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George Bailey, Australia’s new T20 captain, has set himself the marker of ensuring the high standards reached by the Test team against India do not slacken in the game’s shortest format.

Daniel Brettig in Sydney31-Jan-2012New captain, new format, same attitude. Australia’s new Twenty20 captain, George Bailey, has set himself the marker of ensuring the high standards reached by the Test team against India do not slacken in the game’s shortest format.Bailey has been passed the leadership baton from Test captain Michael Clarke and is leading a much-changed side in the first Twenty20 at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium. He is intent on making sure India are again pressed to their limits and beyond by a team that works harder and more assiduously at the game’s fundamentals, irrespective of the difference in format and personnel. Bailey also wants to keep the sense of happiness and clear objectives maintained under Clarke, mindful his group has only six fixtures between now and the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September.”It’s important we continue the momentum of the Test team, not just in the cricket they played, but in the standards they’re setting in the Test team at their training and the great feel around the group as well,” Bailey said. “We’ve spoken about that and about the great energy they’ve provided, and the great start and the great feeling among that group, and how they feel like they’ve set a real standard.”We’ve talked about that as a T20 group as well, continuing that, allowing the one-day side to have that feeling when they get together as well, and knowing you don’t get the T20 group together that often, so up until the World Cup in six months time we’ve got six games. Every opportunity we get to hit the ground running and make a big impression, we have to take.”As the first Australian since Dave Gregory in the first Test match of all to make his international debut as captain, Bailey is poised to create rare history. The other side of this achievement, of course, are the sniggers about whether or not Bailey is worth his place in the XI, having been elevated to the role as much for his leadership as his feisty middle-order batting.”It wasn’t me who picked the team. I’m just excited to be here and be leading it and hopefully continuing on the great form and the great start to the summer that Australia have had,” Bailey said. “I’m nervous about both [captaincy and debut], from the playing aspect you’re anxious to get out there and perform really well, and the captaining side of things I’m really comfortable with that, it’s more getting to know the players as quickly as I can. We’ve had some great training sessions, really hard sessions … once I get my head around knowing the players as well as I can, that’ll fall into place nicely.”At the opposite end of the scale to Bailey in terms of international experience are Brett Lee and Brad Hogg, two well-travelled bowlers likely to play a significant role for the new captain at the top and tail of the Indian innings. Bailey said Lee’s leadership of the bowling attack would be critical.”That experience is going to be really important and something that we’ll tap into,” he said. “I think his numbers in the recent Big Bash were outstanding, particularly for someone who bowls in your key periods at the top and also at the death. Lee embraces that role as the leading fast bowler in our team, and his experience is outstanding, and the thing I love about him is just how competitive he is.”

The tussle between the West Indies board and the Guyana government has put the Providence Test against Australia in doubt

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2012The tussle between the West Indies board and the Guyana government has put the Providence Test against Australia in doubt. The WICB shifted the first four rounds of the domestic first-class tournament out of Guyana and said that a call on the Test, scheduled for late April, will be taken later.The decisions come after the executive committee of the WICB’s board of directors had a teleconference on Saturday evening to try and resolve the impasse surrounding Guyana cricket.Earlier this month, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) was locked out of its premises by the Guyana government, which appointed an Interim Management Committee (IMC) headed by Clive Lloyd to govern the sport in the country because the July 2011 GCB elections were being disputed. The WICB refused to recognise the IMC, and the stalemate, it was feared, would prevent Guyana from competing in the Caribbean T20 earlier this month, though that did not happen.Both the GCB and the IMC had submitted teams to take part in the regional four-day competition, which begins on Friday. The WICB announced that Guyana’s first two matches will be played at Windsor Park in Dominica, and that a decision on the venue of the next two rounds will be taken later.The WICB said in a press release that it was yet to hear from the Guyana government regarding an agreement document that was drafted on January 10 after a meeting between the West Indies board, the GCB and the Guyana government.Australia arrive in the West Indies in early March and round off a series of five ODIs, two T20s and three Tests with a Test in Providence starting on April 23.

Some of New Zealand’s grounds have boundaries are too small and pitches that are too flat, especially with the increasing power of bats, fast bowler Kyle Mills has said

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2012Some of New Zealand’s grounds have boundaries that are too small and pitches that are too flat, especially with the increasing power of bats, fast bowler Kyle Mills has said. Mills’ comments came ahead of the second ODI between New Zealand and South Africa at McLean Park in Napier, where the square boundaries are a little over 50 metres long.”I’m a bowler so I’m going to be a little bit biased. I think the wickets are too flat and the boundaries need to go out further,” Mills told . “The bats are all pretty good these days and a mis-hit can go for six.”I think Hamilton is ridiculous. The ropes are 4m in from the [advertising] boards; that’s absurd. Richard Levi probably would have got out three or four times if the rope was back on the boards.”Levi hit a record 13 sixes during his 117 off 51 balls, the fastest Twenty20 century, at Seddon Park. His first six was a top-edged sweep over the fine-leg boundary against the spinner Nathan McCullum.Mills also called the length of the straight boundaries at Eden Park in Auckland “absurd”.”A good-sized cricket ground makes for exceptionally good batsmanship; we saw that at the Cake Tin [in Wellington], where there are reasonably sized boundaries,” Mills said. “We saw plenty of ones, plenty of twos, and the odd three. It was great for people to watch a batter like [AB de Villiers] on a good-sized ground.”The ICC’s playing conditions stipulate that the boundary rope must be at least three metres away from the fence/advertisement hoardings for safety reasons. It also says the shorter of the square boundaries should be a minimum of 59.43 metres and both the straight boundaries should be at least 64 metres.According to the playing conditions: “In all cases the aim shall be to provide the largest playing area, subject to no boundary exceeding 90 yards (82.29 meters) from the centre of the pitch to be used”.There is, however, a provision for cricket grounds that have smaller dimensions. “Any ground which has been approved to host international cricket prior to October 1, 2007, or which is currently under construction as of this date which is unable to conform to these new minimum dimensions, shall be exempt.”Edited by George Binoy

ESPNcricinfo previews the Asia Cup game between India and Sri Lanka in Mirpur

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit12-Mar-2012Match factsMarch 13, 2012
Start time 1400 (0800 GMT)Will Yusuf Pathan make his comeback count?•Getty ImagesBig PictureAnother ODI between India and Sri Lanka. Before you cringe in disgust, the mitigating factor in favour of the latest match is that it is not part of another hastily arranged bilateral series. The teams have no option but to meet once, at the least, in the Asia Cup.One silver lining, if it can be called that, for India on the disaster that was their recent tour of Australia was their performance against Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Bank series, which culminated in that record chase led by Virat Kohli in Hobart. Out of four meetings between the two sides, India won two and tied another.India know that will count for little; Hobart and Mirpur are two different worlds as far as conditions are concerned. For the record, they are the defending champions in this tournament. India go into this series with several questions to answer. Among them is the role and future of Sachin Tendulkar in the ODI side. At least the rotation policy at the top of the order that was employed in Australia has become dormant for the moment with no Virender Sehwag in the squad.The middle order comes with its list of young batsmen with much to prove. Are Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma the men who will perform for India in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand? Their presence in the squad shows that the selectors believe they will; the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, unfortunately, is not the place for them to prove they can.In a way, India are in a cannot-win situation. If they do well in this tournament, it will be said that they are back to doing what they are best at – making merry on flat subcontinent pitches. If they do not, the talk will be that if they cannot do well even in conditions …Sri Lanka are in a much better position. This was not a statement you could have made before the CB series. What a difference the change of captain has made. Under Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka looked rudderless and stagnant. Under Mahela Jayawardene, they seem to have found their way again. What’s more, Dilshan has rediscovered himself as a batsman too.Jayawardene has said that his appointment is short-term and his immediate goal is to make Sri Lanka win again. He started well in the CB series with Sri Lanka narrowly losing out in the finals to Australia. Back in familiar conditions, and considering how rusty Pakistan and India have looked in ODIs recently, Sri Lanka will go in to the tournament as favourites.Form guideIndia WLLLT
Sri Lanka LWLWLIn the spotlightRavindra Jadeja usurped the spinning allrounder’s position from Yusuf Pathan last year. Yusuf then missed most of the domestic first-class season with an injury. He is now back in the squad in place of Sehwag. The jury is still out on which of the two players is better suited to the No. 7 position. While Jadeja is easily the better fielder and bowler, Yusuf is streets ahead in his ability to turn a game with his batting. Who will win this round of the fight for No. 7? The conditions might just work in favour of Yusuf.The version of Lasith Malinga on show in the CB series was not the accurate stump-shattering one the world has come to know. It was surprising to see him send down so many full tosses as he consistently failed to get the yorkers on target. When he tried other lengths, he did not have the same venom. Malinga will be smarting from the way Kohli toyed with him in Hobart. Will the yorkers come out firing in Mirpur?Pitch and conditionsThere was some grass on the Mirpur pitch for the opening game between Bangladesh and Pakistan but it could not alter the usual slow nature of the surface much. The ball did come on to the bat better in the evening, but Misbah-ul-Haq said that was due to some dew. Bowling first in the subcontinent is usually not a popular option; it might not be a bad one in Mirpur.TeamsUpul Tharanga was dropped and then returned way down the order in Australia with Jayawardene partnering Dilshan at the top. Tharanga responded with two half-centuries. How will Sri Lanka use him in the Asia Cup?Sri Lanka: 1 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Upul Tharanga/Thisara Perera, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Sachithra SenanayakeWill Manoj Tiwary finally get a game? How long will he have to wait for his chance? Will Tiwary’s Bengal team-mate Ashok Dinda, who has had an outstanding domestic season, make the XI?India: 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja/Yusuf Pathan 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 R Ashwin, 10 & 11 two out of Praveen Kumar/Vinay Kumar/Ashok DindaStats and triviaSince the beginning of 2008, India and Sri Lanka have faced off 38 times, nearly double the number of ODIs played between Australia and England, who have played 20 matchesIndia and Sri Lanka have played each other six times in Bangladesh with Sri Lanka winning on four occasionsQuotes”International cricket is such that you have to adapt very quickly mentally and physically, so no complaints.”
Edited by Dustin Silgardo

The battle of the heavyweights in this IPL degenerated into a one-sided contest at the Wankhede Stadium

The Report by Siddhartha Talya16-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Shahbaz Nadeem triggered Mumbai Indians’ collapse with two wickets upfront•AFPThe battle of the heavyweights in this IPL degenerated into a one-sided contest at the Wankhede Stadium, as the Mumbai Indians’ top and middle orders imploded against some attacking bowling from Delhi Daredevils. The implosion was partly forced, partly self-inflicted, and left the visitors chasing the lowest target this IPL season, one they achieved with ease. The Daredevils are on top of the table now with three wins from four games, Mumbai Indians have slipped to fourth place.Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, has proved effective this season with economical figures and he continued the good work against the Mumbai openers, bowling flat and sticking to a tight line. There was a good amount of bounce available on the track and the new ball helped him get some bite. Nadeem owed some of his success today to Irfan Pathan, who tied down Davy Jacobs at one end, bowling a maiden and it was a matter of time before the opener tried to break through. He swung hard but was bowled by Nadeem to be dismissed for a 10-ball duck, and Richard Levi followed in almost identical fashion against Nadeem eight balls later.The Daredevils shuffled their bowlers around, and each contributed in a collective effort. Morne Morkel bowled quick and got excellent carry, Ajit Agarkar too generated good pace and Umesh Yadav even more so while being accurate. As the bowlers kept the pressure on throughout, Mumbai didn’t help their own case either. Ambati Rayudu was run out thanks to complete confusion partly due to the noise around the stadium, Kieron Pollard holed out attempting a big shot when the need of the hour was some caution and Dinesh Karthik’s mistimed pull offered a simple catch to mid-on.Amid the mess was a counterattack from Rohit Sharma, but one that was lacking in conviction. Three of his four boundaries were top-edges while attempting the pull against the bouncing ball, twice against Morkel. As it turned out, his luck was short-lived, as another top-edge brought his downfall, with Ross Taylor completing one of two well-judged catches in the deep.Mumbai slipped to 44 for 6 but some meaty hitting from their captain gave them a brief respite. A couple of length balls doled out by Agarkar were dispatched for a six and a four by Harbhajan Singh, whose timing stood out in an otherwise forgettable Mumbai innings. He followed that up with a couple of delightful cuts, one off Agarkar and another against Nadeem, but the slide was to resume soon. Morkel and Pathan returned to knock off the tail, that included Harbhajan himself, as the Daredevils prepared themselves for a quick finish.Delhi’s chase was smooth, and Virender Sehwag’s trademark cut for six in the first over further dampened the spirits of the Mumbai crowd. With Lasith Malinga out injured, the Mumbai Indians attack was weakened significantly. Harbhajan, too, didn’t bowl an over. A steady opening from Naman Ojha and Sehwag set the tone; Sehwag guided much of the innings, falling shortly before the job was done, and Mahela Jayawardene together with Taylor sealed the win in the 15th over.

Stuart Law, who stepped down from his position as Bangladesh coach, has said merely challenging the top teams in international cricket is “not good enough” for Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam16-Apr-2012Stuart Law, who stepped down as Bangladesh coach, has said merely challenging the top teams in international cricket is “not good enough” for Bangladesh and that working hard was the only way to go to win more games. Law resigned for personal reasons after nine months with Bangladesh, the highlight of his tenure being their impressive show in the Asia Cup this year, when they beat India and Sri Lanka and went down by just two runs in the final against Pakistan.”Near enough is not good enough,” Law told ESPNcricinfo. “You’re never good enough, you always try to be the best you possibly can. I will miss them a hell of a lot and I wish them all the best but there’s no substitute for hard work.”Law started as coach on the tour of Zimbabwe in August 2011, when Bangladesh were beaten in the only Test that marked the hosts’ return to the longest format after a period of self-imposed isolation. “As a coach you’re not going to walk in and have success immediately,” Law said. “You have to work out how the players respond in certain pressure situations. You have to work out how to treat them, you can’t treat everybody the same. It is totally different to how you treat people in other parts of the world.”I think to get trust between me and the players; there were a lot of things, not just one or two.”There was some disappointment, Law said, in him leaving at a time when “we started to see the plans come into fruition, what we talk about being acted out in the field. The boys are listening and responding and respecting the way we are talking about our cricket.”His focus, while with Bangladesh, was to create a strong collective unit, Law said, speaking from his experience in Queensland. “The culture we created in Queensland had everyone on equal terms. It was more of a family and that’s what I wanted to create here.”The way that superstars are treated in this part of the world, I’ve never seen it before outside this part of the world. To their credit, Shakib [Al Hasan] and Tamim [Iqbal] have gone out of their zone to be part of the team. We saw the rewards of that in the Asia Cup.”Law said he would continue his association with cricket. “It’s not a done deal for me by any stretch of the imagination. I get a buzz out of watching players replicate what we’ve been talking about. I’m moving back to Brisbane, my hometown. I have applied for a position there so I am just waiting to hear on the outcome of that.”

The BCCI has begun its investigation of the corruption charges against five players, with Shalabh Srivastava deposing before its inquiry commission

Nagraj Gollapudi16-May-2012The BCCI has begun its investigation of the corruption charges against five players, with Shalabh Srivastava deposing before its inquiry commission in New Delhi.The hearing was conducted by Ravi Sawani, head of the new anti-corruption wing announced by the BCCI on Saturday. Sawani, whose last job was heading the ICC’s ACSU, has been given 15 days to carry out his investigation and report to the BCCI.Srivastava, part of the Kings XI Punjab squad before his suspension on Tuesday, was allegedly caught on tape negotiating a fee for bowling a no-ball; India TV, which carried out the sting, ran the audio of the tape and showed footage of a player bowling a big no-ball in a limited-overs match. Srivastava has since denied any such incident.No official comment was made on the hearing, which was held at the Maurya Sheraton hotel. It is believed that while Srivastava attended in person, and was seen at the hotel for more than an hour, the rest were contacted over the phone.Sawani – who forms the one-man committee – will give the players time to present their defence both in person and in writing. It is also understood that at this stage there will be no legal personnel involved on either side.This will be Sawani’s first test, less than a week after his appointment to the job and before he has had time to either become acquainted with workings of the board or assemble a team.The other players suspended by the BCCI are Mohnish Mishra, T P Sudhindra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali. Mishra remained in Pune, where he has been suspended by his IPL team Pune Warriors. However, a Warriors official said he was being given “the benefit of doubt” until his case was completely heard.Another franchise, Kings XI Punjab – which has two players, Srivastava and Yadav, implicated in the sting – issued a media release, stating that it would support the investigation and abide by any decision eventually taken by the BCCI if any player was found guilty. The statement echoed comments made to reporters by the team captain David Hussey.Meanwhile, India’s sports minister Ajay Maken said the BCCI’s probe should go deeper than just the five players. “I have already said, and I am emphasising again that BCCI should go into the root cause of the problem,” he said. “Suspension of five players is not enough. BCCI has to come out with a long-term solution to sort out this mess.”He also suggested that the BCCI should de-link itself from the IPL, citing the example of football’s English Premier League. “IPL should be at a arm’s distance from BCCI. It should not be under BCCI. IPL and BCCI should be away from each other so that there is no overlapping of interests,” he said. “If you look at English Premier League and other leagues world over, they always have distance from their parent sports federations.”

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has said allrounder Thisara Perera could establish himself in the Test side, if he can replicate the bowling form he showed in Saturday’s ODI against Pakistan with more consistency

Sa'adi Thawfeeq10-Jun-2012Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has said allrounder Thisara Perera could establish himself in the Test side, if he can replicate the bowling form he showed in Saturday’s ODI against Pakistan with more consistency.”With the talent he has got and the way he bowled [on Saturday], there’s no doubt he can be a regular Test player,” Ford said. “His work ethic is good and he knows the areas he has to improve on. I am sure, with the many years he has got ahead of him, he will become a very effective Test player.”He is a still a young man and hits the ball extremely hard. He is working harder on his ball-striking ability. [Here] he showed the best control he has shown with the ball since I have been involved with the team. That’s something the bowling coach has worked hard with him upon, and he has got better and better.”If it was Perera’s 6 for 44 that won the match for Sri Lanka, it was Dilshan’s unbeaten 119 off 139 balls that set up the total that allowed Perera to apply pressure on Pakistan. That, Ford said, was a well-paced innings. “What he [Dilshan] did was to work hard through the new ball [phase], and then he was able to capitalise in the later stages of the game.”He worked extremely hard on that knock and that laid the foundation for us to get the total we eventually got. He had to work hard as the Pakistan attack one of the best in world cricket. This one is going to be rated as a special knock in his career.”Sri Lanka had lost the first ODI by six wickets, after scoring 135 for 8 in the rain-affected, shortened game. Following that performance, Ford said, Saturday’s show was commendable.”The cricket that we played was superb. We were obviously down and disappointed with what happened the other day. There was lot of chatting and thinking done during the last two days, and the hats off to the guys for the character they have shown.”

England’s gap at the top of the ICC Test rankings has increased after the annual update of the table

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2012England’s gap at the top of the ICC Test rankings has increased after the annual update of the table, but they can still be overhauled if South Africa win the series that starts on July 19.Following the refresh to the table, which sees results before 2009 wiped off to give more emphasis on recent form, South Africa have slipped to third behind Australia – that is partly due to a lack of recent Test action for them. However, any margin of victory against England over the three Tests will see them reach top spot.For England any victory will also see them hold onto the No. 1 position they attained last year by whitewashing India, but they can also maintain their ranking with a drawn series. England are currently in 122 points with South Africa on 113.South Africa, though, are unperturbed by their shift. “It was the only way we were looking at it, that we have to win the series to go No.1,” Russell Domingo, the assistant coach, said. “So it doesn’t make a difference to us where we are ranked now.”Australia are currently sandwiched between the two teams, following their successful run in Test cricket under Michael Clarke. Since he took on the captaincy from Ricky Ponting they have beaten Sri Lanka away, drawn in South Africa, drawn at home to New Zealand, whitewashed India and beaten West Indies in the Caribbean.South Africa’s fall to third is because, annually, the oldest results are no longer counted – in this case from 2008-09 – and it was in that period that they won both in England and in Australia. At the same time England’s ranking has improved because that home defeat to South Africa and the away defeats in India and West Indies are no longer counted in the rankings calculations.Elsewhere, India and Pakistan have changed places. Pakistan, despite a 1-0 defeat in the three-Test series that finished in Sri Lanka on Thursday, have moved up to fourth and MS Dhoni’s side, No. 1 this time last year, are now down in fifth place.For the full rankings tables click here.

Sussex needed only 49 runs for victory with five wickets intact when bad weather confirmed a draw in their match against Somerset

Ivo Tennant at Taunton24-Aug-2012
ScorecardLuke Wells was unbeaten on 22 when rain forced an abandonment at Taunton•Getty ImagesIf ever a Championship match finished in unsatisfactory and disappointing circumstances, this was it. When play was finally called off at 5pm, Sussex needed only 49 runs for victory and, potentially, leadership of the Division One table, with five wickets intact.There was still assistance for any spinner, competent or of middling ability, which meant they would be challenged. Yet not altogether surprisingly, the weather was the deciding element.Play did not start until noon, whereupon there was a full hour’s cricket in which four wickets fell. In two overs after lunch before the next stoppage a further wicket was taken; then 7.3 overs without further loss were followed by an early tea. And then came what cricketers refer to as “proper rain”. It was a sad finale, but no more than we have become accustomed to this summer.Sussex were all too aware of the indifferent weather forecast. They needed 133 to win at the start, the openers having scored 31 overnight. No one was more keen to collect as many runs as possible before the first, inevitable break in play than Ed Joyce, the captain, who soon flailed at a ball wide of off stump from Peter Trego and was well taken by Jos Buttler to his left. It was the kind of shot he most probably would not have played at that stage of an innings in first-class cricket in normal circumstances.He then promoted Luke Wright in the order. This appeared a sensible move when 18 runs came off the fifth over of the morning, bowled by Trego: a six over long on and three fours. A partnership with the equally quick-scoring Chris Nash, even a relatively brief one, would surely win the day. Yet the opener promptly had his off stump knocked out by Trego, who then bowled Wright, attempting to drive, as well.What with Murray Goodwin out for a duck, held at short fine leg trying to sweep Abdur Rehman, three wickets had fallen for a single run. Somerset now appreciated they had an opportunity – weather permitting. They had to contend, though, with Luke Wells, whose first scoring shot was an elegant cover-driven four off Trego and who subsequently swung Rehman to the midwicket boundary and drove Steve Kirby for a further four in the next over.When the players took an early tea, 24.3 overs had been bowled on a gloomy day. All the while there was the threat of further rain emanating from blighted Cardiff. “Shocking” as umpire Rob Bailey put it during one of the stoppages, and no-one could disagree. He and his colleague, Nick Cook, determined that a final re-start could be made at 5.10pm, but further rain put paid to that.So off to Cardiff, for FLt20 Finals Day, both teams departed. “It was a rubbish day,” Marcus Trescothick, Somerset’s captain, said. “Not a nice day for anyone. I was a little bit disappointed over how we batted in this match – losing five wickets for seven runs is not acceptable and we shall lose Abdur Rehman, who is going back to Pakistan for some one-day internationals, for our match against Surrey next week. But every match at this stage of the season is a big one – starting with T20 finals.”