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Former India players Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar have questioned the hasty comeback of Yuvraj Singh after he recovered from cancer earlier this year

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2012Former India players Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar have questioned the hasty comeback of Yuvraj Singh after he recovered from cancer earlier this year. Both feel he is not back to full fitness. Shastri said Yuvraj should be left out for the crucial Super Eights match against Pakistan on Sunday, and Manjrekar said he should have been left out of the game against Australia too.”My contention is, [for] eight months Yuvraj Singh has hardly played cricket, and when it comes to India vs Pakistan I’m not the kind to get emotional,” Shastri told . “I want to pick the best team and beat them. You can’t be sentimental here, but be practical.””My team would have Sehwag opening the innings, especially against Australia,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo. “I think it was an opportunity missed, because that was the kind of attack Sehwag likes on this kind of a pitch.”I would have dropped Yuvraj Singh from my team in that last match, purely because we have seen in the last few matches Yuvraj Singh is still not quite 70% or 80%, maybe it is time now to slowly get him to work on his fitness, keep him involved in Indian cricket, but leaving out Sehwag was not such a good idea because he does what you need right at the start of the innings: put the opposition under pressure.”Yuvraj was included in the World Twenty20 squad, ahead of Ajinkya Rahane, even before he had had any serious match practice, and has played only a handful of T20s since undergoing chemotherapy in March. Shastri said Yuvraj’s rustiness was obvious.”We got to see if Yuvraj is 100% fit, and let’s not think about Yuvraj 10 months ago,” Shastri said. “No question that he straight away could have walked into any side in world cricket at that time, but having seen him he’s still rusty and he’s still a bit slow.” Yuvraj has scored 60 runs in four T20I matches, and taken four wickets since his return.

No question that he straight away could have walked into any side in world cricket [ten months ago], but having seen him he’s still rusty and he’s still a bit slowShastri on Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj is not the only thorny issue Dhoni has to grapple with. Sehwag’s exclusion from the previous match, in which Australia thrashed India by nine wickets, has divided opinion. Shastri said he should be picked against Pakistan at the expense of Yuvraj. “If you go in with three fast bowlers and two spinners, then you have to think about your batting line-up and if Sehwag has to come – which I think he should – then who do you drop in that middle order, and one batsman that comes up is Yuvraj Singh.”It’s not the question of what Yuvraj Singh can do but what is his current state of mind after what he has done and you have to respect that. You can’t be too greedy and ask too much from that body that quickly.”Shastri also talked up the impact Sehwag could have on the Pakistan match. “You just have to look at Sehwag’s record against Pakistan – it’s Bradman-like when you look at his average against them. So Sehwag will have the psychological edge when he gets out there plus the fact that he’s been asked to sit out, and I think rightly so, in the last game against Australia, he’ll be fired up.” Sehwag averages 91.14 against Pakistan in Tests, but only 35.72 against them in ODIs, which is almost exactly the same as his career average. He has played only one T20I against them.Sehwag’s omission in the last game effectively facilitated the inclusion of a third specialist spinner, who had combined figures of 6.5-0-66-0 against Australia. Manjrekar was against going in with three of them for the Pakistan match. “The key is going to be the pitch, let’s assume the pitch is going to be the same as we had in the last match, still three spinners is a bit too much, Sehwag has to come back in,” he said.”Even if they want Yuvraj Singh in there, they can get Virender Sehwag in and maybe drop one spinner, either Harbhajan Singh or Piyush Chawla, the choice is up to the captain who they want. I would go for a variation, because when you have Chawla you have a variation of R Ashwin and Chawla as the legspinner, but after his last performance I doubt whether Chawla will get another match if India is playing two specialist spinners.”Shastri said there was no need to play three spinners, given the number of part-time options India had. He also said there was no way India should be opening with Irfan Pathan, which denies their best batsmen the use of crucial overs of a 20-over match.India’s big defeat against Australia means their net run-rate has taken a beating, and they will probably need to win both their remaining Super Eight matches to qualify.

It took five games for a struggling Karnataka to get their first win of the season, but with only 11 points on the board their captain Vinay Kumar is bullish about making the quarter-finals

Kanishkaa Balachandran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium11-Dec-2012It took five games for a struggling Karnataka to get their first win of the season, but with only 11 points on the board their captain Vinay Kumar is bullish about making the quarter-finals, if they can make the most of their three remaining games. Playing in familiar surroundings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka picked up six points from their victory over Delhi on Tuesday which meant they were no longer the bottom-placed team in Group B, jumping to sixth. With their next two games also at home (in Mysore and Hubli), Vinay felt two more wins would help them get a foot in the door in the quarter-finals.”It was a good win and there were some positives to take from the game,” Vinay said. “Now we’ve got 11 points. In the next three games, two are home games, one’s away. Hopefully we’ll get another two outright wins and make the quarter-finals.”The pitch had a crucial role to play. Karnataka were desperate for a result to arrest their slide, and a grassy pitch was prepared to encourage a win. It was a sort of pitch suited for the seamers to make a mark on the opening day, but Vinay took the gamble of batting first. You had to ask why a team struggling for runs through the season would throw its batsmen in the deep end at a crucial stage in the tournament.From an armchair critic’s perspective, it was a surprising decision but Karnataka saw things differently. It was a question of seeing off the new ball and waiting for the afternoon session to start piling on the runs. However, the decision was questioned on the opening day when Karnataka were bowled out for 192.Their bowlers did a decent job to not allow Delhi run away with an imposing lead, keeping it to 66. Karnataka’s openers, Robin Uthappa and KL Rahul got their heads together to build a stand of 140. Delhi hit back with quick wickets but the hosts’ middle order ensured a more than handy lead, enough to ensure they couldn’t lose.If given a similar pitch, Vinay said he would still opt to bat. “It was a good wicket to bat on,” he said. “In any wicket, the first one hour will be crucial. We lost three wickets in the first hour. So, if we get the same kind of wicket, we’re definitely going to bat first.”The pitch had eased out for the batsmen on the fourth day, and with the Mithun Manhas-Rajat Bhatia duo standing in the way of Karnataka’s plans of chasing a win, Vinay realised he had to try something different in the field to force mistakes. He continued to attack, and persisted with his seamers from both ends.Manhas’ untimely dismissal, caught off a top edge, gave Karnataka a big opening, but Vinay felt that Bhatia’s wicket, caught brilliantly by Kunal Kapoor at silly point, turned the game.”Till tea, we tried many things, but nothing happened,” he said. “The catch that Kunal took was amazing. That’s where the game turned. The fourth-day wicket was very good to bat on. We knew when the new ball was due, we would have a chance.”While Karnataka can toast their success, there’s still plenty to be done if they are to be contenders for the quarter-finals. They need bigger contributions from their batsmen. So far, the team has only two centuries, both scored in a high-scoring draw in Chennai. In this game, both Uthappa and Stuart Binny were in sight of centuries but fell in the eighties.Their performance against Delhi was a big improvement from their previous game against Odisha, where none of the batsmen passed fifty. Having made 475 in the second innings, Vinay acknowledged the improvement but felt it was time his frontline batsmen started converting their scores. He said the bowling attack had a more settled look, and wasn’t in favour of going with four frontline seamers, given that the lone spinner KP Appanna was underused in this game.”It (playing four seamers) means that one will be underbowled. If it’s the three of us and Stuart (Binny), it’ll be easier for us to rotate the bowlers. Appanna is also there, he got three crucial wickets in this game. So, we don’t think four seamers is a good option.”

As England threatened to suffer only their fourth wicketless day in Test history, England’s bowling coach, David Saker, must have been tempted by the vacant director of cricket role at Warwickshire

George Dobell in Nagpur15-Dec-2012On wearing days in India like this, with England for a long period looking as if they would spend a day in the field without taking a wicket for just the fourth time in their history, their bowling coach David Saker could be forgiven for contemplating different challenges.Like the chance, for instance, to replace Ashley Giles as Warwickshire’s director of cricket. Saker has not applied for the position, but he has confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he would be interested in exploring the opportunity if he was approached. Warwickshire are understood to be keen to talk.”In many ways it would be ideal for me,” Saker said. “But I have an amazing job with England that I love and I would hate to leave it before the 2015 World Cup. Maybe it comes a couple of years early, but I would love to have a conversation with them.”The attraction for both parties is obvious. Saker, appointed as England bowling coach in April 2010, is highly regarded in the England set-up, has an excellent relationship with England’s Warwickshire duo of Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott and is keen to broaden his coaching horizons beyond the limits of specialised bowling coaching.He also lives near Birmingham and has a young family that he sees all too infrequently due to the demands of touring – the same sort of personal issues which caused England’s coach, Andy Flower, to negotiate his withdrawal from day-to-day involvement in the limited-overs formats.A straight-talking, good-natured Australian whose ability to mentor and communicate with players is in contrast to some modern, laptop-based coaches, he would appear to be a very good catch.Bear fight: who will succeed Giles?

Andy Moles aged 51
First-class career: 1986-1997 (230 matches)
A highly experienced coach, Moles was also part of the highly successful Warwickshire team of the mid-90s and came close to being appointed director of cricket after the departure of John Inverarity at the end of 2005. Although he has enjoyed relatively successful spells as an international coach with Kenya, Scotland and New Zealand, all have ended under a cloud. While his experience and passion for the club should be a major advantage, some perceived baggage might – perhaps unfairly – count against him.
Dougie Brown 43
First-class career: 1989-2007 (209 matches)
As an allrounder, Brown played ODIs for England and Scotland and won multiple trophies in a long career with Warwickshire. He coached Namibia in the 2003 World Cup and moved into a coaching role at Edgbaston – as academy and assistant coach – following his retirement as a player in 2007. Hugely popular with players and supporters at the club, he was short-listed for the role of England bowling coach in 2010.
Graeme Welch 40
First-class career: 1994-2006 (171 matches)
Probably the favourite for the role. Welch, a former allrounder with Warwickshire and Derbyshire, has made an excellent impression as bowling coach with Warwickshire and is credited for the development of the club’s coterie of fine fast bowlers. A lack of coaching experience with batsmen may count against him, but Welch is well-liked by Warwickshire’s players and is believed to have been one of two options chosen by Giles, to succeed him.
David Saker 46
First-class career: 1994-2003 (72 matches)
The England bowling coach cites the Warwickshire role as his ideal job. Close to his home and offering the opportunity to broaden his coaching experience beyond the role of being a specialist with bowlers, the role would also enable Saker to limit his touring commitments. His lack of Warwickshire pedigree may be a major impediment, but Saker is close to the club’s England duo Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott and has developed an excellent reputation in his role with England.

Warwickshire have attracted several other very good candidates. The 2012 county champions have an excellent stadium, a strong squad and, despite a difficult year financially, pay well.Giles, who resigned to become England’s limited-overs coach in the New Year, is known to have favoured an internal appointment – probably the club’s current bowling coach, Graeme Welch or perhaps the club’s academy coach Dougie Brown – but the chief executive, Colin Povey is keen to explore the market in more detail.Povey was reluctant to be drawn on the subject but, when asked about Saker replied: “People have to pick up phones and have conversations.”Saker’s departure would be a blow to England. Not only do the bowlers speak highly of his help in analysing opposition batsmen’s weaknesses, but it was Saker who instigated the successful recall of Chris Tremlett ahead of the Ashes of 2010-11 and Saker who is credited with helping Steven Finn develop from a promising but raw youngster into a world-class fast bowler. England’s record this year is far from unblemished but, with one or two exceptions, it has been the batsmen who have let the bowlers down.His departure to follow that of Flower would be unlikely to destabilise a settled dressing room unduly, but it might serve as a warning to the ECB about the unsustainable burden they are placing on the shoulders of players and coaches in expecting them to fulfil a relentless international schedule.England’s touring programme might also limit the number of potential candidates applying to replace Saker. It just may be that Giles’ relationship with Welch, the former Derbyshire and Warwickshire allrounder who has performed such sterling work developing Warwickshire’s excellent crop of fast bowlers, could effectively engineer a job swap: Saker to Warwickshire and Welch to England.There is little Saker could have told his bowlers that would have made much difference on the third day at Nagpur. England did not bowl badly. They simply came up against admirably determined opposition on a desperately slow wicket. James Anderson and Graeme Swann, in particular, could feel pretty satisfied with their performance, if not the results of it, though concerns remain about Tim Bresnan’s form.

Former India batsman Rahul Dravid has been short-listed for the Padma Bhushan award, India’s third-highest civilian honour

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2013Rahul Dravid, the former India batsman, has been listed, among 24 others, for the Padma Bhushan award, India’s third highest civilian honour. Now a television analyst, commentator and columnist for ESPNcricinfo, Dravid announced his retirement from international cricket last year, having scored 13,288 runs in Tests and 10,889 runs in ODIs during a 15-year career.He is the only cricketer in the list of Padma Bhushan awardees. Indian boxer Mary Kom being the other sportsperson to be short-listed for the honour.Dravid, who shouldered a large portion of India’s batting burden during their period of strength at home and abroad in the past decade, was nominated for the Khel Ratna, India’s highest honour in sports, six months ago. He won the Arjuna Award in 1998 and was given the Padma Shri in 2004.He joins nine other cricketers, including Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar Vinoo Mankad and Lala Amarnath, to have had received the Padma Bhushan. Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to have be awarded with the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honour.

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches played on February 21, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2013North ZonePunjab qualified for the knock-outs and maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament with a crushing 10-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala. It was their fourth win in the tournament. The win was set up by 19-year-old seamer Sandeep Sharma, who picked up his first List A five-wicket haul. Himachal were 65 for 1 in the 11th over, but Sadeep triggered a batting collapse which saw the home side stumble to 83 for 8 in the 20th over. They soon folded for 129 in the 31st over.In response, Punjab openers comfortably overhauled the target in the 25th over. Chandan Madan remained unbeaten on 40, while Ravi Inder Singh, the more aggressive of the two, scored 76 with 10 fours and a six. Punjab took five points from the game and are placed at the top of the North Zone table.Delhi joined Punjab in the knock-outs after cruising to a 35-run win (by VJD method) against Services, who scored 205 for 7 in 38 overs (reduced due to fog) in Bilaspur.Delhi took advantage of the moist conditions and chose to field, reducing Services to 55 for 3 after Pradeep Sangwan struck first and Sumit Narwal picked the subsequent two wickets. Rajat Paliwal and Yashpal Singh took the score past 100 and Yashpal went on to score 52. A knock of 44 from Devender Lochab took Services to a respectable score. Delhi lost their opener Dhruv Shorey early, but Unmukt Chand (64) and Puneet Bisht (78) took the match away from Services with a 129-run partnership. Once Chand was dismissed in the 30th over, the match was stopped due to bad light, at which point Delhi had to be 138 to win and they were 172 for 3 already.Haryana got a consolatory victory in the tournament when they beat Jammu & Kashmir by 40 runs in Nadaun. The win was set up by two lower-order fifties from Rahul Dalal (56) and Harshal Patel (69) after the hosts were reduced to 102 for 7, because of three wickets from Parvez Rasool and two each from Zahoor Sofi and Manik Gupta. Dalal and Patel put on 109 for the eighth wicket and Haryana finished at 230 for 9 in 50 overs.After J&K were given a steady start by their openers, Amit Mishra struck twice within seven balls. Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Sonu Rathee took three wickets each after that and dismissed J&K for 190. Ahmed Bandy (53) and Rasool (47) did the bulk of the scoring at the top of the order but their efforts went in vain. East ZoneBengal’s place in the knock-outs is still uncertain after they lost to Tripura by two wickets in a low-scoring thriller in Kolkata. Put in to bat first, Bengal were dismissed for a meagre 121 in 33.3 overs, as Udit Patel finished with figures of 4 for 17 and Bunti Roy and Timir Chanda took two each.Shami Ahmed made sure Tripura’s chase was not a smooth ride with two wickets in his second over. Sanjib Sanyal also chipped in with two wickets, leaving Tripura at 62 for 5 after Gaurav Bhatia made 32. However, an unbeaten knock of 34 from Timir Chanda took Tripura home even though they were losing wickets at the other end.Assam stormed into the knock-outs when they won a low-scoring match against Jharkhand by six wickets. Jharkhand were put in to bat, but lost wickets regularly throughout their innings. Only Ishank Jaggi (27) and Sunny Gupta (26) provided some resistance as the rest of the batting wilted, being dismissed for 116. Offspinner Gokul Sharma finished with figures of 4 for 32.Assam’s reply was shaky at the start, when they were 44 for 3 after 9.3 overs. However, a 69-run stand for the fourth wicket between Gokul and Tarjinder Singh effectively quashed Jharkhand’s chances of staging an upset. Assam reached their target in the 26th over and won their third match in a row.

A decision on Pune Warriors India’s home games in the upcoming IPL is set to be taken in the next couple of days, with negotiations currently on among all stakeholders

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2013A decision on Pune Warriors’ home games in the upcoming IPL is set to be taken in the next couple of days, with negotiations currently on among all stakeholders. The franchise hopes to play its matches at the Subrata Roy Sahara stadium in Pune which is currently the subject of dispute.”Both Sahara and MCA [Maharashtra Cricket Association] stuck to their guns, but with the IPL set to start in less than a month, the final decision will be made in a day or two,” a BCCI insider revealed after a meeting between IPL governing council Rajeev Shukla, MCA president Ajay Shirke and Abhijit Sarkar, corporate communications chief of the Sahara group and director of the group subsidiary that owns the Pune franchise. While Sarkar and Shukla met in New Delhi, Shirke joined them through video conference since he is in the Netherlands for business commitments.The Sahara group and the MCA have been in a dispute over title rights of the newly built stadium at Gahunje in the outskirts of Pune. After the MCA covered the name of the stadium that read ‘Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium’ in January for alleged default over payment of the contract, Sahara group officials moved the Bombay High Court over “termination of agreements”.Though the court case doesn’t have any direct relation with hosting of the Sahara-owned team’s home games in Pune, the business conglomerate has expressed its desire to play their home games at other venues. However, with no valid reason for shifting the games out of Pune, the IPL organisers find themselves in a quandary over the issue. With the IPL set to begin on April 3, time indeed is running out for them.

Under bright skies and on a true pitch, barely a ball deviated in the air or off the pitch all day as New Zealand reached 250 for the loss of just one wicket by stumps on day one in Auckland

The Report by George Dobell21-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHamish Rutherford threw away his wicket after a promising beginning•Getty ImagesHad Alastair Cook arrived at Auckland with a case of wine and box of chocolates for his New Zealand hosts he could hardly have been a more gracious guest. Cook, perhaps seduced by a hint of green and a theory that the drop-in pitch in use for this Test might aid his seamers, inserted New Zealand upon winning the toss and thereby surrendered first use of a fine surface.Under bright skies and on a true pitch, barely a ball deviated in the air or off the pitch all day as New Zealand reached 250 for the loss of just one wicket by stumps. With the series level at 0-0 going into this final match, New Zealand have earned an excellent opportunity to win a Test series at home against England for just the second time. The first was in 1983-84.Cook’s insertion may well draw comparison with Nasser Hussain’s infamous decision in Brisbane in 2002. To be fair to Cook, there is little reason to suppose this pitch will deteriorate. It is hard, easy paced and true. It offered precious little swing or seam movement and promises little better for spinners later in the game.The lush outfield and lack of other pitches limits the opportunity for reverse swing, too. If it was ever going to help the bowlers, it was going to be in the first hour. But his decision has allowed New Zealand to claim the initiative and, in the decisive Test of a series, leaves England in a precarious position. Even a drawn series would have been considered a setback at the start of the tour.Perhaps Cook’s decision was not so much at fault as England’s execution of the decision. Certainly they will reflect that they did not fully utilise the new ball. It is not that James Anderson or Stuart Broad bowled badly – far from it – just that they did not make the New Zealand openers play as often as they might in the first few overs. By the time they had found their line, the openers had settled and the ball offered nothing.The main beneficiary of England’s generosity was Peter Fulton. The 34-year-old New Zealand opener had previously only passed 50 twice in Test cricket and his previous highest score was 75, made almost exactly seven years ago. Here, however, at the age of at 34 years and 49 days, he benefited from the benign conditions and a small outfield to become the second oldest man to score his maiden Test century for New Zealand. The oldest is Zin Harris.Smart stats

It’s the first time New Zealand have stayed with the same XI over a series of three or more Tests.

The unbroken 171-run stand between Peter Fulton and Kane Williamson is currently New Zealand’s third-best for the second wicket against England.

This is only the seventh time a team has scored more than 200 for 1 in their first innings after being put in to bat by England.

Fulton’s unbeaten 124 is his maiden Test hundred, in his 20th Test innings. His previous-best was 75, against West Indies, in his third Test innings.

This is only the ninth time that two New Zealand openers have scored centuries in a Test series, but the third such instance for them against England.

Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 83 is his fifth 50-plus score in 14 Test innings at home; in home Tests he averages 47.63, compared to an away average of 28.51 in 27 innings.

Whatever his fragility on the off side – and several times he was drawn into playing at deliveries he should have left and on 12 was fortunate to see an indeterminate prod off Anderson fly past third slip – Fulton is a beast off his legs. He scored 98 of his 124 first-day runs on the leg side and at one stage plundered Monty Panesar for 14 – a six and two fours – in three balls, all over midwicket.Perhaps, on a larger playing surface, he might have been caught on 30 when he top-edged a pull off Broad and saw the ball clear the fine leg boundary, just 53 metres from the bat, but generally he blocked on off stump and waited for England’s bowlers to stray either too full or on to his legs. He on drove sweetly – the stroke that took him to 50 was delightful – and showed a willingness to hit over the top, clubbing Panesar for two sixes over midwicket.Kane Williamson was, in many ways, even more impressive. More secure in defending his off stump than his partner, he also unveiled some delightful strokes with a couple of straight drives off Anderson bearing the hallmark of true class. Quick to pick-up the length, he cut and pulled Panesar for boundaries and, at the age of just 22, resumes on day two just 17 short of a fourth Test century. He has already helped Fulton add 171 for the second wicket, with his preference for the off side complementing his partner’s leg-side skill.Initially it was Hamish Rutherford who impressed. He scored 37 of an opening partnership of 79, easing New Zealand’s early nerves with a pleasing straight drive for four off Anderson and lofting Panesar for two straight sixes in the spinner’s second over.His wicket, in the penultimate over before lunch, owed more to a lapse of concentration than any incisive bowling. Slashing at a wide one without foot movement, he was well taken at first slip and left the pitch knowing he had squandered an ideal opportunity of a big score.England were underwhelming in the field. While Broad and Anderson persevered in conditions offering them little, Finn, lacking rhythm from his new run-up, failed to generate the pace that might have been expected of him, while Monty Panesar, with no help from the conditions, was ineffectual. While the flat pitch should offer few fears to England’s batsmen, it is tough to see how England can claim the 19 wickets they need to win this series.

On high-scoring grounds, Rajasthan Royals depend a lot on Shane Watson, and as he has been doing with Australia in this unfortunate run, Watson let Royals down too

The Report by Sidharth Monga20-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
On high-scoring grounds, Rajasthan Royals depend a lot on Shane Watson, and as he has been doing with Australia in their unfortunate run, Watson let Royals down too. From the moment Watson was caught superbly by Murali Kartik for six off 9, Royals limped through their innings for an inadequate 117. Royal Challengers Bangalore threatened the fashionable, inexplicable collapse, but a restrained Chris Gayle took them through with more than two overs to spare.R Vinay Kumar operated intelligently against the middle order lacking in firepower, and his strikes kept pegging Royals back. The big wicket of Watson, though, went to Ravi Rampaul. Watson had begun with a four first ball, but was getting uneasy with his inability to find gaps at the top of the innings. In the third over, he tried to bludgeon one, but Murali Kartik took a smart overhead catch at mid-off.Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane couldn’t hit out, and Rahane was consumed by that pressure. Stuart Binny hit a few lusty ones, eventually took the run-rate past a run a ball, in the ninth over, but was bounced out by Karnataka team-mate Vinay in the next over. Dravid, given a rousing welcome by the “home” crowd, struggled so much that his strike-rate reached 100 only in the 14th over. He had faced 27 balls by then.The pressure of all those dots was all consuming. Dravid holed out to long-on. Brad Hodge fell to Vinay trying to run one down. RP Singh then had a good time with the lower order, and picked up three for himself.Unscarred Royal Challengers – with Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers their top four – would have blasted their way through this target and boosted their net run rate. This side, though, has been turning regulation matches into thrillers of late, and didn’t eliminate drama despite a 53-run opening stand in 6.4 overs.Watson, bowling for the first time in 2013, delayed the finish with the wickets of Dilshan and de Villiers. Kohli fell to James Faulkner in between. At 64 for 3 after nine overs, Gayle put his head down, and in the company of Saurabh Tiwary, who was playing his first match of the season, chose the middle path between a lightning chase and a dramatic one despite all the we-want-six chants from the crowd. He did give them what they wanted, but only after scores were level, raising his arms to seemingly tell the crowd he can hit them but chose not to. It was good enough to put their team joint-top on the table with a game in hand.

Paul Marsh believes international cricket must be more accommodating to player associations if the sport is serious about eliminating the threat of corruption

Brydon Coverdale07-Jun-2013Paul Marsh believes international cricket must be more accommodating to player associations if the sport is serious about eliminating the threat of corruption. Marsh was announced the new executive chairman of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) this week and takes charge of the organisation at a challenging time. Last month its departing chief executive Tim May lost his position on the ICC cricket committee resulting from a voting process FICA has questioned.Since that vote, both the IPL and the Bangladesh Premier League have been plunged into corruption scandals and the sport’s image has taken a serious hit. Marsh said it was unfortunate that FICA, which represents players associations in all Test-playing countries except India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, no longer had an official voice within the ICC at a time when administrators and players needed to build stronger links than ever.”The thing that I find ironic about it is that right now more than ever, with everything that’s going on in the game, it needs strong player associations,” Marsh told ESPNcricinfo. “The game, if it’s serious about ridding itself of these corrupt practices, should be embracing player associations. The reality is that there’s nobody in the game that has a better relationship with the players. That’s our role here. We have the opportunity to play a very strong leadership role around anti-corruption but those who are running the game have to embrace us in that space.”FICA potentially has a very, very important role in educating the players and individual player associations already take on that role. But we can take a far greater role there. Lord Condon in his report identified that many years ago and if you talk to the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit they say the same thing, that player associations are important to this. Players are increasingly coming to us and reporting things they have seen or approaches that have been made to them.”The lack of player associations in India and Pakistan has limited FICA’s ability to have a truly worldwide influence and that is not a situation Marsh expects will change any time soon. Instead, he believes the organisation must focus its attention on strengthening some of the smaller and less robust player associations that already come under its banner.”To get associations in India and Pakistan has been on the FICA agenda for as long as I have been involved,” Marsh said. “But the reality is you’re not going to get a player association up unless the players want it and they’re going to be prepared to fight for it. Unfortunately the Indian and Pakistan players don’t want it, so we’re wasting our time trying to get them to want something they don’t want.”What we have to do is focus on making sure that FICA and each of the player associations is as strong as they possibly can be, because not one of us as individual player associations has had anything given to us over the journey. We’ve had to fight for everything we get. We have got four very strong player associations at the moment and we need to focus on building up the other three members.”Marsh will take on the FICA position effectively as the group’s figurehead and spokesperson, while also retaining his existing job as chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association. Ian Smith, who has served as legal director of England’s Professional Cricketers’ Association, will become FICA’s chief operating officer.Effectively the two men will share the responsibilities previously handled by May, who stepped down this week after 16 years in player advocacy. Marsh said other immediate priorities for FICA included making Twenty20 leagues more accountable for the non-payment of player wages, which he said had become “a significant issue”. And he said that without an official voice at the ICC table, FICA would have to pursue other methods of making itself heard.”Unless the attitude towards FICA changes we’re going to become more and more vocal around these types of issues,” Marsh said. “What we want is what’s best for the game. We’re not going to just sit back and take the lack of respect and take the refusal to hear our voice lying down. That is not going to happen. We will continue to be strong in voicing our views.”

Surrey awoke from the inexplicably ghastly nightmare of losing seven first-innings wickets for 12 runs in 11 overs to secure the draw that at least buys them a bit of breathing space

David Lloyd at Guildford08-Jun-2013
ScorecardRory Burns fell 15 short of a century but did enough to stave off defeat•PA PhotosSurrey awoke from the inexplicably ghastly nightmare of losing seven first-innings wickets for 12 runs in 11 overs to secure the draw that at least buys them a bit of breathing space. But with only Derbyshire below them and the halfway stage of the Championship programme almost reached, it is hard to predict anything other than a fight against relegation.Signings continue to be made. Australia’s Glenn Maxwell will arrive for at least part of the T20 programme while Surrey expect to confirm the capture of South Africa’s JP Duminy for the last two months of the four-day campaign early next week.What they need above all else, though, is a Championship victory after seven matches without success. That spirit-lifting outcome was an impossibility here once Warwickshire ploughed on beyond 600. And but for a more disciplined second-innings effort, built around Rory Burns’ three-hour occupation, a desperately embarrassing defeat might have ensued.As it was, the pitch proved simply too bland for Warwickshire to pressurise Surrey into another implosion. The defending champions were further hampered by the absence of fast bowler Chris Wright, who sat out the final day with a flu-like illness, and they could also point to the potentially crucial loss of 37 overs to rain on the third morning.But unlike Surrey, who were left thanking the heavens for small mercies, the visitors can rightly claim to have taken a good step forward at Woodbridge Road. Their injury list is starting to shorten, with opener Ian Westwood and allrounder Keith Barker not only returning to action here but also making excellent contributions.Even better, Warwickshire have produced just the batting response coach Dougie Brown wanted after they were routed for 128 and 140, by Yorkshire, on their last outing. Retaining the title looks a tall order right now (they have only one victory from seven matches, compared to four at the same stage last season) but it is not an impossible task by any means.The Bears were growling all right this morning, having stunned Surrey through the previous evening’s Boyd Rankin-inspired burst. And it took them less than half an hour to claim the final three wickets, which left the hosts to follow-on an almighty 357 behind.Chris Tremlett, defending tentatively on the crease, edged Rankin before Ricky Ponting – deciding he might as well go on the offensive – and Jade Dernbach perished to Barker’s left-arm quicks.On a pitch which had yielded 863 runs for the first 11 wickets, Surrey’s last seven had gone down for an undistinguished dozen. No wonder their followers were less than happy and no doubt wishing that next month’s forum could be brought forward a few weeks.At least there was a bit of cheer for the faithful second time around. With nothing more than slow turn to encourage spinners Jeetan Patel and Ateeq Javid, Warwickshire could only prod and probe for weaknesses during lengthy spells.It was Rikki Clarke, though, who denied opener Burns what would have been a worthy century, finding the outside edge with a real ‘effort’ ball just before tea. And when Patel claimed a second victim during the early stages of the final session, via Zander de Bruyn’s bat-pad catch to silly point, the visitors rightly extended their victory bid well into the final hour.There was no shifting Ponting a second time, however, and he at least is earning his corn.As for that elusive first win, Surrey’s director of cricket, Chris Adams, insisted: “We’ve competed in every game without managing to pull it together with both bat and ball for an entire four days. But I don’t think we are far away. I feel we are really close to bringing it together and putting in that performance.”