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ESPNcricinfo previews Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2012

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Apr-2012

Big picture

They have one of the world’s fastest bowlers (Brett Lee); they have the most destructive batsman behind Chris Gayle in world cricket (Brendon McCullum); they have the most dependable batsman in all formats (Jacques Kallis); they have the world’s best allrounder in ODIs (Shakib Al Hasan). And they are one of the most popular teams in the IPL, run by owners who rarely intrude on the team management. Probably, Kolkata are most balanced team in the IPL.After the controversies and shenanigans in the initial years involving Sourav Ganguly’s stubbornness and John Buchannan’s radical coaching methods, Kolkata appeared more settled last year with a new captain in Gautam Gambhir. Dav Whatmore has left to coach Pakistan, and a fellow Australian Trevor Bayliss has come in as replacement. Rudi Webster has been hired as a mental skills coach to help youngsters in dealing with high-pressure situations that are frequent in the Twenty20 format. Essentially Kolkata possess the perfect package which could help them progress from the fourth position – their best in the IPL – they finished at last season. The time has come for Kolkata to shed the pretender’s role.Probably they can learn from Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, the state where the franchise has its home base. Banerjee is known for her ruthlessness, her radical decision-making and her daring – qualities that the team can imbibe if it wants to win the title.

Key players

Jacques Kallis: Consider this: Graeme Smith is South Africa’s top run-maker in Twenty20 internationals with 982 runs in 33 matches. Kallis has played half that number (17) but already has 573 runs. In fact, Kallis has more fifties in all-time Twenty20 history barring Brad Hodge – 23 against Hodge’s 29. After the franchise bought him at the auction last year, Kallis repaid the owners by finishing as the team’s highest run-maker. At 36, Kallis plays with the hunger of a rookie. His durability at the top of the order, his gift to combine patience with aggression, along with his nifty medium-fast bowling, make Kallis not only a go-to man but also one of the most dangerous players.Gautam Gambhir: Gambhir’s Test career as an opener might be facing a crisis, but in the shorter formats Gambhir is a force to reckon with and is India’s top scorer in Twenty20 internationals. Last year, Gambhir was uncertain about opening along with Kallis, and might face the same problem with the inclusion of Brendon McCullum, but he could be the perfect No.3, a position from where he can not only anchor the innings and give it a right direction for the big-hitters to flourish at the end. The stakes are high for Gambhir: after being deposed as India vice-captain, he would like to let his performances catapult him back into the leadership role.Yusuf Pathan: The IPL website has an illustration depicting Yusuf diving forward to take a catch while a banner floating on his back reads (the Pathan palanquin). Indeed, Yusuf’s broad shoulders and broad bat can carry his team’s burden without breaking much sweat. But last year, Yusuf’s influence was barely visible considering he would walk in at the fag end of the innings. He was then out of the Indian team due to poor form. Just like Gambhir, it is redemption time for Yusuf – to come out and play the role of the impact player and elevate himself back into the national reckoning.

Big names in

Brendon McCullum: It was McCullum who lit the IPL dynamite in 2008 with a blitzkrieg century (158 not out) in the tournament’s inaugural match in Bangalore. He was bought by the now defunct Kochi franchise last year, but McCullum – Twenty20 international cricket’s highest scorer (in fact he is the third highest run-getter in Twenty20 history) – is back to Kolkata and is likely to double up as a wicketkeeper in addition to walking in as an opener.Trevor Bayliss (coach): Bayliss was Sri Lanka’s coach in the 2011 World Cup when the team lost in the final to India and has replaced fellow Australian Dav Whatmore, who is now Pakistan’s coach. Unlike the previous two Australian coaches with Kolkata, Bayliss’ strengths are he remains low-key and virtually inconspicuous in the media. That way he can put in all his energies into the cricket, allowing players to make the headlines.

Big names out

There remains a question mark over the availability of Australia wicketkeeper batsman Brad Haddin, who has decided to take time off cricket to resolve some personal issues.

Below the radar

Sunil Narine Sunil Narine turned heads last year when he came to India with the Trinidad & Tobago to play in the Champions League Twenty20. The talent, the trickery in his offspin made coaches and teams wanting him on their roaster. Kolkata paid a handsome $700,000 to buy Narine in a stiff competition with rival franchises. Narine, who bowled impressively under pressure in the two Powerplays in his debut ODI against India last year in Ahmedabad (the only match West Indies won on their tour), finished as the highest wicket-taker in the recent drawn ODI series at home against Australia. Kolkata would hope Narine brings his current form against Australia to the IPL when he lands in May. Iqbal Abdulla Abdulla won the IPL award for the best young bowler with his allround skills. A left-arm spinner, Abdulla was utilised smartly by Gambhir during pressure situations and the Mumbai player did not disappoint. Coupled with his good fielding and thrifty batting skills, Abdulla can once again play a leading role for Kolkata.

Availability

The only problem for Narine could be his availability with the first half of the IPL clashing with West Indies’ Test series against Australia.

2011 in a tweet

New beginning, new energy, but fell painfully short of a top-3 slot

Andre Adams took a career-best 7 for 32 before Nottinghamshire’s openers helped built a solid lead over Lancashire

Jon Culley at Old Trafford03-May-2012
ScorecardAndre Adams recorded career-best first-class figures to help skittle Lancashire•PA Photos

You cannot help but conclude that there is something odd going on when Glen Chapple and Andre Adams, quite probably the two finest bowlers on the county circuit, can reach the combined age of 74 and have only one Test cap between them.Chapple’s extraordinary overlooking by the England selectors has been noted with incredulity on several occasions during an exemplary first-class career and there is bemusement, too, that Adams stepped out for a five-day game only once, against England in Auckland, his home town, a decade ago.No one now bowls with greater consistency, both in terms of economy and strike rate, than the 36-year-old Adams, who hit another peak with career-best figures of 7-32 to give Nottinghamshire an unlikely first-innings lead on which they have so far built solidly enough to suggest that Lancashire, the defending champions, will struggle to avoid a third defeat in a season only four matches old.He was the chief architect of a post-lunch implosion that saw Lancashire’s last six wickets fall for 15 runs inside 12 overs, conceding a lead of 23 that Nottinghamshire did not envisage when they were bowled out for 169 on Wednesday, their downfall in no small part down to Chapple’s impressive support for a luckless James Anderson.Adams dismissed Steven Croft and Gareth Cross with consecutive deliveries to add another five-for to an impressive tally that now stands at 28 in his career, 13 of which have come in the last three seasons. He had set the ball rolling by bowling Karl Brown with the third delivery of the day and ended what was shaping up as a potentially threatening innings by Stephen Moore when he produced the ball he seems able to summon at will, drawing the batsman forward but not allowing him to drive and moving it away just enough to take the edge.His maturing years have been his best, yet he has no regrets that they did not come sooner and has never considered trying to force his way back into the New Zealand team.”I shut the door on international cricket when I came to Nottinghamshire as a Kolpak and to be honest my last few games for New Zealand were not an enjoyable experience,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to go back.”When I was in New Zealand I was always fighting for a place and in those circumstances you sometimes forget about getting better as a cricketer. At Nottinghamshire I have been able to work in an honest environment, where I’m responsible for what I do and I’m not fighting for my place. To be here enjoying my cricket is a big deal for me.”I know what I have to do, which is essentially to be as annoying as I can be with the ball, by which I mean trying to put the ball in the right place as often as possible. It is what makes Chapple so good. He is a fine bowler and he is very annoying in that he hardly misses.”Adams’s miserly economy, backed up by similarly tight bowling from Ben Phillips and Graeme Swann, tended to show up Stuart Broad’s less-than-economical figures more perhaps than they otherwise might. On an essentially slow pitch that afforded few chances for fluent strokeplay, the England strike bowler went for 60 runs from 14 overs.In his defence, it was his first competitive bowl since his calf injury in Sri Lanka and his natural pace probably worked against him as the only bowler who offered speed off the bat.”He has a great record for us and it is good to have him here,” Adams said, offering some sympathy. “He had not bowled for a while and maybe he bowled a bit too short at times but having not been able to make a contribution so far he will be really up for it when he bowls again.”Fortunately for Nottinghamshire, Adams more than compensated, as did Swann, who took perhaps the most important wicket of the day when he had Ashwell Prince caught at bat-pad and wrapped up the innings on a hat-trick after bowling his friend and England team-mate Anderson first ball.Anderson remains in the wars. Having damaged his thumb on Wednesday, he bowled only one over on Thursday, although not because of the pain but because of a flu-like virus which affected him overnight. He signalled to Chapple, his captain, that he was feeling unwell and left the field immediately and was not seen again for an hour and 40 minutes, reappearing only because he thought he would have to be in the field for as much time as he had been off it in order to bowl on the third morning. As it happened, the umpires were able to tell him to return to his impromptu sick bed in the dressing room because the slate would be wiped clean overnight.Nottinghamshire will resume with a lead of 145 and eight wickets in hand and the opportunity to build a lead of 200-plus that could be as much as they need if Broad clicks and Adams merely continues where he left off. Against a depleted attack they have batted with respect for the pitch, in particular Neil Edwards and Michael Lumb, the latter revealing the kind of diligent approach for which he wants to be appreciated more.

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke does not believe the nation’s cricketers are making unreasonable demands of Cricket Australia in their ongoing pay negotiations

Brydon Coverdale14-Jun-2012Australia’s captain Michael Clarke does not believe the nation’s cricketers are making unreasonable demands of Cricket Australia in their ongoing pay negotiations. Clarke and his one-day side flew out for England on Thursday with the looming possibility that their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cricket Australia will lapse during the trip, if a new deal is not struck by June 30.That would place Clarke in the unenviable position of leading the Australian side through a potential player strike, a scenario that neither the players nor Cricket Australia want to see happen. But as negotiations were set to continue between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), one or both parties will need to concede ground to ensure a deal is done by the end of the month.The ACA believes Cricket Australia’s proposal to change the definition of cricket revenue could leave the players worse off, but the board maintains the players will receive more money as a result of the alterations. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said last week the players would be $80 million better off over a five-year period under the new proposal.”That was news to me,” Clarke said of the $80 million figure. “One thing I do know about the players is we’re asking no more than what we’ve had. We believe the most important thing is giving back to this game, not just for the players that are playing today but for the future of the game. We want what’s fair. We want the game to continue to be the number one game in this country and hopefully in the world. As captain of the Australian team we will do whatever it takes to make sure this game continues to grow. We’re asking for nothing more.””Hopefully it will be sorted sooner rather than later, for all parties. I think there’s a meeting scheduled tomorrow with [Cricket Australia general manager of team performance] Pat Howard and [ACA chief executive] Paul Marsh … The last thing we want to do is go on strike. I don’t want to miss any cricket for Australia. I think it’s best for everyone the sooner it gets done the better.”As well as the disagreement over the way cricket revenue is divided, Cricket Australia’s push for performance-based player contracts was also a sticking point in negotiations, although one that appeared more likely to be resolved. Clarke said the existing system already rewarded and punished players based on their output.”I believe our contracts are already performance-based,” Clarke said. “We have 25 contracted players; 90% of those guys are on one-year contracts and if you don’t perform in that 12 months you no longer have a contract, so you’re looking for another job.”Australia play an ODI against Ireland and one against England before the June 30 MoU deadline. A further four ODIs against England are scheduled for the first two weeks of July.

England are a win away from securing their seventh consecutive home one-day series victory

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan03-Jul-2012

Match Facts

July 4, Edgbaston
Start time 2.00pm (1300 GMT)Xavier Doherty is under pressure to provide control for Australia’s attack•Getty Images

The Big Picture

England are a win away from securing their seventh consecutive one-day series title at home and, if they achieve that at Edgbaston, it will also give them a new record of nine ODI victories on the bounce. Whatever problems exist overseas, they are tough to beat at home.Their wins against Australia at Lord’s and The Oval were impressive all-round displays and showed how England are becoming more confident, whether they bat or bowl first. They have gambled somewhat with five frontline bowlers, leaving Tim Bresnan at No. 7, but so far neither West Indies nor Australia have knocked over the top order to test the strength of what follows.There is no great secret to England’s success with at least one top-order batsman in every match making a sizable contribution. It was an area both Michael Clarke and Mickey Arthur indentified as why Australia are struggling. Four of their batsmen have passed fifty so far in the series, but none have gone beyond Shane Watson’s 66.Australia are also in a muddle about their bowling attack. Mitchell Johnson’s poor comeback has added to the headaches, while Xavier Doherty is not close to matching Graeme Swann’s effectiveness. In this corresponding series two years ago, Australia left their revival too late to save the series and they will have to improve in all areas to keep this one alive into the weekend.

Form guide

(Completed matches, most recent first)
England WWWWW
Australia LLWLT

Watch out for…

Craig Kieswetter has taken a couple of superb catches in this series to remove David Warner and Peter Forrest but there remain question marks around his place in the team. He struggled to time the ball at Lord’s – although Eoin Morgan’s onslaught meant it was not costly – and did not face a ball at The Oval so, for the longer-term benefit of the team, it would be useful if he was needed to play a substantial innings. Although, if he is not needed, it means England’s top order is still doing the business.In the absence of his brother, Michael, David Hussey is crucial to Australia’s middle order. He was worked over by the short ball at Lord’s, but was just starting to motor at The Oval when a brilliant piece of fielding by Steven Finn sent him packing. However, it would benefit him if he was not left needing to improve a flagging run-rate when he came into bat.

Team news

England will not risk James Anderson if any doubts remain over his groin strain so Chris Woakes, who has been repeatedly drafted into the squad this season, is set to play his first ODI since facing Ireland last August. Jade Dernbach has been ruled out of the series with a side strain, although both he and Stuart Meaker were always going to miss this match because of Tom Maynard’s funeral.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Steven Finn.Australia may consider an all-pace attack – leaving the spin to David Hussey and Michael Clarke – and Mitchell Johnson could make way for either James Pattinson or Ben Hilfenhaus. There is not much they can do with the batting.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Peter Forrest, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 George Bailey, 6 David Hussey, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Brett Lee, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.

Pitch and conditions

It rained on Tuesday and showers are forecast for match day as well, although it does not look like washout potential, which will be relief for Edgbaston after three abandoned days during the West Indies Test. After so much poor weather, the pitch could be on the slow side, while the day/night element may influence what happens at the toss.

Stats and trivia

• The teams have met eight times at Edgbaston, with England ahead 4-3 and one no result.
• That no-result was the most recent meeting, in 2005, when Simon Jones and Matthew Hayden went chest-to-chest ahead of the Ashes series.
• Jonathan Trott needs eight runs for 2000 in ODIs. Alastair Cook needs 49 for the same landmark.
• Brett Lee needs one wicket to become Australia’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs with 381, level with Glenn McGrath’s overall tally but one of McGrath’s came for the World XI in the 2004 tsunami fundraiser.

Quotes

“I’m sure they’ll fight back They’re the No. 1 team, so I’m sure they’re obviously going to come back strong – and we’re ready for that.”
“The exciting thing is we feel we haven’t played very good cricket yet, or as good cricket as we can. So that’s the opportunity we have for the next three games. The risk is you get on the bus and it’s a really quiet group and it’s down thinking ‘what do we do now’, but it’s really upbeat. There’s joking, there’s talking, there’s banter about what we can do differently, what we’re going to try, and that suggests to me there’s a team that certainly believes they can still come back and win this series.”

A half-century for Gareth Rees and an all-round contribution from Jim Allenby helped Glamorgan to a comfortable CB40 victory over Scotland

29-Jul-2012
ScorecardA half-century for Gareth Rees and an all-round contribution from Jim Allenby helped Glamorgan to a comfortable Clydesdale Bank 40 Group B victory over Scotland in Cardiff.Scotland, who had beaten Bangladesh in a T20 international on Tuesday, were restricted to 151 for 9 in their 40 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat. Glamorgan then reached their target of 152 without too many scares and with 12 overs to spare.Rees finished on 60 not out from 81 balls and Allenby, who also recorded figures of three for 16, hit the winning runs to end on 39 not out.Allenby and John Glover (3 for 34) were the main destroyers as the Saltires struggled to recover from being reduced to 54 for 5 in the opening 16 overs. They made a decent enough start through their openers Josh Davey and Calum MacLeod, who put on 27 for the first wicket.But when Davey was caught low down by wicketkeeper Mark Wallace off Simon Jones the wickets began to tumble on the slow pitch. Three wickets fell in the space of 23 balls including the key wicket of Jean Symes, who was caught one handed by Allenby off his own bowling.But just when the visitors feared they might be bowled out for less than 100, skipper Preston Mommsen and Ewan Chalmers did their best to rebuild the innings. The sixth-wicket pair added 60 in 19 overs as they tried to get Scotland to a respectable score.Glover returned to take two wickets in three balls, bowling Mommsen middle stump and trapping Ryan Flannigan leg before. New-ball bowler James Harris returned at the end to take the wickets of Ewan Chalmers and Craig Wallace.Glamorgan’s openers – Rees and Wallace – made their intentions known as they raced to 63 within the first eight overs. They were helped in their task by Davey, who conceded 30 runs in his opening two overs.The momentum was halted briefly when Wallace was caught at midwicket from Richie Berrington’s first ball. Berrington then struck again to remove Chris Cooke, who made a century in a losing cause against Somerset yesterday.That left Glamorgan 91 for 2 in the 14th over, but there were no more blemishes as Rees and Allenby saw their side home with 72 balls to spare.

Nottinghamshire still have to play the leaders, Warwickshire, twice but defeat against a resurgent Durham is a blow to their championship ambitions

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge18-Aug-2012
ScorecardAlex Hales made a century for Notts but Durham clained a vital win in the penultimate over•Getty Images

Given that they still have to play Warwickshire, the First Division leaders, at home and away, it would be premature to declare that Nottinghamshire’s title prospects can be discounted but their failure to beat Durham has delivered a significant setback.They have three matches left to Warwickshire’s four and the gap between them stands at 18 points, with Sussex now ahead of them as the closest pursuers. Should Warwickshire beat Middlesex at Edgbaston next week, while Nottinghamshire are idle, Chris Read’s side would probably need not only to win both clashes with their Midlands rivals, but get the better of Surrey at The Oval too.It was no wonder, then, that they identified this match with Durham as one they needed to emerge from with a strong clutch of points, and no wonder that they chased the result for all they were worth. They lost by 16 runs in the end in a gripping contest that went down to the penultimate over as the Durham all-rounder, Mark Wood, finished his second Championship appearance with a career-best 5 for 78. Even a draw would have been of limited value to them at this stage of the race.For a while, it looked more likely that Nottinghamshire would win comfortably, even though Paul Collingwood’s declaration, which came after he lost his own wicket in the fourth over of the morning, left them with a stiff challenge, namely to score 366 in 90 overs. Although Nottinghamshire have twice in their history scored more than 400 in the last innings to win a match, they have only three times chased down more than they needed on this occasion.The pitch was markedly easier than it had been earlier in the contest, particularly compared with the second day, when England’s Graham Onions arrived from being stood down at Lord’s, found the ball swinging nicely and bouncing inconsistently and wound up with 9 for 67.This time, Riki Wessels and Alex Hales put on 168 in 42.1 overs with no-one, Onions included, able to trouble either man unduly until Wessels, within two runs of a third Championship century of the season, received a ball from Chris Rushworth that he tried to cut but which he could only steer into the hands of one of two fielders in the gully region.With that platform to build on, Nottinghamshire were favourites to win the match. But long chases, even with the benefit of such a good start, inevitably run into turbulent spells and Nottinghamshire hit one when Michael Lumb to- edged an attempted sweep off Scott Borthwick, the leg spinner, to be caught at short fine leg and then Adam Voges nicked his eighth ball to Phil Mustard as Onions at last found a bit of swing,Hales, whose form has been a little below par since he made 99 for England on this ground in the Twenty20 match against West Indies in June, completed his first century of the season amid some relief but was leg before soon afterwards to a full length ball from Wood. Hales took his time to depart the scene, perhaps feeling he might have hit the ball, but there could be no argument from Read when another very good delivery from Wood bowled him.Nottinghamshire needed precisely 100 from the last 25 overs, with five wickets in hand. On another occasion, they might have begun to think conservatively but there was no point in playing for a draw. The next 90 minutes or so therefore offered a tense spectacle.Durham, for their part, had every interest in pursuing a win for themselves. They have enjoyed some improvement since Mustard handed the captaincy to Paul Collingwood and the goal for them was a third win in a row, which would almost certainly mean that their anxieties over possible relegation could almost be put to bed after a long time spent at the bottom of the table.After a brief pause to regroup, Paul Franks and Graeme White attempted to raise the tempo, but Borthwick accounted for both in quick succession. Nottinghamshire are without the quality of James Taylor and Samit Patel in their batting line-up because of international calls and they felt their absence keenly in this match.Collingwood turned down the chance to take the new ball, preferring to keep on with Borthwick and Wood. It turned out to be the right move. Steven Mullaney kept Nottinghamshire’s hopes alive with a steady unbeaten 60 but ran out of partners.
Ben Phillips took three boundaries in a row off Borthwick, at which point Nottinghamshire still felt they might pull it off, needing 42 off as many balls, but Wood rose to the challenge.A couple of times he tried too hard and was no-balled for over-stepping but after Phillips had pulled him straight to midwicket he proved too good for Luke Fletcher and Andy Carter. He bowled the former twice in three balls — the first disallowed as a no-ball — and then pinned the latter squarely in front, which gave Durham victory with eight balls to spare.”If we could have got to the last over, against Borthwick, needing 10 or even 15, we might have done it,” a disappointed Mullaney said afterwards. “But it wasn’t to be.”I don’t think it is over yet. We have only three games left and Warwickshire have four but if Middlesex can squeeze a draw out of them or even win at Edgbaston next week, we still have to play them twice. Then we will see where we are when we go to Edgbaston. We could still be in a strong position.”It was fighting talk, as you would expect. But the odds against Nottinghamshire are much longer now.

Bangladesh are grouped with Pakistan and New Zealand and have ambitions of making it past the preliminary stage

Mohammad Isam20-Sep-2012

Overview

How Shakib Al Hasan fares in Sri Lanka could determine whether Bangladesh makes it past round one•AFP

The World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka will be as much a test of Bangladesh’s skills and preparation as a measure of their progress as an international side. They’ve been grouped with a team they crushed in ODIs two years ago, and the contest in Pallekele will be Bangladesh’s first against New Zealand since that 4-0 result. The other, and more recent, source of confidence is their wins against India and Sri Lanka during this year’s Asia Cup, when Bangladesh qualified for the final.Even Bangladesh’s poor record against their other Group D opponents should provide extra inspiration. They haven’t beaten Pakistan in 13 years, though in their last two matches they showed the readiness to fight, especially in the Asia Cup final in March.Bangladesh’s performance in that tournament is now considered the marker by many, though expecting the players to take a step further in the World Twenty20, where one bad over or shot could see them knocked out of the group stages, might be asking too much. They’re primarily focused on making it past the New Zealand game unscathed and hoping for a Super Eights berth. It is a realistic target for a team that played a quarter of all their Twenty20 internationals four months before the World Twenty20.

Key player

Shakib Al Hasan considers himself a leader in the team, and rightly so. He provides match-winning ability to a team that needs it, despite the presence of other talented players. Shakib’s batting and bowling averages are substantially better in Bangladesh wins in the past six years, a measure of his contribution to the team’s cause. He will be playing with a dodgy knee and will bat at No 3. The bowling attack will also revolve around his left-arm spin.

Surprise package

In Ziaur Rahman, Bangladesh finally have an end-over hitter who can clear his right leg and swing powerfully. After an awkward teething period in Zimbabwe, Rahman hit eleven sixes during the build-up tours and broadened his range from just midwicket. He can use his feet against the spinners but high pace will test him: when he encountered such bowling against South Africa in June, Rahman settled for boundaries and the odd nudge. A fast-bowling talent cut short due to injury, Rahman reinvented himself as the sort of a shock-value player Bangladesh has lacked since Mohammad Rafique’s heyday.

Weakness

Spin will test the Bangladesh batsmen, especially Pakistan’s offspinners. They tend to play out overs, which is a flawed strategy in a Twenty20 game. Also, they can be inflexible when things don’t go according to plan. A recent example of this was the middle-order collapses after Shakib’s dismissal during the two practice games in Sri Lanka.

World T20 history

A surprise win over West Indies took them to the Super Eights in 2007, but they failed to make it past the group stages in 2009 and 2010.

Recent form

Bangladesh have won four games out of six in 2012, results that include the 3-0 series win over Ireland in July. That performance took Bangladesh all the way up to No. 4 in the Twenty20 rankings but they returned to ninth three days later, after an unflattering start to their series in the Netherlands, where they won once and lost twice. One of those defeats was against Scotland. During an off-season dedicated to Twenty20, Bangladesh also won unofficial matches against South Africa, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Barbados on either side of the Europe tour.

VVS Laxman will lead Hyderabad in their opening game of the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2012VVS Laxman will lead Hyderabad in their opening game of the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy, against Punjab in Mohali. Laxman, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, had said at the time he announced his decision that he wanted to play for Hyderabad this domestic season.Dwaraka Ravi Teja, who led Hyderabad last season, will deputise for Laxman this time. Pragyan Ojha has also been named in the squad for the opening game; he missed the bulk of the previous domestic season due to his India commitments.Hyderabad were part of the Plate League at the beginning of the last season but sneaked into the quarter-finals of the main tournament, where their campaign ended with a draw against eventual champions Rajasthan, who progressed on the basis of a first-innings lead.Sunil Joshi, the former India left-arm spinner, is the Hyderabad head coach and Noel David the fielding coach.Hyderabad squad: VVS Laxman (capt), Dwaraka Ravi Teja (vice-capt), Akshath Reddy, Hanuma Vihari, Arjun Yadav, Syed Ahmed Quadri, Bavanaka Sandeep, Ibrahim Khaleel, Pragyan Ojha, Ashish Reddy, Mohammed Khader, Anwar Ahmed, Pagadala Naidu, Abhinav Kumar, Vishal Sharma.

Dean Elgar, Colin Ingram, Justin Ontong and Ashwell Prince are the main contenders to take the injured JP Duminy’s place in the South Africa Test squad

Firdose Moonda in Brisbane10-Nov-2012JP Duminy knows the impact a moment can have on a career. The instant Ashwell Prince’s hand was fractured in Perth in 2008, Duminy was given a chance to perform on the international stage. In a nasty twist, the second he snapped his Achilles’ tendon in Brisbane someone else will get that opportunity this time.Faf du Plessis is going to be the biggest benefactor of that. This is his second tour as a back-up batsman in the Test squad – a spot he earned through his improvements in the first-class game – and will likely slot in Duminy’s place. Until Matthew Maynard took charge of the Titans, du Plessis was batting in the lower middle-order, did not spent much time at the crease as a result and his string of low scores came through batting with the tail.Maynard suggested that du Plessis move up to No. 4 and the change gave him everything he did not have before: more time and more runs. In four first-class matches he scored 599 runs which included three hundreds. Du Plessis captained South Africa A against Sri Lanka A in June and scored a hundred in the first unofficial Test. He was due to lead them again in Ireland but was called up to the Test squad in England after Albie Morkel suffered an ankle injury.Batting at No. 7 will put du Plessis back in the position where he floundered at the Titans but in a Test side, he won’t complain. Du Plessis will also offer the option of his more than part-time legspin and has been rated one of the best fielders in the world. As a replacement, he is more than ideal, which can only serve to worry Duminy more.The rest of the chasing pack inspires a little less confidence. One of Dean Elgar, Justin Ontong, Prince or Colin Ingram will be called up as a shadow member of the squad. ESPNcricinfo understand that Elgar is in prime position to get the nod, although his first-class form of late has not been as notable as the other candidates.His overall average is an impressive 44.75 but he has only played one match this season in which he scored 44 and 2. He was part of South Africa’s ODI squad in England and top scored with 42 and played with du Plessis against Sri Lanka A where he outscored him with 171. He was also part of South Africa’s one-day squad who faced Sri Lanka in January but tore ligaments in his knee and experienced a lengthy injury layoff.Elgar’s call-up will be seen as a long time coming, given that he has long hovered around the national set-up and is considered to be the future. But going back to the past has not always hurt South Africa. Vernon Philander, Rory Kleinveldt and Hashim Amla are cases in point and could serve as the example to recall an old hand.All three of Ontong, Prince and Ingram have been in good form and are difficult to look past. For Ontong, being re-selected could be a coming full circle after his last tour of Australia – the traumatic 2001-02 series where he was picked over Jacques Rudolph. Of the middle-order batsmen last season, Ontong was the top scorer. In nine matches, he scored 658 runs at an average of 59.81, with two hundreds and four fifties. He is currently captaining the Cobras and has been involved in the limited-overs squads.For Prince, anther nod would also be a completion of something. He lost his place after the 2008 injury to Duminy and although he would never wish to get it back in the same fashion, it may be fate’s way of repaying him. Since Prince was dropped after the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka in Durban last December, he has done well for Lancashire and started this season with 213 runs in three matches for the Warriors. He remains a nationally contracted player and Andrew Hudson, convenor of selectors, said at the time of Prince’s exit that he would remain in their thoughts.Prince’s experience would not go unnoticed either, especially as it is a trait Gary Kirsten has placed great value in. But it could also be a quality which works against him. South African management may not fancy calling Prince up only to put him on the bench, which is the domain of rookies.For that reason, Ingram could come into contention having played in the limited-overs sides but never being part of the Test squad. Ingram fell out of favour after the ODI series against Sri Lanka in January but has been churning out the runs at franchise level. His 270 runs in three matches this season have come at an average of 54.00.With South African cricket making a noticeable effort to reward performances at domestic level, any of these players would be deserving of their place, just as Duminy was four years ago.

A wrap of the final day of the first round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group C

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2012
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Saurabh Tiwary’s patient 27 was not enough in Jharkhand’s unsuccessful chase of 213 (file photo)•Getty Images

Assam’s spin twins, J Syed Mohammad and Arlen Konwar, delivered them a second win in as many matches, keeping Jharkhand down to 157 in their defence of 212. It will be ironical to Tamil Nadu supporters that on the day their spinners struggled badly on a rank turner, Syed, who has played Under-19 cricket for them, took his first five-wicket haul for another team and took them to the top of Group C.Jharkhand began the day needing 157 with eight wickets in hand, but Syed took little time in dismissing the first-innings half-centurion and danger man Rameez Nemat for 42. Saurabh Tiwary and Deepak Chougule then added 29 for the fourth wicket, but Syed dismissed Tiwary too to make it 101 for 4.To make things worse for Jharkhand, he trapped Chougule too, and at 120 for 5 Assam were the favourites. Wicketkeeeper Shiv Gautam, though, had other ideas, and took Jharkhand to 155 for 6. By now, the first-innings hero, Konwar, had swung into action, and had begun chipping at the lower order. To seal the deal, Syed dismissed Gautam for 30. At 155 for 8, it was all but over. Konwar completed the formalities, and the four wickets gave him a maiden 10-wicket match haul.
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Shadab Jakati’s four-wicket burst at the top of Jammu & Kashmir’s innings injected some interest into an otherwise drab match, but Bandeep Singh and captain Samiullah Beigh fought it out to a draw and their first point of the season. Playing their first match of the season, Goa had already secured three points when they went past J&K’s 338 in the first session.They began the day needing 81, and even though they lost Manvinder Bisla early, Goa kept moving towards the target steadily. Reagan Pinto and Ravikant Shukla were at the wicket when the first-innings lead was secured, and Pinto went on to score an unbeaten half-century.An innings run rate of 2.63 an over didn’t suggest any desperation for an outright result, but Jakati livened up the proceedings. At 40 for 6, J&K were still 28 short of avoiding an innings defeat. However, Beigh, who scored a fifty in the first innings, and Bandeep batted out a whopping 41.3 overs for an unbeaten 55-run partnership. That was a point well earned.
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For the second game in a row, Himachal Pradesh went into the final day looking to force an outright win. And for the second time, they were thwarted by some dogged batting.Himachal needed eight wickets, they began well enough, claiming the third wicket in the second over of the day, but Soumya Swain and Anshul Gupta of Services played out 46.4 overs for the fourth wicket, and Swain and Yashpal Singh remained unseparated for 26.5 overs. Swain’s unbeaten 118 was his second first-class century, while Gupta and Yashpal posted fifties too.
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Andhra bowlers took three early wickets, but that was not enough to bring to life a sleepy contest in Anantapur. Andhra had already taken the lead on the third day, and Tripura were not showing any inclination to go for quick runs.Once Andhra reduced them to 74 for 3, though, they had to dig deep to salvage the solitary point. Subhrajit Roy and Ajay Ratra did just that. They batted out 41.2 overs for the fourth wicket. That was enough even though they added 83. Once Roy got out for 81, there was no interest left in the game, and the draw was amicably called.