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In a bid to help develop Afghanistan’s domestic cricket infrastructure and to secure its cricketing future, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced an organisational review to provide better leadership and find qualified staff to run cricket administration in the war-torn country in the long run.As part of its review, the board has reappointed Hamid Shinwari as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Nasimullah Danish is the Deputy CEO. Raees Ahmadzai has been appointed as the senior advisor to the Player Selection Committee, while Khair Mohammad is its Finance Manager.Afghanistan is currently an Affiliate member of the ICC and the ACB hopes that the review will prompt the ICC to grant them the status of an Associate member, and with it, provide extra ICC funding. “The [organisational] change is obvious as we are growing,” ACB spokesman Nasratullah Wafa told ESPNcricinfo. “The game has to survive and we have to find talent and keep the circle rolling. We need more resources for development, so we have decided to fill the vacant positions that will help us to build up [our cricket infrastructure].”At present the ICC provides about $700,000 a year in funding. Based on current distributions, that will rise by around $150,000 once Associate status is assured. The ACB hopes cricket is promoted and marketed in a better manner after the review. “We must ensure new impetus is taken for the development of domestic cricket, the marketing and fundraising is improved and our international relations and partnerships are strengthened,” Wafa said.Afghanistan’s national team has performed impressively in the last five years, moving up from Division five of the World Cricket League in 2008 to Division One today. In Twenty20 cricket, Afghanistan have already beaten several Full Member nations and are ranked ninth, ahead of Zimbabwe and the currently unranked Bangladesh. “Afghanistan isn’t dreaming of overnight success but we are taking small steps to mark our presence in the world through which we can give a message of peace,” Wafa said. “The game is becoming very popular within the country.”

ScorecardJonathan Trott made an unbeaten hundred on his first appearance for Warwickshire this season•Getty Images

On the seafront, the English channel was grey and turbulent, angry enough to bring to mind the despairing vision of Brighton Rock. It was the sort of murky spring day attuned to a vision of hopelessness and Sussex’s bowlers found an ultimate horror of their own: Jonathan Trott and Varun Chopra, tooled up and in the mood for batting.Both made assured hundreds and if Chopra did not make it to the close, falling lbw for 105 to Luke Wells’ occasional offspin to give the bowler only his third first-class wicket, Trott saw out the day for 132 not out. After undergoing routine England fitness and medical tests at Loughborough earlier this week, this was his first appearance of the season for Warwickshire and he has returned with his England reputation now firmly established. There was a certainty about him, perhaps even a new status.With a hint of the understated menace that pervaded Graham Greene’s Brighton, Trott and Chopra gradually dismantled the hopes of the Sussex attack. Not quite gangsters, admittedly, but after all this was not Brighton but Hove. They were quite disturbing enough for Hove, letting it be known that Warwickshire this season are not a team to underestimate. Today, they got two hundreds in the top four; last week Darren Maddy and Rikki Clarke both hit centuries in a draining eighth-wicket stand. They are not easily subdued.Warwickshire lead Division One by a point, with a game in hand on their closest rivals, already 40 points ahead of Lancashire. With bad weather about, they are thinking in terms of winning in three days, even though Sussex pegged them back slightly with two late wickets. “Hopefully we can have three days of good weather and push for a result,” Trott said. “After being put in we’ve had a pretty good day.”William Porterfield and Ian Bell were early casualties. Porterfield caught off Steve Magoffin at second slip, but only after Ed Joyce had tidied up Wells’ fumble. Bell, still to escape his slump in form, fell without scoring, pushing confidently at James Anyon and beaten by one that came back. He is a class act, and will prove it again, but in his present state Greene would have felt obliged to have him killed by the end of the first chapter. “He’ll be all right,” Trott said of his England colleague.Trott and Chopra then reclaimed Warwickshire’s authority. From 13 for 2, they added 219 in 64 overs, scooting to a hundred stand in only 22 overs before searching for something more durable as the day progressed. There is enough in this pitch to encourage Warwickshire that they are in a powerful position; Sussex’s quicks, worn down by the certainty of the batsmens’ strokeplay, did not have the best of days. They bowled too short, Amjad Khan in particular.Chopra seems to relish the early season, when bowlers pitch the ball up in search of swing or seam. He drives well and judiciously and, partly thanks to a short boundary on the pavilion side, he soon forced a fielding position that had almost become extinct this April: the cover sweeper. He often gets runs when it is difficult, which is not a bad habit to have.As for Trott, place any situation before him these days and he proceeds with a sense of preparedness. He reached his hundred with a blissful straight drive off Anyon, but the shot that struck in the memory was a workaday deflection to third man; the first time he played it, there was the suspicion of a thick edge, but by the third time he seemed so in control of the situation that it was clearly misguided to question his intentions. “The gap was too big not to try to hit it there,” Trott, ever an explorer of percentages, said.”There are always things you can improve on as a batter,” he added. “It’s a very fickle game. You can’t say that because you have had a good Test series you will come into first-class cricket and do really well. Belly and myself are working just as hard as each other. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t.”

ScorecardKarim Sadiq launched the chase with a stroke-filled innings•ICC/Saleem Sanghati

Karim Sadiq and Izatullah Dawlatzai starred as Afghanistan hit back with a five-wicket win against Netherlands after having been thrashed by nine wickets two days ago. Dawlatzai led with four wickets as Afghanistan restricted Netherlands to 256 for 9. Sadiq cracked 100 off only 74 deliveries at the top to leave the middle order with enough space to motor to victory in the 47th over.Netherlands were left to rue several wasted starts with Nos. 2 to 5 departing for individual scores between 47 and 52. Dawlatzai, the 20-year old fast bowler, jolted Netherlands with a strike in his second over, the fourth of the innings, when he bowled Stephan Myburgh for 5. Michael Swart (52) and Alexei Kervezee (47) settled the innings but departed in the space of 16 runs. It was the turn of Tom Cooper (52) and Wesley Barresi (51) to put on another substantial partnership that took Netherlands past 200 from 112 for 3.At 206 for 4 in the 42nd over, Netherlands were eyeing a big finish but Cooper fell to Javed Ahmadi and Dawlatzai took out Barresi in the next over. Netherlands could not get going at the death, but Afghanistan still had a testing target.Sadiq launched the chase with a stroke-filled innings, hitting 12 fours and four sixes in an opening partnership of 141 inside 20 overs with Ahmadi (43). Though Sadiq was bowled by Peter Borren immediately after reaching his hundred, Mohammad Shahzad (37) and captain Nawroz Mangal carried Afghanistan past 200. Mangal remained unbeaten on 45 as victory was achieved with 22 balls to spare.

Peter Sharp, the former Canterbury offspinner, commentator and cricket administrator, has died at the age of 72. He was suffering from cancer.Sharp played eight first-class matches over two seasons, taking 21 wickets at an average of 26.90. He began his 45-year commentary career in 1966, after the end of his first-class stint, and was also involved in coaching. He was awarded the Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding services to cricket in 2006.”Peter has been a great servant of cricket in this country, firstly as a first-class player before forging a long and successful career as a cricket commentator,” New Zealand Cricket president Dennis Currie said. “He was a highly regarded administrator, being a former NZC Board member, former president of Canterbury Cricket and as a selector for the province.”Peter was instrumental in the grassroots area of the game, establishing the modified game of Kiwi cricket in New Zealand and Canterbury Cricket, as well as a doing a great deal of outstanding work with coaches in the Canterbury area. We will always treasure the great contribution he made in many different ways to cricket in this country.”

The offspinner Nathan Lyon is expected to miss at least the next two Sheffield Shield matches for South Australia due to a thigh injury. Lyon carried the problem through the Test series against India and he was still able to perform well enough to take four wickets in the final innings in Adelaide, but Cricket Australia’s medical staff want him to rest and allow the injury to heal.”Nathan Lyon has been carrying a right thigh muscle strain for the majority of the Test series against India,” Australia’s physio Alex Kountouris said. “This injury has gradually become worse throughout the course of the series and has come to a point where he needs a break to allow it to heal. He will undergo a rehabilitation program and we anticipate his return to cricket in the next two to three weeks.”Lyon took seven wickets – five of which came in the last Test – at an average of 41.57 against India and he is expected to play an important role in April’s Test tour of the Caribbean, where the wickets are often slow. The injury meant he was unavailable for selection in Australia’s one-day squad, but he was unlikely to be chosen anyway, with Xavier Doherty the preferred spinner in the short format.He was also ruled out of Friday’s Prime Minister’s XI match against Sri Lanka in Canberra, where he was replaced by the Queensland legspinner Cameron Boyce. He would have missed the Redbacks next Shield match due to the PM’s XI contest, but is now likely to miss the following Shield match as well, against Victoria starting on February 13.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSaeed Ajmal ran through England’s batting with 7 for 55•AFP

Smart stats

• Saeed Ajmal’s 7 for 55 are his best figures in Test cricket, and his fifth five-for in 18 Tests. Against England, he has 19 from four Tests at 21.47.

• Since the beginning of 2011, Ajmal has taken 57 wickets at 21.89.

• Five of Ajmal’s victims were out lbw, which equals the record for most lbws for a bowler in a Test innings. Five others have achieved this: Terry Alderman versus Pakistan, Curtly Ambrose against England, Mohammad Zahid against New Zealand, Richard Johnson versus Zimbabwe, and Monty Panesar against West Indies.The last time England were five down for less than 43 in the first innings of a Test match was way back in 1999, when they were 34 for 5 in Johannesburg. England lost that Test by an innings and 21 runs.

• Matt Prior’s unbeaten 70 is his third fifty-plus score in seven Test innings against Pakistan, and lifts his average against them to 76.

• Ian Bell was dismissed without scoring for the ninth time in his Test career, and for the second time off the first ball.

Saeed Ajmal took seven wickets for the first time in his Pakistan career as England capitulated in the first Test in Dubai. There was limited turn for Ajmal on a sound batting surface, but his beguiling mix of offspinners and doosras drove England to distraction as they were dismissed by the 73rd over to leave Pakistan firmly in command.England lost their first seven wickets for 94 and matters would have been much worse without a robust response by Matt Prior, who looked the most decisive of their batsmen from the outset and, with eight down, counterattacked against the spinners before running out of partners.Pakistan, who batted in untroubled fashion for 15 overs in reply, would have been highly satisfied. They are careful not to describe the UAE as home, but it is fast becoming a favourite refuge. They enjoyed a jubilant first morning, claiming five wickets on a placid batting surface, and Ajmal made further inroads in the last two sessions to ensure that England’s first outing as the No. 1 ranked Test side in the world began disastrously.When Ajmal unveiled his new mystery ball, the teesra, midway through the afternoon session, it proved to be an initial disappointment, a slingy, round-arm affair that Stuart Broad stoutly blocked. But he did not need a mystery ball. To England they were all mystery balls.When England first encountered Ajmal, at Edgbaston 17 months ago, he took five wickets before they gradually worked him out as the series progressed. They will need to learn quickly again. The battle between Ajmal and Swann, contenders as the best offspinner in the world, could be pivotal.He was the last Pakistan bowler to be introduced into the attack, but after ten deliveries he had had figures of 3 for 1, removing Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen. England summoned comparative resistance from then on, but Ajmal removed Morgan and Stuart Broad, both lbw sweeping, before tea. Two further lbw verdicts – Chris Tremlett outdone by an excellent doosra – completed the job. For England, only Swann matched Prior’s purpose.England won the toss, the pace of the pitch was gentle, there was no swing or seam, and just a hint of turn. However, just about everything attempted by Pakistan’s impressive captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, came off as the cream of England batting disappeared in the first two hours.There had been concerns about how England, who moved to No. 1 with high-adrenalin performances in front of packed crowds, would respond to the dead air of a virtually empty stadium, especially as their record in Asia is so mediocre – Bangladesh apart they have not won in their last seven Test series on the subcontinent. Those doubts are now apparent to all.Mohammad Hafeez’s offspin was introduced in the sixth over to counter England’s left-hand openers and he dismissed Alastair Cook in his first over. Cook attempted to work his first ball into the leg side and got a thick outside edge through point. Then Hafeez found gentle turn with his third delivery and Cook edged obligingly to the wicketkeeper.Pakistan had opted for three spinners; England stuck to their successful formula of Graeme Swann’s offspin supported by three fast bowlers. It was not long before England looked in denial.Jonathan Trott was the one batsman to fall to pace, the bustling pace provided by Aizaz Cheema. His new-ball spell was curtailed to two overs, but Trott found him a handful on his return. A walking clip to the square-leg boundary represented England’s most authoritative moment of the session, but he edged successive boundaries, the second of them flying over leg stump off the inside edge. Trott fell in Cheema’s next over, strangled down the leg side as the bowler banged one in.Ajmal struck with his sixth, seventh and tenth deliveries. Strauss had batted 42 balls for 19 when he misread the length, tried to pull a ball that was too far up to him, and was bowled.Bell came in with his wrist heavily strapped, courtesy of a blow in the nets the previous day while batting against the dog-thrower used by the England batting coach, Graham Gooch. He was met by a perfect doosra from Ajmal, which he edged to give the bowler his third wicket of the morning. Bell did not appear to read it but, first ball at the start of a new series, reading Ulysses would have been easier.Bell then departed for a long conversation with Gooch, who exchanged dog-thrower for any bone of consolation that he could toss his way.Misbah had begun by taunting Pietersen with left-arm spin, his nemesis, in the shape of Abdur Rehman. He survived against Rehman, but not Ajmal. Pietersen played slightly across the ball and was hit on the front pad, just outside the crease. Bruce Oxenford, the Australian umpire, was unconvinced but the wicketkeeper gestured excitedly for the DRS and his judgment was well founded, the replay suggesting that the ball would have struck halfway up leg stump.Morgan, more content than many against spin, was lbw to the slog-sweep, a decision by the Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford that was upheld by the third umpire after England, logically enough at 82 for 5, opted for the DRS. It was a weaker paddle-sweep that did for Broad, who rarely believes he is out, and who also asked for a review; but again television evidence ruled in the umpire’s favour.Only when Swann came to the crease did England play with adventure, a mood that Prior adopted after Abdur Rehman made one turn to strike Swann’s off stump. Umar Gul had wasted a Pakistan review in the last over before tea as he demanded a DRS verdict against Swann that had no hope of success. But that was Pakistan’s only moment of unprofessionalism in a calm and disciplined performance. Pakistan’s jubilation was almost complete.

The shots played by Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, Bangladesh’s captain and vice-captain, were dreadful examples of leading from the front. The captain getting out with his team just a session away from safety was the bigger offender. Pakistan eventually beat the clock and the fading light, chasing down the target of 103 to win the series 2-0.With bad light being so much of an issue in the second Test in Mirpur, it was likely to come into play as Bangladesh fought for a draw. Mushfiqur had done the hard work of keeping the two-hour morning session wicketless, with 86 runs in 29 overs. He added 107 for the sixth wicket with Nasir Hossain, who batted without trouble against a Pakistan attack that waned at times.The pair surged along, knocking off Pakistan’s 132-run lead, and both batsmen reached half-centuries. However, Abdur Rehman found a way through Nasir Hossain’s defences after lunch, and it was all down to Mushfiqur and the tail. What the captain did next is another example of how Bangladesh implode all of a sudden. After batting nearly three hours, Mushfiqur skipped down the wicket and, in his effort to attack Rehman, ended up lofting one to Saeed Ajmal at mid-off to depart for 53.”Of course I will take the blame. If I didn’t get out, we could have batted 30 minutes more,” Mushfiqur said after the defeat. “I feel guilty for my shot as I let my team down.”I was set so I thought if I take a chance, I could score 20-30 more runs. My plan was correct but execution was wrong. They only had square-leg back. I tried it earlier but couldn’t get to the ball.”The timing of Mushfiqur’s dismissal was a sickening blow to Bangladesh’s pursuit for safety. It was all over in 25 minutes.On the fourth evening, Mushfiqur’s deputy, Mahmudullah, had committed a similar blunder. After Tamim Iqbal and Shahriar Nafees suffered poor decisions, Mahmudullah’s shot was hard to comprehend. He chased a wide delivery from Aizaz Cheema and top-edged to deep point to be dismissed for 32 off 50 balls.”He [Mahmudullah] knows it well that when he got out, it was a bad time. He was having good partnerships with Nazimuddin and Nasir,” Mushfiqur said. “We have to cut down on some shots in such situations.”Ever since I started playing for Bangladesh, this has happened. This is the fact. We make mistakes in situations and we can’t recover. If we had taken all the catches, they wouldn’t have taken the 130-run lead. It would have been a different ball game if we took a 250-280 lead.”Mushfiqur, however, believed his team had improved with every innings during this Test series against Pakistan. “Overall batting-wise, we have gradually improved. Some of our batsmen could bat for a long time, which was our goal. We often get out after a quick 30-40. These are the positives.”If we lose four, five wickets in a session, or they score 100 for 0, it becomes difficult to come back. Our bowlers created a lot of chances in this game, but we couldn’t capture it.”

Ben Smith, the former Worcestershire and Leicestershire batsman, has returned to where his career began after taking the role of batting coach at Grace Road where he started as a player in 1990.Smith, 39, won two Championship titles with Leicestershire in 1996 and 1998 and scored 8,606 first-class runs before his departure to Worcestershire. He succeeded Graeme Hick as captain at New Road in 2003 and scored a further 8,530 first-class runs before retiring in 2010.”I am delighted to take this opportunity and to be involved with the ongoing development of a very talented group of players,” said Smith. “I have very fond memories of playing cricket at Grace Road so to be able to give something back to the club is very exciting.”I would like to thank Worcestershire for their support over the last ten years, firstly as a player and then guiding me into a coaching career,” he added. “Worcestershire is a very special club and I am certain it always will be. I am incredibly proud to have represented the club and being part of its history.”The job of Leicestershire batting coach was originally on offer to Paul Nixon but he turned down the role to try and secure a job at the IPL.The Leicestershire head coach Phil Whitticase said: “I’m really pleased to have Ben on board. He brings enthusiasm, innovation and experience to the coaching team and I look forward to working with him.”

The judge has given the jury deciding on the alleged spot-fixing trial permission to reach a majority verdict after he was sent a note from them saying they could not agree on “all” the charges.Before the jury re-entered Court No. 4 at Southwark Crown Court at 15.20, and while the galleries anticipated a verdict on the 19th day of the trial, the judge explained that the jurors were unable to agree on everything. He then issued the following direction to them.”If you are unable to reach a unanimous verdict on any particular one of the counts then I can take a majority decision from you, which is one on which at least ten of you agree,” Justice Cooke told the jury.The general feeling inferred was that the jury has agreed on some of the charges with either of the two players on trial, but could not reach agreement on both charges for both players.The new guidance from the judge is likely to hasten a definitive verdict, possibly on Tuesday, now that some flexibility has been afforded the 12 jurors.Former captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-determined no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.All types of scenarios are possible for each charge facing both players. The jury, which was first retired to debate a verdict at midday on Thursday, was consistently urged to reach a unanimous verdict by the judge but having deliberated for almost three days, he has now given them some leeway.

South Africa Test captain Graeme Smith, batted for the first time in a competitive match since undergoing a knee operation in July. Smith was ruled out of the Cape Cobras squad for the Champions League to complete rehabilitation on his knee, which he injured while playing for the Pune Warriors in April this year.Smith collided with Rahul Sharma while fielding against the Kochi Tuskers Kerala and had to bat with a runner, a practice that has subsequently been outlawed, later in the match. He played two more games for Pune but left the competition before its completion. Smith complained of discomfort after that, went under the knife and started batting against the hard ball in mid-August.It was only on Saturday that Smith was able to get some game time, during a 20-over match for Claremont Cricket Club against Belville in Cape Town. He occupied the crease for seven overs and scored 20 runs, including two fours. “It was great to be back in the middle,” Smith said. “I hit some nice straight and cover drives and it was also important to start running sharply between the wickets again.”He is due to play another T20 game for Claremont next weekend and may turn out for his provincial side Western Province midweek. There is no opportunity for Smith to play franchise cricket because the Cobras’ first fixture of the season is on October 13, the same day as South Africa begin their series against Australia.Smith stepped down as T20 captain in August last year and as ODI captain after World Cup but remains available for selection in all three formats. His presence will be a much-needed one after AB de Villiers, who named Smith’s successor in limited-overs formats, broke his finger and was ruled out of the T20 and ODI series. There has been some talk of Smith returning to the captaincy, but that seems unlikely with Hashim Amla, the appointed vice-captain, waiting in the wings.