Briefly Cricket: England level ODI series 1-1

England level ODI series 1-1

Napier: Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Jonathan Trott brought up confident half centuries as England beat New Zealand by eight wickets in the second limited-overs international Wednesday to level the three-match series at 1-1. New Zealand's former captain Ross Taylor made 100 and present captain Brendon McCullum 74 as the home side was dismissed for 269 after being sent in to bat at McLean Park. England skipper Cook scored with 78, Root made an unbeaten 79 and Jonathan Trott reached 65 not out as the tourists chased down the total with 14 balls to spare. The deciding match is on Saturday.

Brief scores: NZ 269/10 (R Taylor 100, B McCullum 74; J Anderson 5/34, C Woakes 3/68) lost to Eng 270/2 (J Root 79*, A Cook 78, J Trott 65*, I Bell 44; K Williamson 1/39) by eight wickets.

Families pay price for 2-0 loss

Johannesburg: The Pakistan Cricket Board has instructed its national team players to send back their family members after suffering successive defeats in the Test series in South Africa. According to a report in the Daily Express, the PCB has issued instructions that the families should return home by February 26. The report added that while Whatmore's wife had returned home a few days back, the players have been told their families must return at the earliest. "The feeling is that having their families at the start of the tour the players instead of focusing on their game must have spent time worrying about their families and family issues," the report said.

More powers for PCB chief

karachi: PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf will enjoy absolute power under the recently-amended constitution of the Pakistan Cricket Board, the country's media has reported. The details of the amended constitution approved by chief patron Asif Zardari, are yet to be made public, but reports suggested that it will give Ashraf unlimited powers. "It will be a selection and not an election. The chairman in the new constitution also has complete powers to appoint the COO, CFO and takes decisions on the captain, coach and team issues without seeking approval from the General Council as is the case in the existing constitution," one report said.

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