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Pietersen part of 2015 plans – Cook

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Alastair Cook believes Kevin Pietersen can be part of England’s 2015 World Cup side

Andrew McGlashan03-Oct-2011Alastair Cook believes Kevin Pietersen can be part of England’s 2015 World Cup side and sees it as one of his key roles as captain on the tour of India to help guide a one-day revival for the batsman. Pietersen has returned to the squad for the upcoming series, but doubts remain over his long-term future in the 50-over side after a lean two years in the format and the emergence of talented young batsmen pushing their claims.Pietersen was rested, officially at least, for the one-day series recent ODIs against India in England, and the two Twenty20 internationals against West Indies that concluded the home season. His place in the Twenty20 team isn’t in doubt – he played the game against India at the end of August and was Man of the Series when England won the world title in West Indies in 2010 – but that security doesn’t extend to the longer limited-overs format.”I see Kevin as a huge part of this one-day side, especially in the 2015 World Cup,” Cook said at Heathrow airport shortly before the squad departed for India. “He’s had huge success in Australia, but we need to manage him well so he can get there.”After he controversially flew home injured from the World Cup, reports emerged that he was planning to retire from ODIs although he subsequently denied those and remains available for all three formats. However, if there was a change of heart from Pietersen it is more likely to have been because he wouldn’t have been eligible for a central contract if he quit one-dayers.His availability, though, doesn’t come with a guarantee of selection, as Andy Flower has been at pains to point out, and Pietersen’s one-day form of the last two years raises questions as to whether he warrants a place in the side. Since March 2009 against West Indies, his first one-day series since losing the captaincy, he has averaged 22.86 from 32 matches with two half-centuries. His last hundred came against India, in Cuttack, in October 2008 and three of his seven tons came in his first 11 matches. However, he does average 51 in ODIs on Indian soil, which shows he enjoys conditions.”He’s had a tough 12-18 months with his form, this happens when you spend a huge amount of time at the top of the game. It’s tough to keep your standards high,” Cook said. “I think he still averages very high 40s in Test cricket, so it’s amazing to think we are talking about a drop. His last couple of years in one-day cricket haven’t been as good as they were in the first part of his career and part of our job as England management is to try and get him back there.”A KP averaging 50 and striking over 100 is a huge element of an England side and we can’t ignore talent like that. He loves proving people wrong.”England have tried various roles to reinvigorate Pietersen’s one-day career including using him as an opener during the World Cup. That tactic was short-lived due to the hernia he picked up, but it did provide some momentum to England’s innings alongside Andrew Strauss. A return to opening is unlikely with Cook and Craig Kieswetter establishing their partnership, but Pietersen’s exact position in the order hasn’t been nailed down with Cook hinting at flexibility.”At No. 3 or 4 is where he’s had most of his success,” Cook said. “Towards the end of the Sri Lanka series [in June] we talked about being more flexible in our batting line up and we’ve got the right to do that.”The pressure on Pietersen to retain his place is coming mainly from his own form, but also the emergence of a group of new batsmen pushing for international honours. Jonny Bairstow, who impressed on his debut against India, is part of this tour, while Jos Buttler will join in for the Twenty20 at the end of trip along with Alex Hales. Eoin Morgan, who has taken the mantle of England’s key one-day batsman from Pietersen, is out if action until January but will slot straight back in when he’s fit and Cook is thrilled with the competition for places.”You have to perform to stay in an England shirt; like Kevin has to, like I have to, the whole team has to,” he said. “You can see from the players who aren’t coming on this tour, the competition there is for places and that’s a very encouraging sign.”England have two warm-up matches, the first on Saturday, before the opening one-day international, in Hyderabad, on October 14.

BCCI welcomes sports bill conditionally

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Anurag Thakur, the president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, has said that the BCCI welcomes the sports bill proposed by the Indian government but objects to a few clauses

Tariq Engineer10-Sep-2011Anurag Thakur, the president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, has said that the BCCI welcomes the sports bill proposed by the Indian government but objects to a few clauses. The provisions that Thakur said were unacceptable are those that specify term limits for office bearers, require at least 25% of elected representatives to be former players and bring all national sports federations under the Right to Information Act, which would essentially require the board to divulge operational information to anyone who files a legitimate request.Thakur said that the BCCI already limits terms for its president and office bearers to three years, which is a significantly shorter period than the bill’s limit of 12 years. He also said the accounts of the board are available online and that “we we work in a very transparent and effective manner”. [Ed’s note: The BCCI’s website has a link to its annual report which says “coming soon” and currently there are no sets of accounts available on its website.]”The BCCI is the most professionally-run sports organisation in the world, especially in India,” Thakur said. “And we have taken cricket to new heights … (As for) the issue of RTI, as per the Chief Information Commissioner, he has very clearly stated in the Supreme Court that BCCI doesn’t fall under the category of RTI. So I think if the government makes some changes to the RTI Act, then only we will come under it.”One of the potential drawbacks of falling under the RTI Act, according to Thakur, was that it could get in the way of the day-to-day operations of the BCCI if the board is forced to respond to requests about selections issues and scheduling. “The BCCI is an autonomous body and there should not be government interference.”On the subject of reservations for former players, Thakur pointed out that a number of former players are already in executive positions, such as Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, the president and secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, and Shivlal Yadav, the vice-president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. “On the technical committee and selection committee (of the BCCI), we have only cricketers and umpires,” Thakur said.

Middlesex set sights on Gayle

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Although the English winter is drawing in there is still plenty happening around the county circuit. During the off-season, ESPNcricinfo will keep you up to date with major developments, news and the odd quirky story

George Dobell20-Oct-2011Will Chris Gayle be adding Middlesex to his list of overseas teams?•Associated Press

Middlesex have eyes on GayleChris Gayle has been targeted by Middlesex as an overseas player ahead of the 2012 T20 season.”If you’re asking whether we would like Chris Gayle in our side then yes, of course we would,” said Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, “but whether we can afford him in another thing entirely.”In the past, however, Middlesex have benefited from a partnership with the MCC whereby the burden of playing the top overseas players’ wages has been shared between the two clubs. Adam Gilchrist was signed thanks to such a partnership.As things stand, however, Middlesex are likely to play only three of their five home games at Lord’s with international commitments and the Olympics limiting the ground’s availability. The club may even need to persuade the ECB to allow them to stage their first game a couple of weeks before the formal launch of next year’s event.Middlesex have already strengthened their top-order batting with the signing of Joe Denly from Kent. Fraser confirmed, however, that Andrew Strauss will not play any Twenty20 cricket in future.High-profile candidates for MCC roleSteve Elworthy, currently director of marketing and communications at the ECB, and Dave Richardson, currently the general manager of cricket at the ICC, are understood to be among the short-listed candidates for the vacant role of chief executive of the MCC. The previous CEO, Keith Bradshaw, resigned recently in order to spend more time with his family in Australia.Shanker for IPL?You might have thought we’d heard the last of Adrian Shankar. After the debacle of his brief stint at Worcestershire, most people would have slunk away and got on with their life far away from the world of cricket.But not our Adrian. He’s nothing if not determined. It now seems that Shankar has turned his attention to the IPL and has, somehow, aroused the interest of Rajasthan Royals.As a result, Royals management have made enquiries to players in England to learn more about Shankar’s background. The question they asked was: is Shankar a fantastic, untapped talent who has somehow escaped the notice of all English scouts; or is he just an audacious blagger?You can probably guess the answer they received.Moeen Ali’s England chanceIt might have been presumed that the likes of Monty Panesar, Samit Patel and Scott Borthwick were the men jostling for the second spinner spot in the England squad to the UAE (in January-February) and Sri Lanka (March-April).But Moeen Ali is also in contention. The 24-year-old Worcestershire allrounder took more wickets than any other off-spinner in Division One of the Championship in the 2011 season (albeit a modest 18 at 51 apiece) and also scored 930 runs at an average of 33.That allround ability subsequently won Moeen a place in England’s potential performance squad and, along with a few of the other batsmen and spinners in that squad, he will remain in Sri Lanka after the three-week training camp in Colombo. The players will be allocated first-class teams and benefit from playing for another seven weeks in Sri Lankan domestic cricket.The inference is that a role in the Test side – probably batting at six and fulfilling the role of second spinner – is just about within Moeen’s grasp. While there are several players ahead of him in the queue at present, most have question-marks against them; Panesar, for instance, has few pretensions as a batsman or a fielder, while Patel’s fitness remains an issue.Whatever happens, if England do need to call upon Moeen in Sri Lanka, it will surely prove beneficial that he has experience of the conditions. It’s another example of the planning and attention to detail that has characterised the England management in recent years.Financial issues for WarwickshireWarwickshire have left several clubs disgruntled by their approaches for players in recent seasons, but the boot could soon be on the other foot.The failure to land an Ashes Test in 2013 will have a large impact on the finances at Edgbaston and is likely to make recruiting – and retaining – top players increasingly difficult.In the short-term, it has done little to help them secure the signing of James Taylor. Taylor is also wanted by Nottinghamshire, who won the right to host Ashes Tests in 2013 and 2015 and, as a consequence, have the certainly of a high income for the foreseeable future.In the longer-term, attention will focus on retaining Warwickshire’s best players. Chris Woakes, for example, is out of contract at the end of the 2012 season and is certain to attract interest from a number of other counties. As a quality allrounder who might not quite make the Test team, Woakes might even be considered one of the most valuable players in the entire county game. If Warwickshire are going to keep him, they’re going to need to fund the mother of all pay rises.Kartik set for Oval moveSurrey are close to securing the singing of Murali Kartik, the left-arm spinner, as an overseas player for the 2012 season. He has previously enjoyed spells at Lancashire, Middlesex and Somerset. While it is understood that Surrey’s salary bill remains the largest in the county game, the club have not breached the salary cap of £1.8m.

Bulls caravan rolls on over Blues

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Queensland’s bowlers defended a mediocre total grandly to shut out New South Wales and maintain the Bulls’ unbeaten start to the summer in the domestic limited overs match in Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2011
ScorecardAlister McDermott formed part of an impressively even Queensland attack•Getty Images

Queensland’s bowlers defended a mediocre total grandly to shut out New South Wales and maintain the Bulls’ unbeaten start to the summer in the domestic limited overs match in Brisbane.The Blues would have considered themselves well placed when the hosts were bowled out for 221, the left-arm quick Mitchell Starc claiming 5-39 with a combination of speed, swing and bounce.But the Bulls maintained the fine balance between flair and determination that has hallmarked the team under the coaching of Darren Lehmann this season when they defended the target.The left-arm spinner Brad Ipson shared the new ball with Alister McDermott and claimed the first wicket when Daniel Smith drove too hastily. McDermott followed up with the wicket of Tim Cruickshank, bowled while attempting to pull, and the rest faded away.Some late hitting by Starc allowed him to claim the match award, but the smiles were all Queensland’s.

Cricket must respect the fan – Dravid

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Rahul Dravid has called for cricket’s players and administrators to tackle the game’s challenges by taking decisions that would always “respect the fan”

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2011Rahul Dravid has called for cricket’s players and administrators to tackle the game’s challenges by taking decisions that would always “respect the fan.” He was delivering the annual Bradman Oration on Wednesday, the first cricketer from outside Australia invited to do so in the ten-year history of the event.The 40-minute speech, delivered at the Anzac Hall at the National War Memorial, Canberra, urged the game’s stakeholders to remember that “everything that has given cricket its power and influence in the world of sports has started from that fan in the stadium.”
Dravid said players needed to think of the fans when they played the game, in terms of conduct, intensity and integrity. Administrators, he believed, needed to keep the viewing public in mind when they tried to handle the trickiest of the challenges, balancing the three formats in cricket.”They [the fans] deserve our respect and let us not take them for granted. Disrespecting fans is disrespecting the game. The fans have stood by our game through everything. When we play, we need to think of them. As players, the balance between competitiveness and fairness can be tough but it must be found.”Dravid said he had been surprised to see grounds half-full during the India v England ODI series in October which to him was an indicator that there had been a “change in temperature” in Indian cricket over the last two years. “Whatever the reasons are – maybe it is too much cricket or too little by way of comfort for spectators – the fan has sent us a message and we must listen…Let us not be so satisfied with the present, with deals and finances in hand that we get blindsided.”

The administrators’ biggest challenge in terms of retaining public interest and support of the game all over the world was, he said, to work out a sensible road-map for the game’s three formats. An alternate plan giving every game context and relevance would have to be worked out because, “the three formats cannot be played in equal numbers – that will only throw scheduling and the true development of players completely off gear. Cricket must find a middle path,” he said.”It must scale down this mad merry-go-round that teams and players find themselves in: heading off for two-Test tours and seven-match ODI series with a few Twenty20s thrown in.”
Dravid described Test cricket as “the gold standard” and the form that the players most wanted to play, ODI cricket had kept the game’s revenues going for three decades while T20 was the format the fans wanted to see. Despite the popularity of T20, Dravid said, “Test cricket deserves to be protected, it is what the world’s best know they will be judged by”.”Where I come from, nation versus nation is what got people interested in cricket in the first place. When I hear the news that a country is playing without some of its best players, I always wonder, what do their fans think?”He said the popularity of Test cricket could be reflected not so much in packed grounds but how its most loyal fans followed the scores. “We may not fill 65,000 capacity stadiums for Test matches, but we must actively fight to get as many as we can in, to create a Test match environment that the players and the fans feed off. Anything but the sight of Tests played on empty grounds.It was where the administrators had to ensure that teams played, “Test cricket that people can watch,” and ensure that Tests, “fit into 21st century life, through timing, environments and the venues they are held in.” He supported discussions around day-night Tests and a Test championship, despite anxieties over its financial difficulties. He spoke of playing a day night first-class game for the MCC in Abu Dhabi which left him convinced, “day-night Tests is an idea seriously worth exploring. There may be some challenges in places where there is dew but the visibility and durability of the pink cricket ball was not an issue.”Dravid also said that a Test championship would encourage every team and player to deliver strong performances in every match, with context provided for every Test. At the moment, there is an ICC Test rankings table but the inaugural Test championship will not be held until 2017, when Dravid will be 44 years old. The ICC had hoped to bring the championship forward to 2013 and use it to replace the Champions Trophy, but commitments to the broadcaster and sponsors meant that could not be done. Dravid said he was against the idea of scrapping ODIs altogether but believed that events like the World Cup and the Champions Trophy should be the focus, with other ODIs contributing to rankings for those events.”Since about, I think 1985, people have been saying that there is too much meaningless one-day cricket,” he said. “Maybe it’s finally time to do something about it … Anything makes more sense than seven-match ODI series.” More context for matches might also help draw crowds back to the game. Dravid said he had been surprised to see the lack of spectators at an ODI series featuring India this year and he described the sight of empty stands as “alarming”.Dravid said that even if fans were watching on television, the experience was not the same. And that, he argued, could have consequences in the long term. “Whatever the reasons are – maybe it is too much cricket or too little by way of comfort for spectators. The fan has sent us a message and we must listen. This is not mere sentimentality. Empty stands do not make for good television. Bad television can lead to a fall in ratings, the fall in ratings will be felt by media planners and advertisers’ looking elsewhere.”If that happens, it is hard to see television rights around cricket being as sought after as they have always been in the last 15 years. And where does that leave everyone?”

South Africa well placed after batsmen's day

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Jacques Kallis systematically deflated Sri Lanka in the morning, and AB de Villiers went ballistic after lunch to set the tone for a nightmarish day, before Graeme Smith’s attacking declaration gave the visitors respite

The Report by Nitin Sundar04-Jan-2012Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAB de Villiers stayed in the background when Jacques Kallis was around, but blossomed in style after lunch•Getty Images

There was a sense of déjà vu as the action unfolded on the second day at Newlands, before Graeme Smith ended Sri Lanka’s agony with an aggressive declaration that came 30 minutes before tea. Jacques Kallis was balletic in the morning, and AB de Villiers ballistic after lunch to leave Sri Lanka facing for a nightmarish day, reminiscent of the one India had endured a few hours earlier in a different continent. However, Smith’s move provided respite, as he gambled for more time at the cost of some cheap runs. Sri Lanka then produced fireworks of their own, in equal parts vindicating and undermining the declaration.Until then, it was a day for relentless pursuit of batting milestones. Like Michael Clarke in Sydney, Kallis strolled inevitably to a double-century in front of his home crowd. Like in Centurion in 2010, he had de Villiers for company when he got to the landmark. Back then, de Villiers had smashed the fastest century by a South African. This time he was more sedate in reaching 100, but unleashed mayhem thereafter, scoring his last 60 runs off only 29 balls. South Africa plundered 87 off the last 10 overs of their innings, with Jacques Rudolph also chiming in with a half-century before Smith signalled the ceasefire.Regardless of the perilous position, Dilshan went for his shots from the outset. Along with the more circumspect Lahiru Thirimanne, he endured more edges and misses in the eight-over passage leading up to tea than his bowlers had produced in the 49 overs they bowled in the day. The pitch had pace and bounce, but the lack of sideways movement allowed Dilshan to hit through the line. He smoked Morne Morkel’s first ball after the break through cover before flicking him for four more.Soon Dilshan paraded his assortment of carves, jabs, and heaves to motor Sri Lanka past 50 in the 13th over. Thirimanne escaped when de Villiers backed away from going for a high-flying edge over the slips, but Morkel had his man two balls later with pure pace. Dilshan’s impetuosity gave South Africa a beachhead into the middle order, and Mahela Jayawardene endured a couple of scares against Imran Tahir with stumps in sight. But Kumar Sangakkara’s fluent driving suggested the visitors were set to enjoy the best batting conditions of the tour well into the third day.In all the second day yielded 382 for 3, and the tone was set early when five of the first 12 balls of the morning sped to the boundary. Two of them were outside edges from de Villiers, but the other three were vintage Kallis strokes, unfurled seemingly for the benefit of those who may have missed the first day’s action – the sumptuous cover drive, the violent pull, and the coaxed on-drive that gained speed as it rolled away. South Africa’s momentum never slackened from there on, and their run-rate was well over four by the time they declared.Sri Lanka weren’t alert enough to capitalise when the chances came. Dhammika Prasad got Kallis to edge one that moved away, but Jayawardene clanged it at second slip. That was in the third over of the day, and by the time the next opportunity came, Sri Lanka had just one fly slip. Angelo Mathews produced a nifty legcutter that reared up and took Kallis’ edge, but it was out of Jayawardene’s range.Sri Lanka managed only two maidens in the day. Chanaka Welegedara was so pleasantly surprised by the first, that he smiled. Kallis kept accumulating, before a robust cut and another punch through mid-on took him through the 190s. He passed 200 by chopping Perera through point. Just as murmurs of the first 300 by a South African batsman began to do the rounds, Kallis lost his concentration and gifted Rangana Herath his wicket.His exit brought no respite, and instead heralded a passage of mind-boggling innovation from de Villiers. More than once, he brazenly opened the face to steer balls on purpose into the gap between slip and gully. After reaching 100, he launched Welegedara expansively over mid-off before flapping a high full toss to fine-leg for four. The spinners had no chance, with Dilshan flying over long-on for successive sixes, and Herath being carved from a foot outside leg stump through sweeper-cover. Rudolph looked at home in the middle order, guiding through gully efficiently and lashing Herath through square leg. South Africa’s audacity reached a new high when both batsmen reverse-swept boundaries against the spin from the leg stump line, but Smith outdid them with the timing of his declaration. Despite Sri Lanka’s encouraging riposte, his side was firmly in control at stumps.

Matthew Wade fifty sets up Australia win

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A punishing 72 from Matthew Wade and telling cameos with bat and ball from David Hussey delivered a 31-run victory for Australia over India in the first Twenty20 international at Stadium Australia

The Report by Daniel Brettig at Stadium Australia01-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMatthew Wade did his cause no harm with an innings of poise, power and some invention•Getty Images

A punishing 72 from Matthew Wade and telling cameos with bat and ball from David Hussey delivered a 31-run victory for Australia over India in the first Twenty20 international at Stadium Australia in Sydney, which hosted events during the Olympics in 2000.Watched by a crowd of 59,659, the largest ever for a cricket match in Sydney, Australia’s new Twenty20 captain George Bailey enjoyed the winner’s plaudits in his first match, just as Dave Gregory had done in the very first Test in 1877 when he was the last Australian to make his debut as captain.His ingenuity in the field rather contrasted with India’s captain, MS Dhoni. In the penultimate over, with the target well out of reach, Dhoni’s bat flew from his hands as he attempted to make a defiant swing at Brett Lee. The tour has gone the same way, and it did not improve in the format of the IPL.At the start of what amounts to a five-match Twenty20 and ODI audition for a more permanent berth behind the stumps in place of Brad Haddin, Wade did his cause no harm with an innings of poise, power and some invention after Dhoni sent the hosts in to bat.Wade and Hussey pushed Australia to 4 for 171, a steep target on a tacky pitch, before Bailey employed a trio of spinners to devastating effect. Hussey took the figures with 2 for 4 from his two overs, but the recalled 40-year-old Brad Hogg and the Twenty20 debutant Xavier Doherty also helped to sink India’s chase after they had made a promising start to be 1 for 47 in the sixth over.If the chase was to succeed, India’s pursuit likely required a sizeable score from Virender Sehwag. He managed one cut that skimmed to the backward point boundary, but the early swing gained by Lee was enough to draw an edge from a bat angled towards mid-on, and Hussey held the sharp chance at slip.

Smart stats

  • Since their seven-wicket win against Australia in October 2007, India have gone on to lose 13 of their 23 Twenty20 matches. In the same period, they have also lost all three clashes against Australia. In their only previous Twenty20 game in Australia, India lost by nine wickets after being bowled out for 74.

  • Australia improved upon their extraordinary home record in Twenty20 matches by winning their 12th match of 14 played so far. Their only defeats came against Sri Lanka (Perth in 2010) and England (Adelaide 2011).

  • Australia’s score of 171 is the sixth-highest team total in Twenty20 matches in Australia. The top seven team scores in Australia have been made by the hosts.

  • Playing his third match, Matthew Wade scored 72 off 43 balls. His score is the fifth-highest by an Australia batsman in a home Twenty20 game. His strike-rate of 167.44 is seventh on the list of the highest strike-rates for fifty-plus scores against India.

  • The score of 81 is the fourth-lowest for India at the fall of the sixth wicket. Three of their four lowest scores at the fall of the sixth wicket have come against Australia.

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli prospered for a time, lifting the visitors to 1 for 47 in the sixth over. Bailey had brought on the spin of Doherty and Hussey to constrict the rate, and the latter made the vital break by coaxing Gambhir to drive to cover.Next over brought Hogg’s introduction and he found enough tweak and variation to cause doubts in the minds of the batsmen, despite their education by spin. Kohli tried to swing him out of the stadium, but found less of the middle of the bat than the toe, and was well held by Warner at long on.India were now slipping badly, and Hussey added to their disquiet by finding a biting off break that bowled Rohit Sharma off his pads for a golden duck. As the reserve Test batsman on tour, Rohit had waited a long time for that one delivery.Christian nipped out Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, all the while supported by Bailey’s bright field placements and busy advice from mid-off or cover. Dhoni and Ashwin formed the most notable partnership of the innings, but it served only to decrease the margin of another defeat on tour for the visitors.Warner had a new opening partner in Wade, and together they set about making a swift start against an opening attack comprising R Ashwin’s spin and the swing of Praveen Kumar – much missed during the Test series.As he had done in Adelaide, Ashwin kept Warner quiet to begin with, the first over going for only two runs. Wade’s first boundary was a streaky edge off Praveen, and nine from the first 12 balls was a halting start.But Warner found his range in the third, starting with an outrageous “switch punch” that sailed over wide long off, or long on depending on one’s perspective. He followed up by driving a full toss to the point boundary then swinging another six over Ashwin’s head.The innings now had momentum, but Warner gave it up by miscuing Vinay Kumar and skying a catch to Raina, running back from extra cover. Warner left unhappily, but his replacement Birt was capable of hitting almost as hard. He found his stride by lofting Vinay over long off, without much apparent effort, but also played out a few dots before he drew blood from the hands of Rahul Sharma with a fearfully struck drive that was technically a dropped return catch.Birt eventually perished to Ashwin, picking out Raina at cover, but his exit appeared to rouse Wade. To that point he had played neatly for 36 from 25 balls, but his next 34 were thrashed from only 14. Twice he cleared the fence, and each blow added intrigue to his battle with Haddin for the Australia wicketkeeper’s spot.A brief rain delay did not reduce Australia’s allocation, but it did change the game’s rhythm, and Wade was out to his second ball faced on resumption, bowled when trying to cut Raina off the stumps. Hussey and Bailey struggled initially to find the boundary, but Hussey connected with one clean blow in the final over to help the hosts past 170, a total that proved to be well beyond India.

Frylinck helps Dolphins edge Impi

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A round-up of matches that took place on February 19 in the MiWAY T20 Challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2012Dolphins held their nerve to beat Impi in a tight game at the City Oval in Pietermaritzburg. After opting to bat, Dolphins reached a competitive score of 151 thanks to steady contributions from captain Imraan Khan (34) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld, who top-scored with 43. The pair added 59 for the fourth wicket; Dolphins were 42 for 3 at one stage. Supported by a couple of handy cameos from the middle order towards the late overs, Dolphins managed a score they were just about able to defend.Impi began their chase positively, openers Khayelihle Zondo (54) and Adrian McLaren adding 46 in quick time. At 122 for 2 in the 17th over, with Zondo and a set Paul Collingwood (42) at the crease after having added 65 for the third wicket, Impi were in control. But Imran Tahir dismissed Zondo and Robert Frylinck went on to pick up four wickets, including Collingwood, to restrict Impi, who lost five wickets for 23. Impi needed six to win off the last two balls but could only manage three and lost their second straight game.Knights overcame Titans in a high-scoring encounter at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Titans were asked to bat first and they would, presumably, have been happy with a score of 165 in 20 overs. They lost two wickets inside the first two overs but Jacques Rudolph staged a mini-recovery, making a quick 43. The situation was still tricky for Titans when Rudolph fell to make it 69 for 4 but Farhaan Behardien counter-attacked, smashing 70 in 44 balls, including four sixes, to boost them. His effort, sadly for him, was in vain.Knights were pegged back early, losing three for 39, but they remained in contention throughout, thanks to captain Morne van Wyk’s positive approach at the top. His partnership of 97 with Reeza Hendricks was a match-winning one. Both hit half-centuries to lead their team’s revival, but were dismissed with the job yet unfinished. After van Wyk went in the penultimate over, having scored 62 off 50, Ryan McLaren and Werner Coetsee completed the task with four balls to spare.

Jayawardene blames top order for loss

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Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has blamed the failure of the top order for the defeat against Pakistan that has left them on the brink of elimination from the Asia Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2012Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has blamed the failure of the top order for the defeat against Pakistan that has left them on the brink of elimination from the Asia Cup. He and Tillakaratne Dilshan had provided a fast start, but Jayawardene holed out in the sixth over attempting to clear extra cover. Dilshan’s go-at-everything brand of batting led to the next wicket, as he top-edged a pull. Dinesh Chandimal fell to a wonderful slip catch by Younis Khan and Lahiru Thirimanne was dismissed chasing a wide one. On a good pitch, and after winning the toss, Sri Lanka were stumbling at 65 for 4, and they eventually limped to an insufficient 188.”I think it was quite obvious [where we failed]: with the bat,” Jayawardene said. “When you win the toss and bat first, the challenge is to get a good score on the board that the bowlers can bowl at; a par score on this track would have been around 250. We didn’t get anywhere near that. Our bowlers had to do something magical if we had to win from there. I thought they bowled really well, gave everything they had but it wasn’t good enough.”Jayawardene also stood by his decision to bat first, a move that was questioned because the pitches in Mirpur have appeared to be better for batting in the evenings. Jayawardene, though, said the pitch actually gets slower and that with the extra bowler – Lasith Malinga had replaced Chamara Kapugedara in the XI – Sri Lanka felt they could defend a decent total.”By playing the extra bowler, we could have defended a competitive total. But the wicket gets slower and slower as the day progresses, and we thought that if we scored 250-plus, it would have been hard for them to chase with six batsmen.”Kumar Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga, now a regular at No 6, added 96 valuable runs to rebuild the innings after the top-order troubles, but Sri Lanka lost their way again when Tharanga was dismissed off the first ball of the batting Powerplay.”Kumar [Sangakkara] and Upul [Tharanga] were batting well. But the sort of ball that Upul got, it wasn’t possible to take full toll of the Powerplay,” Jayawardene said. He also refused to use tiredness as a reason for Sri Lanka’s two losses in the Asia Cup – they had played five games in 10 days in Australia before coming to Bangladesh.If India beat Bangladesh on Friday, Sri Lanka’s last game against the hosts will become academic.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

'Batsmen underestimate me' – Sammy

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Daniel Brettig at Kensington Oval10-Apr-2012Surprise rippled around the Kensington Oval when the West Indies captain Darren Sammy, not Fidel Edwards, took the ball alongside Kemar Roach to begin the third morning. That surprise turned to admiration in the space of 10 overs of the shrewdest fast medium from Sammy, which returned the figures of 2 for 14 and set the hosts on the path to a commanding position with two days remaining.Not the fastest bowler, nor the most prominent exponent of swing, Sammy instead relies on unrelenting accuracy and subtle use of angles at the crease for his wickets. Ed Cowan was asked to play at only one of his first eight deliveries, but the ninth was delivered from closer to the stumps and on a line the opener could only nibble at for an edge behind. David Warner fell in similar fashion, pushing firmly at a ball of precise line and “in between” length and offering a catch to Darren Bravo in the slips. Shane Watson, also, could easily have been given out lbw to Sammy, who said his team had planned well.”I think the batsmen really underestimate me,” Sammy said. “They get through the quick men and see me and say ‘ah he’s not so quick’. But what I rely on is accuracy: frustrate them, frustrate them, take the ball away from them, then get a little closer, just in that little channel to play or leave. That’s what I did today and what I’ve been doing throughout my career, just putting the ball on one spot.”Warner is new to Test cricket. So is Cowan, and Watto [Watson] has just come back after not playing Test cricket for the last Australian summer. We all knew what to expect from [Michael] Hussey as we saw today, they call him Mr Cricket, he always gets Australia out from crucial positions. We stuck to our plans.”We noticed [Michael] Clarke and [Ricky] Ponting love the ball closer to them … we had our plans for bowling to them. Last night we didn’t execute properly but the plan to Warner and Cowan was to be a little fuller with the ball slanting across, and once we did that we got the results. So we did plan well for their batsmen and bowlers – we were prepared for this series.”Sammy’s decision to take the ball straight away on the third morning was also driven by the pragmatism that has characterised his captaincy. By keeping the runs tight at one end, he allowed Edwards or Roach to attack from the other, while also leaving them fresher if the visitors did not lose early wickets.”We had the two quick men, and it could have been a longer day,” Sammy said. “We don’t want both of them going at full steam, then we’ve got to make a change to myself and then the spinner, so the plan was to rotate the two early in the morning and see how it goes, and it worked well for us. [Economy] was considered as well, because they were going at four plus an over and you needed someone to pull it back.”I understand my job in the team and I just go out there and do it. Everyone will have their opinions but as a unit going forward, I know I’m a crucial member in this bowling unit. If you look at Fidel and Roach they go at around four an over in Test cricket, Bishoo goes at three and I go at two. So my contribution is crucial in the team set-up and I go out and try to do that every day.”Having top scored for his side on a third consecutive day of struggle, Clarke admitted his batsmen would need to learn to adjust their attitude and expectations to adapt to Caribbean conditions, which are slower and more awkward than they seem to have catered for. As in the tour match at the Three Ws Oval, the tourists found batting a struggle.”I think we, as a batting group, need to accept it’s going to take a long time to score runs,” Clarke said. “It’s a lot different to Australia where you can go out there and cream the ball and hit plenty of boundaries. As we’ve seen today, once the wicket does get a little bit up and down you have to be willing to bat for long periods.”Though Watson’s involvement in run-outs has become an unhappy pattern, Clarke denied it was a matter that the vice-captain needed to address as a matter of urgency, saying the run-out of Ponting was unfortunate. “It’s something we’d prefer not to talk about,” Clarke said. “It is a part of the game and it is unfortunate, you never mean to run anybody out. It was a big wicket, losing Ricky, but it’s no one’s fault. It’s a part of the game, you’ve just got to try your best not to have it in any form of the game. It’s hard enough for all the batters, especially chasing a total like that.”Every player’s different, everybody runs at different speeds and sees the game in a different light. I don’t think [Watson needs to look at it], it’s just unfortunate it happened today and that it was a good player in Punter [Ponting] who’s had a really good summer and is in pretty good nick. His runs would’ve been handy out there in the first innings but what it means is, he’s going to get a second chance.”