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A couple of hundred protestors were at Lahore airport when the three Pakistan players at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal returned home on Saturday morning. Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt left through a back exit away from the people carrying banners and waving shoes.There was also support for the players inside the terminal with one sign saying: “Long live Salman Butt.” As reported by ESPNcricinfo on Thursday, their return does not, however, mean they are cleared from the ongoing criminal investigation. Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik said the government of Pakistan would provide a written assurance that the players be made available if needed for further investigations.”We have spoken to Scotland Yard, and the [Pakistan] high commissioner to the UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, has also been in talks with them and they have agreed that the players can return to Pakistan,” Malik told ESPNcricinfo.The trio were provisionally suspended by the ICC last Thursday and were quizzed by police the next day for their alleged role in bowling deliberate no-balls during the fourth Test at Lord’s between England and Pakistan; an undercover sting operation by the tabloid apparently revealed that they had done so at the behest of Mazhar Majeed, an agent to the players. Majeed was arrested but released on bail while the players had their mobile phones confiscated. No charges have been pressed against them yet.On Thursday, the PCB chief revealed that Wahab Riaz, the left-arm fast bowler, will be the fourth player to be interviewed by the police in relation to the scandal. Ijaz Butt sounded confident in his press conference at Gaddafi Stadium earlier that the three players would return to Pakistan soon and though he indicated that the criminal case against them might not be as strong, he did not say they would be cleared. The PCB’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that investigations will continue.The players also have to respond to the suspension notices served to them by the ICC for which they have one more week left. That investigation and process is separate to whatever conclusion police officials reach.

Worcestershire 376 for 6 beat Surrey by 286 by 90 runs
ScorecardKevin Pietersen walks out to begin his innings; he returned with 38 to his name•Getty Images

Well played Vikram Solanki and Gareth Andrew but, despite hundreds that came from 68 and 58 balls respectively, they won’t be making tomorrow’s headlines. That honour, if making a headline can be called such a thing at the moment, will belong to a man who made 38. This was an evening of Kevin Pietersen-watching, which began with a grovelling apology for his Twitter outburst the previous day, and ended with him being caught-and-bowled by Shaaiq Choudhry, a 24-year-old left-arm spinner, in his sixth one-day match.In the first of four Surrey appearances he is due to make between now and the end of the season Pietersen – in front of a crowd of 7,917, which is above-average for Surrey’s CB40 matches this year – managed to locate the middle of the bat. That is more than happened at Lord’s last week when his first-ball waft was the final push that Andy Flower needed to drop him for the first time in his career. Against one of the friendliest attacks he will have confronted since starting his international career six years ago, he faced 33 balls and struck six boundaries – one of which, an inside-out drive past mid-off, was more like the flamboyant batsman of old.Pietersen had spent three hours watching Worcestershire pile up 377 for 6, the second-highest 40-over score in history behind Surrey’s 386 against Glamorgan earlier this season, but he should have had a wicket when Matthew Spriegel dropped Andrew, albeit a tough chance, running round at long-off. Pietersen was then clubbed for two sixes and the over cost 17.With Rory Hamilton-Brown blazing a trail during a 41-ball 80, Pietersen opened his batting account with a quick single to mid-on having been cheered to the crease but, on 25, was given a life when he gloved a sweep down the leg-side. However, even without the injured Shakib Al Hasan playing for Worcestershire, Pietersen couldn’t escape his left-arm-spinner curse when he thumped a straight drive back at Choudhry. The bowler celebrated with the gusto that comes with dismissing a batsman with over 5000 Test runs.Paul Sheldon, the Surrey chief executive, called the Pietersen deal “win, win, win” for the batsman, the county and England. It’s not costing Surrey a penny due to Pietersen’s central contract, and Sheldon insisted Chris Adams, the cricket manager, was fully behind the decision. But he refused to confirm any interest in Pietersen beyond the current loan spell, although with Middlesex out of the running there seem few other options for relocation.With Steve Davies’ call-up to the England squad, it has been painted as a straight swap when it comes to the Surrey starting XI, but that wasn’t quite the case in this match with Davies still available. And when Davies departs, Surrey will need a wicketkeeper – Pietersen is probably reluctant to take that role – so Gary Wilson will come into the team, which means somebody who might have played had Pietersen not been here will miss out.That could be Jason Roy, the 20-year-old batsman, who is rated by many as a future England star. He has broken into the first team at The Oval, and made 76 on his Championship debut against Leicestershire last week to go alongside an unbeaten 101 off 57 balls against Essex in the Friends Provident t20, but wasn’t selected on Wednesday evening.With Surrey out of the running for Championship promotion, the final two games of the season would be ideal experience for Roy. Ironically, the lack of dead matches in the two-division structure has meant counties have found it harder to blood youngsters and now Roy could miss out. Of course it might not be him, but the ECB look to have made a persuasive argument for Pietersen.”This is more about England than about Surrey,” Sheldon said. “We want England to win the Ashes and we want KP back in form and if we can assist in that way then we’re absolutely delighted to do so.”Sheldon is right. Retaining the Ashes would have huge benefits to English cricket as a whole, but it will also be interesting to see if there is any reaction from the opposition should Pietersen have success which changes the course of end-of-season games. Surrey may be out of the running for prizes, but both their next two Championship opponents, Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, are gunning for promotion. Now they have to get past Pietersen, too.

Scorecard
Stuart Matsikenyeri was one of four Zimbabwe batsmen to make a half-century in the second innings•International Cricket Council

Zimbabwe XI continued to maintain a firm hold on their Intercontinental Cup match against Netherlands in Amstelveen. A string of half-centuries helped them expand their lead to 417 before their bowlers nipped out four wickets as the home side attempted to pull off a huge chase.Resuming on 79 for 2, Zimbabwe’s overnight batsmen Stuart Matsikenyeri and Vusi Sibanda pushed the score to 119 before Matsikenyeri was bowled by Maurits Jonkman for 68. Charles Coventry was also dismissed soon after, but a couple of big partnerships followed which put the visitors in a virtually unbeatable position. Sibanda added 84 with Craig Ervine for the fifth wicket before falling for 88. His exit didn’t slow Zimbabwe though, as Regis Chakabva blasted a 33-ball 54 to dominate an 86-run stand with Ervine.Netherland’s chase got off to a poor start, losing two wickets by the eighth over. Their first innings rescuer, Wesley Barresi, then put on 67 with opener Eric Szwarczynski before becoming Ed Rainsford’s second victim. Netherlands slipped to 109 for 4 with the run-out of Wifred Diepeveen, and though Szwarczynski was unbeaten on 60, they faced a tough battle to save the game.

It would be an injustice to Pakistan if we said that the Australian batsmen looked vulnerable. It was the beauty of Pakistan’s three-man fast-bowling pack that made the opponent look utterly helpless. And how beautifully they went on to unravel the Australians, who for the second time in two Tests failed to stand up to sustained pressure.Just like at Lord’s the overcast conditions were tailor-made for swing and seam bowling and Ricky Ponting’s decision to bat first – Umar Gul called the move “shocking” – made Pakistan’s fast men lick their lips. Mohammad Aamer needed only 14 balls to work out Simon Katich, Australia’s Player of the Match in the first Test, as he targeted the batsman’s trigger movement to shuffle across his crease. The ploy exposes his leg stump and also makes him a leg-before candidate, which is how Aamer struck.Mohammad Asif, who has an envious fast-bowling IQ, caught the clay-footed Shane Watson leg before and then began his mental harassment of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke. Like an ace matador, Asif tempted the duo to take him on as he fine-tuned his lengths and teased with swing and seam movement.Twice across two overs, Asif bowled the two best deliveries on the day – both pitching on McGrath lengths, straightening and beating Ponting completely. Ponting is most nervous at the beginning of his innings as he lunges forward in an ungainly fashion trying to put bat to ball. Asif remained patient as he kept flashing the red cloth, confident that he was on the verge of taming Ponting. Headingley is one of Ponting’s favourite hunting grounds – he has two centuries and two fifties in three Tests – but that reputation did not matter to Asif. The same held true for Aamer and Umar Gul.At the moment when Salman Butt, making his captaincy debut, replaced Gul with Aamer it felt like an abrupt decision and a mistake. But with Asif tightening the noose at the other end Butt understood it was best to introduce Gul, who is a rhythm bowler and takes time to hit his lengths. It was a wise move as Gul ripped through the large gate between Clarke’s bat and pad to damage his middle stump. Australia, normally adept at blasting the opponent and regaining control, failed miserably thereafter.This assault was not incidental. In his last five Tests, Asif has dismissed Katich and Marcus North four times each, and got rid of Clarke and Ponting three times. Aamer has had Ponting’s number on three occasions since December and Gul has got the better of Clarke, Michael Hussey and Watson twice.This Australian batting line-up is not the best when it is bottled for long periods. Unfortunately for them, the Pakistan fast bowlers have the mental discipline, patience and skills to disintegrate the elite batsmen consistently. It looks like they have the psychological edge over Australia.Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen disagreed. “[We were] not dominated at all,” Nielsen said. “They are a quality bowling attack. They have got pace. It is just a good contest.”Nielsen did give credit to Asif and Co for taking control and maintaining it. “I can’t take anything away from Pakistan,” he said. “They bowled with good pace and tremendous length and line and really did put us under pressure and once we got behind the game we just struggled to change it.”Pakistan were helped by the favourable conditions, but not many teams have been able to maintain the pressure lid tight on Australia. Despite being the underdogs, Pakistan have not choked. They have held their head high despite the defeat at Lord’s and the abrupt retirement of Shahid Afridi. They walked into Headingley with a positive mind and a clear vision before dismantling the opponent without breaking sweat.

Scorecard
Andrew Symonds top-scored for Surrey with a 33-ball 63 to help set up an 11-run win•Getty Images

Cracking half-centuries by Steven Davies and Andrew Symonds helped Surrey maintain their hopes of qualifying for the Friends Provident t20 knock-out stages after edging out Hampshire Royals by 11 runs in a high-scoring clash at The Oval.Chasing the Lions’ excellent 200 for 8, Hampshire ran out of steam against the Surrey spinners with 1 for 28 for Gareth Batty and two wickets for Rory Hamilton-Brown that gave his side their fourth qualifying win.Batting first, the Lions got off to a flying start through openers Hamilton-Brown and Davies who posted the home 50 inside four overs of the powerplay. Hamilton-Brown contributed 10 to the run-fest until he clipped a length ball from Sean Ervine into the hands of Liam Dawson at deep square leg. Left-hander Davies showed no compassion for his ex-Worcestershire team-mate, Simon Jones, who, two years after his last Twenty20 appearance prior to knee problems, disappeared for 25 in his first over.Davies sprinted to an 18-ball 50 with nine fours and a brace of sixes and drove another sublime six over extra cover off Ervine, only to fall two balls later when he clipped to Jimmy Adams at deep square-leg to make it 74 for 2.Teenager Jason Roy, preferred to veteran Mark Ramprakash, hit an audacious six off left-arm spinner Danny Briggs into the top tier of the pavilion but the right-hander from Reigate soon top-edged a sweep to deep-square.Stewart Walters attempted to accelerate with a slog-sweep against Briggs’ arm ball only to be bowled and Jones bravely switched ends to concede only seven from his second over from the Vauxhall End.Symonds, in tandem with Younis Khan, added 71 in seven overs with Symonds posting the second 50 of the evening in 11 minutes with five fours and two sixes but Khan sliced a drive to long off to give Ervine figures of 3 for 28. Ervine’s direct hit from long-off to the striker’s end stumps ran out Symonds for a stunning 63 from 33 balls as he chanced a second run.Entrusted with the last over, Jones showed his character to run out Chris Schofield in his follow through then bowl Batty with a slower ball, but he was powerless to prevent Andre Nel’s last ball six that raised the Lions’ 200.Initially, the Royals run-chase ticked along at the asking rate of 10 an over as Michael Lumb (11) and Jimmy Adams added 33 before Lumb miscued to midwicket to bring teenager James Vince to the crease for only his second t20 appearance.The youngster showed his style with 43 from 17 balls before needlessly attempting a slog-sweep to lose his leg stump to Hamilton-Brown. Ervine (3) checked a drive into the hands of the Surrey skipper at cover then Adams, having hit 46 off 37 balls, attempted to cut Schofield only to be caught behind off a looping bat-pad chance.The 14th over proved a turning point as Batty conceded only five, forcing the asking rate beyond 12 an over for the first time and Nic Pothas (18) soon cracked under the pressure by holing out to deep cover.Dawson soon followed to another catch in the deep and though Neil McKenzie (52 not out) improvised cleverly Hampshire were unable to find the 29 they needed from Nel’s final over of the night.

Ryan McLaren is determined to rise to even greater heights on South Africa’s tour of the Caribbean after taking 5 for 19 in the first Twenty20 against West Indies. McLaren returned the second-best figures in Twenty20 international history as he bowled South Africa to a 13-run victory in Antigua.”It’s a good way to start off the tour having practised indoors and not outdoors for the last few weeks,” McLaren said after the match. “But it’s only the first day, and there’s plenty more cricket to come, so hopefully, I can better this performance. We all know the nature of T20 cricket – the bowler is always up against it.”You can take five wickets one day, and the next day, take a thumping, but I enjoyed it. It was not an easy day for the batters, and you had to graft pretty hard. Playing shots was not easy, and there was a strong wind, so there were a lot of things you had to take into consideration.”It was obviously nice to start with a win. This was the most important thing for us. We have worked really hard over the last few days here in Antigua, had a few discussions, the energy has been good around the team, and a lot of new faces have come in. We want to have a good tour of the Caribbean, so success in this match was very important to getting us off on the right foot.”The series could be important for the confidence of both teams after they failed to reach the semi-finals of the World Twenty20. The two Twenty20s are followed by five ODIs and three Tests and the West Indies captain Chris Gayle said there was plenty of room for improvement from his men.”It was a disappointing start for us,” Gayle said. “We wanted to put our dismal performance in the T20 World Cup behind us, but this was not the best way to do it, and was not the best start to the series.”We still have a match on Thursday, so we have to pick ourselves up. This is no time for pointing fingers. We have a lot of corrections to make out there, and we have to return to the drawing board to try and get the best out of the players.”

Match Facts

Thursday, June 3, 2010
Start time 0900 (0700 GMT)
If Rohit Sharma scores a ton against Zimbabwe, he will equal the world record for centuries in consecutive innings•AFP

The Big Picture

India went from the low of losing comprehensively to Zimbabwe to the high of winning similarly against Sri Lanka in two days. Zimbabwe travelled in the opposite direction with their huge loss to Sri Lanka. The upshot is, despite two unexpected results, the points table wears the expected look: Sri Lanka on top, Zimbabwe last. For their second match, which is potentially crucial to their chances of making the final, both India and Zimbabwe will want to bring their A game.For the second leg of the tournament, play moves to Harare, which should offer clearer weather, giving Zimbabwe a more even playing field. Their army of spinners will like it, so will their batsmen who struggled when it was overcast in Bulawayo, but made merry when it was sunny. It is not quite the do-or-leave situation, but neither team will want to leave it until they face Sri Lanka, on paper the strongest team in the tournament.

Form guide (most recent first)

ZimbabweLWLLL
India WLLWW

Watch out for…

Albeit against lesser teams, Rohit Sharma is showing the will to fight and build an innings. Perhaps it is the added responsibility of no seniors around, but in a week he has taken his ODI average from 25.6 to 31.9, has nearly doubled his List A centuries count, and if he gets a century against Zimbabwe, will equal the world record for centuries in consecutive innings. He will want to carry this confidence and grit into matches against major teams too.In both the matches, Hamilton Masakadza has got off to rollicking starts. In the first he failed to convert it into a big score, but the rest picked up the ball. In the second, he found himself out of partners. In his hometown, he will want to continue the starts and ideally finish the job himself.

Team news

Zimbabwe went in with an unchanged combination against Sri Lanka, and despite that loss in a truncated match they will want to retain the XI that smashed India in the first match.Zimbabwe (possible) 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Brendan Taylor (wk) 3 Charles Coventry, 4 Greg Lamb, 5 Craig Ervine, 6 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 7 Andy Blignaut, 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Chris Mpofu, 11 Ray Price.India went in with two specialist spinners because of a warm-up injury to R Vinay Kumar, but unwittingly seemed to have found the right combination. They should retain the bowlers, but the openers have presented a case for giving Naman Ojha a chance.India (possible) 1 M Vijay, 2 Dinesh Karthik/Naman Ojha (wk), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Suresh Raina (capt), 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Ashok Dinda, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Umesh Yadav.

Stats and trivia

• Greg Lamb’s batting strike-rate in ODIs is 42.35, and that provides a case for some flexibility when it comes to sending him at No. 3. It worked against India after Zimbabwe had a good start in a full 50-over innings, but against Sri Lanka, when they lost an early wicket in a 26-over contest, it backfired.
• Virat Kohli’s career average of 51.61 is impressive enough, but in his last 13 matches he has been even better, scoring two centuries, five half-centuries and averaging 67.33.
  

  Quotes

  “Very disappointing. We did not play well, hopefully we will bounce back. Building an innings has been a problem – we lost four wickets in a short space of time.”
  

West Indies 60 for 2 (Gayle 25) beat England 191 for 5 (Morgan 55, Wright 45*) – D/L method
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Hawk-EyeChris Gayle produced a timely assault to lift West Indies into the Super Eights•Getty Images

West Indies booked their place in the Super Eights with a controversial rain-assisted victory over England at Providence, as Chris Gayle justified his decision to bowl first with a fiery but shortlived 25 from 12 balls – an innings that proved sufficient, under the provisions of Duckworth-Lewis, to carry West Indies to a revised target of 60 in six overs, after England had produced arguably their finest batting display in the format’s history to post an imposing 191 for 5.England’s defeat should not prove costly in the long run, so long as they overcome Ireland in their second group match on Tuesday, but it was nevertheless an unfortunate way for a beautifully poised contest to unravel – and for England it was a case of history repeating itself, after West Indies eliminated them from the last World Twenty20 in a similar scenario at The Oval in June.The result was more or less a foregone conclusion from the moment that the D/L calculators were brought into play. While the method is unrivalled as a means of resolving rain interruptions in 50-over cricket, it is not so well suited to the hustle and bustle of the 20-over format. It just so happened that the match did come down to the wire – Andre Fletcher eventually sealed it with a pulled four through midwicket with one ball to spare – but it had been a nervy denouement. In a full-length contest, West Indies’ challenge might well have petered out as soon as Gayle pulled Graeme Swann to short midwicket in the fourth over.Instead, Gayle’s brief intercession proved sufficient to puncture England’s spirits after a hugely impressive performance with the bat. Eoin Morgan top-scored with 55 from 35 balls, and was joined in an 95-run stand for the fifth wicket by Luke Wright, who made 45 from 27, to close the innings with the same positive intent shown by their rookie opening pairing of Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter, who showcased their boundary-clearing abilities with scores of 28 from 18 balls and 26 from 14 respectively.Nevertheless, with rain in the air, Gayle knew exactly how to pace his reply, and turned on the afterburner. Ryan Sidebottom was dispatched for 15 in an opening over in which he beat the bat three times and found the edge once, only to ruin his good work with a leg-side wide and two half-volleys that were belted over the covers for four and six. And at the other end, Shivnarine Chanderpaul turned his stance inside-out to sweep Graeme Swann over point for another six, as England conceded 30 runs in 2.2 overs, and with it, the contest.Collingwood was understandably frustrated after the match, but England had plenty reason to be proud of their performance. Their total of 11 sixes was a national record for the format, and though neither of the new boys, Kieswetter or Lumb, was able to build on their starts, their alliance was an undoubted success, as demonstrated by England’s Powerplay total of 60 for 1, the highest six-over score of the tournament (until West Indies trumped it in their brief reply).Once they were gone, however, the older guard of Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen struggled to maintain the dominance, as Miller and Darren Sammy found a tidy rhythm to stymie the flow of runs, but when Morgan and Wright came together at 88 for 4 after 10 overs, they did so with the ideal blend of watchfulness and aggression. It wasn’t until both men had their eyes in with five overs remaining that they really cut loose.Kieron Pollard’s first over was clobbered for 16 by Wright, including two sixes – one flat over Sulieman Benn’s head at long-on, the other high over the midwicket scoreboard. Morgan then drilled Dwayne Bravo for four straight back down the ground, before sweeping him wristily over backward square leg for six, as the fifty partnership was brought up in 6.5 overs.Ravi Rampaul, who had conceded 25 in his first two overs, was then clobbered for 27 in his third and final over, including three sixes in three legitimate balls – two for Wright and one, from a free hit, for Morgan, who followed up with a cheeky backhanded dink for four that left Collingwood chuckling at his audacity. He brought up his half-century from 32 balls before picking out Pollard in the deep with four balls of the innings remaining. It ought to have been enough for the contest at hand, but instead England will hope it is a marker for the tournament.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Harbhajan Singh’s innings changed the game•Indian Premier League

They say a Twenty20 match can be won in ten minutes of violent batting or inspired bowling. Harbhajan Singh needed only 18 balls when he batted, and just one delivery when he bowled, to win the game for Mumbai Indians. Double-strikes from RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha had reduced Mumbai to 119 for 7, but Harbhajan played a wickedly-entertaining cameo to charge his team to 172. He wasn’t done yet and opened the bowling to remove Adam Gilchrist with his second delivery, dealing the most crippling blow to the Deccan Chargers chase.The game changed in a Mumbai minute at the DY Patil Stadium. When Harbhajan entered in the 17th over Mumbai had lost the plot after a good start, but he led a stunning turnaround with an 18-ball 49. He hit a six and a four off Andrew Symonds in the 18th over but it was in the next, bowled by Kemar Roach, who until then had looked impressive, that he went berserk. Harbhajan started with a slapped four over extra cover before swinging merrily to the on side, including a shovelled six over square-leg, to plunder 19 runs. In the final over bowled by two bowlers – Jaskaran Singh was no-balled out of the innings after hurling two beamers and Rohit Sharma finished the over- Harbhajan crashed four boundaries, this time concentrating on the straight boundary.Deccan needed a blitz from Gilchrist when they chased but he was undone by the combo of Harbhajan and Sachin Tendulkar. He edged an attempted cut low to the right of first slip where Tendulkar held on to a sharp one-handed catch. Herschelle Gibbs blasted a few boundaries but he fell, swatting a full toss from Zaheer Khan to cover point, and when Lasith Malinga induced Andrew Symonds to slash a short delivery to third man, the game was all but over.Rohit Sharma tried valiantly with an attacking knock but Harbhajan ensured that he didn’t get much support by picking up two more middle-order wickets. Zaheer returned in the 17th over to york Rohit and terminate the chase.Until Harbhajan’s adventure with the bat, it was Deccan who had held all the cards. Mumbai had reached 63 in seven overs, with the well-settled Tendulkar and Dwayne Bravo looking in roaring form, and looked set for a big score before it started to unravel for them. It was RP Singh who triggered the slide with a double strike in the eighth over. Until then, he was struggling to keep the batsmen quiet as Tendulkar and Bravo kept driving him to the boundary, but he struck twice in succession to remove Bravo and Saurabh Tiwary. They weren’t wicket-taking balls – Bravo holed out to long-off and Tiwary edged a wide one – but the blows pushed Mumbai on the back foot.Tendulkar slowed down, looking for someone to stay with him, and Ojha sparkled with a teasing spell of left-arm spin. The runs came in a trickle and Ambati Rayudu, looking to break free, was done in by a beauty: Rayudu was lured out of his crease by a flighted delivery that dipped rapidly before spinning past the bat for an easy stumping opportunity. Ojha proceeded to apply more pressure with deliveries that turned and bounced. R Sathish was his next victim, edging the sweep to backward square-leg and, when Kieron Pollard fell top-edging a pull off Jaskaran, Mumbai were wobbling at 93 for 5 in 13.1 overs.It seemed, at that juncture, that only Tendulkar could save the day for Mumbai but he fell off the first ball after the second time out, edging a pull against RP Singh. Just when you thought Deccan had done it, Harbhajan decided to seize the day with a devastating knock.

Queensland 5 for 62 (Coulter-Nile 3-1) trail Western Australia 286 (Pomersbach 74, Swart 57, Feldman 4-79) by 224 runs
ScorecardLuke Pomersbach helped Western Australia fight back with 74•Getty Images

Queensland’s hopes of hosting the final suffered a big blow when they undid their solid work after dismissing Western Australia for 286 on the opening day at the Gabba. The Bulls need an outright win to keep the pressure on the leaders Victoria and Nathan Coulter-Nile upset them with three wickets to drop them to 5 for 62.Wade Townsend exited to the second ball of the innings when caught behind off Steve Magoffin before Coulter-Nile ran through the hosts with 3 for 1 in a five-over spell. Ryan Broad (17) was Luke Ronchi’s second catch, two overs later Chris Lynn was well caught by Michael Swart at third slip and Craig Philipson (30) was also forced into an edge. Coulter-Nile then chipped in with the catch of Nathan Reardon to give Magoffin his second.Luke Pomersbach steadied the Warriors with 74 and Swart added 57 after they had slipped to 2 for 14. Marcus North (8) was one of the early victims as his poor run continued, but his day brightened when he learned he was still part of Australia’s Test plans.Luke Feldman was the main problem for Western Australia with 4 for 79, taking his haul to 28 in six games of his first season, while Chris Swan provided support with 3 for 63. The wicketkeeper Chris Hartley benefited from both bowlers as he collected six catches.