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In the space of four days, a series has begun and ended each team has had their chance to win and lose and, importantly, assess their relative strengths ahead of a busy summer. With spoils shared, South Africa and Australia are probably justified in believing their talents are well matched and both will be pleased with their bench strength and young charges, who showed that there is much to look forward to in the future.Most impressive, was Patrick Cummins, the Australian quick who is barely old enough to legally drink alcohol, gamble, drive or get married, but bowls with incredible control. His second over, a double wicket-maiden, was remarkable in any format of the game, much less a Twenty20 and showed his ability to mix up his deliveries to make sure he stays one step ahead of the batsmen.Although he was less successful later in the match, when the pressure had built, Cameron White knows a promising future lies ahead for him. “He performed unbelievably well,” Cameron White, the Australia captain, said. “He is 18 years old and was playing at the Bullring, probably under the most pressure you can come across in the international game. He would have learned a lot from the last couple of overs, we all did. He can hold his head high, he is a fantastic prospect.”James Pattinson and Matthew Wade also had promising showings and although White lamented the drawn series, he could see the bigger picture. “It’s a great learning curve and experience for our young team,” he said. “It’s a really hard one to swallow, we should have got over the line most times. We can’t get that experience unless we’re actually doing it. We should have come away 2-0, but we didn’t. There’s still a lot of positives to come out of it.”Hashim Amla also took heart from the drawn series, saying it gave fringe players the chance to prove themselves at the highest stage. With Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis being rested from the series as part of the management’s rotation policy, and AB de Villiers missing out through injury, the likes of Colin Ingram, David Miller and Wayne Parnell were given outings.”The reason they [Steyn and Kallis] are rested is to give other people an opportunity,” Amla said. “We know how fantastic they are and now we want to know how fantastic other players are.”Parnell was left out of Thursday’s game and bowled waywardly on Sunday, where he struggled to find rhythm after an injury-filled year. However, he excelled with the bat scoring a unbeaten 29 off 11 balls to show his potential in that department. “We always knew he could play, he could be a genuine allrounder,” Amla said. “He did not have the best day with the ball but it’s about bouncebackability.”Parnell and Rusty Theron’s 64-run partnership in under five overs came as a surprise to everyone, especially Australia who thought they had the game wrapped up with South Africa 84 for 7 in the 15th over. The two connected with everything that came their way and took the attack to the bowlers, who were overwhelmed by the change of gear.”We had a clear understanding of what we trying to do and it wasn’t anything extraordinary,” Theron said. “They [Australia] didn’t think it would get to the last over, and having David Hussey come on to bowl that proved it.”Theron also redeemed himself after an ordinary performance on Thursday and which led to comments from Johan Botha that he needs to lift his game. The easygoing red-head was under pressure after sensational death bowling spells in the domestic circuit.”It was tough battle trying to bounce back from the other night and there were times when I thought it was a real uphill mountain, but my team-mates stood by me,” he said. “In any sport, you will have situation where you need to come back from some sort of low and I did.”Bowlers from the Eastern Cape stole the headlines for South Africa, with Lonwabo Tsotsobe bowling well throughout the series. After a decent start to international cricket, he faced a tough second season with many suggesting he wasn’t quite up to the highest level. Tsotsobe, though, has come back stronger and shown that the quality and intelligence with which he started bowling has grown. “He is a fantastic asset to have in the team,” Amla said. “The way he bowls upfront puts us in a good position.”While both Amla and White agreed South Africa would be able to take some momentum into the one-day series, which starts on Wednesday, after their comeback here they also acknowledged that the series was too short to make proper judgements.However, Amla drew positives out of the performances of their young players. “From what we know of them, their attitude is what sticks out and they have a massive desire to learn,” Amla said. “At a young age if you have that, you can go very far.”

Pakistan do not want to bat last in Bulawayo on a pitch that is expected to break up as the match wears on. After bowling Zimbabwe out for 412, Pakistan closed day three 55 runs behind on a day of measured batting from four of the five batsmen.”That is the plan [to bat once],” Azhar Ali said. “The wicket was quite flat to start with but it’s got slower and slower and it’s become quite tough to drive the ball. Even when you do drive it, it’s difficult to get away.” Ali, whose 75 runs came off 193 balls in over four hours, thinks that batting will become more difficult and expects the spinners to play a deciding role in the result of this match.Greg Lamb, who was Zimbabwe’s highest wicket-taker with three scalps, got a fair amount of turn on the third day, but it was the veteran Ray Price who according to Ali “made the difference.” Price conceded 29 runs off his first 30 overs and proved almost impossible to get away. Ali started having trouble against him yesterday and arrived at the ground early on the third morning to work on his strategy for facing Price. He had a net session with his captain, Misbah-ul-Haq. “We were working on picking up the lengths and getting the footwork right,” Ali said.Price got no reward, in wicket-terms, for his strangling effort, but was not concerned with the number in that particular column. “It’s my job to try and keep the runs down so I have to do that,” he said. “We were happy that they didn’t score too quickly.”With the spinners proving the only threat, Price said it was a testing day for Zimbabwe’s young seam attack of Brian Vitori and Kyle Jarvis, particularly Vitori who was expensive early on. “I think he got a bit of a shock coming here from Harare Sports Club because it’s flat as a table here,” Price said. “But he is learning quickly. In his second spell he held it back a bit and his third spell tonight was very good.” Vitori took the second new ball towards the end of the day and bowled four overs for 15 runs, in which he got some to shape in to the right-hander.The three seamers have just one wicket between them so far but Price said they had been suitably warned about the conditions they will have to battle in Bulawayo. “We’ve had to tell them that there are a few seamers buried in the outfield here, it is tough work.” Their lack of success has also caused the young captain, Brendan Taylor, some frustration as he ran out of ideas to take wickets, especially after four catches were put down today.Taylor looked flustered at the time but Price praised the captain’s strategy. “He is learning to trust his gut and he is doing quite well. He is trying different field placings and a few things here and there,” he said. “With a young attack, he also has to try not to shout at them too much.”The bulk of the responsibility will rest on Price and Lamb, to skittle what remains of the Pakistan line-up. Price has called for a team effort, warning his colleagues that they have to make inroads early tomorrow morning, because “Pakistan’s spinners spin the ball more than I do and it will be difficult to bat.”Despite the danger of Saeed Ajmal, Price indicated that Zimbabwe will not go into a shell and bat for the draw. “We will definitely play for the win,” Price said. “I don’t think we can get a draw unless they bat really slowly tomorrow morning but I think their tail will play a few shots.”

In terms of the outcome, this was more Belfast 2009 then Bangalore 2011 as England edged a match that was interrupted frequently by the weather and, like at Stormont two year ago, Eoin Morgan was central to the victory. On that occasion it was one piece of fielding on the boundary edge which saved England, but here he contributed the most fluent innings of the game and made calm captaincy decisions in the closing stages.It meant he finished his brief stint as captain with a 100% record, although he has no qualms about handing back to Alastair Cook. He said he’d got a “buzz” from the day, especially when it came to watching the younger players, and believed that an inexperienced side will have gained immensely from the tight situations they found themselves in. Although the three debutants – James Taylor, Ben Stokes and Scott Borthwick all had quiet matches – Morgan knows how valuable it will have been to be around the set up.”It was something completely different and something they aren’t used to in county cricket,” he said. “A bit of an indifferent pitch is challenging, where dot ball follows dot ball and you have to calm yourself down and I thought they showed a lot of maturity in the field. It took me 10-12 one-day internationals to get going and for them to be around guys like Jonathan Trott really helps, guys who have been there, done that and be able to learn from them. Experiences like today will really help.”Morgan, himself, also showed some tactical acumen when he had to juggle his bowlers in the final part of the game. Before the rain he’d given Chris Woakes and Steven Finn standard new-ball spells, but after the reduction in overs it meant they’d completed their allocation so the likes of Samit Patel and Ravi Bopara played important roles.Although Morgan took the Man-of-the-Match award for his 59 off 65 balls the match-winning performance for England came from Jade Dernbach, who produced another nerveless display of yorkers, slower balls and bouncers with 3 for 30. He is already being suggested as the best England have had in that ‘death’ role since Darren Gough or Andrew Flintoff and his ball to remove Kevin O’Brien, who was turning the game Ireland’s way with a flurry of boundaries reminiscent of Bangalore, was unplayable.”The wicket really helped his slower ball,” Morgan said. “Going from 85mph to a slower ball is a hell of a skill and is something that’s worked consistently for him since he’s come in. He stepped up in the last series against Sri Lanka, particularly the last game at Old Trafford where he was exceptional. We haven’t had someone like that in a long time and he fits the bill.”The day, though, didn’t quite live up to the hopes and expectations of the locals. Of course the weather and result played a part in that but there remains a lingering thought that England could have done a little more to feel part of the occasion. Sending young players was completely understandable but the team, minus Morgan who is staying on to spend time with friends and family for a few days before the squad meets up in Manchester on Sunday, were flying straight back to Heathrow that evening. Two of them, Taylor and Craig Kieswetter, are involved in Twenty20 Finals Day but it would have been nice to see them linger with the hosts.England’s swift departure also meant there wasn’t the usual extra hour available to compensate for the rain which required overs to be lost earlier than would have otherwise been required. It may not have altered the result, but Ireland captain William Porterfield admitted the final requirement of 90 in 10 overs was “steep” on that surface.However, while Kevin O’Brien was batting for Ireland they were favourites to make it back-to-back victories over England and Porterfield had a wry smile when it was suggested to him that his run out, off the second ball of the final 10 overs, may have been tactical. “I could have got a better dive in but it probably did us a favour,” he said. “When Kevin was in they whipped the spinners off pretty quickly. Another couple of overs of them and it could have been over pretty quickly but seam wasn’t easy to get away on that wicket when you bowled straight.”It’s a sign of the development in Ireland’s cricket that defeats like these really hurt. As the supporters and home players looked back on the day with a few pints of a local tipple in the Clontarf pavilion they, no doubt, reflected on one that got away. England, meanwhile, were already on their way to the airport grateful that they had at least come out on the right side of this result.

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Owais Shah scored his second century of the season but that could not prevent Essex trailing as they go into the final day of their County Championship match against Glamorgan at Cardiff.After bowling Essex out for 363, which also included an unbeaten 92 from Adam Wheater, Glamorgan took a 36-run lead into their second innings.And thanks to a unbroken stand of 116 between Alviro Petersen (54) and Will Bragg (59) that lead increased to 162 as Glamorgan finished day three on 126 for 1.After an hour’s delay for rain Essex resumed their first innings on 160 for 2, 239 runs in arrears, needing a further 89 to avoid the follow-on. Glamorgan broke through in the third over of the day to end the third wicket partnership between Shah and Jaik Mickleburgh, who put on 116 in 45 overs.Mickleburgh was the man to go, for 60 – leg before wicket in Will Owen’s second over of the morning. The Glamorgan players were wearing black armbands in memory of former countyand England all-rounder Allan Watkins who died yesterday aged 89. He was the first Glamorgan player to score a century for England and the first to play in an Ashes Test match.At lunchtime there was a minute’s silence in honour of Watkins involving players from both teams and 50 former Glamorgan players, who were having their annual lunch at the ground.After lunch, which Essex reached at 202 for 3, Foster was bowled behind his legs by Jim Allenby with the second new ball, and in the next over Shah completed his second century of the season from 233 balls with 11 fours. When Shah was trapped lbw by Owen he became the first of five wickets to fall for 48 runs with the main damage done by Robert Croft.The veteran had figures of three wickets for eight runs in 20 balls as he removed Graham Napier, David Masters and Maurice Chambers in quick succession. But No. 11 Tom Craddock gave Wheater valuable support as the last wicket realised 54 of which Craddock supplied one.Some big-hitting from Wheater got him to within eight of a second century of the season but he was left stranded on 92 from 88 balls when Craddock was run out coming back for a second.Glamorgan suffered an early setback when Gareth Rees fell victim to a leg before appeal off Masters. But from 10 for 1 Glamorgan were indebted to a second wicket stand betweenPetersen and Bragg, who both reached their half-centuries in the same over.

The PCB has said that it will respond to the recommendations and suggestions made by the ICC’s Pakistan Task Team (PTT) within ten days.”We are observing each and every recommendation in microscopic detail and we will write a detailed response with our observations to the ICC in ten days’ time,” PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed said.The PTT had presented a 38-page report during the ICC’s annual conference, listing 63 far-reaching recommendations that it believed would strengthen cricket in Pakistan. The report has also called, in strong terms, for a resumption of cricket ties with India, recognising it to be a key component of the fabric of Pakistan’s cricket.The PCB is reportedly unhappy with some of the suggestions in the report, particularly on selection and contract issues. They are also clear that the recommendations are merely guidelines, and they are not obliged to implement them.”These are recommendations and not obligatory directives,” a senior board official said. “They are not meant to be mandatory. These recommendations are just an observation by the task team. It is assumed that by adopting them, the system will improve but it is completely up to the board to comprehend what actually is feasible to adopt and what is not.”A member of the PCB governing council pointed out that the task team had not visited Pakistan even once to check ground realities while compiling the report. “What is also disappointing is that the task force has given no roadmap for the revival of international cricket in Pakistan,” another board official said.Former captain Javed Miandad was also critical of some of the guidelines. “Making recommendations or suggestions regarding the quality of cricket balls we use in our domestic circuit or our selection process are issues that should not be of concern to the task force,” he said. “These are purely internal matters of the PCB.”

Esmond Kentish, who was the oldest living West Indies cricketer, has died at the age of 94. Kentish, a seamer who also played for Jamaica and Oxford University, represented West Indies in two Tests. He made his debut in 1948 and played his second Test six years later, collecting a five-for at Sabina Park against England to help the hosts win. However, he wasn’t picked again for the national side. In a first-class career spanning 10 years, he played 27 games, taking 78 wickets at 26.71.”Esmond was a perfect gentleman who was admired by all for the manner in which he conducted himself as a cricketer and a professional man,” WICB president Julian Hunte said.Following his retirement, Kentish was West Indies’ team manager in 1973 and 1975. He became the first black general manager of the Bank of Jamaica and was conferred the Order of Distinction for services to the bank. He was also a life member of the Jamaica Cricket Association.Kentish is survived by his two daughters.