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Mark Boucher’s steely attitude and sprightly wicketkeeping will be a significant loss for South Africa on their tour of England, the Australia coach Mickey Arthur has said. A close friend of Boucher from their days together with Cape Cobras and the South Africa side, Arthur was among the first of cricket’s luminaries to extend a tribute to Boucher after his international retirement was forced by a horrendous eye injury.Arthur learned of Boucher’s retirement while preparing the Australian ODI team for the final match of their series against England at Old Trafford, and said the South African tour party had the task ahead of them to get over the departure of their wicketkeeper in such hurried and unhappy circumstances.”They do need to get over it, I’m sure they will. He’s going to be missed hugely though,” Arthur told the BBC. “I’ve been in contact, and it is uncertain for him. Let’s just hope that he gets his eyesight back and everything’s good.”I was really disappointed for him, I think he finished on 999 dismissals and just short of 150 Test matches. I know he wanted to come here because he wanted it to be his real swansong as a Test series, so really disappointing it end this way for Mark.”I think he’s right up there. You have a look at his batting and wicketkeeping stats and they’re phenomenal.”Boucher and Arthur first grew close when the wicketkeeper was dropped from the South African team, spending plenty of time together at the Eastern Cape provincial side and charting Boucher’s return to his international place.”I have lots of memories as his coach, too many memories,” Arthur said. “I was really close to Mark, I had a special affinity for him, I knew his family very well, for a time we lived in the same city, and I coached him at state level. I coached him for the period he was out of the South African side, when he got dropped for the first time and then got back into the team.”So we went through a lot of hard times together, a lot of blood, sweat and tears with Bouch. I thought he was a fine cricketer a guy you really wanted on your side, a guy that never, ever gave up, fought to the bitter end and that’s how I’ll always remember him.”They were to become close again when Arthur was appointed South Africa coach, and among Arthur’s happiest recollections of Boucher was his determination to ensure South Africa chased down a fourth innings target at Edgbaston in 2008 to secure a series win over England.”I remember the series we won here in 2008, the Test match we won at Edgbaston was on the back of a very good innings by Graeme Smith, but Bouch was there at the end of it,” Arthur said. “In his fighting way I remember him pointing the bat at Alastair Cook in one instance.”I remember him telling me at tea time, he said ‘coach if I’m at the wicket, and I will be there, we’re going to win the series, we didn’t come all the way to lose this’. That just typified exactly what he was like. He was always in there, he was always up for a challenge; a massive amount of fighting spirit.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Manvinder Bisla who? Not a question that will be asked too frequently from now•Associated Press

Smart stats

• The chase of 190 is the highest successful run-chase in IPL history against Chennai Super Kings. The previous highest had been 188, by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009, and Kings XI Punjab in 2011.

• Manvinder Bisla’s 89 off 48 balls is the second-highest score by a batsman in an IPL final, next only to Murali Vijay’s 52-ball 95 in the 2011 final.

• Before this final, Bisla had scored 414 runs in 21 IPL innings at 19.71 and a strike rate of 109.23. For Knight Riders, he had scored 196 in 11 innings at a strike rate of 97.51.

• In four IPL finals, the opening partnerships for Super Kings read: 39, 44, 159, 87. The opening stands for other sides in IPL finals have been 19, 0, 20, 1, 1, 3.

• The partnership of 136 between Bisla and Jacques Kallis is the second-highest in an IPL final,after the 159-run opening-wicket stand between Michael Hussey and Vijay in the 2011 final.

There was a galaxy of former Indian cricketers in attendance, the brightest lights from Bollywood were in the stands, both teams had some of the biggest stars in the world game but the headlining performance came from little-known Manvinder Bisla as Kolkata Knight Riders prised the IPL trophy out of Chennai Super Kings’ hands. Bisla, who was without a Ranji Trophy side last season, made a mockery of his previous career Twenty20 strike-rate of 106 to play a jack-in-the-box innings that helped overhaul what had seemed a mountainous Super Kings total.The title looked headed Super Kings’ way for the third year in a row, when for the third match in a row a seemingly out of form Super Kings batsman played a blinder – this time it was Suresh Raina – and the rock of Knight Riders’ batting Gautam Gambhir was bowled in the first over.All that changed when Bisla intervened. Virtually every ball he faced, he either jumped beyond leg to make room or danced down the track to get close to the pitch of the ball as he unleashed a series of lofted extra cover drives to dent Super Kings. The first signs of trouble for the defending champions was when Bisla crashed Albie Morkel for four off-side fours in the fourth over to kickstart Knight Riders’s innings.The experienced Jacques Kallis stroked the singles to allow Bisla most of the strike, and Bisla, getting a game ahead of the regular wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum, showed no signs of the pressure of a big occasion getting to him. A slower one from Dwayne Bravo was dispatched for six in the next over, and R Ashwin, who has played a leading role in Super Kings’ successes over the past three seasons, was hit over his head for a couple of classy sixes. After half an hour of Bisla’s pyrotechnics, Knight Riders were the team in charge and even the usually unfazed MS Dhoni was giving a heated lecture to his team during the time-out.A century seemed for the taking for Bisla, but he was undone by Morkel’s slower one, holing out to point for 89. Kallis then switched from watchful to wallop. The decision to promote Laxmi Shukla to No. 4 failed, but Kallis played one of the shots of the match, a perfectly placed lofted drive that bisected extra cover and long-off for four. That was followed by a heart-in-the-mouth moment as Kallis swung the ball towards deep midwicket where Michael Hussey held on to a tough catch but couldn’t prevent himself from going over the rope.Yusuf Pathan’s horrendous 2012 season then came to a fitting end as he top-edged a sweep to be dismissed for 1. Ben Hilfenhaus, who took out Gambhir early and bowled a probing spell with the new ball, returned for his final over in the 19th and he injected more excitement into the game by getting a cramping Kallis to slice a catch to sweeper cover. Hilfenhaus undid that by bowling a full toss that was no-balled for height and following up with another full toss that was nervelessly scooped for four by Shakib Al Hasan.The tournament entered its final over with Knight Riders needing nine. There were just two singles off the first two balls, including some panicky running, but Manoj Tiwary ended the five-season wait for a trophy with two boundaries behind square leg to spark scenes of wild celebrations.It was the Chennai crowd that was celebrating for the first half of the game. M Vijay and Michael Hussey left people wondering whether Knight Riders had made a miscalculation by bringing in an ineffective Brett Lee for the final. Vijay and Hussey added 87 in the first half of the innings, raising visions of their 159-run opening stand that destroyed Royal Challengers Bangalore in last season’s final.Then Raina took over, playing his best innings of the season. Weak against the short ball? Raina’s first boundary was a powerfully pulled six over midwicket off Kallis. The mystery of Sunil Narine? Raina slog-swept into the stands and later deposited the ball near the sightscreen as Narine was handed his most expensive figures of the tournament.Despite the pounding from Super Kings, Knight Riders didn’t fade in the field like Delhi Daredevils had two days ago. Their first breakthrough came courtesy an outstanding catch from Shakib in the deep, and there were plenty of dives in the outfield to prevent extra runs. The same never-say-die spirit carried them when they came out to bat as well.Knight Riders showed why they had lost only two of their previous 12 matches, and also that they could win even if their star performers Gambhir and Narine had off days. In the reams of articles in the build-up to the final, there had been plenty written about those two, but virtually no one spoke about Bisla. “Manvinder Bisla who?” is not likely to be a question asked too often after this game, particularly in Kolkata, as a title finally arrived after five drama-filled seasons.

Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka allrounder, should be wary of managing his workload in the IPL, national chairman of selectors Ashantha de Mel has said. Mathews has had several fitness issues recently, leading to questions about his future as a bowler, and so his bowling in the IPL has raised concerns.”As selectors, we don’t have any control over the IPL. We can’t tell them what to do and what not to do,” de Mel told the . “He [Mathews] may be thinking that [if] he bowls at the IPL, his value is more as he goes as an allrounder. He will struggle if he bowls 10 overs [in an ODI]. In the IPL, the maximum he will bowl is four overs and that could be possible. The duration of the game is also short. However, there is a strain on his body.”The problem is if he gets injured. I have personally told him that if he bowls, his career will be shortened. If he doesn’t want to listen to us, then I don’t know what more can be done. People have to realise what is more important to them. Playing the IPL or playing for the country.”When contacted by ESPNcricinfo, Upali Dharmadasa, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket, said that Mathews had been cleared to bowl in the IPL by the physio and team management. “As far as I am concerned, when the necessary authorities have cleared him, why should Sri Lanka Cricket stop him.”Mathews, who is Sri Lanka’s vice-captain, had bowled an aggregate of five overs in Pune Warriors matches against Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings. He is coming off a calf injury that kept him out of cricket for a month – from the finals of the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia through to the first Test against England in Galle – and prevented him from bowling in the Colombo Test. In the past year he also suffered groin and quadriceps injures.After Mathews had failed a fitness test in the run-up to the Galle Test against England, de Mel had said he potentially faced a future as a specialist batsman for Sri Lanka. Mathews responded by saying while he would have to manage his workload in Tests, he would continue bowling in the shorter formats.If Mathews continued to pick up injuries, de Mel said he could not expect to be an automatic pick in the Sri Lanka team. “As there is a strain on his body, the prospects of him getting injured are there and then we will be forced to leave him out. If someone else comes and performs, then he cannot be assured of his place.”

Richard Pybus has resigned from his current position as the head coach of Cape Cobras with immediate effect. Pybus was in charge of the Cape Town-based franchise for two seasons during which they won three titles.”There are a range of issues to do with the chief executive and the franchise that have undermined me as head coach and made my continued position untenable,” Pybus said. “I won’t be making any further media comment at this stage.”Although Cobras won this season’s Franchise 1-Day Cup, they failed to defend their first-class and Twenty20 titles. They also failed to qualify for the Champions League T20 after finishing fifth in the MiWay T20 Challenge.The Cobras chief executive Andre Odendaal and the board will discuss Pybus’ resignation at a meeting on Monday evening, after which they will issue a response.Pybus has had two stints as coach of Pakistan. He has previously coached the Titans franchise, based in Centurion, where he also enjoyed success. He also had a brief stint at Middlesex but made his name at Border, in the Eastern Cape, where he played an instrumental role in developing Mark Boucher.Edited by Devashish Fuloria

ScorecardAfghanistan were outplayed by Netherlands in Sharjah, going down by nine wickets. A four-wicket haul by Peter Borren, the right-arm seamer, restricted Afghanistan to 153, before Alexie Kervezee smashed an unbeaten 83 to chase the target within 27 overs.Afghanistan lost the early wicket of Karim Sadiq, caught behind trying to pull Borren. Javed Ahmadi tore in to Mudassar Bukhari the following over, hitting him for a six and two fours. Ahmadi, however, didn’t last long as he became Borren’s second victim, caught at short midwicket off an inside edge to his pads. Borren was on a hat-trick when he trapped the captain Nawroz Mangal lbw. Afghanistan were in trouble at 54 for 4 before the tenth over and needed a recovery stand.Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi then added 53 for the fifth wicket at just under four an over. Pieter Seelar, the left-arm spinner, broke the partnership when he had Stanikzai caught behind for 25. The boundaries dried up for Afghanistan and Samiullah Shenwari tried to slog but was caught at long-on, giving Borren his fourth wicket. Tom Cooper got rid of the top scorer Nabi for 41, also caught at long-on, before cleaning up the tail to finish with 3 for 11.Stephan Myburgh got Netherlands’ chase off to a good start, hitting three fours in the first over. Izatullah Dawlatzai got the only wicket to fall, getting Myburgh out leg before on 23. Michael Swart and Kervezee then combined to add 107 for the second wicket. Kervezee smashed 13 fours and a six in his 63-ball knock, while Swart was unbeaten on 42 with four fours and a six.

ScorecardKevin Pietersen scored his second consecutive hundred as England wrapped a 4-0 series win•Associated Press

What a difference a few days makes. It was suggested that Kevin Pietersen had the last two matches of this series to save his one-day international career and less than week later he has back-to-back hundreds to his name – the second a career-best 130 – a spring in his step and a strut at the crease as he guided England to a whitewash against Pakistan with four balls to spare.Pietersen became the second England batsman in the series, following captain Alastair Cook, to hit consecutive hundreds and it was the second time Pietersen had achieved the feat, following the South Africa series in 2004-05 at the start of his career. It’s long been a criticism of England’s one-day game that there aren’t enough individual three-figure innings so it will provide huge satisfaction for Andy Flower and Graham Gooch, shortly to become the full-time batting coach.The series, too, is a huge feather in the caps of Flower and Cook. The 4-0 scoreline is England’s first whitewash against anyone other than Bangladesh or Zimbabwe since they beat Australia before the 1997 Ashes. That was one of many false dawns for England’s one-day side and there needs to be more evidence to find out how this unit develops, but having lost 5-0 in India last October this has been the ideal response.This was a better display from Pietersen than his hundred on Saturday and it was also his longest ODI innings. Early on his lost regular partners – Cook fell second ball of the innings – and the pitch, used for the second time in three days, was worn and a touch slower. Pakistan packed their side with five spinners and just one quick but only Saeed Ajmal, who removed Eoin Morgan and the debutant Jos Buttler in the space of three balls to leave England wobbling on 68 for 4, posed a significant threat.Pietersen’s main moment of concern came when he was saved by the DRS on 80 after getting into a horrid tangle trying to scoop Abdur Rehman over his shoulder. He was given out lbw by umpire Zameer Haider but replays showed he’d been struck outside off stump. Last week Pietersen spoke about DRS being his biggest challenge; here it was his biggest saviour. The review system made an important intervention when Samit Patel, on 5 and with England needing 44 off 40 balls, was given lbw by Haider but had also been struck outside the line. It wasn’t a great evening for the umpires with Cook earlier given not out before Pakistan reviewed.

Smart stats

• Kevin Pietersen’s century is his second in consecutive matches. This is the first time he scored two consecutive centuries since his debut series in 2004-05 against South Africa.

• Pietersen’s hundred is his ninth in ODIs and is also his highest score. He is now second behind Marcus Trescothick on the list of England batsmen with the most ODI centuries.

• Pietersen’s 130 is the fourth-highest score by an England batsman against Pakistan and the third-highest outside England after Graham Gooch’s 142 in Karachi in 1987 and Alastair Cook’s 137 in this series.

• England’s 4-0 series win is their first ever series whitewash in ODI series of four or more matches against top teams (Zimbabwe and Bangladesh excluded). Their only previous such series results have come against Zimbabwein 2001-02 and 2004-05.

• The 109-run stand between Pietersen and Craig Kieswetter is the second-highest fifth-wicket stand for England against Pakistan after the 138 between Andrew Flintoff and Graham Thorpe in 2000. It is also joint seventh on the list of highest fifth-wicket stands in the UAE.

• Jade Dernbach returned his career best bowling figures of 4 for 45 in his 14th match surpassing his previous best of 3 for 30. It is also the sixth-best bowling figures by an England bowler against Pakistan outside England.

• The 111-run stand between Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali is the third-highest second-wicket stand for Pakistan against England in ODIs. The highest is 167 between Rameez Raja and Saleem Malik in Karachi in 1987.

Patel, on the day he was given an ECB incremental contract, played a calm hand after Craig Kieswetter – who produced his first substantial innings in the middle order – had been run out to end the crucial stand of 109 that turned the chase around. Pietersen went to 99 with a pulled six off Junaid Khan but the hundred was celebrated in far more subdued style than the first. He was aware the victory hadn’t been sealed and proceeded to rubber-stamp the result with a flurry of boundaries off Junaid and a straight six off Ajmal. He couldn’t quite finish the game, skewing a drive to point with two needed, but the process of restoring a reputation was well advanced.Again, England had shown the value of one player getting a hundred. In contrast Pakistan’s brittle batting line-up again cost them the game, failing to make the most of a solid base provided by Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, the future of Pakistan’s batting, who added 111 for the second wicket. England’s reshuffled bowling attack, including debutant Danny Briggs and the recalled Jade Dernbach, stifled the middle order with Misbah-ul-Haq left to gather what he could.It was another tale of Pakistan’s batsmen failing to build on starts as four of them passed 20 but none bettered Shafiq’s confident 65. On a surface being used for the second time in three days it was difficult for new batsmen to force the pace straight away, demonstrated by the way the innings fell away. England rested James Anderson and Stuart Broad while Graeme Swann had a minor calf strain, which gave the chance to Briggs claim a commendable 2 for 39 and Dernbach 4 for 45. The latter cleaned up the lower order with Pakistan losing their last six wickets for 35 runs.Dernbach had a difficult tour of India, where his obsession with variation worked against him, and then had a tough experience in Australia’s Big Bash League where he was dropped after two games for Melbourne Stars. Consistency still proved an occasional problem for Dernbach but he also maintained the happy knack of picking up wickets, including Mohammad Hafeez second and Azhar for a stubborn 58.Shafiq had the perfect opportunity, against a weakened attack, to score his maiden ODI hundred but chopped on against Bresnan in the 23rd over. From there life became much tougher for Pakistan. Umar Akmal was promoted to No. 4 with the chance to build an innings couldn’t gathered momentum and provided Briggs with his first international wicket when he lofted a catch to long-off. Briggs showed calmness and control in his first appearance, quickly recovering himself from a couple of loose deliveries against Azhar.The scoring rate had seized up as Azhar approached his maiden ODI fifty and Shoaib Malik struggled to time the ball. The sense with Azhar, albeit in the very early stages of his career, is that he doesn’t have a range of gears to move through in the one-day game. Malik does not have the excuse of inexperience to fall back on and his return to Pakistan colours has not been a happy one in this series. Having used up 33 deliveries for 23 he missed a sweep against Briggs in the spinner’s last over. When a team can win without three of their main bowlers it bodes well for the future.Edited by Alan Gardner

ScorecardNathan Reardon made his first one-day century for Queensland•Getty Images

Western Australia hung on to win their first match of the Ryobi Cup campaign despite a century from Queensland’s Nathan Reardon at the Gabba. Chasing 285, the Bulls struggled early but worked their way back and were in the stronger position at the start of the final over, needing nine for victory with Reardon on strike facing Nathan Coulter-Nile.Reardon struck the first ball of that over high and long but not quite far enough to clear the rope, and Travis Birt at long-on held on to the catch just inside the boundary. That left Queensland nine wickets down and the final pair of Chris Swan and Alister McDermott could not conjure the required runs as Coulter-Nile held his nerve to concede only four for the over.The Bulls were favourites while Reardon was at the crease compiling his innings of 116, which was his first one-day century for Queensland in a career spanning seven seasons. He drove well early and was especially strong square on the off side, and he had impressive support from Joe Burns, who scored 82 as they put on 115 for the fourth wicket.Queensland needed somebody to lead a recovery after they stumbled to 3 for 44, two of those early wickets having fallen to Jason Behrendorff, who finished with 3 for 45. At that stage Western Australia were in control, following a strong batting effort led by the captain Marcus North with 93 and Adam Voges, who made 62.The Warriors made 9 for 284 from their 50 overs, although Shaun Marsh was not amongst the runs, caught at slip for 7. Ben Cutting picked up 4 for 68 for the Bulls, who can still make the final. However, they will now need to beat Tasmania and earn a bonus point from their final match of the campaign in order to meet South Australia in the decider.