India and Australia have decided to implement the ICC’s proposed one-day international rule changes for their seven-match series, starting with today’s ODI in Bangalore. The modifications, which were supposed to come into effect from October 1, have been advanced to avoid a mid-series adjustment.In June, the ICC had ruled the following changes in ODI playing conditions:

South Africa’s ODI series against Pakistan will go ahead unchanged despite the twin bomb attacks that rocked Karachi late on Thursday, killing over 130 people and injuring over 500. Karachi is due to host the final ODI on October 29 and it remains on the itinerary after assurances to the South African team of extra security.The decision came after a meeting between officials from Cricket South Africa (CSA), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), top local security officials and the provincial Punjab government. Zakir Khan, PCB’s director operations, said, “After concern shown by South Africa’s management over the incidents in Karachi, we had a comprehensive security briefing, which included board officials and the Punjab home secretary. After the meeting, it has been decided the tour will go ahead as planned.”The series moves to Faisalabad and then Multan after tomorrow’s game in Lahore and the tourists have been assured beefed-up levels of security for the remainder of the tour. Logan Naidoo, South Africa’s manager and vice-president CSA, said the offer had come from the home secretary’s office.”We came here knowing the situation and we knew it wasn’t free movement. That hasn’t changed after the incidents of last night. It’s strange because we didn’t go to the PCB and say we needed more security. In fact, the home secretary said levels of security will be increased by another two levels at the other three venues.”The tour itinerary, however, remains open to change should the situation in the country change again. “Having met with the PCB chairman and officials and with the home secretary, we are quite satisfied so far that the arrangements that are made are acceptable to the South African team so we will definitely continue with the tour.”We will be keeping tabs on what’s happening within the country for the rest of the tour and if anything changes we will meet again before making a decision.”The management offered their sympathies and condolences to the families affected by the blasts and said the players had been disturbed by the deaths.”It’s not a usual situation for the players and they are more disturbed in terms of the deaths [that] occurred. We will ensure that whatever safety precautions we take for officials we will take for them as well,” Naidoo said. “We wouldn’t be limiting any security measures for them.””I have spoken to officials in South Africa and I have told them that we are engaging the PCB and I am thankful to them. We are satisfied with the way the situation has been handled.”The twin bombs went off at the motorcade for Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, who returned to the country yesterday after a self-imposed exile of eight years.

Craig Cumming and Chris Martin have been added to New Zealand’s squad for the one-day series against South Africa. The opener and fast bowler, already in the Test side, have been retained after James Franklin withdrew with an injured knee.”Franklin will not be available for the immediate future, and his withdrawal leaves the squad lacking his versatile set of skills,” Sir Richard Hadlee, New Zealand’s selection manager, said. “However, the retention of Cumming and Martin from the Test squad will restore balance to the ODI squad.”Having originally named a 14-man squad for South Africa, both these players can be accommodated in the squad.”Cumming has played 12 one-day internationals with an average of 14.63, the last of which was against Australia at Napier in 2005. Martin has also had a lengthy break from the one-day circuit. He last played for New Zealand against Sri Lanka in January 2006.Franklin will have surgery on his injured right knee later this month, which will prevent him from taking part in the three-ODI series against South Africa which starts on November 25 and the Chappell-Hadlee series in December.New Zealand squad: Daniel Vettori (capt), Shane Bond, Craig Cumming, Mark Gillespie, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, Chris Martin, Michael Mason, Kyle Mills, Brendon McCullum (wk), Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Lou Vincent.

Group A

Riding on a 77-run eight-wicket partnership, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) took a 26-run first-innings lead over Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium. Resuming on 63 for 3, after WAPDA had been dismissed for 200, SSGC lost the next three wickets for the addition of 24 runs as Sarfraz Ahmed (6 for 48) caused havoc. A 93-run partnership between Ahmed Zeeshan (51) and Haaris Ayaz (64) first got SSGC closer to the 200-mark and then, with assistance from the tail, allowed them to take the slender lead. By close , WAPDA had scored 43 for 2 in their second-innings – a lead of 17 – with Sohail Khan, after having taken seven wickets in the first-innings, adding two more to his tally that now stands at 58.Table-leaders Habib Bank Limited (HBL) took a big leap towards confirming their place in the final after making a strong 195 for 3 in reply to the 297 National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) had earlier scored at the NBP Sports Complex. All of HBL’s batsmen contributed and with Aftab Alam unbeaten on 55, HBL are on course for earning a big first-innings lead. Earlier, resuming at their overnight 207 for 6, NBP added 90 runs before Mohammad Aslam cleaned up the tail with a five-wicket haul. Qaiser Abbas, unbeaten on 54 overnight, took his score to 74 off 186 deliveries before being dismissed.Sialkot recovered well to restrict Lahore Ravi to 165 in their first-innings, facing a deficit of only 77 runs, before putting on a much-improved batting performance to go at close on 211 for 5 at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground. Bundled out for 88 in their first innings, Sialkot pace trio did well to limit the damage and shared all 10 wickets among themselves. Mohammad Ali was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 38 and it was left for Lahore’s No. 9 Waqas Ahmed (45 off 23) to guide his team to respectability. Sialkot, in their second innings, owed much to an unbeaten 81 by Ayub Dogar and now have an overall lead of 134.At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan first did well to restrict Hyderabad to 335 in their first-innings and then score 229 for 4 in reply by close. Hyderabad had resumed on 260 for 4 and looked set for a huge score before Rahat Ali (4 for 35) sparked a collapse that saw them lose their last five wickets for the addition of only one run. Usman Tariq was Multan’s hero with the bat as he scored an unbeaten 118 to take his side within reach of a first-innings lead.Centuries by Asif Iqbal and Zahoor Elahi allowed Pakistan Customs to compile 338 runs against Karachi Whites at the National Stadium. In reply, Karachi managed to reach 154 for 4 at close, still 184 runs in deficit. Iqbal scored his second first-class century and his highest individual score after batting for over five hours and hitting 13 fours. With Elahi, he added 159 runs for the fourth wicket. For Karachi, Khalid Latif continued his impressive form with the bat and scored 42 while Asim Kamal is still unbeaten on 47.

Group B

Mohammad Hafeez hit a century to help Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) take a first-innings lead of 135 runs over Lahore Shalimar at the Gaddafi Stadium. Hafeez shared a 164-run fourth-wicket partnership with Umar Akmal (65). Later, Khurram Shahzad scored 64 before Mohammad Naved rounded things off for Lahore with a six-wicket haul. By close, Lahore had scored 52 for 3, requiring another 83 to make SNGPL bat again, with Asad Ali taking two of those wickets.After having bowled out Karachi Blues for 188, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) finished day two on 251 for 3 at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex. The highlight of the day for ZTBL was an unbeaten 107 by Afaq Rahim, their 22-year-old opener. Adnan Raza (62) added 103 for the third-wicket as ZTBL crossed the 200-mark and ended the day in a commanding position.At the Diamond Club Ground, Rauf Akbar finished with figures of 6 for 66 as Quetta could only add a solitary run to their overnight score before being dismissed for 244 against Islamabad. However, its bowlers did well to restrict the home side to 229 for 7 in reply with Imad Wasim, the Pakistan Under-19 captain, making a valuable 41 in a 101-run sixth-wicket partnership with Ameer Khan (58*).Sajjad Ahmed’s unbeaten 83 allowed Peshawar to reach a competitive 256 after resuming on 134 for 6 overnight at Arbab Niaz Stadium. Ahmed added 144 with the last four batsmen to allow respectability to his side’s total before Rawalpindi replied strongly with 140 for 3 by close. Awais Zia (27*) and Naved Ashraf (34*) have put on 57 for the fourth wicket and will look to carry on the good work into the third day.After the first day’s play at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium was washed out , both Abbottabad and Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) forfeited their first-innings in order to procure a result. However, only 13.5 overs were possible on the second day, in which KRL, after having been put in, reached 26 for no loss.

As a young bowler Brett Lee did not understand why it was necessary to pace himself, but over the past two years he has worked on picking the moments to go flat-out. Since taking over from Glenn McGrath as Australia’s bowling leader he has collected some crucial breakthroughs to swing the momentum back to his team and on the opening day he did it on three occasions.Having chosen the wrong end in an effort to run with the breeze, he switched after four overs and quickly picked up Wasim Jaffer. Later in the day he stepped up to capture the crucial wicket of an on-song Sachin Tendulkar, although the lbw dismissal was unfair, and VVS Laxman was forced into an ugly pull shot with the second new ball.”I now know when to go up and down a gear,” Lee, who finished with 3 for 64, said. “There are times when you’re bowling at 95% and trying to get the right line and length, but there are times when you have to go full tilt, like when you need a wicket. You’ve just got to work out when to do it and when to pull back.”Lee’s first spell went for 25, but as soon as he sprinted in from the Lillee-Marsh End his day changed. “I wanted to take the wind first up, but the ball didn’t swing for the first couple of overs because it was coming over my left shoulder instead of my right,” he said. “I asked to go to the other end after four overs and it started swinging immediately and I took the wicket of Jaffer. If the wind is coming over your right shoulder it’s always happy days.”Temperatures hovered in the mid-30s and the Australians were drained by the heat, which contributed to them managing only 84 overs. Lee was not concerned by the slow over-rate – “When four quicks are steaming in off 30-odd metres on hot days it’s tough” – but the weather was more of an issue.”When you see seagulls walking around with their mouths open you know it’s a pretty hot day and a few of our guys were doing it as well,” he said. “It was tough out there and you’ve just got to hang in.”India finished at 6 for 297 and Lee was hoping for a quick clean-up on day two before putting his feet up in conditions expected to reach 39C. “If we had them four-down for 300 it might have been a different story, but with those two late wickets, making it six-down, Australia are in a pretty good position.”Rahul Dravid, who top scored with 93, thought Lee was at the top of his game. “Over the last year and a half he has had pace, but he has also bowled in the right areas and been thinking about his dismissals,” he said. “He has been improving all the time since I first came here in 1999.” Lee will probably never be as thoughtful as McGrath, but he has done an outstanding job of covering for him.

ScorecardAfter raking up 298 in their alloted 50 overs, Basnahira North’s bowlers dismissed Wayamba for 198 to complete a comprehensive 100-run win at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.Chaminda Vaas, the Basnahira North captain, opted to bat, and his batsmen capitalised. Avishka Gunawardene’s 73 off 62 deliveries set the tone at the top of the order, before Ruwin Peiris and Shanuka Dissanayake added 120 runs for the fifth wicket after Ajantha Mendis had struck three times to leave Basnahira North at 105 for 4 after 20.1 overs.Peiris also perished to Mendis for 77, but Dissanayake stayed until the end as his team finished with 298 for 6. Dissanayake scored 88, while Mendis bagged 4 for 50. Farveez Maharoof was expensive, returning 0 for 74 runs off his ten overs.Wayamba’s chase came apart in the first over as Vaas struck twice to leave them struggling at 0 for 2. From then on Wayamba were never in the hunt. Jehan Mubarak top scored with 57, but the bowlers picked up wickets regularly to stifle the chase.Gayan Wijekoon bagged two wickets while offspinner Muthumudalige Pushpakumara removed three late-order batsmen as Wayamba were bowled out for 198. The win put Basnahira North at the top of the points table, with a maximum of ten points from their two games.