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ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in Kolkata

The Preview by Sidharth Monga21-May-2011Match factsSunday, May 22, Kolkata
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Sachin Tendulkar will want to improve his strike-rate•AFPBig PictureBoth the teams have got good news even before they start playing their last game. Kings XI Punjab, two points behind them, were the only side that could prevent them from progressing to the play-offs, and they lost to Deccan Chargers to clear the way. That doesn’t make this game inconsequential, though. The two teams ahead of them are ahead by just one and two points respectively with one game to play. So Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians will be playing to make it to the elusive top two, for those sides get a second chance even if they lose their first qualifier.If Chennai Super Kings (18 points) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (17 points) in the preceding game, the winner here will directly make it to the top two. If Bangalore win, though, Kolkata and Mumbai (both at 16 points) will look for a win big enough to take them past Chennai’s net run-rate. There is all to play for on the final Sunday of the long and winding IPL.Form guide (most recent first)Kolkata Knight Riders: WLWLW (third in points table)
Mumbai Indians LLLWW (fourth in points table)Team talkNow is the time that teams will want to stop experimenting with their combinations. Kolkata, though, will have to wait on Jacques Kallis’ fitness, who didn’t bat in their win over Pune Warriors on May 19.Mumbai haven’t quite been experimenting too much, and despite three straight losses will feel comfortable with their XI. Except they need a suitable opening partner for Sachin Tendulkar. How they will hope that Davy Jacobs is fit.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team Selector.In the spotlightDeserving owner of the orange cap at one point in the tournament, Sachin Tendulkar has failed to score at more than a run a ball in his last five efforts. His strike-rate over the season has been 107.33. He will want to set the record straight in the final stages of the tournament.Shakib Al Hasan has been used sparingly by Kolkata, but whenever he’s been called on he has made an impact. Nine wickets in five matches is a strike-rate of a wicket every two overs – priceless. Will he be part of their plans in this crucial final stage of the tournament?Prime numbersYusuf Pathan has yet to score to a half-century in his nine innings. That doesn’t make him a failure, though. Used as an impact batsman, Yusuf has scored 221 runs off 150 balls.
Among bowlers with a minimum of 10 wickets this year, Lasith Malinga’s strike-rate of a wicket every 11.3 deliveries is the bestThe chatter”We want to go out there and look to win the next game as they we would have a very bright chance of moving into the second spot in the table, so that’s what we will focus on.”

An open meeting of the Australian team has cleared air that might easily have turned poisonous following the ructions caused by Simon Katich’s removal

Daniel Brettig06-Jul-2011An open meeting of the Australian team called by the captain Michael Clarke has cleared air that might easily have turned poisonous, following the ructions caused by Simon Katich’s removal from the list of Cricket Australia contracts.Meeting in Brisbane for a training camp over four days, Clarke commenced proceedings with a chance for team-mates to air any grievances, problems or questions they may have had as the group warmed up for a difficult summer that commences late this month with a tour of Sri Lanka.In Clarke’s eyes the results of that meeting, which allowed players to be re-acquainted and reunited in their goals and ambitions, were writ large across three days of focused and intense training at Allan Border Field, concluding with the announcement of the Twenty20 and limited overs squads for the early part of the tour.”We had a couple of really good meetings on Sunday night, which were really open in an environment where guys could voice their opinion,” Clarke said. “An environment where everyone can say what they think is very important and over the last couple of days with our training the break has obviously helped, and freshened everybody up.”The meetings were very positive. It was an open forum where the boys could feel free to voice their opinions on a number of topics, and we all walked out of the meetings looking forward to what’s in front of us.”I think it happens generally when you have a camp there are a couple of meetings to start off, I think a big part of it for me was giving everyone the freedom and the opportunity to say what they had to say and taking it on board as a group and remembering the common goal is to become the best team and the best individual players we can be.”Katich’s words had revealed plenty of unease within the Australian Test team about selection decisions and CA priorities in the recent past, but Clarke pressed the case that his was a group that would not be perennially looking over its shoulders.”Not at all, I think the group is very comfortable,” he said. “The reality is you score runs or take wickets, otherwise someone else is going to take your spot and I think it’s been the same way your whole career, and fortunately at the moment we’ve got guys fit after a bit of a break and so there’s always pressure on you.”That is part of playing at the highest level, what’s important for this team is not only some hard work but also all the guys getting behind each other for us to have as much success as we can. Unfortunately in this game people do get dropped, but it’s about supporting your mates and trying to get the best out of each other for the team.”It’s about a lot of hard work for all of us, I’ve said before we’ve got to go back to basics, the three core skills, batting, bowling and fielding we’ve got to get better and all of that as a whole, and individually we’re no different.”With the benefit of a few months to think about where he wanted to take the team, this Australian side is now definitively Clarke’s, leaving Ricky Ponting the freedom to train and bat. According to Clarke, the change has been greatly beneficial.”[Ponting] said he enjoyed the opportunity without the stress and worry of the captaincy, and I hope his batting continues to grow,” Clarke said. “I certainly see him playing a big part in one day cricket and Test cricket going forward in this team, and I certainly hope he can keep putting runs on the board.”

Middlesex maintained their County Championship push by banking 23 Division Two points after wrapping up a seven-wicket win over Derbyshire at Lord’s

01-Aug-2011ScorecardMiddlesex maintained their County Championship push by banking 23 Division Two points after wrapping up a seven-wicket win over Derbyshire at Lord’s. Chasing only 91 for their sixth win of the campaign on the final day, Middlesex suffered three early scares before marching home to victory with 74 overs to spare, courtesy of an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 66 between Chris Rogers and Neil Dexter.With such a small target ahead of them, Middlesex set out on the final morning with forceful intent, only to pay the price by losing in-form openers Sam Robson and Scott Newman in the space of six overs. Both fell to the swing bowling of Tony Palladino who, with his third ball of the day, had Robson (one) caught in the gully by Wayne Madsen off a miscued back-foot force.With his score on 9, left-handed Newman then padded up to a Palladino in-swinger to go leg before without playing a stroke for the second time in the match to make it 18 for 2. The home demise continue when Dawid Malan, fresh from a career-best 143 in the first innings, aimed a back-foot force against a lifting delivery from Tim Groenewald only to edge a catch through to the wicketkeeper Luke Sutton.Derbyshire’s former captain Rogers then teamed up with his new Middlesex skipper Dexter to ease tension amongst a smattering of home supporters by seeing their side to the winning line half-an-hour before lunch. Rogers hit the winning boundary against spinner Greg Smith to finish on 46 from 55 balls, leaving Dexter unbeaten on 29 from 36 deliveries at the other end.Derbyshire, generally out-gunned with the ball and underachieving with the bat, travelled home with four points.

Australian cricket’s reckoning for a disastrous Ashes series, and the decline from greatness to mediocrity that preceded it, is belatedly at hand

Daniel Brettig17-Aug-2011Australian cricket’s reckoning for a disastrous Ashes series, and the decline from greatness to mediocrity that preceded it, is belatedly at hand. The findings of the Australian team performance review will, as ESPNcricinfo reported in July, be tabled and discussed by the directors at the Cricket Australia board meeting to take place in Melbourne on Thursday and Friday, nearly eight months after the Ashes were lost in an innings defeat at the MCG.Upon the conclusion of the meeting CA’s chairman Jack Clarke will face the cameras and microphones to run over whatever findings the board chooses to make public. Based on the submissions of a litany of players, coaches, administrators and other well-placed observers, they are expected to be blunt and wide-ranging.The review panel, chaired by Don Argus and including the former captains Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh plus the former CA chief executive Malcolm Speed, is likely to direct its harshest critiques towards the selection policies of the out of contract chairman, Andrew Hilditch, whose term lapsed at the end of the World Cup.Hilditch’s tenure began in 2006, and after enjoying a 5-0 Ashes sweep on England in the following summer he was fated to negotiate the retirements of a succession of great players, including Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Damien Martyn.He and his panel have been heavily criticised for numerous decisions across that time, most pointedly the revolving door for spin bowlers since the selectors’ planning was thrown out of balance by the sudden retirement of Stuart MacGill in 2008.More recently the removal of Simon Katich from the list of CA contracted players provided a window into the players’ discontent about the ways of the panel, something also highlighted by a formal submission to the review regarding selection by the Australian Cricketers Association.Rod Marsh, the former Australian wicketkeeper and highly-respected academy coach, has expressed his interest in becoming chairman of selectors, discussing the possibility with CA’s head of cricket operations, Michael Brown.Other matters at issue for the review panel include the shape of the Australian team’s support staff, with the place of the head coach Tim Nielsen in some question. Since the World Cup Nielsen’s support staff has been bolstered by the additions of Craig McDermott (bowling coach) and Steve Rixon (fielding coach), as the players desired greater guidance from mentors with international experience.Rixon’s arrival in particular has been met with great enthusiasm, and as the former coach of New Zealand and NSW his credentials far outweigh those of Nielsen, who was a distinguished assistant for South Australia and Australia but had never been a head coach until he replaced John Buchanan in 2007, like Hilditch at the outset of a difficult period of transition.Australia’s players and support staff currently on tour in Sri Lanka are expected to be briefed about the review findings on Friday morning in Colombo, before Clarke presents a summary of the findings to the public.The Australian team’s contract system, scheduling and preparation have also been matters for discussion, with the former chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns noting that a sleeker and more flexible contract system should be devised.It has also been pointed out that Test cricket in Australia would benefit from being the clear financial pinnacle of the game, with sufficient incentives for young players to devote themselves to its pursuit.The evolving role of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane is considered a sore point in the development of players, as CA has sought to make it more of a finishing school for internationals rather than a bridge between junior cricket and the first-class arena.Further down the pathway, the standard of domestic cricket has been openly questioned by the likes of Ricky Ponting, who fervently believes that young cricketers need to be held to the same rigorous standards he had to reach before he was selected to play for Australia.Twenty20’s onset, and its attendant impact on the techniques and priorities of domestic players, is another factor, but CA are torn on this matter by competing desires to have the Test team successful while also growing the game’s revenue.There is little the review panel can do about the onset of the T20 Big Bash League and its heavy impact on the domestic schedule, meaning there will be plenty of hurdles ahead for the Australian team, whatever Argus and company recommend at the board meeting.

Australia’s acting head coach, Troy Cooley, hopes the conditions in South Africa will help Mitchell Johnson regain his best form after a disappointing year

Brydon Coverdale27-Sep-2011Australia’s acting head coach, Troy Cooley, hopes the conditions in South Africa will help Mitchell Johnson regain his best form after a disappointing year. Cooley will be in charge for Australia’s upcoming trip to South Africa after being named as the temporary replacement for Tim Nielsen, who stepped down after the Test series win in Sri Lanka.During that trip, Johnson continued to struggle, collecting just two wickets in each of the three Test matches, on his first Test tour working with the new bowling coach Craig McDermott. It capped off a below-par 12 months for Johnson, who since the start of the short tour of India in October last year has taken 29 Test wickets at 38.89.Cooley watched the Sri Lankan series from Australia and said that Johnson looked consistent but he needed to keep working on his wrist position. The upcoming series will be crucial for Johnson, who faces competition from Ryan Harris, Trent Copeland and Peter Siddle for a place in the side, not only in South Africa but for the home Tests against New Zealand and India.In Johnson’s favour is his strong record in South Africa, where in 2009 he picked up 16 wickets at 25, and he was especially venomous in the Johannesburg Test. Australia’s two Tests in November will be played at Newlands in Cape Town and the Wanderers in Johannesburg, where Johnson was Man of the Match last time he played there.”I think the conditions definitely suit the quick bowlers over there and the places we’re going to play will definitely give them an advantage,” Cooley said. “It will be up to all of us now to pull together and make sure that not only Mitch but the rest of the team are up and firing and building on what we’ve started in Sri Lanka.”Mitch has been working closely with Craig McDermott now for a little while. We have a relationship with Mitch over the years and we’ve seen some ups and downs along the way but fully aware Mitchell is still responsible to go out there and perform.”From what I saw on TV he looked like he was bowling consistently. He probably needs to make sure things are working out of his wrist as best as they can. I’m sure Craig McDermott has been working on that and I’ll pick up with Craig on that as soon as I hit the deck on Monday.”Cooley has spent most of the past five years working closely with Australia’s attack as the team’s bowling coach, but he stepped away earlier this year to become head coach at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. His appointment as Australia’s interim coach came after he told Cricket Australia he wouldn’t be applying for the full-time role.Instead, he is happy working with the developing players at the Centre of Excellence and taking on roles such as coaching Australia A, which he did on the tour of Zimbabwe in July. On that trip, the offspinner Nathan Lyon did enough to impress the selectors and earn himself a Test debut in Sri Lanka, and Cooley said Lyon was good enough to succeed in South Africa as well.”Nathan is relatively new in the team but he acquitted himself very well in Zimbabwe and obviously started his career with the Australian team quite nicely,” Cooley said. “It’s a tough area to bowl finger spin over there [in South Africa], it’s a little bit like the Australian conditions, but he’s got some great control and has grown with every game so I see him acquitting himself quite nicely if selected.”Cooley will rejoin the Australians at a time of great change, but also of great promise, after their 1-0 series win over Sri Lanka. Tackling South Africa in their own conditions will be a different challenge, but despite being ranked second on the ICC Test table, South Africa have not won a Test series at home since beating Bangladesh in 2008.”South Africa are always a formidable line-up,” Cooley said. “They’ve got a great bowling line-up and their batsmen, even though they’re a little bit older, they’re still producing the runs. They sit well above us on the Test table and we’ll be working very hard to chase them down.”

Teams in Bangladesh’ National Cricket League will be allowed to sign foreign players for the 2011-12 season

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2011Teams in the National Cricket League, Bangladesh’s domestic first-class competition, will be allowed to sign foreign players for the 2011-12 season, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has said. Each team will be allowed to register up to three overseas players but can field only one in each game.The NCL 2011-12 will be an eight-team event with the inclusion of Rangpur Division and Dhaka Metropolis to the existing pool of teams: Dhaka Division, Rajshahi Division, Sylhet Division, Barisal Division, Khulna Division and Chittagong Division. It will follow the same format as the previous edition, with matches held at neutral venues. The competition consists of two phases, with the teams playing each other once in the first phase and the top four going through to a second round-robin stage before the final. The first match of this year’s tournament will start on October 17.The national selectors will select the Dhaka Division and Dhaka Metropolis teams, while the other divisional teams will be selected by divisional coaches. There will be 32 icon players named by the national selectors from among those who have represented the national team or Bangladesh A team. Each team can have a maximum of four icon players. It is mandatory for BCB contracted cricketers to appear in the NCL if they do not have international commitments.

Graeme Swann insisted his relationship with Kevin Pietersen hasn’t been strained by the comments he made in his autobiography

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2011Graeme Swann insisted his relationship with Kevin Pietersen hasn’t been strained by the comments he made in his autobiography which was serialised shortly before the start of England’s one-day series against India that they lost 5-0.Swann, who will lead England in the Twenty20 at Kolkata on Saturday, wrote in less-than-glowing terms about Pietersen’s short spell as England captain which ended in a dramatic falling out with the then coach Peter Moores. Andy Flower, the current team director, has said that he doesn’t like it when players bring out books while they are still playing while Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, was also critical of the timing.However Swann, who had a poor one-day series where he claimed just two wickets in four matches while being surprisingly left out for the game in Mumbai, has said reports of a breakdown between himself and Pietersen, who is struggling to be fit for the Twenty20 due to a fracture thumb, are way off the mark,”England have endured a horror month but I can state right now it has nothing to do with what I wrote about Kevin Pietersen in my book,” Swann told reporters on Friday. “People have claimed my observation that KP is not a natural leader and should not have captained England has caused dressing-room divisions and a breakdown in team spirit.”Well, anybody who thinks that does not know this England team. The reason we lost the one-day series 5-0 to India is because we’ve been outplayed in conditions which suit the home team. No excuses, we’ve been hammered.”As soon as I serialised my autobiography, I spoke to Kevin and explained exactly what I’d written, why I’d written it and that it was not intended as a personal attack on him. He accepted that and we shook hands. My relationship with Kevin is exactly the same now as before the book was published.”Graeme Swann has defended England’s attitude during the one-day series•Getty ImagesSwann also defended his team-mates against claims that they have let their on-field aggression become too heated after a number of exchanges with India players during the series. There have also been questions asked about the regular sight of England players shouting at each other and on that count Swann admits he can be culpable”There has been a lot of talk about England’s on-field behaviour in the five-match series, especially after MS Dhoni claimed some of our sledging was over the top and we were arguing among ourselves,” he said. “I’d probably plead guilty to the second charge because I am one of the worst culprits.”As for sledging the opposition, I don’t think any of our chat has been over the top or personal. I know there have been running battles with a couple of India’s players and I think caused by individuals in our team disliking individuals in their team.”We have played India for three months now. You’re never going to like all 11 blokes in the opposition. I can assure you the comments and personal abuse Samit Patel receives from the Indian players is far worse than anything we’ve said.”

Zaheer Khan’s selection in India’s squad for the Test series in Australia will be “provisional”, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Nov-2011Zaheer Khan’s selection in India’s squad for the Test series in Australia will be “provisional” and subject to him proving his fitness during Mumbai’s next two matches in the Ranji Trophy, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The squad will be picked on November 26 in Mumbai, a day after the national selectors announce the squad for the five-match one-day series against West Indies.A BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo that Zaheer would need to prove he is match-fit before flying to Australia. “It would definitely be provisional,” the source said of the prospects of Zaheer being included in the squad. Zaheer is likely to play for Mumbai against Orissa in Cuttack from November 29 and against Saurashtra in Rajkot from December 6.Zaheer injured his right hamstring on the first day of the Lord’s Test during the tour of England in July. Though he recovered from that injury, a recurring ankle injury re-surfaced during the practice match against Northampton ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston, forcing Zaheer to abort the series that India eventually lost 4-0.He underwent ankle surgery and is on the road to peak fitness. In the last month, in addition to his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, Zaheer has been involved in light bowling sessions ahead of Mumbai’s home matches against Rajasthan and Karnataka.Speaking informally to the media he indicated that he did not want to expedite his return. “I am monitoring my fitness on a day-by-day basis. It is looking good but I don’t want to say much,” Zaheer said. Zaheer pulled out of both India’s last two tours to Australia after playing just one Test – with a left heel injury in 2007-08 and with hamstring problems in 2003-04.For the moment, according to the Mumbai Cricket Association officials, it is certain that Zaheer will play in Cuttack. As for the Rajkot game, Zaheer is likely to take a call based on how he feels against Orissa.He was seen bowling without any visible difficulty during India’s nets at the Wankhede stadium today. He delivered close to five overs against the specialist batsmen in a light training session ahead of the third Test against West Indies.The India squad is scheduled to depart for Australia in the second week of December. Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron made up the fast-bowling department for the home series against West Indies. Those three are likely to retain their places along with Zaheer, if he is declared fit, with another seamer expected to bolster the pace department.

England Lions beat Bangladesh A comfortably by four wickets in Chittagong

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2012
Scorecard
England Lions beat Bangladesh A comfortably by four wickets in Chittagong in the first match of their tour. The Hampshire left-arm spinner Danny Briggs bagged four wickets and seamer Jack Brooks took three in a strong bowling display.Only four Bangladesh batsmen reached double-figures; opener Roy Talukder made a half-century, supported by captain Mahmudullah’s 46. Shuvagato Hom chipped in with 31 but the others never really got going and the hosts were bowled out for 186 in 43.2 overs.A collective batting effort by the England Lions side, which included five players who have already played for the full team, helped them seal victory. There was no stand-out performer with the bat, but there were a series of steady contributions. Openers Jason Roy and Joe Root added 76 in just 11 overs and though wickets fell at regular intervals from there on, the visitors were always in control. Jos Buttler made a quick 28 and England were home in the 37th over.

Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon might have to wait until the morning of the match to find out which of them will carry the drinks for the third Test against India in Perth

Brydon Coverdale in Perth12-Jan-2012Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon might have to wait until the morning of the match to find out which of them will carry the drinks for the third Test against India in Perth. The Australians trained on Thursday afternoon at the WACA and were greeted by a pitch that had lost some of its colour from the previous day but was still green enough to encourage the fast men.Curator plays down green pitch

The WACA pitch might have lost some of its colour during the week but retained a strong green tinge on match eve. However, the curator Cameron Sutherland said it was not necessarily a strong indicator that the ball would seam wildly, as the colour was partly due to a different grass being used.
“We were the first ones in Australia to trial this new grass,” Sutherland said. “It’s worked wonders for us. It’s a high fibre content in the leaves, so it just holds its colour for longer. It’s also very fine leaf, it’s almost like a carpet, so it doesn’t seam too much. In Shield cricket, I know we’ve been referred to having green seamers or green-top Shield wickets, but they haven’t seamed around much at all.”
Sutherland said whether the teams chose four fast men or a spinner, there would be plenty in the pitch for all the bowlers. “You’ll definitely get the bounce and you might get a bit of turn,” he said. “There’s enough grass there to get a bit of purchase.”

Australia played four fast bowlers against England last summer and won on a similar surface. However, the curator Cameron Sutherland said it was important not to read too much into the green tinge, which was partly caused by a new type of grass the WACA groundstaff had used over the past few years, and Australia’s captain Michael Clarke said selection would be tough.”We haven’t selected a team yet,” Clarke said when the Australians arrived at training on Thursday. “I haven’t even seen the wicket today. I’ll make sure I have a look before training and we’ll make our decision tomorrow morning.”Asked what he would need to see to encourage him to play four fast men, Clarke said: “Exactly what I saw yesterday: a wicket that was pretty hard and had a lot of grass … and we’ll give it another day as well, see how it pans out the rest of the afternoon and have tomorrow morning to make the decision.”Conventional wisdom would suggest that India’s batsmen would have more trouble against an all-pace attack on a pitch expected to offer plenty of bounce. The offspinner, Lyon, has taken only two wickets in the series and has spoken of how challenging it has been to bowl against India’s batsmen due to their quick hands and ability to score anywhere around the wicket.However, Clarke said he did not feel India would necessarily be more susceptible to pace at the WACA than spin, and he said he was loath to enter any Test without a slow-bowling option.Whatever the Australians decide, they will be pleased to regain Ryan Harris, who took nine wickets in the Perth victory last summer. Harris has been sidelined since the first Test of the South African tour in November with a hip problem, and has had a string of other injuries during his short international career. He has spoken of his nerves at the possibility that he could break down again, but Clarke is confident Harris enters the Perth Test in a good space, physically.”We get Ryan Harris back, who is as good a fast bowler as I’ve played with through my career and he’s had a lot of success,” Clarke said. “Being a fast bowler is much tougher than being a batsman, on your body, the actual workload and the pressure that goes through your body when you’re bowling. Rhino bowls high 140ks and runs in hard.”In series like this, when you have back-to-back Test matches, there’s always extra strain on the guys. It’s more so for fast bowlers. I’d love to see Rhino play every Test match now for the rest of his career but who knows how long it’s going to go for. He’s in a really good place, he’s fit and strong at the moment. He’s bowling as good as I’ve seen in the nets and I know he’s looking forward to this opportunity.”The inclusion of Harris will be part of a straight swap for James Pattinson, who has been ruled out of the rest of the series with a foot injury. That leaves the Lyon-Starc decision as the only issue for Australia’s selectors and Clarke said he believed Starc, who made his Test debut against New Zealand in December, had a bright future for Australia.”Mitchell is a very talented young player,” Clarke said. “We’ve seen him have a little bit of success over the last 12 months, whether it be first-class cricket, domestic cricket or for Australia. I think he’s got a bright future for Australia. He bowls left-arm, he’s quite tall and a very strong boy. He bowls good pace.”It is certainly an advantage to have that option, even in this Test match, to give him an opportunity or to go with our spinner. But I think you’re going to see a lot more of Mitchell over the next few years, that’s for sure.”