AUCKLAND: Pakistan has made an unimpressive start to its cricket tour of New Zealand, losing by five wickets to Auckland province in a Twenty20 warmup match. After losing two wickets in the opening over, Pakistan was bowled out for only 91 in 17.4 overs, Umar Gul top-scoring with 19. Younis Khan made 18 and Abdul Razzaq 16. Auckland reached its winning target in only 13.2 overs, led by New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill who made an unbeaten 28. Saeed Akmal took 2 for 20 and Shoaib Akhtar 2-31. Pakistan meets New Zealand in the first of three Twenty20 internationals in Auckland Sunday. SA eyeing foreign coaches Cricket South Africa has begun its search for a new coach and will look “far and wide” for a candidate to replace Corrie van Zyl, it said Thursday. CSA will consider foreign coaches, with Van Zyl set to step down after the 2011 World Cup to return to his role at the federation's high performance academy. “CSA is casting its net far and wide to find the right person to replace caretaker Proteas' coach Corrie van Zyl and take the team to even higher levels of performance,” chief executive Gerald Majola said. “We thank and applaud Corrie for stepping into the breach at such short notice after the resignation by Mickey Arthur as national coach last season.” Under Van Zyl, 49, the Proteas beat the West Indies and drew Test series away against India and Pakistan in 2010, and took a 1-0 home series lead over top-ranked India this week in the three-match series between the top two test teams. South Africa has also won three of its last four ODI series. Van Zyl's final challenges will be the home Test and five-match ODI series against India and then an attempt to win a first World Cup for South Africa early next year. The new coach will be appointed on a two-year contract, CSA said, which will cover the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, the inaugural World Test Championship, home and away series against Australia and a tour of England. Applications will close on Jan. 7. “The search for candidates for this vital job is worldwide and the criteria set for the successful applicant is of the highest world standards,” Majola said. Contracts for women players Pakistan's cricket board Thursday awarded women cricketers central contracts for the first time, honoring the team which scooped gold at the Asia Games. Pakistan crushed Bangladesh by 10 wickets in the final of the first Asian Games women's cricket tournament, held in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou last month. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it would issue central contracts to women players from Jan. 1, 2011, without specifying how much money they would earn.
