for New Zealand. Four attacking half-centuries ensured the sixes tally cruised into double figures as the ball flew over the rope – and often into the stands – 12 times, McMillan responsible for five as his resurgence in form continued.Two early wickets for Michael Mason, recalled in place of Jeetan Patel, and some shambolic running from Kenya meant the match ended as a contest early in the chase. The only difficulty New Zealand encountered was reaching the 20-over mark between the showers meaning McMillan and Daniel Vettori were used to race through a few overs.When Lou Vincent’s poor start to World Cup continued with a fourth-ball duck it appeared New Zealand would be tested. But Kenya’s bowlers, who maintained such impressive pressure against the more placid Canadians, were harshly shown up as the military medium-pace and varying styles of spin were all treated with equal force. However, what will be more disappointing for the coach, Roger Harper, is the poor standard of fielding; at least four catches (not all easy) were shelled while Maurice Ouma was poor with the gloves.But New Zealand gave a lesson in how to deal with a potential banana-skin fixture – aggression. Fleming benefited from a series of long hops, pulling into the stands between square leg and long leg on three occasions, his footwork improving in a 53-ball half-century. After negotiating the early movement Taylor, too, became more expansive although he survived a tough chance to Tanmay Mishra at midwicket on 5 – the first of Kenya’s fielding fumbles.Kenya’s attack was toothless and second wicket came from an aberration by Fleming; Taylor knocked the ball direct to short fine-leg, the captain thought there was a run but he didn’t get within a bat length of the crease. Scott Styris quickly showed the confidence gained from his match-winning effort against England. Kenya again let themselves down, this time Jimmy Kamande dropping a simple chance at midwicket with Styris on 19.The third-wicket stand with Taylor was coursing along, Taylor’s half-century arriving off 80 balls, and Kenya quickly resembled a club side – not a true reflection of their ability. But Taylor, who’d bounced back after his opening duck against England, was then struck by the hamstring injury. He resumed with Vincent as a runner, but it was later confirmed as a strain. The injury hampered his movement and after one more crunching six over midwicket he popped a gentle catch back to Tikolo.

There was never likely to be a let-up in boundaries and McMillan swung merrily from the off as his sixes count started off the 12th ball. Styris continued to unleash the long handle approach, fifty coming off 56 balls before one attempt to clear long on was taken by Mishra. Thomas Odoyo had a moment of personal joy when he bowled Jacob Oram for his 100th ODI wicket, but McMillan’s striking carried the total well over 300.Kenya never had a real chance of making the runs, but their batsmen could have taken the opportunity to show their wares. Instead they were four down within 12 overs; David Obuya was beaten by Mason’s yorker, Ouma chanced a single to Vincent, Tikolo pulled to mid on and Mishra fended at James Franklin, the catch taken as it rebounded off Brendon McCullum’s glove.Shah could have gone at any point in his first 20 runs – more than once to a run out – but he slowly became more fluent and unfurled some classy strokes, including a lofted drive for six off McMillan, as his half-century came off 63 balls. Kenya’s first World Cup century was coming within view, but he chipped a return catch to hand Vettori just his third World Cup wicket.The margin of defeat did no favours to Kenya’s net run-rate, which has now slipped below England’s. However, unless there are two days of rain in St Lucia the final Group C clash will be winner takes all. Based on this effort it shouldn’t be close. New Zealand, meanwhile, can watch on comfortably and think of the Super Eights.

Jacques Kallis is racing against time to be fully fit for the opening Test match against Australia at the WACA Ground in Perth, starting on December 16.Kallis has been receiving treatment over the last ten days after a scan revealed a grade 1+ in-substance tear to the common tendon of his left elbow. Kallis had a bowling session at the team’s practice today, under the watchful eye of Shane Jabaar, South Africa’s physiotherapist.”We have explored various forms of treatment to get him ready for the Test match. His response has been slow, but we are still hopeful that he will have a significant enough improvement to allow him to participate in the match,” Jabaar said. “We give him until Friday morning before a decision is taken on whether he will play or not.”

In his first press conference since arriving back in Pakistan, Inzamam-ul-Haq has reacted angrily to the way his team has been treated by the media. He again apologised for their early exit from the World Cup but said the constant criticism the players received made life very difficult.”If the media and people keep on criticising the team, I am sure we can’t win any big tournaments,” Inzamam said. “Fear of losing always follow our players and it puts them under lot of pressure.”Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup after defeats to West Indies and the shock three-wicket loss against Ireland in Jamaica. It had been widely expected that Inzamam would stand down from the one-day team following the tournament but the manner of abuse he has suffered has left him feeling shocked.The press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium was a heated, fractious affair as Inzamam defended his years of service to Pakistan cricket. “Wasn’t I a citizen of Pakistan? Didn’t I serve this country for 17 years? Is this what I deserved?” he said, visibly upset at some of the questions.He also hit back at the match-fixing claims which have circulated following the defeats and subsequent murder of Bob Woolmer. Inzamam said it was “unfair” to talk about match-fixing after the defeat to Ireland and added: “The team over the past three-and-a-half years had been playing and winning matches. There were no such comments. Now they are spreading such rumours.”He went on to question the quality of the Sabina Park pitch for the Irish game. “The wicket was very difficult for batting. It was a green-top pitch. I had never seen such a wicket in the World Cup. The match became dependent on the toss. Unfortunately we lost the toss and Ireland used it to their full benefit.”However, despite all the recent traumas Inzamam reiterated his desire to extend playing Tests even though Pakistan’s next commitments are six months away. “If the selectors give me a chance, I am willing to play Test matches because I think age is no barrier in Pakistan cricket,” he said. “All I wish is that my Test career ends on a happier note than my one-day career.”