CRICKET: Pakistan v England: Pakistan took control of the second Test with England yesterday, reaching a comfortable 300 for four at close on the first day.
Inzamam-ul-Haq (80 not out) and Shahid Afridi (67 not out) put on 99 for the fifth wicket to boost the innings after Mohammad Yousuf scored a superb 78, before falling to a contentious caught and bowled by Ian Bell.
Yousuf stood his ground for a while after his drive was picked up low by Bell, and TV replays suggested the ball may have clipped the ground as the catch was completed.
But umpires Darrell Hair and Simon Taufel at square leg did not consult the TV umpire and Bell's appeal for a catch was upheld.
Afterwards, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, whose career was hastened to an unceremonious end due to a five-match ban in 2003, has called on the International Cricket Council to impose a similar suspension on Bell.
"Two years ago the match referee ended my career because he felt I had claimed an unfair catch off the ground against Bangladesh. I want to see what they do with Bell," Latif told reporters.
"You look at the TV replays and it is obvious that Bell has claimed an unfair catch.
"The ball touched the ground while he was completing the catch and he would have known about it."
Australia v W Indies: Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo desperately fought to give West Indies a chance of winning the second Test in Hobart, but their attempts appear to have been in vain.
They lead by 77 runs after their second innings, but Australia will have to suffer a colossal collapse to throw away victory, which was almost guaranteed with a first-innings total of 406 after they held the West Indies to just 149.
The West Indies played far better in their second stint at the crease to reach a respectable total of 334 all out.
Shane Warne had claimed the wickets of Brian Lara (45) and Marlon Samuels (29) prior to lunch, but Ramdin and Bravo stole the show.
The duo dragged the Windies through tea before Ramdin finally succumbed for 71 as Stuart MacGill claimed the first of two wickets.
