A round-up of the second day’s play of the seventh round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2011Group AFor the second day in a row, eighteen wickets fell at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. With two more days to go, Saurashtra brightened their hopes for a knockout berth by setting a target of 247 and then reducing Railways to 97 for 6.Railways, reeling overnight at 71 for 8, could only add a further ten runs in their first-innings. Subsequently Saurashtra, sitting on a comfortable lead of 94, failed for the second time in succession as they mustered a meagre 152, but the target set seemed to be enough going into the third day.With the exception of Ravindra Jadeja, who played late to top score with 45, the visitors showed the same lack of application as that of the Railways’ batsmen. Luckily it did not hurt Saurashtra so much as Kamlesh Makvana ripped apart the Railways’ batting order in their second innings with his fastish offbreaks, which fetched him his fifth five-for in first-class cricket. There was not much hope for Railways when senior batsmen like Sanjay Bangar and Shivakant Shukla gave away their wickets by charging out to Makvana.The Railways coach Abhay Sharma, however, didn’t blame the nature of the pitch for the slew of wickets. “Some of our batsmen played bad shots. I don’t think the curator is responsible in any way. When you have a three-day gap between two matches, a curator could have hardly done anything,” Sharma said. “In northern India, it’s difficult to water the pitch as it might remain wet and also you can’t just use the roller on a dry pitch.”Orissa were staring at a big first-innings deficit as they ended on 76 for 6 in reply to Rajasthan‘s 423 in Jaipur. Robin Bist’s unbeaten 127 and Puneet Yadav’s 63 were instrumental in Rajasthan getting to an imposing score. The pair added 124 for the fifth wicket before Yadav was caught behind by Alok Mangaraj. The 24-year-old Bist, originally from Delhi, continued till he ran out of partners, hitting 16 fours in his knock. This is his fourth century in five matches for Bist, who at 829 runs is the top run-maker of season so far. Basanth Mohanty finished with 4 for 104.Rajasthan’s Pankaj Singh then made early inroads with the ball before Sumit Mathur, instrumental in Rajasthan’s victory against Saurashtra last week, took three wickets in five overs to leave the visitors in trouble. With Orissa still adrift by 347 runs, the defending champions would like the enforce the follow-on and try and go for an innings victory to get the bonus points and keep alive the chance of a knockout berth for second year in a row. If they do manage to do that, Rajasthan would have to thank Bist a lot. “This has been my best season in Ranji Trophy. Before this season, I had just one Ranji century. Now, I have five,” Bist told the at the end of the second day’s play.Wasim Jaffer became the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy and, along with the belligerent Suryakumar Yadav, steered Mumbai past Punjab‘s first-innings total during a typically elegant knock. Punjab toiled all day but were blunted by Mumbai’s ultra-defensive approach in the first session, and later by Jaffer’s and Yadav’s aggression. With Saurashtra and Rajasthan in strong positions in their games, Punjab’s chances of making the quarter-finals were slim. Read the full report here.The second day’s play in Shimoga followed the course of the first, as Uttar Pradesh mirrored Karnataka‘s batting effort to finish 39 runs short of the first-innings lead, with four wickets standing. Like their Karnataka counterparts on day one, UP built a solid base in the morning, only to lose wickets in a clump in the lead-up to tea. Like Stuart Binny on the first day, Mohammad Kaif battled through the slump, before stalling it with a dogged seventh-wicket stand. Read the full report here.Group BTamil Nadu strengthened their position against Madhya Pradesh in Chennai, with Dinesh Karthik scoring 156 – his second century in as many games – to take the team to 486. The hosts then consolidated their position by sending the vistors’ top order comprising Naman Ojha, Mohnish Mishra and Devendra Bundela – essentially the MP batting’s engine-room – back to the dressing room in no time.Earlier Karthik was bold in his strokeplay, despite having only the tail for support. Yo Mahesh, M Rangarajan and L Balaji all frustrated the MP bowlers, while Karthik went from strength to strength. After the debuant Amarjeet Singh failed to latch on a hard-hit return catch when Karthik was on 89, the former Tamil Nadu captain progressed to make 156. For MP, Ishwar Pandey finished with 4 for 123 off nearly 40 overs. Zafar Ali, the MP opener, witnessed three partners depart before stumps, leaving plenty for the visitors to do on the third day to match TN’s score.Gritty half-centuries from Sourav Ganguly and Anustup Majumdar put Bengal well on course to take a first-innings lead against Baroda at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. It was an eventful day for Ganguly who started the morning by wrapping up the Baroda innings while he finished with figures of 3 for 1. But Bengal were in for a rude jolt when they were wobbling at 98 for 4, which included the wicket of Manoj Tiwary, who had scored a century in each of his previous three matches. Bengal lost their opener Jayojit Basu to the left-arm seamer Gagandeep Singh, before Firdaush Bhaja had Arindam Das caught in the slips. Shreevats Goswami’s boundary-filled 38 came to an end when he nicked Gagandeep to the keeper. Gagandeep struck again when he had Manoj Tiwary caught at cover.Luckily Ganguly found a stable partner in Majumdar and the paired added vital 93 runs for the fifth wicket before the former Indian captain retired hurt due a left hamstring pull. Till then, Ganguly had 60 runs to his credit including nine fours. Majumdar, who ended the day unbeaten on 71, added a further 73 with Laxmi Shukla before stumps.Gujarat just about managed to take a slender first-innings lead of 21 runs against Haryana in Surat. Resuming on 46 for 1, the Gujarat top order showed an appalling lack of discipline and application, with no one managing even a half century. Luckily for the team, Pratharesh Parmar and Manprit Juneja showed some resistance, adding 63 for the fifth wicket, to help Gujarat to match Haryana’s score. For Haryana the job was done by India legspinner Amit Mishra and the debutant offspinner Jayant Yadav, as the pair took three wickets apiece to peg the hosts back. The other debutant, Mohit Sharma, took two wickets.Haryana erased the deficit of 21 by ending the day on a healthy 61 for no loss. If Gujarat lose this match, they would be relegated to the Plate division. And with the pitch aiding the spinners, a result seems likely. “The match is wide open and any target above 250-275 is going to be difficult to chase in the fourth innings on this ground with the wicket taking spin,” Jayendra Saigal, the Gujarat coach, said. “Our batsmen did not do justice to their talent today.”

Sushil Nadkarni will captain USA at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier from March 13-24 in the UAE

Peter Della Penna24-Jan-2012Sushil Nadkarni, the left-handed batsman, will captain USA at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier from March 13 to 24 in the UAE. The USA Cricket Association (USACA) also announced an 18-man preliminary squad for the tournament, which will be trimmed to 14 in February.Nadkarni, 35, had previously represented India Under-19s and also played first-class cricket for Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy before migrating to the USA.Nadkarni’s vice-captain will be Aditya Mishra, 30, who has made a rapid ascent into a leadership position since playing his first match for USA in 2010. USA will be relying on both men for major contributions if they are to gain one of the two available berths for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 from September 18 to October 7 in Sri Lanka.The two senior batsmen will lead a young and inexperienced squad in the UAE. Only three players – Nadkarni, Orlando Baker and Usman Shuja – remain from the squad that participated in the same event two years ago. Seven players among the 18 are under the age of 25.The squad includes six players who have yet to make their senior debuts for USA. At least two are guaranteed of making the final 14 that will go to Dubai in early March and Elmore Hutchinson appears almost certain to be one of them. According to multiple sources, the left-arm seamer turned in a string of impressive performances during four trial matches that were held at a USACA training camp in Florida last weekend for the initial list of probables.A surprise omission from the squad is Bhim George, who was the leading wicket-taker at the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in July with 13 scalps in five games. George, 38, and Samarth Shah, 34, were beaten out by fellow left-arm orthodox spinner Asif Khan, 32. Khan was harshly dropped after a solid debut series for USA at ICC World Cricket League Division Three in Hong Kong last January but now appears set for a recall.USA is in Group B at the qualifier along with Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Namibia, Oman, Scotland and Uganda. Their first match is on March 13 against Uganda in Sharjah.USA preliminary squad: Sushil Nadkarni (capt), Aditya Mishra (vice-capt), Orlando Baker, Adil Bhatti, Ryan Corns, Akeem Dodson (wk), Muhammad Ghous, Elmore Hutchinson, Naseer Jamali, Asif Khan, Andy Mohammed, Nauman Mustafa (wk), Japen Patel, Abhimanyu Rajp, Gowkaran Roopnarine (wk), Usman Shuja, Timothy Surujbally, Steven Taylor (wk).

Trinidad & Tobago put in a clinical performance against Jamaica in the final to win their second consecutive Caribbean T20 title, and once again qualify for the lucrative Champions League T20

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2012Trinidad & Tobago put in a clinical performance against Jamaica in the final to win their second consecutive Caribbean T20 title, and once again qualify for the lucrative Champions League T20. Dwayne Bravo played a sensible innings to take T&T towards a decent total; Kieron Pollard, in one 26-run over, changed that from a decent total to a strong one; and then the miserly T&T spinners, along with Ravi Rampaul, choked Jamaica to make sure the victory was by a thumping margin.Dwayne Bravo’s innings was a crucial one, as it held together an innings that showed signs of falling apart. Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo had both been dismissed by the seventh over: Simmons was beaten in the flight by legspinner Odean Brown and edged to the keeper, and Darren Bravo also edged, while poking at an Andre Russell delivery.Dwayne Bravo showed immediate intent by pulling Russell for four in the ninth over, but lost both Adrian Barath and Denesh Ramdin at the other end in quick succession. Barath was stumped, trying to loft Brown over long-off, and Ramdin, who replaced Daren Ganga as captain before the tournament, was bowled by a Brown flipper.At that stage, T&T were 65 for 4 in 11.1 overs and in trouble. Dwayne Bravo reacted by lofting Brown for six and then hitting another six off Nikita Miller two overs later. He mixed caution and aggression, rotating the strike in between the big shots and was helped by the fact that Sunil Narine, at the other end, was scoring at a quick rate. Narine rushed to 22 off 15 balls, hitting two sixes, both heaves to the leg side off David Bernard’s medium pace.Pollard, who was later named Man of the Series, was initially happy to play second fiddle to Dwayne Bravo. He was dropped in the 18th over, by Marlon Samuels off Krishmar Santokie. It was the second catch Jamaica had dropped – Shawn Findlay put down a sitter to let Dwayne Bravo off the hook when he was on just 20 – and they would regret them both. Santokie, who should have had Pollard’s wicket, was subjected to a mauling by him in the final over of the innings. The second ball was driven for four past cover, and the next three were bludgeoned for sixes: one over long-on, one over long-off and one to midwicket. By the end of it, Santokie, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, had gone for 42 from his four overs.Chasing a big total, Jamaica had to get off to a quick start. Instead, they managed only five runs off the first two overs and lost a wicket in the most careless of manners in the third. Nkrumah Bonner, at the non-striker’s end, wanted a single when Danza Hyatt played the ball to Pollard in the circle, and could not get back in time when Hyatt declined the run. The next over, bowled by Ravi Rampaul, was a maiden, and the required run-rate had already shot up above 10 runs per over.Samuel Badree got rid of Marlon Samuels with a googly, he and Narine go through a few miserly overs, and when Dwayne Bravo had Hyatt caught in the deep in the eighth over, the match ended as a contest. Carlton Baugh played a few impressive strokes towards the end, including successive sixes off Rampaul to slightly spoil what would have been outstanding figures, but by that stage the required-rate had reached unachievable proportions.The margin in the end was an emphatic 63 runs, giving T&T revenge for their loss to Jamaica in final of the Regional Super50 tournament in October last year, and reinforcing their reputation as the best Twenty20 side in the Caribbean.”We have a great bunch of players in this team and a superb support staff and that is what did it for us. We are known as the Red Force and we showed we are a true force. We didn’t get it right in the first match, the Windwards gave us a kick up the backside, but we came back as a good strong force against Leewards and against Guyana as we found our range,” Denesh Ramdin said.”After that it was smooth sailing because we know we have match-winners in all departments. We actually thought that Jamaica would have been stronger in the final but our bowlers did a fantastic job in the first six overs and that squeezed them. After that we knew we had the trophy in our hands.”In the third-place playoff, Windward Islands thumped Barbados by seven wickets, with 13 balls to spare. Barbados chose to bat and were dealt severe blows in the second over, as Delorn Johnson knocked over three of their top four to reduce them to 4 for 3. Jonathan Carter and Alcindo Holder attempted to rebuild the innings with a steady stand of 68 from just under 12 overs. However another collapse ensued after Holder was run out and Barbados were bowled out for 101.Windward Islands lost Johnson Charles off the first ball of their chase, but Andre Fletcher and Devon Smith put them back on course with a 67-run partnership. After the pair was dismissed in quick succession, Miles Bascombe and Tade Carmichael steered them home without much drama.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Twenty20 in Dubai between Pakistan and England in their three-match series

The Preview by David Hopps24-Feb-2012

Match facts

Saturday February 25, Dubai International Cricket Stadium
Start time 2000 (1600 GMT)England are likely to persist with young talent such as Jonny Bairstow in the middle order, with their World Twenty20 defence in mind•Getty Images

Big Picture

Thirty-five runs from the last five overs with seven wickets left are, as England’s Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad ruefully observed on Thursday night, “the positions you want to win from”. But it was Pakistan who closed out England by eight runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.That points to England’s quandary six months before the World Twenty20. In Jonny Bairstow and Joss Buttler, they remain convinced they have the best two young T20 players in the country. But they have only nine T20 international appearances between them and minimal experience in Asian conditions. With the World Twenty20 to be played in Sri Lanka in September, England need them to learn fast.Pakistan’s win caused Misbah-ul-Haq’s reputation as an international captain to lurch back to the positive. In the Tests he was portrayed as just the sort of experienced hand Pakistan needed. In the ODIs he was held to be unimaginative and ready to be moved on. In the first T20, he played a decisive role with the bat and then, in England’s innings, fielded tactical suggestions from rather more senior professionals than he would have liked before receiving excessive praise for doing the blindingly obvious and saving his best bowlers until last. If Pakistan win the series he will probably lead them into World Twenty20.

Form guide

Pakistan: WWWWW
England: LWLWW

Players to watch

Hammad Azam made his T20 international debut in the first match, not that many people would have noticed as he did not bat (he was due in at No. 8) and then Misbah chose not to bowl him in a tense situation. He is 20 years old, from Attock in the Punjab. England eyes will be on Eoin Morgan more than most. He has yet to hit a half-century on the tour.

Team news

Pakistan will have no appetite for changes after winning on Thursday. England often give a defeated side a chance to make amends and seem to have taken a view about Alex Hales batting limitations in Asia ahead of World Twenty20. Any clamour for Alastair Cook to play – well, it would be a good story – is likely to be resisted, but the choice between Tim Bresnan or Steven Finn might be more open.Pakistan: (probable) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Awais Zia, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Umar Akmal, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Hammad Azam, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Junaid KhanEngland: (probable) 1 Kevin Pietersen, 2 Craig Kieswetter 3 Ravi Bopara, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Jonathan Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Jade Dernbach, 11 Steven Finn

Pitch and conditions

The par score in Dubai is around 140 and Pakistan just achieved that with 144-6 in the opening match. Expectations are for something similar on Saturday.

Stats and trivia

• If Pakistan win the last two matches they will equal their best run of seven consecutive T20 victories.
• Mushtaq Mohammad, the former Pakistan all-rounder, has named Mohammad Hafeez as the man who should become Pakistan’s next one-day captain.
• Graeme Swann’s three wickets on Thursday moved him up to joint sixth in the T20I wicket-takers’ list, level with Broad on 37.

Quotes

“Broady is a single man and a good-looking man. He’s England captain. Why wouldn’t she want to marry him? But, having heard her voice screeching through our ears all night, I’m not sure he’ll be too keen to accept her offer.”
“I would like to see Pakistani players participating in the IPL. The BCCI and the PCB should sit together and sort out the issue.”
Edited by Alan Gardner

Local Sri Lankan cricket fans who want to watch the full duration of the Test against England in Galle will be asked to fork out up to a month’s wages after it was confirmed there would be no cheaper tickets available for locals

Andrew McGlashan in Galle 25-Mar-2012Local Sri Lankan cricket fans who want to watch the full duration of the Test against England in Galle will be asked to fork out up to a month’s wages after it was confirmed there would be no cheaper tickets available for locals.Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed it had set the ticket prices at 5000 Sri Lankan rupees ($38) and 7500 Sri Lankan rupees ($57) per day, having seen the demand created by the visiting England fans as a chance to boost their struggling finances. That move has angered England supporters who feel they are being exploited for being loyal followers of their team overseas.However, it also prices many locals out of the game, as paying even for four days would equate to 20,000 Sri Lankan rupees, which is around four week’s pay for a large proportion of the population. Recent Tests in Galle have not been heavily attended by Sri Lankan fans – the game against Australia last year was not sold out despite much lower prices – but rather than trying to encourage more supporters through the gates the board has opted to cash in while it can. Yesterday, a Sri Lanka Cricket official said there would be a 1000 rupee ticket available but that has not materialised.”We need to develop the game of cricket in Sri Lanka so whenever there is an opportunity and a demand for tickets it is our policy to put prices up,” Nishantha Ranatunga, the Sri Lanka secretary, said. “You can see people buying tickets for this price. We will get the best deal. Yes, there is a substantial increase from previous tours and the World Cup but we have seen a lot of Sri Lankans buying tickets at this price.”There is talk of a protest by England fans on the opening day of the Test, suggesting they may decamp to the Dutch Fort which overlooks the ground, although many visiting supporters have arrived with pre-paid tickets bought as part of tour packages.Andrew Strauss did not want to comment on the ticket prices, but wanted as many England supporters in the ground as possible. “I don’t know the Sri Lanka Cricket board’s policy on ticket pricing,” he said. “But clearly we want to have as many fans as possible in the ground and we know the Barmy Army always travels and supports us wherever we go in the world. The more of them that are in the ground supporting us and watching some good quality Test cricket the better it is for not just for us but also the game as a whole.”Sri Lanka Cricket has severe financial problems after running up debts of $32.5 million to finance the building of two international stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, and to renovate the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, for the World Cup.Payments owed to players, dating back to the World Cup, were only fully settled less than two weeks ago, after the state-owned Bank of Ceylon released 600 Sri Lankan million rupees ($5 million) after discussions with the sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, confirmed they had been paid up to the end of the CB series in Australia. “We got paid last week,” he said. “It’s something we couldn’t control, but the newly elected board made us a promise and they kept to that. We continued playing cricket and the boys were happy with that.”The players might be happier now, but supporters from both sides are unlikely to be having similar feelings.

The ICC has suspended its Associate funding grants to the USA Cricket Association due to poor governance, sources have confirmed to ESPNcricinfo

Peter Della Penna11-Apr-2012The ICC has suspended its Associate funding grants to the USA Cricket Association due to poor governance, sources have confirmed to ESPNcricinfo. USACA last received ICC funding, which is distributed on a quarterly basis, in the fourth quarter of 2011 but did not receive any money for the first quarter of 2012.”It is correct that USACA have not received any 2012 grants as they don’t meet the Membership criteria,” an ICC spokesperson said via email. “Meeting all Membership criteria is a funding policy requirement to receive grants. The reason they don’t meet the criteria is that there has been no AGM [Annual General Meeting].”USACA’s 2009 tax returns show that it received $392,413 in grants from the ICC that year and the amount of funding to Associate countries has increased since then. USACA may have lost approximately $100,000 by failing to hold an AGM in 2011 as well as failing to hold general elections which were constitutionally mandated for last year.When USACA was last suspended by the ICC in 2007, all funding from the governing body to USACA was cut off. USACA held elections in March 2008, after which it was reinstated to the ICC fold but it was not entitled to receive any payments which it had missed during its suspension. It is believed the same policy applies to any quarterly funding grants USACA misses in 2012.USACA has failed to hold any national domestic championship tournaments since July 2011. Last year’s senior men’s 50-over and Under-19 national tournaments which were scheduled for September and October were cancelled. USACA general manager Manaf Mohamed was quoted last August as saying that if both tournaments wound up not being held it would be due to a lack of funds.So far in 2012, USACA has cancelled or postponed its senior men’s Twenty20, U-17 and women’s national tournaments. The USA Women’s team has not played or even practised together since returning last November from the 2011 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh. They are scheduled to participate in the ICC Americas Women’s Twenty20 Championship beginning April 23 in the Cayman Islands with the winner of the event advancing to the 2013 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier.USA was also scheduled to host the ICC World Cricket League Division Four in Florida this May but those plans fell through. It is believed that the hosting rights were stripped away by the ICC due to USACA’s poor governance. The tournament has now been postponed from May until later in the year and a decision on where it will be held is expected to be made by the ICC next month.The same source who initially provided information about USACA losing out on ICC funding also claimed that USACA has spent approximately $500,000 on legal fees in the last 16 months. USACA was due to receive $2 million per year as part of its deal with New Zealand Cricket, Podar Enterprises and Insite to form Cricket Holdings America. However, it appears a sizable chunk of that funding which could have gone to development, improving facilities and infrastructure or preparing its national teams for ICC tournaments has instead gone elsewhere.The source indicated that USACA has spent six figures for legal representation to defend itself in a lawsuit filed by the North American Cricket League in December 2010. NACL filed a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against USACA, claiming that NACL bid for and won the rights to stage a professional Twenty20 league in the USA. NACL claims that USACA then fraudulently transferred those rights to Cricket Holdings America.USACA has also allegedly spent six figures for legal counsel in relation to the lawsuit filed against them by USACA presidential candidate Ram Varadarajan, who is seeking to overturn the board’s decision to ban 32 member leagues from voting in the general elections which are currently scheduled for April 14. The case is scheduled for hearing on April 12 at the District Court in San Jose, California.Other legal or administrative fees USACA has had to account for, according to the source, were paying Texas attorney Robert Chance as well as Rushmans Limited for services rendered. Chance conducted the controversial USACA member leagues compliance audit which resulted in the 32 leagues being disenfranchised in February based on his recommendations. Rushmans conducted the request-for-proposal tender process initiated by former USACA CEO Don Lockerbie in 2009 to seek offers for organizing and selling rights to stage a professional Twenty20 league in the USA.

Gautam Gambhir made Royal Challengers pay for dropping him twice, batting with aggression and precision to lead Knight Riders to a match-winning total

The Report by George Binoy28-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGautam Gambhir’s 93 was an example of how to bat on the Eden Gardens pitch•AFP

Gautam Gambhir made Royal Challengers Bangalore pay for dropping him twice, batting with aggression and precision to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to a match-winning total, which the visitors struggled to chase on a traditionally slow pitch at Eden Gardens. Gambhir used the depth of his crease, as well as his feet, to pound the leg side, where he scored 11 out of his 14 boundaries, primarily through pull shots. His 93, and supporting acts from Brendon McCullum and Jacques Kallis, helped Knight Riders stay No. 2 and move two points clear of their closest rivals, Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings.Knight Riders’ bowlers also came to the fore during the defence, striking early and neutralising their biggest threat, Chris Gayle, by keeping him off strike. Yusuf Pathan, who has struggled for form with bat and ball, bowled an economical opening spell, during which he dismissed Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first over. In the sixth, Kallis ripped the heart out of Royal Challengers’ chase by trapping Virat Kohli lbw and having AB de Villiers caught miscuing a pull off his first ball. The visitors were 34 for 3, and by the end of the eighth over Gayle had faced only 16 balls and scored as many runs. The chase went nowhere after that, despite Gayle batting until the 20th over to finish with 86 off 58; Sunil Narine confounding batsmen with his variations on a responsive pitch.Royal Challengers’ struggle for any sort of fluency only highlighted the quality of Gambhir’s performance after he chose to bat. Despite scoring heavily between long-on and square leg, Gambhir’s first boundary was on the off side, when he cut his first ball, from Zaheer Khan, through point. So was his second, but his slash to third man off Zaheer was initially caught by Harshal Patel, running and diving to his left before he lost control of the ball after hitting the ground. Two balls later Gambhir, on 13, cut firmly towards gully, where Gayle stuck out his left hand but did not catch the ball. Gambhir went on to score 80 more runs, and dominate partnerships of 95 and 80 with McCullum and Kallis.Gambhir’s comfort on this surface was in contrast to McCullum’s struggle. Despite tucking the first ball of the match for four, McCullum failed to time the spinners and was on 11 off 20 balls after six overs. That Knight Riders had reached 46 for 0 was entirely down to Gambhir. He even exchanged words with de Villiers, which seemed to intensify his determination.McCullum eventually began to break free, accelerating his sluggish strike rate to more than a run a ball. He had just swept and driven his countryman Daniel Vettori for boundaries when he missed a cut and was bowled in the 11th over. Now in the company of Kallis, Gambhir went from strength to strength, muscling deliveries from all varieties of bowlers to and over the midwicket boundary. Perhaps it was the fatigue caused by the intensity of his performance, but Gambhir failed to score a boundary off six balls, before holing out to long-off in the 19th over, when he had a real chance of scoring a maiden IPL century.Kallis, however, ensured the momentum did not abate, striking three colossal sixes straight and over midwicket to finish on 41 off 27 balls. Shortly afterward, he would deal Royal Challengers two body blows off consecutive balls during the chase, ending the game as a contest. Gayle went on to muscle six sixes, and became the highest run-scorer of IPL 2012, but most of those were after Royal Challengers had no chance of winning.

Only eight overs of play were possible but that was enough for Keith Barker and Chris Wright to do further damage to the Sussex top order

28-Apr-2012
ScorecardBarely eight overs were possible at a wet and windy Hove but there was ample time for Warwickshire to emphasise their superiority as Sussex, resuming on 57 for 2, lost three wickets in the space of nine deliveries.Play got underway at 2.15pm and Luke Wells had not added to his overnight score of five when he was lbw to Keith Barker in the second over of the day. Moments later, England wicketkeeper Matt Prior had his off stump knocked back by Chris Wright. Prior, who failed to score, had been struck on the body by Wright’s previous delivery.Both Wright and Barker, who looks a yard faster than last season after having his action reconstructed, troubled the Sussex batsmen with their pace in difficult conditions. Barker kept Warwickshire’s momentum going when he had a hesitant Murray Goodwin lbw as he shuffled half-forward. He almost had a fourth wicket when Michael Yardy edged short of Rikki Clarke at second slip.Sussex’s suffering ended when players came off at 3pm as the umpires decided that the combination of gusting drizzle and floodlights was unsafe for the batsmen. Even the Warwickshire players looked happy enough to get out of the miserable conditions.Warwickshire ended the third day with a lead of 465 runs thanks to the efforts of Jonathan Trott, who made 178 on his first domestic appearance of the summer.Trott said: “It was a difficult situation with the ball seaming around so I was really happy with the innings. You are never quite sure what sort of nick you are in when you come back to England, having played on the sub-continent. It is always a little bit different, especially this time of year.”I always enjoy coming back and playing for Warwickshire. It was playing with these guys, and under Ashley Giles as coach, that was the start of something for me in terms of my career.”Trott habitually makes Sussex suffer. He scored 134 against Sussex on his county debut in 2003 and his highest Championship score of 210 was also against them.

Despite this series having been decided last week there have been plenty of talking points in the lead-up to the final Test at Edgbaston

Preview by Andrew McGlashan06-Jun-2012

Match Facts

June 7-11, Edgbaston
Start time 11.00 (1000GMT)Steven Finn will hope he is the man chosen to replace James Anderson•Getty Images

The Big Picture

Despite this series having been decided last week there have been plenty of talking points in the lead-up to the final Test at Edgbaston. Kevin Pietersen’s retirement from limited-overs cricket (his choice for ODIs, forced for T20s) heads the list, followed by James Anderson being rested and, from West Indies’ point of view, the call-up for Sunil Narine which puts him on the verge of an eagerly anticipated debut.The series has provided some periods of hard-fought Test cricket but, ultimately, England have had too much depth for West Indies. They overwhelmed the visitors on the third evening in Nottingham with a six-wicket burst led by Tim Bresnan which left West Indies no way back. It raised questions about how far West Indies have really come and they do have a major issue with sustaining performances over five days. Yet their recovery was never going to be easy.If the weather allows enough overs England will expect to complete a cleansweep but Andrew Strauss would like a more complete display. In both games the batting has not made the most of strong first-innings positions to really ram home an advantage. Better teams would not have allowed England off the hook.All eyes will be on Pietersen – now purely a Test player – but, obviously, he has nothing to prove. That is not the case for Jonny Bairstow who has another opportunity to make life tough for the selectors ahead of the South Africa series. Ravi Bopara is back from injury and scoring runs for Essex so the challenge is Bairstow’s to keep him at bay.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
England WWWLL
West Indies LLLDL

Watch out for

England’s record against mystery spin is poor, you only have to go back to Saeed Ajmal earlier this year, so the prospect of them facing Sunil Narine for the first time is a fascinating one. Conditions will not be in Narine’s favour, but the home side’s batsmen will have to base their planning on video evidence. Narine’s first-class average is an astonishing 11.88 (after six matches) and although that needs to include caveats about the quality of some of the opposition, his impact at ODI level suggests he will not be an easy prospect.Steven Finn has made no secret of his frustration at waiting on the sidelines this season so it may be an idea to give him some space if Graham Onions beats him to replacing Anderson. Since losing his place during the 2010-11 Ashes series Finn has only made two further appearances both against Sri Lanka; at Lord’s (when Anderson was injured) and in Colombo (when Broad was injured). If he does get another opportunity it could be another short stay in the team but there remains plenty of time for him to forge the long Test career fully expected of him.

Team news

There remains a chance England could rest Stuart Broad along with Anderson, but if that is not the case it becomes a straight decision between Finn and Onions for the bowling slot. Finn is the next man in line, but Onions’ county form – where he has recently taken 11 in a match against Lancashire – makes a compelling case.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Steven FinnWest Indies will need to ponder a few changes. Narine is favoured to replace Shane Shillingford (despite being Roach’s replacement in the squad) while either Tino Best or Fidel Edwards will partner Ravi Rampaul. The top order will need a shuffle, too. Kirk Edwards, for his own well-being, needs to step away from the spotlight. Narsingh Deonarine is likely to bat No. 6.West Indies (probable) 1 Adrian Barath, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Tino Best, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Sunil Narine

Pitch and conditions

The forecast, sadly, is not good for large portions of the Test. Thursday appears especially dicey with heavy rain forecast (which also arrived to impact the practice days) so it could be a frustrating experience. Pitches at Edgbaston produce excellent Test cricket and if the cloud cover stays around the pace bowlers will find particular encouragement.

Stats and trivia

• The two teams have met eight times at Edgbaston with West Indies winning four and England two. The last meeting was in 2004 when England won by 256 runs.
• There will be two survivors from the 2004 match – Andrew Strauss and Shivnarine Chanderpaul – although James Anderson was also part of England’s attack.
• Strauss needs 87 runs to reach 7000 in Test cricket

Quotes

“This was one of those occasions where an opportunity presented itself and we all think it’s prudent that we take the opportunity with Jimmy and hopefully that will allow him to be fresh for the rest of the summer and beyond.”

Kent dismissed Surrey for 88 – their lowest total in Twenty20 – to keep alive hopes of reaching the quarter-finals and send the hosts out

Alex Winter at The Oval05-Jul-2012
ScorecardRob Key’s 35 helped guide Kent to a defendable total at The Oval•Getty Images

This was much more like the Twenty20 the ECB invented. A balmy evening, a five-figure crowd and a decent match to boot. Kent won it to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.There were 14,990 in the ground – the largest T20 crowd this season anywhere – a good section of them Men of Kent, or indeed Kentish Men, who created a lively beer-fuelled atmosphere, complete with pint glass snakes and (albeit clothed) streakers, as Kent continued Surrey’s disastrous run in the competition and put them, now mathematically, out. After winning their first two matches, Surrey have lost six on the spin and this was a shocker, fired out for their lowest all out total in T20s.This latest defeat was a great surprise. Surrey decided to bowl on a surface that went on to turn quite significantly and restricted Kent with their four spinners, three of whom took wickets and the fourth, stand-in skipper Gareth Batty, went for only 27 in his four overs.The pick of the spinners was Murali Kartik. He opened the bowling and went on to claim 1 for 19. It was fine stuff and it turned. Little did Kent try to hit him and when Darren Stevens did, he only ballooned a catch up to Kevin Pietersen – his second of three.Pietersen’s first victim was a fine effort, tumbling in from mid-on to take Sam Northeast’s back-foot drive that spooned off the toe of the bat. The sunglasses-wearing Pietersen also took Rob Key’s in-to-out drive off Zafar Ansari – the last spinner to be introduced and who proved the most expensive despite picking up two key wickets, the other being the dangerous Azhar Mahmood, stumped as he drove outside off stump and left his ground.Key was the man to glue things together for Kent. He played carefully in testing circumstances – wickets falling and Dirk Nannes racing in to bowl at 90mph – but his ending was unsatisfactory. Key’s dismissal exposed a weak lower order shorn of West Indies batsman Brendan Nash, attending the birth of his child, and James Tredwell, called up to the England squad for Saturday’s ODI.It was left to Alex Blake, a 23-year-old Kent academy product, to push Kent to some sort of score. He played the reverse sweep very well, first off Ansari and then two overs later off Batty for boundaries backward of point. But the latter 20 runs of his 26-ball 35 would not have been made had Nannes held him on the midwicket boundary before skipping over the rope. Blake hadn’t caught a slog-sweep off Ansari correctly but struck the only six of the match.It was another Kent academy product – there were five in this team – that sent their side to victory. Adam Riley proved a fine replacement for Tredwell. He is a tall lad, 6ft 2in, bowled with control and was prepared to flight the ball. The spinning wicket gave him encouragement and he proved very difficult to score off, sending down four overs for 17 runs, removing Matthew Spriegel, lbw playing across a straight one, and Zander de Bruyn, effectively the match-winning wicket. Advancing down the pitch, De Bruyn didn’t get to a length ball that turned down the leg side and was easily stumped.It was de Bruyn and Ansari that tried to work Surrey back into the chase with a stand of 45 in 8.5 overs – it was not a stand to light up Surrey hopes but moved them from out of the game at 18 for 4 to needing 73 from 8 overs, a more amicable target. But Ansari was bowled by Stevens and Murali Kartik run out without facing a ball to kill the chase. The remainder of the order petered out and Surrey were dismissed with 2.3 overs to spare.It was a scenario not thought possible with a low target and the power of Surrey’s top order. But they crumbled in the first four overs: Pietersen driving outside a Mark Davies in-ducker, Jason Roy walking across his stumps, Rory Burns chipping to midwicket and Steven Davies edging Mahmood behind trying to cut.