CricketViewer.com

Mohsin Khan, the former Pakistan batsman, has been appointed chairman of selectors by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Mohsin, 54, will begin his duties “with immediate effect”, the board said in a statement.

Mohammad Ilyas, Salim Jaffer and Azhar Khan will continue as regular members while Asif Baloch and Farrukh Zaman will continue as co-opted members of the Selection Committee.

Mohsin played 48 Tests, scoring 2709 runs at 37.10, and also has 1877 runs in 75 ODIs at 26.81. He made his international debut in an ODI against West Indies in March 1977 and played for Pakistan till 1986.

Eoin Morgan hit his first hundred for England as they overcame a major challenge from Bangladesh to secure a nerve-jangling two-wicket victory with seven balls to spare and seal the series in Mirpur. For Bangladesh it means their wait for success over England continues and their inability to close out matches came back to haunt them as Morgan’s ultra-cool approach proved too much.

Match facts
Tuesday March 2, 2010
Start time 14.00 (08.00GMT)

Big Picture

Given their flashes of success against every other Test-playing nation, it’s certain that Bangladesh will eventually beat England. But after eight straight defeats, it’s the most recent, on Sunday that will really grate. Tamim Iqbal’s dazzling hundred was a glimpse of the talent that lies latent in the country, but the soft dismissals and clumsy fielding from his team-mates showed just how far they have to go before they can regularly challenge the best sides.

Match Facts
Wednesday, March 3, Napier
Start time 1400 (0100 GMT)

The Big Picture

Life in a more sedate lane will begin in Napier after a frenetic finish to the two-match Twenty20 series, which left everyone in New Zealand breathless after Sunday’s Super Over victory. While the short affairs were leading to the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean late next month, the five ODIs for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy act as a more leisurely warm-up for the two Tests.

Alastair Cook, England’s Test and ODI captain, has been omitted from England’s 30-man provisional squad for the World Twenty20 that starts in April in the Caribbean. Cook’s new ODI opening partner, Craig Kieswetter, has been included, alongside Peter Trego and Michael Lumb, after their success on the England Lions tour to UAE.

Cook’s omission came as something of a snub after he was named in the recent Twenty20 party that played two matches against Pakistan in Dubai, and although his accumulatory style is not best suited to the cut and thrust of the 20-over format, he showed impressive form for Essex in last season’s Twenty20 Cup, and was England’s most fluent batsman with a brisk 64 in their 50-over victory against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday.

At the halfway stage, West Indies’ winless streak looked almost certain to be snapped after astonishing spells from Sulieman Benn and Darren Sammy, but Zimbabwe’s spirited army of spinners scripted a memorable fightback to help the visitors clinch a low-scoring scrap. On a day when Australia and New Zealand blasted the highest Twenty20 match aggregate during a nailbiter in Christchurch, Prosper Utseya’s team won a game in which both sides made their lowest ever Twenty20 scores.

The Queen’s Park Oval pitch helped the spinners and was a trifle two-paced, but not so treacherous as to merit a record eight ducks, and it merely highlighted the limitations of the batsmen on both sides.

Match Facts

Sunday, February 28, Port of Spain
Start time 1400 (1800 GMT)

Big Picture

West Indies and Zimbabwe begin a fresh phase in international cricket under newly-appointed coaches, though the mood is more upbeat in the tourists’ camp. While West Indies will expect to kick start a season of favourable results after a winless tour of Australia, Zimbabwe will have their eyes set on a goal far more significant – a return to Test cricket after their self-imposed exile in 2006.

A superb match needed a Super Over to split the teams and New Zealand prevailed to repay Brendon McCullum for his amazing century. McCullum became the second-highest scorer in a Twenty20 international with an unbeaten 116, but after Michael Clarke and Cameron White exploded in the reply the scores were tied at 214 after 40 overs.

A six-ball tiebreaker was required and the calm Tim Southee delivered another tight over to allow only six runs for White, David Warner and Brad Haddin. Shaun Tait’s waywardness, including two wides, assisted the locals and Martin Guptill finished the game with a four over point from the third legitimate delivery.

Tamim Iqbal’s glittering 125 was not enough for Bangladesh to break their duck against England as the visitors completed a professional six-wicket victory to open the one-day series at Mirpur. Tamim’s third ODI hundred came from 94 balls, but he couldn’t find any support from his team-mates, leaving England’s new captain Alastair Cook with 64 and Paul Collingwood, who continued his fine form with an unbeaten 75, to ensure no slip-ups chasing a modest 228.

AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis hit contrasting centuries to build on the platform laid by the openers Hashim Amla and Loots Bosman to charge South Africa to an imposing 365 which proved beyond the reach of the inexperienced Indian batting line-up in the third ODI in Ahmedabad. Bosman was feisty, Amla was elegant, de Villiers was destructive and Kallis and well … Kallis – solid as ever. Together, the top order blasted South Africa to their highest score against India and helped avoid a clean sweep.